A Jammu and Kashmir 'Bhavan' will be built in Mumbai to provide accommodation to the visitors from the union territory, especially the cancer patients who go there for treatment, an official said on Sunday. The proposal for the 'Bhavan' was approved by Lt Governor G C Murmu last week and an amount of around Rs 5 crore released for the purchase of half-an-acre land at Kharghar in Navi Mumbai, he said. Murmu gave the nod after he was informed about the problems being faced by the J-K residents while looking for accommodation in Mumbai, especially the plight of cancer patients who go there for treatment at the Tata Memorial Hospital, the official said. "About 30 to 40 cancer patients are visiting Mumbai on a daily basis and are facing lot of hardships in finding proper accommodation," he told PTI. He said the proposal to set up the 'Bhavan' in Mumbai was mooted way back in 1992 but there was "no proper follow up" on that. The 'Bhavan' will also provide accommodation to the businessmen from the union territory who frequently visit Mumbai and will also house the offices of the resident commissioner and tourism department, the official said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Eleven people were killed after a boat carrying migrants sank in the Aegean Sea off Turkey's western coast, the coastguard said, Daily Sabah reports. Eight people were rescued, according to a coastguard statement, which added three boats and a helicopter joined rescue efforts. Of the 11 killed, eight were children, according to reports. The boat capsized off the Turkish coastal town of Cesme, which is close to the Greek island of Chios. There was no immediate information on the nationality of the migrants. The boat was believed to be carrying 19 people, the coastguard said, adding that a search was ongoing for possible missing people. Turkey has been a key transit point for irregular migrants aiming to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution. Some 268,000 irregular migrants were held in Turkey in 2018, according to the Interior Ministry. Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB) celebrated its 150-year anniversary in 2019. Shares of this food and beverage company showed impressive results in 2019, as Campbell's share price increased 49%, some 20 percentage points above the S&P 500's rise. By selling unsuccessful or lagging brands, acquiring new brands, and tightening geographic focus, Campbell Soup is quickly changing its breadth in the market -- potentially keeping the company on track to exceed earnings expectations in the current fiscal year. Cutting away the fat In addition to its namesake brand, Campbell Soup's well-known brands include Pepperidge Farm, Prego, and Swanson. Adding to that portfolio in 2018, Campbell acquired Snyder's-Lance, which includes Snyder's of Hanover snacks. Campbell CEO Mark Clouse is strategically divesting underperforming brands and exiting the fresh foods business while increasing the concentration on packaged meals, soups, and snacks. Campbell's endeavors in its fresh foods business lowered earnings and caused an abrupt departure in 2018 of then-CEO Denise Morrison. Selling off Campbell's fresh division and its international businesses will help pay down debt, maintain a high focus on the North America region, and streamline segments like snacks and meals and beverages. Cutting away inefficiency, Campbell recently sold Australian snack business Arnott's as well as other businesses in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, and Australia, to New York investment firm KKR & Co for $2.2 billion in cash. This wrapped up the sale of the company's international division. Campbell had sold its European chips business to the privately held Valeo Foods in October 2019 for $80 million. Setting the bar for 2020 Campbell's snacks segment and its meals and beverages segment made up 45% and 55%, respectively, of Campbell's total net sales in the recent first quarter of fiscal 2020. Sales in the meals and beverage segment decreased by roughly 2.8% year over year while the snacks segment grew sales roughly 1.6%. Campbell had total revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, which is $19 million less than the same quarter one year earlier. Campbell's attributed the drop to a loss during the sale of the European chip business. Gross margins improved, rising 30 basis points to 33.8% as the company increased productivity and worked on cost-savings initiatives and raising prices. Capital expenditures are expected to be $350 million in 2020 -- up from $111 million in 2019 -- which will be used to expand Milano cookie, Goldfish cracker, and chip capacity, which will help the company meet growing demand. The Goldfish crackers brand is the largest brand within Pepperidge Farm and reportedly sold $574.7 million in the 52 weeks ending May 2019, making up an estimated 64.5% of Pepperidge Farm's total sales. Increasing production capacity of Pepperidge brands Milano cookie and Goldfish crackers should create a tailwind for a growing segment of the company. Campbell projects fiscal 2020 net sales will grow between 1% and 3% while adjusted earnings per share are expected to rise 9% to 11%. An optimistic outlook A forward price-to-earnings ratio of 19.11 doesn't put Campbell Soup at a deep discount. However, comparing Campbell Soup against packaged-food and snack powerhouses Kellogg Company and PepsiCo, Campbell Soup is in the middle, with Kellogg at 17.54 and Pepsi at 25.56, which indicates Campbell isn't overly expensive. A forward dividend yield of 2.89% is below Kellogg's 3.35% but higher than Pepsi's 2.82%. Overall, Campbell looks to be headed in the right direction by narrowing the strategic focus to North America and concentrating on the growing segments of the business. The acquisition of Snyder's-Lance may be the first of many snack acquisitions in Clouse's strategy of chasing growing segments while lowering costs -- making shares of Campbell Soup stock a buy. Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Mission means proposing, witnessing and sharing the faith, said Pope Francis again today in his reflections addressed to the 20 thousand people present in St. Peter's Square for the recitation of the Angelus. First of all he spoke of this morning's baptism of 32 children and invited everyone to pray for them and their families. "The liturgy of this year - he said then - offers us the event of the baptism of Jesus according to the story of the Gospel of Matthew (cf 3,13-17). The evangelist describes the dialogue between Jesus, who asks for baptism, and John the Baptist, who wants to refuse and observes: "It is I who need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?" (V. 14). This decision of Jesus surprises the Baptist: in fact, the Messiah does not need to be purified; it is He who purifies. " But God is the Holy One, His ways are not ours, and Jesus is the Way of God, an unpredictable way. Remember that God is the god of surprises. John had declared that there was an abysmal, unbridgeable distance between him and Jesus. "I am not worthy to carry your sandals" (Mt 3:11), he said. But the Son of God came precisely to bridge the distance between man and God. If Jesus is completley on God's side, he is also completley on mankind's side, and brings together what was divided. For this reason he replies to John: "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness" (v. 15). The Messiah asks to be baptized, so that all justice can be done, that is, the Father's plan that passes through the way of filial obedience and solidarity with the fragile and sinful man. It is the way of humility and full closeness of God to his children. Even the prophet Isaiah announces the justice of the Servant of God, who carries out his mission in the world with a style contrary to the worldly spirit: "he shall bring forth justice to the nations, not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. a bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench."(42,2-3). It is the attitude of gentleness, it is what Jesus teaches us, it is the attitude of simplicity, respect, moderation and concealment, required even today of the Lord's disciples ". "In missionary action - he continued - the Christian community is called to meet others always proposing and not imposing, giving witness, sharing the concrete life of the people. As soon as Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove, while a voice rang out from above saying: "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."(Mt 3:17). On the feast of the Baptism of Jesus we rediscover our Baptism. As Jesus is the beloved Son of the Father, we too born of water and the Holy Spirit know that we are loved children, the Father loves us all, the object of God's complacency, brothers of many other brothers, invested with a great mission to witness and proclaim the boundless love of the Father for all peoples". Francis went on to say that "this feast reminds us of our baptism, we are born again, the Spirit has come" and has returned to invite us to know the date of our baptism and celebrate it. Italy will become the second European country to levy a tax on digital firms, with the country's parliament passing the necessary legislation which will take effect from 1 January 2020. The Italian tax is similar to one introduced by France earlier this year, and will place a 3% levy on firms which have more than 750 million (US$839 million, A$1.2 billion) in global revenue and at least 5.5 million in Italy. The Wall Street Journal, which reported the Italian move, said other countries like the UK and Canada were likely to follow the French and Italian examples. As to how the American Government will react to the Italian move remains to be seen. When France introduced its tax, the US was up in arms. Initially, Washingtonit would launch an inquiry into the tax, in order to "determine whether it is discriminatory or unreasonable and burdens or restricts United States commerce". But more recently, the US has warned that it may impose a 100% tax on French imports in retaliation. There have been moves among OECD countries to reach a consensus on a digital tax but as with all agreements sought to be reached among large groupings, no progress has been made. The Italian tax will be levied on transactions between businesses and services like cloud computing. Companies like Spotify and Netflix will not be taxed. The measure is forecast to raise about 700 million. Turkish authorities sanction arrest of 33 suspected FETO ties Copper rises in price Erdogan's spokesman, Biden's adviser discuss Armenian-Turkish relations Armenia deputy defense minister: No one can rule out border tension at any moment New commander elected of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh Armenia official: Those 100 soldiers absence will not assume any change in terms of border tension Millionaire Robert Durst dies aged 78 Reuters: Over 1.13 million cases of COVID-19 detected in US per day Great Armenian poet Razmik Davoyan dies 2 new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh Deputy PM Matevosyan: About 1,190 subvention programs implemented in Armenia from 2018 to 2021 243 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Armenia MP: It would be right to put pressure on Azerbaijanis to remove their firing positions Oil is getting more expensive 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 Alikhan Smailov appointed Kazakhstan Prime Minister 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 Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 00:05:56|Editor: ZX Video Player Close New Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq al-Said attends his inauguration ceremony in Muscat, Oman, on Jan. 11, 2020. New Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq al-Said said on Saturday that he will follow the steps and approach of the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said and will complete the progress achieved in the Omani renaissance process. (Xinhua) MUSCAT, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- New Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq al-Said said on Saturday that he will follow the steps and approach of the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said and will complete the progress achieved in the Omani renaissance process. He stressed that he will pursue a policy of distancing the region from conflicts and disputes, achieving economic integration, and supporting the Arab League and cooperation with brother countries to achieve its goals. The remarks came in his speech to the Omani people, which was broadcast by the Omani state-run TV, following his inauguration ceremony as the Sultan of Oman. In his speech, the new sultan emphasized the support of the armed forces and security services. Haitham bin Tariq al-Said was chosen on Saturday as Sultan of Oman to succeed the late sultan who passed away on Friday evening, at the age of 79, after a period of rule for almost half a century. Most U.S. presidential candidates identify China as a serious national security challenge, but they're short on details as to how they'd tackle the economic, technological and human rights threats posed by the worlds largest authoritarian power. Why it matters: The Chinese Communist Party is seeking to reshape the world in its own image and amass enough power to marginalize the United States and Western allies regardless of whether China is contending with President Trump for another four years or one of his Democratic rivals. Details: Under Xi Jinping, China is leveraging economic ties as one of the worlds top traders to counter U.S. foreign policy goals. It's setting global standards in telecommunications and surveillance technology, giving Beijing far-reaching power over data and privacy. It's weakening human rights standards. In October, after ambassadors from 23 UN countries backed a statement denouncing the cultural genocide in Xinjiang, 54 countries came to Chinas defense. China constrains free speech even inside the United States. It has successfully muted criticism of its policies among leading U.S. companies, institutions and even Hollywood. Trump has alternated between confronting and appeasing Beijing. He's demanded that Beijing adopt trade policies that reduce the U.S. trade deficit with China and support U.S. manufacturing. He's filled his administration with China hawks, and the FBI is taking on Chinese intellectual property theft at U.S. institutions. But Trump has also pursued policies that give China a competitive edge in Asia and elsewhere, and he shied away from condemning human rights violations. What they're saying: The Democratic presidential candidates have mostly argued that strengthening American democracy at home and recommitting to allies abroad is the best way to respond to China, while rejecting the administration's approach. But they've largely stuck to vague pronouncements rather than enumerating specific policies. Joe Biden wants to restore a pre-Trump traditionalist foreign policy. Biden's July foreign policy speech focused largely on reversing what he considers the foreign policy mistakes of the Trump era. He has advocated shifting naval power to Asia. His plans represent a traditionalist foreign policy paradigm, where U.S. pronouncements, supported by allies and military power, change the behavior of state and non-state actors. He wants U.S. technology companies to make pledges to uphold ethics and privacy in business with China. Elizabeth Warren prescribes multilateralism and better economic policies to counter Chinas authoritarianism. As a senator, Warren has signed her name to numerous letters calling out Chinas human rights violations and attempts to curtail criticism in U.S. media and academia. But as a candidate, she rarely talks about China. "Elizabeth favors a strategy of engagement with China where our interests align, including on critical security issues like climate change and counter-proliferation," a Warren campaign spokesperson told Axios in a statement. "But she will not hesitate to push back in areas where we disagree, including China's growing human rights abuses, unfair economic practices that harm American workers, and efforts to undermine global norms." Pete Buttigieg characterizes the nature of the China challenge as the international expansion of authoritarian capitalism." Buttigieg has identified political interference, proxy wars, cyberattacks, and the potential weaponization of economic and technological interdependence as among Chinas most troubling tools of wielding influence. But his proposals tend to be vague: maintain a strong military, strengthen American society and invest in strategies to deal with less overt threats, without detailing those strategies. Andrew Yang is a one-issue candidate when it comes to China: technology. The world order in the 21st century will be defined by the relationship between the United States and China around technology, from artificial intelligence (AI) and data, to quantum computing and 5G technologies, Yang's campaign told Axios in a statement. When asked about China in the Dec. 19 debate, his approach was to "build an international coalition to set technology standards, and then you can bring the Chinese to the table in a very real way, because this is their top priority, and this is where we need to outcompete them and win. Bernie Sanders has said it is "absolutely possible for us to have a positive working relationship with China," and he has detailed plans to revamp the U.S.-China economic relationship to improve the lives of American workers. Sanders said China has "more progress in addressing extreme poverty than any country in the history of civilization." But he's acknowledged Chinas turn toward authoritarianism, enshrined human rights as a pillar of his foreign policy and supported measures to restrict China's military buildup. Michael Bloomberg has praised top Chinese officials and pressed for engagement with China. Bloomberg has extensive business interests in China that could potentially pose major conflicts of interest if he became U.S. president, while his representatives say he will call out China on human rights violations and other abuses. He has said that President Xi is "not a dictator" and has referred to Chinese nationals as Xi's "constituents." "Chinas systemic trade violations, including the theft of U.S. intellectual property and other anti-competitive practices, harm millions of American workers and would be a top priority of a Bloomberg administration," his campaign told Axios. Go deeper: Read more from Axios' "What Matters 2020" series Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-13 01:32:00|Editor: yan Video Player Close BAGHDAD, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Seven Katyusha rockets on Sunday hit Balad airbase, which previously housed U.S. troops, in Iraq's central province of Salahudin, a provincial security source said. The attack took place in the evening when the rockets landed on the airbase, located some 90 km north of Iraqi capital Baghdad, wounding two soldiers and causing damages to nearby buildings, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. Balad air base is the largest military air base in Iraq, also known by the U.S. forces as the Logistics Support Activity (LSA) Anaconda. The airbase was housing a number of U.S. troops and advisors of an American company operating the Iraqi F-16 jet fighters, but they withdrew about a week ago after the international U.S.-led coalition announced the suspension of its operations against the Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack came a few days after Qais al-Khazali, leader of the Iraqi Iran-backed Shiite militia Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, said the Iranian initial response to the killing of the Iranian military leader is done and it is time for Iraq to respond to the U.S. airstrike. Al-Khazali's threat came after Iran fired ballistic missiles earlier in the day 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. 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. More than 5,000 U.S. troops have been deployed in Iraq to support the Iraqi forces in the battles against Islamic State militants. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 17:04:11|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close CHENGDU, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Canadian-born panda twins, Jia Panpan and Jia Yueyue, flew to Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, early Sunday morning. The twins will be kept in quarantine for a month at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. The twin cubs were born at the Toronto Zoo on Oct. 13, 2015. Their parents -- female panda Er Shun and male panda Da Mao -- were brought to Toronto in 2013 as part of a loan agreement between China and Canada. They will stay there until 2023. The research base has established giant panda cooperation with 17 countries and regions since 1994. Currently, it is carrying out long-term cooperative programs for giant panda research and breeding with seven countries. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Sunday that President Donald Trump is impeached for life regardless of "any gamesmanship" by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., whom she accused of orchestrating a "coverup" of Trump's actions as the Senate waits for the House to transmit the articles of impeachment. Challenging McConnell to hold a serious trial that includes testimony from witnesses, Pelosi did not rule out the possibility that the House would subpoena former national security adviser John Bolton if the Senate chooses not to. She repeatedly chastised McConnell for signaling that he is not interested in fully weighing the House's charges. "Dismissing is a coverup. Dismissing is a coverup. If they want to go that route again, the senators who are thinking now about voting for witnesses or not - they will have to be accountable for not having a fair trial," Pelosi said on ABC News' "This Week." The speaker delivered her comments only days before a Senate impeachment trial is expected to begin - the third time a U.S. president will have faced potential removal from office following impeachment by the House. Pelosi said she will meet with House Democrats on Tuesday morning to discuss the timing of a vote on impeachment managers - the half-dozen lawmakers who will prosecute the case and transmit the charges to the Senate. A trial could start as early as Wednesday, if the House acts quickly, though lawmakers and aides have speculated that it will not begin in earnest until the following week. The House passed two articles of impeachment on Dec. 18 - for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Pelosi surprised observers by not immediately transmitting the charges to the Senate, a strategy aimed at pressuring McConnell into naming fairer terms for the trial. Sunday's interview took place after Pelosi moved to end the three-week standoff, signaling in a letter to colleagues on Friday that she would transmit the articles to the Senate this week, even without any clarity from McConnell on how the trial would be conducted. The speaker on Sunday accused McConnell of a coverup for signing on to a resolution to allow the Senate to dismiss impeachment charges if the House did not transmit them within 25 days of their approval. In a Sunday afternoon tweet, Trump called for dismissal with no trial. "Many believe that by the Senate giving credence to a trial based on the no evidence, no crime, read the transcripts, 'no pressure' Impeachment Hoax, rather than an outright dismissal, it gives the partisan Democrat Witch Hunt credibility that it otherwise does not have. I agree!" the president said. The potential lack of witnesses and documentation in a Senate impeachment trial would be another "coverup," she said, defending her decision to withhold the articles even though it did not produce the concessions she sought from McConnell. "We wanted the public to see the need for witnesses, witnesses with firsthand knowledge of what happened, (and) documentation," she said. After "This Week" host George Stephanopoulos noted that McConnell "didn't budge on witnesses at all," Pelosi said he would be "accountable to the American people for that." "They take an oath to have a fair trial," she said. " Now the ball is in their court to either do that or pay a price for not doing it." Senate Republicans have rallied behind the precedent set during President Bill Clinton's 1999 impeachment trial, in which the case for removal was presented and rebutted before decisions were made about calling witnesses or seeking further evidence. Pelosi dismissed comparisons to 1999 for "at least six reasons the biggest one is that the witnesses (who eventually testified) were all deposed" before their public testimony. "The evidence was there," she said. "It was just a question of bringing it more to the forefront." McConnell's no-witness trial strategy has been complicated by several developments in the past two weeks. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has said that she is working with a small group of Republicans to ensure that the trial includes witnesses. And Bolton announced this month that if the Senate subpoenas him, he "is prepared to testify." In the fall, he rebuffed requests to serve as a witness during the House inquiry. Pelosi said the House hasn't "eliminated the possibility" of subpoenaing Bolton if the Senate does not but said, "We'll see what they do." The speaker also did not rule out the possibility of the House drafting further articles, saying again: "Let's just see what the Senate does." Stephanopoulos noted that just before the show began, Trump posted a tweet calling Pelosi "Crazy Nancy" and deriding House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff, D-Calif. "It's Sunday morning, (and) I'd like to talk about some more pleasant subjects than the erratic nature of this president," Pelosi said in response. "But he has to know that every knock from him is a boost. Everything he says is a projection. When he calls someone crazy he knows that he is. Everything he says, you can just translate it back to who he is." House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., suggested on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures" that Pelosi deliberately held off sending the articles to the Senate to delay a trial that will require Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a 2020 presidential candidate, to attend in person. McCarthy argued that this would boost former vice president Joe Biden, one of Sanders' rivals, in the run-up to the Feb. 3 Iowa Democratic caucuses. "What this does is this benefits Joe Biden," McCarthy said, adding that Sanders "will be stuck in a chair." McCarthy did not mention the other Democratic senators vying for their party's presidential nomination - Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Cory Booker of New Jersey - also will have to attend the impeachment trial in person. On the same show, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said he wanted Biden's son Hunter to testify, but did not mention any other possible witnesses. When it comes to deciding which witnesses, if any, would testify, Scott said that would be decided after the trial was underway. "We're going to follow the Senate rules. We're not going to follow Nancy Pelosi's rules," Scott said. "We're going to listen to both sides, then we'll make a decision." Former Trump strategist Stephen Bannon, for his part, said Trump should allow his staffers to testify in exchange for having Joe and Hunter Biden, as well as others, such as the initial CIA whistleblower whose complaint is at the center of the impeachment inquiry, appear before senators in the trial. The House impeachment inquiry focused in part on whether the president improperly pressured Ukraine's president to investigate Hunter Biden's ties to Ukraine's largest private gas company, Burisma, and whether his father sought to protect Burisma's owner while serving as vice president. No evidence of criminal wrongdoing by the Bidens has surfaced, but Trump and other Republicans say they ought to be questioned. "I think those witnesses need to be called," Bannon said, adding that Bolton and acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney could also appear during the trial. "Bring them. What do they have to show? Donald Trump did nothing wrong." Before midday, Trump tweeted: "Why should I have the stigma of Impeachment attached to my name when I did NOTHING wrong? Read the Transcripts! A totally partisan Hoax Very unfair to tens of millions of voters!" Trump claimed that three Democrats voted with Republicans to oppose impeachment. In fact, only two Democrats voted against the charge of abuse of power, while three voted against the charge of obstruction of Congress. One of the Democrats who voted against both articles, Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, has since switched parties and become a Republican. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Daniel Trotta (Reuters) Sun, January 12, 2020 07:05 730 48be62e941b44f04afae568c321c9c8c 2 Lifestyle Steve-McQueen,film,auction,Ford-Mustang Free The 1968 Ford Mustang GT that Steve McQueen drove in the classic car chase from the movie Bullitt, one of the most famed cars from American cinema, sold for $3.4 million at auction in Florida on Friday, Mecum Auctions said. It was the highest price ever paid for a Ford Mustang at auction, according to David Morton, marketing manager for the auction house in Kissimmee, near Orlando. The buyer has not been publicly identified. "The hammer dropped at $3.4 million, but with buyers' fees, the total cost is $3.74 million," he said, adding it shattered the auction house's previous record set last year of $2.2 million. The unrestored muscle car, its "highland green" paint looking rusty and black upholstery splitting apart, starred in a 10-minute sequence in the 1968 film, getting airborne a few times as it sped through the hilly streets of San Francisco. The car was auctioned without a reserve, or minimum sale price, a risky decision that could have forced the owners to sell low. McQueen filmed with the window down so viewers could see he was behind the wheel. Although credited as the driver, McQueen actually shared the wheel with Hollywood stunt driver Bud Ekins, according to the movie database IMDB. Read also: TAG Heuer presents Monaco 1979-1989 special edition watch Many movie buffs view the chase as ground-breaking for its duration and white-knuckle drama. The sequence forgoes a score in favor of roaring engines and screeching tires. McQueen, playing the no-nonsense police Lieutenant Frank Bullitt, was chasing bad guys who drove a black 1968 Dodge Charger. After filming, the Mustang was sold to a Warner Brothers employee, and later to a New Jersey police detective. He in turn sold it for $6,000 in 1974 to Robert Kiernan of Madison, New Jersey, who held onto the car until he died in 2014. Kiernan rejected multiple offers for the car, including one from McQueen himself, according to the New York Times. He left it to his son, Sean. "I would like to appeal to you to get back my '68 Mustang," McQueen wrote to Kiernan in 1977, according to the Times. "I would like very much to keep it in the family, in its original condition as it was used in the film, rather than have it restored; which is simply personal with me." McQueen died in 1980 at age 50. Robert Kiernan never responded to McQueen's letter, which Sean Kiernan still has, the Times said. Sean Kiernan told Mecum in a promotional video that his mother drove the car until the clutch failed in 1980. It went nearly 40 years without being driven until recently, with 65,000 miles on the odometer, Kiernan said. FALCON COVE, Ore. -- Police are searching for a 4-year-old boy that was swept out into the ocean Saturday afternoon near the Falcon Cove area. This is near the county line of Clatsop County and Tillamook County. At 12:38 p.m. officers responded to a call for three people that has been swept into the ocean. The investigation revealed an adult male was holding two children, a 7-year-old female and a 4-year-old male. They were standing along the shore when a wave struck them and swept the three into the ocean. The adult and 7-year-old were taken by Medix Ambulance to Providence Seaside Hospital. The 7-year-old was pronounced dead at the hospital. The 4-year-old has not been located. The United States Coast Guard sent out helicopters to help with the search for the child, but the search was suspended Saturday evening at sunset. Cannon Beach Fire Department, Cannon Beach Police Department and Manzanita Police Department all assisted on scene. There is a High Surf Warning and King Tide for the Oregon Coast until 4 a.m. Sunday. This is a warning our team of meterologists and police want you to hear, so you can keep your friends and family safe if you take a trip to the coast this weekend. The National Weather Service said, "Extremely large breaking waves will create very hazardous conditions along beaches and area shorelines. Waves will inundate beaches and surge into normally dry areas." NWS is also predicting infrastructure damage and significant beach erosion this weekend. "Beaches and coastlines will become hazardous due to very large and life-threatening surf conditions," a report from NWS said. "Stay off of beaches, rocks, jetties, piers and other waterside infrastructure." New Delhi: Jain Coral Cove, a 55-metre high illegal apartment complex in Maradu - overlooking Kerala's stunning backwaters - was demolished using controlled implosion on Sunday morning. The demolition drive was carried out in a very careful manner and area in a 200-metre radius was kept out of the bound for people during the drive. The demolition comes a day after the Kerala government demolished two of the complexes. This is one of the largest demolition drives in India involving residential complexes. Before starting the demolition drive, the prohibitory order was declared by the Ernakulam District Collector. Section 144 of CrPC was imposed on the land, water and in the air in the evacuation zone of all the illegal waterfront apartment complexes in Kochi. #WATCH Maradu flats demolition: Jain Coral Cove complex demolished through a controlled implosion.2 out of the 4 illegal apartment towers were demolished yesterday, today is the final round of the operation. #Kochi #Kerala pic.twitter.com/mebmdIm1Oa ANI (@ANI) January 12, 2020 Earlier, residents in the evacuation zone were directed to switch off the electricity and all appliances before leaving their homes. They were also advised to close all windows and doors to protect their houses from dust. All traffic airborne, waterborne, land-based was prohibited in the evacuation zone, police. > Maradu Flat Owners Plea Was Rejected By Supreme Court Earlier in December, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea by some owners of Maradu flats in Kochi seeking direction to the Attorney General to grant permission to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against concerned authorities for allegedly misleading the court in the matter. The top court had on September 30 refused to entertain a plea of flat owners seeking a stay on its order to demolish four apartment complexes in Maradu which were built in violation of Coastal Regulation Zone norms. On September 27, the top court had directed demolition of these flats within 138 days, a timeline was given by the Kerala government, and had asked the state to pay Rs 25 lakh interim compensation to each flat owner within four weeks. For all the Latest India News, South News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. The only thing Amber Freed ever wanted was to be a mom. Like a lot of people, she and her husband Mark had a hard time conceiving. But after two years of IVF treatments, the Denver couple got a double dose of good news: Amber was pregnant with twins. Maxwell and Riley were born on March 27, 2017. "They instantly changed my life and made me so happy," Amber said. But while the twins came into the world together, they didn't develop at the same pace as they grew. When they were about four months old, Amber and Mark noticed the difference: Maxwell wasn't reaching for toys or his bottle like his sister did he didn't use his hands at all. After six months of genetic testing, Maxwell was diagnosed with a disease so rare it doesn't even have a name. Instead, it's known by its genetic location: SLC6A1. At the time of Maxwell's diagnosis, there were only 50 known cases in the world. "I just remember thinking that that wasn't the name of a disease. It was the name of a flight number," said Amber. "I could not understand what my perfect, beautiful little baby boy had, and neither could the doctors." What they did know was that Maxwell's rare neurological condition would likely cause severe movement and speech disorders and intellectual disability. Between the ages of three and four, Maxwell is expected to develop a debilitating form of epilepsy and start to regress. Mark and Amber Freed with their twins Riley and Maxwell Amber Freed Amber refused to just sit back and watch that happen. She quit her job as a financial analyst at Janus Henderson the day Maxwell was diagnosed, and dedicated herself to finding a cure. "It was in that moment that there was no future for my most prized possession in the world, that I was not going to accept that answer for little Maxwell," she said. "And I decided to fight like a mother." She asked the doctors what they would do if Maxwell were their child. They told her to "call scientists." Working 80 hours a week, Amber became an expert in the biology of the disease and reached out to 140 scientists over the next three months. She founded a non-profit and in 10 months, between that and a GoFundMe campaign, has raised $1 million to fund the initial research into a cure. Amber was told gene replacement therapy was Maxwell's best hope. The Food and Drug Administration has already approved gene therapy for some other diseases, including a rare form of vision loss and for some leukemia patients. It involves introducing a new gene through a virus that doesn't make the patient sick. It targets the defective gene, replacing it with a good copy, altering the patient's DNA and it's hoped dramatically improving the disease with a single treatment. Maxwell Freed Amber Freed The BJP chief also said that Ram temple will be built in Ayodhya in four months. IMAGE: Union Home Minister Amit Shah addresses during a CAA awareness event, in Jabalpur, on Sunday. Photograph: PTI Photo Launching a blistering attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah on Sunday said that those youths who had raised 'anti-national' slogans on the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus deserved to be put behind bars. Addressing a public meeting in Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh in support of the new citizenship law, Shah said, "In JNU, some boys had raised anti-national slogans. They raised slogans like 'Bharat tere tukde honge ek hazar, inshallah, inshallah'. Should they not be put in jails?" Amid cheers by people, Shah said, "Rahul Baba and Kejriwal are saying- save them, save them....Are they your cousin brothers?" Shah, however, didn't mention the exact timeline of the alleged sloganeering in his speech. A case had been registered by Delhi police against then JNU Students' Union president Kanhaiya Kumar and several others, for being involved in an event at the university on February 9, 2016, in which anti-India slogans were allegedly raised. Shah also said however much the Congress opposes the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), the government 'will not rest' until all the refugees from minority communities from Pakistan are given Indian citizenship. He once again challenged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to show him any provision in the new legislation that will snatch the citizenship of any citizen in the country. "I am saying it loudly. You Congress leaders, listen carefully...Oppose it as much as you can, but we will rest only after giving citizenship to all these people. No one can stop us from doing so. "Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Christian refugees from Pakistan have as much right over India as you and I have. They are the sons and daughters of India. The country will embrace them," Shah said while addressing the meeting. WATCH: Amit Shah promises Ram Temple in 4 months His statements come a day after the Congress demanded immediate withdrawal of the CAA and stopping the process of National Population Register (NPR), accusing the government of using brute majority to impose its 'divisive' and 'discriminatory' agenda. As per the gazette notification issued by the Centre on Friday, the CAA, under which non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, will be given Indian citizenship, came into force from January 10. Shah also accused Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of misguiding people over the CAA. "I challenge Rahul Baba and Mamata Banerjee, tell me if there is any single provision in CAA that is meant for snatching anybody's citizenship," he said. "There is no provision for taking away anyone's citizenship. The Act in fact is meant for giving citizenship," the minister said. During the last assembly elections in Rajasthan, the Congress had promised in its poll manifesto that Hindu and Sikh refugees from Pakistan would be given Indian citizenship. "But now they are opposing the BJP...(Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok) Gehlot ji, check your manifesto," he said. The Bharatiya Janata Party chief also said that Ram temple will be built in Ayodhya in four months. "The complex would be so high that it would touch the sky," Shah said. 2020 ELECTIONS / Young candidates, underdogs prevail in several legislative races ROC Central News Agency 01/12/2020 01:13 AM Taipei, Jan. 12 (CNA) Taiwan's legislative elections saw several young politicians prevail in high-profile races, and some candidates claimed victory independent of the country's political mainstream dominated by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Kuomintang (KMT). Of the 113 seats available, the DPP won 61, followed by the KMT with 38, the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) with five, the New Power Party (NPP) with three, and the remaining six seats divided between independents and a small pro-independence party. In the 79 races in which candidates were directly elected rather than through a party vote for legislators-at-large, 14 new faces emerged. In one of the night's more closely-watched races, in New Taipei City's rural 12th District, 27-year-old DPP candidate Lai Pin-yu () narrowly edged out her KMT opponent in a field of three. Lai, a former student activist and cosplay enthusiast, entered the race in September, after the district's incumbent, the NPP's Huang Kuo-chang (), announced he would run on his party's legislator at-large list, leaving a lesser-known NPP candidate to try and defend the seat. Meanwhile, in Taipei City's 4th District, 39-year-old DPP city councilor Kao Chia-yu () upset KMT incumbent Lee Yen-hsiu () by a 50-47 percent margin. In doing so, Kao leveraged a national profile built through her frequent appearances on political talk shows to overcome Lee's deep family connections to the district, which was previously represented by her father and grandfather. However, in a battle between two rising political stars in Taipei's 3rd District (Zhongshan and Songshan districts), KMT incumbent Chiang Wan-an () was able to hold his seat against DPP challenger Enoch Wu (). Chiang, the great-grandson of former President Chiang Kai-shek (), is seen as modernizer within the party, and is often tipped as a future candidate for Taipei mayor. He nevertheless faced a strong challenge from the 38-year-old Wu, who ultimately lost by a 51-45 percent margin. One of the night's most shocking results came in Taichung's 2nd District, where 34-year-old Chen Po-wei () became the first-ever candidate of the pro-independence Taiwan Statebuilding Party to win a seat in the Legislature, narrowly defeating KMT incumbent Kuomintang Yen Kuan-heng (), the scion of a local political dynasty. Finally, in Hualien County's single legislative district, independent Fu Kun-chi () defeated one-term DPP legislator Hsiao Bi-khim () by a 46-41 percent margin. Despite the KMT's estimated 60-40 demographic advantage in the district, Hsiao won the seat in 2016 with 54 percent of the vote, far outperforming DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen's () 37 percent. These strengths weren't enough to overcome the challenge from Fu, who previously served as a KMT legislator from 2002 to 2019 and as an independent Hualien County magistrate from 2009 to 2019, when he was jailed for financial crimes and removed from office. The results were a testament to Fu's strength in the region, given that he was only released from prison in April, and is currently facing a separate lawsuit, which is pending before Taiwan's High Court. (By Chang Chi, Liu Kuan-ting and Matthew Mazzetta) Enditem/ls NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address TORONTO - The unintended release of an Ontario-wide alert about an "incident" at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station on Sunday has sparked a provincial investigation into how such an error could happen and how such future mistakes can be avoided. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 12/1/2020 (729 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. An alert warning Ontario residents of an unspecified incident at Pickering Nuclear Generating Station early Sunday morning was sent in error, Ontario Power Generation said. OPG sent out a tweet about 40 minutes after the emergency alert, which was pushed to cellphones at about 7:30 a.m., saying it was a mistake. The Pickering Nuclear Generating Station in Pickering, Ont. is shown Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn TORONTO - The unintended release of an Ontario-wide alert about an "incident" at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station on Sunday has sparked a provincial investigation into how such an error could happen and how such future mistakes can be avoided. The province's solicitor general said the error occurred during a routine training exercise being conducted by the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre (PEOC). The PEOC which is responsible for co-ordinating the provincial government's response to major emergencies conducts exercises testing the system twice daily, but there was no intention to notify the public, Solicitor General Sylvia Jones said in an interview. "At one of those tests this morning, instead of it going out on the test side, it went out live to the people of Ontario, and for that I sincerely apologize," she said. "It should not have happened, which is why I have asked the chief of Emergency Management Ontario, Doug Brown, to launch a full investigation." She said the investigation will examine the sequence of events that led to the alert being sent out and what contingency measures should be in place. Jones said she expects the results of the probe to be made public. "I want to delve deeper into the specifics of how it occurred, because it is very unusual," she said. The alert was pushed to cellphones, radios and TVs across the province at about 7:30 a.m., and Ontario Power Generation, which oversees the Pickering plant, sent out a tweet about 40 minutes after the emergency alert saying it was a mistake. A follow-up alert was sent to cellphones nearly two hours after the original notification, and about an hour after the OPG tweet. Jones said it took so long to send a second alert because the province felt it needed to "trust, but confirm" that there really was no impending disaster. An alert warning Ontario residents of an unspecified incident at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station early Sunday morning was sent in error, Ontario Power Generation said. OPG sent out a tweet about 40 minutes after the emergency alert, which was pushed to cellphones at about 7:30 a.m., saying it was a mistake. The Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, in Pickering, Ont., is seen Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn "There is NO active nuclear situation taking place at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station," the alert said. "The previous alert was issued in error. There is no danger to the public or environment. No further action is required." Jim Vlahos, a 44-year-old father of two in Toronto, awoke to the alert and quickly made a hotel reservation roughly 130 kilometres away in Niagara Falls. He said he figured he would go as far west as possible and then cross the border. "Having watched 'Chernobyl' didn't help," he said, referring to the HBO show about the 1986 nuclear disaster in the Soviet Union. "The lack of communication following the alert didn't help either," he said. "I have no problem leaving my phone on for these types of alerts," Vlahos said. "But I would expect some more info from the government so I wouldn't have to overreact the way I did." Samantha White, 27, who grew up in Pickering but now lives in Toronto, said she has family who still live near the nuclear plant and she immediately worried for their safety when the alert woke her. "Growing up in Pickering they prepare you for these events," White said. "In addition to fire drills, you have nuclear safety drills where they take you in the gym, they give you fake iodine pills. So this is real, you know?" OPG spokesman Neal Kelly said the public was never at risk and there was no radiological event at the nuclear plant, but he declined to comment on who authorized the alert. "What I can tell you is that we're working with the province to investigate," he said. The original alert warned people within 10 kilometres of the facility east of Toronto of an unspecified incident, but it went to residents all across Ontario. A similar error occurred in Hawaii two years ago when Hawaiian officials mistakenly sent out an alert warning the public about a nonexistent incoming ballistic missile at about 8 a.m. on Jan. 13, 2018 a Saturday. The debacle triggered panic until the agency sent another message 38 minutes later notifying people it was a false alarm. State officials said the mistake occurred during a drill. Terry Flynn, who teaches crisis communications at McMaster University, said there's a danger that this type of error will erode public trust. "When we have continuous problems in these systems, then we have a lack of trust and people begin to ignore them. So that's the biggest fallout from this scenario." Ted Gruetzner, a former vice-president of communications at OPG who now works at the private-sector firm Global Public Affairs, said messages should be written in a way that clearly states it's a test. "I'm really surprised that wasn't on there," Gruetzner said. In this case, the message was identified as an emergency alert from the Province of Ontario but read "there has been NO abnormal release of radioactivity from the station ... People near the Pickering Nuclear Generation Station DO NOT need to take any protective actions at this time." Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The province's auditor general highlighted issues with Ontario's emergency management in her 2017 annual report. Bonnie Lysyk found that provincial emergency management programs needed better oversight and co-ordination. Ontario doesn't have a co-ordinated IT system for emergency management, the auditor wrote. The province tried to implement one in 2009, but discontinued the project six years later, "having spent about $7.5 million without it ever going live." The Pickering nuclear plant has been operating since 1971, and had been scheduled to be decommissioned this year, but the former Liberal government and the current Progressive Conservative government committed to keeping it open until 2024. Decommissioning is now set to start in 2028. It operates six CANDU reactors, generates 14 per cent of Ontario's electricity and is responsible for 4,500 jobs across the region, according to OPG. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 12, 2020. With files from Nicole Thompson and The Associated Press STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Police are still investigating the circumstances under which a 21-year-old male was shot Saturday evening. The victim was brought to Richmond University Medical Center, where he underwent surgery, a police spokesman said. Police said the victim was shot in the back, and is likely to live. The spokesman did not immediately have information on the location of the shooting, as of Sunday afternoon. Although, according to emergency transmissions Saturday, a possible location in Mariners Harbor was identified. This is a breaking news story, check back later for more updates. The mother of Britains most prolific rapist has said he is still my baby and she struggles to believe he was capable of his crimes. Reynhard Sinaga, 36, was convicted of 159 sexual offences against 48 men who were lured back to his flat in Manchester before being drugged and attacked. His victims ranged in age from 18 to 35, and the majority were heterosexual. One was raped eight times in eight hours as he lay unconscious. Police believe the postgraduate student may have abused at least 195 males after discovering videos he filmed of himself carrying out the assaults, and more potential victims have come forward since he was jailed last week. He was caught in June 2017 when his final victim, an 18-year-old man, woke up during his ordeal and managed to take Sinagas mobile phone during the struggle. Reynhard Sinaga: Most prolific rapist in UK history jailed Show all 11 1 /11 Reynhard Sinaga: Most prolific rapist in UK history jailed Reynhard Sinaga: Most prolific rapist in UK history jailed Reynhard Sinaga was jailed at Manchester Crown Court for life and must serve a minimum of 30 years after he was convicted of offences against 48 men Greater Manchester Police/PA Reynhard Sinaga: Most prolific rapist in UK history jailed The bedroom floor, where dozens of rapes took place, in the the home of Reynhard Sinaga Sinaga, who was convicted on 159 sexual offences including 136 counts of rape in Manchester between January 2015 and May 2017, drugged 48 men and filmed himself sexually violating them while they were unconscious in his city centre apartmen Greater Manchester Police/PA Reynhard Sinaga: Most prolific rapist in UK history jailed A general view of the night club Fifth in Manchester where Reynhard Sinaga watched and picked up men that he later raped Greater Manchester Police/PA Reynhard Sinaga: Most prolific rapist in UK history jailed CCTV grab of Reynhard Sinaga on Princess Street The Indonesian student posed as a good samaritan, offering the men a place to sleep or more drink, the court heard Greater Manchester Police/PA Reynhard Sinaga: Most prolific rapist in UK history jailed Reynhard Sinaga, middle, appearing in the dock at Manchester Crown Court on the day he was charged Julia Quenzler /SWNS.COM Reynhard Sinaga: Most prolific rapist in UK history jailed A general view of the apartment Montana House next to the night club The Factory Greater Manchester Police/PA Reynhard Sinaga: Most prolific rapist in UK history jailed The living room at the home of Reynhard Sinaga His victims who were mostly heterosexual had little or no memory of the assaults, which Sinaga filmed on his mobile phone. The men left the flat unaware they had been violated. Greater Manchester Police/PA Reynhard Sinaga: Most prolific rapist in UK history jailed The iPhone 4 taken by a victim and used to convict Reynhard Sinaga Sinaga was caught after one of the men regained consciousness and fought him off, before taking his phone to the police Greater Manchester Police/PA Reynhard Sinaga: Most prolific rapist in UK history jailed Bottles of alcohol which were used to spike victims in the home of Reynhard Sinaga Sinaga is thought to have laced alcoholic drinks with a drug such as GHB, known as liquid ecstasy, to incapacitate his victims Greater Manchester Police/PA Reynhard Sinaga: Most prolific rapist in UK history jailed Greater Manchester Police has urged anyone who believes Sinaga may have approached them on a night out to come forward. Officers say he may have been committing crimes for 10 years Greater Manchester Police/PA Reynhard Sinaga: Most prolific rapist in UK history jailed Mobile phones found in the home of Reynhard Sinaga When Greater Manchester Police examined the attackers multiple digital devices, they found 3.29 terabytes of graphic material the equivalent of 250 DVDs depicting sexual assaults. Jurors who had to watch some of the mobile phone footage were later offered counselling Greater Manchester Police/PA Sinagas mother, Normawati Sinaga, has claimed she did not know her son was gay and believed his victim had made up the story. Describing how she flew to the UK to visit him in hospital following his arrest, she told The Sunday Times: Imagine a small Indonesian man being beaten up by a big, tall westerner. I wondered if the other person had made up the story. Ms Sinaga described her son as a quiet boy who went to church in Indonesia every Sunday, where he would play the piano. She added: We are a good Christian family who do not believe in homosexuality. He is my baby. The mother said she begged the perpetual student to return to his home country but he told her he wanted to follow his ambition of becoming a lecturer. He said Indonesia was not a good place to live for him and he felt comfortable living in Manchester, she said. Although Sinaga did not explain why, it may have been because of the way homosexuality is viewed in Indonesia, where the northern province of Aceh approved a law in 2014 that can punish anyone caught having gay sex with 100 lashes. The serial rapists father told the BBC his punishment fits his crimes after he was jailed for life on Monday. Because of the high number of offences, Sinagas crimes had to be divided into four separate trials. The bedroom floor, where dozens of rapes took place, in Sinagas city centre apartment (Greater Manchester Police/PA) He was publicly identified on Monday after the conclusion of his fourth trial saw reporting restrictions lifted. Manchester Crown Court heard how Sinaga went out in the early hours of the morning, prowling the streets looking for drunk young men who were alone around nightclubs near his flat. The slight-built Indonesian student posed as a good Samaritan, offering the men a place to sleep or more drink, the court heard. He is thought to have laced alcoholic drinks with a drug such as GHB, known as liquid ecstasy, to incapacitate his victims. In court, he claimed the men consented to playing a sex game in which they pretended to be dead. But the defence was labelled preposterous by prosecutor Iain Simkin as footage, recorded by Sinaga on two iPhones, showed some victims snoring. Ian Rushton, northwest deputy chief crown prosecutor, said Sinaga was the most prolific rapist in British legal history and possibly in the world, and would no doubt still be adding to his staggering tally had he not been caught. Detectives say Sinaga may have committed crimes for 10 years and have urged anyone who believes they may have been approached by him on a night out to come forward. Additional reporting by Press Association Launching a blistering attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, BJP chief Amit Shah on Sunday said that those who had raised "anti-national" slogans on the JNU campus deserved to be put behind bars. Questionning whether Gandhi and Kejriwal are "cousin brothers" of "tukde tukde sloganeers", Shah told a public meeting that whosoever speaks against the country will be jailed. "In JNU, some boys had raised anti-national slogans. They indulged in slogans like' Bharat tera tukde ho ek hazar, inshallaha, inshallaha'....Should they not be put in jails?" the BJP chief asked a public meeting in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur on Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which has stirred the in the country. With people at the meeting raising slogans like "Desh ke gaddaronke, jute maro salonko" (traitors should be slapped with footwear), Shah asked, "Speak loudly. Should they not be put in jails?" "...Rahul Baba and Kejriwal are saying save them, save them (the anti-national sloganeers). Are they your cousin brothers?" he questionned amid cheers from the crowd. Shah, however, didn't mention the exact timeline of the alleged sloganeering at the JNU in his speech. A case had been registered by Delhi police against then JNU Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar and several others, for being involved in an event at the university on February 9, 2016, in which anti-India slogans were allegedly raised. Shah singled out Kejriwal, who heads the AAP government in poll-bound Delhi, during his speech. "Listen Kejriwalji. Whosoever speaks against the country will find a place behind bars and nowhere else," Shah said. Kejriwal had on Thursday blamed the Centre for the January 5 violence at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) as he defended the Delhi Police which has faced widespread criticism for failing to take action. The ruling BJP at the Centre and Opposition parties, mainly Congress and the Left, have been locked in a fierce war of wards over the January 5 violence on the JNU campus, wherein masked men and women had attacked students with rods and sticks. Leftist organisations had claimed RSS-affiliated ABVP's role in the attack, a charge denied by the students' body. Meanwhile, Shah blasted Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath for opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which was notified by the Centre on Friday. The Centre had issued a gazette notification announcing that the CAA under which non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be given Indian citizenship, will come into force from January 10. The CAA was passed by Parliament on December 11. Nath had led a peace march against the new law in Bhopal last year. "Kamal Nathji vociferously opposes the CAA. However, instead of opposing it, he (Nath) should focus on utilising his energy in improving Madhya Pradesh," Shah told the gathering. He said the ruling Congress had failed to keep its pre-poll promise to waive farm loan up to Rs 2 lakh. "Farmers in Madhya Pradesh have not yet received even the procurement amount for wheat and paddy. They have not received the Rs 6000 benefit under an Union government scheme," he said. Shah said liquor outlets are mushrooming in Madhya Pradesh. "The Congress had promised doles (in its manifesto for the assembly polls) to the unemployed youth (last year), but has not implemented the promise," Shah said. The Congress came to power in December last year by defeating the BJP by a narrow margin which was in power for the last 15 years till it lost elections. Meanwhile, five Sindhi refugees from Jabalpur met the Union Home Minister on Sunday, BJP MLA (Jabalpur-Cantonment) Ashok Rohani told PTI. He said, the five persons had migrated to Jabalpur from Pakistan in the past and are awaiting Indian citizenship. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The police in Imo State have arrested a 47-year-old man, Sunday Agwim, for allegedly killing his mother, Christiana Agwim. The incident happened at Umuobom in Ideato South Local Government Area of the state. The suspect allegedly used a machete to severe the 62-year-old mothers head before smashing the skull with a hammer. Jude Mbionwu, a security coordinator at Umuobom, disclosed that the suspect completely broke the victims skull into pieces with a hammer. When we got to the suspects house we saw him with a hammer and machete which he used first to cut off the head of the victim and then used the hammer to break the skull into pieces beyond recognition, he said. It was gathered that the corpse of the deceased could not be taken to mortuary because of the degree of damage done to the head as coroners were called from the University Teaching Hospital Nnewi to conduct the autopsy to enable the family to bury the deceased immediately. A police source said that the suspect in his confessional statement stated that he never knew what came upon him to commit such a crime. It is the devil because I did not know what came upon to kill my mother, he reportedly told investigators. Police Spokesman in the state, Orlando Ikeokwu, confirmed the incident. He said the suspect will soon be charged to court at the end of investigations. Iran did not shoot down a Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed near Tehran, the country's ambassador to the UK has told Sky News. Hamid Baeidinejad also questioned the "validity" of footage appearing to show a missile hitting the Boeing jet . Asked about video of bulldozers said to show the crash site being cleared - obtained by US TV - he said such claims were "absolutely absurd". He said: "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." Officials in the UK, US, Canada and Australia have said a missile strike is the most likely explanation for Wednesday's disaster, which killed 176 people, and that it may have been unintentional. But Mr Baeidinejad said Iran was "confident from our side that there has been no missile launched in that area at that time". :: Listen to the Daily podcast on Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , Spotify , Spreaker In addition to existing intelligence, the video appears to show the moment the aircraft was hit by a missile - thought to be a Russian-made TOR anti-aircraft device. But Mr Baeidinejad warned against reaching snap conclusions. "We should be very careful about not judging on such videos when we don't know about their validity," he said. The plane came down hours after Iran launched a series of ballistic missiles at two US bases in Iraq to avenge the killing of top general Qassem Soleimani . The country has challenged Western leaders to prove a missile was to blame. "What is obvious for us, and what we can say with certainty, is that no missile hit the plane," said the head of Iran's civil aviation organisation, Ali Abedzadeh. "If they are really sure, they should come and show their findings to the world." Tehran has described claims that one of its missiles hit the jet as "psychological warfare". Story continues US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Friday that the US is imposing new sanctions on Iran due to the attack on US troops in Iraq. "This was going to happen and American lives were at risk", he said. The new sanctions will target eight senior Iranian officials as well as companies in the steel and other sectors. Analysis of the flight recorders - due to begin on Friday - could take more than a month, according to the head of the Iranian investigation team, Hassan Rezaeifar. Help from international experts may be requested if extracting the information proves difficult, he added. "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," Mr Abedzadeh said. The French air accident investigation authority said Iran had invited it to join the investigation. Ukraine's foreign minister said he and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had met US embassy officials on Friday and obtained "important data" about the crash. Kiev said its investigators wanted to search the crash site. The entire investigation could stretch into next year. Everyone on board was killed when the Ukraine International Airlines jet crashed minutes after taking off from the Iranian capital, Tehran. Among the dead were 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians and four Britons. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a news conference : "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." Similar statements were made by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and US President Donald Trump. The UK's foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, has called for a "full and transparent investigation". The Foreign Office updated its travel advice, warning Britons against all travel to Iran as well as travel to, from and within the country. The warning added: "Tension between Iran and other countries could escalate rapidly" and "anger inside Iran is high" following the killing of Maj Gen Soleimani. "There is a possibility of an increased threat against Western interests and the security situation could worsen with little warning." In new footage, a ball of fire can be seen coming from left to right - said to be the missile - and the plane is seen more clearly coming from the opposite direction. A few seconds later an explosion can be heard. Sky News defence and security correspondent Alistair Bunkall said the video appeared to be authentic after it was verified by the New York Times and analysed by investigative journalism website Bellingcat. He said Western intelligence agencies were "pretty convinced that this aircraft was shot down". "What they don't know is whether it was deliberate or not," he continued. "The working assumption at the moment is that it was an accident and the reason for that is that, of the 176 on board, 82 are Iranians. "So there's no obvious reason this would be done deliberately... so the feeling was this probably was a tragic accident." The video is the latest apparently showing the incident. In another, the Boeing 737 is seen exploding into flames as it tumbles from the sky and crashes into a distant field. In a third, the plane can be seen on fire for several seconds before exploding mid-air and finally bursting into flames as it comes down. CCTV footage on a dark lane near the crash site is also believed to have captured the passenger plane hitting the ground. The screen turns white as it crashes before the surrounding area is engulfed in flames - smoke and debris flying in all directions. A few days ago the country was united in grief and anger against Donald Trump as crowds mourned the dead General Qassem Soleimani. Now Iranians have taken to the streets to protest against their own regime, and shouts of Death to America have been replaced by Death to the Dictator by which they mean Irans own Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. It is an extraordinary turn of events. The regimes callous incompetence as well as its willingness to lie about events which led to the deaths of 176 innocent people when Iranian forces shot down a Ukrainian jet shortly after takeoff from Tehran have led to outrage across the country. Having claimed that the three-year-old airliner crashed because of mechanical failure or pilot error, top officials had to admit that it had been shot down by a Revolutionary Guard surface-to-air missile. Speaking in the Iranian parliament, the head of the Revolutionary Guard said I wish I was dead. Following the death General Qassem Soleimani, Iranians have taken to the streets to protest against their own regime (pictured on January 12) But the admission came three days too late following official denials and an attempted cover-up. Even as Tehran was using bulldozers at the crash site, Ukrainian investigators found the nose of the missile, the roof of the cockpit with a hole through it, as well as tiny shrapnel punctures in the passport of a Canadian victim. Social media did the rest, first revealing the truth then, increasingly, anger. Not even the Great Firewall of Persia, as Irans electronic censorship is called, could block every website or revelatory post. The anger is not just focused on whichever uniformed incompetent fired the missile at what he imagined was a US cruise missile, but also at the Revolutionary Guard, and at President Rouhani and Supreme Leader Khamenei who say they did not know what was happening. Hardly impressive, given that Khamenei is Irans commander-in-chief. The local residents replaced shouts (pictured on January 11) of Death to America with Death to the Dictator - Irans own Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, in the latest anti-government protest outside Amirkabir University in Tehran The reason for the regimes newfound contrition is not difficult to find. There has long been simmering anger against it, with protests across small-town Iran for the past year about food and fuel price rises. Rulers have not been able to deliver the supposed benefits of the 2015 international deal now abandoned by President Trump in which Barack Obama agreed to lift economic sanctions in return for Iran agreeing to limit its nuclear activities. The food and fuel protests could be repressed about 1,500 people have been shot dead in 2019-20 alone, with their bodies secretly carted off so as to avoid the funerals becoming pretexts for more demonstrations. Outrage has broken out across the country after its callous incompetence and willingness to lie about events led to the deaths of 176 innocent people. Pictured are people standing near the wreckage after a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 passengers crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran, sparking fresh alarm in the Middle East But the new protests will be more difficult to control. The lies about the air disaster have comprehensively undermined what is left of the clerics moral authority, and this just before elections next month. The regime is always keen to advertise electoral turnout. But this time many may refuse to vote for people who have forfeited any claim to trust. Trying to lie your way out of a disaster is never a very good strategy for any government. The meltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in 1986 saw the Soviets trying to suppress any evidence that this catastrophe was due to a fundamental design flaw. This official deceit contributed to the implosion of the Soviet Union four years later. People share tributes to family and friends who died during when the Unit 4 reactor at the Chernobyl power station blew apart in 1986. The Soviets tried to suppress any evidence that the catastrophe was a design flaw and this deceit contributed to the implosion of the Soviet Union four years later The downing of the Ukrainian airliner and subsequent cover-up may not have such dramatic repercussions. But there is no doubt they present a stern challenge. Each time one of the victims of Flight 752 is buried will present an opportunity for mass protest. Even conservatives in Iran are furious, with one woman MP vowing to write thousands of anti-war slogans on every coffin. Khamenei will want to ensure the protests do not create a tipping point for the regime itself. Whether the elderly Supreme Leader can manage it is another matter. Michael Burleigh is Engelsberg Chair of History and Global Affairs at LSE Ideas. Michael Hutchence's half-sister Tina has given up trying to contact her estranged niece, Tiger Lily, more than two decades after the death of the INXS rocker. Speaking to New Idea magazine, the 71-year-old said she has finally come to terms with her family's rift and the fact she may never meet Tiger Lily, 23, again. 'I don't have a relationship with her. It's sad for her, but it's her life,' Tina said, adding that her previous attempts to contact Tiger Lily had failed. 'It's sad for her, but it's her life': Michael Hutchence's half-sister Tina (pictured) has given up trying to contact her estranged niece, Tiger Lily, more than two decades after the death of the INXS rocker Tina, who last saw her niece at the age of four, added: '[Tiger Lily] doesn't know me, and I don't know what she's been told. But she's old enough to know if she wants to know me or not.' Tina's half-brother Michael was found dead in a hotel room at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Sydney's Double Bay in 1997 at the age of 37. NSW State Coroner Derrick Hand, who presided over the inquest into his death, confirmed the musician had died from suffocation caused by hanging. Humble life: These days, Tiger Lily (pictured front) shuns the spotlight and has chosen to live a quiet life in Perth, Western Australia Estranged: 'I don't have a relationship with her. It's sad for her, but it's her life,' Tina told New Idea magazine, adding that her previous attempts to contact Tiger Lily had failed Tiger Lily's mother, British TV presenter Paula Yates, was found dead at her home in West London less than three years later. Tina's family endured further hardship when they lost custody of Tiger to Paula's ex-husband, Bob Geldof, who raised the child as his own. These days, Tiger Lily shuns the spotlight and has chosen to live a quiet life in Perth, Western Australia. Tragic: Tina's half-brother Michael (left) was found dead in a hotel room at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Sydney's Double Bay in 1997 at the age of 37. Less than three years later, Tiger Lily's mother, Paula Yates (right), was found dead at her home in West London 'She likes the simple things,' a friend said last month. 'She is incredibly popular and despite everything is incredibly well-adjusted and really happy.' Meanwhile, it was recently reported that Tiger Lily had received just 500 (AU$950) from Michael's reported 16million (AU$30.2million) estate following his death. Tiger Lily supposedly told documentary filmmaker Richard Lowenstein last year that she felt 'ignored' by her late father's estate. 2020 ELECTIONS / KMT's Han Kuo-yu stresses unity in concession speech ROC Central News Agency 01/12/2020 12:24 AM Taipei, Jan. 11 (CNA) Han Kuo-yu (), the presidential candidate of the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT), called for unity and stressed the value of Taiwan's democratic system after conceding defeat Saturday night. Han, who was projected by polls to lose by a wide margin, garnered 5.52 million votes, or 38.61 percent of the total, far behind the 8.17 million votes (57.13 percent) cast for incumbent President Tsai-Ing wen () of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The third candidate, James Soong () of the People First Party (PFP), garnered 608,590 votes, or 4.26 percent, according to the Central Election Commission. Speaking at KMT headquarters in Kaohsiung after his defeat, Han emphasized the value of Taiwan's democratic election system. "Taiwan's democracy, freedom and rule of law are the most valuable treasures we have. Since the people of the Republic of China have made their decision, as candidates, we will definitely obey the results of the election," Han said. Han encouraged his supporters to continue to work hard at their respective posts, saying "No matter what, when we wake up tomorrow, we still want to see a united Taiwan." He also urged Tsai to work hard over the next four years so that the Taiwanese people can live and work in peace and contentment. As for his future, Han said he will return to work at Kaohsiung City Hall on Monday to fulfill his duties as mayor. Han, 62, began his political career as a legislator from 1993 to 2002. After several minor political appointments and a failed bid for KMT chairmanship, he rose to fame when he ran in the mayoral election in Kaohsiung in late 2018. Though initially seen as an underdog, Han successfully mobilized supporters with his "man of the people" image and with the populist slogan: "Make Money, Get Rich," setting in motion what has been dubbed a "Han wave" across the country. He eventually won his mayoral race by a surprising 9-point margin, ending the DPP's 20-year-long rule in the biggest city in southern Taiwan. During his presidential run, Han employed the same populist playbook, with his campaign portraying him as speaking for the "common men and women" of Taiwan who want nothing more than for "Taiwan to be safe" and for "people to get rich." His campaign was hurt, however, by his involvement in buying luxury properties, which tarnished his everyman image, rumors of extramarital affairs, and his party's pro-China image. Han was also criticized for expressing interest in running for the presidency mere months after assuming his duties as Kaohsiung mayor, and his decision to take a three-month leave from office to focus on campaigning. Kaohsiung residents dissatisfied with Han's performance as mayor have already initiated a petition to recall him, which could lead to a recall vote later this year. Meanwhile, James Soong of the PFP said in his concession speech Saturday that while he lost the election, he has successfully conveyed to the country his core messages that Taiwan should handle the cross-Taiwan Strait relations very carefully and heal the divisiveness among its citizens. (By Chiang Yi-ching) Enditem/ls NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Sorry! This content is not available in your region New Delhi, Jan 12 : Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Sunday took a jibe at new army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane's statement about the Pakistan occupied Kashmir. The Congress leader advised him to "talk less and work more". "@ New Army Chief, Parliament already had adopted unanimous resolution on #POK in 1994, Govt is at liberty to take action and may give direction. If you are so inclined to take action on POK, I would suggest you to confabulate with CDS, andA@PMOIndia. Talk Less, Work More," Chowdhury tweeted. General Naravane in his recent interview had indicated that the Indian Army is ready to integrate Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) with India, if Parliament orders so. Chowdhury had sparked a controversy when he told Parliament that it could not abrogate Article 370 related to erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir because the matter was pending in the United Nations. Now this tweet of his seems to be giving an opportunity to the Bharatiya Janata Party to question Congress' stand over PoK. Millions of Spaniards, people of different ideologies, took part on Sunday in demonstrations to defend unity, norms and laws of a democratic state, DW reported. Processions and rallies organized by a civil platform were held in almost all cities of the kingdom. The reason for the manifestation was the concern of the population in connection with the plans of the newly formed coalition government. It will include representatives of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party, a communist and ultra-left populists from the Podemos party. The largest rally has been held in Madrid. genOway and Merck Strengthen CRISPR/Cas9 Strategic Alliance by Extending Their Partnership to All Animal Cell Models LYON, France, Jan. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- genOway, a public company and leader in developing genetically modified research models, today announced an important milestone in extending its strategic alliance with Merck, a leading science and technology company and leader in genome editing. In December 2018, genOway acquired from Merck exclusive worldwide rights on its foundational CRISPR/Cas9 portfolio in the rodent field (all applications involving rodent cells or animals). Today, the two companies have further strengthened their collaboration by entering into an additional license providing genOway with non-exclusive rights to commercialize the development and use of all other animal cell models for its customers' internal research uses as well as commercial exploitation. "We are delighted to extend our relationship with Merck. The Merck IP is growing and broadening. Merck is now recognized as a leading provider of foundational CRISPR IP. This additional license will enable genOway to serve our customers better, by offering them broad and versatile solutions and the necessary intellectual property rights to help accelerate their research," says Alexandre Fraichard, founder and Chief Operating Officer of genOway. Both Merck and genOway have identified research fields where they can combine their respective technologies and expertise to develop and validate new CRISPR/Cas9-related products and solutions. Merck's patented CRISPR integration technology is a strong entry point through which innovation can be developed and launched. About genOway genOway (Euronext Growth: ALGEN; ISIN: FR0004053510) is a biotechnology society that operates in 28 countries in Europe, Asia and North America, and more than 260 research institutes and 80 biopharmaceutical companies. genOway's development is based on a broad and exclusive technology platform, as well as on strong intellectual property rights, combining patents and licensing agreements. The company has signed many commercial contracts with the leaders of the pharmaceutical industry (BMS, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer, etc.), and with the most prestigious academic research centers, including the King's College and the University of Manchester in England; Harvard, Caltech and the National Institutes of Health in the United States; the Pasteur Institute in France; the German National Genome Research Network and the Max Planck Institute in Germany. (Disclaimer--Features may vary depending on the regions; subject to change without notice.) www.genOway.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1057708/genOway_Logo.jpg Contact: Sandrine Carteau licensing@genoway.com +33-43-76-54-100 A man uses his mobile phone in front of a screen showing China's 5G industry outside a telecom office in Beijing on Sept. 25, 2019. (WANG ZHAO/AFP via Getty Images) New Cybersecurity Rules Give Regime Control of Data Outside China WASHINGTONThe U.S. government is very concerned about Chinas new cybersecurity measures that put American companies at risk of losing sensitive data. Beijing enacted in October 2019 a cryptography law that came into effect on Jan. 1. The new legislation, combined with comprehensive cybersecurity measures China has been passing in the past several years, creates a suite of challenges for foreign companies operating in the country. Were very concerned about laws like were seeinglike that one in China, Robert Strayer, the deputy assistant secretary of state for cyber and international communications and information policy, said Jan 10 at a press briefing. The companies will be required to turn over encryption keys, which are crucial to protect the confidentiality of information transmitted and stored on networks, making networks transparent to the Chinese communist regime. The new rules should alarm telecom operators around the world, Strayer said, as the measures would allow Beijing to have access to the data thats residing on the networks that would be then in a third country, say in Europe or somewhere else. Chinese officials, once they gain access to the network of a foreign company in China, will be able to penetrate the networks of that company outside the country as well. That kind of extraterritorial ability for the Chinese government to reach out is certainly in the realm of the possible, Strayer said. He warned that companies wouldnt have the ability to oppose the Chinese regimes demand by going to an independent judiciary or appealing to rule-of-law institutions to stop that kind of extraterritorial reach. Chinas new cybersecurity rules are expected to have significant repercussions for foreign companies operating in China. The regime has been implementing policies to govern data, including data localization, which forces both foreign and Chinese entities to store their data locally. The new cryptography law is the latest effort to access companies sensitive data and communication. Robert Strayer, the deputy assistant secretary of state for cyber and international communications and information policy, holds a press briefing at the Foreign Press Center in Washington on Jan. 10, 2020. (Emel Akan/Epoch Times) Since foreign companies will no longer be permitted to encrypt data end-to-end, they will almost certainly be considered as violating U.S. rules for tech stored on a network in China, author and China expert Gordon Chang said in a report. Some lawmakers have raised concerns about Chinas new cybersecurity rules, even calling on U.S. businesses to stop working with China. Chinas 5G Threat Cybersecurity and cyber policy issues have become one of the top foreign policy priorities of the U.S. State Department in recent years, Strayer said. There are four countries that we see as strategic competitors or adversaries in cyberspace, and those are China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran, he added. Strayer said one of the objectives of the U.S. State Department is to work closely with other countries, particularly in Europe, in building their security measures for fifth-generation wireless technology (5G) networks. Washington has been trying to persuade its allies in Europe to ban the use of Huawei Technologies equipment in telecoms infrastructure, calling the Chinese vendor a threat to national security. So, at the end of the day, we know that each country will make its own decisions about the security measures that it wants to have in place for the deployment of 5G technology, Strayer said. The British government is expected to make a final decision on Huaweis involvement in the UKs 5G infrastructure later this month. The State Department has been pressing UK officials by saying that intelligence sharing could be affected if Huawei equipment is used in the UK. As we talk to other countries, were cognizant of the very robust information-sharing relationships that we have with many of them, Strayer said. We dont want to see that degraded by untrusted telecom vendors. U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on Jan. 8 introduced a bill that would prevent the United States from sharing intelligence with countries that allow Huawei to operate their 5G networks. The United States shouldnt be sharing valuable intelligence information with countries that allow an intelligence-gathering arm of the Chinese Communist Party to operate freely within their borders, Cotton said in a press release. I urge our allies around the world to carefully consider the consequences of dealing with Huawei to their national interests. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Reuters) Los Angeles, United States Sun, January 12, 2020 19:03 729 48be62e941b44f04afae568c321d9d83 2 Art & Culture Shakespeare,auction,Literature,Britain,new-york,First-Folio,William-Shakespeare,Book Free A rare 1623 book that brought together William Shakespeare's works for the first time will go up for auction in April, Christie's auction house announced on Friday. The book, called Comedies, Histories and Tragedies, is expected to sell for between $4 million and $6 million, the auctioneer said. Widely known as the First Folio, it is one of only six known complete copies in private hands. The First Folio contains Shakespeare's 36 plays, including several that had never been published before and might have been lost without it, such as Macbeth, The Tempest, and As You Like It. It was compiled by friends of the writer after his death. Read also: Chalamet goes unto the breach with Henry V role The copy coming up for sale will be displayed on tour, starting next week in London, before heading to New York, Hong Kong and Beijing. It will be returned to New York for auction on April 24. The book is being sold by Mills College, a private liberal arts college in Oakland, California. The record auction price of a First Folio is nearly $6.2 million, paid in 2001, Christie's said. British Ambassador to Iran Rob Macaire was temporarily arrested on Saturday evening amid the ongoing anti-regime protests in Tehran in the wake of the Iranian Guards' 'unintentional' downing of a Ukrainian plane last week that killed 176 people on board, the country's Tasnim news agency reported. The agency said that Macaire was attempting "to organise, instigate and direct some radical and destructive action." Reports on social media also indicated that the envoy may have been taking photographs of the protest, Times of Israel reported. The state media further said that Macair was released after several hours but could be summoned later for further questioning. Meanwhile, the British government reacted over the development with outrage. "The arrest of our ambassador in Tehran without grounds or explanation is a flagrant violation of international law," said Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. Raab added that the Iranian government was "at a crossroads moment. It can continue its march towards pariah status with all the political and economic isolation that entails, or take steps to deescalate tensions and engage in a diplomatic path forward." Thousands of people gathered in the Iranian capital on Saturday to stage protest after the regime admitted to having accidentally shot down a Boeing plane on early Wednesday, hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on two military bases housing US troops in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in an American airstrike in Baghdad. Dozens of those who died in the plane crash were young Iranian students travelling to their studies in Canada. Police dispersed the protesters with tear gas, according to reports and videos on social media. There were also reports of numerous arrests. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A man holds a picture of late Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, as people celebrate in the street after Iran launched missiles at U.S.-led forces in Iraq, in Tehran, Iran on Jan. 8, 2020. (Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters) Iranian Guards Gen. Salami Says Missile Strike Did Not Aim to Kill US Troops Irans Revolutionary Guards said Sunday that the missile strikes on Iraqi bases holding U.S. troops were not intended to kill last week. Our aim was not really to kill enemy soldiers. That was not important, the Guards commander, Gen. Hossein Salami, told parliament, according to the AFP news agency. It comes days after another top Iranian Guards official, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, said that while the missile strike was part of a major operation against the United States, We did not aim to kill (anybody) We intended to hit the enemys military machine. The Iranian regime fired more than a dozen missiles at the bases, according to the Pentagon on Tuesday night. President Donald Trump and Iraqi officials confirmed that nobody was injured or died in the incident. Hajizadeh, however, claimed that tens of people were killed or injured in the missile strike. Salamis comments came after protesters massed in Tehran to protest Irans downing of a Ukrainian Airlines passenger plane, killing 176 people. Top Iranian officials over the weekend confirmed that Tehran was responsible for firing a missile at the plane after it launched the missiles into Iraq on Tuesday, which came after officials offered two days worth of denials after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was highly likely that Iran shot the aircraft down. Iranians students demonstrate following a tribute for the victims of Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 in front of the Amirkabir University in the capital Tehran, on Jan. 11, 2020. (ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images) Tehran residents told Reuters that police were out in force in the capital on Sunday. Riot police fired teargas on Saturday at thousands of protesters in the capital, where many chanted Death to the dictator, directing their anger at the Islamic regimes Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Apologise and resign, Irans moderate Etemad daily wrote in a banner headline on Sunday, saying the peoples demand was for those responsible for mishandling the plane crisis to quit. Trump wrote on Twitter Sunday: To the leaders of Iran DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. Thousands have already been killed or imprisoned by you, and the World is watching. Iranians students chant slogans as they demonstrate following a tribute for the victims of Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 in front of the Amirkabir University in the capital Tehran, on Jan. 11, 2020. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images) A U.S. drone strike in Iraq earlier this month killed top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, responsible for building up Irans network of regional proxy armies in Iraq and beyond. Tehran responded with the missile strikes. Reuters contributed to this report. Alwane Bahrain Society, a non-profit association, is planning to hold the SMEs Finance Management Forum focusing on finance management solutiosns for the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The Active Leaders for Women Advancement in the Near East (Alwane) is a Bahraini forum of leaders committed to the advancement of womens leadership by using innovative technologies and engaging young, new voices. The Alwane Society has been established by Women Campaign International (WCI). The event, to be held on February 2020, is designed to help SME representatives to gain insights on the importance of accounting solutions as they operate their businesses under the new VAT system. The forum provides a platform to learn new ways to enhance their operational efficiency amidst the current economic development, available financial sources, changing aspects of spending, and avoid bankruptcy. The forum will be moderated by the CEO of Athar and financial and account expert Ali Al Marzoog. Ammar Awachi, chairman of Alwane Bahrain, said: During the forum, the speaker will illustrate how adopting financial management solutions is a fundamental business strategy to achieve strong financial performance and robust business operations. The participants will have an opportunity to gain new perspectives on overcoming challenges such as predicting business cash flow, market trends, customer demands, that might push them to operate without financial planning. TradeArabia News Service View of Malvern Hill battlefield at the Richmond National Battlefield Park. NPS Photo News Release Date: December 20, 2019 Contact: NewsMedia@nps.gov www.nps.gov The National Park Service today announced a $439,725 grant from the American Battlefield Protection Program to help protect 50.09 acres of Cold Harbor Battlefield in Hanover County, Virginia, a significant Civil War battlefield in Virginia threatened with damage or destruction by suburban development. The grant will be used to acquire a portion of the battlefield and the property will be protected in perpetuity with a conservation easement held by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.Through public-private partnerships, local communities are able to permanently protect and preserve historic battlefield lands,Future generations will be able to visit and learn about the events that helped shape this country.The American Battlefield Protection Programs Battlefield Land Acquisition Grant program provides up to 50 percent in matching funds for state and local governments to acquire and preserve threatened Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Civil War Battlefield land through the purchase of land in fee simple and permanent, protective interests in land. Eligible battlefields are listed in the Civil War Sites Advisory Commissions 1993 Report on the Nations Civil War Battlefields and the 2007 Report to Congress on the Historic Preservation of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Sites in the United States.Virginia Department of Conservation and RecreationCold Harbor Battlefield, Hanover County Tract, 50.09 acresAmerican Battlefield Trust and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources$439,725.00The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought from May 31 to June 12, 1864, just outside of the Confederate capital of Richmond, Va. during the American Civil War. Cold Harbor was the final battle of Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grants Overland Campaign, which began in early May 1864 with the Battle of the Wilderness. The main part of the Battle of Cold Harbor was a frontal assault on Confederate lines that ended in nearly 7,000 Union casualties after less than an hour. It was one of the most brutal confrontations of the war.For more information about American Battlefield Protection Program, including these grants, please visit: https://www.nps.gov/orgs/2287/index.htm About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 419 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov , and on Facebook Twitter , and YouTube BEARDSTOWN A committee devoted to ensuring Beardstowns population is properly counted in the upcoming U.S. Census is starting by uniting various city entities in support of the effort. Census data will be sent to residences nationwide in mid-March ahead of Census Day on April 1. The census collects population data that will be used by government officials, business owners, teachers and others. Kim Hance, executive director of Beardstown Chamber of Commerce and head of the citys Correct Count Committee, said the committee includes representatives of the citys schools, health department, businesses, unions and others in a bid to have a broad reach within the city. The committee will send communications through CassComm billings and put news releases in the local newspapers and on Facebook, Hance said. The committee also is planning standalone events and participation in other events to inform the public about the census, Hance said. For example, the committee will have a table and compete Jan. 25 in the Tiger Closet Chili Cook-Off. Events also are being planned in which the committee will partner with churches, the health department or other groups to make people with iPads available to help residents fill out the census when the time comes, Hance said. Beardstown Health Department received a grant that it is using to help with the census process, she said. Census data collected this year will be used for 10 years and will impact how the state and federal governments determine funding for the area, Hance said. We have 10 years to live with this census, she said, adding that businesses look at census numbers to determine if a city is big enough to warrant setting up shop there. The census also determines representation for states in the U.S. House of Representatives. Getting a proper count is important to ensure the region has proportionate representation in the House, Hance said. Preliminary census projections suggest that Illinois will lose at least one congressional district, most likely downstate. Some of the difficulties in counting the population include outreach to communities whose members do not speak English as their primary language, Hance said. The Census Bureau in the past has sent less French-language material than the city needed and she is preparing to improve outreach to French- and Spanish-speaking residents, she said. Immigrants also have been uncomfortable filling out the form, Hance said, noting that residents do not need to be U.S. citizens to fill out the census, which is completely confidential. As a community we believe its really important to have a correct count, Hance said. Beijing said on Sunday that China will not change its position that Taiwan belongs to it and the world will only recognise that there is 'one China', international media reported. The statement came after President Tsai Ing-wen won another four-year term and said she would not submit to China's threats. Ing-wen won the re-elections by a landslide making Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the majority in Taiwan's parliament 'One China' While Beijing claims that the island nation is a part of China, Taiwan, formally known as the Republic of China, continues that it is an independent country. Responding to the result of her re-election, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement that no matter what changes are made to the internal situation in Taiwan, the basic fact that there is only one China and Taiwan belongs to China will not change. It also said, China will not change its stance sticking to the "one China" principle and opposing independence for Taiwan. The universal consensus of the international community adhering to the 'one China' principle will not change either. China hoped the world would understand and support the "just cause" of Chinese people to oppose secessionist activities and "realise national reunification". On the other hand, speaking after her re-elections, Ing-wen called for talks to resume with China but she said that Beijing should understand that Taiwan and its people would not submit to Chinas intimidation. Also, Taiwans mainland affairs council said that China should respect the election results and stop putting pressure on the island. It added that the countrys government will firmly defend its sovereignty, democracy and freedom. Read: Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen Acknowledges Election Victory Read: Taiwan: Early Counting Projects DPP In The Lead And Tsai Set To Retain Presidency Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen claimed victory and won a second term on Saturday, signalling strong voter support for her tough stance against China. Tsai defeated two challengers in Saturday's election - Han Kuo-yu of the rival Nationalist Party and James Soong of the smaller People First Party. Voters chose Tsais tough stance against China over Han's arguments for friendlier ties with Beijing, which considers self-governing Taiwan a renegade province to be brought under its control, by force if necessary. Read: Report: US, China Reach Agreement To Resume Economic Talks Read: China's Foreign Minister Heads To Zimbabwe On Africa Tour Iranian authorities briefly detained Britain's ambassador in Tehran on Saturday, according to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, after he was reportedly arrested during protests against the regime. The arrest of our ambassador in Tehran without grounds or explanation is a flagrant violation of law," Raab said in a statement after the detention of Rob Macaire. The minister warned Iran that it was "at a cross-roads moment", and had to choose between "its march towards pariah status" or "take steps to de-escalate tensions and engage in a diplomatic path forwards." Macaire was arrested for allegedly "inciting" protesters in Tehran angry at the military's accidental downing of a Ukranian passenger jet, killing 176 people, most of them Iranian citizens, according to the Daily Mail. He was released after around an hour, it added. President Hassan Rouhani said a military probe into the tragedy had found "missiles fired due to human error" brought down the Boeing 737, calling it an "unforgivable mistake". The admission was an "important first step", Prime Minister Boris Johnson said earlier Saturday. "We will do everything we can to support the families of the four British victims and ensure they get the answers and closure they deserve," he said in a statement issued by his Downing Street office. Johnson added that Britain would work closely with Canada, Ukraine and other partners to ensure "a comprehensive, transparent and independent investigation and the repatriation of those who died." "This tragic accident only reinforces the importance of de-escalating tensions in the region," he said."It is vital that all leaders now pursue a diplomatic way forward." US rebuffs Iraq's call to withdraw troops from Arab country Iran Press TV Saturday, 11 January 2020 8:47 AM The United States has rejected Iraq's call to pull American forces out of the Arab country, claiming that their presence was "appropriate." In a telephone conversation late Thursday, Iraqi caretaker Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi asked US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to "send delegates to put in place the tools to carry out the parliament's decision." Last week, Iraq's parliament approved a resolution that called for the expulsion of all foreign forces from Iraq. However, the State Department said in a statement on Friday that Washington would not hold discussions with Baghdad regarding US troop withdrawal. "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. "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," she added. Separately on Friday, Pompeo indicated that American troops would remain in Iraq. Speaking at the White House, 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 US. On January 5, the Iraqi parliament voted to obligate the Iraqi government "to work towards ending the presence of all foreign troops on Iraqi soil." The vote came two days after the US military - acting on US President Donald Trump's order launched a drone strike on top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani upon his arrival in the Iraqi capital at the invitation of the Baghdad government. The attack also claimed the lives of senior Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and a number of their companions. Iran subsequently conducted retaliatory missile strikes on two American bases in Iraq. In his phone call with Pompeo, the Iraqi premier 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 US, backed by the UK, invaded Iraq in 2003 under the pretext that the former regime of Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. No such weapons, however, were ever found in the country. The invasion plunged Iraq into chaos and led to the rise of terrorist groups across the region. The US and a coalition of its allies further launched a military campaign against purported Daesh targets in Iraq in 2014, but their operations in many instances have led to civilian deaths. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said it was a proud moment for the city that Nobel Laureate Abhijit Banerjee acknowledged the performance of Delhi government schools. Banerjee on Saturday lauded the schools for outperforming their private peers and said education outcomes in state-run schools can be better than the private ones. The economist said state agencies have been generous with resource allocation for education, which is visible in aspects like teacher salaries and the system, and the focus needs to shift to making them perform better. Kejriwal called Banerjees comments a proud moment for Delhi. Such a proud moment for Delhi ... Nobel laureate Abhijit Bannerjee acknowledges the performance of Delhis government schools. This year Class 12 results of Delhi government schools were at 96 per cent, while private schools were at 93 per cent, he said in a tweet. The comments from Banerjee, the MIT professor whose work on poverty alleviation won him the coveted Nobel Prize recently, came weeks ahead of the Delhi polls which will be held on February 8. The counting of votes will take place on February 11. Movie Review Chhapaak: When acid is cheaper than a bottle of water Chhapaak: Movie Review Rating: 3.5/5 Language: Hindi Cast: Deepika Padukone as Malti (Laxmi Aggarwal) Vikrant Massey as Amol (Alok) Madhurjeet Sarghi as Archana Bajaj (Aparna Bhat) Vishal Dahiya as Basheer Shaikh/ Babbu (Naeem Khan) Ankit Bisht as Rajesh Anand Tiwari as Bajaj's husband Vaibhavi Upadhyaya as Minakshi Payal Nair as Shiraz Director: Meghna Gulzar Producers: Fox Star Studios, Deepika Padukone, Govind Singh Sandhu, Meghna Gulzar Writers: Atika Chohan, Meghna Gulzar Music: ShankarEhsaanLoy Production Company: Fox Star Studios, Ka Productions, Mriga Films Cinematographer: Malay Prakash Editor: Nitin Baid Chhapaak is a story that needed to be told and needs to be heard louder than all the political controversy surrounding it. The splash made by lead actress Deepikas political actions became bigger than that made by the acid flung at victims, diluting the voices that were waiting for years to be seen and heard. Some obvious, some annoying and some harmfully fake news made its rounds, burying in its cacophony the true but already soft voices of acid attack victims and the louder, amazingly sustained voices of the lawyers and activists who fight for the victims. Among the latter one of the voices was that of advocate Aparna Bhat, who represented the real life acid attack victim on whom the story is based, in the case fought at Patiala House Courts. If Aparna stood up in real life for all that the actress Madhurjeet ably portrayed on reel, it is unfortunate that she had to resort to legal action against the filmmakers for not mentioning her in the film. Leaving the current controversies behind and moving on to the film; it is based on the true story of Laxmi Aggarwal that happened in New Delhi in 2005. The story is based on real life acid attack victim Laxmi, who became a campaigner for the rights of acid attack victims as well as a TV host. Photo Courtesy: Twitter The lead actors have done a great job and kudos are in order to director Meghna Gulzar for ensuring that there is no melodrama but a gradual realisation, resignation, acceptance and moving on with it as seen in real life. Deepika as Malti, a taller version of Laxmi, has stayed true to the character in looks as well as dialogue delivery. They mirror Laxmis short, blunt, caustic and very effective repartees which got her media attention as well as a career as a TV host. Madhurjeet as the lawyer (whose little daughter has grown into a teen by the time the court gives it verdict) and Vikrant as the founder of an NGO and the Stop Acid Attack campaign (whose empathy makes him hurt more than the victims themselves), who put their personal life and ambitions on the back burner for their cause are very credible. The scenes depicting interactions with real life acid attack victims lends Chhapaak a feel of a documentary rather than a Bollywood movie, evoking respect rather than pity for the victims who are scarred for life. The prosthetics and make-up show the gradual change in the slow burn of acid attack victims who end up with no nose or ear lobes and needing extensive, expensive surgeries that they can ill afford. Photo Courtesy: Twitter It highlights the need for legal changes that activists and victims are shown doggedly lobbying for, from close to two decades, but in vain. Like the buckets of water poured over the acid victims, it has done nothing to stop the corrosive scourge of the acid. The why is briefly explored but not dwelt upon while mentioning that the corrosion first enters the perpetrators heart long before the corrosive liquid gets into his hands. The perpetrators mind is perhaps better understood in 'Uyare' the malayalam film in which acclaimed Malayalam actress Parvathy is an acid attack victim. There are many loose ends such as, Malti's dad and brother as well as Babbu's accomplice, the woman who actually threw the acid onto Malti's face, which could have been tightened in the script. Arijits crooning voice, Gulzars meaningful lyrics and Shankar Ehsaan Loys music come together and flow symbiotically from the beginning, through the middle right up to the titles in the end, where they sink in. The prosthetics and make-up are done amazingly well, with great attention to detail. Not just a before and after - but a gradual change is seen, as in the slow burn of an acid attack, with improvements in small degrees after each of the seven surgeries that Malti undergoes. The closing lines cite that the splashing of the corrosive acid on female victims continues unabated. There were more than a hundred acid attack cases in the earlier half of the last decade, double those in the latter part of the last decade, and an attack just weeks ago in Muzaffarpur in December 2019. Acid bottles continue to be sold cheaper than a bottle of mineral water and are being splashed perhaps even more easily. Irans security forces have deployed in large numbers across the capital, expecting more protests after its Revolutionary Guard admitted to accidentally shooting down a passenger plane at a time of soaring tensions with the United States. Riot police in black uniforms and helmets gathered in Vali-e Asr Square in the city as calls circulated for protests. Revolutionary Guard members patrolled the city on motorbikes and plainclothes security men were also out in force. The plane crash early on Wednesday killed all 176 people on board, mostly Iranians and Iranian-Canadians. After initially blaming a technical failure, authorities finally admitted to accidentally shooting it down in the face of mounting evidence and accusations by western leaders. The plane was shot down as Iran braced for retaliation after firing ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq housing American forces. Expand Close People gather for a candlelight vigil in Tehran (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP/PA) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp People gather for a candlelight vigil in Tehran (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP/PA) The ballistic missile attack, which caused no casualties, was a response to the killing of General Qassem Soleimani, Irans top general, in a US airstrike in Baghdad. Iranians have expressed anger over the downing of the plane and the misleading explanations from senior officials in the wake of the tragedy. Hundreds of students gathered at Tehrans Shahid Beheshti University on Sunday to mourn the victims and protest against authorities for concealing the cause of the crash, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported. They later dispersed peacefully. Others, including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, posted all-black photos on their Instagram accounts in mourning. President Donald Trump, who has expressed support for past waves of anti-government demonstrations in Iran, addressed the countrys leaders in a tweet, saying DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. The World is watching. More importantly, the USA is watching, he tweeted. Iranians took to the streets in November after the government hiked gas prices, holding large protests in several cities. The government shut down internet access for days, making it difficult to gauge the scale of the protests and the subsequent crackdown. Amnesty International later said more than 300 people were killed. A candlelight ceremony late on Saturday in Tehran turned into a protest, with hundreds of people chanting against the countrys leaders including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and police dispersing them with tear gas. Police briefly detained the British ambassador to Iran, Rob Macaire, who says he went with the intention of attending the vigil and did not know it would turn into a protest. Can confirm I wasnt taking part in any demonstrations! he tweeted. Went to an event advertised as a vigil for victims of #PS752 tragedy. Normal to want to pay respects some of victims were British. I left after 5 mins, when some started chanting. He said he was arrested 30 minutes after leaving the area. The UK said its envoy was detained without grounds or explanation and in flagrant violation of international law. Expand Close People gathered at Amri Kabir University in Tehran (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP/PA) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp People gathered at Amri Kabir University in Tehran (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP/PA) The Iranian government is at a cross-roads moment. It can continue its march towards pariah status with all the political and economic isolation that entails, or take steps to de-escalate tensions and engage in a diplomatic path forwards, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement. Irans deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi later tweeted that Mr Macaire was arrested as an unknown foreigner in an illegal gathering. Mr Araghchi said when police informed him that a man was arrested who claimed to be the British ambassador he did not believe them. But he said that once he spoke to Mr Macaire by phone he realised it was him, and that the ambassador was freed 15 minutes later. Irans Foreign Ministry later summoned the British ambassador over his illegal and inappropriate presence at the protest, it said on its Telegram channel. He wasn't detained, but arrested as unknown foreigner in an illegal gathering. When police informed me a man's arrested who claims to be UK Amb, I said IMPOSSIBLE! only after my phone conversation w him I identified, out of big surprise, that it's him. 15 min later he was free. pic.twitter.com/VjuZxN1oTN Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) January 12, 2020 Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a member of Irans parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, accused the ambassador of organising protests and called for his expulsion. Dozens of hard-liners later gathered outside the British Embassy, chanting Death to England and calling for the ambassador to be expelled and for the closure of the embassy. Police stood guard outside the facility. Iranian media, meanwhile, focused on the admission of responsibility for the crash, with several newspapers calling for those responsible to apologize and resign. The hardline daily Vatan-e Emrouz bore the front-page headline, A sky full of sadness, while the Hamshahri daily went with Shame, and the IRAN daily said Unforgivable. The earnings season and expectations from Union Budget 2020 will keep bourses extremely volatile. Support for Nifty exists around levels of 11,900, Umesh Mehta, Head of Research, Samco Securities, said in an interview with Moneycontrols Kshitij Anand. Q) It has been a roller-coaster week for Indian markets, but Nifty managed to recoup losses and close the week on a positive note. However, in the last five trading sessions, we saw Nifty50 retesting crucial support levels -- can we say the worst is over? And are all eyes on the Budget and earnings? A) Yes, indeed the worst is over and the next couple of weeks would be high on volatility mainly due to results and the expectations from the upcoming Budget. Speculation will be rife around the Budget which will keep the markets on their toes. Unexpected global issues, the phase one trade deal between US and China can be one of the international factors causing knee-jerk reactions on Indian bourses. But largely, the domestic macros would decide the direction of the Indian equity markets. Q) As we hit a fresh record high above 12,300 on January 10, what are the important support and resistance levels to watch out for in the coming week? A) The Nifty50 is attempting to touch a new high territory. However, volumes and open interest will probably not support it. Nonetheless, support does exist around levels of 11,900. Realistically, the Nifty could touch levels of 12,350 and very optimistically it could reach levels of 12,500. Q) Any crucial events which investors should take note that can impact D-Street sentiment? A) The result season and expectations from the Budget 2020 will keep bourses extremely volatile. In case there is a further escalation in issues between the US and Iran -- equity and commodity markets can experience knee-jerk reactions. Lastly, how the trade deal pans out between the US and China will be crucial to understand the relationship between them. All these events would impact D-Street sentiment in the coming weeks. Q) What is your view on Infosys results? What do you recommend -- buy, sell or hold? A) Infosys is a quality company with stable growth and sound fundamentals. Hence, for investors, it is a long-term buy. Currently, the bulls do not have a conviction that is visible in the stock price due to the whistle-blower complaints clouding the company. Hence, any positive surprise will take the stock up and if the numbers are in line, the stock might underperform for in the near term. Q) Any top three stocks which you think are good breakout buys given the fact we have seen a sharp recovery in the week gone by? A) Here is a list of top three stocks that could give 13-30 percent return in the short term: Sobha Ltd: Buy | LTP: Rs 414 | Target Rs 471 | Stop Loss: 400| Upside 13 percent Sobha would be a good buy from the small-cap space which deserves a high rating multiple and is currently available at attractive valuations. Investors can buy the stock at current levels for a target of Rs 471, and a stop loss can be kept below Rs 400. Sun TV Network Ltd: Buy | LTP: Rs 463 | Target: Rs 551 | Stop Loss: Rs 410 | Upside 19 percent Sun TV Network has undergone an intense correction and is now a good pick from the media sector. Investors can buy the stock at current levels with a target of Rs 551, and a stop loss can be placed below Rs 410 levels. National Aluminium Company Limited: Buy | LTP: Rs 45.50 | Target: Rs 60 | Stop Loss: Rs 41 | Upside 31 percent National Aluminium Company is currently consolidating but with the pick-up in the aluminium commodity, there are high chances that this stock will shoot up substantially. Investors can buy the stock at current levels with a target of Rs 60, and a stop loss can be placed below Rs 41. Q) Why have small & midcaps stocks started performing recently -- is it the FII flows, or pre-Budget euphoria catching up? A) The mid and small caps have got battered the most amidst the liquidity crises and have undergone massive correction over the past year. The recent pick up in the broader indices is a mixture of attractive valuation, constant boost by the Government to revive the economy, FII flows along with a bit of expectation of greater impetus from the Budget in February. But among all these, valuations play the biggest role in attracting flows. Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. 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. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said here on Sunday that some youth have fallen to the rumours about Citizenship (Amendment) Act. "The youth of the country have been filled with a lot of questions about the Citizenship (Amendment) Act by different people. A lot of youngsters are aware, but there are some who have fallen to the rumours," said Prime Minister said while addressing people at Belur Math. His remarks came at times when students of universities like Jamia Millia Islamia, Aligarh Muslim University etc are protesting against the new Citizenship law. He also accused the Opposition of playing political games over the amended Citizenship law and said Pakistan will now have to answer why it committed atrocities on minorities. Modi reiterated that CAA is aimed at giving citizenship and not revoking it. "I repeat again, Citizenship act is not to revoke anyone's citizenship, but it is to give citizenship. After independence, Mahatma Gandhi ji and other big leaders of the time all believed that India should give citizenship to persecuted religious minorities of Pakistan," said Modi. "You understood this very clearly. But those playing political games purposely refuse to understand. People are being misled over the CAA," he added. Attacking Pakistan for committing atrocities on minorities, Modi said: "India's youth is raising voice against atrocities being committed on minorities in Pakistan. Had this issue not been raised, the world would not have known about this. This is the result of our initiative that Pakistan will now have to answer why it committed atrocities on minorities over the last 70 years." The Prime Minister said that the Centre has made provisions to protect the identity, demography, and culture of the North-East. "North-East is our pride. CAA will not have any adverse effect on their demography, identity and culture. The Central government has made provisions for this," he said. CAA grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who 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.) Gettyimagesbank The number of people aged over 65 years in South Korea climbed to a new high last year, breaching the 8 million mark for the first time in history, while the country's overall population grew at the slowest pace ever, data showed Sunday. The country's overall population remained nearly unchanged at a little less than 51.85 million as of end-December, up only 23,802 or 0.05 percent from a year earlier, marking the slowest on-year gain since the country began publishing related data in 2008, according to the data from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. The growth rate also marked a sharp drop from the year before when the population increase dipped below the 0.1 percent mark for the first time to 0.09 percent. What is concerning is that the aged population, or people aged 65 years or older, continued to increase rapidly, adding 376,507 from a year earlier to over 8.02 million as of end-2019. South Korea is one of the world's fastest aging societies with the proportion of people aged 65 years or older out of the entire population coming to 14.2 percent in 2018, making the country an "aged society." As of end-2019, the percentage shot up to 15.5, exceeding an earlier estimate by the Bank of Korea of 14.9 percent. The country also continues to suffer from one of the world's lowest birthrates, which is feared to cause population reductions in the near future. In 2019, the number of people aged 14 years or less dropped by more than 161,000 from a year earlier, with the number of working age population, or those aged between 15 years and 64 years, also falling by more than 190,000 over the cited period, according to the ministry data. The number of people aged 14 years or less came to 6.46 million, accounting for 12.5 percent of the total, the lowest since 2008. With the steady increase in the aged population and the drop in the number of youths, the average age of the population climbed to a record high of 42.6 years, compared with 42.1 years in 2018 and 37 years in 2008. (Yonhap) Climate change is emerging as one of the most life-threatening and expensive issues confronting Australia. As Mr Morrison categorically acknowledged, the change in climate will present Australia with longer, hotter and drier summer seasons. The more profound areas of focus, though, for the Commonwealth royal commission are shaping up as climate change responses and federal-state relations. How these latter themes of inquiry are framed will be of utmost importance. The scope Mr Morrison outlined very broadly yesterday includes practical matters, such as focusing on the operational preparedness of federal and state agencies before the summer fires and the agencies responsiveness in the aftermath. Those are necessary lines of inquiry, and they should run alongside what we believe are equally necessary state-based inquiries and reviews into operations, preparations, obstacles and failure, such as the one being considered by NSW, or the one Victoria held after Black Saturday. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has given his strongest indication yet that he will initiate a royal commission on this seasons bushfires. It may well become one of the most important inquiries this nation has witnessed. He says that will require examination of how Australia, at all levels, builds resilience. He also referred to adaptation policies, which might mean anything from water management to management of state and national parks to building regulations and many other challenges. Mr Morrison also edged a little closer to conceding the government might need to do more to cut Australias emissions in future. The Age has argued the bushfire crisis must be a catalyst for genuine reform and welcomes the Prime Ministers comments. However, he must stare down the denialists in the Coalition and take bold steps. Promising not to use the accounting trick of cashing Kyoto credits to meet Australias Paris emission reduction targets would be a good start. The third major area of focus should be federal-state relations. Mr Morrison claims a new normal in community expectations became apparent this bushfire season, namely that the Commonwealth should take more direct action to assist in state matters. This is precisely what generations of Australians have expected of their federal government whenever they have been faced with crises that transcend either state borders or the capacity of state authorities to deal with them. Mr Morrison notes the deployment of the Defence Force shifting it from a respond-to-a-request posture to a move-and-integrate posture on January 4 presented a constitutional difficulty, requiring both high-level legal advice and approval from the Governor-General. It should never be in doubt that such an intervention could and should have been done, that the Australian Defence Force should be used in past state-based emergencies, that it will stand willing to assist and it can always offer its services. Federal responsibilities, though, entail more than deploying the Defence Force; they encompass initiatives relating to relief payments, tax holidays and much more. By Dale T. Taylor The recent action authorized by President Donald Trump to eliminate Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, a brutal architect of terrorism responsible for the killing of hundreds of Americans, has once again raised the decades-old controversy regarding enforcement of the War Powers Act that was adopted by Congress in 1973. While I was a student at Rutgers University School of Law, concentrating in international law, I undertook the task of researching the War Powers Act regarding both its constitutionality and practical efficacy as a means to halt wars. To begin with, the War Powers Act is not really an a act as traditionally defined; its actually a congressional joint resolution with little legal basis and having almost no practical effect. It should also be pointed out that no president, Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal, has ever formally recognized this joint resolution as giving Congress constitutional oversight over a presidents ability to use the military in times of a foreign crisis or a domestic threat. The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to weigh in on the controversy, citing the issues at hand as being political in nature as opposed to judicial. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution grants to Congress the right to declare war. But the last time this was used was at the beginning of World War II. Its language does not give Congress the right to dictate when, for what reason, or for how long, military might, including large scale operations, can be undertaken. Article II, Section 2, grants that right exclusively to the president as commander-in-chief. The War Powers Act was meant to avoid more undeclared Korean and Vietnam wars, notwithstanding that both of those actions were initially supported by a majority of the Congress and, in the case of Korea, had the support of the United Nations. Congress also supported the use of force to keep Marines in Lebanon during 1982 and 1983, and during the 1991 Gulf War. Presidents have from time to time submitted reports to Congress as a courtesy, but not as an acknowledgment of any authority vested in the Legislative branch under the War Powers Act. Members of Congress who continue to drag this resolution out of the closet every time there is a military conflict are simply trying to leverage what is a wholly political argument without constitutional significance. President Bill Clinton ignored the War Powers Act in the bombing campaign in Kosovo in 1999; President George W. Bush also did so in the post-9/11 war on terrorism, although Congress separately endorsed military action against al Qaeda. President Barack Obama ignored the act in Libya in 2011 (where his secretary of state, Hillary Clinton reportedly indicated that the administration would bypass the 1973 law). Obama bypassed it again during the 2012-2017 secret war against Syrian President Bashar Assads regime in the aftermath of Assads use of chemical weapons against his own people. And why not? These acts didnt amount to a declared war. Rather, they represented use of military force in the interests of national security as determined by the commander-in-chief. Crises that pose a threat to our legitimate national security interests often require swift military intervention, most times clouded in secrecy, in order to save American lives and achieve a high degree of success with the least amount of harm to our forces. Trying to get bipartisan approval of a Congress that cant even agree on the most rudimentary pieces of legislation without months of hearings and rancor is simply not tenable where our national security is threatened and quick action is required. One can question Trumps recent decision to kill Soleimani as either good policy or bad policy. But, please, forget about the War Powers Resolution. That purely political piece of legislation was constitutionally untenable from the very beginning, and it remains so today. Dale T. Taylor is an attorney with offices in Mullica Hill. He is also the former Republican mayor of Wenonah, Gloucester County, and a former columnist for the Gloucester County Times, now the South Jersey Times Amit Shah reiterated his challenge to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to show him any provision in the new legislation that will snatch the citizenship of any citizen in the country. Jabalpur: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said however much the Congress opposes the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), the government "will not rest" until all the refugees from minority communities from Pakistan are given Indian citizenship. He once again challenged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to show him any provision in the new legislation that will snatch the citizenship of any citizen in the country. "I am saying it loudly. You Congress leaders, listen carefully...Oppose it as much as you can, but we will rest only after giving citizenship to all these people. No one can stop us from doing so. "Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Christian refugees from Pakistan have as much right over India as you and I have. They are the sons and daughters of India. The country will embrace them," Shah said while addressing a public meeting here in support of the new citizenship law. His statements come a day after the Congress demanded immediate withdrawal of the CAA and stopping the process of National Population Register (NPR), accusing the government of using brute majority to impose its "divisive" and "discriminatory" agenda. As per the gazette notification issued by the Centre on Friday, the CAA, under which non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, will be given Indian citizenship, came into force from 10 January. Shah also accused Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of misguiding people over the CAA. "I challenge Rahul Baba and Mamata Banerjee, tell me if there is any single provision in CAA that is meant for snatching anybody's citizenship," he said. "There is no provision for taking away anyone's citizenship. The Act in fact is meant for giving citizenship," the minister said. During the last Assembly elections in Rajasthan, the Congress had promised in its poll manifesto that Hindu and Sikh refugees from Pakistan would be given Indian citizenship. "But now they are opposing the BJP...(Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok) Gehlotji, check your manifesto," he said. Referring to the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Shah said, "Some boys raised anti-national slogans like 'Bharat tere tukde honge ek hazar, inshallah, inshallah'. But Rahul Baba and Kejriwal are saying- Save them...Are they your cousins? Such people deserve to be put behind bars." The BJP chief also said that Ram temple will be built in Ayodhya in four months. "The complex would be so high that it would touch the sky," Shah said. If youve watched HBOs hit series Succession, then youre definitely familiar with Sarah Snooks character Siobhan Shiv Roy. A political consultant turned power player, Shiv is a force to be reckoned withkind of like Snook. Here, 4 things you should know about the 32-year-old Sarah Snook and her career. 1. Shes Australian The actress was born in Adelaide, South Australia, and showed promise as a performer from a young age. Her father was a swimming-pool salesman and her mother an elder-care provider, so she never anticipated making it in the film and TV world. Yet after she studied drama in high school, she went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (aka Australias version of Julliard). 2. She Made it Big in Oz Before Coming Stateside Snook got her start in Sydneys theater circuit but eventually went on to work in film and television. Shes won Australian Oscar/Golden Globe-equivalents (Australian Academy for Cinema and Television Arts awards). Shes also snagged the Film Critics Circle of Australia Best Actress in Lead Role award twice and the Australian Film Critics Association statue for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her 2015 film These Final Hours. 3. Playing Shiv on Succession Wasnt Her First U.S. Role Prior to landing her role as Siobhan Shiv Roy on the hit HBO series, Snook appeared in Steve Jobs, The Glass Castle and even Netflixs Black Mirror. She recalled her audition for Succession in an interview with GQ, saying she assumed Eh, this is out of my league. Ill just come and do it and get out of here. Free trip to L.A. for a weekend and see my friends. Thisll be great. Lo and behold it worked out and her character has now been catapulted to the forefront of the series. 4. Shes an avid traveler Story continues After she wrapped filming on season two of Succession, Snook jetted off to Croatia, Italy and Spain. Sounds like our kind of vacation. She told Vulture that travel is in her blood. Her mother met her father (theyre now divorced) while traveling in Papua New Guinea and her sisters live there and in London, respectively. We cant wait to see what Snook does next. RELATED: Which Succession Character Are You, Based on Your Zodiac Sign? With healthy eating on many Brits' agendas for the New Year, for some it may have reignited their passion for cooking. But even for the most accomplished home cooks, perfecting a pie can be a challenging task. One person who has mastered the art is French-born pastry chef Dominique Ansel. The cooking connoisseur, 41, was named the World's Best Pastry Chef in 2017 at the World's 50 Best Restaurants awards - the youngest ever person to be bestowed with the accolade. In 2017, he famously invented the 'Cronut' - a hybrid of a croissant and doughnut - at his home in New York. It sparked a global frenzy and he now has bakeries in London, New York and LA. Here, speaking exclusively to FEMAIL, Dominique reveals his top tips on how to nail the perfect pie. Dominique Ansel, 41, was named the World's Best Pastry Chef in 2017 at the World's 50 Best Restaurant awards, making him the youngest ever person to win the accolade IT'S ALL ABOUT THE CRUST For beginners who are just starting out in pie-making, getting the crust right is key according to Dominique. He said: 'Once you base yourself with a proper crust, one with a texture that's flaky and light but still holds up the filling, it can be a canvas for so many different flavours and fillings, whether they're savoury or sweet. 'For us, the simplest is a classic butter crust (like in our salted caramel apple pie) or a vanilla sable crust (in our bourbon pecan pie - and also the same dough that's used for all our tarts as well). KEEP AN EYE ON THE DOUGH Dominque added that the most common mistakes are often made while making the dough. 'Often it's the crust that's the toughest part to master, and I find that the temperature and texture of the dough is something you have to keep a close eye on,' he said. 'If you're rolling out the dough and it gets too soft, pop it back into the fridge or even the freezer quickly until it's cold enough to work with again. 'If your kitchen is too hot and your kitchen counters warm up, you can also lay out a sheet tray with ice cubes to cool down the surface.' Pictured is one of Dominque's creations, the Chef's Galette de Rois (or King's Cake) - the French traditional pie/galette used to celebrate the Epiphany DON'T OVER-MIX Another common mistake made by home cooks is over-working the pie dough. 'Over-mixing the pie crust dough is a common mistake,' Dominque explained. Chef's choice: a silky pumpkin pie Dominque said his favourite pie to eat is his own Extra Silky Pumpkin Pie. He added: 'It's hard to pick just one, but I do love our Extra Silky Pumpkin Pie that we make each year for Thanksgiving. 'It's triple-strained so the texture of the pumpkin filling is smooth and custard-like, and it's set in a gingerbread crust with vanilla Chantilly on top. 'I didn't grow up eating pumpkin pie or even knowing what it was; it wasn't until I moved to New York to work at Daniel [a Michelin starred restaurant in New York] that I learned about it and how it reminds so many people of childhood/family memories (in France, pumpkin is usually something savoury). 'Now every Thanksgiving, I still go back to Daniel each year to celebrate with my first family and home in the US.' Advertisement 'If you're making a traditional short crust, over-mixing and overworking the dough causes the crumbs of butter to get smaller and smaller, while also warming the butter at the same time, which will result in a dense crust that doesn't have that flaky tender texture. 'Over-mixing also activates the gluten development more than it needs to, and can cause the final crust to be tough and dense.' IT'S OK TO BUY THE CRUST... SOMETIMES Dominique continued: 'If you're making a traditional pie crust or a sable tart shell/crust, which include just a few simple ingredients, I'd recommend making it on your own. 'The flavours and textures are just going to be much better if it's made by hand as opposed to a store-bought crust (which often has preservatives to have a longer shelf-life). 'However, for home cooks, if a recipe calls for puff pastry or filo/phyllo, you're better off buying those from the market, as they're quite labour-intensive and tricky for most people to make from scratch at home.' YOU CAN'T GO WRONG WITH APPLE PIE Dominque added that he loves to experiment with sweet and savoury flavours, and each year he collaborates with top chefs to put on a series of 'pie nights' where they work together to create their own dishes. 'What's so fun about our Pie Nights is that each year, we're able to create new savoury and sweet pies, so the menus are always different each year in each city. Dominque (pictured) said his favourite pie to eat is his own Extra Silky Pumpkin Pie 'This year, some of London's best chefs shared their pie recipes with us too, like Claire Ptak (who baked the wedding cake for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle), Helen Goh, Brett Graham, Barragan Mohacho and Alex Dilling. 'But no matter what, we'll always have a classic Salted Caramel Apple Pie on the line-up - it's a tradition. 'Ours is filled with caramelised Gala apples and salted caramel in a flaky golden crust. 'There's something so simple and comforting about an apple pie, and for us, it's always a welcome sign that autumn and pie season is here, and the holidays are right around the corner.' DON'T BE AFRAID TO GET ADVENTUROUS The chef also told Femail that those who are more advanced at pie making should try experimenting with flavours. 'As you become more advanced and want to experiment with different flavour combinations, the crust and the finishings are elements you can easily change up,' he said. 'For example, a traditional pumpkin pie can be framed in a gingerbread crust instead of a basic pie crust, as we do for Thanksgiving. 'A simple silky chocolate cream pie can be set in a chocolate sable shell or even a speculoos crust, then topped with dark, milk, and white chocolate shavings.' Islamist rebels killed 30 soldiers and wounded another 70, some seriously, during fierce fighting last week in eastern DR Congo, army officials said. They suffered the losses during the latest offensive Thursday against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), in North Kivu province, Major Mak Hazukai told journalists Saturday. The army captured the ADF's headquarters during the battle at Madina, and killed 40 rebel fighters, including five of their leaders, Hazukai added. On Friday, the cabinet posted a tweet on the prime minister's account congratulating the army on their capture of what they described as the one of the last bastions of the ADF. North Kivu sits on the border with Uganda. The ADF, rebels originally from Uganda, has been waging a campaign of violence in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo for years. Hazukai described them as "Islamist fundamentalists". The army announced its campaign against the ADF on October 30. The rebels are accused of having killed more than a thousand people in the Beni region, in the northern part of North Kivu, since 2014. ADF fighters killed at least 150 civilians over November and December in reprisal according to official sources and local groups. That rising toll has sparked anger over the authorities' response. There have been demonstrations in the city of Beni, where local people accuse the UN peacekeeping force MONUSCO of failing to protect them. At the end of November, local people looted a MONUSCO base there. Since then, the UN force and the army have announced joint patrols in the region. The ADF began as an Islamist rebellion hostile to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. It fell back into eastern DRC in 1995 and appears to have halted raids inside Uganda. Its recruits today are people of various nationalities. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The South Dakota attorney general had decided "to not take sides" in a high-stakes federal lawsuit that could determine the future of a law meant to keep Native American families, communities and culture intact. The entire constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act, or ICWA, is being challenged in Brackeen v. Bernhardt, a lawsuit against the U.S. government by Texas, Louisiana, Indiana, a biological mother, and three non-indigenous couples interested in fostering and adopting Native American children. A majority of attorneys general have signed a brief in support of ICWA. The 27 attorneys general come from states with a mix of Republican and Democratic leadership, state's with high percentages of indigenous residents like South Dakota, and some of South Dakota's neighbors Montana, Colorado, Minnesota and Iowa. Jason Ravnsborg, attorney general of South Dakota, did not sign on, however. Ravnsborg was approached by both sides of the case this summer and needed to make a decision on whether to sign a brief by June 30, spokesman Tim Bormann said in an email. He said Ravnsborg decided not to sign either brief because of a pending ICWA case out of the Rapid City federal court "with statewide implications." Bormann was referring to a 2013 federal lawsuit brought by three mothers and the Oglala and Rosebud Sioux tribes. It challenged the practices of the state 7th Circuit Court that includes Pennington County, the Pennington County State's Attorney Office and the Department of Social Services that occurred during emergency custody hearings taking place within 48 hours of removing a child from a home to determine whether they can be returned or need to be placed in foster care. The lawsuit said ICWA and the right to due process were being violated because the hearings were too brief usually less than five minutes parents weren't allowed to see the removal petition against them or testify on their own behalf, and the state didn't have to introduce any evidence. Judge Jeffrey Viken agreed, noting that the state always placed the child into foster care and ordering the defendants to change their policies. However, Mark Vargo, Pennington County state's attorney, said his office will continue to voluntarily follow the changes ordered by Viken. Dana Hanna, a Rapid City-based lawyer who represented the plaintiffs with the ACLU, wrote in a November open letter that he agreed the "fundamental changes" ordered by Viken remain intact. "The Attorney General has made the choice to not take sides on this argument, and we continue to monitor the case," Bormann said when asked if Ravnsborg would ask to join a brief in the Brackeen case now that the local case has concluded. A bipartisan group of 77 U.S. senators and representatives none from South Dakota have also signaled their support for the law. Sen. Mike Rounds said he supports ICWA and believes it's constitutional, but didn't explain why he didn't sign the brief. I support the Indian Child Welfare Act, which seeks to preserve Native American culture by keeping Indian children near their families and tribes," Rounds wrote in an email. "It has been upheld as constitutional for more than 40 years." A spokeswoman for Rep. Dusty Johnson said the Native American Caucus asked all representatives to join the briefs in November, but he decided not to sign "because he believes this decision is best determined by the judicial branch." "I support tribal self-determination, and I also support keeping children with their families. This case is incredibly complicated and should be left to the courts to decide," Johnson wrote in the email. Sen. Thune's office did not respond to requests for comment. The nine tribal nations within South Dakota joined 477 other federally recognized tribes in signing a brief in support of ICWA. ICWA's intent ICWA was passed in 1978 to "protect the best interests of Indian children and to promote the stability and security of Indian tribes and families," the law says. It was created in response to states removing Native American children from their families at disproportional rates and for often unfair reasons and usually placing them with non-Native families. "An alarmingly high percentage of Indian families are broken up by the removal, often unwarranted, of their children from them by non-tribal public and private agencies and that an alarmingly high percentage of such children are placed in non-Indian foster and adoptive homes and institutions," the law says. And states "have often failed to recognize the essential tribal relations of Indian people and the cultural and social standards prevailing in Indian communities and families." Studies at the time found that 25-35 percent of Native Americans were removed from their families, and 85 percent were placed in non-Native families. More than 50 percent of adopted Native American children are still placed into non-Native homes, according to the 2016 ICWA final rule. ICWA allows abuse and neglect cases to be transferred to tribal courts, said David Simmons, director of government affairs and advocacy at the National Indian Child Welfare Association, a group that supports ICWA. If the case stays in state court, tribes must be notified and can intervene in proceedings, and the state must make "active efforts" to keep families together, he said. For example, a child welfare worker shouldn't just tell parents about parenting classes, but connect them with a culturally relevant program and make sure they have transportation to get there. But if a child does need to be removed for their safety, Simmons said, the child must be placed in foster care in this order of preference: A relative, whether they are Native American or not; A licensed foster parent within the child's tribe; A licensed foster parent from another tribe; A group home approved by the child's tribe. A child can be fostered or adopted by non-indigenous parents if there's proof that officials put serious effort into finding a family that falls into these preferences but no one was available, Simmons said. This can also happen at the request of a birth parent or a child in order to keep siblings together or to protect the extraordinary needs of the child, according to the American Bar Association's comments on the ICWA final rule. Judges can't consider the socio-economic status of potential foster and adoptive families or whether the child has already bonded with a family. Simmons said cases where children are removed from non-indigenous foster families they've bonded with over several months or years raises questions about whether state officials put serious effort into finding a preferred family in the first place. He said states often fail to identify family members, do a poor job at recruiting Native American foster parents, and create biased requirements for foster families such as requiring certain sized bedrooms for children that can exclude some Native American parents. The lawsuit The plaintiffs in the Brackeen case include two couples who were able to adopt Native American children, but the ICWA process was frustrating and discouraged them from fostering Native American children again, according to court records they filed. The plaintiffs also include a couple who wanted to adopt a Native American child with the approval of her birth mother but the child was removed and placed with her maternal grandmother, whose foster license had previously been revoked. In Oct. 2018 a federal judge in Texas agreed with the plaintiffs that ICWA is unconstitutional. Judge Reed O'Connor said ICWA is a "race-based statute" because it defines Native American children as any child who is not just a member of a tribe but is eligible to join based on their ancestry. And he said ICWA doesn't pass the "strict scrutiny review" that shows a race-based law is narrowly tailored and furthers a compelling government interest. O'Connor also said ICWA illegally gives tribes the power to legislate federal rules and allows the federal government to dictate state practices. But O'Connor's findings were reversed in August 2019 by a three-judge panel in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which said the U.S. Supreme Court has long recognized that federal legislation related to Native American tribes and people is about the "quasi-sovereign" political status of tribes, not race. When it comes to ICWA, the panel noted, the law defines an "Indian child" as any child enrolled in or eligible to join a federally recognized tribe. Some tribal membership laws grant membership to not just people with "Indian blood" but also to descendants of tribes' former slaves or descendants of adopted white people, the panel wrote. And some "racially Indian children," such as those belonging to non-federally recognized tribes, don't qualify for ICWA. Therefore, ICWA is about a political classification and not race, the panel said. The plaintiffs then asked and received permission for an en banc hearing a hearing before all of the 5th Circuit's judges that's scheduled for Jan. 22 in New Orleans. Many ICWA supporters fear that other federal Indian laws will be at risk if ICWA is found to be race-based and unconstitutional. This would "throw much of federal Indian law into question, and could sow confusion about judicial review of other diverse areas of law," a group of Indian law professors wrote in a brief. Opponents of the law reject that argument. These fears "are radically overblown" because "ICWA is unique among federal Indian statutes in being triggered solely by biological eligibility for tribal membership," the libertarian Cato and Goldwater institutes and other groups wrote in a brief. Contact Arielle Zionts at arielle.zionts@rapidcityjournal.com. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Despite the split between the Roosters and Mitchell yet to be finalised, the soon-to-be Souths player announced his departure from the back-to-back premiers via his personal Instagram page on Friday. "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. "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." Rose also rubbished reports that Mitchell had knocked back a deal from the Rabbitohs after meeting with Russell Crowe. "We want to get it done, but there are a few things to go through ... the final release from Roosters, and agreeing to the terms of where he goes next, that all takes a little bit of time," Rose said. "I dont think it has helped where people have come along and said Latrell is signing tomorrow ... it is a little disappointing." To add further intrigue to the Latrell saga which is looking to go down as one of the most convoluted player signings in rugby league history the NRL say they want to heavily scrutinise any contract Mitchell signs, which could potentially push the saga into next week. Expressing solidarity with those protesting against the amended citizenship act, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday visited Jamia Millia Islamia and Shaheen Bagh and said that the law was against the ideals of unity espoused by Mahatma Gandhi. Tharoor later travelled in metro to reach JNU where he addressed the students and condemned the violence by a masked mob on January 5. He said the December 15 police action against the students in Jamia is a "blot on the nation". After visiting the university, he visited Shaheen Bagh to express solidarity with the protesters. Terming the Citizenship Amendment Act "discriminatory", Tharoor asserted that it is against the ideals of unity espoused by Mahatma Gandhi. "Whatever happened on December 15 is a blot on nation. Without any provocation, without any intimation to the vice chancellor, they (police) entered hostels and attacked women students. Students studying in library were attacked, which is a 'shame, shame, shame' and not acceptable at all," he told the crowd. Attacking the act, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said the Centre's step is discriminatory and an effort to marginalise "one community". "That is why we opposed the introduction of the bill in Parliament, as it brought religion in the Citizenship Act for the first time," he said. Tharoor said he did not want any section of society to be reduced to second class citizens. "We shall stand for the values we cherish and for the humanity, and above all we should stand for Bharat (India)," he added. Tharoor, who addressed the crowd in Hindi and English said, "Religion was nowhere mentioned in the Citizenship Act until the BJP-led government incorporated it in the CAA. This is not something we can accept." "The CAA betrays the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, who sacrificed his life for the unity of the nation; the unity of Hindus and Muslims. India, which Mahatma Gandhi wanted to see, will not be the India after the introduction of religion in the CAA," he said. Tharoor also recited a couplet, "Na mera hai, na tera hai... Yeh Hindustan sabka hai... na samjhenge yeh baat toh nuksan sab ka hai..." He was accompanied to Jamia by Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Subhash Chopra. Tharoor claimed the introduction of religion in CAA will be followed by the all-India NRC which puts onus on one community to prove its citizenship. "That is not the India that our founding fathers wanted to see, that is not the India that people in the Congress, including myself, will ever like to accept. We want an India where everyone is equal. It should not matter whether you are a Muslim or Hindu, a Christian or Sikh. If you are Indian, you have the same rights and same privileges," he said. "Don't let anyone tell you that you have lesser rights than anyone else has in this country. You have the same rights as a Muslim or a Hindu or Christian. That is India, the Republic of India, the India of the Constitution," he said. Remembering poet Muhammad Iqbal, with his statute standing tall nearby in the varsity campus, Tharoor recited his famous poem, "Mazhab nahin sikhata apas men bair rakhna... Hindi hain hum, watan hai Hindustaan hamara.." He said students studying in the university should always remember that Jamia was a seat of resistance to the British and Mahatma Gandhi came here and started the Khilafat Movement. "You all should know that when Gandhi came here, he had said Jamia should continue fighting and if it needs money, I will go with a begging bowl and I will save Jamia. Today Jamia is one of the great universities of our country," he said. At Jawaharlal Nehru University, he condemned the events that unfolded last Sunday and demanded action against the accused. Terming citizenship law a religious test, he said it is something that is happening in the country for the first time. "It is the first time that a religious test has been introduced into the definition Indian citizenship," he said while delivering a talk on the amended citizenship law. "Never before in our country has it mattered what your religion was to qualify to be an Indian citizen. The fact that this government doesn't understand that is the biggest shame of all," he said. "We have Amit Shah even today challenging Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee, 'Can you show me anything in this bill that takes away anybody's citizenship? ' That is a wrong question," he said. "We have statements by sympathisers of the government saying this is upholding India's fine standards, giving asylum to persecuted minorities. I used to work for refugees at the UN.I know something about persecution and I know what the response to persecution is," he said. He said the response to persecution is giving asylum to people from every country where they face persecution, never to send them back and never to ask them which religion they belong to. "The question is why they were persecuted. It might be for their religion, it might be for their race, it might be for their gender, it might be for their sexual orientation, it might be for their political opinion," he said. At JNU, some students also protested against Tharoor for his tweet on Islamist extremism. "Our fight against Hindutva extremism should give no comfort to Islamist extremism either. We who're raising our voice in the #CAA_NRCProtests are fighting to defend an #InclusiveIndia. We will not allow pluralism & diversity to be supplanted by any kind of religious fundamentalism," he tweeted. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Helping Your Child Succeed Do you have children who can read, but do not enjoy reading, and almost never pick up a book or anything else to read for pleasure? Would your Read more Ukraine's president wants Iran to 'punish' those responsible for plane crash Iran Press TV Saturday, 11 January 2020 5:27 PM Ukraine's president demands Iran "punish the guilty" in the recent crash of a Ukrainian passenger plane, while praising Tehran's cooperation with an "objective" investigation into the tragedy. "We expect Iran... to bring the guilty to the courts," Volodymyr Zelensky wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday, calling also for the "payment of compensation" and repatriation of the remains of the victims. All the 176 people on board the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight died in the crash on Wednesday, when the aircraft was hit after being mistaken with a hostile cruise missile. The victims include mostly Iranians and Iranian-Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, and four British nationals. Earlier on Wednesday, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) had struck two American bases in Iraq in retaliation for the US's assassination of senior IRGC Commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad last Friday. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic noted in a statement following the plane crash that the tragedy was caused by "human error" at a time the country was on the highest level of alert to potential American military adventurism. Later, Head of the IRGC's Aerospace Division, Brigadier General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh accepted full responsibility for the downing of the aircraft. Detailing the events, which led to the tragic incident, Hajizadeh likewise said that the country's air defense networks had been placed on the "highest level of readiness" and alerted to a possible cruise missile attack prior to the incident. He added that the operator manning the system, who had repeatedly called for a halt in flights in the region during the night, identified what his air defense system had detected as an incoming cruise missile. The operator, as required by military guidelines then proceeded to call for orders to deal with the perceived threat, but wasn't able to do so as his communication network failed to work, Hajizadeh said. The operator then "took the wrong decision" of firing on the perceived threat in a "ten-second" time span to shoot or ignore the flying object, he added. The commander also said Iran's aviation authorities had no information about the tragic incident, noting that they did not intend to cover up the issue. Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has called on the authorities to make public all details about the downing of the plane. Ayatollah Khamenei also called for an investigation into possible negligence that led to the incident. Iran's Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raeisi has also ordered an immediate probe into the crash, while President Hassan Rouhani said Tehran "deeply regrets this disastrous mistake." Ukraine satisfied with Iran cooperation Also on Saturday, Zelensky's office said Tehran had handed Ukrainian experts enough data, including "all the photos, videos, and other materials" to show the investigation "will be carried out objectively and promptly." It published photos of experts examining the scene. A day earlier, Kiev also said its experts had been granted access to the flight's black boxes, debris from the plane, the crash site, and to recordings of conversations between the pilot and the airport control tower. Separately, Zelensky agreed during a phone call with France's president Emmanuel Macron that French specialists would help decode the black boxes, the Ukrainian chief executive's office added. Macron told Zelenskiy that France had started a formal procedure to launch an international investigation into the crash, the office noted, and said the French president had also agreed to visit Kiev. UK calls for comprehensive, transparent investigation British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, meanwhile, commended Tehran's performance in the aftermath of the tragedy. "Iran's admission that Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was shot down by mistake by its own armed forces is an important first step," he said. He called for "a comprehensive, transparent and independent international investigation and the repatriation of those who died." "This tragic accident only reinforces the importance of de-escalating tensions in the region. We can all see very clearly that further conflict will only lead to more loss and tragedy. It is vital that all leaders now pursue a diplomatic way forward," he added. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address MINNEAPOLIS If you think customer service has gone to the dogs, guess what? Many companies dont care. Research from the University of Minnesota posits that many businesses intentionally make it hard for consumers to complain and it works. There may be profitable advantages for the firm to induce customer hassles, said Yi Zhu, an associate marketing professor at the Carlson School of Management and co-author of a report on customer service frustrations. If they refund everything, theyre going to lose money. With the busy holiday-shopping season essentially over, more consumers are finding themselves dealing with returns, travel delays and such things as service contracts for cable TV or smartphones. Zhu decided to apply academic rigor to the subject after being put through the ringer by a large airline company. His co-author, Anthony Dukes, a marketing professor at the University of Southern California, was pulling his hair out dealing with a bank over a mortgage issue. Why do all these companies use similar ways to beat you up, to make it harder to talk to somebody to get a refund? Zhu wondered. That was the starting point to think academically about this. The two essentially set out to test the old marketing saw, Please hold. Your call is important to us. The answer: Maybe not so much. Companies deliberately employ inefficient, multistep processes hoping that you will give up so they can avoid giving you a replacement or refund, according to the report, published in the May issue of Marketing Science. As a collateral benefit, companies avoid the labor costs of hiring people who might be able to solve your problem. If you have this tiered design, you can definitely improve your profit and you can definitely (tick) people off in the process, Zhu said. For context, Zhu said he and Dukes relied on anecdotal stories and other published reports rather than independently measuring customer service models across various industries. But they were able to develop a mathematical model around a unit hassle cost, which they defined as the level of annoyance or frustration a person experiences when being inconvenienced. Customers with less severe complaints find that the additional hassle of speaking with a manager is not worthwhile. Zhu and Dukes demonstrated how a companys tiered customer-service operation exploits customer hassle costs to screen claims and reduce the number of payouts. (The authors acknowledge that this process also enables companies to screen out illegitimate claims.) You call them, most of the time you dont talk to a real person, Zhu said. You wait in the queue because they claim there are lots of calls, maybe they say theyll call you back in an hour. You finally talk to somebody and they say, I dont have the authority to resolve your issue. You wait while they transfer you to someone of higher rank. And then you have to repeat what youve already said. No one is immune from assessing the trade-offs of a unit hassle cost. U.S. consumers spend an average of 13 hours a year waiting on customer-service calls, according to one report the authors cite, published in 2013. A 2017 Customer Rage study, conducted by Arizona State University, found that while companies are making it easier than ever to buy products and services, nearly 8 in 10 consumers who complained about a problem in the past year still werent happy with the way it was handled. The report, the eighth since 1976, reported a slight increase in satisfaction but gave businesses a failing grade, warning that they risk putting more than $300 billion dollars of future sales at risk. Some businesses said artificial intelligence, or AI, has the potential to better match a customers needs with the agent that can help. Zhu isnt convinced that talking to computers is the answer. You have to say certain keywords to get what you want, he said. Its very annoying. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes He said he knows of cases where AI is used to detect the emotions of consumers: They will only transfer you when you are about to explode. Companies that put a premium on customer service typically are those trying to gain market share. Zhu pointed to Amazon, the worlds largest retailer, which has been losing money for years on one-day and same-day shipping to entice customers to become Amazon Prime subscribers. Amazon is trying to dominate and build up leverage in the online world, Zhu said. Once they have this leverage, once theyre focused on profit, we believe customer service will sadly go down. Peoples ability to deal with the hassle factor when lobbing a complaint varies across demographics, the study said. Younger people can more easily navigate an online complaint process. Women tend to get more annoyed than men and bail out earlier. And blacks and Latinos are less inclined to complain than college-educated whites, according to research from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and cited in the report. For all of the reports mathematical modeling and confirmation of what we all know already, Zhu doesnt expect companies to change their ways. For something to change, we first have to understand it, he said. Thats what were trying to do here. In other words, get used to it. Jackie Crosby is a Minneapolis Star Tribune writer. NEW DELHI: Thousands of small-scale Indian traders will protest against American online retail giant Amazon founder Jeff Bezos when he visits the country on January 15 for a company event and potential meetings with government officials. The traders, under the aegis of the Confederation of All Indian Traders (CAIT), have called for massive protests during the Amazon CEO's visit to India. They have also sought PM Modis intervention in the matter and urged him to discuss their issues with Bezos when they meet. The Amazon CEO will be visiting India on January 15 during which he will also meet PM Modi and officials, besides industry leaders, according to reports. The top Amazon CEO executive will also attend SMBhav an event focussing on small and medium businesses in India - that is slated for January 15-16 in the capital city. CAIT has issued a statement saying, ''The Amazon CEO visit will see huge protests across the country under the banner of the CAIT in association with All India Mobile Retailers Association, All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation." ''More than 5000 trade bodies will participate in the protest. The traders will hold 'Halla Bol' protest and demonstrations in about 300 cities of different states across the country,'' it said. The CAIT also described the upcoming Amazon conclave as pompous, aimed to show fake solidarity with small businessmen and entrepreneurs in India. These SMB summits will not help the businessmen of this country. E-commerce firms have been engaging with SMBs and entrepreneurs from the last five years, but it has been of no help to them. CAIT has come to their rescue and we seek PM Modis intervention for the same, CAIT general secretary Praveen Khandelwal said. Live TV Amazon already has 5 lakh retailers on their portals. Let them announce what all they have done so far to empower the existing retailers on their platform. What is the quantum of business these retailers are doing annually since the last five years? Were any of them listed as top 20 sellers during the last five years? The answers to these questions will expose Amazon. Its nothing but just eyewash to set right the wrongdoing, Khandelwal said. The traders body said they have already apprised the Finance and Commerce ministries of the gross violation of FDI norms by e-commerce companies in India by means of predatory pricing, deep discounting and preferential treatment to the retailers, which have led to 50 per cent loss of sales as well as caused massive GST revenue loss to the government. "We expect to mobilise at least 100,000 traders in the protests," Khandelwal added. Amazon, which has seen significant growth in its business in India, has also witnessed protest from a section of traders in the country who claim that e-commerce giants including Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart offer deep discounts and engage in unfair business practices. Last year, the government had tightened rules for e-commerce marketplaces with foreign investment. These rules barred such platforms from offering products of sellers in which they hold a stake and banned exclusive marketing arrangements among other clauses. Following this, Amazon restructured its joint ventures to ensure compliance. (With Agency Inputs) The Rwandan Health Ministry will distribute mosquito nets produced in the country for the first time in its fight against malaria, an official said on Saturday, Trend reports citing Xinhua. Of some 7 million mosquito bed nets to be distributed in January, 3.5 million were locally produced, Aimable Mbituyumuremyi, head of malaria and other parasitic diseases division at the Rwanda Biomedical Center told reporters here. Started last year at Kigali's special economic zone, the country's local company Garment Vision Ltd currently produces 16,200 mosquito nets a day, and the overall target is to produce 8 million bed nets per year to satisfy Rwandan market, according to officials. The health ministry has been spending 15-17 million U.S. dollars every year to import 7 million mosquito nets, Mbituyumuremyi said. Beneficiaries of the free bed nets include low-income citizens, pregnant women and children under one year old, the official said. The health ministry statistics showed that 4,746,958 malaria cases were reported in 2017, a slight decrease from 4,794,778 cases in 2016. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), malaria affects around 200 million people across the globe annually and proves fatal to more than 400,000 -- particularly children. A firefighter keeps an eye on a controlled fire as they work at building a containment line at a wildfire near Bodalla, Australia (Rick Rycroft/AP) Crews battling Australias wildfires have said that they have been able to turn from defence to offence for the first time in weeks thanks to a break in the weather. Dale McLean, who is helping manage the response to a fire near the town of Bodalla in New South Wales state, was part of team that was bulldozing down small trees and burning scrub ahead of the fires projected path to try to stop it from reaching a major road by starving it of fuel. This fire took a major run about seven or eight days ago, and with the weather changing now, the weather settling down, the fire has settled down, he said. The fire behaviour has changed. So were able to get in front of the fire now, get on the offensive. Expand Close (PA Graphics) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp (PA Graphics) Other workers echoed Mr McLeans comments, saying cooler temperatures and mild winds have finally offered them a chance to make progress. The weather is expected to remain benign for the next week, although any deterioration in conditions after that could see the wildfires flare up again. While battling the blazes, volunteer firefighting veteran Mick Stain found some moth larvae, or witchetty grubs, and turned them into what Is known in Australia as bush tucker by roasting them directly on the fires burning coals. Bit creamy and nutty, but theyre all right, Mr Stain said. Theyre not spew-worthy, so theyre pretty good. Expand Close Firefighter Mick Stain eats a moth larvae called a witchetty grub as he helps patrol a controlled fire (Rick Rycroft/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Firefighter Mick Stain eats a moth larvae called a witchetty grub as he helps patrol a controlled fire (Rick Rycroft/AP) The progress came after a firefighter was killed by a falling tree. Bill Slade, 60, died near Omeo in the south-eastern state of Victoria, Forest Fire Management Victoria executive director Chris Hardman said. The married father of two was commended in November for 40 years of service with the forestry agency. Expand Close A helicopter prepares to drop water on a wildfire that burns in the hills near Cobargo, Australia (Rick Rycroft/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A helicopter prepares to drop water on a wildfire that burns in the hills near Cobargo, Australia (Rick Rycroft/AP) Although we do have enormous experience in identifying hazardous trees, sometimes these tree failures cant be predicted, Mr Hardman said. Working on the fire ground in a forest environment is a dynamic, high-risk environment and it carries with it significant risk. The tragedy brings the death toll to at least 27 in a crisis that has destroyed more than 2,000 homes. The crisis has brought accusations that Prime Minister Scott Morrisons conservative government needs to take more action to counter climate change, which experts say has worsened the blazes. Thousands of protesters rallied late on Friday in Sydney and Melbourne, calling for Mr Morrison to be sacked and for Australia to take tougher action on global warming. The prime minister said on Sunday that his government was building resilience to the fire danger posed by climate change. Expand Close A firefighters work at building a containment line at a wildfire near Bodalla (Rick Rycroft/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A firefighters work at building a containment line at a wildfire near Bodalla (Rick Rycroft/AP) He said the government was developing a national disaster risk reduction framework within the Department of Home Affairs that will deal with wildfires, cyclones, floods and drought. This is a longer-term risk framework model which deals with one of the big issues in response to the climate changing, Mr Morrison said. He said his government accepted that climate change was leading to longer, hotter and drier summers, despite junior government politician George Christensen posting on social media over the weekend that the cause of the latest fires was arson rather than man-made climate change. Another junior politician, Craig Kelly, has also publicly denied any link between climate change and fire crisis. State authorities have said a minority of fires are deliberately lit. The governments policy is set by the Cabinet. Our party room has a broad range of views, Mr Morrison said of those within government ranks who reject mainstream climate science. Mr Morrison also announced that 76 million Australian dollars (40 million) would be spent on providing psychological counselling for firefighters and fire-affected communities as part of a previously announced two billion Australian dollar recovery fund. There has been a deep scar in the landscape that has been left right across our country, Mr Morrison said. But I am also very mindful, as is the government, of the very real scars that will be there for quite a period of time to come for those whove been exposed to the trauma of these bushfires. While the fire threat is most acute in rural communities, wildfire smoke that has choked some of Australias largest cities is a reminder to many urban Australians of the unfolding disaster. Bir Lahlou (Liberated Territories), 12 January 2020 (SPS) - President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Frente POLISARIO, Mr. Brahim Ghali, received a letter from Algerian President, Mr. Abdelmajid Tebboune, in which he congratulated him on his re-election as Secretary-General of the Frente POLISARIO and President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic at the 15th Congress of the Frente POLISARIO. "The Sahrawi people, through the activities of the 15 th Congress of the Frente POLISARIO, demonstrated their deep awareness, high sense and heroic determination in order to overcome difficulties, achieve legitimate demands for self-determination and build a new future in freedom, security and stability," said President Tebboune. The Algerian President assured the President of the Republic of Algeria's firm determination to continue support for the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination, to achieve the decolonization of the African continent. (SPS) 062/SPS/T Senior BJP leader Sadanand Tanavade was on Sunday elected unopposed as the new state party chief. Tanavade, 54, succeeds BJP's Rajya Sabha member Vinay Tendulkar, who held the post for two consecutive terms from 2012 till date. BJP national vice president Avinash Rai Khanna declared Tanavade as chief of the party's Goa unit during a workers' convention held here on Sunday. Tanvade, the former MLA from Thivim who was till now Goa BJP's general secretary, was the only one to file his nomination for the state party chief's post on Saturday. The state council of the BJP held its convention on Sunday before the formal announcement. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, outgoing BJP state president Tendulkar and Goa Cabinet ministers were present at the convention which was attended by over 1,000 party workers. Sawant took to Twitter to welcome Tanavade as the new Goa BJP chief. "Congratulations to Shri. Sadanand Shet Tanavade on being elected unopposed as President of BJP Goa Pradesh. I am confident that under his leadership the party will continue to scale greater heights," he tweeted. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) WARSAW, Poland - Late Gdansk Mayor Pawel Adamowicz was remembered on Sunday evening during the finale of a yearly Polish fundraiser the same event during which he was fatally stabbed on stage last year. Adamowicz was stabbed in the heart on Jan. 13, 2019, during an event dubbed Light to Heaven in Gdansk, by a psychologically unstable ex-convict and died the next day at age 53. In Gdansk, a chorus performed an mournful rendition of Sound of Silence, a song that was played last year as Gdansk and the nation were plunged into mourning. Images of the beloved mayor appeared on a video screen and a beam of light pointed to the sky. His widow Magdalena Adamowicz told those gathered that she feels her husband remains with her and the people of Gdansk. Pawel is with me, he is with me all the time, his wedding ring hangs from my neck, his widow said. He is with all of us. His brother Piotr also thanked them on behalf of himself and their parents. After the attack last year, Adamowiczs killer grabbed a microphone and told the crowd that it was his revenge against an opposition political party that Adamowicz had once belonged to. The political undercurrent sparked soul-searching in Poland about rising hate speech. Adamowicz himself had been vilified by public media, which is controlled by the conservative government, for his acceptance of refugees and gays. Remember that good wins, that evil cannot win, that we will not be intimidated, his widow said. Elsewhere across the country, people gathered for events at the end of the 28th annual Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity, which raises funds to buy life-saving equipment for children for childrens hospitals. By last Sunday the charity had gathered 77 million zlotys ($20 million). The charitys founder, Jerzy Owsiak, also expressed solidarity with Australia, which has been devastated by raging deadly wildfires. Brexit has felt a little like Harry and Meghan's decision to stay linked to the royal family but "financially independent" of it. It is hard to imagine what the new order will look like, but it's obvious that getting there will be messy. As he seeks regulatory independence from the European Union, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson like the royal couple will have to make some trade-offs. So far it's been smooth sailing. The Brexit legislation that was a Sisyphean burden for his predecessor Theresa May for much of last year proved an easy lift on Thursday with Johnson's new parliamentary majority. The House of Lords may wag a few fingers for example, protesting against the clause that gives ministers the power to tell courts where they can depart from EU case law but it won't stand in the way of Britain's January 31 departure. By William Schwartz | Published on 2020/01/11 Lee Tae-seok was a trained doctor and musician who spurned a worldly life for the Catholic priesthood to instead minister to people in war-torn Sudan way back in 2001. Lee Tae-seok continued this mission until his death in 2010. Later that year his missionary work was immortalized in the award-winning KBS documentary "Don't Cry for Me Sudan". During his lifetime Lee Tae-seok was also highly decorated for his charitable work. Advertisement Given all of that, it's a bit strange that the sequel documentary "Don't Cry for Me Sudan: Shukran Baba" is coming out now, ten years later. We're actually farther away from father Lee Tae-seok's death now than his death was from his first arrival in Sudan. The sheer datedness of this documentary is difficult to ignore. Nearly all of the footage is extremely grainy, and there's surprisingly little information provided to contextualize what's been going on in Sudan in the last decade during Lee Tae-seok's absence. For an allegedly secular production I was also surprised at how "Don't Cry for Me Sudan: Shukran Baba" contains quite a few religious overtones. The only references to the political conflict that created the miserable situation for the people Lee Tae-seok ministers to explicitly outline Muslims as being the main culprit. This struck me as a bit of an oversimplification, and not a terribly relevant one given that the community Lee Tae-seok ministers to appears to be suffering from general issues of poverty rather than those of war. The extremely generic nature of this documentary was also a point of frustration with me. The best missionary documentaries also function as travelogues for the often obscure regions the missionary in question ministers to. I've learned a lot about rural life in distinct locations throughout India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Phillipines from such documentaries that really expanded my understanding of how poor people live in these countries. I learned little comparable information from "Don't Cry for Me Sudan: Shukran Baba" since as far as I could tell all Sudanese people do is just sit around and act generally pitiful. Now, to be fair, director Kang Seong-ok does not portray them as completely helpless. Once Lee Tae-seok starts teaching the kids about music, he is impressed by the sheer speed with which they are able to adapt to musical instruments. Their rhythm is perfect- all that's missing is an understanding of musical notation, a language which is easily taught to people who already love music. As to why Sudanese people love music- I have no idea. Do they have traditional songs? I don't know. The documentary doesn't say. It's too focused on talking up Lee Tae-seok's accomplishments and background to really get into his actual relationship with Sudanese people. Consequently they feel less like actual people and more like props to prove how great Lee Tae-seok is for giving then medical treatment, musical lessons and, presumably, the gospel of Jesus Christ our lord and savior. A serious Christian may find something of interest here but I was very unimpressed. Review by William Schwartz ___________ "Don't Cry for Me Sudan: Shukran Baba" is directed by Kang Seong-ok, and features Lee Geum-hee. Release date in Korea: 2020/01/09. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said respect for all religions was inherent "in the Indian blood" and asserted secularism does not mean 'insult' or appeasement of one particular faith. For a long time, India has sheltered persecuted persons and given refuge to many, Naidu said at an event here to mark the centenary of Sri Ramakrishna Vijayam, a Tamil monthly of Sri Ramakrishna Math. Speaking on the occasion coinciding with the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, Naidu said people should forever remember him and propogate his teachings and preachings "which are eternal for the betterment of mankind." Hailing the guru as a "great saint, teacher and social reformer," he said Swami Vivekananda played a major role in introducing Hinduism to the West. "He was a social reformer and was against religious dogmas and believed in the uplift of humanity irrespective of caste or creed and emphasised that spiritualism is important for the survival of mankind," Naidu said. "Swami Vivekananda stressed on the importance of spirituality. India, in a way is the spiritual guru for the entire world. People look to India for solace, guidance and spiritualism," he added. Quoting from Vivekananda, he said the Swamiji was proud that he belonged to a religion "that has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance." "...the only religion which says all religions are true. That is the greatness, that is the beauty of this religion (Hinduism)," he said. Swami Vivekananda also said he belonged to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all nations of the earth, Naidu said. "Now also we are ready to accept those who are persecuted though some people are trying to make it controversial and all," he said in an apparent reference to the opposition to the NDA government's controversial Citizenship Amendment Act. "That is our culture, our heritage. This is what our forefathers have told us," the Vice President added. The CAA envisages providing Indian citizenship to persecuted minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Today there was more than ever a need to bring down the walls that create differences among the people and "we follow sarvadharma samabhavana," or respect for all religions, he said. "It is there in our Indian blood. People now talk about secularism, constitution. Constitution came later, but the Indian blood- sarvadharma samabhavana-- respect for all religions (existed already)," Naidu said. From time immemorial, people have come from outside and have been given shelter, he said, adding different religions also came to India and were respected "because we believe every religion is important and sarvadharma samabhavana is the essence of our civilisation." Without naming anyone, he said some people had some kind of an "allergy" towards the word Hindu. "There are some people in this country who have some allergy towards this word called Hindu. We can't help them and they have got every right to have that view. But they are not right," he said. On the International Yoga Day, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made efforts to take it to the UN following which it was now being practiced in many countries. In a possible reference to critics of the Prime Minister, he said "yoga is for your body, not because of Modi," and urged one and all to do it for one's own good. Earlier, Naidu played Badminton with his old friends. "Had a refreshing start to start my day. Played a wonderful Badminton game with my old friends in Chennai amid beautiful weather," the official twitter account of Naidu said in a tweet and shared pictures of Vice President playing the game. He also visited Amir Mahal, the residence of Prince of Arcot, Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali. "Visited Amir Mahal, the residence of Prince of Arcot, Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali and interacted with his family members in Chennai today," he said in another tweet. Naidu was received by Governor Banwarilal Purohit and Chief Minister K Palaniswami on his arrival here on Sunday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Senator Elizabeth Warren is again calling on Michael Bloomberg to release former female employees of his company from confidentiality agreements after several of them filed suits alleging hostile work environments. If his company has an enviable record, then let people in his company or former people from his company speak about that enviable record, the senator from Massachusetts told ABC News on Saturday. What is it that Michael Bloomberg has to hide? Both Warren and Bloomberg are running for the Democratic nomination for president. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts (left) on Sunday repeated her calls for Michael Bloomberg (right) to free female ex-employees of his company from confidentiality agreements after several filed lawsuits alleging a hostile work environment Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City, was asked on Wednesday about Warrens previous calls to release the women from their obligations under the NDAs, saying: Maybe the senator should worry about herself, and Ill worry about myself. He has so far refused to allow former employees of his media company to violate the nondisclosure agreements. Bloomberg cited his companys enviable record on gender parity. He denies that female employees were victims of sex discrimination. You can't just walk away from it, Bloomberg said, referring to the NDAs. They're legal agreements, and for all I know the other side wouldn't want to get out of it. I'm very proud of the ways our company behaves. We can always do better. But we keep looking for better ways to make our employees get better benefits because that's the way you attract good people, and I can parade out a whole bunch of any group that you want that will tell you it's a great place to work. Warren has hit out at Bloomberg since the former New York City mayor made a late entry into the race for the Democratic nomination. She has assailed Bloomberg, whom Forbes says is the eighth-richest American, for trying to 'buy' the election after he poured in tens of millions of dollars of his own money in an advertising blitz. Last month, it was revealed that more than a dozen women who worked at Bloomberg Inc filed lawsuits alleging that Bloomberg fostered a culture of harassment and discrimination. Bloomberg himself is alleged to have made a number of statements, including 'Id like to do that piece of meat' and 'I would DO you in a second.' 'When women raise concerns like this, we have to pay attention,' the Massachusetts Democrat said during a campaign event in Iowa last month, according to ABC News. 'We have to listen to them, and if Michael Bloomberg has made comments like this, then he has to answer for them.' Warren went on to say that the women who signed nondisclosure agreements with Bloomberg's company should be released from the contracts so they can speak publicly about the allegations. 'I think [nondisclosure agreements] are a way for people to hide bad things they've done. And I think that women should be able to speak,' Warren said. Bloomberg is reportedly the eighth richest American. He amassed a net worth exceeding $57billion after he founded Bloomberg Inc, a financial media company Bloomberg has denied the accusations that he made inappropriate remarks in the 1990s, creating a hostile work environment for women. After ABC News first reported about the lawsuits last month, Bloomberg released a statement touting his 'enviable record' on gender equality. 'There will always be somebody that's not happy, but we are - we do very well in terms of attracting men and women to come to work in the company, and the retention rate with both of them is good as I think any real company,' Bloomberg said. 'I'm very proud of what we do.' Court records indicate that at least 17 women have taken legal action against Bloomberg Inc over the past three decades. Three of the cases specifically named the founder for his role in the company's culture, which accusers described as 'frat-like' and uncomfortable for women. None of those cases have gone to trial as three remain active, four were either dismissed or withdrawn and five were settled out of court with attached non-disclosure agreements. Among the cases settled out of court was brought by Sekiko Sakai, who sued the company and Bloomberg in 1997, alleging that the founder made sexually explicit and derogatory statements to and about women in the workplace. Sakai's lawyer in that case, Bonnie Josephs, joined Warren in calling for her former client and other women to be released from their confidentiality agreements. 'The atmosphere was toxic and harassing, with locker room atmosphere that was a sexually harassing atmosphere,' Josephs told ABC News. 'If Mr. Bloomberg is running for president, I think the public needs to know what actually happened in this business. 'It's his company, it's his business. He frames the atmosphere. He has to be responsible for it.' The outlet said it had spoken with several women who expressed interest in sharing their stories but feared retribution by the company. Bloomberg has denied the accusations that he made inappropriate remarks in the 1990s, creating a hostile work environment for women The largest lawsuit detailed in the ABC News report was filed in 2007 by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of more than 70 women who worked at the company. The suit alleged that mothers and pregnant women were subjected to unfair pay cuts and demotions and were excluded from management meetings. Some women were told: 'You are not committed,' and 'You do not want to be here' because of the extra demands being placed on their time as new parents, according to the suit. 'It's like stealing money from Mike Bloomberg's wallet,' a plaintiff quoted the editor as saying in reference to women at the company who went on maternity leave. 'It's theft. They should be arrested.' The US District Court of Manhattan eventually dismissed the suit because there was 'not enough statistical evidence' to support the claims. Another lawsuit filed in the 1990s alleged that Bloomberg told a pregnant employee to have an abortion. 'He told me to "kill it" in a serious monotone voice,' the plaintiff alleged. 'I asked "What? What did you just say?" He looked at me and repeated in a deliberate manner "kill it".' Bloomberg has repeatedly denied the specific 'kill it' allegation, including on the Today show in 2001. The discrimination lawsuit was later settled out of court and the complainant signed a confidentiality agreement. Newly-uncovered court records indicate that at least 17 women have taken legal action against Bloomberg Inc and its founder (pictured in 1994) over the past three decades In another lawsuit, filed in 2016, Bloomberg was accused of breeding 'a hostile work environment' that led to discrimination, although he managed to have his name removed from the multi-million dollar case. In that suit, a women alleged she had been raped by a fellow employee while she was drunk and then became dependent on drugs that were hidden for her around the office. 'Mr. Bloomberg, Bloomberg's founder, CEO, and President, and the former three-term Mayor of New York, encouraged this type of sexist and sexually charged behavior,' states the complaint filed by a 26-year-old woman. 'Bloomberg's notoriously sexist and hostile work environment has been well documented and has been the subject of myriad law suits prior to this lawsuit.' Another former executive, Johnna Ayres, sued Bloomberg and Bloomberg Inc in 2018 claiming the company had 'a hostile work environment and an atmosphere of retaliation'. Ayres resigned from Bloomberg 'after being targeted for termination because she complained about illegal financial, discriminatory and other employment practices by her male predecessor', the suit states. The suit also alleges that the firm's 'proclivity to hire males, specifically males under the age of 40, resulted in a fraternity-fashioned corporate culture.' 'Following the example and leadership of Mr. Bloomberg, Bloomberg's dominant male culture allows sex to permeate the company's work environment on a daily basis,' it said. Other lawsuits outline a string of remarks allegedly made by Bloomberg himself in the 1990s. At a 1996 dinner party, Bloomberg allegedly told colleagues: 'I'd love nothing more in life than to have Sharon Stone sit on my face.' In a complaint filed in 1995, an employee claimed: 'Bloomberg would gawk at women and say about their legs: "I like that." He defended his attitude by saying it keeps him young.' Former executive Johnna Ayres (pictured) sued Bloomberg and Bloomberg Inc in 2018 claiming the company had 'a hostile work environment and an atmosphere of retaliation' Some of Bloomberg's alleged inappropriate remarks were compiled in a 32-page book colleagues gifted to the founder for his birthday in 1990s. One of the one-liners in the book, entitled 'The Portable Bloomberg: The Wit and Wisdom of Michael Bloomberg', read: 'If women wanted to be appreciated for their brains, they'd go to the library instead of to Bloomingdale's.' 'Make the customer think he's getting laid when he's getting f*****,' another read. When the booklet reemerged during Bloomberg's 2001 run for mayor, he claimed he did not remember saying any of the quotes attributed to him. In recent statement to The New York Times Bloomberg's team said the businessman admitted 'some of what he has said is disrespectful and wrong.' 'He believes his words have not always aligned with his values and the way he has led his life,' spokesman Stu Loeser told the Times last month. Bloomberg served as CEO of his company from 1981 until 2001. He stepped down after becoming mayor of New York City for three terms before returning to Bloomberg Inc in late 2014. He stepped down again from the firm after launching his presidential bid in November. Bloomberg Inc has denied all allegations of gender discrimination and noted that there has been a concerted effort to have more women placed into executive positions with and improved benefits including 26-week maternity leave. 'Mike Bloomberg has supported and empowered women throughout his career - from appointing women to the very top positions in his mayoral administration to supporting women candidates for higher office to an industry-leading 26-weeks of paid family leave at his company,' Bloomberg campaign spokesperson Julie Wood wrote in a statement. Opposition parties on Sunday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making a "political speech" at Belur Math, saying he has forgotten to differentiate between a spiritual place and a rally out of desperation to implement the "divisive" new Citizenship law. Claiming that the countrywide protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act or CAA have cornered the Centre, the TMC, CPI(M) and the Congress said the prime minister should have "spared the holy land of Belur Math from his divisive politics". "The headquarters of Ramkrishna Mission-Belur Math is known across the world as a holy land. The prime minister should have refrained from making a political speech there. We condemn it. "He should not have turned Belur Math into a venue of a political rally. There is some decorum in and public life, we need to maintain it," Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing a programme in Belur Math on Sunday, strongly defended the new citizenship law, saying that the dispute that has arisen over it has made the world aware of the persecution of religious minorities in Pakistan. He, however, deplored that a section of the youth is being "misguided" over the CAA, which is aimed at giving and not taking away anybody's citizenship rights. Reacting to the PM's speech, TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee said, "It only proves the desperation of the Centre and that it is on the backfoot after countrywide anti- CAA protests. We condemn such cheap at a religious place like Belur Math. The people of India will never accept CAA." CPI(M) politburo member Mohammed Salim was hopeful that the monks of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission would condemn PM Modi's "political speech" at Belur Math. Responding to the allegations made by the opposition parties, BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha said the CPI(M) and Congress should stop "lecturing on right and wrong". "CPI(M), which is a party of atheists, is lecturing us on Belur Math? The CPI(M) and Congress have no right to lecture us on what is right and wrong," he asserted. The Ramakrishna Math and Mission on Sunday distanced itself from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech on the CAA, contending that it was a strictly apolitical body which did not respond to "ephemeral" calls. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Miguel was a young soldier with dreams for the future and a desire to make a difference in the world today. Much like all of us who have left from our hometown of Aurora to serve our country, our goal is to do our job well and return to our family and friends. Sadly, Miguel made the ultimate sacrifice as he protected our freedom from the front lines," Irvin said. Egypt's parliament held one-hour session Sunday morning to discuss political and military developments in neighbouring Libya. Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives Aqila Saleh, who was invited to address the session, offered warm thanks to Egypt for its clear-cut support of the Libyan National Army in fighting terrorism and confronting foreign meddling in the internal affairs of Libya. Aqila, who sat beside Egypts parliament speaker, Ali Abdel-Aal, on the main podium is currently in Cairo to also attend the Arab parliaments meeting scheduled in Cairo Wednesday to discuss developments in Libya and Iraq. Abdel-Aal said: It is a great pleasure and honour for us, we Egyptian MPs, that my brother Aqila Saleh, speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives, attend this plenary session to address us on developments in Libya and let me confirm that we declare our full support for Libya against foreign intervention and against terrorist organisations and militias that threaten the national security of Libya and Egypt. As all know, Egyptian-Libyan relations are closely related in terms of political and social aspects and mutual interests, Abdel-Aal added, indicating that as a result, we are keen that we keep coordination with Libyan officials at all levels all the time, because this is a matter of supreme importance to Egypts national security. Abdel-Aal continued: Let me also seize this occasion to send some messages. First, Egypt is keen that Libyans reach a political solution that can pave the way for Libyas stability, unity, sovereignty and integrity of its land, adding that, In this context we reject all forms of illegitimate foreign interference in Libyas internal affairs, especially as this interference comes from foreign forces which have no geographical or linguistic ties with Libya, but all they seek is to plunder the wealth and riches of the Libyan people. Second, Abdel-Aal said the two memorandums of understanding signed between Turkey and Libyas Fayez El-Serraj in November 2019 represent a stark violation of international law, UN Security Council resolutions, and the Skhirat Agreement. This agreement lead to undermining regional stability and for this reason we support the decision of the Libyan House of Representatives to reject the two memorandums and consider them null and void, Abdel-Aal said. According to Abdel-Aal, the International Berlin Conference scheduled this month represents an important opportunity for all parties in Libya to reach a political solution and restore stability to their country. But, meanwhile, Egypt will keep giving support to Libyans to restore their national state and institutions in the face of extremist thoughts and armed terrorist militias and groups which are supported by some countries which seek to sow instability in the region. In this respect, let me confirm that we support the Libyan National Army and its legitimate leadership in fighting terrorist groups and foreign intervention, Abdel-Aal added. For his part, Libyas Saleh said that, History will never forget Egypts firm support for Libya in its current crisis. Dear Egyptian MPs, please know that Libya is facing Turkish aggression and terrorist operations led by some countries which claim themselves to be Muslim ones, Saleh said, adding that Turkey is trying its best to spread chaos on the Libyan land in terms of a proxy war that seeks to achieve the interests of some terrorist groups. According to Saleh, Turkey has a bloody history, not only in Libya, but in many Arab countries. There is a fascist dictator who is using terrorist groups for targeting the national Arab states in Syria and Libya in the name of religion and for resurrecting what is called 'the Ottoman Caliphate. In this respect, Turkey moved to exploit what is called the presidential council in Tripoli to achieve its malicious objectives in Libya, and for this reason El-Serraj, supported by the Muslim Brotherhood, was pushed to sign the agreements with Turkey, Saleh said, adding that These agreements opened the door wide for Turkeys interference in Libyas internal affairs in the same style they did in Syria. Erdogan claims that Libya is an Ottoman state and that he wants the Ottoman colonialism to be back to Libya to restore the shameful past of Ottomans there. According to Saleh, the illegitimate Government of National Accord in Tripoli also opened the door wide for terrorist militias to control Libya and to play havoc with the lives of the Libyan people. The memorandums reached with Turkey did not get the approval of the Libyan parliament and so they should be considered null and void, not to mention that they represent a kind of treason that well condemn, said Saleh. Several Egyptian MPs took the floor to praise Khalifa Haftar, leader of the Libyan National Army, and the Libyan House of Representatives which rejected the agreements with Turkey. Ahmed Raslan, head of the Egyptian parliaments Arab Affairs Committee, accused the terrorist group of the Muslim Brotherhood of hijacking Libya for its own ideological interests and that Turkeys Erdogan uses this group to spread hegemony in Arab and Muslim countries. Diaaeddin Dawoud, a leftist opposition MP, said All Egyptian political forces support their army in protecting Egypts national security against some powers which insist on sowing instability in the Middle East. MP Mostafa Bakri said the Egyptian armys military exercises and manoeuvres on Egypt's western borders should send a message to all parties that Egypt is ready to defend its national security. Bakri asked that the ambassador of the Government of National Accord in Tripoli be expelled from Cairo and that the Egyptian parliament condemn Turkeys massacres in Armenia. Incumbent Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (Image: Reuters) Taiwanese re-elected President Tsai Ing-wen by a landslide on Saturday in a stern rebuke that could fuel further tension with China, which has tried military threats and economic inducements to get the island to accept its rule. Anti-government unrest in Chinese-ruled Hong Kong took centre stage during a campaign in which Tsai held up Taiwan as a beacon of hope for protesters in the former British colony and rejected Beijing's offer of a "one country, two systems" model. China claims Taiwan as its sacred territory, to be taken by force if needed, a threat President Xi Jinping reiterated a year ago while saying he preferred a peaceful solution. "One country, two systems," which gives a high degree of autonomy, much as Beijing uses in Hong Kong, has never been popular in Taiwan and is even less so after months of protests in Hong Kong. China made itself even more unpopular in Taiwan in the run-up to the election by twice sailing its newest aircraft carrier through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, denounced by Taipei as an effort at military intimidation. "We hope that the Beijing authorities can understand that a democratic Taiwan with a government chosen by the people will not give in to threats and intimidation," Tsai told reporters. Beijing needs to understand the will of Taiwan's people, and that only Taiwan's people can decide its future, she added, repeating her firm opposition to "one country, two systems". China's Taiwan Affairs Office, in a statement carried by state media, reaffirmed its commitment to this approach and its opposition to any form of independence. Tsai beat her main opponent Han Kuo-yu of the Kuomintang party, which favours close ties with China, by more than 2.6 million votes. Underscoring the scale of her victory, Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party also won a majority in parliament. The United States, Taiwan's strongest international backer and main arms supplier, congratulated Tsai. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Taiwan a "force for good in the world". "The United States thanks President Tsai for her leadership in developing a strong partnership with the United States and applauds her commitment to maintaining cross-Strait stability in the face of unrelenting pressure," Pompeo said in a statement. LANDSLIDE WIN Tsai won almost 8.2 million votes in total, more than any Taiwan president since the island held its first direct presidential election in 1996. Speaking in the southern city of Kaoshiung where he is mayor, Han, who had to fend off allegations from Tsai on the campaign trail that he and his party were puppets of Beijing, said he had called to congratulate Tsai. "I still hope to see a united Taiwan after we wake up," Han said, accompanied by a swell of mournful music on stage. "I urge President Tsai Ing-wen to focus on giving people a life where they can live safely and happily." Han said Taiwan could only be safe and prosperous if it had good relations with Beijing. "People have been stirred up by the Hong Kong situation and that deceived many people into voting for Tsai," said Huang Lu-lu, 38, at what was supposed to be a victory rally for Han. After his brief speech, the glum crowds dispersed, some crying. NOT GOOD FOR CHINA China cut off a dialogue mechanism when Tsai took office in 2016 and has regularly flown bombers near the island since. China believes Tsai wants to push for a Republic of Taiwan, a red line for Beijing. Tsai says Taiwan is already an independent country called the Republic of China. Tsai's win is all the more embarrassing for China because it follows another landslide victory, in November, for pro-democracy candidates in Hong Kong in district council elections after residents turned out in record numbers. "I believe friends in Hong Kong will be happy about our collective decision tonight," Tsai said. Prominent pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong tweeted that Tsai's victory was a "precious moment" for the people of Hong Kong. "Today is the day for the majority of Taiwanese to choose their fate, to safeguard their democracy and freedoms, and most importantly, to say no to CCP's authoritarian invasion," he wrote in English, referring to China's Communist Party. Taiwanese are broadly sympathetic to the protesters in Hong Kong, an Asian financial hub. "I saw what's happening in Hong Kong and it's horrible," said first-time voter Stacey Lin, 20, in the capital Taipei. "I just want to make sure I have the freedom to vote in the future." Ceremonies held across the country after 57 Canadians among the 176 people killed when plane was shot down near Tehran. About 2,000 people packed a memorial in Toronto, Canada, on Sunday to remember the victims of a Ukrainian airliner shot down in Iran in a disaster that killed 57 Canadians mainly of Iranian descent. The ceremony was hosted by the cross-cultural Iranian-Canadian charity Tirgan. Al Jazeeras Daniel Lak, reporting from Toronto, described the turnout as overwhelming with a queue of people 100 metres (328 feet) long waiting to get in. They read out the names of the Canadian victims from across the country of this tragedy in Tehran, Lak said. There was hardly a dry eye. Faced with mounting evidence, Iran acknowledged on Saturday it shot down the Ukrainian passenger plane, killing all 176 people on board. Iranian president Hassan Rouhani called it a disastrous mistake. The Boeing 737-800 was en route to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, with 167 passengers from several countries and nine crew members, including 82 Iranians. Many were dual nationals. There is no justice in this world, said Masoud Niknam whose brother Farhad Niknam, a dentist and married father of two children from Toronto, was killed in the crash. I dont believe in anything any more. We will have a hole in our hearts forever and that cannot be filled with anything. Edmonton memorial Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended a memorial service in the western city of Edmonton where 13 victims lived and said it had been gut-wrenching to hear from the relatives of those who were killed. This tragedy should never have occurred, Trudeau told the 2,300 people who attended the service. We will not rest until there are answers. We will not rest until there is justice and accountability. Other memorials took place across the country. At the Vancouver Art Gallery, Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan also called the crash a national tragedy. The memorials follow several days of grieving in Canada, including candlelight vigils in many cities. The community is unbelievable. The people feel the whole of Canada is hugging them, said Reza Akbari, president of the Iranian Heritage Society of Edmonton. Mourners this week placed flowers and scattered rose petals outside the Edmonton office of University of Alberta engineering professor Pedram Mousavi, who died in the crash with his wife, engineering professor Mojgan Daneshmand, and their two daughters. They were both so kind and caring, wrote Dennis Ramsawak, who took classes with both professors, in an online memorial. Im so heartbroken. Its a great loss for the community. Edmontons Iranian community is collecting funds to pay funeral and other expenses for the victims families. Some Edmonton relatives have already travelled to Iran to bury their loved ones, Akbari said, adding that transporting remains to Canada for burial would be complex and costly. NEW HAVEN - U.S. Rep Rosa DeLauro led a roundtable discussion Saturday with experts and community leaders on aspects of gun violence prevention research that could be explored using $25 million in funding she secured in this years Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education House Appropriations law. Congress funded this research for the first time in more than two decades, providing $12.5 million each for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health, a news release from DeLauros office states. We celebrate today, DeLauro said at the outset of Saturdays discussion. She is chairwoman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services. After the think tank collaboration among about a dozen experts, DeLauro described the experience as a rich conversation in defining the issues and dealing with the complexity of the issue. Among those at the table were experts in public policy, law enforcement, health, social services, research, and gun violence-prevention as well as of Guilford, whose son, Ethan, 15, accidentally shot himself at a friends house where guns were kept in a box. The Songs have become nationally known advocates of tough gun-storage laws and led the way for Ethans Law in Connecticut, which requires all firearms, loaded and unloaded, to be safely stored in homes occupied by minors under 18. All at the roundtable agreed that in the future, those who have experienced gun violence and live with it daily should have a seat at the table. The research includes all kinds of gun violence, including via suicide. Directions that might be taken moving forwarded include: Creating a nationwide repository for gun-related data Using the UNH Center for Analytics in interpreting data collected. Bringing young urban residents to the table. Improving systems that exist, such as transmitting hospital data on trauma to the state health department so there is a central database. Putting thewealth of data available onto a central platform for those in the system to use. A tax credit to help the odds of passing tough gun safety laws in red states. Getting groups such as the NRA to buy into tougher firearms safety laws by suggesting its a way to protect their firearms being stolen by criminals. Research into access to firearms. Programs to deter young people from a life likely to include firearms. Family and social antecedents to gun violence. A look at de-escalation techniques. Conducting epidemiological and intervention research. DeLauro said Saturday some of the best resources in the country were in that room at UNH. We have an opportunity here, she said. Earlier this year, DeLauro said the federal government has been hesitant to fund research into aspects of gun violence since the 1996 passage of the Dickey Amendment. As a result, major issues from the correlation between guns and domestic violence to the rising rate of suicides by firearm to the impact of trauma on emergency responders, medical professionals and everyday people have not been well considered by researchers, she has said. As described by NPR, the Dickey Amendment indicates that none of the funds given to the CDC for injury prevention could be used to advocate for or promote gun control. While the amendment did not explicitly forbid research into gun-related deaths, just advocacy, as described by The Atlantic, Congress also lowered the CDCs budget by the exact amount it spent on such research at the time, which led to a chilling effect on the entire field for decades. Brett Peterkin, the statewide coordinating director of Project Longevity, has said the Dickey Amendment, passed into law in 1996, defunded research into gun violence by the CDC and NIH, but does not bar them from pursuing such lines of inquiry. The federal government has not tracked firearm injuries in any systematic way in the last 20 years, Karl E. Minges, director of the Master of Public Health program at UNH, said earlier this year. Minges was also part of Saturdays roundtable. He said that this lack of data has led to a lack of research into basic questions such as: what are the socioeconomic factors that correlate with gun violence? How does domestic violence correlate with gun violence? How many households in the United States own firearms? How effective is gun safety education? What kind of interventions can help prevent suicides and mass shootings? Its shocking that so little basic, descriptive research exists on this topic, Minge has maintained. He has said that with funding, we will have the opportunity As a country, we can begin to save lives, reduce harm, and stand taller than we were yesterday. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 22:24:42|Editor: zyl Video Player Close Lightning flashes as the Taal volcano erupts in Tagaytay, the Philippines, Jan. 12, 2020. The Philippines raised the alert level to 4 on a scale of 5 over the Taal volcano eruption on Sunday, saying that "hazardous explosive eruption is possible within hours to days" as volcanic activity increased. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali) MANILA, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines raised the alert level to 4 on a scale of 5 over the Taal volcano eruption on Sunday, saying that "hazardous explosive eruption is possible within hours to days" as volcanic activity increased. In a bullet released at 7:30 p.m. local time (1130 GMT), the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said "eruptive activity" at Taal volcano's main crater "intensified" as of 5:30 p.m. local time (0930 GMT) "as continuous eruption generated ash plumes of up to 15 kilometers" into the sky. The institute said the volcano belched "a steam-laden tephra column" or ashes with rock fragments. Moreover, it said "frequent volcanic lightning that rained wet ash on the general north as far as Quezon City" in Metro Manila. The institute urged the thousands of residents on the island and around the volcano to evacuate. Taal volcano is located inside a lake that is itself a collapsed pre-historic volcano. It is the world's smallest active volcano, located on Volcano Island in Taal Lake in Talisay town in Batangas province, approximately 90 km south of Manila. Taal Volcano is the second most active volcano in the Philippines. "Phivolcs strongly reiterates total evacuation of Taal Volcano island and additional evacuation of areas at high risk to pyroclastic density currents and volcanic tsunami within a 14-kilometer radius from Taal Volcano's main crater," Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum told a news conference. "Civil aviation authorities must advise aircraft to avoid the airspace around Taal volcano as airborne ash and ballistic fragments from the eruption column pose hazards to aircraft," he added. Taal volcano rumbled back to life on Sunday morning, spewing initially a column of ash one kilometer into the sky in phreatic eruption. The Manila International Airport Authorities (MIAA) announced that flights to and from Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport have been put on hold starting Sunday night, following the eruption of the volcano. In an advisory, the MIAA said that all flights, both arrival and departures, have been put on hold. Mark Timbal, spokesman for the National Risk Reduction and Management Council, said up to 10,000 residents of three towns around the volcano will be evacuated. Timbal said that towns and provinces south of Manila and some parts of Metro Manila are experiencing ash fall. Since March 28, 2019, the Phivolcs said Taal volcano's seismic network has manifested moderate to high level of seismic activity. The achievements of the Delhi Congress government under former chief minister Sheila Dikshit and its old charge of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) being Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJPs) B-team are key points that the party will raise during its campaign for the Assembly elections in the Capital. The party also plans a special focus on pollution, a problem that plagues the city every winter. A senior All India Congress Committee (AICC) leader told HT on the condition of anonymity, said, The AAP government speaks of lower electricity bills, but does not talk about the rising property tax and VAT surcharges. They talk of better government schools, but do not tell the people that 150,000 children have been pulled out of the government schools. These comparisons will be played out. A key campaign slogan will be: Honest Delhi, Congress ki Delhi. Apart from that, a slew of slogans will focus on why the AAP is a BJP B-team: jhadu ka jhansa, kamal pe phasa, jhaadu ki jhooth, kamal ki loot, ek haath diya, ek haath liya etc. The campaign, which was to be launched on 14-15 January, might be delayed owing to a lack of consensus among some top leaders, said a Delhi Congress leader. To shape the manifesto, a committee under former Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken has been formed, and party leaders are holding interactions with several sections for suggestions, including people from unauthorised colonies, unorganised workers, and scrap dealers. Voters will also be given a chance to register their suggestions online. Apart from offering upto 600 units of electricity free and a pension scheme named after Sheila Dikshit, the party has formed a sub-group to study solutions to curb pollution. A team of experts is working on both long-term and short-term solutions, and there is a strong likelihood of a separate manifesto on the problem. The party has set up a war room of 25 volunteers at the Delhi Congress office, who are designing content for online campaigns. A workshop for over 600-700 volunteers, in the days ahead, has been planned to train them how to push out content. The party also plans to push out content in over 25,000 WhatsApp groups in the coming days; currently, it is present in over 5,000 such groups. AICC social media chairman Rohan Gupta told HT that the party will highlight that the Delhi CM has not shown solidarity with students who faced police brutality. Kejriwal ji has been quiet when students were getting beaten up, and when Delhi was burning. He keeps on saying the police is not under him, but he could have shown solidarity. This is just votebank politics, said Gupta. In the iconic 1980 comedy classic Caddyshack, Carl the greenskeeper causes people to cringe and even faint when he takes a bite of a discarded Baby Ruth candy bar that is mistaken for something much less savory in the country club pool. When trying to understand the thought process of state bureaucrats who are threatening proposed upgrades to the Chapaton Pump Station in St. Clair Shores, I can only surmise that they think what is flowing into Lake St. Clair nearly every week is made of peanuts, caramel and milk chocolate, just like what Bill Murrays Caddyshack character chomped down on. But be rest assured, its anything but candy. The Macomb Daily reported last Sunday week that a $30 million project aimed at virtually eliminating combined sewer overflows (CSO) by using existing infrastructure to hold more sewer effluent and stormwater in the facility during heavy rain events before it can be fully treated, rather than sending it into the lake partially treated is in limbo. According to Macomb County officials, the plan involves using the full capacity of existing pipes and expanding the retention storage space in a man-made canal outside the pump station that leads to the lake. It is estimated the increased capacity would reduce CSOs by as much as 75% annually. The project requires permits from the Army Corps of Engineers and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (formerly the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality). While what was the DEQ has a slick new name, EGLE, the agency apparently is content to apply some of the same convoluted and head-scratching logic that has been in its DNA for decades. After initially approving a $2 million grant, EGLE pulled those funds back, citing the need for permits. Without saying it, EGLE appears to be saying it is unlikely to sign off on the project. Untreated combined sewer overflows unequivocally affect water quality, and the county has already demonstrated that the Chapaton facility is providing adequate combined sewer treatment to protect water quality under its existing National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, a statement from EGLE provided to The Macomb Daily said. As recently as Saturday morning, with heavy rains blanketing the region, Chapaton operators reported a partially treated release from the facility. To put it in laymans terms, when you hear partially treated, you should think of a turd with bleach on it. The thought of nearly eliminating these types of discharges should matter not only to every lakefront property owner but anyone in the region who cares about the health of the Great Lakes. The Chapaton Pump Station, which collects waste from users in the city of Eastpointe and the southern half of St. Clair Shores, is responsible for a disproportionate amount of sewage dumps into Lake St. Clair. Macomb County Public Works Director Candice Miller, who has lived on Lake St. Clair most of her life, is defiant over the issue. I will not back off on this. I wont let a bureaucrat stop us from improving water quality in Lake St. Clair. I hope we can get them to see that their stance is wrong, she told The Macomb Daily. EGLE and representatives from Millers office are supposed to meet later this month about the issue. Lets hope EGLE doesnt send Carl the greenskeeper but rather people who understand just how important the health of Lake St. Clair is to the Great Lakes region. Jeff Payne is managing editor of The Macomb Daily. Britain must be prepared to fight future wars without the United States as its principal ally, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has warned. Mr Wallace said the increasing withdrawal of America from international leadership under Donald Trump meant Britain needed to re-think the assumptions underpinning its defence planning for the past decade. His warning came as Prime Minister Boris Johnson prepares to lead what is being billed as the 'deepest review' of Britain's security, defence and foreign policy since the Cold War. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said Britain must be prepared to fight without the US In an interview with The Sunday Times, Mr Wallace said the prospect of the US stepping back from its international role 'keeps me awake at night'. 'I worry if the United States withdraws from its leadership around the world. That would be bad for the world and bad for us. We plan for the worst and hope for the best,' he said. Mr Wallace said Britain should use the defence review to acquire new capabilities, making it less dependent on the US in future conflicts. 'Over the last year we've had the US pull out from Syria, the statement by Donald Trump on Iraq where he said Nato should take over and do more in the Middle East,' he said. Mr Wallace said the prospect of the US (pictured, President Donald Trump in Ohio on Thursday) stepping back from its international role 'keeps me awake at night' 'The assumptions of 2010 that we were always going to be part of a US coalition is really just not where we are going to be. 'We are very dependent on American air cover and American intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets. We need to diversify our assets.' The NSW government's windfall from fees charged to passengers who use trains to get to and from Sydney Airport topped more than $110 million last year. The 10 per cent rise in revenue from the station access fee on the Airport Line takes the amount collected by the government over the past five years to more than $420 million. A one-way train trip between central Sydney and Australia's busiest airport costs an adult passenger $19.40, making it the most expensive journey on the network. Of the ticket price, $14.90 comprises the access fee passengers are charged when they pass though station gates at the airport's international and domestic terminals. The access fee for stations at Sydney Airport is $14.90 for adult passengers. Credit:Rhett Wyman NSW Labor's acting leader, Yasmin Catley, said the access fee was "just another example of the government slugging commuters to shore up its increasingly precarious budget surplus". Be it autism, sickle cell or other life-disrupting health conditions, being the parent of a child with a chronic condition takes a psychological toll. For too many families, however, emotional and behavioral health support has been far too difficult to obtain. Now, a project led by experts at Cincinnati Children's reports on the progress made since 2017, when the American Board of Pediatrics Foundation launched its "Roadmap Initiative" to increase resilience and emotional health within families of children with chronic conditions. The report, published today in Pediatrics, was co-written by parents living through this experience. It also provides a set of tools that any pediatrician can use to improve how they communicate with families about emotional well-being. "There have been numerous successful efforts to improve the physical care of pediatric patients living with chronic conditions. We rightly celebrate our therapeutic achievements," says Tom Boat, MD, a long-time leader in pediatric medicine at Cincinnati Children's. Boat co-authored the report in Pediatrics. He also is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, where he recently chaired a report on fostering healthy mental and emotional development. "However, more children are living longer with disabling and life-threatening chronic disorders. There has not been commensurate focus on enhancing emotional health and building resilience," Boat says. "But we're beginning to understand that if you don't support emotional health of children and families, everything else is at risk for falling apart." Parents Calling for Change advertisement Shortfalls and limitations to the availability of mental health services in pediatric settings have been documented for many years. The Roadmap Initiative traces its roots to September, 2016, when more than 30 parents attended and addressed a meeting of the American Board of Pediatrics. Despite coping with extremely different health conditions, many of the challenges families face are universal. "The overriding theme was of being overwhelmed, with our child's condition affecting every aspect of our lives, and everyone to whom we are connected," according to parent co-authors Diane Pickles and Stacey Lihn. "There are multiple stressors and often a lack of consistency in daily life for families of children with chronic conditions. There are impacts on friendships and social life for children and parents, and educational impacts for children who miss school and/or have neurological impacts from their disease," the parents say. "There can be behavioral challenges, either from the child with the health issue or siblings. For parents, there is little time to exercise, eat right, or give enough attention to your other children. We feel isolated and as if our family and friends don't truly understand." Be it the stigma that can be attached to mental health, or feelings of embarrassment or inadequacy, many parents may be afraid to say they are struggling. However, pediatricians can open doors for families simply by beginning a conversation. LaToshia Rouse, the mother of a set of triplets born prematurely and a son with autism, recalls being shocked when a pediatrician asked her how she was doing. Now she likens the importance of mental health support for parents to the oxygen masks that drop from airplane overhead consoles during emergencies. Passengers are reminded to put their own mask on before helping their children. advertisement "What I realize now is that until mamma has what she needs, that baby can never thrive," Rouse says. Support for Pediatricians The new report points out that experts have identified "resilience-based interventions" that can help families, such as strengths-based cognitive-behavioral therapy and mindfulness techniques. The co-authors also acknowledge that many pediatricians have been unaware of these resources and may also be reluctant to begin discussions that they fear may go beyond their direct expertise. "A crucial message to all pediatricians, specialists and generalists, is that you don't have to be a mental health professional to make a difference," says Carole Lannon, MD, MPH. Lannon is the Senior Faculty Lead of the Learning Networks Program at the James M. Anderson Center for Health Systems Excellence at Cincinnati Children's. She's also the Senior Quality Advisor for the American Board of Pediatrics. "Parents emphasize they don't expect their pediatricians to be mental health experts. But the pediatrician's interest and support is tremendously valued," Lannon says. "Validating the stress patients and families feel can open the door to discussion." Contributed Photo/ST STAMFORD -- Pasquale "Pat" Mecca, the Stamford High Security guard facing criminal charges for allegedly purchasing a 15-year-old student's underwear and having inappropriate contact with her, was fired effective last Friday, said Sarah Arnold, spokeswoman for the Stamford Public Schools. The incident at the school and Mecca's subsequent arrest prompted the school system's Human Capital Development office to investigate resulting in an April 8 hearing, she said. Washington The Trump administration is expected to announce later this week that it will ban mint-, fruit- and dessert-flavored e-cigarette cartridges popular with teenagers, but allow menthol and tobacco flavors to remain on the market. Flavored liquid nicotine used in open tank systems can continue to be sold, officials said, an important concession to vape shops that have thrived alongside the booming e-cigarette business in recent years. The administration's decision is a partial retreat from a commitment it made in September to quickly devise a ban of all flavors except those that tasted like tobacco. Its decision to exempt menthol appeared to be an effort to dodge a bruising legal battle with the tobacco industry, and also reflected intense lobbying by the vaping industry. Public health experts were pleased that the flavors most alluring to youths were prohibited, but feared teenagers would switch to menthol rather than quit vaping. President Donald Trump's hesitance to put in place a full ban has become increasingly clear in recent months. In a televised White House meeting in November, he said he was concerned that a full ban would drive people seeking flavors to unsafe, illicit products. And his advisers, including Brad Parscale, his re-election campaign manager, have warned him that a flavor ban would hurt him with his base and could depress turnout in battleground states. Tobacco and vaping companies have lobbied lawmakers and the White House against banning flavors, including menthol. They have argued that adult smokers need e-cigarette options to help them switch from cigarettes and that because 35 percent of cigarettes sold are menthol brands, taking menthol flavors off the market would pose a hardship for those smokers trying to quit. The companies also say that a full flavor ban would put thousands of vape shops out of business. Industry lobbyists seeking to protect flavors were joined by conservative organizations like Americans for Tax Reform, which opposed regulatory limits that they said would harm the small businesses that manufacture vaping flavors, retailers that sell them and adult consumers of e-cigarettes. Juul, which dominates the e-cigarette business, has largely stayed out of the fray amid public backlash over its role in the soaring rise of teenage vaping. Facing vociferous and legal opposition from parents, schools and public health experts, the company voluntarily took its fruit- and dessert-flavored products off the market, and has lost business to competitors selling flavors popular with teenagers, like mixed berry, watermelon and mango. Competitors have also been selling "Juul-alikes," nicotine pods that fit Juul's devices in flavors like Strawberry Milk and Peach Madness. Earlier efforts to restrict sales of flavored e-cigarettes stalled even as the popularity of vaping nicotine grew among millions of young people. The Food and Drug Administration first sought to ban sales of flavors during the Obama administration, but was rebuffed by the White House after fierce lobbying by tobacco companies and retail shops. The current debate over a flavor ban was set off by twin public health crises soaring rates of youth vaping that experts feared was addicting a new generation to nicotine and the recent spate of severe lung injuries largely related to vaping THC, the high-inducing ingredient in marijuana. More than 2,500 people have been hospitalized since mid-August and more than 54 people have died. The new restrictions on flavors will not extend to THC-vaping products, which are mainly regulated by states that have legalized marijuana. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Alex Azar, the secretary of health and human services, had announced in September after meeting Trump and his wife, Melania, that the FDA would draft a ban on almost all e-cigarette flavors, including mint and menthol. At the time, Azar said those two flavors appeared to be popular with teenagers, especially since Juul had pulled its fruit and dessert flavors from shelves. A more recent survey found mint was far more popular than menthol with teenagers, but public health experts say that teenagers will switch to menthol which creates a cooling sensation if all other flavors, including mint and mango, are taken off the market. "Flavors attract kids, and menthol is a flavor," said Erika Sward, a spokeswoman for the American Lung Association. "It really helps to numb the senses and makes the poison go down easier." Juul has been the target of public and regulatory scrutiny over whether it marketed its products to lure teenagers and young adults to use them. Several investigations are under way into its sales and promotion. Some states have already imposed flavor bans, though some of those efforts have been forestalled because of legal challenges waged by the vaping industry and its tobacco company partners. In anticipation of a national ban, Juul had taken most of its flavors off the market. Until recently, mint-flavored products made up about 70 percent of its sales. 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 Disgraced ex-Labour MP Fiona Onasanya says her conviction for lying to police about a speeding offence is a miscarriage of justice. The 36-year-old has applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission to have her case sent back to the Court of Appeal. The solicitor is representing herself and has sent 'new material' to help her case, according to The Sun. Fiona Onasanya says her conviction for lying to police about a speeding offence is a miscarriage of justice (file photo) Onasanya was clocked doing 41mph in a 30mph zone on The Causeway in Thorney, Cambridgeshire, shortly after 10pm on 24 July 2017 - but told police she was not behind the wheel. The former MP for Peterborough was jailed for three months following an Old Bailey trial in December 2018 for perverting the course of justice, losing her parliamentary seat shortly afterwards. She served 28-days in HMP Bronzefield, Surrey, the largest women's prison in Europe and likened her tribulations to the suffering of Jesus after being released. After her release, she appealed in March against her conviction but her case was thrown out by three judges. During her failed appearance at the Royal Court of Justice, she told the court: 'The charge against me was perverting the course of justice. Sir Brian Leveson rejected her appeal and said it was a 'tragedy' her career had been ruined by the offence, saying there was no basis for challenging her conviction 'I said from the outset, and I still maintain my innocence, that I did not do that.' Sir Brian Leveson rejected her appeal and said it was a 'tragedy' her career had been ruined by the offence, saying there was no basis for challenging her conviction. Onasanya was removed from her seat in May after a successful recall petition. The CCRC has confirmed it is investigating the case. This just in: The U.S. drone strike that killed Irans top military commander, Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani and the reflexive criticism it sparked from the liberal media and the Democratic Party has effectively claimed another casualty: the presidential bid of Bernie Sanders. The potentially mortal blow occurred when Sanders recently appeared on NPRs Morning Edition to discuss events in the Middle East. Host Rachel Martin tried to pin down Sanders on what he, as president, would do differently from Donald Trump in relation to Iran. She asked if he would keep a force of U.S. military personnel on the ground in Iraq to maintain pressure on the Islamic State and ward off further aggression from Iran. Martin also wanted to know how the Vermont senator sees Americas role in the world. She tried valiantly to get Sanders to talk specifics. But it was like trying to catch a greased pig that had just downed an espresso. All Sanders wanted to do was bad-mouth Trump and advance the Democratic narrative that the countrys foreign policy is in the hands of a madman who is going to start World War III. Sanders ducked, hedged and evaded most of the questions about what his approach would be. When he did answer a question, he left himself an escape hatch. No surprise. Many politicians will exploit a foreign policy crisis for their own benefit. And evading tough questions is practically part of the job description. Nor is it surprising that Sanders remains wedded to the pre-1940s isolationist fantasy that, if Americans leave the world alone, the world will leave us alone. What really bothered me was the second objective that Sanders tried to pursue in this interview, which became evident when he turned questions about Iran into a conversation about its neighbor. As Sanders sees it, the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States was a disaster. Referring to a recent vote by a portion of the Iraqi parliament to expel all foreign powers, Sanders sniped: Here you have a situation where the United States has lost 4,500 troops, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have died, we have spent trillions of dollars, and now were being booted out of the country we came to, so-called, liberate. But what does the Iraq War have to do with Trump? Nothing. When Sanders talks about the Iraq War, you should be hearing one name over and over again: Joe Biden. It was the former vice president who is locked in a three-way battle for front-runner in Iowa with Sanders and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg who voted for the Iraq War as a senator from Delaware in 2002. Later, as part of the Obama administration in 2014, Biden stood by as the president doubled the U.S. troop level in Iraq. Of course, Biden doesnt seem to remember any of this. Its true that, beginning in 2005, Biden started calling his war vote a mistake. But, on the campaign trail, he is now pushing the false narrative that he opposed the Iraq War from the very moment it started. He first said that in September, and his campaign claimed he misspoke. Yet, Biden did it again just a few days ago, after a voter in Des Moines, Iowa, questioned his judgment because, the voter reminded him, you were for the second Gulf War, which was a mess. Biden corrected the voter, insisting that he opposed President George W. Bushs military offensive against Iraq from the start. But, as CNN factchecker Daniel Dale noted, this isnt true. Its false that Biden opposed the war from the moment Bush started it in March 2003, Dale wrote. Biden repeatedly spoke in favor of the war both before and after it began. ... Biden created the impression that he had been against the war at a key moment when he was actually a vocal supporter. If Sanders wants to go at Biden head-on, and accuse him of lying about opposing the Iraq War, he ought to do so. But thats not what Sanders did during the NPR interview. There, he tried to sneak in a dig at Biden, disguised as a dig at Trump. So Sanders isnt just cravenly political, but also dishonest. Just the sort of qualities you want in a president. The powder keg in Iran reminds Americans that the world is a dangerous place requiring the attention of serious people. Sanders is not serious. And when youre applying for the job of commander in chief, thats a disqualifier. ruben@rubennavarrette.com. Rebecca Long Bailey criticised Jeremy Corbyn's inner circle today over its handling of the botched general election campaign as she denied being the Corbynista candidate to succeed him. The shadow business secretary hit out at a scatter-gun approach that saw people and resources wasted on seats that were unwinnable, at the expense of marginal seats that were later lost to the Conservatives. On December 12 Labour's 'red wall' crumbled, with a swathe of the Midlands, the north of England and north Wales returning Tory MPs, some for the first time in over 50 years. Ms Long Bailey told Sky's Sophy Ridge on Sunday this morning that it was 'one of the worst election defeats we've ever faced' but blamed Brexit rather than Mr Corbyn's leadership. But she added: 'There are a number of other issues. 'Our manifesto was not being sold on the doorstep - the messages that should have gone through about economic competence, the fact that we were going to roll out a green Industrial Revolution and kickstart the economy in regions and nations across the UK simply wasn't resonating with people, and certainly the ground campaign itself. 'We had reports of members being sent to seats that we had no hope of winning when we should have been in constituencies trying to protect MPs who were at risk of losing their seats.' She also said she did not like being called a Corbynista, saying: 'It annoys me when people say that. I'm a person in my own right.' In a wide-ranging interview she also said she wanted to abolish the House of Lords and suggested she would not stand in the way of a new Scottish independence referendum. The shadow business secretary hit out at a scatter-gun approach that saw people and resources wasted on seats that were unwinnable Of the 86 seats identified as top targets by the Labour election team led by close Corbyn aide Karie Murphy (above), 60 were 'offensive' targets which the party looked to claim from the Tories. They won one Documents leaked before Christmas suggest target seats were chosen in part on the basis of bitter internal Labour divisions, with the party failing to invest in close-run seats held by Corbyn sceptics. I wish my mum could vote for me, says struggling Clive Lewis Clive Lewis joked that he wished his mum could nominate him as Labour leader today as he struggled to win over MPs. The Norwich South MP is currently last in the race to replace Jeremy Corbyn and may not make it into the next round. He needs 22 MPs to nominate him to make the second-round cut, but he currently has just four. He told Sky's Ridge on Sunday today: 'I wish my mum could nominate me as well.' Advertisement But of the 86 seats identified as top targets by the Labour election team led by close Corbyn aide Karie Murphy, 60 were 'offensive' targets which the party looked to claim from the Tories. The only one won by Labour was Putney. Ms Long Bailey added: 'We didn't win the argument - if we'd won the argument we would have won the general election unfortunately and we didn't. 'We just weren't trusted. 'And that goes for the message that we put out in our campaign, we didn't bring together all the positive aspects of our manifesto, we weren't trusted on Brexit, we weren't trusted to deal with anti-Semitism within our own party. 'Key issues - and you have to earn trust, it doesn't just happen overnight unfortunately.' Ms Long Bailey has suffered a difficult first week of the Labour leadership campaign. She was mocked for rating Jeremy Corbyn's time as leader 10/10 after he led it to its worst election defeat since 1935. Ms Long Bailey told Sky's Sophy Ridge on Sunday this morning that it was 'one of the worst election defeats we've ever faced' but blamed Brexit rather than Mr Corbyn's leadership. Six candidates (clockwise from top right: Ms Nandy, Ms Phillips, Sir Keir Starmer, Emily Thornberry, Clive Lewis and Ms Long Bailey) set out their stalls to fellow MPs But she received a boost last night when Momentum said it had agreed unanimously that the shadow business secretary was the 'only viable candidate' to continue Mr Corbyn's 'socialist agenda'. How does the Labour leadership election work? Under the terms of the contest, candidates need to secure the nominations of least 10 per cent of the party's MPs and MEPs - which is now 22 after the general and European election defeats last year. Those who succeed will then go forward to the second stage when they must win the nominations of five per cent of the almost 300 constituency Labour parties (CLPs) OR three Labour affiliates - of which at least two must be trade unions - comprising at least five per cent of the fully paid-up affiliate membership. Applications to become a registered supporter open at 5pm on January 14 and close at 5pm on January 16. The freeze date for new members to join and be eligible to vote will be January 20 in the postal ballot. Under the timetable set out by the NEC, nominations from MPs and MEPs will open on January 7, closing at 2.30pm on January 13. The second stage of nominations from constituency parties and affiliates then opens on January 15 and runs to February 14. The ballot of members and registered supporters opens the following week on February 21, closing at noon on Thursday April 2. A special conference will be held two days later to unveil the new party leader. Advertisement The group said it is also recommending its members support shadow education secretary Angela Rayner as deputy, arguing the two would work well together to form a 'united front against the Tories'. It will now ask its members whether they agree with the recommendations, with ballots - consisting of just two questions - to be sent out early next week. The group's support for Ms Long Bailey is unsurprising given that she has long been the favoured candidate of the left to take on Mr Corbyn's mantle. Ms Long Bailey also set out plans to axe the House of Lords, saying: 'I do want to abolish the House of Lords and we'll be rolling out as my campaign progresses how we intend to really shake up that constitutional package There would need to be checks and balances in place but to have a set of completely unelected people doing that I don't think is right.' She also said she could support a second referendum on Scottish independence, adding: 'I'm fully committed to the union and I don't think that should be shaken in any way. 'But ultimately the people of Scotland need to make the case and they've got their own Parliament to determine whether they want to push that and that will be for me as a prime minister to review and to look at and I wouldn't want to inhibit the democracy of people because that's one of the most fundamental pillars that we're proud of in this country.' Ms Long-Bailey said she would work 'very hard and very robustly' to tackle anti-Semitism in the party and she was unhappy at the way the issue had been dealt with. 'I wasn't happy with the way our process was being run, I'll be honest, I don't think we were dealing with complaints quickly enough and I think that's quite clear, I've been quite vocal about that,' she said. 'I spoke to Jeremy about it, I spoke to the various members of the team, I spoke to various members of the NEC (national executive committee) about that.' Asked if Mr Corbyn bore personal responsibility, she said: 'He does and he's apologised. 'I think any Labour politician that leads the Labour Party should apologise again for what has happened because it has been unacceptable.' Nova Scotia endured messy weather in the form of freezing rain and ice pellets on Sunday. As of 4 p.m., Environment Canada still had most of the province under a freezing rain warning. "Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots will become icy, slippery and hazardous," according to the national weather service. Flights were affected at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport with many delays and cancellations.The JA Douglas McCurdy Airport in Sydney advised people to check with their airlines. Air Canada, WestJet and Porter issued travel advisories on Sunday. Maritime Bus also issued a number of cancellations for Sunday. Some areas anticipated high winds in the afternoon with gusts reaching 80 km/h. The temperature remained above freezing in southwestern parts of the province throughout Sunday, but it was due to get much colder overnight. Associated Press Snow was expected in parts of Cape Breton. As of 4 p.m. on Sunday, there were snowfall warnings in effect in Victoria County and Inverness County north of Mabou. Keep up to date with our live weather blog, updated every day. MORE TOP STORIES She's the woman who won Prince Harrys heart, but who decided to forge a new life away from the limelight before things got too serious. Actress Cressida Bonas, whom Harry dated from 2012 to 2014, was spotted strolling alone in Notting Hill last week. And having struggled to cope with the scrutiny involved in a Royal romance, she may well have been feeling a sense of relief at deciding to make her own step back from The Firm. Moved on: Cressida Bonas pictured walking alone in Notting Hill last week. She dated Prince Harry from 2012 to 2014 and has moved on with property developer Harry Wentworth-Stanley Cressida, 30, has appeared in films and on TV, and is currently winning plaudits for her portrayal of Sheila Caffell in ITVs White House Farm, a six-part drama about the Jeremy Bamber murders in Essex in 1985. Ms Bonas has also moved on romantically and in August became engaged to property developer Harry Wentworth-Stanley. Harrys longest-running romance was with Chelsy Davy, who had a six-year, on-off relationship with the Prince between 2004 and 2011. The 30-year-old actress is currently winning plaudits for her portrayal of Sheila Caffell in ITVs White House Farm (pictured) Chelsy, 34, was last week on holiday in Mauritius and posted pictures of herself posing in the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean and partying with pals. She has her own jewellery brand and is believed to be planning to open a store in West London. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 14:51:59|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close GUIYANG, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- The 2020 New Year's Shopping Festival kicked off Saturday in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, with a total of 32 foreign exhibitors from France, Russia, Chile, Australia, Pakistan and other countries. They will display more than 700 kinds of special products at the event, according to the organizer. Russian exhibitor Makhmadzhonov Khakimdzhon took candies, chocolates, biscuits and other goods worth about 200,000 yuan (about 28,911 U.S. dollars) to his booth at the festival. "We come here with Russian specialties and hope to take some local products of Guiyang back home," he said. With the theme of poverty alleviation and consumption upgrade, the fair will last until Jan. 20, featuring agricultural products from home and abroad. Zhou Chao, an exhibitor from a Guizhou-based apiculture company, said the company has been working with local beekeepers and is hoping to find customers for their harvests. "We're here to promote our ideas and attract more people to join us, rather than just sell our products," Zhou said. In accordance with the Chinese zodiac cycle, the Year of the Rat will start on Jan. 25 and last until Feb. 11, 2021, to be followed by the Year of the Ox. What South Africa needs to stop load-shedding is low-cost renewable energy complemented by flexible generation, according to energy expert Chris Yelland. Speaking to CNBC Africa, Yelland said flexible generation comes in two forms gas-to-power and battery energy storage. He added that gas-to-power is quick to build and comes at a relatively low capital cost, which is important as Eskom does not have a lot of money to spend. The combination of gas-to-power and variable renewable energy provides reliable, stable, and dispatchable energy. Yelland said this is the future of energy and that South Africa does not need to build more coal-powered plants to solve the countrys electricity crisis. The new world of flexible power generation is turning the old concept of increasing base-load on its head, he said. A generation plant which takes a long time to build and which is inflexible in its operation is susceptible to time and cost overruns. We need short construction time, flexible generation, and lots of small plants rather than big plants to mitigate the risk associated with putting all your eggs in one basket. Renewable energy is the future for South Africa Yelland said renewable energy is the future for South Africa, adding that many companies are keen to invest in this sector. The renewable energy sector is waiting in the wings with great expectation because the integrated resource plan for electricity recognises that most of the new capacity will come from wind, solar, battery storage, and gas-to-power, he said. Renewable energy forms by far the biggest part of the new energy build in South Africa and this sector is ready to take off. However, there is a problem. Yelland said Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe seems trapped in the world of the past and is being influenced by the coal and nuclear lobbies. He said because of his backward thinking, the Minister is not making the progress needed when it comes to renewable energy. Money for renewable energy Yelland said one thing is for sure money is not the constraining factor when it comes to renewable energy projects in South Africa. There are very significant capital resources for new build generation in South Africa, so it is not a question of money, he said. It is a question of policy issues, regulatory issues, and planning issues which are really holding the country back. He said the trouble is that the ministers concerned Finance minister Tito Mboweni, Public Enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan, and Energy minister Gwede Mantashe seem to be living in a different world. There is a cognitive dissonance between their world and the reality of a failing Eskom. They still talk about Medupi and Kusile as magnificent plants, said Yelland. The reality is that these two mega-projects brought Eskom to its knees and that they are part of the problem, not the solution. Yelland said politicians like Mboweni, Gordhan, and Mantashe are not facing the reality that Eskom is not too big to fail it has already failed. The question is, what are we going to do about it? he said. Now read: Get ready for regular stage 6 blackouts in South Africa US President Donald Trump expressed his heartfelt condolences on January 11 after hearing the demise of Sultan Qaboos of Oman, and called him a great friend of America who worked for peace in the Middle East. Joining other world leaders in remembering the ruler, Trump said that Sultan Qaboos was the longest-serving ruler in the Middle East who brought harmony and prosperity to his country and was a friend to all. Trump said that the leader's impeccable efforts to engage in dialogue and achieve peace in the region showed US the importance of listening to all viewpoints. He said that Sultan Qaboos was a loyal partner and true friend of US who worked with nine different American Presidents. READ: New Oman Ruler Congratulated By Family, Officials White House releases statement The statement released by the White House read, "Melania and I were very saddened to learn of the passing of Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said. We offer our deepest condolences to the people of Oman. As the longest-serving leader in the Middle East, Sultan Qaboos brought peace and prosperity to his country and was a friend to all. His unprecedented efforts to engage in dialogue and achieve peace in the region showed us the importance of listening to all viewpoints. Sultan Qaboos was a true partner and friend to the United States, working with nine different American presidents. We will honor his memory by continuing to strengthen the partnership between the United States and Oman. Sultan Qaboos will truly be missed. Let us take comfort in knowing that his powerful legacy will live on." READ: Omans Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Dies Aged 79, Three-day Mourning Declared Oman's Sultan and one of Middle East's longest-serving rulers, Qaboos bin Said died at the age of 79 on January 10, Oman's local news media announced. According to reports, after his death, the council's high military council had called the ruling family to convene and choose a new ruler. Three days of official mourning have been further declared with flags flown at half-mast for 40 days. Qaboos had ruled since taking over in a bloodless coup in 1970 with the help of former colonial power Britain. His cause of death was not announced, however, he had been unwell for years and reportedly spent a week in Belgium undergoing medical treatment in early December. He had no children. READ: Qaboos, The Sultan Who Shielded Oman From Region's Turmoil READ: Oman's New Sultan Promises To Follow Line Drawn By Late Sultan Qaboos From left are Woori Bank CEO Son Tae-seung, Shinhan Bank CEO Jin Ok-dong and KEB Hana Bank CEO Ji Sung-kyoo. / Korea Times file By Park Jae-hyuk Woori, Shinhan and KEB Hana banks and 13 other sellers of Lime Asset Management's troubled option-based funds are preparing to take legal action against the nation's largest hedge fund, according to industry officials, Sunday. Their move is seen as an attempt to avoid taking responsibility for apparent investor losses. The remaining 13 sellers are the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), Busan Bank, Kyongnam Bank, Shinhan Investment, KB Securities, Daishin Securities, Mirae Asset Daewoo, NH Investment & Securities, Shinyoung Securities, Korea Investment & Securities, Yuanta Securities, Hanwha Investment & Securities and Samsung Securities. The banks and the brokerages said they will take every possible measure, including filing a criminal suit, if inspections by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) and Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) find allegations against Lime to be true. In October 2019, they organized a taskforce when Lime announced it would suspend the redemption of private equity funds worth 1.33 trillion won ($1.12 billion) and several other funds worth 620 billion won invested in private bonds and Mezzanine instruments a hybrid of debt and equity capital. As suspicions arose over Lime's liquidity shortage because of the measure, the taskforce members had Samil PWC inspect assets the hedge fund owns. It is also suspected that Lime continued to sell fund options to investors despite allegedly being aware of the fact that the options involved a U.S. hedge fund that engaged in fraud. Samil PWC was initially supposed to announce the results of its inspection this week, but delayed the announcement to later this month. The FSS also postponed the announcement of the results of its investigation. "We are waiting for results of the investigation into Lime to be unveiled. We will decide on what to do afterward," a bank official said on condition of anonymity. "We have found, however, some differences in the structure of options that Lime initially proposed and the options that were actually sold. We are seeking legal advice on the matter and may take legal action in the case this is deemed necessary." The sellers are trying to use the possible legal action to prove their innocence. Investors have claimed the sellers are accomplices to the alleged financial fraud involving Lime, saying they could be aware of the fact that the options invested in involved a U.S. hedge fund that engaged in fraud. In this regard, Shinhan Investment and Woori Bank were accused of fraud Friday. "As they continued to sell Lime's funds, investors faced bigger losses," said local law firm Hannuri representing the investors. The sellers have claimed they are also victims of Lime, saying they were unaware of the fact that the investment options involved the U.S. hedge fund that engaged in fraud. The Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act bans asset management firms from exchanging detailed information about funds with sellers. "It is hard to imagine the sellers intentionally collaborated with Lime's illegal acts and sold the fund to investors," another bank official said. Financial industry officials expect it will take a long time for the Lime fiasco to be settled, because the asset management firm, sellers and investors are playing the blame game to minimize their losses. The horrific Gospers Mountain fire that burnt through more than 500,000 hectares of land has finally been contained. The NSW RFS Hawkesbury District posted a photo on their Facebook page to announce that firefighters have managed to control the blaze which had been burning for nearly three months. The devastating blaze tore through an area seven times the size of Singapore near the NSW central coast, stretching fire and rescue personnel to their limits. 'The Gospers Mountain fire is now contained,' the post is captioned. The NSW RFS Hawkesbury District announced that fire crews have contained the Gospers Mountain fire The Gospers Mountain fire raging above the treetop canopy in December 'After lightning started the fire on October 26, it has burnt through more than 512,000 hectares across the Lithgow, Hawkesbury and Central Coast local government areas. 'The firefighting effort has seen a range of local, interstate, federal and international agencies involved. 'Containment took longer than expected due to unfavourable weather conditions, however due to our hardworking crews, we have achieved that today. 'It is important to remember not to be complacent as there are still a few months of the bush fire season to go with some bushland that still has not been burnt.' Comments on the post expressed their gratitude for the firefighters for their tireless efforts tackling the blaze. A firefighter standing before a tree completely engulfed in flames at Bilpin in December 'Well done to all our brave team of firefighters,' one comment reads. 'Massive thank you to all from within and outside Australia for you sterling effort in containing the Gospers fire.' 'We were directly in its path and evacuated twice,' another post reads. 'We were sure we'd come back from an interstate family Christmas to a blackened ruin - so sure that we stripped the house of everything except furniture and white goods that we could replace. 'I can only repeat what's already been said here and of course it isn't enough and doesn't adequately convey our emotions: thank you.' Authorities in New South Wales and Victoria told Daily Mail Australia the majority of recent fires in both states were sparked by lightning strikes in dry, remote areas, rather than people. Gospers Mountain, the NSW south coast Currowan blaze, the Snowy Mountains (Dunns Rd) blaze and the Green Wattle Creek fire are all believed to have been triggered by lightning strikes. Three rural firefighters watch on as the Gospers Mountain fire moves through Bilpin in December This graphic shows some of the most significant fires on Australia's east coast this devastating season - with the biggest blazes believed to have been caused by lightning strikes Likewise, Victoria Police said there is no suggestion the major fires seen in East Gippsland and that state's north-east were sparked by arsonists, with lightning again the principal suspect. Despite rampant online theories of an '#ArsonEmergency', arson is believed to have played only a minor role in the nation's worst fire crisis in recorded history. Twenty-six people have died, an estimated one billion animals killed, more than 2000 homes destroyed and at least seven million hectares of bushland incinerated by the blazes that have raged all summer. The crisis comes after meteorologists found Australia has experienced its hottest and driest year on record, sparking intense political debate over climate change as well as alternative theories about the destruction. Gospers Mountain burst into flames on October 26 and has been described as the biggest fire on record from a single ignition point. An RFS official, who declined to be named, told Daily Mail Australia the state has had an 'incredibly high rate of lightning based ignitions' this season. On some days, the RFS has had 50 fires burning state-wide. That has turned into 100 fires, or even 150, following fresh lightning bands. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 12) The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised Alert Level 4 over Taal Volcano, warning that the volcano, which showed a marked unrest Sunday afternoon, may soon have a hazardous explosive eruption. PHIVOLCS recommended that all residents within a 14-kilometer radius of the volcanos crater be evacuated, due to the high risk to pyroclastic density currents and volcanic tsunami. Steam-powered explosion captured by PHIVOLCS cameras on the main crater of Taal Volcano. Photo from PHIVOLCS A pilot captures the ash plume from Taal Volcano from 25,000 feet in the air. Courtesy of Angel Comia and Mela Lugtu Previous Next All residents of the Taal Volcano Island have been evacuated, the Office of Civil Defense in Calabarzon region said. Forced evacuation is also underway in some areas in Tagaytay City in Cavite, and in Balete, Laurel, San Nicolas and Agoncillo towns in Batangas. "The volcano is inside a bigger crater or basin or bowl, which is why people would have to evacuate horizontally and away from the crater. There is water that would be hindering the rapid evacuation and that is why people need to get out of the island as soon as possible," PHIVOLCS officer-in-charge Renato Solidum told CNN Philippines. Disaster reduction officials have assured that they have enough supplies to provide families affected by Taal Volcanos unrest. Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine Navy said they were on alert to provide support in light of the Taal Volcano's increased activity. In a statement, AFP Spokesperson BGen Edgar Arevalo said Luzon-baed units have been placed on red alert since 6 p.m.Sunday. Units which could assist local government units affected by the volcano have been deployed, along with military trucks and disaster response teams. The Philippine Navy said several units were on standby and ready to be deployed "anytime." Ash fall It added that eruptive activity of the volcano in Batangas has increased since 5:30 p.m., which spewed a 10-15-kilometer-high ash column. This has sent ash falling on nearby provinces and areas as far north as Quezon City, PHIVOLCS said. People have lined up at medical supply and hardware stores across Metro Manila, which are quickly running out of masks which would offer protection from the hazardous volcanic ash. Classes on Monday in several areas in Batangas, nearby province Cavite, and several cities in Metro Manila, including the capital city, have been suspended.Classes in all levels have also been suspended in Cavite due to ashfall. Manilas main gateway, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, has also suspended all incoming and outgoing flights due to Taal Volcanos unrest. The Department of Health has warned that exposure to falling ash may cause a number of health problems. It has recommended that people should stay indoors as much as possible and use dust masks and goggles for protection when going outside. Taal showed a marked increase in volcanic activity on Sunday, with PHIVOLCS raising alert levels two, three and four in a course of a few hours. The seismological agency, however, has been monitoring the volcano since March 2019. Taal is one of the shortest volcanoes in the world and is the second-most active volcano in the Philippines. Its last eruption was in 1977. This is a developing story. Flash Thousands of protesters marched in the centre of Athens and Thessaloniki in northern Greece on Saturday, chanting slogans against the U.S. airstrike in Iraq which killed Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, Greek national news agency AMNA reported. "Get your hands off Tehran", screamed banners held by demonstrators outside the U.S. embassy in Athens. The peaceful rallies were organized by leftist groups and the Movement United Against Racism and the Fascist Threat (KEERFA), which condemned the U.S. policy in the region and urged Athens not to get involved in any "imperialist military operations," according to their press releases. Speaking to Xinhua during the Athens demonstration, Petros Constantinou, coordinator for the local KEERFA, said Greeks and migrants and refugees living in Greece are raising their voices against any more blood shedding, joining the anti-war movement across the world. "We say no to Trump's war...The anti-war movement is here demanding peace, condemning the American imperialism," he added. Grigoris Adamopoulos, another protestor, told Xinhua: "This is a region which has already paid a big price with blood shedding, with people as victims for the U.S. strategy, and the competition among big powers seeking to promote their interests in the area." "We are here to condemn this attack and American policy. This policy is a threat also to our nation, our country, which is so close to the Middle East," he added. Christina S. also condemned the "bullying" in international politics and expressed concern over the possible repercussions throughout the region and the world. "We are here to resist the U.S. imperialist policy and their bullying, particularly in the Middle East. No more wars. Societies are progressing and we should learn from our mistakes. What is happening in a neighboring country affects us all. The value of human life is the same, beyond borders," she stressed. Swiss woman, 82, dies at Phuket beach PHUKET: An 82-year-old Swiss woman has died after being pulled from the water unconscious and unresponsive at Bang Tao Beach yesterday afternoon (Jan 11). tourismdeathpolice By Eakkapop Thongtub Sunday 12 January 2020, 04:35PM Bang Tao Beach. Photo: Teerakit Vijitanankul Maj Wattanathon Bumrongthin of the Cherng Talay Police reported that he was notified of the death at 3pm. The woman, Rosmarie Sigrist-Thali, had arrived in Phuket on holiday with her husband, Peter Sigrist, 79, on Thursday (Jan 9), Maj Wattanathon reported. The couple were staying at a hotel in Bang Tao and were to leave the hotel on Jan 30, he said. The couple entered the water at the beach at about 2:30pm. They were just playing in the water together. There were no waves, Maj Wattanathon said in his report. Everything was fine until Mr Sigrist turned around and saw his wife face down in the water, he also noted. People around there helped to carry Mrs Sigrist back to the beach and performed CPR, but they were unable to revive her, Maj Wattanathon noted. An ambulance soon arrived to rush Mrs Sigrist to Thalang Hospital, where she was formally pronounced dead. Doctors reported that Mrs Sigrist died from drowning because she had suffered a lack of oxygen and respiratory failure. Her body is at Thalang hospital, Maj Wattanathon noted in his report. No explanation was given as to why Ms Sigrist would have succumbed to drowning in such calm conditions was given, or any attempt to identify a pre-existing medical condition that may have led to her drowning. Maj Wattanathon did report that Swiss consular officials had been informed of her death and that arrangements were being made to have her body repatriated to Switzerland. The British ambassador to Iran has hit out at the countrys authorities after he was arrested following a haircut in Tehran. Rob Macaire tweeted on Sunday to confirm he wasnt taking part in any demonstrations after he was taken into custody on his way back to the British embassy. Rob Macaire said he had been at a vigil for the victims of the PS752 plane crash. (AP) His arrest on Saturday came as a wave of anti-government demonstrations broke out across the country following the admission Iranian forces had accidentally brought down a Ukrainian airliner killing all 176 people on board. Mr Macaire said he had been at a vigil on Saturday afternoon for the victims of the crash, but he left after it turned into an anti-government protest. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the arrest was a "flagrant violation" of international law. (AP) Thanks for the many goodwill messages. Can confirm I wasnt taking part in any demonstrations! he tweeted. Went to an event advertised as a vigil for victims of #PS752 tragedy. Normal to want to pay respects- some of victims were British. I left after 5 mins, when some started chanting. Detained half an hour after leaving the area. Arresting diplomats is of course illegal, in all countries. See comments by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. READ MORE FROM YAHOO NEWS UK: Mr Raab warned Iran on Saturday it is danger of becoming an international pariah after the British ambassador was arrested during anti-government protests in Tehran. Mr Raab said the detention of Rob Macaire and without any grounds or explanation was a flagrant violation of international law. He said Tehran was at a crossroads with the prospect of continuing political and economic isolation unless it engages diplomatically with the West. In a statement, Mr Raab said: The arrest of our ambassador in Tehran without grounds or explanation is a flagrant violation of international law. The Iranian government is at a cross-roads moment. It can continue its march towards pariah status with all the political and economic isolation that entails, or take steps to de-escalate tensions and engage in a diplomatic path forwards. According to Irans Tasnim news agency Mr Macaire was one of a number of people arrested outside the university on suspicion of organising, provoking, and directing radical actions. He was picked up as he was trying to make his way back to the embassy although it is not clear by whom. Addressing the 150th anniversary programme of Kolkata Port Trust, which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee skipped, Narendra Modi said people in West Bengal would not have to miss out on the benefits for long, an apparent reference to the Assembly polls next year. Kolkata: Taking a swipe at the Mamata Banerjee Government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday alleged it was not implementing central schemes as they do not help "syndicates" or involve "cut money". Addressing the 150th anniversary programme of Kolkata Port Trust, which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee skipped, Modi said people in West Bengal would not have to miss out on the benefits for long, an apparent reference to the Assembly polls next year. "When there is no syndicate or cut money involved, why would someone implement Central government schemes? I don't know whether they (state government) would give approval for central schemes such as Ayushman Bharat Yojana, PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, but if they do, people of Bengal will be able to enjoy their benefits," he said. The prime minister said that he was pained to see that the poor in the state were not getting benefits of the Centre's welfare schemes. "Eight crore farmers across the country are getting benefited (due to the central schemes). But there will always be pain in my heart (about the schemes not being implemented in Bengal). "I will always pray to god for the welfare of farmers and poor patients. May God give them (Bengal government) good sense.... However, I have a feeling that the people of West Bengal will not remain deprived of central schemes for long," he said. During the 2019 general elections, Modi had consistently attacked Banerjee, accusing her of running a "syndicate raj" in the state. The BJP tally rose from two to 18 in West Bengal which has 42 Lok Sabha seats, while the ruling Trinamool Congress won 22 seats, down from 34 in 2014. The prime minister on Sunday also rechristened Kolkata Port Trust after Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee. The chief minister, who was scheduled to attend the port trust programme, was conspicuous by her absence. None of the Trinamool Congress ministers were also present at the event. Banerjee, one of the most bitter critics of the prime minister, met him at Raj Bhavan on Saturday, after deciding not to receive him at the airport, and was seated with him later at an event at Millennium Park. Modi had arrived amid protests by students and other groups against the Citizenship Amendment Act, the National Register of Citizens and the National Population register exercise. "I told him that we are against CAA, NRC and NPR. I told him there should be no discrimination among masses and no citizens are left out and tortured," the chief minister had told reporters after meeting Modi at Raj Bhavan. Moments later, she was present at an anti-CAA protest nearby. Banerjee, who called her meeting with Modi a "courtesy visit", said the prime minister had asked her to come to New Delhi to discuss the vexatious issues. Banerjee, however, skipped the inauguration of renovated heritage Currency Building, founded in 1833, by the prime minister. On Sunday, Modi said his government at the Centre was making every possible effort to develop Bengal especially its poor, underprivileged and exploited sections. He also inaugurated and laid foundation of infrastructure projects for the expansion and modernisation of the Kolkata Port. 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 && Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Sophie Laubie/Fiachra Gibbons (Agence France-Presse) Paris, France Sun, January 12, 2020 10:02 730 48be62e941b44f04afae568c321cc7ee 2 Entertainment 1917,Sam-Mendes,Hollywood,film,Britain,Golden-Globes-2020 Free Sam Mendes says that 1917 is his "most personal" film, and it could yet be his most praised after it ripped up the form books to win him best film and best director at the Golden Globes earlier this week. His adrenalin-filled World War I epic, which the British director shot as if it was one continuous take, could yet match the five Oscars his debut feature American Beauty picked up in 2000. "It was clearly a technical challenge," Mendes told AFP before his unexpected triumph, with Martin Scorsese's The Irishman seemingly the clear favorite to clean up at the Globes, which open the Hollywood awards season. In a radical filmmaking experiment, Mendes and cinematographer Roger Deakins shot footage that glides from trenches to crater-filled battlefields and through a devastated French town. The story for the film, which follows two British soldiers who must cross no-man's land to deliver a vital message to abort a planned attack on German lines, comes directly from Mendes' own family history. His grandfather, the Trinidad-born writer Alfred Mendes, was given a similar almost suicidal mission when he served as a rifleman in Flanders, where he won a Military Medal. Mendes' idea for the film came from "listening to my grandfather (as a child) tell stories of his experiences. Read also: '1917' advances on Oscars contention after big Globes wins Herculean feat "He told one particular story of carrying a message" across the battlefield, and "that became the basis for this", he added. "But then everything after that was invented or based on real accounts of the war, first person accounts, letters, and diaries of other people. "I suppose it is my most personal (film) because it comes directly from me. I'd never written a script for a film before," said the maker of the last two Bond sagas, Skyfall and Spectre. But even compared to those enormous minutely-planned blockbuster productions, the making of 1917 was a Herculean feat for Mendes and cinematographer Deakin, who won an Oscar for Blade Runner 2049 two years ago. Shooting all over Britain and in Shepperton Studios near London, the two men had to make sure the action looked like it happened in one two-hour take -- a technical nightmare which demanded that everything from weather right down to continuity had to be perfect. The camera follows the two soldiers and we see everything from their point of view without recourse to all the usual editing tricks and narrative jumps that go into conventional film-making. "I wanted the audience to connect emotionally with the central characters and never leave their side," Mendes said. "It was very long process because we had to walk every bit of the journey with the actors before we designed the set," he added. Read also: '1917': An explosive and gripping depiction of war Best on big screen "We had to understand how long every set needed to be. So if you wrote, 'They walked down a hillside through an orchard to a farmhouse,' you had to walk that journey and design the orchard just for the length of the conversation, and design the distance between the orchard and the farmhouse, the farmhouse and the barn, the barn and the road, the road and the canal. Everything had to be interlinked." But the sets could not be built until "we had rehearsed it fully with the actors. So we were rehearsing for months and months. And then building, rehearsing again, then building again. We built over a mile of trenches," he revealed. Mendes said he wanted to make his two messengers, played by George MacKay and Dean Charles Chapman (Tommen Baratheon in Game of Thrones), "to feel like two men among two million. They're not heroes, they're just men. "And for the audience, I wanted them to know that maybe they won't survive. Maybe both of them will be killed." For Mendes, an acclaimed theatre director who still loves the pull of the live, his movie works best on the big screen rather than streamed. "I think it's up to filmmakers to make films that need to be seen on the big screen, and make an audience feel like if they don't see it on a big screen, they are going to miss out." An exhibition on relics about the rat, the first of the Chinese zodiac animals, is organized in Chongqing to greet the coming lunar Chinese New Year. CHONGQING, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) An exhibition on relics about the rat, the first of the Chinese zodiac animals, is organized in Chongqing to greet the coming lunar Chinese New Year. The exhibition shows more than 90 rat-themed cultural relics in the Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum. Highlights include rat-shaped jade accessories and clothes made of rat fur from years past. A green jade exhibit drew the most attention. The small item is in the shape of a lychee fruit, with a carved rat appearing to hold the fruit. It indicates prosperity. The public can also join in rat-themed riddle-guessing activities in the museum. The event will last until March 29, 2020. In accordance with the Chinese zodiac cycle, the Year of the Rat will start on Jan. 25, 2020 and last until Feb. 11, 2021, when the Year of the Ox begins. Twelve animals, namely the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig, are used to represent the Chinese zodiac to record the years and reflect people's attributes. According to the Chinese zodiac story, in the competition held by the Jade Emperor to decide the zodiac animals, the quick-witted rat asked the diligent ox to let him ride on the ox's back as it crossed a river, and jumped down before the ox crossed the finish line, winning the race and becoming the first of the zodiac animals. (Source: Xinhua) BEIRUT - The leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said Sunday that Irans missile attacks on two bases in Iraq housing U.S. forces was only the start of the retaliation for Americas killing a top Iranian general in a drone strike. Hassan Nasrallah described Irans ballistic missile response as a slap to Washington, one that sent a message. The limited strikes caused no casualties and appeared to be mainly a show of force. The leader of Hezbollah, which is closely aligned with Iran, said the strikes were the first step down a long path that will ensure U.S. troops withdraw from the region. The Americans must remove their bases, soldiers and officers and ships from our region. The alternative ... to leaving vertically is leaving horizontally. This is a decisive and firm decision, Nasrallah said. We are speaking about the start of a phase, about a new battle, about a new era in the region, he added. His 90-minute televised speech marked one week since the killing of Irans Gen. Qassim Soleimani. Nasrallah praised Soleimani for his steadfast support for Hezbollah. Irans Revolutionary Guard has provided training for Hezbollah, which fought in the war in Syria alongside Iran-backed militias that Soleimani directed. Nasrallah said that the world is a different place after Soleimanis death, and not a safer place as some U.S. officials have declared. Iran had for days been promising to respond forcefully to Soleimanis killing. But after the ballistic missile strikes, Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted that the country had concluded proportionate measures in self-defence. Nasrallah also praised the Irans leadership for admitting to accidentally shooting down a Ukranian passenger plane on the night it launched the missile attacks. He called the acknowledgement transparency that is unparalleled in the world. The plane crash early Wednesday killed all 176 people on board, mostly Iranians and Iranian-Canadians. Iran had initially pointed to a technical failure and insisted the armed forces were not to blame. Hezbollah is one of Irans main allies in the region and is a sworn enemy of Israel, with which it has had a series of confrontations, lastly in 2006. Mixed reactions have trailed the decision of David Oyedepo, presiding bishop of the Winners Chapel, to sack some church officials for allegedly looting the churchs treasury. Oyedepo, who during an empowerment summit organized for the churchs ordained workers on Saturday, said some very high up officials, including accountants, turned themselves into a network of fraudsters the very vices they were trusted to prevent. He said, We had no choice but to dismiss them. You can imagine top church officials engaging in doubling figures and other dubious practices. After we dismissed them, we discovered more fraud. Those who should discover the fraud were the ones involved in it. One of them refused to confess until the last minute. Can you imagine accountants perpetrating fraud in the house of God? Dont employ them, dont sympathize. Whoever sympathizes with the wicked is wicked himself. Dont sympathize with any perpetrator of fraud, otherwise, you are a partaker of the evil act. This statement has stirred mixed reaction from many Nigerians on Twitter, as they have taken to the platform to either bash or defend the cleric over his decision. Read Also: Oyedepo Fumes As Highly Placed Church Officials Steal Millions See some reactions below https://twitter.com/BalogunGambari/status/1216254360285523968?s=19 https://twitter.com/Kempez2017/status/1216092381323227136?s=19 https://twitter.com/nielo_2wit/status/1216269830527115266?s=19 Many People Especially The So Called "Born Again" Claim They Don't Believe In Karma But It's Clearly Playing Out To Business Man Oyedepo, When He's Dinning With Looters, Wailing & Supporting Them He Didn't Know Looting Shall Be His Portion Too, SHIOR! pic.twitter.com/YlfWqPprAG Ike Nna (MAN) (@IKENNA_____) January 12, 2020 But How Come The God Of Oyedepo That Gives Him All The Visions And Prophecies That He Always Shouts Didn't Show Him When The Officials Were Looting His Church Treasury? Is This Not A Confirmation That This Oyedepo Man Is Just A Business Man? God Cannot Allow Such To His Own! pic.twitter.com/8qp95qot0G Ike Nna (MAN) (@IKENNA_____) January 12, 2020 https://twitter.com/Haryurlar1/status/1216238133450280960?s=19 https://twitter.com/Dabobelemabo/status/1216259372210360320?s=19 https://twitter.com/AkporCharles/status/1216238325343891457?s=19 Sambalpur: Union minister Giriraj Singh on Saturday asked the Congress and those opposing the CAA whether Rohingyas and Pakistani infiltrators should get Indian citizenship and not the Hindu and Sikh refugees from the neighbouring country. Anybody staying in India should chant Vande Mataram and Bharat Mata Ki Jai, the minister for animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries said here at a meeting to aware people about the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. I would like to ask the Congress and the tukde tukde gang whether Rohingyas, Pakistani infiltrators should be given citizenship? And should Hindu and Sikh refugees from Pakistan be denied citizenship? If they have courage, they should answer in yes or no, Singh said. Members of the minority community are being attacked in Pakistan and many temples there have been demolished, he said. Singh said the tukde tukde gang is active in the Jawaharlal Nehru University, which witnessed violence last week, and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is trying to do politics there. Tukde-Tukde gang is a term often used by right-wing parties to attack the opposition, particularly Left and Left-backed outfits as well as those who support them. He said Muslims in India need not panic as the CAA will not snatch away anyones citizenship, but those infiltrating into the country would not get it. The new law simply aims at according citizenship to religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Some parties like the Congress are trying to spread false information about CAA and create disturbance in the country, Singh said. The minister asserted that anyone staying in India should chant Vande Mataram and Bharat Mata Ki Jai. Had all the Muslims shifted to Pakistan and Hindus stayed in India during and after partition, there would not have been any necessity of the CAA, the BJP leader said. The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is not being implemented in the country now and so, there is no need for discussion on the NRC at present, Singh said. The National Population Register (NPR) is linked to the Census process and needs to be updated. However, some people are trying to spread rumours about the NPR for no reason, he said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. London: The Queen will hold a summit with Prince Harry, his father Prince Charles and brother Prince William on Monday in the first face-to-face discussions since the royal family was plunged into crisis over the Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan's plans to "step back" from royal duties. The 93-year-old monarch convened the urgent meeting at Sandringham to thrash out a deal that will provide a blueprint for the Sussexes'"progressive" new role, which will see them spend more time in North America. Royal aides say consideration has been given potential exit from the royal family for some time. Credit:AP It comes as British newspaper The Sunday Times reported Prince William had spoken of a growing rift with his brother. The newspaper quoted William as saying to an unnamed friend: "I've put my arm around my brother all our lives and I can't do that any more, we're separate entities. A bystander was shot and killed Sunday morning after an altercation at a convenience store in southwest Houston, police said. Investigators said a male suspect entered a gas station convenience store at the corner of Bissonnet Street and Fondren Road around 4:10 a.m. and held up the clerk at gunpoint, demanding that the clerk open up the register. BOSTON and NEW YORK, Jan. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- NewStore, an Omnichannel-as-a-Service provider, is starting 2020 with $20M in strategic investments and significant customer momentum. Brands - including UNTUCKit , Decathlon and Outdoor Voices - benefit from using the NewStore Omnichannel Platform to manage all aspects of the customer selling process, in-store operations, and real-time inventory management. The platform helps several hundred stores globally run retail operations on iPhone. Salesforce Ventures has invested in the company in addition to new funding from existing investors including Activant Capital, General Catalyst and NewStore Founder and CEO Stephan Schambach. Retailers have long faced hurdles in offering a seamless interaction between online and brick-and-mortar. Connecting legacy systems and outdated technologies is time-consuming and cumbersome, creating friction behind the curtains and on the store floor. With NewStore, retailers operate a seamless end to end experience across all touchpoints, unlocking in-store revenue drivers including endless aisle, mobile checkout, store inventory and clienteling. "We've witnessed an interesting life cycle in retail over the last few decades. Brands have pivoted between channels, trying to meet shoppers where they are. But today's shoppers are everywhere, and don't see in channels, which is why omnichannel is a strategic imperative," said Stephan Schambach, Founder and CEO, NewStore. "It's not easy to operate stores in today's digitally-driven world. Despite stores being a source of great frustration, they also represent a major opportunity. NewStore is the most complete and compelling solution for retailers." "We're excited for NewStore's integration with our AI-powered commerce platform and new Salesforce Order Management system," Mike Micucci, CEO, Salesforce Commerce Cloud. "This gives customers even more choice in how they deliver omnichannel experiences to keep pace with the rapidly changing needs of their shoppers." Join NewStore for a session at NRF Big Show 2020 to learn how GANNI put omnichannel at the core of its retail strategy , presented together with GANNI and Salesforce. About Salesforce Ventures Salesforce, the global leader in CRM, empowers companies to connect with their customers in a whole new way. Salesforce Ventures the company's corporate investment group invests in the next generation of enterprise technology that extends the power of the Salesforce Customer Success Platform. Portfolio companies receive funding, access to the world's largest cloud ecosystem and guidance from Salesforce's 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 Ventures has invested in more than 275 enterprise cloud startups in 17 countries since 2009. For more information, please visit www.salesforce.com/ventures . About NewStore NewStore operates the first cloud platform that enables retailers to run their stores on iPhone. The company provides Omnichannel-as-a-Service with intuitive store associate apps that unlock in-store revenue drivers for global luxury, lifestyle and apparel brands. Endless aisle, clienteling, store fulfillment, inventory management, and mobile checkout help brands like UNTUCKit, Decathlon, and Outdoor Voices deliver seamless shopping experiences. NewStore was founded by Stephan Schambach, who pioneered ecommerce at Demandware (now Salesforce Commerce Cloud). The company has offices in Berlin, Boston and New York. Learn more at www.newstore.com. SOURCE NewStore Related Links http://www.newstore.com Legislative event slated Feb. 11 WATERLOO Grow Cedar Valley will host its annual Cedar Valley Legislative Reception from 5 to 7 p.m. on Feb. 11 at the Embassy Suites Downtown Des Moines, 101 E. Locust St., Des Moines. Grow Cedar Valley investors, community leaders from Waterloo and Cedar Falls, and local government individuals will meet with state legislators. There is no cost to attend, but an RSVP is appreciated by Feb. 4 by emailing Grow Cedar Valley Event Director, Bette Wubbena, at bette@growcedarvalley.com or by visiting growcedarvalley.com. CRP workshops set in January VINTON The following workshops are set this month for landowners and producers who would like to learn more about options available under the recently reopened Conservation Reserve Program. 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Independence Public Library, 805 First St. E., Independence. 1:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Jan. 23 at State Bank of Toledo Community Room, 103 S. Broadway St., Toledo. The free public workshops will be hosted by Natural Resources Conservation Service, Farm Service Agency and Pheasants Forever. For questions, contact Allie Rath at (319) 330-6015 or arath@pheasantsforever.org. Contractor wins concrete awards WATERLOO Cedar Valley Corp., a Waterloo-based contractor, won three 2019 Excellence in Concrete Pavement awards from the American Concrete Pavement Association. This brings its total winning ACPA projects to 38 over the last 15 years. Cedar Valleys Floyd County project on T-26 near Marble Rock received a silver award in the county roads category. The Woodbury/Ida County project on U.S. Highway 20 near Postville received a gold award in the divided highways-rural category, and the Sioux County Regional Airport project won gold in the reliever and general aviation airports category. Farmers sought for leader award DES MOINES Farm families are invited to nominate Iowans for the Iowa Farm Environmental Leader Award sponsored by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig and Department of Natural Resources Director Kayla Lyon. Farmers who voluntarily take action toward improving soil health and water quality are eligible. Nominations will be accepted until May 4 to be considered for the 2020 awards ceremony Aug. 19 at the Iowa State Fair. The nomination form can be found at iowaagriculture.gov/farm-environmental-leader-awards. Veridian seeks board members WATERLOO Veridian Credit Union is seeking candidates to serve on its board of directors. Applications are due by 5 p.m. Jan. 31. Five candidates will be elected to the board by the credit unions membership at an annual meeting on April 25. For more information, go to veridiancu.org or contact Amela Cejvanovic at administration@veridiancu.org. The Courier's Most-Read Local Business Stories from 2019. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 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 Gen. Naravanes comments come in the backdrop of allegations by Opposition parties that the armed forces are being politicised. New Delhi: Bringing back the focus to the apolitical nature of the Indian Army, the new Army Chief, Gen. Manoj Mukund Naravane, said on Saturday that the Army and the armed forces owe their allegiance to the Constitution of India and its core values of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity, as enshrined in the Preamble, should guide the forces in all their actions at all times. As the Army, we swear allegiance to the Constitution of India... Justice, liberty, equality and fraternity enshrined in the Constitution should guide us, he said in his opening remarks at his first press conference as Army Chief. Gen. Naravanes unequivocal message on the Army being apolitical follows his predecessor General Bipin Rawats criticism of those leading the protests against the citizenship law some weeks ago. Gen. Naravane said that the ABC of the Indian Army was allegiance, belief and consolidation, adding, We swear allegiance to the Constitution of India. Be it officers or jawans, we have taken oath to protect the Constitution and that is what should guide us in all time and all our actions. What it translates into is also the core values which are enshrined in the Preamble to the Constitution that is, justice, liberty, equality and fraternity and that is what we are fighting for (when) we are deployed in the border safeguarding the sovereignty and territorial integrity, it is to secure for our people these core values, said the Army Chief. This is what, the new Army Chief who took charge on December 31 said, needs to be kept in mind at all the times. Gen. Naravanes comments come in the backdrop of allegations by Opposition parties that the armed forces are being politicised. His predecessor and current Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Bipin Rawat was criticised for commenting on political issues, including students protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Leaders are not those who lead people in inappropriate directions, as we are witnessing in a large number of university and college students, the way they are leading masses of crowds to carry out arson and violence in our cities and towns. This is not leadership, General Rawat had said last month. Gen. Naravane said that the Army upholds the Constitution and what it stands for, including the fundamental rights guaranteed to all citizens. We are an Army of the people and for the people, he said. On whether he would continue to speak strongly on issues, like his predecessor, Gen. Naravane said the Army is not seeking any publicity for doing what is our duty. We will continue in the same way, serving the country to the best of our ability, he said. >>> ASEAN Defence SOM Working Group meeting opens The three-day meeting is to make preparations for documents and contents of the seventh ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus (ADMM Plus) to report to the ASEAN Defence Senior Officials Meeting Plus (ADSOM Plus), which will take place in Hanoi this August. Participants will review progress of Experts Working Group of ADMM Plus in the 2017-2019 period and a new action plan for the 2020-2022 one, and contribute opinions to documents of the seventh ADMM Plus. They will also make preparations for the ADSOM Plus and discuss related issues. Addressing the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister of Defence Sen. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh said ASEANs central role in the regional security architecture must be maintained. Vietnam will promote initiatives by prior ASEAN Chairs, he added, affirming that the countrys prioritised agenda in 2020 will be for ASEANs common interests. President Moon Jae-in receives a letter of credence from Iranian Ambassador to Seoul Saeed Badamchi Shabestari at Cheong Wa Dae, central Seoul, Dec. 26, 2018. / Joint Press Corps By Kim Rahn The foreign ministry has called in the Iranian ambassador to Korea over his reported remark that Tehran could sever ties with Seoul if Korea sent its naval forces to the Strait of Hormuz. But the envoy claimed he did not mention "severing ties" and said there had been an error in translation. According to ministry officials, Saturday, the ministry called in Saeed Badamchi Shabestari the previous day, following his interview with a local newspaper, which reported that he said the deployment of Korean naval forces to the Strait of Hormuz "could have an impact to the level that Iran would consider severing ties (with Korea)." The remark comes amid the Washington's request for Seoul to participate in the U.S.-led maritime security coalition in the Middle East. The ministry asked the ambassador if he really mentioned severing ties but Shabestari said he did not directly mention the possibility, claiming it was an error in translation. By Gavin Corley Galway-based medtech startup, Bluedrop Medical, is preparing for a clinical trial to test out its product for diabetic foot ulcers. Co-founders Chris Murphy and Simon Kiersey were working for medical device company Medtronic in research and development when they began seeing the potential for medtech products. They wanted to use digitally connected health technology and provide savings for healthcare systems. We knew we wanted to do something to do with chronic disease. We didnt want to confine ourselves to one area, so we cast the net very wide, says Mr Murphy. Through their research, they identified a problem of diabetic foot ulcers and the prevalence of amputations in Ireland and around the world. Diabetes is a common chronic disease: More than 220,000 people in Ireland and 400 million worldwide live with diabetes. Its a horrible disease and extremely costly for the healthcare system, Mr Murphy says. Amputations are a significant risk factor with around 550 operations in Ireland and 75,000 in the US carried out annually. The Bluedrop founders set out to identify the areas where they could potentially improve treatments and reduce the astronomical costs. By detecting ulcers and preventing amputations, Mr Murphy says the product could potentially deliver savings to the HSE of up to 40 million. The team has now grown to 10 people and is based at the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technologys Innovation Hub. It began working in 2015 developing prototypes and verifying the market for the product, as well as seeking out funding. Bluedrop Medical raised 1.2m in a seed round that closed at the end of 2018, and subsequently secured a 2.5m grant from the European Innovation Council in June 2019. An early funding round attracted private investments of 600,000, including Ian Quinn, founder of medical device firm Creganna, and health technology entrepreneur Paul Gilson. Diabetic foot disease is the top reason for hospital admissions for diabetics, and one in four will develop an ulcer at some stage which can take weeks or months to heal. Mr Murphy says explains that the companys initial focus is on the prevention of ulcers and chronic disease management. When they have an ulcer, they might have to go into the clinic several times a week to get dressings changed. It can be an invasive condition to deal with and thats before you talk about amputation, he says. The product has two components: A hardware device and software that analyses the data using artificial intelligence. A device for home use relies on thermal information to detect patterns that may indicate the formation of an ulcer. Patients are advised to check their feet on a daily basis for signs of skin damage, but it can be difficult to find the motivation to do that, Mr Murphy says, although the early signs of an ulcer can easily be missed in a visual inspection. The patient receives regular updates on the results of the analysis. Mr Murphy says that Bluedrop hopes national health providers will eventually fund the product, saying it chimes with healthcare policy to get patients out of hospitals and closer to primary care instead. If were preventing someone from developing a severe ulcer or needing an amputation, thats one bed freed up, he says, adding that other benefits include helping patients to take control and stay healthy. Mr Murphy says they want to make it as easy as possible for the patient, the doctor or specialist who is using the data analysis to monitor and assess the risks. Since last years funding, the startup has been focusing in getting the product over the line, Mr Murphy says. The company has received interest from providers in the UK and the US and is currently in talks with the HSE regarding a pilot, with a clinical trial planned in 2020. As two Seattle police officers approached a home linked to a driver who had fled a hit-and-run, they discussed using a ruse to get information from the suspect. It's a lie, but it's fun, one of the officers told his partner, according to a later report. When a woman answered the door and said the suspect wasn't there, the officer used the ruse by telling her that a person was near death after the suspect left the scene of a collision that day. The woman was shaken and later told the suspect what the police had said, according to a government report on the 2018 incident first reported by the Seattle Times. The woman later uncovered the officer's deceit, but not before unexpected tragedy struck: The suspect ended his own life less than a week after police visited the home. Now the officer has been disciplined after a police watchdog group found that his lie at least partly caused the suspect's suicide. Andrew Myerberg, director of the city's Office of Police Accountability, wrote in his report that the ruse was impermissible under the circumstances and that the officer's use of it shocked the conscience. Mr Myerberg also suggested that Seattle police train officers on when ruses are and are not appropriate. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty The officer said it was unfortunate that the suspect had killed himself but that he was not responsible for the suicide, according to the report. The document did not name anyone involved in the incident. Police chief Carmen Best suspended the officer for six days without pay, the department said in a statement. The officer's actions did not meet SPD's standards of acceptable use of discretion and were not consistent with the standards of professionalism or training, the police force said. The statement added that officers were trained in 2019 on the appropriate use of ruses in criminal investigations. Seattle's police policy requires that officers be truthful, except when there is a pressing threat to a person's or the public's safety, information is needed for a criminal probe or untruthfulness is required by the nature of the officer's assignment. Police across the country frequently use ruses to trick suspects into offering evidence or admitting guilt, according to the Harvard Law Review. Recommended Man dies after police officer slams his head into car he owned The series of events that led to the man's suicide began on 28 May, 2018, when several cars got into a crash that did not cause any injuries, according to the Office of Police Accountability report. Officers determined that the man who fled the scene was associated with a home on the other side of the city, and they asked police from that precinct to go there to get a statement from the suspect. The woman who answered the door told the officers that the driver was an old friend of hers and that she let him register his car to her home because he did not have a permanent place to live, the report says. When the officers asked if she had the man's phone number, she sat down on the stoop and began scrolling through her phone to look for it. About 15 seconds later, one of the officers told the woman that they were looking for the man because he was involved in a hit-and-run earlier that left a woman in critical condition, and he left her, according to the report. The victim might not survive, the officer lied. The officers left with the suspect's phone number. Meanwhile, the woman tracked down the man, told him what the police said and suggested that he hire a lawyer, according to the report. The man said he did not think anyone had been injured in the collision, but he became increasingly worried as time passed. He had been addicted to heroin for almost 20 years and had previous legal issues, the report says. The suspect searched for information about a fatal hit-and-run and assumed that he did not find anything because police were withholding it pending the outcome of a criminal probe, according to the report. One of the man's friends lectured him about the lengthy jail sentence that he could face if he had killed someone. The man was crying the last time that his friend saw him, the report says. People believed that he had fatally struck someone but did not remember it. The suspect left a bag of belongings and money on a shelf in his friend's garage with a note that read, If you don't see me, keep this stuff, the report says. He also asked his roommate if it was normal to think about suicide, and the roommate said that it was. The next day, she found the man dead in his room. The roommate, the friend, the woman at the house and the suspect's mother all decided to further investigate the hit-and-run, including requesting body-worn camera footage. They discovered that the man did not kill anyone in what was actually a minor fender bender. In March, the woman reported the officer's lie to the Office of Police Accountability. The officer's partner told investigators that when the officer told the woman that a victim was critically injured in the crash, she initially thought that she had misread notes about the incident. She said she remembered that the collision did not cause any injuries and that the hit-and-run was a misdemeanour. She told investigators that the woman cooperated with their requests and that the ruse had been unnecessary. The officer who lied provided a different interpretation of events: the woman at the door was uncooperative and kind of impeding the investigation. He said that he used the ruse while the woman was scrolling through her phone because he did not have time to wait for her to find the number. The officer said he had been trained on using ruses and knew that they could not shock fundamental fairness. In his case, however, he said the lie had been appropriate and that he had not abused his discretion. The Washington Post US President Donald Trump in a tweet urged the Iranian leaders to not kill their own citizens. He also warned Iran that the world and more importantly the US is watching its actions. The tweet came after Iran on Sunday deployed riot police in Tehran amid ongoing protests over plane carsh. To the leaders of Iran - DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. Thousands have already been killed or imprisoned by you, and the World is watching. More importantly, the USA is watching. Turn your internet back on and let reporters roam free! Stop the killing of your great Iranian people! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2020 Accidentally shot down the Ukrainian plane Protests in Iran broke out after its Revolutionary Guard admitted to accidentally shooting down a passenger plane at a time of soaring tensions with the United States. Riot police and plainclothes officers could be seen massing in Vali-e Asr Square in Tehran as calls circulated for protests later on Sunday. A large black banner unveiled in the square bore the names of those killed in the plane crash. The plane crash on early Wednesday killed all 176 people on board, mostly Iranians and Iranian-Canadians. Read: Iran Braces For Protests After Admitting Plane Shootdown Read: This Trump Follower's Answer To President's Achievements Is Priceless The plane was shot down as Iran braced for retaliation after firing ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq housing American forces. The ballistic missile attack, which caused no casualties, was a response to the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Iran's top general, in a US airstrike in Baghdad. Iranians have constantly expressed anger over the downing of the plane and the misleading explanations from senior officials in the wake of the tragedy. A candlelight ceremony late Saturday in Tehran turned into a protest, with hundreds of people chanting against the country's leaders including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and police dispersing them with tear gas. Read: Iran Launches Hotline As 'practical Measure' After Admitting It Shot Down Ukranian Jet Read: Sultan Qaboos Brought Peace, Prosperity To His Country And Was Friend To All: Trump "His artistry is renowned for the detail,'' he said. ''He painted what was there and not what he thought should be there. And from that you can see what the landscape was like then. It was open woodland, because that's the way the Indigenous people had worked that landscape for 40,000 years. "Over the last 150 years its changed from an open woodland because of the different practices or lack of burning if you like a whole multitude of different approaches. Its become forest and that ranges from pockets of rainforest to woodlands. But worse than that, it's a forest choked with an understory of bark, dead leaves, debris and fallen trees to the point you couldn't walk through it.'' He considered it a "powder keg" ready to blow. "I couldn't let [the lithograph] burn. It wasn't the only copy in the world. But I just thought, 'I can't let that burn under the circumstances.' It was trying to tell me something." Mr Graham wanted to burn some of the undergrowth in the forest, but the past two years were so dry it was too difficult. He used a machine to try to move some of it before this year's fire season. "We put [the bunkers] in then because it was inevitable that there was going to be a fire in the landscape, no doubt about it. The only question was when," he said. The bunker in Buchan at Donald Graham's property. Credit:Joe Armao Inside the bunkers there is little but a set of steps, a clock that tells you how long you have been underground, and a thermometer showing the outside temperature. On the night of the fire it hit 70 degrees. The couple had prepared by putting their financial documents, photographs, computers, precious jewellery and Mr Graham's guitar and tin whistles in the bunker before the fire hit. Their house was razed and all that is left standing is the chimney and the fire place. "When we first came out of the bunker, you might have thought it was Christmas Eve,'' said Mr Graham. ''All the trees were alight. It was dark, smoke everywhere, but the landscape was sparkling. The ends of the trees were burning.'' The couple sat in their car with the airconditioning on until day break, when the extent of the destruction to their property became obvious. When the smoke cleared a few days later, they saw the blackened landscape. The view from the Grahams' property before the fire. Credit:Donald Graham Despite the destruction caused by the fire, the Grahams count themselves lucky. "People say to us it's terrible, but we got out of it very well,'' said Mr Graham. ''We got out unscathed, we got the most important and precious things we have. We will rebuild - it's a hiccup. Life goes on. "Farmers around here have woken up and the feed is gone, fences are gone, the houses their grandparents built are gone. We did very well." The pair, who for many years lived on King Island, where Mr Graham was a beef cattle farmer, before moving to East Gippsland, plan to rebuild in the same location. "It is a beautiful spot," Mr Graham said. The fire at Buchan at the property of Kirstie Pearce in early January. Cooler conditions forecast for the next week will provide a reprieve but now the Buchan community have turned their minds to rebuilding. Kolkata, Jan 12 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday joined the morning prayers, interacted with saints and seers and meditated at the temple of Swami Vivekananda on the ascetic's 157th birth anniversary at the Belur Math -- the global headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission -- where he became the first Prime Minister to stay overnight. Modi later said his overnight stay at Belur Math was like "coming back home". The Prime Minister, who had arrived at the Swami Vivekananda founded Belur Math in Howrah district on Saturday evening by launch from Kolkata and put up for the night at its international guest house, woke up early on Sunday and participated in the Mangal arati. He then met the senior monks and prayed with them before going to the temple of Swami Vivekananda for meditation. On May 10, 2015, Modi had prayed and meditated at the ascetic-philosopher's bedroom, on his previous visit to the monastery, around a year after becoming the Prime Minister. Modi then went to the main temple and paid tribute to Ramakrishna Paramhamsa, before taking prasad offered by the monks. The Prime Minister had in his youth wanted to become an ascetic of the Ramakrishna Mission, but was asked by its former president Swami Atwasthananda to concentrate on jana seva (public service) instead. Later, addressing the youth in the monastery's premises, Modi said Swami Vivekananda's ideas were still relevant. He said the world had lot of expectations from the youth of the country. "If you're a youth, you deal with challenges and don't run away," he said. Swami Vivekananda's birth anniversary is celebrated as National Youth Day. Modi later took a launch ride to Kolkata where he inaugurated the sesquicentenary celebearions of Kolkata Port Trust. Titled Daughter, the film was shot on an iPhone11 Pro. It is about three generations of Chinese women coming together at Chinese New Year, which falls on Jan 25 this year. The film was directed by Theodore Melfi, a US producer and film director, and the cinematography was done by Lawrence Sher. It also stars Zhou Xun, one of China's leading actresses. In the film, Zhou is a taxi driver. To take care of her daughter, Zhou has to let the girl ride in the taxi's backseat while she is at work. Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, posted the short film on Weibo, a Chinese social networking platform, on Saturday, with a line that "there is nothing more special and enduring than the strength and love of family". Melfi said at the film's launch event in Shanghai that the iPhone11 Pro is a fantastic tool for storytelling, which has helped him discover new possibilities. The film triggered hot discussion online. A netizen nicknamed "libin" said she was deeply moved and touched by the short movie, because she once met a similar woman taxi driver who has no other choice but to bring her daughter to work. "Life is hard, but the taxi driver did not complain," she recalled. Another netizen said, "I will support my daughter to follow her own will and be herself, just as Zhou does in the movie." Daughter is the third film in Apple's Shot on iPhone series. Last year it partnered with director and screenwriter Jia Zhangke to create movie The Bucket. In 2018, it teamed up with director Peter Chan to shoot the short movie Three Minutes, which also was warmly received by Chinese netizens. Daughter came as Apple is working hard to help Chinese consumers better use technology to cherish cultural traditions. The company will offer a string of courses under its Today at Apple initiative, to help people learn more photography skills, and how to make Chinese New Year cards that combine both tradition and modernity, and to learn how to draw New Year paintings. In a gruesome revelation, it has come to light that one of the two unarmed civilians killed in an attack in Poonch sector along LoC two days ago by Pakistan Army's Border Action Team (BAT), was beheaded, government sources informed. Two unarmed civilians, Mohd Aslam and Altaf Hussain, were killed while two others were seriously injured in an attack by the Pakistani Army on Friday along the Line of Control. Indian Army sources said Pakistan Army carried out the attack on five unarmed civilians who crossed over fencing on LoC in the Poonch sector but were within Indian territory. 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.) President Donald Trump in an early morning Twitter post on Sunday called on Iranian leaders to halt a crackdown on protesters. To the leaders of Iran DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. Thousands have already been killed or imprisoned by you, and the World is watching. More importantly, the USA is watching. Turn your internet back on and let reporters roam free! Trump wrote. He then urged Irans leadership to stop the killing of your great Iranian people! His message came about a day after he wrote a post in Farsi expressing support for the protesters who demonstrated in Tehran after the regime announced it was responsible for downing the Ukrainian Airlines jetliner that killed 176 people earlier this week. To the brave and suffering Iranian people: I have stood with you since the beginning of my presidency and my government will continue to stand with you, Trump also said on Saturday. We are following your protests closely, he added. Your courage is inspiring. To the brave, long-suffering people of Iran: Ive stood with you since the beginning of my Presidency, and my Administration will continue to stand with you. We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2020 Iran also must allow human rights organizations inside the country to monitor and report on the facts on the ground as Iranian authorities crack down, he wrote. Over the weekend, Iran arrested Britains envoy to Tehran, Rob Macaire, and according to state-run media, he was accused of provoking suspicious acts in a gathering held in front of Tehran Amir Kabir University. But in a statement, Macarie wrote that he was not involved in any demonstrations. Can confirm I wasnt taking part in any demonstrations! Went to an event advertised as a vigil for victims of #PS752 tragedy. Normal to want to pay respects- some of victims were British. I left after 5 mins, when some started chanting, he wrote on Twitter. His boss, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, condemned Macaires arrest as a flagrant violation of international law and noted that Iran was heading towards pariah status, The Guardian reported. The unrest was triggered after Iranian officials denied shooting down the plane for several days before making the stunning admission that it was, in fact, accidentally responsible for the disaster, according to reports in state media on Saturday. The Islamic Republic of Iran deeply regrets this disastrous mistake. My thoughts and prayers go to all the mourning families, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif also blamed the United States and wrote that human error at time of crisis caused by US adventurism led to disaster. The downing of the plane came hours after Tehran fired more than a dozen missiles at American troops in Iraq after the United States carried out a drone strike that killed Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad. The victims of the downed plane include 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans, and three UK nationals. Iranian military officials also claimed that American military flights increased around Irans borders after it launched the missiles into Iraq. The aircraft came close to a sensitive IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] military center at an altitude and flight condition that resembled hostile targeting, the statement said, reported CNN. Under these circumstances, the aircraft was unintentionally hit, which unfortunately resulted in death of the many Iranian and foreign nationals. From The Epoch Times Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for AG One caused her pain, but enough about Grammys executive producer Ken Ehrlich. Last year was last year, and based on Ariana Grandes social-media accounts on Saturday, theres no hard feelings between her and the Grammys. Or at least, if there are, theyre not hard enough to keep her from taking the awards shows stage later this month as one of this years performers. See you jan 26, Ariana wrote on her posts. Shes up for five awards, including Album and Record of the Year. If youll remember, last year Grande became one of the many musicians to get into a war of words with Ehrlich, who has also clashed with Frank Ocean, Lorde, and Nicki Minaj. During an interview with the Associate Press, the producer said Grande, then on a world tour, did not perform at the 2019 Grammys because she felt it was too late for her to pull something together for sure. However, according to Ariana, she offered three songs to the show, only to have Ehrlich decline each one. Ive kept my mouth shut but now youre lying about me, she tweeted at the time. I can pull together a performance over night and you know that, Ken. As a result of the snub, Grande didnt attend the Grammys at all despite winning her first that night. Now, it seems like its all water under the bridge for Ehrlichs last Grammys ever; hes retiring after this years show, as it is his 40th. In 2021, producer Ben Winston will take over the Grammys and, hopefully, wont be ordering quite so much beef for the green room. FOUR private vehicle owners in Cebu were apprehended by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) 7 during the first week of January 2020 for using InDriver, an unaccredited transport network vehicle service (TNVS), or ride-hailing service. Eduardo Montealto, LTFRB 7 director, said only four ride-hailing services are licensed to operate in Cebu: MiCab, Grab Car, Hirna and Hype. InDriver was founded in Russia in 2012. It operates in more than 300 cities in 31 countries worldwide. However, it has no accreditation from the LTFRB to operate in the country, he said. They have been operating in other countries for some time now. Maybe they are being backed by someone here in the country. We are just wondering why in Cebu? They have no operations in Metro Manila, Montealto said in Cebuano. He said the Bureau of Internal Revenue doesnt even know how InDriver makes money since it hasnt asked its partners for anything yet. He believes InDriver is slowly being introduced in Cebu. We do not know yet since they (apprehended private car owners) are tight-lipped about it. We have been looking for its office here in Cebu but we could not find one. Whats sure is that there are still other drivers who are using the app out there, he said. The four private car owners were apprehended during LTFRB 7s intelligence-driven operations last Jan. 6, 8, and 10. Montealto said they deployed confidential agents who posed as passengers and booked a ride with InDriver. One of the owners who came to the LTFRB 7 office confided that private car owners like him and taxi operators were enticed to join InDriver after a public official posted on his Facebook account that he drove his own car to get passengers as a sideline using the InDriver ride-hailing app, Montealto said. SunStar Cebu will not disclose the name of the public official until it gets his side on the matter. Aside from blacklisting and impounding their vehicles for 90 days, private vehicle owners caught engaging in colorum operations will receive a penalty of between P120,000 and P200,000. Story continues Montealto said owners can file a motion for early release, which the LTFRB can grant after 30 days and after the penalties are settled. He said taxi operators and private car owners planning to engage in TNVS can acquire the list of accredited transport network companies at the LTFRB 7 office, where they will be provided with a list of requirements. A vehicle that operates as a TNVS is considered a public utility vehicle and must have passenger insurance and a regulated operation schedule, he said. Since a TNVS operation requires internet connection, approval from the Department of Information and Communications Technology, National Telecommunications Commission and the Department of Transportation is also required. As of now, the number of TNVS operating in Cebu already reached its cap of 1,500. Request for additional units has not yet been approved, Montealto said. He advised the public to refrain from patronizing InDriver to avoid inconvenience. (WBS) COLUMBIA South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers is asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to revise its national regulatory framework for hemp to better set up South Carolinas Hemp Farming Program for success. USDA released its interim final rule on hemp on Oct. 31, 2019, and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture is in the process of writing a state plan that complies with the federal rule. However, SCDA has several concerns about testing requirements in the federal rule, and has formally submitted comments to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue asking that they be reconsidered. For example, the federal rule mandates that all hemp fields be sampled by SCDA-designated staff and tested by a DEA-registered laboratory within 15 days prior to harvest, a window SCDA feels is too narrow. Farmers are at the mercy of weather conditions, while laboratories are likely to experience back-ups during harvest season, and SCDA has not been given any funding to administer this testing. We believe that several provisions in the interim final rule lack the flexibility necessary for our farmers to be profitable and for SCDA to be able to implement a successful hemp program, Weathers wrote. Launched in 2018, South Carolinas hemp program has grown each year, with 114 farmers and 43 hemp processors permitted in 2019. SCDA plans to begin accepting applications for the 2020 growing season on Feb. 1. More information about South Carolinas Hemp Farming program can be found at agriculture.sc.gov/hemp. Animal feed The SCDA is taking steps to notify consumers and animal feed manufacturers that hemp and cannabidiol (CBD) are not permitted ingredients in animal feed products in South Carolina. All commercial animal feed products sold in South Carolina must be registered and renewed annually with SCDA, a process that allows the agency to review feed products to make sure they are properly labeled and contain only ingredients that are approved for use in animal feed. Ingredients used in animal feed in the United States undergo a scientific review by the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine prior to being allowed for sale or distribution in the US. Currently, hemp and CBD have not undergone that review. The FDA affirmed its position in a statement released November 25, 2019: Based on the lack of scientific information supporting the safety of CBD in food, the FDA cannot conclude that CBD is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) among qualified experts for its use in human or animal food. Over the past year, SCDA has been educating store owners that commercial feed products containing hemp and CBD are illegal and should not be sold. SCDA is sending manufacturers a formal letter notifying them when illegal products are found in distribution. A company will have the option to reformulate the product to remove the hemp and/or CBD ingredient and submit a formal registration application. Failure to do so within the required time frame may result in further regulatory action. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A Mumbai-bound flight from Kolkata had to return and make an emergency landing at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) airport after a female passenger threatened to blow up the aircraft on Saturday night. The 25-year-old woman, identified as Mohini Mondol, was later arrested. A resident of Salt Lake, Mondol told the police that she works in a press owned by her father. Police said the woman on board an Air Asia flight I5316 gave a note to one of the cabin crew after 40 minutes of flying. She asked the crew to deliver the note to the pilot. The note said that there were bombs strapped to her body and she would detonate them any moment. The pilot informed the air traffic controller (ATC) that it was returning to Kolkata due to the bomb threat. A full emergency was declared by the ATC at 11 pm. After the plane landed at the NSCBI airport, it was taken to the isolation bay at 11:46 pm. Officials said they followed all protocol to handle such threats. The passenger was taken into custody by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and later handed over to the local police. A thorough search of the plane was carried out and later the aviation regulator cleared the aircraft, officials said. There was no bomb strapped to her body. Further investigation is on. She is yet to divulge why she created the bomb scare, why was she going to Mumbai and why she wanted the flight to return to Kolkata, said a senior officer of the NSCBI Airport police station in Salt Lake. If I will die, let it ... Germany, France, and Great Britain have urged Tehran to stick by the terms of the 2015 deal that restricted Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. In a joint statement on January 12, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that "it is essential that Iran return to full compliance with its commitment under the agreement." Iran said last week that it no longer considered itself bound by the agreement, from which the United States withdrew in 2018. U.S. President Donald Trump called the deal "fatally flawed," in part because it did not restrict Tehran's ballistic-missile program or address its support for terrorist groups in the Middle East. Last week, Trump urged European countries to also renounce the deal. The January 12 joint statement noted that "we must address -- through diplomacy and in a meaningful way -- shared concerns about Iran's destabilizing regional activities, including those linked to its missile program." U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on U.S. television on January 12 that the administration was prepared to open talks with Iran "without precondition" to work out "a series of steps by which Iran becomes a more normal country." "The president has drawn no preconditions other than to say we're willing to meet with the Iranian government," Esper said. Based on reporting by AP, dpa, AFP, and Reuters Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, January 12, 2020 18:58 729 48be62e941b44f04afae568c321d929c 1 City retailer,shopping-mall,flood,jakarta,Jakarta-administration Free The widespread flooding that started hitting parts of Jakarta on New Years Day is having lasting repercussions almost two weeks later, as a number of shopping centers across the capital are still unable to open for business because of ongoing repairs. Consequently, several business owners have called on the Jakarta administration to compensate them for the losses they have suffered from the disaster. We have submitted a report to Jakarta Governor Pak Anies [Baswedan], said Indonesian Shopping Centers Tenants Association chairman Budihardjo Iduansjah on Sunday as quoted by kompas.com. I hope hell be willing to listen to our complaints and decide on doing something that will alleviate our burden. He said business owners expected the administration to provide compensation in the form of tax reductions, instead of direct financial coverage of their losses. There are a number of regulations that have created a burden for us in the field, such as an indoors ad tax, Budihardjo said, referring to the administrations tax on advertisements displayed inside shopping centers. The administrations current ad tax is 25 percent of the ad rental fee. Two major shopping centers, Taman Anggrek in West Jakarta and Cipinang Indah in East Jakarta, were still closed because of ongoing repairs as of Sunday, according to Budihardjo. Retailers in Greater Jakarta are estimated to have lost more than Rp 1 trillion (US$71.91 million) in total as shops in the area had to cease operations on account of severe flooding since New Years Eve, according to Indonesian Retailers Association official Rod Mandey. In Jakarta alone, he said, about 300 shops were closed, resulting in total estimated losses of Rp 960 million. (rfa) Nationwide protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act have gained momentum over the past four weeks and are showing no signs of slowing down. But the protests against the Act that has been dubbed as divisive by people from several walks of life are often portrayed as those being led by Muslim groups alone by the supporters as well as members of the ruling dispensation in India. Amid such allegations, dozens of people thronged the Shaheen Bagh area on the Sarita Vihar-Kalindi Kunj road in South East Delhi to organise what is being called a Maha Path to celebrate Indias unity in diversity. Under the said programme, readings of major religious texts of Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism and Christianity are being carried out at the venue that has emerged as the strongest show of resistance against the contentious act. Notably, the protesters at Shaheen Bagh have maintained that their peaceful demonstrations are founded on the core values of the Indian Constitution, foregrounding the deep-rooted principles of secularism, fraternity, unity and equality. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, according to its critics, violates all of these foundational values. At the melting pot of religious beliefs at Shaheen Bagh that kicked off at 11 AM on Sunday, people who practise several religions came together and recited verses from their scriptures. The maha-path began with the singing of the national anthem. With harmoniums, flutes and traditional musical instruments, people clung on to portraits of Bhim Rao Ambedkar, who is regarded as Father of the Indian Constitution for his unparalleled role in giving it its full shape, and read out major verses from the holy books of their respective religions. This was done to promote and foster fraternity among people. The word "Fraternity" finds mention in the Preamble to the Constitution of India. It refers to a feeling of brotherhood and a sense of belongingness towards India among its people. Braving the harsh winter chill, anti-CAA protests at Shaheen Bagh have continued in the harsh winter of Delhi. The demonstrators are demanding the withdrawal of the contentious legislation that has brought India at a standstill and sparked outrage across the country. Tens of thousands of people have taken part in protests against the citizenship law and more than 25 people have been killed so far. The road where the protests take place is a key link between satellite city Noida and national capital New Delhi, and has been closed by the Noida Traffic Police in view of the ongoing protests. The Shaheen Bagh women took over the road after clashes between police and students at nearby Jamia Millia Islamia university. Canadian Nuclear Station Incident Alert Was Sent in Error: Officials Residents across the Toronto area were sent a mobile alert after an incident was reported at a nuclear power plant in Canada on Sunday, but officials in Ontario later stressed that it was sent out in error. The alert was sent out at around 7:30 a.m. local time, saying that Pickering Nuclear Generation Station produced NO abnormal release of radioactivity and that emergency staff were responding to the situation, while adding that locals DO NOT need to take any protective actions. But about a half an hour later, Ontario Power Generation said in a statement on its website that the alert was erroneously issued and added there was no danger to the public or the environment. The alert that was sent out to phones across the Toronto metropolitan area (Ontario Power Generation) Important update: the alert regarding #Pickering Nuclear was sent in error. There is no danger to the public or environment, the agency also wrote on Twitter. Important update: the alert regarding #Pickering Nuclear was sent in error. There is no danger to the public or environment. Ontario Power Gen (@opg) January 12, 2020 A local politician, Syliva Jones, also stressed there was no incident at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station that should have triggered public notification. Nor was there ever any danger to the public or environment. Pickering Mayor Dave Ryan said hes demanding a full investigation into the matter. Like many of you, I was very troubled to have received that emergency alert this morning. While I am relieved that there was no actual emergency, I am upset that an error such as this occurred. I have spoken to the Province, and am demanding that a full investigation take place, Ryan said via Twitter. Like many of you, I was very troubled to have received that emergency alert this morning. While I am relieved that there was no actual emergency, I am upset that an error such as this occurred. I have spoken to the Province, and am demanding that a full investigation take place. Mayor Dave Ryan (@mayordaveryan) January 12, 2020 Toronto Mayor John Tory echoed his comment, writing that the incident provoked far too many unanswered questions. He said the alert was sent across the Canadian province and Toronto, the largest city in Canada. I know many @CityOfToronto residents especially those who live near Pickering were unnecessarily alarmed by this alert, he said. According to the Toronto Sun, Pickering Nuclear Generating Plant is the oldest operating nuclear power plant in Canada. It also generates around 14 percent of Ontarios electricity and is responsible for 4,500 jobs in the area, says Ontario Power on its website. A large number of flowers planted in Vietnams Mekong Delta are now ready to be sold in major cities as the Lunar New Year is less than two weeks away. Flower villages in the region have become more bustling than ever with preparations for the biggest sale of the year. Merchants and wholesalers from such big cities as Ho Chi Minh and Can Tho have arrived at these venues on a daily basis to select flowers for their business. Cai Mon Flower Village in Ben Tre Province. Video: Mau Truong / Tuoi Tre Thanks to the favorable weather conditions, local farmers have been extremely happy with this years harvest. In Sa Dec Flower Village, located in the namesake city in Dong Thap Province, a vast variety of blossoms have been packaged, preserved, and ready to be delivered to buyers in other provinces and cities. According to the economic office of Sa Dec City, about 100 hectares of land has been used to grow flowers for the upcoming Tet holiday. Various flower species are planted in Sa Dec Flower Village. Photo: Chi Quoc / Tuoi Tre In Cai Mon Flower Village in Cho Lach District, Ben Tre Province, about 80 percent of the products here have already been sold, with prices increasing by five to 10 percent year-on-year. This years Tet holiday falls on January 25, with preparation and celebration often taking place one week before and after the date. Various types of flowers are usually used to decorate homes during this special event. Various flower species are planted in Sa Dec Flower Village. Photo: Thanh Nhon / Tuoi Tre Pots of flowers are ready to be shipped to buyers. Photo: Chi Quoc / Tuoi Tre A woman harvests flowers in Sa Dec Flower Village. Photo: Thanh Nhon / Tuoi Tre Flowers are transported on a raft in Sa Dec Flower Village. Photo: Chi Quoc / Tuoi Tre Flowers are carefully prepared prior to delivery. Photo: Chi Quoc / Tuoi Tre Flowers are carefully prepared prior to delivery. Photo: Chi Quoc / Tuoi Tre Flowers are carefully prepared prior to delivery. Photo: Chi Quoc / Tuoi Tre A bird eye's view of Sa Dec Flower Village. Photo: Chi Quoc / Tuoi Tre Flowers pots are loaded onto a cart. Photo: Chi Quoc / Tuoi Tre A woman waters flowers in Cai Mon Flower Village in Ben Tre Province. Photo: Mau Truong / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! After what police say was a domestic dispute Saturday morning, Joseph Fowler threatened to kill himself and disappeared from the Holly Lakes neighborhood in Pembroke Pines. Fowler, 41, hasnt been seen since. Pines police want the publics help in finding him. Fowlers full name is Joseph Rocky Fowler. He was last seen in the 20000 block of Northwest Second Court. He rides a bike and was wearing a red t-shirt and dark cargo shorts. He doesnt have a phone with him, credit cards or cash. According to the Florida Department of Corrections website, Fowler does have a past that includes prison turns for burglary (in 2011) and aggravated battery on a senior citizen (in 1999). Hes on drug offender probation until 2029. Joseph Fowler before one of his turns in Florida prisons Anyone who knows of Fowlers whereabouts should contact Pembroke Pines police by email (tips@ppines.com), phone (954-431-2200) or Broward Crime Stoppers (954-493-8477). Missing Utah womans body found in Fort Lauderdale lake. She was missing for more than two days Margate man missing after working a late night shift was found early Sunday morning Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-13 02:20:03|Editor: yan Video Player Close TEHRAN, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday urged to expand cooperation among regional states. The current situation of the region makes regional cooperation and the avoidance of reliance on foreigners a necessity, Khamenei said during a meeting with the visiting Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Iran has repeatedly announced that it is ready for closer cooperation with the regional states, he said. Khamenei also called for promoting economic ties between Iran and Qatar. For his part, the Qatari emir said "we also agree with your remarks considering the enhancement of cooperation among the regional countries, and believe that comprehensive dialogue should be held among the regional countries." He also expressed his gratitude for Iran's supports to Qatar when the latter was sanctioned by some Arabic states over the past years. By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 01/12/2020 ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT So are Juliana and Michael still together? Did the couple end up getting married? ADVERTISEMENT 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 Michael Jessen and Juliana Custodio de Sousa were just shown agreeing to not to go through with a prenuptial agreement on Season 7 of the series, so did the couple end up getting married -- and are they still together?Michael, a 41-year-old independent and self-employed wine entrepreneur from Greenwich, CT, and Juliana, a 23-year-old from Goiania, Brazil, are one of the couples starring on Season 7 of , which premiered in early November on TLC.Michael imports and distributes wine and works at wine auctions. He's apparently a wealthy man who's part of a jet-setting social group that parties all over the world.During a big yacht party in Croatia, Michael met Juliana, an international model, and there was an instant attraction."I remember when I first saw her," Michael told the camera during the debut episode of 's seventh season. "She's beautiful, amazing body -- I don't necessarily believe in love at first sight, but it's like we were kindred spirits."Once Michael and Juliana got to know each other, Michael said he realized she was funny, thoughtful and smart. He was amazed she was only 20 years old."There are certainly a lot of people that may pass judgment [and] may think I'm just an old sleazy, rich guy going after a young hot woman," Michael said. "It doesn't bother me at all. I don't really care."Michael admitted when it became time to return to America, it was really hard to say goodbye to Juliana."We had such a connection -- it was just the beginning of something really beautiful," Michael noted.Juliana, a former seamstress who grew up very poor, was discovered by a modeling agency, and Michael pledged to support her financially in any way that he can.Michael therefore gave Juliana access to his credit cards. Michael admitted he had spent no small amount of money on her, but he simply wanted to give Juliana the world. (When a producer later asked if the amount was around $150,000, Michael refused to comment. Juliana even purchased a car on Michael's credit card.)Michael was hoping Juliana could visit him in the United States shortly after they met, but that plan apparently fell through because her intentions were questioned and they were both denied Tourist Visas.Michael realized obtaining a K-1 visa would be the only way she could come to America -- so he proposed marriage and planned to marry her within 90 days of her visit.As a result, Michael and Juliana had to wait for the K-1 visa to be approved, and both individuals almost lost hope a couple times due to the amount of time it was taking. Juliana, for instance, bought a car in Brazil although she was supposed to be moving to America soon.The only option for the couple, however, was the United States because Michael was not about to leave his two children, Max and Cece, behind. He shares the two kids with his ex-wife Sarah Jessen, with whom he still has a great friendship.The premiere of 's seventh season showed that Michael bought a house for his fiancee, which was close to Sarah.Michael said he and Sarah dated young and welcomed children young but then eventually grew apart and became very different people.Michael worried Juliana might not accept his close relationship with his ex-wife.And Sarah was concerned Juliana was with Michael for his money, but Sarah told the cameras she'd have to trust Michael's decisions, as long as he'd keep their children as his top priority.The day before Juliana's interview in Rio de Janeiro for the K-1 visa, Michael boarded an overnight flight so he could be there for and support his future wife.When the pair reunited in a hotel room, Juliana gushed about how much she missed Michael. They had spent one month apart, and Juliana was so happy to have her best friend by her side again.Both Michael and Juliana were nervous about the interview because Juliana was apparently in a "high-risk" category considering she's young and from a poor part of Brazil.Juliana also had a lot of stamps in her passport, and so there would be concern her desire to come to America would be so she can be involved in "illicit activities."Cameras were not permitted inside the consulate, but after the interview, Juliana said it was "bad" and they had insulted her."They just asked stupid questions. They asked me if I had been working as a prostitute the last 10 years," Juliana revealed in a confessional.Michael didn't think it was right for Juliana to be asked that question, and he confirmed, "No, she's not a prostitute!" Michael said it's normal for young models to travel the world and party with wealthy people."I'm a model and I'm professional, so of course I've been to many countries," Juliana told the cameras.Michael called it "ridiculous" and planned to consult with his lawyer over that "upsetting" interview."What does that make me? A pimp?... I don't need to [pay for sex]," Michael vented to Juliana, before she called the process "a nightmare."Michael said he had been extremely naive with women his whole life and had his fair share of heartbreak, but he didn't feel like he was marrying someone he didn't know.After providing a police-clearance document to show Juliana had no criminal history, Juliana's K-1 visa was approved.Michael wanted Juliana's arrival in the United States to be as special as possible, so he bought a bouquet of flowers, champagne, and a $4,000 necklace, and headed to the airport in a big white Hummer limousine.Juliana cried tears of joy when she saw Michael at the airport in America, and she said their wildest dreams had come true and she felt like the luckiest girl in the world.Juliana was later introduced to Michael's children. Although Michael had faith Max and Cece would like Juliana, he acknowledged Juliana can be shy and not very open about her feelings.However, the meeting went well. The kids thought Juliana was really pretty and their father was a "really lucky guy."The kids had made Juliana a "welcome home" cake with gummy bears on it as well as breakfast. Juliana said Max seemed smart and Cece appeared to love her immediately, so all was good in the world!Michael was so glad Juliana and his children had "bonded immediately" upon her arrival into the United States. Juliana said the experience of having two kids around her all the time wasn't new because she had been very close with her niece and nephew in Brazil.Juliana later met Sarah, whom Max called "assertive" and outspoken.Sarah said while most women would probably be intimidated by such a tall, sexy, gorgeous, exotic, smart and well-traveled girl, she wasn't -- because she didn't have the need, energy or time to be jealous.Juliana thought it was very unusual Michael and Sarah were still close because when people divorce in Brazil, they stop communicating. However, she was very sweet to Sarah, and Sarah, in turn, was kind and gracious.But Sarah asked Juliana to "not parent at all." Sarah wanted Juliana to embrace her new role in the family as just a stepmom and become her friend, but Juliana didn't feel like she was part of the family yet.Sarah later clarified on social media she just didn't want to overload Juliana with too much responsibility given she was still adjusting to a new life in a new country with a new soon-to-be husband.Michael and Sarah were then shown going furniture shopping and moving into their new house, which Juliana found wonderful and overwhelming.Michael and Juliana then found a wedding planner on short notice so they could get the ball rolling on their nuptials. At this point, Juliana had been living in the United States for about two months.Michael told the wedding planner they'd like good food, good wine, some dancing and about a 40-person guest count. Michael and Juliana had to tell the wedding planner they had both been married once before.Juliana apparently felt pressured to have an arranged marriage at age 19 that only lasted for one year. Juliana didn't want to marry the man but felt obligated to do so in order to satisfy her religious family.Juliana said her first marriage was "really bad." She and her ex-husband apparently signed papers to wed and then went to lunch, during which the man allegedly complained about how expensive the lunch happened to be.Michael was then quoted $50,000-$100,000 for a wedding at their new home by the wedding planner. Juliana couldn't believe how expensive the wedding was going to be.Juliana expected only three people would be coming to their wedding from her side, but she was still happy. Juliana apparently didn't want her parents to see how wealthy she had become in America because they would expect a lot of financial help from Michael.Juliana didn't want to feel guilty for having a fancy, opulent wedding when her parents might look at the flowers and think, "Those would be our groceries for a week." The couple struggled with how to enjoy their new life together when Juliana's family was so poor back home.Later on, Sarah stopped by and told the couple she'd be willing to become ordained and officiate their wedding.Michael thought it was a nice offer, but Juliana admitted she didn't want Sarah's face in the wedding photos. Juliana was a bit uncomfortable with how close Sarah and Michael still seemed to be, and she confessed she was also a little jealous in her heart.Sarah then asked Michael if he and Juliana had a prenuptial agreement in place to ensure their children would be well taken care of financially in case something were to go wrong in their marriage.Sarah said she didn't mean to stir the pot, but Juliana was left feeling very confused.Juliana later asked Michael to explain a prenuptial agreement to her, and he said it's an agreement made in case of divorce to ensure his children, Max and Cece, are protected, but she still didn't understand what it meant.The conversation upset Juliana because she never wanted to get a divorce and said she'd do anything to make the marriage work, but Michael insisted the prenup would protect her interests as well. Michael pointed out prenups tend to protect the women in marriage "heavily."Michael and Sarah had never signed a prenup together, but Michael said they had no money at the time they wed and had student loans and such since they were so young.Juliana was upset she had to hear about the prenup from Sarah and not Michael, and Michael agreed it was "uncouth" of Sarah and out of character for her to bring that up.Juliana agreed to go forward with a prenup, but she appeared frustrated because she had to give up her jobs, her little dogs and her family in Brazil to come to the United States. She said it was therefore very uncomfortable to talk about divorce before they even married.Michael and Juliana were then shown meeting with a mediator a few weeks before their wedding. Michael revealed he has two children and "business interests" and so he wanted to be "prepared for worst-case scenario."The mediator, Carolyn Swiggart, said a prenup balances out power in a relationship and decision-making. Michael said assets would remain in his name and they'd have separate property.Juliana had stopped working a few months prior, so she didn't have much money to bring into the marriage. Juliana said if Michael didn't want to share his income and assets then neither did she if she ended up making it big as a model.Carolyn told Michael to make sure Juliana would be well taken care of in the case of divorce, and Juliana felt the mediator was on her side, which Michael probably didn't expect.Juliana told Michael that if he left her once, he'd probably be willing to do it again -- referring to a breakup they previously had in their relationship after a big fight.Juliana and Michael apparently broke up for three months last year, when Michael allegedly called her and said he didn't want to date her anymore.Juliana said Michael had suddenly disappeared and she couldn't afford to pay her rent. Juliana never wanted to be in that situation again, and she was angry at herself for depending on Michael so much in the United States.Juliana said she felt like a "loser" and figured Michael would have all the money and power in their relationship."I'm thinking it's time for me to be independent," Juliana told Michael. "If you were in my shoes, you [would be] thinking the same thing. So don't judge."Michael said he never would have brought Juliana to the meeting had he known it was going to be so upsetting for her.After the mediator caused some tension between Michael and Juliana, Michael explained in a confessional Juliana was having a hard time realizing she had lost a lot of her independence and would be vulnerable in the United States.The pair therefore went indoor rock climbing with Max and Cece in order to have a little fun.Juliana was upset Michael was allegedly avoiding talking about the prenup, and so she broached the topic again and explained when he had broken up with her once, he had "disappeared" and deserted her financially.Juliana said if that happened again, she wouldn't be able to take care of herself. Michael, however, said he only left Juliana in the past because his family and friends had been in his ear about how the relationship was not going to last.Michael said the temporary split caused some lingering issues in his relationship and it was clear Juliana felt helpless. Juliana said every time she used the word "independent," Michael seemed to get upset, angry and shut down."I think he always had control over everything and he wants control over me, but that's not going to happen because men [don't] control me," Juliana told the cameras.Michael promised he would take care of Juliana going forward, but she wasn't so sure."We're not doing it. No prenup. It doesn't make sense. It's stupid. No matter what happens, you're going to be okay and the kids are going to be fine. That's not why we're getting married -- to have a business transaction," Michael finally shared with his fiancee.Michael hoped for the best and was confident his future marriage would work out.Juliana gave Michael a few kisses and appeared both happy and relieved at Michael's decision. Juliana, however, still didn't trust Michael, telling the cameras, "I don't trust anyone."Michael took to Instagram on December 25 and shared photos of Juliana, his children and their dog, revealing the couple is definitely still together."Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones from the Jessen/Naso family @maxwell.jessen @julianacustodiooo @keathley76 @the_real_naso @howardthedog87 @dogpercythe #gusgusthedog," Michael captioned the slideshow."We wish you a wonderful and safe holiday season and hope that you enjoy much love, happiness, and health in 2020."After the episode aired earlier this season in which Michael and Juliana met with a mediator, Michael slammed TLC and the show's production company on Instagram for alleged "bullsh-t" editing that painted himself in a bad light."It's something where I feel like I need to call a little bit of bullsh-t because it's not really who we are. It's not really reflective of our reality," Michael said in a series of videos posted to his Instagram Stories in mid-December, according to In Touch Weekly."I think we're all a little upset that it's kind of cut out the kindness that we truly share together and it was something that was a part of the narrative of our experience that was departing from who we really are... We're all upset about the harshness for which we were portrayed. It hurts our feelings... We're not paid actors. This is still our real lives."Michael also shot down criticism he's selfish in his relationship with Juliana.In the process of defending himself in the video clips, Michael revealed he and Juliana have decided to adopt her niece and nephew from Brazil and bring them over to the United States!"Juliana and I, today, just initiated the process of adopting her niece and nephew from Brazil," Michael reportedly shared on December 15."They're 8 and 6 years old. And they're in [a] dire situation. The only way to give them a chance at a good life is to bring them to America. We've reached out to my lawyer, we're bringing them over here."For Juliana's part, she posted a video on Instagram Stories of herself walking around New York City with Michael. The couple was shown hugging and then the video ended with the pair lying in bed together with Michael shirtless.Juliana also gushed about Michael and defended him following the episode of their prenup dispute."I love this guy. I just wants to share how much I love this man, and so many sacrifices he made just to be with me, isn't fair he being attacked just for what people seem on tv, the fact that I haven't been smart with my own stuff have nothing to do with him," Juliana wrote on Instagram."He doesn't deserve all this hate, he is a prince, I'm so happy that on the real life he is the most amazing human being I have ever met and has a beautiful soul, love you @michael_jessen_77 #90dayfiance."Michael later re-posted the video and wrote, "Here's the real loive that isn't being shown on TV."Juliana also posted a series of funny photos of Michael, Sarah, Max and Cece on her Instagram Stories around the same time, showing she's still living in America and has a relationship with all of them.Sarah re-married and tied the knot with her boyfriend, Sean Naso, in early December, and based on a photo Max posted on Instagram, Michael and Juliana attended the small and intimate wedding reception at a waterfront restaurant in Greenwich, CT, together.And when Sarah posted an Instagram photo of Sean, Max, Cece and herself on her wedding day, she tagged Michael and Juliana in her post.The photos provide more evidence Michael and Juliana are still together.On November 27, Juliana confirmed she's still living in the United States when she shared a slideshow of family photos as well as one picture of her standing next to an American flag. She captioned the slideshow, "At home in the USA."Juliana also posted a picture with Michael nearly one week earlier in which they attended a cancer-research fundraising event together and apparently showcased a "wine project" they're doing together.Michael subsequently shared more photos from the event on his own Instagram page. He wore a suit to the charity fundraiser, while Juliana stunned in a white bodysuit with red lips. Sarah also apparently attended the party.Around that same time, Sarah uploaded a photo of Michael and Juliana sitting at a table together at the fundraiser, and she captioned it, "Such cuties."In the comments section, Juliana enthusiastically responded, "We love you," with a handful of heart-eye emoticons.It's clear Sarah is still very supportive of Michael and Juliana's relationship today. Sarah even once re-posted an inspiring story about Juliana's life and childhood on her Instagram account.Juliana also posted a video of herself giving a makeup tutorial in mid-November and Max and Cece were featured in the video!As Juliana did her makeup on-camera, Max offered hilarious commentary on how to get the job done. He even called a small foundation sponge "a radish."The trio seem to get along beautifully, and Max could be heard calling Juliana his "stepmom," again suggesting Michael and Juliana got married.And according to two photos Sarah had posted on her Instagram account -- but since deleted -- Michael and Juliana did in fact get married!Sarah shared two families photos from Michael and Juliana's wedding, but they can no longer be found on her account.One photo featured Michael, Juliana, Sarah, Max, Cece and Sarah's now-husband.Juliana wore a ballgown with a lace bodice, long sleeves and a tiara on her wedding day, while Michael wore a traditional tuxedo with a bow tie.In the other photo, the bride and groom posed with Sarah and Sean only.Everyone was all smiles, and in another picture Sarah subsequently posted, Michael was kissing Cece on the cheek at what appeared to be the wedding reception."Best daughter, best daddy, best day," Sarah wrote alongside the sweet image.A pal of Michael's high-school friend recently leaked the same photos from Michael and Juliana's wedding."Mike and his now wife Juliana, 20 year age difference, are on ... Clay will be on some episodes including the wedding which they also filmed," the person wrote of Clay, who's apparently Michael's high-school friend, on social media."Mike told Clay they originally tried to make him a villain and he said no then I'm not doing the show so they didn't do that to him. Clay said it's pretty staged... Clay is going to Mike's house Sunday for a viewing party."According to this person, Mike's ex-wife Sarah actually officiated the marriage ceremony for Michael and Juliana.Want spoilers? Click here to visit our Spoilers webpage! US lawmakers reject Trump's new claim that Soleimani targeted 4 US embassies in region Iran Press TV Saturday, 11 January 2020 6:13 AM Several US lawmakers and officials have dismissed President Donald Trump's new claim the US assassinated Iranian Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani because he was planning an attack on four American embassies in the region, including the one in Iraq. In an interview on Friday with Fox News, Trump said Iran probably had targeted the US embassy in Baghdad and was aiming to attack four US embassies when it killed Soleimani. "We will tell you probably it was going to be the embassy in Baghdad," Trump claimed. "I can reveal that I believe it would have been four embassies." The previous day, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also told Fox News that the US didn't have information about specific targets, only that attacks were imminent. "We don't know when, we don't know where," he said. But two unnamed senior officials, including one in the Defense Department, told The Washington Post that they were aware only of vague intelligence about a plot against the embassy in Baghdad. Neither official mentioned any threats against other embassies in the region. A source told the Post that the US embassy in Baghdad was never given a warning "commensurate" with the kind of threat described by Trump, which would have been standard procedure. US Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, said nothing about planned attacks on four embassies was revealed to Congress and essentially accused Trump of making up the planned attacks. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday called the killing "provocative and disproportionate," and other members of Congress said they were unconvinced after a closed-door intelligence briefing provided by administration officials. "President Trump recklessly assassinated Qasem Soleimani," said US Representative Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington state. "He had no evidence of an imminent threat or attack," she said. "Let's be clear if there was evidence of imminent attacks on four embassies, the Administration would have said so at our Wednesday briefing," he tweeted. "They didn't. So either Fox News gets higher level briefings than Congress ... or ... wait for it... there was no such imminent threat." The Trump administration had earlier claimed it carried out the assassination to avert an "imminent attack," which has also been met with suspicion and skepticism in the US. The US military carried out an airstrike on the direction of Trump at Baghdad's international airport last Friday, assassinating 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. A USA Today/Ipsos poll released Thursday found that Americans, by 55%-24%, said they believe the killing of General Soleimani has made the United States less safe, rejecting a fundamental argument the Trump administration has made that the assassination made the US safer. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address New Delhi: Police on Sunday foiled a bid by the Congress-affiliated National Students Union of India (NSUI) to wave black flags at Union Home Minister and BJP chief Amit Shah in Madhya Pradeshs Jabalpur, and detained 80 activists. The activists were taken into custody from ten different areas in the city for trying to show black flags, said Additional Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Kumar. They were let off later after completing legal formalities, he added. Shah addressed a Jansamarthan Sabha (public meeting) in support of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) at the Garrison Ground. The ruling Congress in Madhya Pradesh has opposed the CAA granting Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees coming from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The new law, passed by Parliament in December last year, was ratified by the Central government on January 10. Anti-National Sloganeers At JNU Deserve jail: Amit Shah Launching a blistering attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, BJP chief Amit Shah on Sunday said that those who had raised anti-national slogans on the JNU campus deserved to be put behind bars. Questionning whether Gandhi and Kejriwal are cousin brothers of tukde tukde sloganeers, Shah told a public meeting that whosoever speaks against the country will be jailed. In JNU, some boys had raised anti-national slogans. They indulged in slogans like Bharat tera tukde ho ek hazar, inshallaha, inshallaha....Should they not be put in jails? the BJP chief asked a public meeting in Madhya Pradeshs Jabalpur on Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which has stirred the politics in the country. With people at the meeting raising slogans like Desh ke gaddaronke, jute maro salonko (traitors should be slapped with footwear), Shah asked, Speak loudly. Should they not be put in jails? ...Rahul Baba and Kejriwal are saying save them, save them (the anti-national sloganeers). Are they your cousin brothers? he questionned amid cheers from the crowd. Security risks posed by emerging technologies remain as pervasive and serious as ever, according to a new report that warns that organisations need to be aware of where the security threats could come from in 2020 and beyond, and take steps to protect themselves. According to Nick FitzGerald, senior research fellow at cyber security firm ESET, even businesses that only use digital systems incidentally are at increased risk of cyberattack in an era where digital connectivity is now ubiquitous. However, with so many organisations looking to increase their use of technology, and technologys heightened role in company operations, the risks are now higher than ever, warns FitzGerald. And, these risks will continue to rise as cybercriminals continue to become more sophisticated, so its crucial for organisations to take the necessary steps to remain ahead of attackers. That includes being aware of upcoming trends in the cyberthreat landscape. ESET has identified four key areas that it says will affect businesses and consumers alike in the decade ahead: 1. Ransomware attacks Everyday items are getting smarter and more connected as part of the Internet of Things (IoT). Companies are integrating IoT devices into all levels of operations to increase efficiency and significantly save cost. Cities are racing to implement smart solutions but may not be ready to address the subsequent increased security risk. Australian businesses hold the highest rate of ransomware attacks globally, with 76% reporting an attack during 2017.1 2. Machine learning With machine learning (ML) gaining traction, many cumbersome, repetitive tasks have been automated. From sifting through masses of data to dealing with repetitive chores, the learning mechanism improves the way businesses tackle problems. In 2019, ML gained notoriety because of a more concerning issue, the rise of the deepfake. A deepfake is a portmanteau of deep leaning and fake. It sees one persons likeness superimposed onto anothers in a video or image, and the difference is imperceptible. This approach makes it easy to damage peoples reputations or make it look like theyve said or done something when they really havent. The technology was also applied to FaceApp, which raised privacy concerns.2 Deepfakes and other ML-driven technologies have the potential to increasingly impact daily lives. 3. Fake news Fake news is a modern term for propaganda. The barrier to entry into the media market has all but disappeared and anyone can set up a website or blog to push their agenda. This can make it hard for people to distinguish between fake news and real facts, which can manipulate markets and even elections. There is no technological solution available currently that can distinguish between fake news and reality, so the onus is on individuals to examine their news sources and consider their credibility. 4. Privacy Australian organisations are more aware than ever of the importance of protecting sensitive information. Updates to the Privacy Act will make it even more expensive for organisations that fail to protect sensitive data.3 The risk of fines for non-disclosure of data breaches has prompted organisations to proactively improve their data security. Organisations that havent yet done so will soon face a real economic and commercial imperative to treat privacy measures as a cornerstone of their business. Organisations embarking on a digital transformation journey should never underestimate the value of good cybersecurity practices, says Fitzgerald. Ongoing digitalisation is transforming how society works. People are more aware of their rights and demand better protection of their data. Technologies like ML are evolving rapidly, giving some companies an edge over the competition, and cybercriminals are also ramping up their attempts to breach corporate systems to steal valuable information. Its important for companies to take stock of lessons learned in the past year and keep sight of how emerging technologies, and emerging cyber-risks, will impact their business operations moving forward. UNION CITY (BCN) Police on Sunday released the description of a possible vehicle used by unidentified persons in the fatal shooting last November of two youths outside a Union City elementary school. The vehicle is described as a silver sedan similar to a mid- to late-2000s model Toyota Camry or Corolla. Investigators hope the description will lead to more clues in the unsolved shooting reported about 1:30 a.m. Nov. 23 in the parking lot at Searles Elementary School in a residential neighborhood in the 1800 block of Sherman Drive. The boys, age 14 and 11, had been sitting in a van in the parking lot when they were confronted by suspects who shot into their vehicle multiple times, according to police. The 14-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene and the 11-year-old died en route to a hospital, police said. New Haven Unified School District Superintendent John Thompson said in a statement after the shooting that one of the boys was a student who currently attended a school in the district and the other was a former student in the district. The Union City Police Department encourages anyone with information regarding the silver Toyota sedan or the suspects, to call Detective Josh Clubb at (510) 675-5227. Anonymous tips can be submitted at (510) 675-5207 or tips@unioncity.org. 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. Despite scoring an impressive 300 at the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) last year, Firdaouz Yusuff-Awari was unable to gain admission into the University of Ilorin where she had hoped to study Common Law, PREMIUM TIMES can report. Ms Yusuff-Awari, 17, also performed excellently at the UniIlorins post-UTME test where she scored 76 per cent; in the 2019 West African Examination Council (WASSCE), she emerged with seven distinctions and two credits. The universitys cut-off marks for Common Law are 260 and 50 per cent for UTME and post-UTME respectively. Presently, my daughter is at home depressed and very disappointed in the educational system, said Olaitan Yusuff-Awari, Firdaouzs father. Firdaouzs plight came amidst an outrage across Nigeria after it emerged that a student, Goodness Shekwobyalo Thomas, was unable to gain admission into the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, to study Medicine and Surgery despite scoring 302 in the UTME. In their response, the JAMB blamed Ms Thomas for her inability to gain admission into ABU. A closed portal The UTME is a computer-based standardized examination administered by the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) for prospective undergraduates in Nigeria. According to Mr Yusuff-Awari, his daughter was unable to include Mathematics among the subjects she uploaded to the University of Ilorin portal because the West African Examinations Council delayed its release. She uploaded eight subjects to the university portal while awaiting the release of her Mathematics. Mathematics (at least a credit pass) is a requirement to study Law at the university. The WASSCE result was released on July 25 and the Mathematics was later released on August 31, said Mr Yusuff-Awari, an indigene of Ojoku in Kwara State. The university shut its portal on August 20. We uploaded the (full) result on JAMB portal and they sent us a copy that theyve received it. When we tried sending it to University of Ilorin, their portal was closed, he said. Mr Yusuff-Awari said he went to the Computer Services and Information Technology Centre (COMSIT) at the university in September to inquire about the closure of the portal. The COMSIT is the ICT department of the university that uploads admission list and is in charge of opening and closure of the portal. He said he was told that too many candidates applied to study at the institution and the number of candidates that had uploaded their results on the portal was more than the school could take. The people there advised me to change my daughters course to another that does not require Mathematics, but I said no. The closure of the portal made eligible students unable to upload their results, no single candidate was able to use NECO result for Unilorin because NECO results were not yet out, he said. When I went to the institution in December to inquire about the matter, they requested that the students should start attending lectures. How would someone attend lectures when the person has not been given admission? Who will account for all the time wasted?, Mr Olaitan asked. The school said they should start receiving lectures in case they open the portal so that they will not miss much, he said. Mr Olaitan said all attempts to seek clarification from JAMB and the University of Ilorin did not yield any result. University reacts Advertisements The spokesperson of JAMB, Fabian Benjamin, did not respond to PREMIUM TIMES requests for comments. But Kunle Akogun, the UniIlorin Public Relations Officer, said the university is not to blame for the candidates failure to gain admission because her results were not uploaded before the portal was closed. If a candidate scored 400 and is unable to upload results at the regulated time, there is nothing anyone can do. WAEC Result Closing the portal was school regulation and students were required to upload their results before the closure of the portal. Mr Akogun declined to state if the university issued a notice to applicants about the closure of the portal. SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A 33-year-old man was shot in the leg Friday night and taken to Upstate University Hospital by private vehicle," according to Syracuse police. At 9:27 p.m. on Friday, officers responded to the hospital after a reported shooting, police said. A 33-year-old man had been shot in the lower leg and taken to the hospital by a private vehicle, police said. Officers do not know where the man was shot, police said. The mans injuries appear to be non-life threatening, according to police. Police ask that anyone with information call the Syracuse Police Department at 315-442-5222. 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. By Jang Sung-min OTTAWAOne does wonder how Donald Trump would be reacting if dozens of Americans were accidentally shot out of the sky this week in Iran. Actually, no one needs to wonder. Less than a week ago, Trump was warning Iran that it would pay dearly if any missiles killed Americans as part of the escalating tension in the region kicked off by his drone strike against a top Iranian military commander. No Americans were killed when Iran retaliated against two U.S. bases last Tuesday, in what commentators and experts noted was clearly a deliberately bloodless attack, designed to avoid all-out war. But 57 Canadians died hours later accidentally, Iran has remarkably acknowledged and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is outraged and furious. Trump was reportedly relieved this week after the missiles stopped firing in Iran; Canada has not been permitted this sentiment. And while Trump was tweeting about his own impeachment drama and polling figures on Saturday morning, Trudeau was talking to Iranian president Hassan Rouhani about deaths that never should have happened. Something is very wrong with this picture. Angry that he is, Trudeau has not taken to Twitter to register fury or threats at this pointless, reckless tragedy, as one assumes Trump would have done. Canadas prime minister has appeared instead at three successive, sombre news conferences in the National Press Theatre in the past few days, flanked by ministers and officials who have been working around the clock with him. Trudeaus outrage has been delivered in precisely, diplomatically parsed sentences fury that the event happened, but not at why it happened or who caused it. Not yet, anyway. The prime minister is leaving room, though, for those who will be looking to blame Trump, at least partly, for setting off the chain of events that have caused so much grief in Canada. In times of conflict and tension, thats precisely when innocent lives are lost, Trudeau said in reply to a question in French on Saturday, about whether he linked the tragedy to recent U.S. actions in the region. Obviously in this context in the Middle East these days, that contributed to this tragedy. Trudeaus Prime Ministers Office initially saw itself as mainly a spectator a highly interested spectator to the drama unfolding between the U.S. and Iran over these early days of 2020. Late on Tuesday night, officials in the PMO saw the news of the plane crash in Tehran, but it wasnt until the early hours of Wednesday morning that Trudeau and his team were notified of the large loss of Canadian lives on that Ukrainian flight headed from Tehran to Kyiv. They also learned that 138 people on that flight had been destined to fly on to Canada. Operations inside government kicked into high gear then, with hundreds of government workers and dozens inside the PMO focused solely on the fallout from this incident. Trudeaus chief of staff, Katie Telford, and issues manager Brian Clow co-ordinated the response across the government. Trudeau made an early call to Bob Rae, the former Liberal leader and Ontario premier, who led a 2005 inquiry into the Air India tragedy that killed 329 people in 1985. According to PMO sources, Rae stressed the importance of the PM staying in close touch with the families of the victims advice that Trudeau has been duly following. On Sunday, Trudeau is due to fly to Edmonton, home to at least 30 of the people who died aboard the Ukrainian jet this week. One other major resource of advice for the PM was Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who had been through the 2014 Malaysian Airlines disaster that killed nearly 300 people, two thirds of them Dutch citizens. Rutte told Trudeau how crucial it was to engage international networks in the search for answers on the tragedy. The Canadian government, without diplomatic ties to Iran, had to use those networks to set up contact with the Iranian government. As more intelligence reports from the network pointed to a missile attack, the Canadian government team was hoping but not expecting to get Iran to acknowledge the cause. Trudeau and his team of ministers, along with defence chief Jonathan Vance, deliberately included the possibility of an accidental or inadvertent attack in their public statements late in the week to leave Iran some diplomatic space for that acknowledgment. Tone, they believed, was crucial if they had flown into some kind of public fury (the kind that some other world leader would have used) they felt they would make it difficult for Iran to come forward. Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne talked to his Iranian counterpart as well, Mohammad Javad Zarif, telling him that Trudeau was hoping to speak to president Rouhani. Late on Friday night, Clow, Telford and the government team received news reports that Iran was getting ready to talk publicly about the cause of the crash. Trudeau was informed after his return to Ottawa from Toronto, where he had been meeting with families of the victims. Early on Saturday, the Iranian president posted the admission of a disastrous mistake on Twitter. Trudeau and Rouhani then spoke later in the morning. By around 1 p.m. on Saturday, the prime minister trudged back to the National Press Theatre for yet another news conference, where he had a bit more leeway to say how furious he was. The fallout from this senseless tragedy now goes into a new phase, PMO sources say, with the Canadian government now focused on the investigation and help for the victims, rather than the mere cause of it. That is a complex discussion and it will involve the U.S., though no immediate, further talks with Trump are scheduled. But Canada still doesnt get to feel that the relief that the U.S. president felt after missiles flew in Iran last week. The fury here is more diplomatic, and strategic. Susan Delacourt is the Star's 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: Karl Stefanovic believes that the Queen could have avoided Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's 'abdication' row with one simple gesture. The Today host, 45, is convinced that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex publicly announced their intention to step down from 'senior' royal duties in response to Her Majesty failing to include a photograph of them on her mantelpiece during her Christmas Day address. 'It all could have been resolved so much easier if the Queen just had a picture of them behind her,' Karl told viewers on Monday. 'Simple as that': Karl Stefanovic believes that the Queen could have avoided Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's 'abdication' row with one simple gesture. Pictured with Allison Langdon He continued: 'My grandma did that for years. She didn't have a picture of me on her mantelpiece...' His co-host, Allison Langdon, interrupted: 'Can I just say, we've only worked together for a week and you've mentioned [your grandmother] every single day. 'You should understand how Harry and Meghan feel!' Where are they? The Today host, 45, is convinced that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex publicly announced their intention to step down from 'senior' royal duties in response to the Queen failing to include a photo of them on her mantelpiece during her Christmas Day address 'She didn't have a picture of me': Karl joked that he can relate to Prince Harry because his own grandmother didn't include a photo of him on the mantelpiece 'for years' Karl chuckled: 'I do! I didn't have anyone saying, "Are you okay, Karl? Because grandma doesn't have a picture of you." I've been affected by it.' Sports presenter Alex Cullen added: 'It's true. Every time I go home, I look at the fridge and see which grandkids are on the fridge. "Where are ours, mum?"' Concluding the segment, Karl joked: 'I agree. Alex and I are going to live in Canada!' Snub: During the Queen's Christmas Day speech last month, viewers couldn't help but notice Harry and Meghan's absence among her family portraits. Pictured: The Queen, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry at Buckingham Palace on July 10, 2018 During the Queen's Christmas Day speech last month, viewers couldn't help but notice Harry and Meghan's absence among her family portraits. Next to her during the speech, there were pictures of King George VI, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, as well as a family shot of the Cambridges. Last week, the Sussexes announced they were stepping down from 'senior' royal duties and plan to live between the UK and North America. Their decision to distance themselves from the royal family has been dubbed Megxit. Haiti - Earthquake 2010 : One day engraved in our collective memory ... As part of the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the earthquake of June 12, 2010 which left more than 200,000 dead and as many injured, the Office of the Secretary of State (Gerald Oriol Jr.) for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities (BSEIPH) shares his thoughts in a message, reminding us that this day will forever be etched in our collective memory. "At the start of 2020, the Haitian people are preparing to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the January 12, 2010 disaster. This date remains engraved in our collective memory. That day, the earth spoke to us too hard; it has deeply shaken our bowels. It took 35 seconds to see hundreds of thousands of bruised bodies; to take away hundreds of thousands of loved ones, to collapse part of our economy and our society. This earthquake separated us from many of our loved ones and left us with unfathomable suffering, the many consequences of which are still before our eyes. We will remember it forever. On this occasion, let us also remember that many people affected in their body and soul have survived. These people, most of whom today live with a disability, are survivors to whom we have a duty of solidarity. Their limitations bear witness to our shortcomings and characterize our multiple challenges to be met. Let us be at the rendezvous of history ! Ten years later, should we not ask ourselves if nature's message has been understood ? In this time let us be in reflection and especially in action. We must be able to say : never ! Never again ! Let's prepare the next day and be ready ! The Office of the Secretary of State for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities takes this opportunity to invite every Haitian to do their best to keep the country from experiencing a similar tragedy. This is possible through prevention, improvement of infrastructure, application of universal accessibility standards and above all through our active solidarity with one another." HL/ HaitiLibre Can 1917 build on its momentum from the Golden Globes? As this World War I film heads into wide release just before the Oscar nominations, it could hardly have hoped for a better liftoff from the Globes, which gave 1917 awards for best director and best drama. Momentum is key when it comes to a best-picture race this wide-open, and since this Oscar season is unusually short the ceremony is in less than a month 1917 may be peaking at the exact right time. Then again, its been ages since a movie released so late in the year went on to win best picture, and 1917 was one of the very last films to start screening for voters. It also demands a big-screen viewing, and academy members who are under water with DVD screeners may not have gotten around to that yet. If 1917 can pull off around 10 Oscar nominations, including a key nod for its screenplay, well know that the films risky release gambit is working. Is the best-director lineup likely to be all-male? It was a great year for female directors, but you wouldnt know that by looking at the best-director lineup for the major awards this season. The Golden Globes, BAFTA and Directors Guild of America each picked five men in that category: Tarantino, Scorsese, Bong, Mendes and the Joker director Todd Phillips were recognized by the first two groups, while the D.G.A. swapped Jojo Rabbit director Taika Waititi for Phillips. That fifth slot will be heavily contested, since the other four directors appear to be immovable. Still, its important to note that the directing branch of the academy loves to throw curveballs, so dont completely count out Greta Gerwig (Little Women) or Lulu Wang (The Farewell). Other worthy female filmmakers like Celine Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire) and Lorene Scafaria (Hustlers) have movies that are likely too far out of the best-picture race to help their long-shot bids. President Muhammadu Buharis family and any other person he authorizes can use the presidential jet, a presidential aide has said. The aide was referring to the use of the presidential jet by Mr Buharis daughter, Aisha, for a private assignment in Bauchi State. But the main opposition party, PDP, has condemned Ms Buharis use of the presidential jet. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a statement on Saturday, defended the use of the presidential jet by Ms Buahri, saying her trip followed due process. The presidential aide also said that for as long as the presidential jet is available to the president, the same preference also goes to the first family. Mr Shehus stance came hours after photos of Ms Buhari alighting from the presidential jet in Bauchi went viral. The presidents daughter was on a study tour of Bauchi Emirate as part of her fieldwork for her ongoing Masters programme in Photography, PREMIUM TIMES learnt. Ms Buhari completed her first degree in June 2019 at the Ravensbourne University, London. She was part of the universitys convocation ceremony on December 4. She is studying for her Masters at the same university. Ms Buhari, a first-class graduate in photography and youngest daughter of the president, was criticised by many Nigerians for using the presidential jet for a private function. In response, Mr Shehu said: Its true that a member of the First Family was flown to Bauchi yesterday on a mission duly authorised. It wasnt an impromptu or improper trip because it followed normal procedure. The Presidency informed the National Security Adviser of the mission who in turn informed the Commander of the Presidential Air Fleet. READ ALSO: The normal practice in existence for a long time is that the Presidential Air fleet is available to the President and the first family and four others. These four are the Vice President, the Senate President the Speaker and any other person(s) authorised by the President, he added. PDP, others kick The PDP in a statement made available to PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday described the action as provocative, condemnable, and completely improper. The opposition party added that the use of the presidential jet was a slap on the sensibilities of millions of Nigerians. Perhaps, the Buhari Presidency forgot that it is public knowledge that the Presidential fleet can only be authorized for use by the President, the First Lady, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, former Presidents, Presidential delegation and no one else. Moreover, the rules do not grant the President any powers to transfer any paraphernalia of office or privileges of his position to any of his children, the opposition party said. Our party holds that Mr. President should apologise for approving that his daughter uses the presidential jet just for the purpose of allegedly taking photographs in a Durbar event in Bauchi State. 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. The Australian prime minister has admitted to not dealing with parts of the nation's ongoing wildfire crisis very well, as well as proposing a review into the country's response. Scott Morrison, who has had some tense exchanges with residents while visiting affected areas, said: There are things I could have handled on the ground much better. He said: "These are sensitive environments, they are very emotional environments. Prime ministers are flesh and blood too in how they engage with people." The prime minister has been received frostily by members of the public on some visits, including some who refused to shake his hand. Mr Morrison was filmed suggesting one firefighter who did so was "just tired", before someone replied that he had lost his house. 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 The PM was also caught on camera grabbing a womans hand who refused to shake his, and has been heckled by residents who called him a "scumbag". Talking about visits to areas hit by blazes, he told ABC News: "I went there in the good faith ... to provide what comfort and consolation I could. But they are very strained environments and I think we need to think a little harder about how we do those." Mr Morrison has been criticised for not doing more to combat climate change, even as Australia battles its worst wildfire season on record, which has now killed 28 people and destroyed thousands of homes. He has also apologised for holidaying in Hawaii while blazes were raging through the country. In the interview, he suggested the country should have a national review into the response to the wildfires. However, the PM rejected criticism that his government had not done enough before the bushfire season started. Talking about the response co-ordinated and supported by the state, he said: "I think we have to acknowledge how exemplary it has been in response to what has been the scale of fire." The PM has so far been defiant in rejecting any links between his government's conservative climate policies and the bushfires for example, defending his countrys reliance on its coal industry but said his government will look into improving its performance on curbing emissions. "We want to reduce emissions and do the best job we possibly can and get better and better and better at it," he said. "I want to do that with a balanced policy which recognises Australia's broader national economic interests and social interest. Another firefighter became the latest casualty over the weekend when killed on duty in the state of Victoria, which has been one of the worst-hit regions by the blazes. The wildfires are estimated to have killed one billions animals and torched more than 26 million acres, an area larger than Ireland, since they started in September. Additional reporting by Reuters Top US Democrat Nancy Pelosi said Sunday that she believes the impeachment hearings against Donald Trump produced "enough testimony to remove him from office" when the case moves to the Senate. Speaker Pelosi will meet with the House Democratic caucus early Tuesday to prepare for the formal vote required to send the two articles of impeachment passed by the House on to the Senate, as early as this week. The Senate trial is expected to be held quickly, with Republicans holding enough votes to easily dismiss the charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Pelosi has withheld the articles since the House impeached Trump on December 18 over allegations that he improperly pressured Ukraine to investigate his potential 2020 election rival Joe Biden, and obstructed the subsequent congressional probe. Pelosi had hoped to pressure Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell to agree to allow witnesses and new evidence in the trial. He has not budged, however. Still, she said Sunday that the delay had accomplished important things. "We wanted the public to see the need for witnesses," she told ABC. "Now the ball is in their court to either do that or pay a price for not doing it." During the interim, she added, new emails supporting the charges against Trump had emerged, and former national security adviser John Bolton had announced his willingness to testify if subpoenaed. - 'There will be no haggling' - If the Senate fails to subpoena Bolton -- and Trump said Friday in an interview on Fox that he might invoke executive privilege to block Bolton's testimony -- Pelosi said it was "not excluded" that the House might then move to subpoena him. But McConnell made clear recently he had sufficient Republican votes to ignore the Democrats' demands on witnesses and evidence. Trump, for his part, has said he expects rapid exoneration and wants to move past the trial as quickly as possible. "Why should I have the stigma of Impeachment attached to my name when I did nothing wrong," the president tweeted on Sunday. "Very unfair to tens of millions of voters!" He also renewed a call for Democrat Adam Schiff, who led the House impeachment probe, to be called as a witness -- this time also demanding that Pelosi herself be made to testify. The timing of the trial is critical, with political temperatures rapidly rising in this presidential election year. The first vote of the Democratic nomination process, in Iowa, is just weeks away, on February 3. Five of the candidates -- Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, Cory Booker and Michael Bennet -- are US senators, and are required to sit as jurors during the impeachment trial, curtailing their campaigning efforts. Search Keywords: Short link: Shoppers on the streets of central Singapore did a collective double take last month when a glamorous mother-daughter duo paraded past in matching tulle mini-dresses during Christmas rush hour. Despite a 24 year age gap, millionaire socialite Jamie Chua, 45, and her influencer daughter Calista, 21, could be easily mistaken for sisters with their alabaster complexions, slender physiques and flowing manes of straight, silken hair. In honour of Calista's 21st birthday, mother and daughter donned elaborate pink frocks and took to the bustling city streets for a photo shoot, stopping traffic and passersby with their uncanny resemblance. Jamie, who is known as Singapore's 'Instagram queen', documented the outing on her much-followed YouTube Channel in a vlog titled: 'Twinning with Calista for her birthday!' More like sisters? Singaporean socialite and Instagram queen Jamie Chua, 45, bears an uncanny resemblance to her 21-year-old influencer daughter Calista (left) After preening themselves with makeup and hair straighteners, the women slipped into their gowns, with Calista wearing baby pink and Jamie in neon bubblegum. Jamie's dress looked identical to the hot pink Giambattista Valli for H&M tulle mini worn by supermodel Kendall Jenner for the amFAR Charity Gala at Cannes Film Festival in May 2019. 'I can't believe you're making me wear this,' Calista teased her mother as they hopped in a chauffeur driven car waiting to take them to the city. Using Singapore's towering skyscrapers and lavish designer boutiques as their backdrop, the women posed up a storm inside a festively decorated walkway, catching the attention of the crowds passing by. Fans shared their disbelief about the women's age difference after the vlog was posted on YouTube. The duo could be easily mistaken for sisters with their alabaster complexions, slender physiques and flowing manes of straight, silken hair (pictured together in 2018) The pair posed up a storm on the bustling city streets, using Singapore's towering skyscrapers and lavish designer storefronts as their backdrop Jamie's dress bore a striking resemblance to the hot pink Giambattista Valli for H&M tulle mini worn by supermodel Kendall Jenner for the amFAR Gala at Cannes Film Festival in May 2019 A mother's love (and genetics): Fans were incredulous about the 24 year age difference between Jamie and Calista, with many saying they look 'like twins in their 20s' 'What a pretty daughter you have - and you look like her elder sister! Oh my God, how do you manage yourself?' one woman asked. 'Jamie looks so young that, if I didn't already know, I would assume Calista was her younger sister,' said another. Others said the pair look 'like twins in their 20s' and marvelled at the fact Jamie is more than twice that age. Last year, Jamie shared her skincare routine with Daily Mail Australia, revealing aromatherapy oils and facial massages as her secret weapon for maintaining her age-defying appearance. 'I swear by relaxing facials to keep my skin and pores clean, and use rose oil in my skincare as it promotes youth and radiance,' she said. She also makes her own bath soap and serums, declaring she 'cannot live without' neroli, lavender and frankincense oils. The Elixir of Youth: How to defy the ageing process like Jamie Chua On facials and maintaining her youthful appearance: 'I swear by relaxing facials to keep my skin and pores clean, and use rose oil in my skincare as it promotes youth and radiance,' Ms Chua told Daily Mail Australia in July 2018. 'With a healthy lifestyle and a conscientious daily skincare regime, it really helps to maintain your skin and keeps wrinkles at bay. Aromatherapy is also a very big part of my life.' Ms Chua usually starts her day with a body forming treatment and facial massage. The beauty mogul makes her own bath soap and face serums, declaring she 'cannot live without' neroli, lavender and frankincense oils. On relieving stress: 'I love massages and every time I get a body treatment done I take a short relaxing upper body massage to ease the tension from the pressures of my daily life.' On exercising and healthy eating: 'I barely go to the gym and prefer to work out alone at home doing HIIT or yoga. I enjoy my food a lot and desserts make me very happy!' Advertisement The proud mum regularly shares stylish photos with her lookalike daughter, jetting around the world together for glamorous events and fashion launches in cities from Paris to Hong Kong. The mother-of-two - who shares Calista and son Cleveland with ex-husband, Indonesian millionaire business tycoon Nurdian Cuaca - is an entrepreneur in her own right, carving a name in the cosmetics industry with skincare line Luminous1. Internationally renowned for her dizzying designer wardrobe, Jamie is rumoured to own the largest collection of Hermes bags in the world, surpassing those of Hermes super fans Kim Kardashian and Victoria Beckham. She houses her vast array of ultra-rare accessories in a cavernous 600 square foot fingerprint-protected closet, which cost $120,000 to build. The suite life: Jamie and Calista regularly jet around the world together for glamorous events in cities from Paris to Hong Kong 'I appreciate good craftsmanship - everything I spend my money on I love to keep for a long, long time. I have runway pieces from 27 years ago that still look brand new! I just love all things beautiful,' she told Daily Mail Australia in July 2018. Her most expensive handbag is a Hermes Himalaya Diamond Birkin in size 30 which is worth an estimated $512,590. According to elite auction house Christie's, the Hermes Himalaya Birkin Bag is considered the 'Holy Grail in a Handbag Collection', while the Himalaya Kelly is fabled as 'The Rarest Handbag in the World'. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Veeramalla Anjaiah (The Jakarta Post) Mon, January 13 2020 Gender equality: The sign of 2020 International Womens Day, the theme of which is #EachforEqual. (Courtesy of internationalwomensday.com) Diplomacy has existed for thousands of years. It used to be a mans world but not anymore. More and more women are joining diplomatic services and they are excelling in this field. What do diplomats actually do? Why were women discouraged from joining diplomatic services in the past? 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 Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-13 06:46:20|Editor: yan Video Player Close SAO PAULO, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Brazil is set to reopen its Antarctic research station, which was destroyed by fire in 2012 and rebuilt by the China National Electronics Import and Export Corporation (CEIEC), Vice President Hamilton Mourao said on Sunday. The Comandante Ferraz station on King George Island will be re-inaugurated on Tuesday, Jan. 14. "We are going to give scientific research in the Antarctic a new impetus," said Mourao, who plans to travel to the region on Monday for the opening ceremony. Following the destructive blaze, the CEIEC won a public bidding in 2015 that was organized by Brazil's Navy for the site's reconstruction. Brazil's government invested some 100 million U.S. dollars in the project, according to the Navy's website. The new station "is a jewel of modern architecture," which will allow Brazil "to maintain our presence among the international scientific community," said Mourao. The 4,500-square-meter station houses 17 laboratories, 13 more than before, and can accommodate up to 64 people. Meeting billionaire Alan Sugar was always going to be a little intriguing. I was interviewing him live on stage at the Pendulum Summit in Dublin on Wednesday and was curious mainly about one thing: is he actually the same as he is on The Apprentice? A consummate media and public performer, I thought I would learn more about him during a chat shortly before we took to the stage at the Convention Centre than during a one-hour conversation on stage. And I did. Sugar, or Lord Sugar as he has been in the UK since 2009, is exactly the guy he is on The Apprentice. He is direct, not necessarily blunt, but very smart. Unlike almost any businessperson I have ever met, he didn't want to control the interview we were about to do. In fact, he wanted to do the opposite. He didn't care what questions I wanted to cover and never asked to go over topics in advance. Instead, when I met him on the day, his primary concern was that we would be able to take as many questions from the audience as possible. Most businesspeople, even the most successful ones, are terrified of opening up questions to the floor, especially without any kind of filter, and the room had around 2,000 people in it. For Sugar, the more unscripted, uncontrolled audience participation there was, the better. The room was too big to simply have a roving microphone and besides, not everybody would feel confident enough to stand up with a mic in hand and ask one of the big beasts of British business a question in front of 2,000 others. So we used an app which people downloaded to submit questions. Within about 10 minutes of taking to the stage, 160 questions had come in. People wanted to know everything from his views on Mourinho at Spurs to who would win an Apprentice TV final between him and Donald Trump. What industries would he buy shares in for the future? His answer to that one was the battery industry because of the expected explosion in electric vehicles. While his openness to any kind of question from the public was refreshing, and very few chief executives have the confidence or desire to be in that situation, his tips for success in business were remarkably simple. He advised people to stick to industries they know when it comes to investing. Avoid debt. Recognise when something has failed and be prepared to walk away. Always tot up your profit or loss every week. Sugar is not one to hide his light under a bushel. He says if he was starting out in business today, instead of back in 1968, yes it would be different, but he has no doubt that he would be successful. Unhappy at starting our on-stage interview just five minutes late, he had no problem staying on beyond the scheduled time if he could answer more questions that kept coming in from the audience. Sugar was particularly vociferous about British politics and politicians. He cannot stand Jeremy Corbyn, especially because of his economic policies, described by Sugar as "communist". He alleges Boris Johnson is a liar who should have gone to prison for what, he says, were the lies he told during the Brexit campaign. Despite being a remainer in the referendum, who believes Brexit will be very damaging for Britain, Sugar also felt the need to encourage people not to vote Labour, by effectively endorsing the Johnson-led Conservatives in the recent election. It is an odd and apparently contradictory position to take, but Sugar probably reflected a common attitude among the British business community - that it was better to have a Conservative majority, capable of ending the Brexit parliamentary paralysis, while also stopping Corbyn. Yet for all of his scepticism, sarcasm and bluntness, Sugar remains a classic optimist. He believes that while Brexit will be bad for Britain, and it will take a decade for the implications to really unfold, he doesn't think people should use that negativity to stop them doing things in business. He believes something as bad as Brexit should not be the reason to withdraw or not do things, but to just pick which investments you make more carefully. He doesn't sugar-coat anything but speaks his mind. I might not agree with that much of what he puts out in sound bites or on Twitter. He likes his rants and having a go. But, refreshingly, he seems willing to debate with anybody about anything. Willie Walsh will be a hard act to follow at IAG One man who always took a more modest approach to his achievements is IAG chief executive Willie Walsh. The man nicknamed 'the slasher' for his cost cuts at Aer Lingus is retiring from IAG 15 years after he became CEO of BA and then the group holding company he helped to create in 2011. Trade unionists might not be lamenting the departure of Walsh, who went through enormous rationalisation and cost-cutting no matter where he went. But his overall record on financial performance speaks for itself. As CEO of Aer Lingus from 2001 to 2005, the company shed between 2,000 and 2,500 staff. There had already been huge reductions in staff numbers at BA before Walsh took over in 2005. His BA predecessor, Rod Eddington, had overseen many of the 18,000 job losses there in the six years before Walsh took over. Yet, just two months into the role as CEO of BA, the former Aer Lingus pilot announced 600 job losses in management and a two-year financial plan that would cut costs by 450m (529m). Despite this track record of headcount reduction, he always managed to turn things around and put companies in a position to compete, expand and keep hiring. This was especially true when BA took over Spanish carrier Iberia. The airline was losing 1m per day and a major cost-cutting programme was needed in what was a heavily unionised business. This was tough medicine for the loss-making airline and Iberia ended up shedding 4,500 jobs following the BA takeover. At one stage while at BA, trade unions wanted Walsh to step aside from industrial relations talks, and believed more progress would be made if the BA finance director stood in instead. Yet, the IAG model, which he put together, worked. Last year, the group which owns BA, Iberia, Vueling and Aer Lingus made profits of 3.2bn. This was despite a very damaging strike at BA which saw the cancellation of 2,325 flights and cost the airline 121m. There was a lot more to Walsh than slashing costs. You can only judge his legacy of cuts by speculating where those airlines would be now, had the cuts not been made. Apple to receive special award from Varadkar. What's up? The Taoiseach is to present a special award to Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple, in Dublin. It is to recognise the tech giant's 40-year presence in Ireland and its contribution to the economy here. The 40-year anniversary isn't the only relevant timing issue though. It comes as both the Government and Apple are fighting on the same side in the European courts to appeal against the European Commission's 13bn illegal state aid finding. It also comes after Apple pulled out of a data centre project due to delays in the planning process. We have since seen changes to the planning laws. It also comes as international tax changes are expected which could see Ireland's corporation tax take fall. US companies are shifting large sums and intellectual property ownership back home. Apple deserves recognition for its contribution to the Irish economy, but is there a buttering up going on too? If so, just what is the Government worried about? New Delhi: Kareena Kapoor Khan is these days busy shooting for Aamir Khan starrer 'Laal Singh Chaddha'. The lead trio will be seen together after a long hiatus. The buzz around the movie is high and after Aamir's look from the movie went viral, it's Kareena's on-set pictures which have created a flutter online. Bebo's pictures from the sets of 'Laal Singh Chaddha' have been leaked and looks like she is playing a full-on Punjabi girl. She can be seen dressed in a peach-coloured patiala-salwar kameez paired with jutties and a dupatta on her head. Several fan clubs have shared it on Instagram and Twitter. Check it out here: 'Laal Singh Chaddha' is the Hindi adaptation of Hollywood bigwig Tom Hanks' 'Forrest Gump'. The actor made this announcement on his 54th birthday this year. Christmas 2020 has been locked as the release date of the movie which is being helmed by 'Secret Superstar' director Advait Chandan. Reportedly, 'Lal Singh Chaddha' will be shot pan India covering around 100 different locations and this is for the first time that a Hindi film will be shot at so many places. Gettyimagesbank By Andrew Hyde Over 1000 flights have been cancelled across all airports in Chicago due to the current winter storm that ripped through the US this weekend killing at least 11 people. According to FlightAware, the storm caused flight delays as long as four and a half hours at Chicagos O'Hare International Airport and lead to nearly 1000 cancellations on Saturday. Winter health advisory issued According to reports from international media, the countrys OHare international airport cancelled over 950 flights while its Midway international airport cancelled about 60 flights on Saturday morning. The storm which has unleashed floods and tornadoes across the eastern US produced waves as high as 20 feet in Lake Michigan. The officials have also issued a winter weather advisory for North Illinois and Chicago area early on Saturday morning. HAPPENING NOW: More than 950 flights cancelled at OHare International Airport. Right now there is a ground stop at OHare for inbound flights due to ice. #weatherwatch #winterstorm #chicagoweather @cbschicago pic.twitter.com/B5cGE4oFp8 Vi Nguyen (@ViNguyen) January 11, 2020 The Chicago Department of Emergency Management said that it was prepared for any upcoming disaster. The department added that it was ready, with 1800 trucks and another equipment statewide on standby to treat roads or respond to flooding situations. The National Weather Service reports three storm-related deaths in Alabama. The National Weather Service in Birmingham said via Twitter that the three Alabama deaths occurred in Pickens County. Three other people have died in Louisiana and one fatality has been reported in Texas since fierce storms erupted in the southern US on Friday. Read: Officials: 3 Dead In Alabama, Bringing Storm Death Toll To 7 Read:The Latest: 2 Texas First Responders Killed Amid Storm The Bossier Parish Sheriffs Office in Louisiana said on Facebook that firefighters found the bodies of an elderly couple Saturday near their demolished trailer. The winds were so strong that the home was moved 200 feet from its foundation. The deaths of the victims, who were the in-laws of a parish deputy, brings the storm-related toll in the state to three after a 75-year-old man was killed in Oil City, according to the Caddo Parish Coroners Office. Raymond Holden was in bed when the tree fell on his home, crushing him. Read: Indian-Americans Remember Shringla As People's Ambassador Read: Coyote Caught In Chicago After 2 People Report Being Bitten Bianca & Bianco (BnB), a new concept of affordable luxury porcelain slabs, tiles, and exclusive bath and kitchens solutions, is set to launch its first showroom in Dubai on Sheikh Zayed Road tomorrow (January 13). Catering to the needs of large commercial and residential real estate projects looking for competitively priced international quality fittings, BnB will also serve property owners wanting to upgrade their real estate asset value and aesthetics. From luxurious Italian porcelain slabs to Arabesque wall accents, visitors will be spoilt for choice for elegant, classy and bold designs at modest pricing. Ahid Shaikh, a founder of BnB and chairman of Deja vu Real Estate, said: There are two clear segments where we see a need gap. One is homeowners, who are seeking a classy and cosmopolitan look for their new homes, or looking to upgrade existing properties to increase valuation and ensure a steady return on investment. And the other is Dubais growing residential and commercial projects market. A Faithful+Goulds report forecasts the UAE fit-out market to reach $973.4 million (Dh3.4 billion) by 2022. At the same time, the renovations and refurbishment market in UAE is on the rise. Experts estimate renovations can add between 10-15 per cent to the selling price, something that is promoting a lot of owners to remodel and upgrade their older properties. Shaikh sees a huge market for refurbishment, not only in older communities such as Meadows, Springs, Emirates Hills, but even in the 25 million+ shell-and-core Dubai Hills villas as well as the Jumeirah Island and Palm Jumeirah Mansions. Real estate is one of the biggest investments in your life. Property needs look beautiful and should be upgraded regularly for it to retain and enhance its value. But while you want luxurious finishes & high quality, you also dont want to break the bank! Today everyone, whether a project manager or an individual, wants opulence that is cost-effective and delivers great ROI, he added. BnBs key product lines in porcelain slabs & tiling, sanitary-ware and cutting-edge kitchen solutions include Italian and Spanish brands that have been curated and carefully handpicked by BnBs team of international designers. The companys signature product is its Big Slabs collection of wall and floor tiling that infuses seamless elegance to interior decor, akin to that of a five-star hotel lobby, for a nominal cost. While its bath range comprises elegant counter tops, wall hung or under counter basins, and smart faucets and shower mixers, kitchen solutions are functional and new age, designed to increase efficiency. Tapping into the founding teams 12 years of experience in flooring and slabs in Canada, BnB has also recently joined hands with two of the key players in the Canadian slabs, tiling and marble market New Age & Tile Giant that boast over a decade of market leadership. At the core of BnBs philosophy is its commitment to give back to the local design community. To this effect, a dedicated area has been designated in the showroom for conducting knowledge sharing and training workshops. Customers can also benefit from these workshops as well as from BnBs multilingual team of handpicked experts & international designers (Arab, Minimalist & French styling) who will provide free design consultations. Interior designers, consultants, architects, and fit-out companies in Dubai will also be welcome to attend sessions with international designers and experts to learn more about tiling trends & technicalities and industry best practices. TradeArabia News Service Washington: The United States and China have agreed to resume semiannual talks on economic and trade issues, according to a published report. These discussions had been conducted in previous administrations but had been halted by the Trump administration. The Wall Street Journal reported that the resumption of the talks, which were started in the George W Bush administration and continued during Barack Obama's presidency, were set to be announced on Wednesday when the Trump administration signs a phase one trade agreement with China in Washington. The newspaper said that the new talks would be separate from negotiations over a phase two trade deal, which will cover a number of contentious issues involving Chinese policies that the Trump administration contends are unfair trade practices but were not resolved in the Phase One negotiations. Donald Trump and Xi Jinping pictured together in June 2019. Credit:AP When President Donald Trump took office in 2017, his administration halted the discussions, feeling they had failed to achieve significant results in tackling unfair Chinese trade practices and reducing America's huge trade deficits with China, the largest with any country. Relatives and neighbors reach out to carry the coffin of a police officer who was killed with others by a bomb blast in a mosque, during a funeral in Quetta, Pakistan on Jan. 11, 2020. (Naseer Ahmed/Reuters) Death Toll in Pakistan Mosque Suicide Bombing Rises to 15 QUETTA, PakistanThe death toll from a suicide bombing at a mosque in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta rose to 15 on Saturday, officials said. The blast during Friday evening prayers wounded at least 20 other people, police said. Two of the wounded people died overnight in the hospital, said provincial home minister Zia Langove, adding that six people were still in a critical condition. ISIS terrorist group claimed its suicide bomber carried out the attack to target an Afghan Taliban seminary. The U.S. condemns this heinous terrorist attack in a place of worship, Paul Jones, the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, said in a statement. I extend our condolences to the families of those who lost their lives. Mineral and gas-rich Baluchistan, of which Quetta is the capital, is at the center of the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, part of Chinas Belt and Road project. But violence in the province has fueled concerns about the security of projects such as a planned energy link from western China to Pakistans southern port of Gwadar. The attack was the second in the city this week, while police said they had foiled another by killing a suicide attacker in Rawalpindi city near Islamabad after he shot and killed two policemen. The Taliban denied in a statement that some of its members, including a senior commander, were killed. Local officials in Quettas police and district administration would not confirm whether the Dar-ul-Aloom Shariah seminary belonged to the Afghan Taliban under a state policy which denies the presence of the group on its soil. However, two officials said on condition of anonymity that the seminary was part of the Afghan Taliban. Baluchistan has faced an insurgency by separatist and nationalist groups who want a greater share in revenues earned from the local resources. Radical Islamic terrorists, including ISIS which consists of splinters from local Taliban and sectarian groups, also have a strong presence in the region. By Gul Yousafzai The law aims to streamline the performance of the stock market and create a more friendly investment climate Egypts House of Representatives voted on Sunday in favour of amendments to the central depository and registration law (law number 93 of 2000), in an initial vote on the law. Parliamentary speaker Ali Abdel-Aal said the law is a technical one that aims to facilitate the settlement of contracts on the stock market and the issuing of treasury bills and bonds. The amended law, as approved by parliament, will be referred to the State Council to be revised in constitutional and legal terms before it is put up for a final vote in parliament, he said. "The amended law also seeks to go in line with the laws regulating the performance of joint-stock companies and the capital market, and so this law needs professional experts to be correctly and skilfully implemented, and if we do not have such experts, we could face many problems, not to mention that as far as I know many countries have faced a lot of difficulties in implementing the new electronic system introduced by this law," said Abdel-Aal. A report prepared by parliament's economic committee and legislative and constitutional affairs committee said the 60-article law forms the basis of the performance of the stock market and that it is critical for creating a more investment-friendly climate in Egypt. "This law, passed in 2000, is a turning point in the history of the Egyptian stock market. It led to transforming trade operations on the stock market from manual to electronic," said the report. The amendments, the report said, aim to achieve a number of objectives. "First, they are meant to be in line with the 2015 amendment of the joint stock company law (law number 17 of 2015) which made trading of the shares of these companies (numbering 130,000) governed by the central depository and registration system," read the report. "Second, they aim to be in harmony with the 2018 amendments of the capital market law which led to the creation of the future contracts bourse, which will also be regulated by the central depository and registration system. Thirdly, the amendments open for privatisation of the central depository and registration process. "Right now, one company, the public sector Misr Maqassa is monopolising the business in this sector. With the new law, this will no longer be the case. Private companies will be allowed to join," read the report. Government financial securities, which are issued by the Central Bank of Egypt on behalf of the finance ministry, will be monopolised by a company fully owned by the central bank and licensed by the Financial Regulatory Authority. The governments explanatory note on the law said the amendments regulate the activities of clearance and settlement of financial securities "and this is necessary for settling the legalities of trading in financial securities and the rights and obligations of those who do business in this sector. When the amendments came up for debate for the first time in a meeting held by the economic committee on 20 October, Abdel-Hamid Ibrahim, an advisor to the chairman of the Financial Regulatory Authority, explained that the goal of the amendments is to help attract more investments to the stock securities market in a manner that could positively impact the international credit rating of Egypt. The new amendments do not affect in any way the existing entity which is in charge of the clearance and settlement system, since it is internationally recognised, Ibrahim noted. The meeting saw much debate on Article 35, which allows the central bank to monopolise business in treasury bonds and bills via a joint-venture company to be formed for his purpose. Article 35 also states that the Financial Regulatory Authority is the entity officially authorised to license joint-venture companies to do the business of the clearance and settlement of contracts concluded on the stock market. The article lists all the requirements that must be first met for joint-venture companies to obtain an official licence. Ashraf El-Araby, deputy chairman of parliaments economic committee, said that since the amendments are closely related to the investment and capital market, the committee was keen to hold intensive discussions on each of its individual articles, to ensure it will positively impact the countrys economic and business climate. Search Keywords: Short link: Imperial Valley News Center Doctor Who Conspired with Internet Pharmacy Organization to Unlawfully Sell Prescription Drugs Pleads Guilty Norfolk, Virginia - A Norfolk man has pleaded guilty to conspiring to unlawfully sell prescription drugs to consumers without valid prescriptions, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday. According to court documents, from October 2007 to September 2010, Lawrence B. Ryan, 48, who was then a physician, conspired with RX Limited, an internet pharmacy organization, to sell prescription drugs without valid prescriptions to consumers in the United States. RX Limited sold these prescription drugs, including Fioricet (which contains butalbital, a barbiturate that is a controlled substance), carisoprodol (Soma), tramadol (Ultram), Viagra, Cialis, and others, using a network of its own websites and websites registered and operated by affiliates. RX Limited sent Ryan drug orders for approval as a participating physician. These drugs were sold to customers without a valid prescription, because there was no legitimate doctor-patient relationship between Ryan and the customers. Specifically, there was no face-to-face contact, no physical examination, no taking of patient histories, and no checking of the accuracy of information provided by the customers, including qualifying medical conditions. The drugs sold were accordingly misbranded because they were introduced into interstate commerce without valid prescriptions. The Department of Justice is committed to protecting consumers from unscrupulous medical professionals who assist others to unlawfully sell potentially harmful and addictive drugs to American consumers, said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Department of Justices Civil Division. During the time he worked as a participating physician for RX Limited, Ryan approved more than 158,000 illegal drug orders. Ryan pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and to introduce misbranded drugs into interstate commerce. U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller, sitting in the Eastern District of Virginias Norfolk Division, accepted the plea. Ryan faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison when sentenced on April 6, 2020. Senior Litigation Counsel Linda I. Marks of the Civil Divisions Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan M. Salsbury of the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Virginia are the prosecutors for the case. The Minnesota office of the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case, with assistance from the Internal Revenue Service, and the FDAs Office of Criminal Investigations. Flash Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Saturday strongly rejected the U.S. extension of ban on charter flights between the United States and Cuban destinations except Havana. "Cuba rejects new ban on charter flights imposed by the United States. The escalation of sanctions violates the human rights of Cubans and of Americans," the president tweeted. On Friday, the U.S. government announced the suspension of all public charter flights to Cuba, except those to Havana's Jose Marti International Airport. This new sanction, which affects nine airports on the island, is an extension of last year's ban on U.S. commercial flights to all Cuban destinations except Havana. Public charter flight operators will have a 60-day wind-down period to discontinue all affected flights, according to the U.S. statement. The prohibition on charter flights adds to a set of sanctions implemented by Washington against Havana since U.S. President Donald Trump took office, seeking to stifle the island's economy, especially the tourism sector. To the Editor: As I see it, the basic problem here is the greed of Novartis and other pharmaceutical giants. Your article informs us that in the 1980s, there were 18 major pharmaceutical companies developing new antibiotics; today there are three. It also tells us that the former developers need to be lured back. Since these companies have always claimed that their main interest is saving lives, there should be no need to lure them back. They should recognize their responsibility. Unlike the small start-ups, the big companies are not financially vulnerable. They just have to recognize an obvious truth: They can use some of the profits from their moneymaking drugs to subsidize other drugs that are desperately needed. And if they wont do this on their own, the government should be prepared to force them to do it. Richard Nochimson Bronx To the Editor: Your article rightly points out that the arsenal to fight drug-resistant bugs is waning as companies have stopped investing in new drugs. Both the United Nations General Assembly and the World Health Organization have adopted resolutions and issued reports on the threat that antimicrobial resistance poses to world health. Until new drugs are developed, it is imperative that the world health community reduce the overuse of antibiotics. Toward this end, rapid and affordable diagnostics are needed to distinguish viral from bacterial infections so antibiotics are appropriately prescribed. Tri-State COVID cases surge, but number falls in Washington County While the number of new COVID-19 cases in the Tri-State area skyrocketed in the past week, the number cooled slightly for Washington County. The men talk of Plum Crazy Purple, Vitamin C Orange and Sassy Grass Green. These are the colors of their childhood. These are the colors of classic cars that bring back memories of a simpler time so long ago, when America had just three TV networks and driving to the grocery store with mom or dad felt like a reward. It is why a little-known 48-year-old mechanic who works a day job from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Fiat Chrysler is considered a top muscle car restoration expert in North America. Dave Dudek does most of the work in an unmarked garage in Clinton Township, Michigan, having moved after someone bought the building and evicted everyone. His small private business is word-of-mouth only and he turns away more projects than he accepts. His clients over the last decade have been mostly men. CES 2020: Fast & Furious actor Ludacris' thoughts on Tesla Singapore Motor Show: This Subaru Forester's name isn't so family-friendly "The funny thing is, the Chrysler was the poor man's muscle car. In the collector market, they rule," Dudek said. "This is the first car they took their wife out on a date with and brought their baby home with." Dudek, a skilled tradesman who lives in St. Clair Shores, has repaired lift trucks and carts in the Fiat Chrysler Stamping Plant factory for 23 years. As the son of a hot-tar roofer and homemaker, he fell in love with muscle cars when his dad brought home a blue 1969 Barracuda convertible. "Dad was into cars a little bit but I fell in love with that car. I was, like, 14," said Dudek, who grew up in Taylor and Sterling Heights. "If he was getting a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread for mom, I was going no matter what." A star of Detroit Autorama: Mint '63 Chevy Impala with just 11 miles on odometer Dave Dudek pushes a newly arrived one of a kind 1970 Plymouth Barracuda with sassy grass green into his garage in Clinton Township, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020. He is working on 11 cars from clients who live in Miami, New York and near Alberta, Canada. Transforming them is his hobby. A single car can take up to a year. And finding original parts is like a national scavenger hunt of junkyards. Story continues "I put in a couple-three hours a day on these cars," Dudek said. "I am making sure every bolt is the exact bolt the car left the factory with. Each one has an insignia. Who made the bolt for Chrysler or GM or wherever? If they're supposed to be silver zinc, it's silver zinc. I'm constantly running into dead ends. I've got six bolts I need and I have four bolts and I need to find a junkyard in Arizona or Minnesota to see if they have two bolts for me. It's just a constant challenge." 'Poor man's muscle' Peter Swainson, 61, of Red Deer, Alberta, in western Canada has worked with Dudek for more than a decade. He has a collection of three dozen-plus classic muscle cars housed on his farm. "These cars represent our youth. For guys my age, it's about the memories," Swainson said. "Guys liked to cruise in the cool cars that made noise and had some speed. It was an exciting time with wild colors and individuality. Now all these cars today being built look alike. They're all gray, black or white." Looking back, he noted that the Plymouth Road Runner was supposed to be "a poor man's muscle car" and the company discovered a niche with guys who wanted high performance on a tight budget. These cars, Swainson said, commanded respect. He described how Dudek goes beyond restoring cars to their original condition by rebuilding everything to maximize performance. "He's using more updated material. I look at my motors and they look completely stock the appearance, color, engine. All the components attached, all original. But the internal motor is updated with pistons, rods, crankshaft and camshaft. More modern materials give peak performance," Swainson said. A restored dashboard for the 1971 Plymouth Cuda convertible at Dave Dudek Muscle Cars garage in Clinton Township, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020. Watching the process can be awesome. "You completely disassemble the car. Every nut and bolt is removed," Swainson said. "We put what's remaining of the body on a big huge rotisserie, like a roast or chicken or turkey," said Swainson, who owns Southside Dodge in the province of Alberta. "My father started our dealership in 1971. And I bought it from him. From the time I was 10 years old, I was nuts about Chrysler products." Swainson sometimes races his cars. He also just likes to drive slowly by himself. "It's a good mental break, just relaxing," he said. "Today's cars are so easy and simple to handle. But this is 50-year-old technology. You feel the car a lot more, you feel you're part of the car. The dual exhaust thunders and it gets your heart pumping when you step on the gas and hear the throaty sound of the motor. Guys love that." Peter Swainson has a collection of classic muscle cars at his home in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. He plans to be in Detroit to show a car in Autorama 2020. The collector is a top client of restoration specialist David Dudek, an FCA mechanic from St. Clair Shores. The private car restoration business happened by accident for Dudek. About 15 years ago, he took his repainted 1968 GTS Dodge Dart to a car show in Columbus, Ohio. Someone left a note on his windshield asking to do a magazine photo shoot. Dudek knew his friends were around and thought the note was a prank. But it was legit. Since then, he has worked on hundreds of cars from total restoration to special treatment including engine modification. So he does authentic restoration and also engine modification, making the cars more reliable than they were originally. These are called resto-mods. His current projects include two '70 'Cuda convertibles, a '71 'Cuda convertible, a '71 Hemi Charger R/T, a '71 Charger R/T, a '71 Charger R/T with a rare sunroof, a '68 Charger R/T, a '69 Hemi Road Runner, a '71 Hemi GTX, a '69 Dodge Daytona and a '69 Plymouth Belvedere. "The Belvedere was a low-end Chrysler product but I'm putting one of the Hellcat engines in it," Dudek said. "The '71 Charger, he wants to enjoy the car with modern technology. I took an engine out of a Hellcat and put it in the old muscle car. You cannot match the reliability of the new cars." Car sells for $450,000 A man from Rochester, New York, paid $450,000 for a rare 1970 Plymouth 'Cuda convertible in Sassy Grass Green and asked Dudek to tear it to pieces and put it back together. "The whole car needs to come apart and each detail needs to be redone," Dudek said. "It may be worth $700,000 when we're done with it." That same guy paid $2.1 million and $3.3 million for two other 'Cuda convertibles. Record $3.78 million sale The current record for an American muscle car to sell at public auction is $3.78 million for the 1971 Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda convertible that sold in 2014 by Mecum Auctions, noted Jonathan Klinger, vice president of Hagerty, publisher of the Traverse City-based Hagerty Price Guide and the largest insurer of classic cars in the world. The 1968 Ford Mustang driven by actor Steve McQueen in "Bullitt" sold at auction on Friday for $3.74 million, including the buyers premium. Auction attendees wondered if a famous Hollywood car might dethrone the 'Cuda. "When you say the most expensive muscle cars ever sold, it is typically something with a Hemi Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth. There seems to be a heightened sense of Detroit pride. ... The hot rod culture was born in Southern California. American muscle cars were born in Detroit in response. They had all these young servicemen coming back from World War II in high adrenaline combat modes. Automakers wanted to capitalize on that enthusiasm. That led to the muscle car wars." 'Crazy custom builds' Klinger, an expert on classic cars, had never heard of Dudek until the Free Press inquired. After a bit of independent research, Klinger called back and said, "He does great work. It is somewhat unique to do full-blown Concours D'Elegance-level, nut-and-bolt-100%-authentic restoration and crazy custom builds." Collectors come to Dudek because he has created hundreds of spreadsheets illustrating what the cars used to look like. It is his own reference guide. He fully restores Chrysler muscle cars and has done engine work on the Chevrolet Camaro, Pontiac GTO and Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. "I've done a lot of record-breaking cars," Dudek said. "One sold for $305,000, a green 1970 Coronet RT Hemi. ... It was just attention to detail, every nut and bolt from bottom of the tire to the top of the roof. Every fastener, even under the dashboard things you don't see. The paint color, everything. Just exactly as it left the factory." Incredibly, he does period-correct muscle car restoration with cars that have museum quality and can run a quarter-mile in 10 seconds flat. 140 mph in 9.9 seconds Two decades ago, Dudek co-founded a racing organization called F.A.S.T., which stands for "Factory Appearing Stock Tire." Muscle car owners from across the U.S. and Canada come together about six times a year and drag race around the states, including New York, Ohio, Maryland, New Jersey and Georgia. The race at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan, can attract up to 100 racers. "Many of the racing cars are wearing original window stickers and look like they drove off the showroom floor," said Dudek, who races his 1969 Hemi-powered Plymouth Road Runner. He wowed spectators by clocking in 9.902 seconds at 140.31 mph at the Maryland International Raceway. More: The first Ford Mustang owner kept the car. It's now worth $350,000 More: 'Bullitt' Mustang spent 40 years in garage now it's going on tour Re-live our fathers' stories Donny Brass, 54, of St. Clair Shores is a chief compliance officer for a mortgage company who knows Dudek through racing Brass' 1966 Corvette. "My dad bought the car in '68. It got kind of old showing the car and doing cruise things so I decided to try ... racing," Brass said. "I have a 2006 Corvette Z06 that is faster but not as much fun. Classic cars have a nostalgia and romance. It's a way to relive stories our fathers' told." He continued, "People tell you these are cars too valuable to do anything with. My dad was one of those too-valuable guys when it came to that car. But I think he'd be proud now. Winning races isn't the point. You're grinning ear to ear whether you've won or lost." He has run the quarter mile race in in 12.34 seconds at 110 mph. Looking back, Brass said, "I can remember riding behind the seats where there is no seat when I was a little guy. They would tuck me and my sister behind the seats in the storage area." 'Fast as heck' Mark Trostle, head of Mopar and Ram Design at Fiat Chrysler, doesn't know Dudek or his work but said, "The enthusiasm for today's muscle cars is fueled by the iconic cars from the 1960s and '70s. ... I think it's great that there are people in the industry dedicated to keeping the soul of that era alive." Dudek's hobby is completely independent of his employer. "I like working on stuff," he said. I'm now seven years away from retirement with a pension. I'm not going to mess that up. I'm a cancer survivor, six years now cancer-free of non-Hodgkins lymphoma. You don't know how long you're going to live. I like these cars. Working for Chrysler is good money to pay the house payment and everyday life. If I want to take my family on vacation or race my own cars, I'll need extra money. I've got two boys. I like making show cars run fast as heck. I've got a little niche here." Dave Dudek, center, poses for a photo between a 1971 Dodge Charger R/T, left, and a 1971 Plymouth Cuda convertible with billboard decal at Dave Dudek Muscle Cars garage in Clinton Township, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020. His wife, Kelly, 49, a plastics company administrator, met her husband while cruising with her girlfriends on Gratiot Avenue in Roseville. "He was out cruising with his friends in his '88 Mustang GT convertible looking for a race," she said. "His passion for cars was abnormal and obsessive at the time. Over the course of 30 years, it has never gone away." She went on, "This has rubbed off on me and our two children. Three years ago, I purchased a 2016 Dodge Challenger Hellcat and he prodded me to run it down the drag strip. I did and love it. She ran a 10.71 at 128 mph." Contact Phoebe Wall Howard at 313-222-6512 or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: FCA mechanic Dave Dudek transforms muscle cars New Delhi, Jan 12 : To re-attract consumers, the slowdown-dented automobile sector has lined up 60 launches, new technology offerings from debuting global brands at the biennial Auto Expo 2020. In addition to auto manufacturers, Reliance Jio and social media giant Facebook will also be part of the 15th edition of the expo, being jointly organised by ACMA, CII and SIAM from February 7-12 for the general public, at the India Expo Mart in Greater Noida. "Auto Expo 2020 is expected to be the biggest driver of consumer sentiment," Rajesh Menon, Director General of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), told IANS. "Passenger vehicle original equipment manufacturers, accounting for 85 per cent of the market share, and commercial vehicle OEMs, accounting for 75 per cent of the market share, are participating in this expo," Menon said. Sixty launches of passenger cars, commercial vehicles and two-wheelers are expected to showcase the future of mobility in the country. Many of these launches are expected to be face-lifts of existing models with BS-VI compliant engines as the country is shifting to BS-VI from April 2020. The healthy participation and launches assume significance as the sector has been battered by falling sales due to high goods and services tax (GST), farm distress, stagnant wages and liquidity constraints. While some companies had to reduce production, dealers took inventory correction measures. In terms of participation, brands like Volkswagen, Skoda, Force Motors will make a return to the motor show, FAW Haima, Great Wall, MG Motors and others will make debut. Lately, telecom operators have entered the segment to provide connectivity to internet-enabled cars and Jio will be showcasing embedded SIM technology for the automobile sector. Facebook will host a town hall discussion and will also be hosting other events. The expo 2020 will also feature more than 15 startups, which will showcase technology solutions focused on green mobility and services connected to the automobile industry. Lithium-ion battery and charger manufacturers, along with tyre firms will also showcase their presence at the auto show. (Rohit Vaid can be contacted at rohit.v@ians.in) Truck tolls in Connecticut are a Trojan Horse. First it was truck-only tolls, then it was truck and car tolls, now were back to truck-only tolls. Which is it Governor? We are being hustled by Hartford, ladies and gentlemen. In fact, Lamont recently admitted on the record that tolling trucks is just the start. When the Governors first, second and third attempts at tolling failed last year due to lack of public and legislative support, he advanced his latest proposal, 12 truck-only tolls on selected Connecticut bridges. This doesnt look so bad so why not support it, toll proponents argue? Heres why not: 1. Trucking companies will pass along tolling costs to consumers in the form of higher costs and surcharges on goods. 2. Once the toll gantries are installed, it will only be a matter of time when truck-only tolls become car and truck tolls when Hartford runs low on revenue. 3. If we join Rhode Island and add truck-only tolls, Connecticut taxpayers will be potentially saddled with millions in legal costs to defend inevitable law suits from trucking companies alleging that truck-only tolls are violative of the Interstate Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. While these are just a few of the arguments against truck tolls, Connecticut citizens beware, one of these 12 proposed toll gantries may be coming to your community if the Governor has his way. Five are slated for Interstate 95 in Stamford, Westport, West Haven, East Lyme and the Gold Star Bridge in Groton/New London; Two on Interstate 91 between Hartford and New Haven, including the Charter Oak Bridge; Two on Interstate 84 in Southbury and Waterbury; One on Interstate 395 in Moosup; One on Route 8 between Waterbury and Bridgeport; and one on Interstate 684 in Greenwich. Incredibly, the last toll in Greenwich is proposed for a one-mile stretch of highway just south of Westchester Airport. For those familiar with I-684, you are aware that the highway is entirely within New York state but for a tiny section in northwest Greenwich. What are you thinking Governor? I am no fan of New York state taxing policies, but this is nothing more than highway robbery, a cash grab from out-of-state trucks that is sure to result in numerous lawsuits. In fact, the toll proposal has already been rebuked by Governor Cuomo and Westchester County officials who threatened reprisals, including tolling all of 684 for cars and truck alike, a road used daily by thousands of Connecticut commuters. Frankly, I wouldnt want to live in or near one of these towns with thousands of trucks using local roads to divert around the proposed tolls. What a nightmare! At the end of the day, tolls in any form are a clever way for Hartford to impose new taxes and divert monies to satisfy various spending agendas. Need proof? Ask the Governor and those in the Legislature who voted for the latest budget, why more than $172 million was diverted from the transportation fund lockbox be damned! Incredibly, these are the very same people claiming that Connecticut roads and bridges are in imminent danger of collapse. Where is the fiscal accountability? What about alternatives? What about reshaping the budget to accurately reflect and responsibly address our crumbling infrastructure? You lied to us Governor to get elected, promising truck-only tolls, then actively promoted a comprehensive car and truck tolling plan within weeks of your inauguration. You claimed that truck-only tolls wouldnt provide enough revenue to fund your infrastructure plan. Now they will? What changed? As ancient Mythology teaches, the Greeks fooled the citizens of Troy, allowing a large wooden horse with soldiers secreted inside to infiltrate and destroy their city from within its walls. So, here we are again in 2020, at the gates, staring down this giant Trojan horse. However, this time we wont be fooled, Governor. We wont allow car tolls through the gates masked as truck tolls. Fool us once, shame on you Governor; fool us twice, shame on us! Jeffrey R. Heyel is a Connecticut Civil Rights Attorney and Adjunct Professor of Business at the University of New Haven. He is a Danbury resident. A beaming Eddie Gallagher posed for photos with his family and friends as he celebrated his retirement this weekend just after launching his own line of t-shirts. The retired Navy SEAL chief petty officer who was acquitted of war crimes and pardoned by President Donald Trump for taking a photo with a dead body posted several photographs on his Instagram account of the retirement celebrations. Snaps showed Gallagher and his wife, Andrea, as well as their two young children enjoying cake and celebrating with friends. Edward Gallagher is pictured with his wife, Andrea and their two young children Let them eat cake: The family tucked into the sweet treat during celebrations Family and friends gathered at an undisclosed restaurant to celebrate Gallagher's retirement Friends and supporters gathered to wish Gallagher well over the weekend Gallagher is doing his best to cash in on the conservative dollars behind his now loyal fan base, even starting his own topical t-shirt line. The controversial officer has teamed up with Nine Line Apparel to create the Salty Frog Gear t-shirt line and also shared a photo of himself in one of the shirts. In a November press release, Nine Line Apparel shared that the line is 'a coastal lifestyle brand with an edge'. The Gallaghers posted several photos on their Instagram account over the weekend The couple is seen above embracing as they sit down at a table in a restaurant 'With specialty garments flexible enough for a fishing trip at sea or a weekend afternoon on the range, SFG provides functional, versatile, and affordable apparel solutions for your next outdoor adventure,' the brand adds in its description. The basic t-shirts come with rather simple designs - with the words 'stay salty' and unleash tempest featured prominently. SFG also has a tailgater hoodie and offers drinkware to purchase. The t-shirts go for $25.99 while the hoodie costs $59.99. The release states that Gallagher met the apparel company's CEO - Tyler Merritt - while out on deployment. When the embattled serviceman first made national headlines, he explains that Merritt and Nine Line Apparel quickly stepped up. 'They treated us like gold,' Eddie said at the time, 'and opened my eyes that the brotherhood goes on. Nine Line and Black Rifle are vets taking care of vets.' 'To top it off, they came up with the idea of a brand and to create a partnership,' Gallagher touted one of the tees on his Instagram over the weekend, sharing this picture above The controversial officer - who was acquitted of war crimes and pardoned by President Trump for taking a photo near a dead body - has teamed up with Nine Line Apparel to create the Salty Frog Gear t-shirt line Gallagher - whose own platoon brothers described him as 'freaking evil' and 'toxic' - added: 'Brotherhood isn't just a statement, it's a way of life.' In a statement to the New York Times, Merritt claimed that Gallagher had been 'unjustly targeted by a broken investigation.' 'Nike has their First Amendment right to make individuals such as Colin Kaepernick their brand ambassadors,' he added in the statement. 'We have the right to make patriots like Chief Gallagher one of ours.' A military jury acquitted Gallagher of all the war crimes charges he was facing except one, posing in photos with the dead captive. Gallagher's platoon Navy SEALS were interviewed by naval criminal investigators before Gallagher was charged in September 2018 of war crimes, including the murder of a wounded ISIS fighter in Iraq. News of the apparel comes after it was revealed that Gallagher was seen as 'freaking evil' and 'toxic' by his own platoon brothers The video recordings of their interviews were leaked to the New York Times and were shown in its The Weekly documentary series. The interviews painted a picture of Gallagher, who was their platoon chief during a 2017 deployment to Iraq, being a reckless leader who had a hunger for violence. 'The guy is freaking evil,' Special Operator First Class Craig Miller told investigators during his interview. In a separate interview, Special Operator First Class Joshua Vriens said: 'The guy was toxic.' The SEALS were interviewed by naval criminal investigators before Gallagher was charged in September 2018 - and then later acquitted - of war crimes The video recordings of their interviews were leaked to the New York Times and are now shown publicly for the first time in its The Weekly documentary series Gallagher's case drew widespread controversy with President Trump repeatedly intervening on his behalf. Just last month, Gallagher and his wife Andrea met with Trump and First Lady Melania at Mar-a-Lago Special Operator First Class Corey Scott, who was a medic, was recorded saying: 'You could tell he was perfectly okay with killing anybody that was moving.' 'I think he just wants to kill anybody he can,' Scott added elsewhere in his interview. Some described him as 'getting crazier and crazier' and also that they'd heard rumors of Gallagher 'targeting civilians'. 'I saw Eddie take a shot at, probably, a 12-year-old,' one said in their interview. Some of the SEALS who were interviewed by investigators were never called to testify during Gallagher's trial. Gallagher was demoted but was later allowed to keep his Trident Pin and retire a SEAL following Trump's intervention. He has since become an outspoken tool used to praise Trump. 'Trump is a master of casting, and Gallagher is a perfect fit,' said Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. 'He's handsome, he's heroic, he's got a beautiful wife. He's a Rambo version of the same story Trump has been telling over and over: The deep state is trying to screw you, the media is bad, and the rich people don't understand you. But I'll stick up for you.' Queensland hospital staff have been stabbed, bashed, spat on and abused thousands of times in the past year while trying to treat patients, with a 40 per cent jump in assaults since 2016-17. Figures obtained by Brisbane Times reveal both threatened and actual attacks have increased within 12 of the state's 16 health services since 2017. CCTV shows a security guard being punched at the Royal Brisbane and Women's hospital in 2017. A Brisbane emergency department nurse, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said staff were punched, bitten, scratched, spat on and abused by patients "all the time". "I would say most of the assaults are by people who are drunk or high. I don't think I know a single person who works in ED who has not been at least verbally abused," she said. U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper speaks onstage during a briefing in Mar a Lago, Palm Beach, Florida on Dec. 29, 2019. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images) US Doesnt Expect More Retaliatory Attacks From Iran, Pentagon Chief Says The United States doesnt expect more Iranian retaliatory attacks after the regime fired missiles at U.S. troops stationed in Iraq last week, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said in an interview. Esper said that Tehran is now under internal threat from demonstrators after the regime said over the weekend it accidentally shot down a Ukrainian International Airlines plane last week, killing 176 peopleincluding 82 Iranians. Following the admission, throngs of protesters poured into the streets of Tehran, with people openly criticizing the government. You can see the Iranian people are standing up and asserting their rights, their aspirations for a better governmenta different regime, Esper said Jan. 12 on CBS News Face the Nation. When asked about whether Iran would attempt to strike U.S. assets in the near future, Esper said that officials do not expect any further attacks, while adding that Washington stand[s] with the Iranian people because they are seeking the same things that most people around the world want, including basic human rights. I just think you see a very corrupt regime that the Iranian people are finally standing up and trying to hold them accountable, Esper said. Iranians light candles for the victims of Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 during a gathering in front of the Amirkabir University in the capital Tehran, on Jan. 11, 2020. (AFP via Getty Images) In the interview, Esper stopped short of calling for regime change in Iran, echoing a statement that has been made by President Donald Trump. The regime, led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is still the legitimate government of Iran, Esper said. And what weve said, Ive said publicly, the president certainly has said, is we will meet with them. Were willing to sit down and discuss without precondition, a new way forward steps by which Iran becomes a more normal country, he said. Tensions between Iran and the United States were ratcheted up to levels not seen in decades after a U.S. drone strike killed Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, who headed the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, months after it was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department in 2019. Trump and other top officials have said Soleimani was planning to carry out attacks on American assets, including embassies. The Quds Force has weaved an intricate web of influence over the region over the past several decades, including supporting various Shiite proxy militias, the Hezbollah organization in Lebanon, Yemens Houthis, and others. Debris at the scene where a Ukrainian plane crashed in Shahedshahr, southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 8, 2020. (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo) Esper told CBS he shares the view expressed by Trump that Iran was going to conduct attacks against additional embassies in the region. I shared that view. I know other members of the national security team shared that view. Thats why I deployed thousands of American paratroopers to the Middle East to reinforce our embassy in Baghdad and other sites throughout the region, he said. Unrest developed in Tehran on Jan. 11 after Irans president and foreign ministry both conceded that the regime was responsible for downing the commercial jetlinerdays after the country denied shooting it down and suggested a mechanical problem was to blame. Pressure had mounted on Iran during the week after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and unidentified U.S. officials said it was highly likely Tehran was behind the downing of the jetliner. The Islamic Republic of Iran deeply regrets this disastrous mistake. My thoughts and prayers go to all the mourning families, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said via state-run media. In addition to the 82 Iranians, the victims of the downed jet include 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans, and three UK citizens. The new National Children's Hospital will have Chinese CCTV technology which can capture, store and analyse up to a million pictures of people's faces. New details have emerged of the facial recognition cameras and technology which will be installed and used in one of the most expensive hospitals in the world. They include technology that can carry out 'face picture analysis' on images captured in the hospital. Documents obtained by the Sunday Independent reveal the hardware and software systems to be used for security surveillance in the 1.7bn hospital. They are manufactured by Chinese state-backed Hikvision. The technology includes cameras and software which can count the number of people who enter a room, provide panoramic views of a room, generate heat maps to analyse the visit and dwell time of those in the hospital, as well as capture and optimise images of people's faces. These can then be subjected to a face picture analysis which will involve modelling and analysing human faces in pictures captured by connected cameras. It will trigger blacklist alarms and stranger alarms by cross-referencing images with a picture library. Other cameras will be able to detect intruders and unattended baggage, while others will have automatic number plate recognition technology. The National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) said a small number of cameras have facial recognition capabilities and it has not yet decided which aspect of the security systems' capabilities will be used. The hospital board has contracted Stanley Security Systems for the installation of security systems in the new hospital. The use of Hikvision cameras has become controversial with fears Chinese intelligence services could use firms in which China's government has a large or controlling stake to conduct espionage. The US has banned federal agencies from buying Hikvision technology, but there is no evidence linking Hikvision to government espionage. The company says it has been categorised unfairly and unjustly. Last year, Fianna Fail TD James Lawless raised concerns with Leinster House authorities about the use of Hikvision cameras in the Oireachtas. He said the Government needs to ensure it has a robust cyber-security policy. "For what purpose is facial recognition required? Is the proposed use compliant with GDPR and is the State prepared to defend any adverse findings of the European or other courts if not?" he asked. In a statement, the NPHDB and Children's Health Ireland said: "The safety of patients, visitors and staff at the new children's hospital is of paramount importance to everyone working on the new children's hospital project. "There continues to be significant technological developments and innovation in the area of security systems and, as would be expected, the procurement process undertaken sought to ensure that the equipment procured is fully future-proofed. "Less than 3pc of the cameras procured for the new children's hospital have the potential for high definition facial recognition capabilities. These cameras have many capabilities, and can also be used in the same way as the remaining 97pc of the cameras, which do not have facial recognition capabilities. It has not yet been decided which aspect of the security systems' capabilities will be used. This decision will be taken nearer the opening of the hospital by Children's Health Ireland and will be fully in line with Irish and European data protection and privacy legislation and guidelines." Rudy Giuliani says Chief Justice John Roberts should dismiss President Donald Trump's impeachment trial before it even starts. In a long-winded interview on Fox News on Saturday the former New York Mayor and lawyer to the president likened Trump's charges to 'not looking nice' and reasoned that Chief Justice Roberts has the power to throw the case out. Giuliani argued that the abuse of power and obstruction of Congress charges Trump faces are made up and not in violation of anything written in the Constitution. 'Abuse of power and the other ridiculous - obstruction of Congress - you can't find that anywhere! You can't find it under common law... it doesn't exist as crimes,' he said to Fox host former Judge Jeanine Pirro. Pirro then asked: 'Then what is the remedy? It's like indicting for a non-crime.' 'The remedy is to go before the Supreme Court of the United States and have it declared unconstitutional,' Giuliani responded. Rudy Giuliani said Chief Justice John Roberts should dismiss President Donald Trump's impeachment trial during a Saturday interview on Fox He argued that the abuse of power and obstruction of Congress charges Trump faces are made up and not written in the Constitution 'Theres also nothing in the Constitution that allows the Supreme Court to declare a law of Congress unconstitutional. Marshall made it up,' he explained. 'There are no rules for a trial in the Supreme Court. All it says in the Senate is there shall be a trial. The Chief Justice presides. What happens at the beginning of the trial? The defense lawyer says I move to dismiss the indictment,' Giuliani said. 'Suppose somebody charged me with not looking nice tonight and brought me on trial before the New York Supreme Court. It would be dismissed,' he added, drawing a bizarre comparison to Trump's charges. 'Can they do that with Mitch McConnell?' Pirro asked. 'Mitch sets the rules. This should be done as if it were a trial in the United States district Court,' Giuliani. Then Giuliani argued that if the impeachment trial is to go forward, Trump would be 'acquitted'. 'If we do go to trial, he'll get acquitted and they'll make fools out of themselves, I can even argue that politically it would be better to go to trial! Theyll find out about Biden, theyll find out what a big crook Biden is,' Giuliani said, quickly shifting his stance on impeachment trial. 'They'll find out Biden didn't just make money in Iran, but he made money in China, he made money in Iraq,' he continued. 'Abuse of power and the other ridiculous - obstruction of Congress - you can't find that anywhere. You can't it under common law...it doesn't exist as crimes,' Giuliani said to Fox host former Judge Jeanine Pirro 'The remedy is to go before the Supreme Court of the United States and have it declared unconstitutional,' Giuliani said, urging Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to throw out the impeachment case Pirro asked Giuliani what would happen if Chief Justice does throw out Trump's case, asking if his impeachment status would remain standing. 'What is the effect of the impeachment in the House? Is that always there or can that be erased?' she asked. 'Well it would be the only impeachment to ever be erased for being non-Constitutional and I would say if its non-Constitutional it's null and void. It shouldn't have happened. It was totally illegal,' he replied. Giuliani then shifted gears and praised the protesters in Iran who took to the streets of Tehran on Saturday to oppose the regime and Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 'Iran is on the brink of being overthrown if our State Department would wake up!' Giuliani cried. 'And do what?' Pirro asked. 'A statement should be made about those people in the streets. Should be made very strongly by the president and should go right down by the State Department that we support them rather than the State Department being worried about talking to Iranian dissident groups,' he said. After a drier-than-normal start to 2020, a pattern change will bring rain and snow to much of the state later this week. Through Tuesday, several storms will move through the Pacific Northwest, allowing for snow rain and snow to reach the far northern parts of California. During this time it will seasonally cool and dry across the rest of California. A storm, which will first come ashore in Oregon late Tuesday night, will dive southward throughout the day on Wednesday. Gusty winds will move into Northern California for Wednesday afternoon and evening, with gusts as high as 40 mph. CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP "The storm will spread rain and snow from northwestern California early on Wednesday, reaching the Bay area and Tahoe National Forest overnight," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alan Reppert. Much of this area has only seen a few opportunities for wet weather so far this year. "This storm will bring some much-needed rain to San Francisco and the Bay area," said Reppert. As of Jan. 13, San Francisco has recorded less than 0.30 of an inch of rainfall since the beginning of the year. The normal total rain amount for the entire month of January is over 4 inches, putting the city well-behind pace. Rain is expected in the foothills of California, with snow remaining above 3,000 feet Wednesday afternoon. However, the potency of the storm and the cold air it will bring along with it will allow snow levels to fall as low as 1,500 to 2,000 feet by Thursday night. "The drastic fall of snow levels will even allow wet snowflakes to mix in with the rain along the Northern California coastline," added Reppert. Meanwhile, the highest snowfall totals will remain inland in the higher elevations. By Thursday night, more than 2 feet of new snow could fall across the highest peaks north of Redding, and in the northern Sierra Nevada region. As the storm dives southward through Central and Southern California, most locations will see precipitation falling as rain. Story continues "For much of coastal Southern California, this is likely to be the most substantial rain event since around Christmastime," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski. Enough cold is expected to reach Southern California, that snow could fall in the Grapevine and other mountain passes in the region Thursday and Thursday night. Whether it is rain or snow, travel delays are expected for motorists across California on Wednesday and Thursday. Parts of interstates 5, 10, 15, 40 and 80 could experience slowdowns and increased accidents. Drivers should plan ahead, and check road conditions before heading out. Some air travel delays are also possible, including major hubs like San Francisco International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport. Once the storm exits California, it is expected to reach the center of the country with snow north, rain south and a wintry mix in between by week's end. Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios. January 12 : We all have a reason to celebrate, smile and be happy and as the New Year 2020 kicks off, we would love to take time to wish all our fellow Indians "A Very Happy Lohri 2020 ". In some places, the festival is also called as Lal Lou or even as Lohadi. As per the Hindi calendar, it falls on Jan 14, 2020, which happens to be a day before another famous festival called Makar Sankranti 2020 Every year, the auspicious harvest festival of Sikhs and a lot of Hindus Lohri is celebrated with a lot of pomp, songs, dances good food and exchange of memorable Lohri wishes and greetings. Small gestures like sending a Lohri wish across social media could make someone happier. Share this Lohri Whatsapp Status Video Image Source: Prokerala.com Beating drums images for Lohri festival May Mother Earth bless you and your family with plenty of wealth, health and happiness Happy Lohri Image Source: Prokerala.com Wishing all a Happy Lohri 2020 I, pray that the fire of Lohri brings your sadness to ashes Let your New Year be filled with love and luck Wishing you a delightful Lohri Image Source: Prokerala.com Dancing away to Punjabi tunes for Lohri Image Source: Prokerala.com Happy Lohri Facebook posts Enjoy the goodness of Kheer and Moongphalli this harvest season Embrace happiness in full zest Happy Lohri Image Source: Prokerala.com Food and Dholak images on blue background for Lohri Let the drums beat Tap your feet to its beat Enjoy Lohri with your loved ones this year Image Source: Prokerala.com Fire burning image for Lohri Wishing that you have an auspicious year ahead Have a joy-filled Lohri Image Source: Prokerala.com Wishing that all have a safe Lohri Image Source: Prokerala.com Woman image with Lohri celebrations post May the warmth of Lohri be with you always Let energy and good thoughts be with you Happy Lohri to you!!! Image Source: Prokerala.com Aupsicious images of Lohri fire This time, join hands with us and take time to share these artistically carved out images, greetings cards and mind pleasing Lohri wishes along with lovely messages to your loved ones, relatives and your friends. If you have a Punjabi friend, then share these Whatsapp status posts as see how you could bring a heartwarming smile on their faces. See Celebration Photos: Lohri Celebrations, Dances, Traditional Costumes, Burning the Lohri fire etc 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 Ukraine Wants Compensation After Iran Admits Downing Passenger Jet By RFE/RL January 11, 2020 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says his country expects a full probe, a full admission of guilt, and compensation from Iran after Tehran admitted, after days of denial, it accidentally shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, killing all 176 aboard. Zelenskiy said "Iran has pleaded guilty to downing the Ukrainian plane. But we insist on a full admission of guilt." "We expect from Iran assurances of their readiness for a full and open investigation, bringing those responsible to justice, the return of the bodies of the dead, the payment of compensation, official apologies through diplomatic channels," he added. The statement on the Ukrainian government website on January 11 comes shortly after Iran admitted that its military "unintentionally" shot down the Ukrainian airliner outside of Tehran on January 8, citing "human error." WATCH: Iranian General Says Commander Had '10 Seconds' To Decide On Shooting Airliner The statement, reported by state TV earlier on January 11, quoted the military as saying the plane was mistaken for a "hostile target" after it turned toward a "sensitive military center" of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). It added that the military was at its "highest level of readiness" amid raised tensions with the United States. The statement also said those responsible for the tragedy, which killed all aboard the plane, would "immediately" be brought to justice. IRGC commander Amirali Hajizadeh said later in an address broadcast by state TV that his IRGC aerospace unit accepts "full responsibility" for the downing. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed his "deep sympathy" to the families of the 176 victims, and called on the armed forces to "pursue probable shortcomings and guilt in the painful incident." Iranian President Hassan Rohani on Twitter called the incident a "great tragedy & unforgivable mistake." He wrote that the military's "internal investigation has concluded that regrettably missiles fired due to human error caused the horrific crash of the Ukrainian plane & death of 176 innocent people." Rohani and Zelenskiy were due to speak by phone later on January 11, the Ukrainian presidential press office said. Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk said in a January 11 post on Facebook that Iran's admission of shooting down the Ukrainian passenger jet did not mean the investigation into the tragedy was over. The admission "is an important step in the investigation process, which is still ongoing," Oleksiy Honcharuk said. Germany's foreign minister also welcomed Tehran's decision to admit it had accidentally shot down the plane. "It's important that Iran has brought clarity. Now it should take the appropriate measures in the further investigation of this horrible catastrophe so that something like this cannot happen again," Heiko Maas told German media on January 11. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the incident occurred "at a time of crisis caused by U.S. adventurism." "A sad day. Preliminary conclusions of internal investigation by Armed Forces: Human error at time of crisis caused by U.S. adventurism led to disaster," Zarif wrote on Twitter. "Our profound regrets, apologies, and condolences to our people, to the families of all victims, and to other affected nations." Until the admission, Tehran had vehemently denied allegations by Western leaders and experts that evidence indicated an Iranian missile had brought down the plane. The Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight was en route to Kyiv from Tehran on January 8 carrying at least 57 Canadians, 82 Iranians, 10 Swedes, 10 Afghans, three Germans, and three Britons. Eleven Ukrainians -- two passengers and nine crew -- were also killed. The Iranian statement came as the West had turned up the heat on Tehran, with the United States saying it was "likely" that an Iranian missile had shot down the craft and vowing to "take appropriate action in response." Separately, Canada's foreign minister on January 10 announced the formation of an international working group of countries to press Iran for a thorough investigation into the crash, which counted 57 Canadians among the dead, a figure revised down from an earlier death toll of 63. Initial reports blamed a technical malfunction, but doubts were quickly raised as evidence, including videos, appeared to indicate a missile attack. 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. air strike that killed Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad. That led many experts to suspect Iranian antiaircraft batteries mistook the airliner for a U.S. warplane on a retaliatory mission over Tehran. After those suggestions surfaced, Ali Abedzadeh, head of Iran's national aviation department, 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 they [Western leaders] are really sure, they should come and show their findings to the world" in accordance with international standards, he added. U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo on January 10 said that "we do believe it is likely that that plane was shot down by an Iranian missile," echoing remarks by Canadian and British officials. Pompeo said a probe into the incident would continue and that, when it is completed, he was "confident that we and the world will take appropriate action as a response." Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said Canada has formed a coordination group with Britain, Ukraine, Sweden, and Afghanistan to help families of victims. With reporting by AP, AFP, Reuters, and dpa Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-admits- unintentionally-shot-down- ukraine-airliner/30371437.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 Price of onions has fallen even further at the apni mandis. Onions from India that were priced at 80 per kg last Sunday are priced 25% less now, at 60 per kg. Onions imported from countries like Afghanistan and Turkey that were priced at 55 per kg are now being sold for 45 per kg. Officials of the Punjab mandi board said prices fell as supply started coming down from Maharashtra and the winter crop of onions started entering the market. Tomatoes had also gotten expensive over the last few days but prices have fallen from 40 per kg to 35 per kg. However, with rain expected this week as per the India Meteorological Department, prices may rise if there is hail or heavy rain in the area. The Lower House of Nepal Parliament was postponed for the third time since December last year on Sunday over the election of a new Parliament Speaker. Deputy Parliament Speaker Shiva Maya Tumbahamphe announced the postponement of the House of Representatives meeting until January 20. The postponement, the third since the winter session commenced on December 20, follows the ruling Nepal Communist Party's (NCP) failure to decide on a speaker candidate. A secretariat meeting of the ruling party on Saturday had asked Deputy Speaker Tumbahamphe to resign. But Tumbahamphe turned down the party's directive to quit, saying she won't step down until the party makes her the candidate for Parliament Speaker. The post of Parliament Speaker has remained vacant since Krishna Bahadur Mahara stepped down from the post, following attempt to rape allegation against him on October 7 last year. The NCP wants to elect a new candidate for the post of speaker and asked Tumbahamphe to resign. According to Nepal's Constitution, the Parliament Speaker and Deputy Speaker cannot be from the same party. Tumbahamphe has alleged "male domination" by the party. Meanwhile, Opposition Nepali Congress has objected to Deputy Speaker Tumbahamphe's decision to postpone the Parliament meeting till Monday next week, January 20. Last month, the meeting was postponed twice as the ruling party could not decide its speaker candidate. Nepali Congress spokesperson Bishwa Prakash Sharma, in a statement, said the ruling party was holding the House hostage due to its internal dispute. Nepali Congress has urged the ruling party to begin the procedure to elect the new speaker at the earliest. Former Parliament Speaker Subhash Nembang and ruling NCP's Standing Committee member Agni Sapkota are the probable candidates for the speaker post. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Jihadi terrorist behind one of Australia's biggest terror plots is living a newly reformed life in Sydney as a tradesman after becoming deradicalised behind bars. Mazen Touma, 37, was sentenced to 14 years in a NSW supermax prison over his role in a foiled terror plot targeting Sydney and Melbourne in 2005. Eighteen other men were arrested with Touma over what was regarded as one of the most sophisticated terrorist operations to threaten Australia. Touma was found guilty of supplying explosives for the thwarted attack and served 12 years in Goulburn Correctional Centre before being released on parole in 2017. Mazen Touma, 37, was sentenced to 14 years in a NSW supermax prison over his role in a foiled terror plot targeting Sydney and Melbourne in 2005 Nearly three years later, the Lebanese-born Australian has apparently turned his life around, living a low-key lifestyle free of crime, renovating homes in Sydney's suburbs. In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Touma admitted he regrets his actions but now views himself as 'a soldier who hung up his boots.' 'I have moved on but I believe I did make the wrong decisions,' he said. 'I haven't given up on my religion but I believe I chose the wrong path. I'm no longer on that path in life.' Touma had been born into a Muslim family, but only became radicalised after the 9/11 attacks in the US. At a time when anti-Muslim sentiment was growing in Australia, Touma said he developed tunnel vision and became 'emotionally detached from the world.' 'It didn't matter to me, I was ready to go to jail, to die,' he said. Touma was found guilty of supplying explosives for the thwarted attack and served 12 years in Goulburn Correctional Centre before being released on parole in 2017 A pipe bomb recovered from a raid in November, 2005 Police seized boxes of ammunition, containing 7500 rounds, at Mazen Touma's house The father-of-two still practises Islam, but has abandoned his extremist views completely. Touma's case is considered to be one of the few success stories to come out of deradicalisation programs, which exist in prisons in NSW and Victoria. In NSW, a pilot program called the Proactive Integrated Support Model (PRISM) was launched in 2016 - when Touma had already been serving time for years. Corrective Services Commissioner Peter Severin said Touma's transformation came after he made the decision to get live a normal after jail on his own. In 2017, the voluntary program was working with 15 inmates who were considered to be 'at risk of radicalisation', rather than those who already harbour 'deep-seated extremist ideological beliefs'. And in an attempt to water down extremism and spread a more moderate view of Islam, progressive religious leaders often visit inmates, offer guidance and run prayer services. However, questions have been raised over the years regarding the effectiveness of the program given that Touma seems to be a solitary successful case. After becoming deradicalised at Goulburn Correctional Centre (pictured) Touma is now living a reformed life as a tradie in Sydney The man, who once professed his fondness at being compared to Osama bin Laden, was one of hundreds of inmates undergoing the expensive deradicalisation program behind bars. In Victoria, terrorist inmates are immersed in a $6.4million Community Integration and Support Program, which attempts to 'moderate a prisoner's extremist views with the help of respected community imams'. But the Islamic Council of Victoria withdrew their support from the program in June 2017. The decision was publicly confirmed three days after acquitted Yacub Khayre went on a murderous rampage in Melbourne - after he had been acquitted of terrorism offences. It prompted then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to say that he never should have been released. Advertisement Hundreds of Iranian protesters have gathered in front of the British Embassy in Tehran to burn Union flags during an anti-Britain demonstration. The hardliners chanted 'Death to Britain' and held aloft placards reading 'Down with England', prompted by the brief arrest of Britain's ambassador to Iran yesterday. They rejoiced as they set alight Israeli and British flags as the crisis continues to escalate in the region following the death of General Qassem Soleimani. Iranian demonstrators set alight a Union Jack in front of the British embassy in Iran's capital Tehran today The protesters held aloft placards bearing anti-Britain slogans such as this one reading 'Down with England' Hundreds of hardliners gathered a day after the UK ambassador to Iran Rob Macaire was detained after attending a a vigil for the victims of the Ukraine passenger jet disaster Diplomat Rob Macaire was present during demonstrations against Ayatollah Khamenei in front of Tehran's Amir Kabir University yesterday and was arrested after allegedly 'organising, provoking and directing radical actions'. He claims he was only attending a vigil for the victims of the Boeing crash but he was detained despite it being illegal to arrest diplomats. The move has sparked a diplomatic row between London and Tehran after Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab denounced Mr Macaire's detention as a 'flagrant violation' of international law. Some Iranians have taken to the streets to share their disgust at Britain and its ambassador, calling for him to be expelled from the country today. While others have turned on the regime after it admitted mistakenly shooting down a Ukrainian airliner, killing 176 people. They rejoiced as they set alight Israeli and British flags as the crisis continues to escalate in the region following the death of General Qassem Soleimani Iranians have taken to the streets to share their disgust at Britain and its ambassador, calling for him to be expelled from the country Iranian security forces stand guard in riot gear in front of the British embassy in Tehran Macaire's arrest sparked a diplomatic row between London and Tehran after Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab denounced the detention as a 'flagrant violation' of international law 'They are lying that our enemy is America, our enemy is right here,' a group of protesters outside a university in Tehran chanted, according to video clips posted on Twitter. Tehran residents told Reuters police were out in force in the capital on Sunday, as public anger boiled up following days of denials by the military that it was to blame, issued even as Canada and the United States said a missile had brought the plane down. Riot police fired teargas at thousands of protesters in the capital on Saturday, where many had chanted 'Death to the dictator', directing their anger at the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Rob Macaire was present during demonstrations against Ayatollah Khamenei in front of Tehran's Amir Kabir University yesterday and was arrested after allegedly 'organising, provoking and directing radical actions' Iranian demonstrators prepare to burn a Union Jack and Israeli flag in front of the British embassy Protesters hold placards bearing the images of slain military commander Qasem Soleimani and Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei 'Apologise and resign,' Iran's moderate Etemad daily wrote in a banner headline on Sunday, saying the 'people's demand' was for those responsible for mishandling the plane crisis to quit. The latest upsurge in anger adds to challenges facing the authorities, which launched a bloody crackdown in November to quell protests. The leadership is also struggling to keep the crippled economy afloat under stringent U.S. sanctions. U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted: 'To the leaders of Iran - DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. Thousands have already been killed or imprisoned by you, and the World is watching.' An illustrator, a self-described hopeless romantic and a room full of Redditors made one man's proposal to his high school sweetheart quite literally picture perfect. Filmmaker Lee Loechler spent six months working with an Australian illustrator to get himself and his girlfriend, Sthuthi David, animated into a fake screening of her favorite Disney movie, "Sleeping Beauty." "It's not every day you get to propose to your High School sweetheart," Loechler wrote on Instagram. "The only thing better than seeing the smartest person I know completely dumbfounded was knowing we'd get to live happily ever after together." It happened on December 30 at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in the couple's hometown of Brookline, Massachusetts. David, a medical resident at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, and Loechler, who lives and works in Los Angeles, were back home for the holidays. Loechler told CNN he initially thought of the proposal idea when he was talking with another friend about his friend's proposal. Lucky for Loechler, it wasn't the right move for his friend. After he and David had talked about marriage and he knew the time was right, that same proposal idea was front and center in his mind. But there was a big problem: her favorite movie was animated. "A lot of illustrators said no, that it was too big, or they had too long of a wait list, or that they had too much going on already," Loechler said. That's when he found illustrator Kayla Coombs on Instagram. She does couple's portraits and recreates that Disney aesthetic he needed. The two talked in April 2019 and she was fully on board. Now that the animation was in motion, all he needed to do was get David to a theater. "I knew if I invited her to a screening of "Sleeping Beauty" that she'd know something was up," he said. He called the Coolidge Corner Theatre to rent out a screening room and although they're tough to come by, the theater couldn't say no. "Lee's proposal seemed too cool to pass up, and we were thrilled to be a part of it," said Mark Anastasio of the Coolidge Corner Theatre. Loechler signed up for theater's email list to get some examples of upcoming screenings. After receiving a few emails, he made a copycat version announcing the fake showing of the film. He sent fake email to David's mom, who then proceeded to tell her daughter that she "bought" tickets for their family to attend the showing while David was home and that she got one for Loechler if he wanted to come, too. "Much to my delight, she called me a few days later and invited me to her own surprise proposal," Loechler said. Knowing a room filled with friends and family would be far too obvious, Loechler posted on the Boston subreddit asking for volunteers to attend the screening, promising "a free screening of most of Sleeping Beauty," food and drinks afterwards to celebrate, and "a successful entry into the annals of 'We did it, Reddit!'" "We put her friends and family in the way back and filled the space with people she wouldn't recognize," Loechler said. It was during a pivotal scene in "Sleeping Beauty," when Prince Phillip wakes Princess Aurora with a kiss, that the proposal began. As the couple watched, David became visibly confused as the hair and skin colors of the characters change. It became clear that they are animated versions of the couple. Onscreen, the new Prince Phillip appears to throw Loechler a ring, which Loechler pretended to catch. He then got down on one knee and proposed to his stunned girlfriend. "I love you with my whole heart, including all of its ventricles, atriums, valves," Loechler said in the video, before clarifying, "she's a cardiologist," to those who might not know. "Oh my God, these poor people!" David exclaimed, before Loechler let her know they're all in on it too. David said "yes" and added that she thought something was wrong with the movie. The storybook ending rolls as Prince Phillip and Princess Aurora (as Loechler and David) live happily ever after. Well, kind of. The screen turns to color bars and tone before flipping to text that read, "Alt 2 'Sthuthi Says No.'" There were some very sad, crying dwarfs. David, though, was laughing. "Hey Riley, can you kill it?" Loechler yelled to the side of the room. "She said 'yes.'" After the screening, the couple, the family, and the Redditors went out for pizza and beer to celebrate. It wasn't until they were back at Loechler's parent's house that the gravity of the proposal started to sink in for David. He had asked the illustrator to do some record keeping and make time-lapse videos along the way. "Animation is so much work just for the few seconds you see on the screen," Loechler said. He added his own elements from the months-long process and edited them into a "making of" featurette that he showed their family. "At one point she looked at me with this doe-eyed look," he said. "And I will never forget the look on her face." Venezuelan opposition leader says talks with Maduro unlikely Pollsters Datanalisis says the popularity of Venezuela\'s self-declared acting president Juan Guaido fell to 38.9% in December, from a peak of 63%, after failing to oust President Nicolas Maduro. AFP, Caracas : Venezuela's opposition leader and self-declared acting president Juan Guaido said Saturday it is unlikely he will resume negotiations with President Nicolas Maduro. Guaido this week survived dramatic attempts to remove him as head of the National Assembly, and called new protests to try to drive out the leftist Maduro, who is overseeing an economy in free fall and accused of acting like a dictator. "It's not that we don't want a negotiation. It's that we see it as just so highly unlikely. We have been duped over and over," Guaido said in a speech to supporters in Caracas. Aides to Maduro and Guaido held negotiations last year under mediation by Norway but both sides accused each other of breaking terms, and the talks stopped in August. Just Friday, Guaido's aides said a Norwegian government commission would arrive here within hours. But they also stressed that the negotiation process was over. Guaido's apparent refusal to resume dialogue followed a new US drive toward diplomacy, almost a year after the US declared Maduro illegitimate and recognized Guaido as interim president. "Negotiations could open the path out of the crisis through a transitional government that will organize free and fair elections," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. Maduro won a new term in 2018 in elections that were widely criticized internationally as fraudulent, and new presidential polls are not due until 2024. But elections must take place in 2020 for the National Assembly, the only institution controlled by the opposition - and which the United States and more than 50 other countries see as bringing legitimacy to Guaido. Millions of Venezuelans have fled a collapsing economy, in which they are no longer able to find or afford basic staples. But despite the humanitarian catastrophe and biting US sanctions, Maduro maintains power with the support of the military as well as Russia, China and Cuba. After failing at ousting Maduro in 2019, claiming to have "tried everything," Guaido's popularity fell to 38.9 percent in December after reaching a peak of 63 percent, pollsters Datanalisis say. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday called for Venezuelan negotiations to form a transitional government which would organise 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 sceptical of Norway-mediated talks involving representatives of socialist President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido. Last January, Washington and dozens of other countries recognised 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. With President Donald Trump's impeachment trial set to begin in the Senate, some Republican allies continue to promote a discredited theory that accuses Ukraine of interfering in the 2016 U.S. election to keep him from winning. The notion, which is not supported by U.S. intelligence agencies, has nonetheless been embraced by a president reluctant to acknowledge the reality of Russian election interference, and anxious to show he had reason to be suspicious of Ukraine as the U.S. withheld crucial military aid last year. The effect: blurring the facts of the impeachment case for many Americans before it even reaches trial. The ultimate victim is democracy, is the stability of our nation, said Nina Jankowicz, a disinformation expert at the nonpartisan Wilson Center, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. The president's demand that Ukraine look into its own purported interference and investigate a political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, while the U.S. withheld the aid is at the heart of the congressional investigation that produced Trump's impeachment in the House on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. An Associated Press review shows the idea of Ukrainian interference took root during Trumps presidential campaign, was spread online and then amplified by Russian President Vladimir Putin before some of Americas elected officials made it their truth. As U.S. authorities collected evidence in 2016 that Russia had hacked Democratic National Committee servers, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort suggested Ukraine, not Russia, had likely committed the attack, his deputy Rick Gates later told the FBI. That September, Trump confidant Roger Stone tweeted, The only interference in the U.S. election is from Hillarys friends in Ukraine," referring to Trump opponent, Hillary Clinton. FILE - This Thursday, April 18, 2019 file photo shows special counsel Robert Mueller's redacted report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election as released in Washington. An Associated Press review shows the idea of Ukrainian interference took root during Donald Trumps 2016 presidential campaign, was spread online and then amplified by Putin before some of Americas elected officials made it their truth. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick) But Trumps FBI director rejected those allegations. U.S. intelligence agencies blame Russia for interfering on Trump's behalf, and special counsel Robert Mueller has charged 25 Russians with hacking Democratic email accounts and waging a covert social media campaign to sway public opinion. Story continues Yet, against all evidence, the theorys shape-shifting nature over the years has compounded its staying power. Stone's 2016 tweet, for instance, referenced a nebulous type of interference, centered around Ukraine officials reportedly favoring Clinton over Trump. The tweet highlighted a Financial Times article that described efforts by ex-Ukrainian parliament member Serhiy Leshchenko, who opposed Trump's bid, to expose off-the-books payments by Ukraines pro-Russia political party, including to Manafort. Leshchenko maintains his efforts don't amount to interference. Still, some Republican lawmakers, including a few contacted by AP, have cited the article to support the Ukraine interference argument. I think both Russia and Ukraine meddled in the 2016 election, Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said last month on Meet the Press." Internet suspicions casting doubt on Russias hack of the DNC and Clinton campaigns intensified as Trump prepared to take office. So how and why are they so sure about hacking if they never even requested an examination of the computer servers? Whats going on? Trump tweeted on Jan. 5, 2017, the day after a BuzzFeed News article revealed the FBI did not physically examine the Democrats servers to determine Russia infiltrated the system In February 2017, Putin publicly claimed Ukraines entire government had supported Clinton and now needed to improve relations with the new Trump administration. By that April, Trump himself promoted the theory, falsely suggesting in an AP interview that CrowdStrike, the cybersecurity firm that traced the hack to Russia, had strong ties to Ukraine. I heard its owned by a very rich Ukrainian, thats what I heard, Trump said. Why didnt they allow the FBI in to investigate the server? In fact, CrowdStrike is a California company founded by two U.S. citizens George Kurtz and Dmitri Alperovitch, who was born in Russia and lives in America. And the FBI didn't need to physically take the DNC servers to confirm CrowdStrike's findings. CrowdStrike gave the FBI digital images that captured everything from emails, browsing history and files of the DNC system, the company says. But Trump took his suspicions about the servers directly to newly elected Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a now infamous July 25 phone call that spurred the articles of impeachment against Trump. I would like you to find out what happened with this whole situation with Ukraine, they say CrowdStrike ... I guess you have one of your wealthy people... Trump asked. The server, they say Ukraine has it. CrowdStrike released a blog post rebuffing Trump's claims. The president's own advisers rebutted the theory to no avail, former White House aide Fiona Hill told impeachment investigators. FILE - This Nov. 1, 2017 file photo shows printouts of some of the Facebook and Instagram ads linked to a Russian effort to disrupt the American political process and stir up tensions around divisive social issues, released by members of the U.S. House Intelligence committee, photographed in Washington. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick, File) Trump keeps the claim alive. He insisted to Fox News viewers in November that he only withheld aid from Ukraine to investigate corruption there, hinting once again that's where the DNCs servers are hidden. You know, the FBI has never gotten that server, Trump said. Thats a big part of this whole thing. Why did they give it to a Ukrainian company? Parts of the Ukraine theory have been echoed by the presidents Republican allies some of whom concede Russia interfered but posit Ukraine did too. Russias campaign to interfere in our election was real and systematic. It is also true that Ukrainian officials did not want...then-candidate Trump to win. The two are not mutually exclusive, the office of Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said in a statement. Cruz himself has said there's considerable evidence" of Ukraine interference. As his Senate trial nears, Trump has pressed GOP senators to rally behind him asking personal attorney Rudy Giuliani to brief them on his trip to Europe, where he searched for witnesses and documents. Hill, a Russia expert, told Congress in November that political leaders who spread such falsehoods about Ukraine polarize the U.S., making it a target for misinformation campaigns by foreign powers like Russia. She warned: These fictions are harmful even if they are deployed for purely domestic political purposes. _____ Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington and Yuras Karmanau in Kyiv contributed to this report. NEW DELHI: Union Minister and senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Sunday reiterated that the Citizenship Amendment Law, 2019, which has been duly passed by the Parliament, will be implemented across the country, including West Bengal. Speaking to reporters, Naqvi said, ''CAA has been passed by the Parliament and so it will be implemented in the whole country. West Bengal is part of India and therefore it also has to implement it.'' Taking a swipe at the West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo, Naqvi said, ''Mamata Banerjee should read history and the Constitution.'' The remarks from Naqvi came a day after Mamata made it clear to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that her government will not implement CAA and the NRC in West Bengal and urged him to withdraw the controversial law. Live TV During their meeting in Kolkata, Mamata told the Prime Minister to rethink and withdraw the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Speaking to the media outside Raj Bhavan, Mamata said, I told him that maybe this is not the appropriate time for me to say this. But we have been agitating against CAA and NPR. I told him we are against dividing people. No one should face atrocities. Please rethink on CAA. Please withdraw it. He said he is here to attend some scheduled programmes and that such matters can be discussed in Delhi later.'' Soon after meeting PM Modi, Mamata attended a TMC students wing sit-in demonstration in Kolkata against CAA where she said, "CAA notification will be only on paper, it will never be implemented, we would not allow it." Mamata Banerjee has been the strongest critic of the Modi-led government at the Centre and has been critical of the imposition of CAA, she even declared that the Act will not be implemented in West Bengal. The state has seen several anti-CAA protests and demonstrations many of which have been supported by the CM herself. Incidentally, after the meet, Banerjee sat on a dharna opposing CAA and NRC called by the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad at a location which is about 200 meters away from Raj Bhawan. However, in a separate event, Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused the opposition of spreading lies on CAA and challenged Rahul Gandhi and for an open debate on the issue. Shah said that CAA is an act to provide citizenship and take away any citizens' rights, he added that the opposition is trying to misguide people in the matter. Shah further slammed opposition parties saying that their lie will not sustain for long as BJP workers are continuously running campaigns to educate people on the matter. Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's governance, Shah said that during Modi's tenure India observed progress in all the segments, adding that a new chapter has begun in India's development. He said people believe in Modi because of his constant communication with people. Kolkata, Jan 12 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi's advocacy of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and criticism of opposition parties for 'fuelling misconception' about the legislation during a speech at Belur Math on Sunday angered non-BJP parties in West Bengal, who decried the use of the platform of Ramakrishna Mission for 'political propaganda'. The Ramakrishna Mission too distanced itself from Modi's speech. Pointing out that the religious order was a staunch apolitical organisation believing in inclusiveness where people of all faiths "live like brothers of same parents", Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission general secretary Swami Suvirananda said: "We are above politics and cannot comment on Prime Minister's speech. "We have responded to the call of the eternal to come to the order leaving our homes. We can't respond to ephemeral call... Our organisation has monks from Hindu, Islam and Christian (faiths)." Hours after Modi addressed the youth, students and other dignitaries on the occasion of Swami Vivekananda's 157th birth anniversary celebrations at the Belur Math -- the global headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission -- the Trinamool Congress, CPI-M and Congress were on the same page in condemning the Prime Minister for his speech. They also made subtle criticism of the Ramakrishna Mission for letting the Prime Minister use its platform for the political speech. Seeking the help of the youth to spread awareness about the new citizenship law, Modi alleged that some political parties were not ready to understand the legislation and continued to fuel misconception about the Act which "provides citizenship and does not snatch it". The Prime Minister, who had stayed overnight at Belur Math, took potshots at political parties by telling the gathering: "Did you understand it clearly? Did the young students understand it? You are understanding it, but those playing political games are not ready to understand. They are continuously spreading misconception about the citizenship act for political reasons." "I condemn his speech. This is not in tune with the ideals and culture of Ramakrishna Mission. I protest against the way he has used the platform of Belur Math to deliver a political speech. This is very undignified," said Trinamool Congress Secretary General and state Education Minister Partha Chatterjee. The minister, an alumni of Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Narendrapur, one of the reputed educational institutions run by the order, regretted that rather than talking about Swami Vivekananda's birth anniversary, the Prime Minister chose to express his opinion about the controversial law. "It was not the right platform. We, the alumni (of RKM's educational institutes) should bring this to the attention of Ramakrishna Mission. This is ominous for India, ominous for our culture. It does not augur well for the Ramakrishna Mission either," he said. Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, referred to Swami Vivekananda's saying that there is godliness in every person. "Today Narendra Modi got the scope to go and stay in an institute founded by Swamiji as the spokesman of communal politics. That's bad. I feel it was not proper to provide the platform of Belur Math for propaganda of a political party," said Chowdhury. CPI-M politburo member Mohammad Salim said Modi was using religion and religious platforms. "Unfortunately, now he has even used the Ramakrishna Mission. I am sure all the monks won't support what he has said on Vivekananda's birth anniversary," he said. The BJP, however, strongly backed Modi. "It is for Belur Math and the monks to see what the Prime Minister has done. Nobody will give an explanation to CPI-M. What do they understand about Belur Math? Congress doesn't recognise any sage or seer except the Gandhi family. What do they understand about Belur Math's greatness," asked BJP National Secretary Rahul Sinha. State BJP General Secretary Sayantan Basu said the Prime Minister has only spoken about the law of the land at Belur Math. "He has only articulated government policy. Has he said anything else? What is wrong there," Basu told IANS. ssp/arm A California mother was left hospitalized for two days after she was horrifically beaten by two of her teenage daughter's bullies in front of their high school. Maria Guadalupe Jimenez and her husband arrived at James Logan High School on Tuesday with their 16-year-old daughter to talk to the principal about how she was being bullied by a group of girls. They said the vicious bullying against their daughter started a year ago where she was taunted in the halls and online. Before they could enter the building, they were met by a group of girls outside the school who launched their harrowing attack. California mother Maria Guadalupe Jimenez was beat up by two of her daughter's bullies on Tuesday in front of James Logan High School Jimenez, her husband and daughter arrived at the school to complain about how her daughter was allegedly bullied for a year to the principal. Upon trying to enter the school they were met by the bullies. Jimenez pictured after being treated by paramedics In the attack two teenage girls hit Jimenez in the head, leaving her with a black eye, broken nose, and bruises to her face 'The girl was very furious, they grabbed by the hair and dragged me,' Jimenez said on the attack 'They want to hit my daughter but I covered her a lot that they didn't, they couldn't get there so they grabbed my wife,' Eder Rojas said to KRON4. 'They started screaming at us, "What you wanna do? Who's going to fight first,"' he added. Jimenez was assaulted by two teenage girls, at least one of whom attended James Logan High, and ended up being severely beaten, left with a black eye, broken nose, and bloody face. 'She has the bones broken right here, she has the eyes all red a bump here,' Rojas said motioning over his face. 'I feel really angry, sad at the same time.' 'The girl was very furious, they grabbed by the hair and dragged me,' Jimenez said to KGO ABC7 in Spanish. 'I just wanted to go inside and talk to the principal, you'd never imagine a kid would hit an adult, I thought we were safe on campus.' Rojas had to pull the teen off his daughter who was also hit in the scuffle. As a result Jimenez, who gave birth to a baby girl just four months ago, was hospitalized for two days. Union City police responded to the scene and arrested one juvenile who was charged with battery with serious bodily injury. 'I just wanted to go inside and talk to the principal, you'd never imagine a kid would hit an adult, I thought we were safe on campus,' Jimenez said on the attack As a result Jimenez, who gave birth to a baby girl just four months ago, was hospitalized for two days 'They want to hit my daughter but I covered her a lot that they didn't, they couldn't get there so they grabbed my wife,' Eder Rojas said The school district said two Logan High School students, a student's family member and someone not from the school were involved in the bloody altercation. 'We are investigating and following up on this incident working directly with the Union City Police Department, and taking disciplinary actions. We believe this incident to be between the two Logan students and does not appear to involve any other Logan students,' the school said in an e-mail to parents. Now Jimenez' family says they intend to hire a lawyer and will move their daughter to a new high school. Union City police responded to the scene and arrested one juvenile who was charged with battery with serious bodily injury. James Logan High School in Union City pictured above A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Jimenez with her medical expenses. 'After leaving my friend unconscious they continued to kick her in the face and head. She has three nose fractures and suspicions of a bruise on her head. This all happened in the presence of school security that did nothing,' the page says. 'My friend is a mother to three daughters and she's recuperating from a cesarean. Lets help her and over everything may the bullying stop,' a statement on the GoFundMe page added. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has convened a meeting of industry representatives from IT and e-commerce sectors on January 14 to discuss the merits and de-merits of draft e-commerce policy on data storage, sources said. Representatives from different companies including Accenture, Adobe, Facebook, Genpact, Google, HCL, Infosys, Intel, Microsoft and TCS are expected to participate in the deliberations, they said. Besides, officials from Nasscom, E-commerce Council of India, Informational Technology Industry Council, CII and FICCI would also attend the meeting, they added. The meeting will be chaired by an additional secretary level officer of the DPIIT. The meeting assumes significance as the department is working to release the national e-commerce policy by the end of the current financial year. The government in February last year released a draft national e-commerce policy, proposing setting up a legal and technological framework for restrictions on cross-border data flow and also laid out conditions for businesses regarding collection or processing of sensitive data locally and storing it abroad. ALSO READ:CCI warns e-commerce sites of investigation into exclusive sale tie-ups, ranking of products Several foreign e-commerce firms have raised concerns over some points in the draft pertaining to data. The department has received huge response on the draft and it is examining all the views and comments. As the draft policy includes several provisions related to data, the department is also looking at the Personal Data Protection Bill approved by the Cabinet last month. Further, sources said that issues which needs to be looked upon include whether India should allow free flow of data across the border or inhibit or regulate it in some manner; and whether data localisation is required or not. "These are the issues which have lot of pros and cons," they added. The Personal Data Protection Bill spells out a framework for handling of personal data including its processing by public and private entities. A company may have to pay a penalty if found violating norms under the Personal Data Protection Bill. ALSO READ:India's competition watchdog calls for more transparency on discounts by e-commerce platforms By now, news has broken across the world of the ultimate fate for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. In a bombshell announcement on Instagram, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle declared that they would be moving to North America to begin a new chapter in their lives, while simultaneously taking a 'step back' and relinquishing their duties as senior members of the royal family. For some, this move is highly unprecedented, and for others, they saw this day coming. Despite such an event not occurring in recent memory within the royal family, the couple has made the decision to move away from London, nonetheless. But what was the impetus for this drastic decision? While the situation is highly complex and undoubtedly convoluted, there are five reasons that are impossible to ignore. Markle's Mixed-Race Heritage Not Aligning with the Images of the Royal Family It's impossible to ignore the reception that Meghan Markle has received since marrying into the royal family. She is an outsider and no one is denying that. She doesn't have the pedigree or English heritage, which also cannot be argued. But more than anything, Markle's mixed-race identity has caused an incessant uproar among people who take too much pride in the storied tradition of the royal family and its 'clean' bloodline. But enough was enough for the couple, as the need to live a drama-free life became more important to them then living out a scripted, fake existence as pawns for a family that no longer has any significant power, at least when it comes to governmental decisions and how parliament operates. Why deal with people that constantly feel the need to attack you when you can go on about your life, away from the drama and ridicule? Irreconcilable Differences between Prince William and Prince Harry It's never easy to leave family, no matter who it is, especially when it comes to close siblings, or how it used to be for Prince William and Harry. Over the last year or so, there have been some very rough patches between the brothers, almost to the point of establishing irreconcilable differences. To really get an idea of when this started, one would have to go back to the grieving period following Princess Diana's death. Story continues It's undeniable that both William and Harry suffered in their own right, as any child would when they lose a parent. At one point, they leaned on each other for support; however, this would not last, as Harry began to bottle up the emotion. It led him to have issues that could no longer be mitigated by his older brother. Add in a host of other problems and tensions between the two over the last year and a situation of isolation and coldness has been created, making the decision to move away with Meghan all the much easier. Two Divergent Paths for Prince William and Prince Harry The paths that each has been given have also naturally created a divide between the two. For Prince William, he will eventually become king, and his wife, Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, will become queen. As a result, Prince William has taken on a more stately role within the family in anticipation of what is to eventually come for him and his direct family. Likewise, Middleton has also taken on similar roles, despite the fact that many have called her a puppet of Queen Elizabeth II. Both have embraced what is ultimately inevitable. On the other hand, Prince Harry, being the younger of the two brothers, and only by a few years, will never be king, barring unlikely circumstances with Prince William. Instead of following the same path with the stately duties as his brother has, Harry has been involved with the royal military and focused much of his efforts towards philanthropy and extending a helping hand from the British monarchy. Harry's wife, Markle, has joined in on such causes, making these tasks their primary purpose within the family. It's easy to see why this move is easier for Sussex's. The responsibility and inherent duties simply aren't there. Avoiding a Repeat of the Fate of Their Mother, Princess Diana For many, the dream of becoming famous is only just that, a dream. Something that looks great on the outside. But it is true? The ultimate fascination and incessant following by members of the paparazzi, not to mention, people on the internet and social media, can tear apart friends and families, and in the worst cases, lead to death. Of course, this last claim pertains to the family in the unfortunate and late death of their mother, Princess Diana, who died in a car accident as a result of the paparazzi following her and the vehicle she was in. Although there are conspiracy theories abounding about what really led to their mother's death, the imagery of cameras and reporters following the vehicle that night cannot be erased from the memories of either child, regardless of how old they were at the time. Prince Harry is now a father and a husband and one would have to think that the same fate could happen to them, especially with the coverage the royal family has received over the last year due to scandals with Prince Andrew, rumors of infidelity with Prince Williams, and an overall dissatisfaction with Prince Harry marrying an American and outsider. The Desire to Provide Archie with a More Independent Upbringing In the most recent statement that was provided, via the Official Instagram page of the Sussex family, the couple indicated that their son's upbringing was of primary importance and a massive part in their decision to move to North America. For Prince Harry and Meghan, they want to raise their child with the tradition of being a royal, but also want their child to grow up in an independent manner. While Harry' family will indeed be far away, Markle has family that is at least on the same continent. At this time, it's unknown where they will be moving, but it could very well be in Canada where Archie, their son, would be close to one of his grandmothers. The move is certainly an unprecedented one. Perhaps how the decision was made or the manner in which it was made was not done with the best tact or consideration, but it seems for these reasons, their decision to move to another chapter of their lives was made much easier, regardless of what's to come with future family confrontation and tension. Prasanta Mazumdar By Express News Service GUWAHATI: Some 50 militants, belonging to Saoraigwra faction of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-S), have entered India from their hideouts in Myanmar and are now in the custody of the police and security forces. It was not immediately known if they came to surrender and make peace with the central government or they were nabbed by Myanmar Army and handed over to Indian authorities. The outfit operates mostly in Assam's Bodo areas. According to defence sources, one group entered Manipur from Tamu side in Myanmar while the other made its way into Nagaland through Longwa in the states Mon district. "The group that entered Nagaland has 27 people 19 male members, six females and two children. The other group apparently has more than ten rebels," a defence source told this newspaper. It was learnt that those who entered Nagaland were being taken to Assam with full security escorts. Nagaland DGP TJ Longkumer, however, expressed ignorance on it. Senior police officers in Assam have remained tight-lipped. Among those who came over are the outfits chief Saoraigwra, general secretary B Ferrenga and cultural secretary I Sulung. The rebels came with a large number of weapons, including assault rifles, and ammunition, which have been seized. They have come over apparently to make peace. After they arrived, they were apprehended. It remains to be seen how the government treats them. Modalities of ceasefire have not been worked out. There is a possibility that all of them will be taken to Guwahati or a Bodo area in Assam, the defence source said. This NDFB faction, earlier headed by S Songbijit, was responsible for the massacre of over 80 Adivasis (tea tribe community) in northern Assam in December 2014. Following the bloodbath, most of its leaders fled to Myanmar and Bhutan as the security forces launched a massive operation against the rebels. The operation is still continuing. G Bidai, a top leader who had allegedly masterminded the killings, is believed to be holed up, along with a few rebels, in Bhutan bordering Assams Bodo areas. He now finds himself isolated. The NDFB has several factions and at least two of them are engaged in peace negotiations with central government. Iranian riot police and members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were out in force Sunday as mass protests continued over the downing of a Ukrainian commercial jet, with demonstrators mourning the 176 victims and demanding the resignations of top government officials, AP reports. Why it matters: Human rights groups believe Iran killed hundreds of protestors in November when demonstrations over increased oil prices broke out. Details: Hundreds of students gathered at Tehrans Sharif and Amir Kabir universities on Sunday for vigils and to protest against the government initially lying about the cause of the crash, per AP. A vigil at Amir Kabir turned into a protest as hundreds of people began calling for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's resignation. Police dispersed protestors with tear gas. Authorities there briefly detained Rob Macaire, the British ambassador to Iran. He said he attended with the intention of memorializing the victims and did not know the event would turn into a protest, according to AP. U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Macaire's arrest without grounds or explanation is a flagrant violation of international law," according to the Financial Times. What they're saying: "To the leaders of Iran - DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. Thousands have already been killed or imprisoned by you, and the World is watching. More importantly, the USA is watching. Turn your internet back on and let reporters roam free! Stop the killing of your great Iranian people!" President Trump tweeted Sunday In photos Students demonstrating in front of Amir Kabir University in Tehran, Jan. 11. Photo: Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images Students demonstrating at Amir Kabir University, Jan. 11. Photo: Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images Demonstrators holding a vigil outside Amri Kabir University, Jan. 11. Photo: Majid Saeedi/Getty Images Demonstrators holding a vigil outside Amri Kabir University, Jan. 11. Photo: Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images Demonstrators outside Amri Kabir University memorializing the victims of the plane crash, Jan. 11. Photo: Majid Saeedi/Getty Images Go deeper: President Donald Trump expressed solidarity with Iranian protesters on Saturday, as they took to the streets of Tehran after the Islamic Republic admitted it accidentally shot down a Ukraine-bound airliner, killing all 176 people on board the Boeing aircraft, CNBC reports. Trump, in Twitter messages written in both Farsi and English, called on Tehran to allow human rights groups to report facts from the ground and warned the government that the world is watching. Global foreign exchange dealer Travelex has been hit by Windows malware and has taken its website down. The main site now appears to be back, but no online services are available. The site went down on New Year's Eve. A pop-up message on the main US site says: "Travelex confirms that a software virus was discovered on New Year's Eve which compromised some of its services. Travelex join the 50%+ of systems globally still running Win7 & Server 2008 in 10 days, out of extended support. https://t.co/V4SGjoeIic Kevin Beaumont (@GossiTheDog) January 3, 2020 "As a precautionary measure in order to protect data and prevent the spread of the virus, we immediately took all our systems offline. Our investigation to date shows no indication that any personal of customer data has been compromised. "The company's network of branches continues to provide foreign exchange services manually." The website message only appeared a day ago. Until then, the error message from Internet Information Server, the server software made by Microsoft and apparently used to run the Travelex website, was showing up. I think Travelex might want to put their statement on their website, instead of leaving up an IIS error page. pic.twitter.com/rg8pldSuMr Kevin Beaumont (@GossiTheDog) January 2, 2020 British security researcher Kevin Beaumont posted a screenshot of the error message, adding, "I think Travelex might want to put their statement on their website, instead of leaving up an IIS error page." The company's media release page has a similar error from IIS showing up: OTTAWA - Statistics Canada is planning to move its information holdings to the digital cloud a shift the national number-crunching agency acknowledges will prompt questions about the protection of sensitive data. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 12/1/2020 (729 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A plaque on the Statistics Canada building is pictured in Ottawa on Wednesday, July 3, 2019. Statistics Canada is planning to move its information holdings to the digital cloud a shift the national number-crunching agency acknowledges will prompt questions about the protection of sensitive data. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick OTTAWA - Statistics Canada is planning to move its information holdings to the digital cloud a shift the national number-crunching agency acknowledges will prompt questions about the protection of sensitive data. The initiative is part of the federal government's "cloud-first strategy" to meet the increasing demand for online services and provide an alternative to its own, increasingly creaky computers. Privately run cloud companies provide customers, such as federal departments, with virtual computer services from email systems to vast storage capacity using software, servers and other hardware hosted on the company's premises. Statistics Canada sees several benefits including affordable access to the latest technologies, additional processing power and storage, and more timely provision of data to the public and researchers. But the statistics agency also realizes some rumbling could emerge from the cloud. "The use of cloud technology will raise questions about data security and Statistics Canada's ability to protect sensitive data," say internal agency notes disclosed through the Access to Information Act. "Furthermore, Canadians will want to know what steps are being taken to ensure their information continues to be safe. "The use of cloud technology may also raise questions about data sovereignty and the possible access to and use of data under the laws of another country." The federal government is mindful that many countries, including Canada, have laws allowing them to subpoena or obtain a warrant for information from private organizations to support legal investigations. Ottawa says the primary risk to data sovereignty is the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and Washington's ability to compel an organization subject to American law to turn over data under its control, regardless of the data's location and without notifying Canada. In addition, there are long-standing information-sharing agreements and a legal assistance process between security and law-enforcement agencies in Canada and the U.S. The Canadian government is obligated to protect personal data and highly sensitive information related to national security, cabinet discussions, military affairs and legal matters. As a result, only data information designated up to and including a category called Protected B may be placed in the cloud. Protected B information, if compromised, could cause serious harm to an individual, organization or government. In addition, all Protected B information as well as the more sensitive Protected C and classified electronic data must be stored in a government-approved computing facility located in Canada or within the premises of a department abroad, such as a diplomatic mission. Data-scrambling encryption will also be used to shield sensitive material from prying eyes. None of that provides sufficient comfort to Wayne Smith, a former chief statistician of Canada who resigned in 2016 over concerns about Statistics Canada's independence. Smith had reservations about the move of agency data to Shared Services Canada facilities. In the same vein, shifting statistical data to the cloud creates "a heightened level of risk that isn't necessary" given the possibility of data hacks and breaches, Smith said. "A better arrangement would be to have Statistics Canada operating its own data centres and keeping them offline." The statistics agency is in the planning stages of the project, meaning it is currently storing only "non-sensitive, unclassified information" in the cloud, said spokesman Peter Frayne. "Statistics Canada will only migrate protected information once our systems have been deemed secure for cloud services appropriate for sensitive information, as per Government of Canada procedures and processes," he said in a written response to questions. The agency intends to adopt a "hybrid, multi-cloud strategy" that will see applications and data housed by a mix of government data centres and cloud providers, he added. Lisa Carroll, a senior executive with Microsoft Canada, one of the first global cloud providers to receive federal certification, stresses the company's track record on keeping data secure. Microsoft says it spends over $1 billion a year on cybersecurity and has more than 3,500 full-time security professionals working with artificial-intelligence tools to analyze more than 6.5 trillion global signals each day. "The value of cloud is innovation," Carroll said. "It's about leveraging the technologies of the future." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 12, 2020. Follow @JimBronskill on Twitter Indian politician and lawyer Sushma Swaraj is remembered for her warmth and the ability to connect with the masses. She was on the top of her game and her folksy mannerisms. She took to Twitter like duck to water and was accessible to all. People were and still are fond of her. She breathed her last on August 6, 2019, following a cardiac arrest. However, little is known about her personal life. bccl Her husband, Swaraj Kaushal, shared some insight into her personal life on Twitter and it reflected that she was an iron lady in her personal life too. If you are a married man, pls answer just one question. Has your mother ever fallen sick? I hope, your wife must have attended on her very well. If so, you are very fortunate. If not, let us leave it here, Governor Swaraj wrote on Twitter. Twitter @GovernorSwaraj Now I tell you about another lady. My mother suffered a terminal illness from 1991-93. She was bedridden. She could not even walk to the toilet. I was then Governor of Mizoram, so not present in Delhi. bccl She had a daughter-in-law who was a Supreme Court lawyer, three times Cabinet minister and a sitting Member of Parliament, he said while describing Sushma. She moved the mother in law to her room, and refused to employ a medical attendant to attend on all the needs of my mother, he tweeted. She did not attend the Parliament for a year. She was with my mother in the hospital/home day and night. The mother said was, tum rani ki jayi ho dhania hai tujhe janane wali ka. (You are born of a queen. My gratitude to the lady who gave you birth) Swaraj reminisced the time when Sushma took care of her mother, despite having professional commitments. bccl He mentioned that his father died in 2008 and his last wish was Sushma Swaraj should lit her pyre. Mind you my father had three sons, a Governor of a state, Controller General of Defence Accounts, Government of India and a veteran journalist. None of us was underqualified. But this was his last wish, he tweeted. Sushma Swaraj was one of the most loved politicians in the country. She was 67 at the time of her passing away and had several achievements in her four-decade-long political career, including becoming Haryanas youngest cabinet minister at 25 in 1977 and Delhis first woman chief minister in 1998. After a disastrous year of ratings, Channel Nine kicked off 2020 with a revamped Today show hosted by Karl Stefanovic and Allison Langdon. And on Monday, New Idea reported that Allison had negotiated a 'secret exit strategy' in case the breakfast program wasn't a success. According to an 'insider', the 40-year-old journalist had initially been hesitant to join the program given the various staff dismissals since 2018. 'It is a complete lie and utter garbage!' Channel Nine has denied claims Allison Langdon (right) has a 'secret exit strategy' in her Today show contract. Pictured with Karl Stefanovic (left) 'The job could be a blessing or a curse to a career,' said the anonymous source. They claimed that Allison had requested a clause in her contract to 'safeguard' her career at Nine should Today fail to win back audiences. It was reportedly agreed upon that Allison would be reinstated as a 60 Minutes reporter in the event of her being removed from Today's panel. 'Allison is excited by the challenge and is a hard worker, but if it goes downhill then she will just go back to doing what she is good at again,' added the insider. Claims: It was reportedly agreed upon that Allison (pictured) would be reinstated as a 60 Minutes reporter in the event of her being removed from Today's panel Veteran journalist: Allison joined the 60 Minutes team in 2011. She continued to work there even after replacing Deborah Knight as host of Weekend Today in 2017 However, a Channel Nine spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia on Monday: 'Its a complete lie and rubbish from our commercial competitors.' New Idea is owned by Seven West Media. Allison joined the 60 Minutes team in 2011. She continued to work there even after replacing Deborah Knight as host of Weekend Today in 2017. In November 2019, Nine announced that Allison would be co-hosting a revamped Today show with Karl Stefanovic from January 2020. Axed: Ratings for the Today show had suffered greatly with Deb Knight and Georgie Gardner as co-anchors last year, reaching unprecedented lows of 167,000 metro viewers in March 2019 The ratings gap between Today and Sunrise, which airs on Channel Seven, has already started to close with Karl and Allison at the helm. The ratings had suffered greatly with Deb Knight and Georgie Gardner as co-anchors last year, reaching unprecedented lows of 167,000 metro viewers in March 2019. The female journalists were drafted in at the start of 2019 to replace Karl, who had been sacked the previous December due to his tumultuous personal life. A 7-year-old girl is dead and a 4-year-old boy is missing after the children and their father were swept into the Pacific Ocean near Cannon Beach on Saturday. The three were onshore near Cape Falcon when the wave hit, according to Oregon State Police. Rescuers pulled the man and the girl from the water, a spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard said, though both were unresponsive. They were taken to a local hospital in Seaside, where the girl was pronounced dead. Coast Guard rescuers continued to look for the boy, spending nearly five hours scouring the ocean Saturday afternoon. They called off the search after dark. Weve exhausted our resources, said Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier, a regional spokesman for the Coast Guard. "Were obviously hoping for the best, but at this point its very challenging. Officials have not yet released the names of the three or provided an update on the status of the father. Police said more information would be released Sunday. Oregon State Police said the man was onshore, holding onto his two children when the wave came. An officer arrived to find the man struggling, his daughter farther out in the ocean. The officer pulled the girl from the water, police said. The search for the young boy was primarily conducted by helicopter and crews onshore, according to the Coast Guard. Conditions were too rough to send out a rescue boat, as several coastal bars were closed Saturday. The National Weather Service warned Oregon beachgoers to be careful at the coast this weekend as massive waves, coupled with an unusually high tide, slammed the coastline. Officials advised people to avoid beaches and jetties, as waves were expected to remain above 25 feet throughout Saturday. The incident happened about 1 p.m. near Cape Falcon, which is located between Cannon Beach and Manzanita in Oswald West State Park. Its also close to the small coastal community of Arch Cape. Officials havent said specifically where the three were swept out the sea. --Jamie Hale | jhale@oregonian.com | @HaleJamesB Police arrested two youths with 9gm heroin in Sherpur on Sunday. The accused have been identified as Abhinandan Kumar alias Sunny, 24, and his brother, Pankaj Kumar, 20, residents of Hargobind Nagar in Giaspura. Sherpur police post in-charge sub-inspector (SI) Davinder Singh said the duo was crossing Sherpur on a scooter when the police stopped them following a tip-off and recovered the heroin, 23 empty pouches, a spoon, a cigarette lighter and seven syringes from them . The police have also seized the scooter. The SI said Abhinandan is a labourer in a factory, while Pankaj is unemployed. Their customers were mostly labourers. The accused used to prepare heroin solution and administer it to addicts intravenously for 300 a dose. Singh added that the two had been smuggling drugs for the past three years. They procured heroin from suppliers in Transport Nagar and sold it among addicts. A case under Sections 21, 61 and 85 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act has been registered against the accused at the Division Number 6 police station. More information is expected from the accused during questioning, the SI said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Reuters) Mexico City, Mexico Sun, January 12, 2020 12:06 730 48be62e941b44f04afae568c321cffa7 2 Art & Culture Mexico,Mexico-City,treasure,archeology,Moctezuma Free A new scientific analysis of a large gold bar found decades ago in downtown Mexico City reveals it was part of the plunder Spanish conquerors tried to carry away as they fled the Aztec capital after native warriors forced a hasty retreat. Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) announced the findings of new tests of the bar in a statement on Thursday, a few months before the 500-year anniversary of the battle that forced Hernan Cortes and his soldiers to temporarily flee the city on June 30, 1520. A day earlier, Aztec Emperor Moctezuma was killed, or possibly assassinated, according to the native informants of one Spanish chronicler, which promoted a frenzied battle that forced Cortes, his fellow Spaniards as well as their native allies to flee for their lives. 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. The bar was originally discovered in 1981 during a construction project some 16 feet (5 meters) underground in downtown Mexico City - which was built on the ruins of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan - where a canal that would have been used by the fleeing Spaniards was once located. The bar weighs about 2 kg and is 26.2 cm long, 5.4 cm wide and 1.4 cm thick. Read also: Cave of relics found under Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza A fluorescent X-ray chemical analysis was able to pinpoint its creation to between 1519-1520, according to INAH, which coincides with the time Cortes ordered gold objects stolen from an Aztec treasury to be melted down into bars for easier transport to Europe. Historical accounts describe Cortes and his men as heavily weighed down by the gold they hoped to take with them as they fled the imperial capital during what is known today as the "Sad Night," or "Noche Triste," in Spanish. "The golden bar is a unique historical testimony to a transcendent moment in world history," said archeologist Leonardo Lopez Lujan, who leads excavations at a nearby dig where the Aztecs' holiest shrine once stood. Until the recent tests, scholars of the last gasps of the Aztec empire only had historical documents to rely on as confirmed sources, added Lopez Lujan. A more in-depth and technical description of the tests performed on the bar is published in the January issue of the magazine Arqueologia Mexicana. Taking a swipe at the Mamata Banerjee Government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday alleged it was not implementing central schemes as they do not help "syndicates" or involve "cut money". Addressing the 150th anniversary programme of Kolkata Port Trust, which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee skipped, Modi said people in West Bengal would not have to miss out on the benefits for long, an apparent reference to the Assembly polls next year. "When there is no syndicate or cut money involved, why would someone implement central government schemes? I don't know whether they (state government) would give approval for central schemes such as Ayushman Bharat Yojana, PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, but if they do, people of Bengal will be able to enjoy their benefits," he said. The prime minister said that he was pained to see that the poor in the state were not getting benefits of the Centre's welfare schemes. "Eight crore farmers across the country are getting benefited (due to the central schemes). But there will always be pain in my heart (about the schemes not being implemented in Bengal). "I will always pray to god for the welfare of farmers and poor patients. May God give them (Bengal government) good sense.... However, I have a feeling that the people of West Bengal will not remain deprived of central schemes for long," he said. During the 2019 general elections, Modi had consistently attacked Banerjee, accusing her of running a "syndicate raj" in the state. The BJP tally rose from two to 18 in West Bengal which has 42 Lok Sabha seats, while the ruling Trinamool Congress won 22 seats, down from 34 in 2014. The prime minister on Sunday also rechristened Kolkata Port Trust after Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee. The chief minister, who was scheduled to attend the port trust programme, was conspicuous by her absence. None of the Trinamool Congress ministers were also present at the event. Banerjee, one of the most bitter critics of the prime minister, met him at Raj Bhavan on Saturday, after deciding not to receive him at the airport, and was seated with him later at an event at Millennium Park. Modi had arrived here amid protests by students and other groups against the Citizenship Amendment Act, the National Register of Citizens and the National Population register exercise. "I told him that we are against CAA, NRC and NPR. I told him there should be no discrimination among masses and no citizens are left out and tortured," the chief minister had told reporters after meeting Modi at Raj Bhavan. Moments later, she was present at an anti-CAA protest nearby. Banerjee, who called her meeting with Modi a "courtesy visit", said the prime minister had asked her to come to New Delhi to discuss the vexatious issues. Banerjee, however, skipped the inauguration of renovated heritage Currency Building, founded in 1833, by the prime minister. On Sunday, Modi said his government at the Centre was making every possible effort to develop Bengal especially its poor, underprivileged and exploited sections. He also inaugurated and laid foundation of infrastructure projects for the expansion and modernisation of the Kolkata Port. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An elderly man is fighting for life after being bitten by an eastern brown snake four times in his backyard in Queensland. Roger Taylor was bitten by the deadly snake on Friday night while moving bird netting outside his property in Vale View, south-west of Toowoomba. The 76-year-old initially didn't realise he had been bitten, with his wife Carol, the Toowoomba Regional Council's Deputy Mayor, telling the ABC he thought he had scratched himself on a tree branch. 'He's gotten cranky with it [the netting] and picked it up to throw it out of the way, not realising that there was a snake entwined in it and it's bitten him I think four times,' Ms Taylor said. Roger Taylor was bitten four times by an eastern brown snake outside his property in Vale View in Queensland According to the University of Melbourne, the eastern brown snake is responsible for more than half of all serious snake bites in Australia Incredibly, Mr Taylor got behind the wheel after being bitten and drove half an hour to Toowoomba to a friend's birthday dinner before feeling the effects of the bites. He collapsed and hit his head at the party and was taken to Toowoomba Base Hospital, before being airlifted to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane as his condition worsened. Mr Taylor had an operation to relieve pressure on his brain and the venom has left his body, but Ms Taylor said there is still a lot of uncertainty regarding his future. 'How he wakes up, if he wakes up, those sorts of things, we ask people please to pray for us. It could be weeks; it could even be months,' she said. Councillor Bill Cahill from Toowoomba Region Council thanked locals for their well wishers on Ms Taylor's behalf. 'Carol asked us to thank everyone for prayers and said it has helped much, the family are very appreciative,' he said. 'After the operation last night they now wait until doctors review and make decisions about next steps. 'Carol said she had been overwhelmed by kindness thoughts and prayers and says thanks and asked if we could all continue to pray for Roger please.' Ms Taylor warned locals to keep their eyes out for eastern brown snakes moving out of their traditional habitat to search for food and water in extreme drought conditions. According to the University of Melbourne, the eastern brown is responsible for more than half of all serious snake bites in Australia and over 60 per cent of the country's snakebite-related deaths. This is an opinion column. Helen Keller, folks. Rosa Parks. Harper Lee and Condi Rice and Angela Davis. Talk about strong women. I guess they had to be. Your mama, probably. My daughter. Women with nerve and backbone with something important to say. Even if some are still learning how to say it. We famously admire women in Alabama for their beauty and grace and decorum and strength. We set them high on a pedestal like we do Confederate heroes, but men can stare at them and still not see. Every day Alabama looks right past its women like theyre not even there. Maybe we avert our eyes because we dont want to see the truth. We dont treat women like heroes in Alabama. Hell, we barely treat them like people. Even when we think were making strides. Last year, for instance, a study of female entrepreneurship by FitSmallBusiness.com ranked Alabama pretty high, at fifth in the nation for women. It was one of those things to make a reader lift an eyebrow in surprise. But the arc of progress is beset with obstacles, and Alabama women got knocked back a little in that time, the study found. We found that when we weighted women-centric metrics higher, it drove the states rankings way down, the makers of the study concluded. Those metrics included factors such as female uninsured rate, political representation, reproductive rights and homicide rate. Alabamas tough new abortion law -- it bars abortion even in the case of incest or rape -- was a part of it. But its not all. Alabama is a tough place to be a woman. Women die younger in Alabama than in the country as a whole, and are often sicker longer. Since the state refused to expand Medicaid the poorest of women often have nowhere to turn for healthcare. Data from the Institute for Womens Policy Research ranks Alabama tied at 51st with Mississippi as the worst state in America for women. Its report card gave Alabama Ds and Fs in every category: Employment and Earnings, Political Participation, Poverty and Opportunity, Reproductive Rights, Health and Well-Being, and Work and Family. We have a female governor, and mamas brought us all into the world, but women still struggle in politics. Women make up 51.6 percent of the state population, but just 15.7 percent of the State Legislature. Of 140 seats in the Legislature, all but 22 come equipped with a penis. The wage gap in Alabama where women typically make 73 cents for every dollar paid to men is among the worst in the nation. More of them live in poverty than is typical across America, a higher percentage have no insurance, and there is no political will to help them get it. Its even worse for black and Latina women, according to the National Womens Law Center. Black women typically make 59 cents for every dollar paid to white men, and Latina women can expect a dime less than that. Women have to be strong to survive in Alabama. It ought to be a source of great shame. It ought to be a source of state shame. If we cant find the cultural and political will to provide adequate and equal healthcare and prevention and wages and support and representation to more than half our population we can never be as great as we so often claim to be. Its not enough to have a day of appreciation for women, or a month or year, for that matter. Give women voice. Give women choice. Pay them and treat them and see them for what they are: People. 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. 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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 Sunrise hosts David Koch and Samantha Armytage have unveiled the hidden cues they use to communicate with their bosses working behind the cameras. Armytage - who along with her presenting partner was forced to return early from holidays this month to maintain the show's ratings superiority - said there were a range of ways she secretly liaises with their executive producer Michael Pell. The Seven host said she and Koch use one and two-finger gestures to tell their producer how many questions they had left for their guest. Sunrise duo Samantha Armytage and David Koch (left and right) have revealed the hidden messages they use to communicate with their behind-the-camera team 'During an interview I'll say 'do you want another question?' Pell, who has pulled the strings behind the hit morning show for almost a decade, told news.com.au. Koch, Armytage and Pell try to make the physical communication when the camera is aimed at the guest, but occasionally viewers catch a glimpse of the sign language. Armytage also revealed some of the most colourful advice from their producer came through their ear pieces. Koch - a 17-year veteran in the hosting job at Sunrise - said Pell would tell them things like 'this is boring as bats**t! Get out of this quickly' if the interview was dragging on. 'Sam and I are sitting on air going "That's really interesting, thanks so much for that, it's been a delight to have you on." And Michael's saying "F**k them off!",' he said. Pell said his florid turn of phrase helped maintain a fun, energetic working environment for the Sunrise team. Armytage is pictured using a one-finger gesture to tell producers she wants one more question with treasurer Josh Frydenberg this week And Armytage revealed her experience behind the camera and professionalism meant she was never thrown off by the language Pell used. The inside look at what makes a Sunrise breakfast broadcast comes as the show pulled in 299,000 viewers on Friday across five capital cities, compared to Today's 202,000. Nationally, 485,000 woke up to Sunrise and 297,000 to Today. Koch and Armytage are pictured left and second from left with co-hosts Natalie Barr and Mark Beretta arrives at the Logie Awards in June of last year The two hosts were forced to return from holiday last week as Seven fights to retain Sunrise's breakfast TV superiority over Nine's Today show. Sunrise has beaten its rival in the ratings war for the past 15 years, but Channel Nine has now reinstated Karl Stefanovic as host less than 12 months after he was sensationally dumped from the line-up. He returned to the nation's screens alongside Allison Langdon on January 6 - a week earlier than the show debuted last year. Samantha Armytage and David Koch (left and right on air) cut short their holidays this month as Channel Seven attempt to retain their ratings lead with Sunrise despite Karl Stefanovic's return to the Today show Koch - who first appeared on the Seven morning show as a fill-in in 2002 - said he was happy to work through the holiday season to keep the network's lead. 'We figured if the opposition A-team is on holidays, we will work through the summer and hope people give us a chance,' the veteran presenter told The Australian. 'When I told my wife we were starting a week early (to mirror what Today was doing), she just laughed in that cynical way that only wives can and started listing all the holidays we've been brought back from.' Stefanovic has returned to Today after a disastrous ratings year for the program in his absence. Nine has now reinstated Karl Stefanovic (pictured with his wife Jasmine) as host less than 12 months after he was sensationally dumped from the line-up Georgie Gardner and Deborah Knight struggled to compete with Sunrise in 2019, with Today's ratings at one point reaching an all-time low of 155,000. This was almost half of Sunrise's 277,000. In comparison, Today show ratings hovered around 300,000 throughout 2016 and 2017 when Stefanovic was host with Lisa Wilkinson. The president of Texas Southern University has been placed on administrative leave, the schools board of regents announced Friday. Austin A. Lane, the universitys 12th president, was put on leave with pay, according to the university. An announcement released by the board did not identify a reason for Lanes leave. Steve Scheffler, a TSU spokesman, said the university has no further comment at this time. The board appointed the schools chief financial officer, Kenneth Huewitt, as interim president. The Board is committed to ensuring all activities at the University are conducted in an ethical and transparent manner in accordance with the Universitys mission, vision and values, reads a statement issued by the board. The University will have no further comment at this time. Related: Improprieties within TSU admissions under investigation The announcement comes nearly two months after the TSU board stated that authorities are investigating evidence of improprieties within the universitys admissions process, according to a news release. The board also launched a full review of the universitys admissions, including enrollment, financial aid, scholarship protocols and standards for all university colleges, according to the boards release. The university, which would not comment further about the investigation, said the person involved with the admissions scandal is no longer employed by TSU. Lane, who assumed his position as TSU president in 2016, has had a long history within higher education. He worked as an adjunct professor throughout the state, including at Sam Houston State University and University of Texas at Arlington, where he also served as dean of students. Lane also served as vice president for student affairs at Tyler Junior College, then president of Lone Star College-Montgomery for six years, before being appointed as executive vice chancellor of Lone Star College in 2015. His father and mother-in-law are Texas Southern alumni. Lane is not the first TSU president to run afoul of the universitys board. Priscilla Slade was fired in 2006, following an audit that found shed spent more than $650,000 in school funds to cover personal expenses including personal landscaping, kitchenware, and a massive bar tab. Slade was indicted on four felony counts, but her 2007 trial ended in a hung jury. Scheduled to be retried in 2008, she accepted a plea deal on March 26, 2008 and accepted 10 years of deferred adjudication, repayment of about $150,000 to the school and 400 hours of community service. Hannah Dellinger contributed to this report. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor with Delhi Congress president Subhash Chopra during a demonstration against Citizenship (Amendment) Act, outside Jamia Milia Islamia University in New Delhi on Sunday. (Photo: PTI) Bhopal: Congress MLA Hardeep Singh Dung from Madhya Pradesh has created ripples in the party by coming out in support of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The MLA from Suwasra in Mandsaur district said there should be no objection from any section if our brothers in Pakistan, who are persecuted there, are granted citizenship in the country. He was talking to reporters late on Saturday evening. Mr Dung had earlier supported the abrogation of Article 370 stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its special status. He said there was no harm if people from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan were given facilities in India. I wonder why there should be any objection to granting them citizenship, he said. Mr Dung said the CAA and the National Register of Citizenship (NRC) can be seen in two different ways and added that it was wrong to ask those living in India for years to prove their nationality. The ruling Congress here has chosen not to react to the development. Congress has already announced to oppose CAA, a party spokesman here said. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has already declared that the CAA would not be implemented in the state. (Natural News) A few days into the new year it was reported that yet another Tesla car had gotten into a serious accident, smashing into a moving vehicle at a high rate of speed before its highly flammable battery suddenly burst into flames. The incident took place in Salt Lake City, and while some news reports are saying that the Tesla driver may have been drunk he supposedly ran a red light going about 122 miles per hour Salt Lake Police Lieutenant Brett Olsen told Deseret News early on that impairment was not immediately suspected in the crash. This statement led still other news outlets to speculate as to whether Teslas autopilot function may have played a role in this latest horrific tragedy, seeing as how roughly one year ago a rogue Tesla veered off the highway in New Jersey and plowed into several objects as a result of faulty autopilot programming. Fifty-year-old Sarina Astorga, the driver of the Nissan sedan that was struck by the out-of-control Tesla in Salt Lake City, was reportedly rushed to the hospital in critical condition after the crash. She later died, while the driver of the Tesla was last reported as being in critical condition. I heard this big, loud boom and I turn around and this black car in the middle of the intersection, I saw it come flying at me, local bystander Danny Hill told Fox13Now about the Tesla. I saw the brake shoes, wheel wall come straight at me, so I actually had to start running a little bit to avoid getting hit. 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. Lt. Olsen told the same news outlet that he observed debris from the Tesla scattered up to a block away, adding that it was a pretty significant impact. Sarinas family has since set up a fundraiser page to help cover the costs for her funeral arrangements. Tesla cars are serial killers, warns news outlet As it turns out, Sarinas death marks the 15th death caused by a Tesla, the 14th resulting from another horrific crash that took place on December 29 in Indiana. Reports indicate that this prior incident involved a Tesla Model 3 that, just like in New Jersey, had been running on autopilot before colliding with a parked fire truck. This string of deadly incidents involving Tesla cars has prompted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to launch an investigation into these death traps, which some news outlets are now referring to as inanimate serial killers. For all intents and purposes, Tesla cars are proving themselves to be homicidal maniac vehicles and if they dont kill their drivers and passengers upon impact, then their exploding batteries will finish the job. The NHTSA has since issued a public advisory warning to Tesla owners that they should always keep their hands on the steering wheel and pay attention at all times in other words, dont ever rely on the so-called autopilot function to get you to your destination safely. However, Tesla itself has borne none of the brunt of all this carnage, and neither has its owner Elon Musk. Wealthy Americans continue to purchase these elitist vehicles believing them to be better for the environment, and Musk is reaping windfall profits, even as people continue to die from these deadly vehicles. Why are these cars even allowed on the streets? asked one Zero Hedge commenter in response to this latest news out of Salt Lake City. The liability is incredible. Even a lawnmower cant be sold without kill switches and backup blade shut-offs. Who is allowing this? Is the taxpayer subsidizing Teslas production? Tesla has been selling their own insurance in California for over a year, is the insurance also being subsidized by the taxpayer? For more related news about the hoax that is Tesla, be sure to check out Deception.news. Sources for this article include: ZeroHedge.com Fox13Now.com KSL.com NaturalNews.com AutoNews.com EricPetersAutos.com By Express News Service CHENNAI: Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) removed dust bins at Ullagaram and Puzhithivakkam recently, to make the area bin-free and encourage segregation at source. However, this has led to residents disposing of the garbage in streets and vacant plots. Corporation officials should have informed us about it or conducted some awareness drives on source segregation before eliminating the bins in the area. Half of the residents still do not know what trash to dispose of in which colour bin, said P Ramanathan of Puzhithivakkam. He said About six months ago, officials removed bins in several streets in neighbouring Madipakkam. The issue over there still has not been solved and people continue to dispose of trash on the streets. The civic body must address the issue first before implementing this in other areas. Apart from a lack of awareness on source segregation, another issue the residents say is the timing of the collection of garbage by conservancy workers. There are hundreds of people working in different shifts. Conservancy workers collect trash only once a day, in the morning. If we work in the morning, there is no other option, but to dispose of garbage at vacant plots. At least, one bin must be placed per area, said Harsha Vardhan, another resident. Also, residents say stray dog and mosquito menace has considerably increased following this new practice. Already open drains were attracting a lot of mosquitoes and this has added to our woes, he said. When contacted, a Greater Chennai Corporation official said the bins were removed in ward 168, 20 days ago and they will gauge the effectiveness of the move in 10 days and resolve the issues. The response to a Right to Information (RTI) application has revealed that 28 priority cities with population of over a million people have been allocated only Rs 10 crore under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), in a year since its launch on January 10, 2019. According to experts, the allocation falls short of the fiscal support required for managing toxic emissions from combustion sources in million plus cities and restricts the plan to dust management measures. Central Pollution Control Board officials said in total Rs 172 crores were disbursed in September last year to 102 non-attainment cities that did not meet the annual PM 10 (coarse, pollution particles) national standard between 2011 and 2015. Cities are considered as non-attainment cities if they consistently show poorer air quality than the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Of 102 non-attainment cities, 28 million plus cities recorded PM 10 concentration of more than 90 micrograms per cubic metres from 2011 to 2015. These cities were chosen as priority cities for NCAP, which each got only Rs 10 crore for the first year of implementation. While we appreciate that air quality monitoring is being extended to several cities, the fiscal support for mitigation of air pollution in million plus cities has been reduced to simple dust management measures and not for management of toxic emissions from combustion sources. We now need to bridge the gap between planning and implementation, said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, Centre for Science and Environment. NCAP aims to reduce the concentration of PM2.5 (fine, respirable pollution particles) and PM10 by 20% to 30% by 2024 over the 2017 annual average levels. The funds under the plan have been allocated largely under six to seven heads depending on the action plans submitted by cities. Vijaywada, for instance, received Rs 3.6 crore for installation of three continuous air quality monitoring systems; Rs 2 crore for mechanical street sweepers; Rs 1 crore for water sprinklers; Rs 80 lakh for source apportionment studies and ~30 lakh for a mobile enforcement unit. The response to the RTI application, filed by Carbon Copy (a media portal that tracks developments in the climate and energy sector), reveals that cities like Kanpur received about Rs 10 lakh for developing green buffers and Agra received Rs 22.5 lakh for supply of gas based tandoors for restaurants. These were included in the total budget of Rs 10 crore per city allocated to them. The national capital, however, has not been allocated any money. Delhi receives funds from most ministries even without NCAP. It has got hundreds of crores for clean fuel, for the peripheral expressways and has a good monitoring network. Why should Delhi wait for Rs 5 or 10 crores? asked a Central Pollution Control Board official. Air pollution experts have criticized NCAP for not having the legal mandate for implementation as it depends on a collaborative and participatory approach, which, experts say, means it is not mandatory that cities meet the NCAP targets. NCAP also lacks a regional focus as it largely a city oriented plan. The modest funding has typically been allocated to measures like mechanical sweepers and water sprinklers, which are not nearly proportional to the scale and ambition of efforts needed with a crisis. Keeping efforts restricted to cities will ultimately be limited since pollution does not follow administrative boundaries. In particular, large point sources like industries and power plants have been a critical blind spot, said Santosh Harish, fellow at Centre for Policy Research. The husband of a New York prosecutor who filmed his child's nanny on bathroom spycam, could have charges against him dropped, after he claimed he only used it to watch himself undress. Matthew Seltzer, who is married to Assistant District Attorney Lauren Angelo-Seltzer, has said that he didn't fit the device to record Vanessa Rivas. The 23-year-old child minder accused him of spying in January 2018 but the family initially claimed someone else must have plugged-in the camera which appears to be a black USB power adapter. 'I felt humiliated,' Rivas told the New York Post about the camera pictured over the sink and next to the shower. 'This is where I would undress multiple times. I showered there multiple times.' Vanessa Rivas (pictured left and right), 23, accused Matthew Seltzer of using the camera to spy on her in January 2018 but in October he claimed he used it to record himself. Her lawyer claims the case has included 'so many apparent abuses of power has shaken my faith in the criminal justice system' Rivas found a spycam disguised a USB plug adapter in the bathroom where she had undressed and showered 'multiple times' Rivas said she agreed to take the couple's children to swimming lessons under the condition that she could use their shower afterwards. The memory card indicated it had been placed in the bathroom 15 minutes before she arrived Rivas said she agreed to take the couple's children to swimming lessons under the condition that she could use their shower afterwards. The memory card indicated it had been placed in the bathroom 15 minutes before she arrived. Rivas claimed the ADA became 'hostile' when she told her about the discovery. She claims the woman tried to snatch the camera back then proceeded to call her 45 times and send 26 text messages after she got away with the microchip. The ADA who is seen at the beginning of footage rummaging through the cabinet wearing a coat and a backpack - told police she had no idea he camera was there and claimed to be a victim of the covert surveillance herself. 'Matt and I would never ever ever do this and I have no idea how or why you think we would, so we need that chip,' The Post reports the ADA wrote to Rivas in text messages. '(Seltzer) began a campaign of harassment against Ms Rivas by claiming to other nannies and parents that Ms. Rivas was irresponsible and crazy,' the lawsuit states. Eileen Koretz, is a retired Manhattan Criminal Court judge and former state Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE). The accused man's mother-in-law resigned amid a probe of meddling in the case after she pressured Rivas to drop the charges Angelo-Seltzer's mother, Eileen Koretz, is a retired Manhattan Criminal Court judge and former state Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) appointee who married a Bronx prosecutor in a ceremony officiated by then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani. While the initial complaint was filed with Manhattan cops, it was switched to Brooklyn to avoid conflict of interest. However Koretz pressured Rivas to drop the charges a week after they were filed, the victim claims. 'I know you had asked for your salary, so if there was a way to end this and just sort of pay you your money, have some sort of written agreement you all won't talk to each other anymore and move on,' The Post reports a phone call recording revealed. 'So the police [investigation], that will end, and you'll all move on.' In January 2019, Rivas filed a civil suit in Manhattan Civil Court but Judge Lynn Kotler (pictured) recently put that case on hold until the end of the criminal probe Rivas replied: 'Eileen, I just can't let something like this go. I don't know whose intentions they were . . . I don't know how many videos there are of me, if this was the first. It will be the last.' Koretz later resigned as the state inspector general looked into claims of meddling in the criminal case. Then in January 2019 Rivas filed a civil suit in Manhattan Civil Court but Judge Lynn Kotler recently put that case on hold until the end of the criminal probe. Footage also showed Stuytown maintenance workers and ended with Rivas reaching for the camera. Rivas said she continues to suffer mental anguish from the ordeal and deserves compensation for the humiliation, embarrassment, stress and anxiety she has endured. It is unclear what damages Rivas is seeking from her former employer. She claims they breached her reasonable right to privacy. It is legal to video-record someone in common areas of your home without their consent, but you cannot spy on them in areas where they have a 'reasonable expectation of privacy' - such as a bathroom. This kind of 'unlawful surveillance' is a felony and can carry up to seven years in prison. The case was supposed to be heard over the summer but it still has not gone in front of a grand jury, two years on. The nanny's (Rivas is pictured) lawyer claims the DA's office is protecting Seltzer because of his relationship: 'They're putting Vanessa's life on hold to protect this pervert' Following the new defense he offered in October, according to Brooklyn DA spokesman Oren Yaniv, investigators are now searching for evidence Seltzer has a history of recording himself getting undressed. Meanwhile, the nanny's lawyer claims the DA's office is protecting Seltzer because of his relationship. 'Apparently, they are actively considering dropping the case because of this new defense . . . They're putting Vanessa's life on hold to protect this pervert,' Vincent White told the New York Post on Saturday. 'It's good to have connections and money I guess.' White labelled Seltzer's defense 'ridiculous' and said there's 'no explanation as to why he would need a hidden, disguised camera with motion activation to film himself, as far as we are aware'. 'If I was a criminal attorney and I tried to pass off a defense with this many holes in it, I would expect any self-respecting law enforcement professional to laugh in my face or worse. I would deserve it,' White said. 'This recent development in a case which has already included so many apparent abuses of power has shaken my faith in the criminal justice system.' The world's largest on-demand e-scooter company Lime announced that it is shutting down its services across 12 markets and laying off 14% of its workforce in an attempt to turn profitable this year. In a blog post, Brad Bao, the CEO of Lime, explained that the company was now focused on profitability and that the company was closing service across cities where micromobility had evolved more slowly than anticipated. Those cities include Atlanta, Phoenix, San Diego and San Antonio in the U.S., Linz in Austria and seven municipalities across Latin America. Lime, along with rival Bird, have been some of the fastest-growing startups ever, reaching unicorn status in record time, buoyed by consumer clamor toward adopting sustainable mobility options and VC firms' fascination in funding nearly anything that has to do with alternative mobility. But the writing has always been on the wall for the e-scooter companies as they aped Uber's model of robust expansion into new markets without breaking even hoping sustained investor interest in their business models and growth would keep them afloat until they become too big to fail. Everything changed when Uber announced that it would be going for its initial public offering (IPO), making it the first company in the on-demand mobility segment to be publicly traded. But even before this was realized, Uber witnessed a bloodbath in its perceived valuation, with skepticism forcing the cab-hailing giant to downscale its IPO valuation from roughly $120 billion to its eventual launching at $82.1 billion. This tanking of fortunes reverberated across the mobility market and hit e-scooter startups, as their likeliness to Uber's growth story robust expansion with no signs of profitability was deja vu to investors, and not in a right way. And unlike Uber, which chose to be a cab aggregator, e-scooter startups owned all the vehicles they leased to customers, exposing them to a host of issues that rose out of vehicle ownership. The biggest issue was rough usage, leading to thousands of scooters being put out of service and costing e-scooter companies millions of dollars in repair and replacement. Story continues Some city streets became an ugly sight, as scooters strewn around pedestrian walkways forced municipalities to reconsider the process of providing operating licenses to e-scooter companies. What followed was a crackdown in several cities across the world, as governments quickly pulled the rug from beneath the wheels of companies, restricting the number of vehicles that could operate within city borders and mandating users to pull up scooters only in marked parking lots. Cases of vandalism also have resulted in hundreds of vehicles being willfully broken or chucked into ponds. To improve durability, e-scooter companies worked on building better versions of their bikes, which also burnt into their cash reserves. Batteries have also been a problem, catching fire in certain instances and consequently leading to bitter court battles. Lime's recent pullout from a dozen markets is not an isolated story. Rivals like Bird, Scoot and Skip have all laid off significant portions of their employees and/or have made their way out of markets since 2019. Desperation has also led companies to look at raising ride prices. Image by Miloslav Hamrik from Pixabay 0 See more from Benzinga 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. New Delhi: Samajwadi Party leader Bijli Yadav was on Sunday (January 12) shot dead by unidentified persons at Muhammadabad area of Uttar Pradesh's Mau district. The incident took place in the wee hours today. Yadav, a former village head to Sakhwalia village, was fired at while he was going to a field. According to reports, Yadav, 40, died on the spot. The assailants fled from the spot after committing the crime. According to police, the reason behind the killing is yet to be ascertained. Lohri is a popular winter Punjabi folk festival, celebrated on January 13 every year just a day before Makar Sankranti. The Lohri festival signals the end of winter and also marks the culmination of the coldest night of the year. It is also a way of welcoming longer, sunnier days and the suns northward journey to the hemisphere, which is also reffered to as Uttarayan. It typically falls on the same date every year (January 13). Lohri is also a way of remembering the sun deity Surya and is celebrated with the lighting of a bonfire, which is considered an ancient tradition . This is as an act to please the fire deity. Celebrations also include assembling in groups and performing the traditional folk dances Bhangra and Gidda. B07MKRZDWM On this occasion, here are a few wishes you can use to greet your loved ones and wish them a bright and happy Lohri this year. 1. May this festival bring you and your family happiness and prosperity. May it fill you with zeal and verve. Happy Lohri to one and all! 2. Spread the message of happiness and peace of Lohri all around. Hope your day is full of excitement. I wish you a Happy Lohri! 3. May your year be just as colourful and joyful as the festival of Lohri. Wish you a very happy Lohri! 4. Hope the deliciousness of taste of makke ki roti and sarson ka sag bring you lots of joy and prosperity on this auspicious festival. Happy Lohri! 5. Hope this celebration of the bonfire brings you warmth and the sweetness of rewari remain with you forever. A very happy Lohri! 6. Wishing a very Happy Lohri to you and your family. May the Lohri fire burn away all the sadness out of your life and bring you joy, happiness and love. 7. Wishing this harvest season brings a smile to light up your face and you enjoy the year with a bang! Happy Lohri! B07DPQF47Q 8. May this Lohri bring lots of laughter, happiness, prosperity and success to your home. Happy Lohri! 9. Happy Lohri to you all! Hope the fire of the holy bonfire provides warmth and divine guidance this Lohri. 10. Have a rocking time! Balle Balle! Lohri is here, dhol bajao, nachcho gao! Happy Lohri! Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter 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. Rates of heavy drinking and alcohol use disorder peak in the late adolescent and early adult age-group (19-25 years), before decreasing from around age 26. This supports the notion that many young people 'mature out' of heavier drinking behavior. However, changes in young adults' alcohol consumption vary widely, and depend on a range of factors including role transitions (e.g. marriage, parenthood), social networks, and personality. Dr. Michael Windle from Emory University, Georgia, assessed the variation in 'maturing out' by evaluating trajectories of alcohol use from adolescence through young adulthood, up to around 33 years of age. The study, published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, also explored whether different alcohol use trajectories were associated with other indicators of young-adult functioning, relating to health, sleep, and social and occupational functioning. Data were analyzed from over one thousand young adults who had provided detailed information on recent alcohol use at various timepoints between the ages of around 15 to 33 years. At the final timepoint, participants gave additional information on other aspects of their lives and functioning. Using statistical modeling, participants were grouped into three different alcohol use trajectories. Most (around two thirds of the sample) fitted a 'normative use' trajectory, characterized by stable low alcohol use from adolescence to young adulthood. A smaller group (just under one third of the sample) was assigned to a 'moderate increase' trajectory, in which moderate drinking increased slowly from adolescence to emergent adulthood (age 23 years) before decreasing slightly to young adulthood. Around 6% of the sample fitted a 'high increase' trajectory, characterized by a high, increasing pattern of alcohol use from adolescence to emergent adulthood, followed by a small decrease to young adulthood. At age 33, those in the high increase group showed poorer functioning than the normative use group across the assessed indicators with greater alcohol and illicit drug use, more partner and work/family conflict, poorer physical health and sleep, and lower job-related motivation. The moderate increase group also scored worse than the normative use group for most of these measures. The findings confirm that patterns of change towards maturing out of alcohol use are not uniform. Most young people maintained a pattern of low stable use and did not mature out, largely because they never had a high level of consumption. The moderate and high increase groups did show a pattern of modest decline with age, indicating that maturing out applies to a smaller subset of heavier and more frequent drinkers. Further, the data suggest that young adults with either a high or moderate increase trajectory for alcohol use warrant attention and intervention to reduce the risk of poor life outcomes. After effecting a major VIP security cut and withdrawal of SPG cover from the Gandhis, the Union government has now decided to completely remove NSG commandos from this task, official sources said. This will be after over two decades that the 'black cat' commandos of the elite counter-terror force will be taken out from VIP protection duties, a task not originally charted for it when the force was conceptualised and raised in 1984. The force provides proximate and mobile security cover commandos armed with sophisticated assault weapons under the top 'Z+' category to 13 'high-risk' VIPs that entails about two dozen personnel for each one of them. Officials in the security establishment told PTI that the protection duties of NSG, which include giving security to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, will soon be transferred to paramilitary forces. The other NSG protectees include ex-CMs Mayawati, Mulayam Singh, Chandrababu Naidu, Parkash Singh Badal and Farooq Abdullah, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, BJP leader and former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani. Official sources said the Union Home Ministry "is of the view" that the National Security Guard (NSG) should concentrate on its original charter of handling specific tasks of counter-terrorist and anti-hijack operations and that the task of securing high-risk VIPs was proving to be a "burden" on its limited and special capabilities. "The NSG needs to go back to its original mandate of counter-terror and anti-hijack duties. That is the reason behind the latest move," a senior official in the security establishment said. The removal of VIP security duties from the NSG will result in freeing about 450 commandos, who will be used to enhance the fighting components of the force that is spread across five hubs in the country and a main garrison in Gurugram near Delhi, officials said. As per a plan being worked out, the security of the VIPs under NSG cover could be handed over to paramilitary forces such as the CRPF and the CISF which already provide security to about 130 prominent persons jointly. The CRPF was recently handed over the security of five ex-SPG protectees former PM Manmohan Singh and his wife, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her children Priyanka and Rahul apart from securing Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. The Central Reserve Police Force is well suited for handling the new task, officials said. The Central Industrial Security Force protects VIPs like NSA Ajit Doval and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat among others, they added. The plan to relieve NSG from VIP security tasks has been in the making since 2012 when NSG commanders foresaw an event where simultaneous terror attacks could be witnessed at one time on multiple centres in the country and the commandos will have to be rushed in different directions. "The 26/11 Mumbai attack involved some 400 NSG commandos over three days. Considering we have multiple terror hits at one go, NSG needs to have a good number of fighting commandos and some in the strike reserves to replace them," a senior official had then said. After a major security review by the Modi 2.0 government in July last year, 1,300 commandos had been freed as the Centre removed or scaled down the security cover of as many as 350 politicians and former and present lawmakers. The charter of the elite force states that it is a combat unit "specially equipped and trained to deal with specific situations and is therefore, to be used only in exceptional circumstances to thwart serious acts of terrorism. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A mass blackout that caused 100,000 homes to lose power across the state on Friday night has led to sparks flying between the state's two major political parties. The outage was caused when a Kwinana generator failed, with a smoking turbine at the Leath Road power facility reported just before 9pm, with two failures at Badgingarra Wind Farm and Worsley Power Station ensuing. Liberal leader Liza Harvey has been accused of not understanding WA's electricity system. Credit:TREVOR COLLENS Opposition leader Liza Harvey said the incident was a "disturbing omen" for WA's power supply. "Premier Mark McGowan needs to immediately explain why 100,000 Western Australia homes suffered blackouts and what his government was doing to invest in long-term energy security, she said on Saturday. Former royal press secretary Dickie Arbiter has said the historic Sandringham summit will be 'heated' Former royal press secretary Dickie Arbiter has said the historic Sandringham summit will be 'heated' but the Queen will ensure family members keep their cool. The royal expert claimed the 'pragmatic' Queen will be understanding of problems people have, but the head of state will ensure her family do not lose their tempers on Monday. Mr Arbiter added how Prince Harry will be aware of his grandmother's displeasure after he and Meghan announced their intention to step down as senior royals on Wednesday. And the landmark meeting at Sandringham between the head of state, two heirs and sixth in line, has been described as 'unprecedented' by Mr Arbiter. For the divorce of Charles and Diana in 1996, the Queen wrote to each individually and told them they had to talk to start proceedings, according to Mr Arbiter writing in The Sun on Sunday. The royal expert claimed the 'pragmatic' Queen will be understanding of problems people have For the divorce of Charles (pictured left) and Diana in 1996, the Queen wrote to each individually and told them they had to talk to start proceedings. William will be present at the Sandringham summit on Monday (right) He added how even the abdication of Edward VIII following his intention to marry Wallis Simpson was at Government and Church level. 'Many have called this an abdication and in one sense it is. Harry and Meghan expect to still have a handle on royal duty but also to lead a public life', Mr Abiter wrote. The former Queen's spokesman said having the documents drawn up in advance 'does not surprise' him since the Queen has made it clear she wants the arrangements finalised within days. Mr Arbiter added how Prince Harry will be aware of his grandmother's displeasure after he and Meghan announced their intention to step down as senior royals on Wednesday Her Majesty reportedly instructed officials to come up with a blueprint that could potentially apply to younger generations of the Royal Family. It comes as a source revealed that 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'. There is speculation that the Prince could leave the UK to rejoin his wife and son in Canada by next week. It is thought that he has not yet seen his grandmother in the flesh at her Sandringham estate since he arrived back from a six-week Christmas break. Laura Whitmore has admitted she gets 'Instagram envy' whenever she looks at social media influencers' 'bikini bodies'. The host, 34 - who will make her debut as Love Island's new presenter on Sunday - revealed she 'constantly' compares herself to others on the site, but said she also realises half of the content online is artificial. Boasting a sensational appearance herself, the TV and radio personality confessed she feels conflicted whenever she uploads 'nice award pictures' on her platform as she believes she has a 'responsibility' to keep it 'real' with her fans. Candid: Laura Whitmore has admitted she gets 'Instagram envy' whenever she looks at social media influencers' 'bikini bodies' (pictured in July) The presenter said: 'I get Instagram envy. You go, ''Oh my God, look at them in their bikini bodies and theyre on holiday. And why am I not doing that job?'' You are constantly doing that and then you realise half of that stuff isnt real anyway. 'Weve got a whole other load of pressures. I put awards pictures up and then think thats not real. Ive got this internal thing going in my head. 'I ask myself, "Am I being responsible just putting up the nice pictures? Shall I put up more bad pictures?" But I dont want to put bad ones up there! We do have that responsibility ourselves', she added to The Mirror. Irish beauty Laura, 34, has taken over the hosting role from Caroline Flack, 40, who stepped down from the winter series when she was charged for assault following a fight with boyfriend Lewis Burton, 27. The new face of Love Island: The TV and radio host, 34, will make her debut as Love Island's new presenter on Sunday 'I feel responsible': The media personality confessed she feels conflicted whenever she uploads 'nice award pictures' on her platform (pictured at the Fashion Awards in December) 'Anyone seen my car keys?' The former T4 star shared a playful Instagram snap just hours before the launch, as she pulled an animated facial expression in front of a truck Internal clash: 'Weve got a whole other load of pressures. I put awards pictures up and then think thats not real. Ive got this internal thing going in my head' she said (pictured in July) The former T4 star shared a playful Instagram snap just hours before the launch of the series as she pulled an animated facial expression in front of a white truck. Funny Laura captioned the photo: 'Love Island starts TONIGHT (said in @iaindoesjokes voice obvs)... but first has anyone seen my car keys? #loveisland'.[sic] She recently admitted her dream role as Love Island's new presenter has been overshadowed by the controversy surrounding predecessor Caroline's 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 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 admitted her first priority was to contact Caroline personally after being approached for the coveted presenting job. Hard times: Last month, former Love Island host Caroline Flack was charged for common assault following a fight with her boyfriend Lewis Burton, 27 (pictured in October) 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'. '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. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Got pants? If you step onto a subway car Sunday afternoon in Manhattan and you see a host of people without pants, you havent stepped into the twilight zone. Instead, youre witnessing Improv Everywheres 19th annual No Pants Subway Ride. The mission started as a small prank with seven guys and has grown into an international celebration of silliness, with dozens of cities around the world participating each year, said Improv Everywheres website. The idea behind No Pants is simple: Random passengers board a subway car at separate stops in the middle of winter without pants. The participants behave as if they do not know each other, and they all wear winter coats, hats, scarves, and gloves. The only unusual thing is their lack of pants, said the website. In fact, No Pants Subway Rides happen in dozens of cities around the world, from Berlin to Tokyo. Participants are told to act normal on the subway ride, and if asked about their absence of pants, to say they forgot them at home. The warmer-than-usual weather this weekend is likely to draw more participants than those who freeze each year in more typical January temperatures. Here are the details of the New York event: When: Sunday, January 12 at 3 p.m. Where: Participants will arrive at Foley Square in Manhattan Wear: Normal winter clothes (hat, gloves, etc), said Improv Everywheres website. Facebook: You can RSVP to the Facebook Event. After Party: 4 p.m, at Bar 13. RSVP here. Heres some social media posts about the No Pants ride from people around the world. Boston's annual No Pants Subway Ride is this Sunday afternoon. During the No Pants Subway Ride, attendees ride the MBTA wearing all of their normal winter clothes with the minor exception of missing pants. Participants act as if nothing is out of the ordinary. pic.twitter.com/iGUISY4bkV Only In Boston (@OnlyInBOS) January 7, 2020 Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Karina M. Tehusijarana (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, January 12, 2020 16:39 730 48be62e941b44f04afae568c321d64f0 1 National Pekanbaru,Riau,family,government Free The provincial administration of Riau and the city administration of its capital Pekanbaru have drawn scrutiny over the appointments of the relatives of Riau Governor Syamsuar, provincial regional secretary Yan Prana Jaya Indra Rasyid and Pekanbaru Mayor Firdaus to key positions. Syamsuar's daughter-in-law Tika Rahmi Syafitri was appointed the head of a subdivision in the province's revenue agency (Bapenda). Yan Prana welcomed his wife, Fariza, and two brothers into the Riau administration. Fariza was appointed the head of a division in the province's civil service agency (BKD). His elder brother Prasurya Darma assumed the role of secretary of the province's social services agency, while Yan Prana's younger brother Dedi Herman was appointed division head in Riau's Public Order Agency (Satpol PP). Tika and Fariza were previously only staff members in their respective agencies, while Prasurya was previously a staff member in the regional secretary's office. The appointments were made amid 734 other appointments of echelon III and IV civil servants in the Riau provincial administration last week. Riau BKD head Ikhwan Ridwan argued that the provincial administration made the appointments in accordance with the applicable regulations. "Yes, that's not a problem. It's not against the rules," he said on Friday as reported by kompas.com. "The requirements have been met and [the appointments] are according to procedure." Meanwhile, in Pekanbaru, Mayu Indera Feriadi, the daughter-in-law of the citys mayor, Firdaus, was appointed the head of a subdivision in the city's Bapenda on Friday. The appointment comes a week after Firdaus' son Riski Amelia Firdaus, who is Mayus husband, was appointed the head of a division in the Pekanbaru Asset and Financial Management Body (BPKAD). "Yes, they were appointed according to the regulations," Pekanbaru city secretary M. Noer said as quoted by kompas.com. Separately, Home Ministry spokesman Bahtiar said the ministry had sent a letter to the Riau administration, demanding that it explain the appointments. Bahtiar said the 2014 State Civil Apparatus Law did not regulate the appointment of officials relatives. Therefore, the appointments were permissible. He said members of the public could file a complaint to the State Civil Apparatus Commission if they suspected there was nepotism in the appointments. If the people feel troubled with it, just report it, he said on Friday as quoted by tempo.co. (kmt) Topics : Pekanbaru Riau family government If the recent results to panchayat bypolls are anything to go by, the opposition party in Gujarat is losing the narrative and unable to capitalise or exploit rural discontent and anger at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Unless the party unleashes a campaigning blitz in 2020, the polls to municipal corporations and municipalities, as well as district and taluka panchayat levels later this year, might undo its 2015 success, say political analysts and ... 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 RTHK: Anti-govt fun run draws thousands of defiant Thais Around 10,000 Thais joined a "run against dictatorship" on Sunday, shouting slogans and wielding three-finger salutes from the Hunger Games films in the largest show of political defiance since the 2014 coup. The runners massed before dawn in a Bangkok park for the event to take a stand against the government, which is led by former junta leader Prayut Chan-O-Cha and backed by a parliament stacked with MPs loyal to the military. The run was led by Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the charismatic billionaire leader of a stridently anti-military political party which is facing the threat of dissolution. Thanathorn has been stripped of his MP status and is facing a battery of legal charges. "You can feel the anger of the people and their disappointment over the government," Thanathorn told the AFP news agency before the run. "I think this is the first step to a general change in Thailand." Before the start, the runners shouted pro-democracy slogans and chanted "Get out, Prayut". They also wielded the three-finger salute made famous by the blockbuster Hunger Games films as a symbol of freedom from authoritarian rule. "I want a government that takes care of the people and spends money on our well-being and the environment instead of buying tanks and submarines," said runner Gig, dressed as a tank for the run. Prayut held onto power after elections last year, with support from an army-appointed senate. He now holds a slim parliamentary majority and faces a public increasingly vocal in its discontent with the sluggish economy and rule by elderly former generals. A smaller, rival "Walk to Support Uncle" rally took place in another park at the same time, drawing thousands of mainly elderly supporters of Prayut, whose nickname is "Uncle Tu". "We love our country, we love a government which can provide security to our country," said Vasuchart, 68. Thailand remains bitterly divided. The contrasting demographics of the Sunday events reflected some of those splits in age, class and politics, with many older people leaning towards the army-aligned establishment and younger participants favouring Thanathorn's change narrative. The anti-government run comes less than 10 days before Thanathorn's Future Forward Party faces possible dissolution, accused of attempting to overthrow Thailand's constitutional monarchy. Future Forward stunned Thailand's establishment by becoming the third-largest political party after an election last March. Despite his legal woes, Thanathorn retains a rock star-like appeal among his supporters. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2020-01-12. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. An award-winning mummy blogger has apologised after joking about smashing her husband's face in for not emptying the tumble dryer. Emma Conway, whose blogger name is Brummy Mummy Of 2, made the controversial remark about her husband, Stephen, when talking about her New Year's Resolutions. But the 42-year-old, based in Birmingham, was widely criticisied by fans who said she was trivialising men's experience of domestic violence. Emma Conway, whose blogger name is Brummy Mummy Of 2, has apologised after joking about smashing her husband's face in for not emptying the tumble dryer The 42-year-old made the remark about her husband Stephen (pictured together) in a since-deleted blog post about her New Year's Resolutions Mrs Conway had written a blog post that set out her 16 resolutions for 2020 which included keeping her tablet charged and in her bag, not wearing her pyjamas in the day and shouting at her children less. But fans were unhappy with her eighth statement which detailed how some domestic chores sent her 'crazy' and that she often got frustrated with husband Stephen. She said: 'I will TRY and be tolerant when my other half doesn't empty the tumble dryer, offers no help whatsoever packing for holidays and when he lies in on another Saturday morning. 'I will TRY to not want to smash his face in. I said TRY.' Fans were unhappy with her eighth statement which detailed how some domestic chores sent her 'crazy' and that she often got frustrated with husband Mrs Conway was widely criticisied by fans who said she was trivialising men's experience of domestic violence. Pictured: Emma and Stephen Conway Her followers were quick to comment underneath the since-deleted post. One wrote: 'Not funny at all - joking about perpetrating domestic violence is out of order. 'Imagine if your husband was saying that in a blog.' Another added: 'Wow, wow, wow, I have no words! Not one word in this is funny in the slightest. Shocking!' A third said: 'WOW! Absolutely disgusted you would post this. 'You seem very lucky to have Stephen in your life, maybe have a little bit of respect? 'He seems like he does a lot for you and your family.' Last night, Mrs Conway, who has more than 100,000 Instagram followers and 26,000 Twitter followers, apologised for her comments The apology began: 'It's been brought to my attention that a tongue-in-cheek blog post I wrote about the New Year's resolutions of a knackered mum offended some people' Another fan passionately wrote: 'To threaten violence to her husband for not completing a couple of the tasks which he does, and almost do so in a way which she appears to think is funny, is so concerning. 'Why is violence towards men normalised? If this is a private joke between her and her partner then that is one thing. 'But to publicise it on a blog which is no doubt monetised, is deeply worrying. 'From memory I'm sure she started this blog to support mums. To promote a normalisation of domestic violence to her audience is appalling. 'I hope this is removed and any money earned is donated to a domestic abuse charity to support those vulnerable people she is mocking.' The mother-of-two (pictured with her family) said that she was 'mortified' that her comments had caused offence One fan wrote under the original post: 'You seem very lucky to have Stephen in your life, maybe have a little bit of respect?' Others said that the comment was 'pretty messed up' and a 'new low' for the mother-of-two. Around 4.2 per cent of men and 7.9 per cent of women suffered domestic abuse in the UK during 2018, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS). This equates to about 685,000 male victims and 1,300,000 women with murders related to domestic violence at a five-year high. Last night, Mrs Conway apologised for her comments on her Instagram stories. The couple celebrated their 11th wedding anniversary in December last year. Mrs Conway's debut book, Will I Ever Pee Alone Again?, is set to come out on March 5 She said: 'It's been brought to my attention that a tongue-in-cheek blog post I wrote about the New Year's resolutions of a knackered mum offended some people. 'With travelling and the time difference my team dealt with it the best way they knew which was to immediately delete the post. 'I of course do not think domestic violence is funny. 'My writing is different to my social media. It's more character-based. I like to talk about the imperfections of marriage and raising kids. 'It's not literal that I try not to smash my husband's face in. 'I apologise if this was not clear to all my readers. And I am mortified that I have upset some of you. 'I'm continually learning in this job. Lots of love.' Mrs Conway has worked with dozens of brands including Alzheimers UK, Disney, CoLab dry shampoo, McDonald's and The Works. She recently went on a gifted trip to New York with her husband and two children Mrs Conway later added: 'I'm really sorry for my comment, it was insensitive. I'd like to apologise to anyone who has been upset and I promise to learn from this experience and do better moving forward.' She has worked with dozens of brands including Alzheimers UK, Disney, CoLab dry shampoo, McDonald's and The Works. The former teacher currently has more than 100,000 Instagram followers and 26,000 Twitter followers. She recently went on a gifted trip to New York with her husband and two children. Her debut book, Will I Ever Pee Alone Again?, which is a collection of poems for Mother's Day, is set to come out on March 5. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced on Friday that she would be sending articles of impeachment to the Senate next week. We know, more or less, what happens next. The Republican-controlled Senate will hold a perfunctory trial and vote against removal, and Donald Trump will remain president. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, walks though the US Capitol on Thursday. She will send the articles of impeachment to the Senate on Monday. Credit:Bloomberg Weve known this is how impeachment would progress since the inquiry first began in September. And yet, even as the process inches toward its foregone conclusion, it is now abundantly clear how valuable the endeavour has been. First, its shown that some Americans can change their minds when presented with new information. I know, I know - that doesnt sound like much. After all, there are many more Americans who are resolutely impervious to facts that conflict with their politics. But given how ossified political opinion has become - according to a November 2019 poll, 80 per cent of voters have already made up their minds for 2020 - that ability to reassess is critically important to the future health of US politics. As new information about the decision to withhold aid to Ukraine was revealed, support for impeachment and removal spiked among Democrats and independents. (It initially moved a tiny bit for Republicans, but that quickly levelled out as Republican lawmakers made clear they were sticking with Trump.) Though that growing support did not persuade Republican lawmakers to abandon the president, it did put them increasingly at odds with the majority of Americans. Trump loyalists back action in Iran, but still don't want 'endless wars' originally appeared on abcnews.go.com While waiting hours in line for her first Donald Trump rally, Jennifer Colburn, a staunch supporter of the president who has two sons serving in the military, said she hopes the president continues to de-escalate tension with Iran. "I'm not a big fan of war," she told ABC News, ahead of Trump's kickoff rally in Toledo, Ohio. "I'm a fan of doing things that are good for our country here." (MORE: Trump offers new Iran account, now says 4 embassies targeted but still gives few specifics) Days earlier, Trump ordered an airstrike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, a seismic escalation in the prolonged conflict with Iran. But after no American, Iraqi or coalition forces were killed in Iran's retaliatory missile strikes targeting U.S. troops in Iraq, the president has worked to temper the conflict. Trump ordered the strike without informing Congressional leaders, citing "imminent attacks" as justification, which led the House of Representatives to pass a measure limiting the president's authority to take further military action against Iran. Trump and his administration have yet to provide any evidence of the so-called imminent attacks. On the campaign trail in 2016, Trump pitched an "America First" agenda, saying in April 2016 that "war and aggression will not be my first instinct," later adding, "A superpower understands that caution and restraint are really truly signs of strength." PHOTO: Supporters wait in line before a campaign rally for President Donald Trump at the Huntington Center on Jan. 9, 2020 in Toledo, Ohio. (Brittany Greeson/Getty Images, FILE) He even echoed that promise in his 2019 State of the Union address, promising a shift in U.S. foreign policy. "As a candidate for President, I pledged a new approach," Trump said. "Great nations do not fight endless wars." Yet his actions appear to be at odds with his campaign promises. While he blustered about wanting to bomb ISIS, Trump also campaigned on bringing U.S. troops home from the Middle East and openly questioned the intelligence that led to the war in Iraq, criticizing President George W. Bush in a sharp contrast to his GOP primary rivals. Story continues (MORE: House Democrats pass measure limiting Trump's war powers against Iran) Colburn said she voted for Trump in 2016 in part because he promised to cease "endless wars" and bring home troops. Now, that promise is on the rocks, and entanglement in the Middle East appears prolonged. Regardless, Colburn and many other Trump loyalists still back the president's recent action against Iran. "Oh, I still support him," said Colburn, responding to whether Trump broke his "American First" promise. She added that her family benefits too much from the Trump economy to jump ship. Jennifer Halk, also in line for the rally, wearing a matching "Trump 2020" beanie and scarf, scoffed that the U.S. was "right back into it again" when asked about Trump running on getting out of the Middle East. "I think they need to bring everybody back," she said. But Halk also said she'll support the president no matter what. PHOTO: People pray together during the 'Evangelicals for Trump' campaign event held at the King Jesus International Ministry as they await the arrival of President Donald Trump on Jan, 3, 2020 in Miami. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images, FILE) Trump's base of loyal and fierce supporters has proven largely unshakable throughout his first term. Regardless of the litany of controversies that may have sunk another president, including becoming just the third in history to be impeached by the House of Representatives, Trump's approval, and disapproval, has remained stable. According to FiveThirtyEight, Trump's approval rating has consistently hovered around the low 40s, while his disapproval has remained in the mid-to-low 50s. But there are some Trump loyalists who want him to end America's Middle East entanglements. At the "Evangelicals for Trump" launch in a packed bilingual megachurch, with Christian music pumping through the sound system instead of the usual classic-rock-filled Trump rally playlist, Martha Rivaro, who backed Sen. Marco Rubio in the 2016 primary, said she's completely converted to team Trump after his policies helped her small business turn a profit for the first time since 2008. "How could you not support that?" said Rivaro, tears welling up in her eyes. (MORE: Trump touts killing of Iranian general in pitch to evangelicals at campaign event) Rivaro did say, however, that "we are too involved with foreign policy. But he's got to do what he's got to do." When asked specifically about the Trump-ordered airstrike that killed Soleimani, she added: "I support him, but I don't agree with some of that stuff, being in those wars. I don't. But I also listen to why he does it and I still support him." "I'm not going to like everything he does," she added. PHOTO: Jason and Cindy Fischer wait in line to hear President Donald Trump speak at a campaign rally at the Huntington Center, Jan. 9, 2020, in Toledo, Ohio. (Tony Dejak/AP, FILE) Back in Toledo, other Trump supporters were more celebratory of the military strike. Larry Currier said he believed it was the president's hope to get out of the Middle East, but that Soleimani "wanted to push our buttons and doesn't realize -- and I'm trying not to be nasty -- but he doesn't realize we are a major power and you are not. You start playing a game, [Trump] is the bull in the china shop, and he will take you down." Frank Cordova, who drove 200 miles from Michigan to attend the Toledo rally on Thursday, told ABC News not only that he agreed with the killing of Soleimani but that he wants Trump to order an even more comprehensive attack. "It was not enough, by far," he said, adding that he hopes Trump "levels Tehran." "Level it," he added. About 20 miles away at a windy supermarket parking lot in Maumee, Ohio, Maureen, who declined to give her last name, smiled wide when asked about Trump and Iran, adding, "Life happens." She said she voted for him in 2016 and plans to again in 2020. "There's a lot of people here who don't like what he says, and some of what he does," she added, "but they're gonna vote for him anyways." Imperial Valley News Center Doctor Sentenced to 12 Months in Prison for Unlawfully Distributing Oxycodone Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - A Philadelphia-area doctor was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison and ordered to pay a $100,000 fine Tuesday for the illegal distribution of oxycodone. Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Special Agent in Charge Michael T. Harpster of the FBIs Philadelphia Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector Generals (HHS-OIG) Philadelphia Regional Office, Special Agent in Charge Jonathan A. Wilson of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administrations (DEA) Philadelphia Field Division and U.S. Marshal Eric S. Gartner of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania made the announcement. Richard Ira Mintz, D.O., 69, of Dresher, Pennsylvania, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael M. Baylson of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, who also ordered Mintz to serve three years of supervised release and 90 days of home confinement following release. Mintz pleaded guilty in March 2019 to eight counts of distributing controlled substances (oxycodone) outside the scope of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose. Mintz has surrendered his medical license and DEA Certificate of Registation. The FBI, HHS-OIG, DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, Pennsylvania Attorney Generals Office, and Philadelphia Police Department investigated the case. Trial Attorney Adam G. Yoffie of the Criminal Divisions Fraud Section is prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. Macko of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania handled the parallel civil case, in which Mintz paid a $107,584 monetary penalty. The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 15 strike forces operating in 24 districts, has charged more than 4,200 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for nearly $19 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers. Days after the death of four tigers in Goa's Mahadayi Wildlife Sanctuary due to suspected poisoning by locals, a buffalo belonging to a villager was found killed by a feline in the same area, a forest department official said on Sunday. The buffalo owner has been assured of adequate compensation in order to prevent any 'retaliatory killing' of wild cats by locals, the official told PTI. The carcass of the buffalo was recovered on Saturday from Derode village located in the Mahadayi Wildlife Sanctuary area of Sattari taluka in North Goa district, he said. It was found just a few kilometres away from the place where a tigress and her three cubs were found dead last week, the official said. "The way the buffalo was attacked, it appeared to have been killed by a tiger," he said. In a bid to prevent any 'revenge killing' of tigers, the forest authorities met the villager's family and assured to provide them compensation for their loss, he added. Carcasses of a tigress and her cub were recovered from the sanctuary on Wednesday, days after her two other cubs were found dead nearby. The forest department prima facie suspects that the felines were poisoned in a "revenge killing" for preying on cattle in the village. The Centre has constituted a two-member committee to ascertain the cause of their death. The Goa forest department has arrested three men for suspected poisoning of the tigress and her cubs, officials earlier said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Members of Torontos Iranian community say theyre saddened and angry, but not surprised, by Irans admission it accidentally shot down a Ukrainian jet over Tehran, killing all 176 on the plane, including 57 Canadians. After sharp denials that it wasnt responsible for this weeks crash of the airliner, senior Iranian officials later apologized for the mistake that occurred hours after Iran launched missiles against military bases in Iraq in retaliation against the U.S. for killing a top Iranian general. Here in Toronto, Iranian Canadians said Tehrans admission it downed a passenger jet carrying scores of Iranians and Canadians confirmed what they had already suspected. From the first day everybody knew this couldnt be an accident, said Carlo Zadeh, 65, the owner of the popular Arzon Supermarket in North Yorks Little Persia near Yonge St. and Steeles Ave. All of a sudden an airplane disappears from the radar. It meant a bomb or a missile. Everybody knew that, he said. This is a regime with a bad reputation. They are liars, lying to their own people, he said, referring to Irans initial denial. After initially denying claims a missile had taken down the plane, Iranian officials had to walk back their denials in the face of overwhelming evidence including video of a missile hitting an object in the night sky over Tehran and the subsequent explosion of the plane on the ground. Zadeh said several of the victims of the crash were customers of his North York grocery, a fact he discovered after recognizing their faces in media accounts of the crash. Im very very sad. When I looked at the pictures of the victims I was crying, said Zadeh, who was born in Iran and came to Toronto 30 years ago. The tragedy has left the community confused and reeling. Mohamad Yaghoubi, 41, owner of Jasmin Sandwich, also accused the Iranian regime of lying and giving the world inaccurate information about the cause of the crash. Habib Nadem, 48, the manager of Khorak Supermarket in North York, said he was sure in his heart immediately that the Ukranian jetliner had been shot down. They made a mistake and it caused nearly 200 people to die, he said. He called the accident a very bad chapter for Iran and its people and wondered how it will play out in Iran given the huge outpouring of grief and waves of anger over the U.S. killing of Soleimani, the general. When the general got killed, over four million people came on the street (in Iran) because he was assassinated. This time nearly 200 got killed. The people in Iran should go on the street calling for the government to give an answer, says Nadem, who with seven other siblings and his parents came to Canada in 1991 from Iran fleeing turmoil there. On Saturday night, hundreds did, in fact, gather at universities in Tehran to protest the governments late acknowledgement of the plane being shot down. They demanded officials involved in the missile attack be removed from their positions and tried. Police broke up the demonstrations. Bahman Nasiri, president of the Iranian Canadian Association of Entrepreneurs, called the crash and circumstances around it a major disaster that has left the Iranian community very depressed. With files from Associated Press Read more about: Residents wait at a rest area after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at a mobile station in Hong Kong on Sunday. (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) Few of the citys older residents have been fully inoculated, leaving them highly vulnerable as the city battles an outbreak of the new variant. Left students were protesting against her meeting Modi at the Raj Bhavan and sharing the stage with him at a function later in the evening on the first day of his two-day visit to the state Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday faced protests by Left students for meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and allegedly "diluting the fight against CAA". The Left students were protesting against her meeting Modi at the Raj Bhavan and sharing the stage with him at a function later in the evening on the first day of his two-day visit to the state. They lanched a dharna at the Dorina Crossing at Esplanade and said it would continue as long as Modi is in the state. Members of SFI, AISA, IC of Presidency University students unions chanting 'Azadi' and 'Shame Shame' broke three barricades put up near the stage of the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad's (TMCP) sit-in at Rani Rashmoni Avenue, not far from the Raj Bhavan, and demanded explanation from Banerjee as she rushed from a programme attended by Modi to the venue. They wanted to know why Banerjee met Modi, who, they said, is behind the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) and "diluted the fight" against it. "We were heading towards the Raj Bhavan. But we were prevented from doing so by the police near TMCP's dharna site on nearby Rani Rashmoni Avenue. When Banerjee arrived, we demanded an explanation from her," Subho Biswas, a student of Presidency University, claimed. An SFI leader Tapas Das said the protests would go on as long as Modi was in the city on Sunday. "We demanded an explanation from Mamata Banerjee about her meeting Modi at the Raj Bhavan and sharing the stage at an official programme ... There is a secret understanding between Mamata Banerjee and Modi. She has been exposed. We will sit on dharna at the Esplanade crossing till Modi leaves the city tomorrow," he said. Banerjee, who was seen arguing with Left students, sought to clarify her stand and said it was her "constitutional obligation to meet the Prime Minister". "I am the only leader who met Narendra Modi and told him that the CAA, NRC and NPR cannot be implemented. We have been protesting from day one against CAA. The issue before both of us (TMCP and Left students' unions) is the same, so please do not deviate from it. I request you all to protest in a democratic way. We should fight the anti-CAA battle together. We are fighting on the same issue," she told the Left students unions. She also asked the TMCP students, who were separated by a barricade put up by police, to remain calm and not retaliate. Banerjee was seen sitting on the dais surrounded by security guards and TMCP students raised counter slogans chanting 'Bande Mataram' and 'Down with BJP and its cohorts'. A senior Kolkata Police officer said Banerjee is still present at the sit-in venue and officers and extra policemen are present there. "We are alert," he added. Drummond, the legal chief of Google parent company Alphabet, is leaving at the end of the month, following accusations of inappropriate relationships with employees. Alphabet did not give a reason for Drummond's departure in a short regulatory filing Friday, Jan. 10, 2020. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A., File) David Drummond, the legal chief of Google parent company Alphabet, is leaving at the end of the month, following accusations of inappropriate relationships with employees. Alphabet did not give a reason for Drummonds departure in a short regulatory filing Friday. The company said in November that its board was investigating sexual misconduct cases against executives. Claims against Drummond were included in the investigations. Thousands of Google employees walked out of work in 2018 to protest the companys handling of sexual misconduct claims. The board investigation followed lawsuits brought by shareholders after reports of sexual harassment at Google received national attention. Last August, a former Google employee, Jennifer Blakely, published a report of her relationship with Drummond. Drummond has acknowledged a relationship 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 USD 47 million, making him one of the companys 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 said Page and Brin asked for his help more than 20 years ago when what became Google and Alphabet was just an unincorporated startup. Drummond joined Google full time in 2002 and was named chief legal officer in 2006. Drummonds departure comes as Alphabet, like other big tech companies, faces regulatory presures around the world. Last March, Europes antitrust regulators ordered it to pay 1.49 billion euros (USD 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. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. A local Samajwadi Party leader and former village head Bijli Yadav (39) was shot dead in the outskirts of Shekhwalia village of Uttar Pradeshs Mau district, just over 100 km north of Varanasi on Sunday morning when he was out for a walk, police said. Police said the murder came to light when locals ran to the spot after hearing a gunshot. According to the police, locals said that Yadav had gone out for a morning walk. Around 500 meters from the village, unidentified assailants fired at his temple from point blank range and fled. Hearing the gunshot, locals ran to the spot only to find Yadavs body lying in a pool of blood. Police soon reached the spot and started a probe. Maus superintendent of police Anurag Arya who also visited the scene of murder, refused to speculate on the possible cause of the murder but said the assailants would be arrested soon. A case has been registered under relevant sections of IPC following a complaint by the wife of the deceased. Two teams have been constituted to arrest the assailants. The matter is being investigated from all possible angles. The assailants would be arrested soon and strict action would be taken against them, Arya said. Yadav was only son of his parents. He is survived by wife, a son and five daughters. Reacting to the murder, another Samajwadi Party leader in Mau, Karnpratap Singh said that the state government has failed in controlling crime. Law and order is in very bad shape, he said. A gangster linked with sand mining mafia and accused of opening gunfire on a deputy collector in 2006 was arrested here on Sunday by the Special Task Force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh Police, officials said. Brajanad Nagar (53), is a native of Faridabad in Haryana and was held at around 4 pm in Sector 168 by the Noida unit of the STF with the support of the local force from Expressway Police Station, a senior officer said. "Working on a case involving gangsters of the region, we had got a tip-off about Nagar coming to the area to meet somebody. A trap was laid and Nagar arrested," Deputy Superintendent of Police, STF, Raj Kumar Mishra said. "Nagar works for the Randeep Bhati gang and has been previously booked under the Gangsters Act. He is also accused of illegal sand mining on the banks of the Yamuna river and also for selling plots along the river bank illegally," Mishra said. Nagar had sold plots along the river bank and got their registries done for at least 200 gullible people, as per preliminary information, the STF officer said. In 2006, the then deputy collector of the area had visited the Yamuna floodplains to stop illegal sand mining. Nagar had opened fire at the deputy collector, who had survived the attack and an FIR was lodged against the gangster. "That case is still pending in the court," Mishra said. He said that during Nagar's arrest, his vehicle was impounded and some documents were recovered. "The documents detail transactions related to gangsters Randeep Bhati, mining mafia Sanjay Momnathan, Satpal Mujhedi, etc." Mishra said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday unveiled over 5.5 lakh postcards written by Ahmedabad residents to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, thanking him for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The postcards were stacked on the dais as Shah addressed a gathering of BJP workers who formed letters `C A A in front of him. The state BJP claimed that the partys largest awareness campaign in support of the CAA had found a place in Limca Book of Records and World Record of India. It is not just words but a letter of thanks written from the heart. Our public outreach programme is a reply to the lies being spread against the CAA, Shah said addressing BJP workers from his former Assembly constituency Naranpura. The BJP had promised to enact the CAA in its manifesto, he said, asking why the Congress did not oppose it then. Targeting Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Shah said, Congress has a government in Rajasthan. The Congress party in that state had promised that Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan would be given citizenship. Why do you oppose it when we fulfill the promise made by you? the Union home minister asked. In 2006 and 2009, Ashok Gehlot wrote a letter for the same. We covered Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, Christians, all of them under the Act, you had only mentioned Hindus and Sikhs, Shah claimed. Saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, by bringing in the CAA, granted human rights to lakhs of people, he asked why opposition was against it. He challenged Rahul Baba (Congress leader Rahul Gandhi), Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal to show if any provision of the CAA took away the citizenship of Indian Muslims. There is no such provision. Lakhs and crores of people have come to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh to save their religion, their self-respect, to save themselves. Where else will they go? he asked. From the first prime minister of the country Jawaharlal Nehru to the first home minister, first president of the country, and Mahatma Gandhi himself had said that whoever comes to India from Pakistan will be granted citizenship. Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains coming from Pakistan have nowhere else to go, he said. PTI KA PD KRK KRK Queen Elizabeth and Duke of Sussex Prince Harry will be holding talks at Sandringham on Monday. This comes after the Queen called to clear the confusion over the future roles of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Reportedly, she had ordered a meeting within 72 hours on Saturday. As per media reports, the palace officials have said that Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge are also likely to attend the meeting. These developments follow the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes announcement to step back as 'senior members' of the Royal Family. As per media reports, the Duke and Duchess could leave Britain as early as next week. Read: Queen Elizabeth demands clarity on Harry, Meghan's future role in 72 hours: Media Report Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce stepping back The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as per the statement released via their official Instagram handle, will be dividing their time between the United Kingdom and North America. The couple stated that they intend to "work to become financially independent". However, they reiterated that they will continue to fully support the Queen. Read: Meghan Markle, Prince Harry's waxworks removed from Madame Tussauds' royal family display Members of royal families who relinquished their titles It is not the first time that members of royal families have relinquished their titles to live a relatively common life. King Edward VIII abdicated the 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: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry to miss a royal Christmas tradition? Here's why Queen Elizabeth's husband Prince Phillip was born in the royal family of Greece and Denmark but had to relinquish the title to marry the Queen and subsequently accepted the English title. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philips daughter, Princess Anne, married a commoner Mark Phillips who turned down the offer of Earldom. Read: From Priyanka Chopra to Meghan Markle, get inspired with these celebrity wedding gowns SPRINGFIELD Mark Russell Smith, the Springfield Symphony Orchestras music director from 1995 to 2000, returned Saturday evening as guest conductor, leading the SSO in an all-Beethoven program to kick off a celebration of the composers 250th birthday. Smith, a conducting student of Max Rudolf at The Curtis Institute in the 1980s, said in a pre-concert interview, I have an old German soul, I think, because (Beethovens music) really resonates for me. He backed up that assertion on Saturday by conducting compelling performances of Beethovens Egmont Overture, followed by his first and second Symphonies, all from memory, without score. The detail in each rendition was meticulous, yet the big picture was constantly alive and evolving, even as Smith and the SSO musicians reveled in the intricacies of Beethovens musical vocabulary. In his Classical Conversation, Smith revealed that he had provided the SSO in advance with his own set of parts for the Second Symphony, bearing his own bowings, articulations, dynamic and expressive markings, etc. so that everyone is on the same page. That strategy not only saved time in rehearsal, but assured a consistency in texture and gesture that elevated the playing to the highest level. The musicians tore into Beethovens challenging writing with a will. The evening was a grueling workout for the string players in particular, with Smith indulging in the briskest possible tempi in all of the fast movements, taking the composer at his word when he wrote Allegro molto, con brio, and con moto. The definition and clarity in the violin-playing was fantastic, considering the velocity. Even in these early orchestral works, Beethovens expansion of the classical style, his amplification of dramatic tension and exploration of orchestral color, is remarkable and worthy of note. Though the new-ness of the music is lost on the 21st century ear, the urgency of its innovation can still be felt when conductor and musicians share the shock and excitement of each unfolding event. Smith and the SSO imparted that feeling of discovery to each of the 1,641 concertgoers in Symphony Hall Saturday, and won a standing ovation for both symphonies. The size and seating of the orchestra was appropriate to the style as well. A leaner than usual complement of strings with double woodwinds and brass balanced Beethovens sonic forces perfectly. Seating first and second violins across from each other with cellos and violas between as SSO Maestro Kevin Rhodes has done for some time now as well) clarified and separated the counterpoint. Smith also dispensed with the conductors podium, standing on the stage level with the first desks of strings, suggesting an intimate, almost chamber-music-like connection with the musicians. Saturday marked a triumphant return to Springfield for Smith, 20 years after he made his last appearance on the Symphony Hall stage. He led the SSO as an expert driver manipulates a high-performance automobile, or an expert equestrian rides a winning racehorse, and launched the 250th anniversary of Beethovens birth with style and gusto. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday challenged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to "find out the provision in the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)" which can take the citizenship away from any Indian. "I challenge Mamata Banerjee and Rahul Baba to find out a provision in the Citizenship Amendment Act that can take the citizenship away from anyone in this country," said Shah, while addressing a public meeting here. Further attacking the Congress party, he said: "When the partition of the country took place, the Congress party divided the country on the basis of religion." He said that the then leaders had assured Indian citizenship to the minority refugees from Pakistan. "The Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, Jain, who lived in both East and West Pakistan wanted to come here, but they stayed there because of the bloodshed. The leaders of our country then assured them that they will be welcome here and given the citizenship whenever they come," said Shah. Taking on the Congress for opposing the CAA, he said: "When the partition took place, there were 30 per cent Hindus in both East and West Pakistan. Today, there are just 3 per cent Hindus in Pakistan and 7 per cent Hindus in East Pakistan (Bangladesh). I want to ask the blind and deaf Congress leaders, where are my Hindu, Sikh, Sindhi brothers." The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 grants citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Parsi, Buddhist, and Christian from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who 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.) : Puducherry unit of the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) on Sunday called upon Chief Minister V Narayanasamy to prove his government's majority by convening a special session of the territorial Assembly. The BJP unit president and MLA V Saminathan said in a press release here that the ruling Congress party legislator N Dhanavelou had come out with 'serious allegations of corruption and malpractices' on the part of the Chief Minister and his ministerial colleagues proving that the government as a whole was steeped in corruption. Saminathan said Dhanavelou had also staged a protest rally in Bahoor recently highlighting the shortage of medicines and ambulances for poor patients in a Primary Health Centre (PHC). He said the government-owned undertakings like AFT Mill and other concerns were defunct what with serious losses they had suffered over the last few years. Saminathan said the charges Dhanavelou had made against his own party government are 'too serious to be ignored' and this only exposed lack of majority for the government. "The Chief Minister should prove his government's majority in the backdrop of the allegations of malpractices Dhanavelou had made," the BJP leader said. Dhanavelou had pointed out at a press meet here on Saturday that he would submit a detailed memorandum to the AICC bringing to its notice the 'corruption and malpractices derailing the administration.' He had also said the party high command was not aware of what is happening here and hence he would apprise the AICC leader Sonia Gandhi and the senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of the 'worst administration the people are now getting in Puducherry.' Dhanavelou had also said if Narayanasamy continued to be the Chief Minister, 'the Congress would face a serious downfall in the next Assembly polls due to be held here in 2021. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Thommen Jose By Walking into Hatu (settlement) Siallagan in Samosir Island, Indonesia, from the pier, the calm does strike you as a bit otherworldly. That you cross the Lake Toba, the worlds largest crater lake (nearly the size of Singapore), to reach here gives the place an extra edge. The serenading of tourists by our guide Mama Myrna singing old Hindi songs doesnt do much to shake things up. Siallagan, which forms a part of the heritage-rich Ambarita village, has preserved its traditions and culture of the ethnic Batak tribe of Indonesia. The people who live here are believed to be the direct descendants of the King of Batak. The hatu itself was built during the reign of the first king, Laga Siallagan. The remains today cover an area of 2,400 sq metres and are surrounded by a stone wall topped with bamboo spears for protection from wild animals and thieving, marauding enemies. Most residents are direct descendants of the first Siallagan king and the tombs of their ancestors can be found around the village. Ancestors are not just a matter of pride in Indonesia but prayed to for blessings and miracles. What strikes us upon entering the village are the pointed, tall, rubiginous house roofs. These are well-preserved residences of the Batak tradition. Most are used for display and demonstration of life in a bygone era. The Lake Toba surrounding the island of Samosir was a caldera, or the crater formed by the eruption of a super volcano 74,000 years ago. It was the most explosive eruption known to happen on earth the past 25 million years and is believed to have wiped out most of the humans alive. The biggest draw of Siallagan is the 200-year-old Batu Parsidangan (trial stone) which is two sets of large stones carved into chairs around a stone table. It means stones for meetings and trials and is located in the village square beneath a patulous Hariara tree considered sacred by the locals. The first set is an arrangement of chairs specifically intended for the king, queen, clan elders, important invitees and the datu or spiritual leader. The second is the same arrangement around a stone table that was used for executions. Next to the table was a longish slab. Each had its own purpose. Our guide tells us once a prisoner was sentenced to death, a calendar was consulted for a suitable date to carry out the execution. The site has replicas of every ancillary usedfrom the ancient scroll calendar to the dagger and the ceremonial sword. On the appointed day, the prisoner would be placed on the big slab at the centre of second stone set and stabbed multiple times to release any black magic powers he or she might possess. The Siallagan execution didnt end here. Afterward, the executioner would carry out his responsibility on the horizontal stone slab with a distinct groove. The headless prisoners heart was torn out and handed to the king. The execution area is, understandably, where the tourists get additionally curious and the locals loquacious. There was an incident a few years ago where a Spaniard began talking in the Batak language, capering around the beheading stone. Several Christian missionaries are believed to have lost their heads here. The one missionary who escaped was the German Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen. He had translated the first Batak Bible from German. He not only got to keep his head but was allowed to flourish as well. There are a few timber churches still standing in the region believed to be his legacy. A few minutes walking distance from Siallagan are Tomok and Tuk Tuk where the more familiar sights of tourism meet you. Hawkers try to ply you with batik shirts and ulos, sacred shawls, wayang and leather puppets and handcrafted gambus and model gamelans. Sprightly tykes beseech you to throw coins into the Toba which will be retrieved by them before you count to 10. History creeps into this little Indonesian settlement on the Toba Lake. 1.8k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) has agreed to co-sponsor Sen. Bernie Sanderss bill to block Trump from getting any money for an Iran war. In a joint statement provided to PoliticusUSA, Sens. Lee and Sanders (I-VT) said: As United States Senators, we often disagree on many issues. But standing up for the Constitution is not about partisanship. The Founding Fathers were absolutely clear. They wanted to ensure that our country avoided needless conflict and they understood that presidential war-making would be harmful to our democracy. That is why Article I of the Constitution vests Congressand only Congresswith the power to declare war and to direct government spending. The American peoples elected representatives have a duty to publicly debate and vote on military action before we send our brave servicemembers into harms way or spend a penny on military hostilities. Our billthe No War Against Iran Actutilizes Congresss power of the purse to block any funds from going to an unauthorized war with Iran. As our country faces the possibility of another devastating conflict in the Middle East that could cost countless lives and trillions of dollars, the Senate must vote on our legislation without delay. We are proud to have worked together in a bipartisan way to help end the disastrous, unauthorized U.S. war in Yemen, which has killed tens of thousands of innocent people over the past five years. Last year, for the first time in American history, the House and Senate passed our War Powers Resolution to end that horrific conflict. We are committed to doing everything in our power to work together once again and build bipartisan majorities in order to prevent an unconstitutional war with Iran. Speaker of the House Pelosi has already said that the House version of the bill will be voted on. The House version is likely to pass. Sen. Lee signaled after the administration briefed the Senate on the Soleimani strike by telling them not to debate Trumps war powers that he was open to supporting legislation to limit Trumps ability to launch a war with Iran. The odds of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell voluntarily bringing the bill to the floor for a vote are close to zero, so Democrats are going to need to force a vote. Sen. Lee is likely to not be the only Senate Republican to support this bill. The movement to check Trumps war powers is growing in Congress. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Notices regarding retaliation against a Staten Island teacher who once streamed a live video of himself exiled to a rubber room have been posted on public school bulletin boards and emailed to teachers who are United Federation of Teacher (UFT) members, according to a recent report. The New York Post reported Francesco Portelos -- a former teacher at Dreyfus Intermediate School (I.S. 49), Stapleton -- won a long battle to force the Department of Education (DOE) to notify UFT members that the education department cannot retaliate against Portelos if he questions school budgets or helps colleagues fight alleged workplace bullying. In 2012, he filed a complaint with the New York State Public Employee Relations Board, and in 2017, the board ruled in his favor and ordered the DOE to remove all disciplinary letters and negative observations it found in retaliation for his engaging in protected activity, according to the New York Post. The DOE defied the order to notify UFT members for nearly three years, the Post reported. A DOE spokeswoman told the Post that New York City is a union town and its proud to have strong unions representing school employees. The spokeswoman said the DOE is complying with the current court order that the Public Employee Relations Board notice be posted for 30 days and emailed to all teachers. In 2012, SILive.com reported that Portelos streamed a live video of himself whiling away the day in an empty DOE office while collecting his $75,000 annual salary after he was removed from his teaching position at Dreyfus Intermediate School. After his removal, Portelos blogged about his battle with the DOE, and was reassigned to an office in Ozone Park, Queens, for administrative duties while he awaited a hearing for disciplinary charges. He streamed a live video from his office, showing himself in an empty room that appeared to be a conference room, sitting alone at the end of a long table with his laptop computer. He told SILive.com at the time he was being punished for accusing then-I.S. 49 principal Linda Hill of breaking DOE rules by not sharing details of the schools budget with the panel of parents and staff required to review the figures. An internal investigation into Hills workplace timesheet found she repeatedly clocked in for overtime she didnt work, SILive.com reported in 2015. Trump warns Iran against 'massacre' as protests erupt Iranians protest to show their sympathy to victims of Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 in front of the Amir Kabir University in Teheran. Internet photo AFP : US President Donald Trump said Saturday the United States was monitoring Iranian demonstrations closely, warning against any new "massacre" as protests broke out after Tehran admitted to shooting down a passenger plane. Iran said earlier it unintentionally downed a Ukrainian jetliner outside Tehran, killing all 176 people aboard, in an abrupt about-turn after initially denying Western claims it was struck by a missile. The firing came shortly after Iran launched missiles at bases in Iraq housing American forces. President Hassan Rouhani said a military probe into the tragedy had found "missiles fired due to human error" brought down the Boeing 737, calling it an "unforgivable mistake." At a student protest to pay tribute to the crash victims on Saturday, Iranian authorities briefly detained Britain's ambassador, in what the British government called a violation of international law. He was later released. Trump told Iranians-in tweets in both English and Farsi-that he stands by them and is monitoring the demonstrations. "To the brave, long-suffering people of Iran: I've stood with you since the beginning of my Presidency, and my Administration will continue to stand with you," he tweeted. "There can not be another massacre of peaceful protesters, nor an internet shutdown. The world is watching," he added, apparently referring to an Iranian crackdown on street protests that broke out in November. "We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage," he said. The new demonstrations follow an Iranian crackdown on street protests that broke out in November. Amnesty International has said it left more than 300 people dead. Internet access was reportedly cut off in multiple Iranian provinces ahead of memorials planned a month after the protests. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has demanded that Iran provide "full clarity" on the downing of the plane. Ottawa says the dead included 57 Canadians. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also offered his condolences and ordered the armed forces to address "shortcomings" so that such a disaster does not happen again. Tehran's acknowledgement came after officials in Iran denied for days Western claims that the Ukraine International Airlines plane had been struck by a missile in a catastrophic error. The Kiev-bound jet slammed into a field shortly after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport on Wednesday. The crash came hours after Tehran launched missiles at bases hosting American forces in Iraq in response to the killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike. Fears grew of an all-out war between Iran and its arch-enemy the United States, but those concerns have subsided after Trump said Tehran appeared to be standing down after targeting the US bases. On Saturday evening, police dispersed students who had converged on Amir Kabir University in Tehran to pay tribute to the victims, after some among the hundreds gathered shouted "destructive" slogans, Fars news agency said. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said UK envoy Rob Macaire had been detained. "The arrest of our ambassador in Tehran without grounds or explanation is a flagrant violation of international law," Raab said in a statement. The US called on Iran to apologize. Iran's Tasnim News Agency, which is close to the country's conservatives, said the envoy had been "provoking radical acts" among students. He was released a few hours later and would be summoned again by Iranian officials on Sunday, it said. State television reported that students shouted "anti-regime" chants, while Fars reported that posters of Soleimani had been torn down. The aerospace commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards accepted full responsibility for Wednesday's accident. But Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said the missile operator acted independently, targeting the 737 after mistaking it for a "cruise missile". The operator failed to obtain approval from his superiors because of disruptions to a communications system, he said. "He had 10 seconds to decide. He could have decided to strike or not to strike and under such circumstances, he took the wrong decision." Iran had been under mounting international pressure to allow a "credible" investigation after video emerged appearing to show the moment the airliner was hit. In footage that the New York Times said it had verified, a fast-moving object is seen rising into the sky before a bright flash appears. Several seconds later, an explosion is heard. Iran's military said it had been at the highest level of alert after American "threats" and that the plane had turned and come close to a "sensitive" military site before it was targeted due to "human error." Rouhani said Iran had been on alert for possible US attacks after Soleimani's "martyrdom." Rouhani added he had ordered "all relevant bodies to take all necessary actions (to ensure) compensation" to the families of those killed. The majority of passengers on Flight PS752 were Iranians and Canadians, including dual nationals, while Ukrainians, Afghans, Britons and Swedes were also aboard. Rouhani told his Ukrainian counterpart Saturday that "all the persons involved in this air disaster will be brought to justice," Ukraine's presidency said. This 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. Even by the standards of Donald Trumps history of following bombastic threats with public or private backtracking, the reversal of the presidents threat to attack Iranian cultural sites in the aftermath of his assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani was jarring. To recap, when Iran threatened retaliation for Soleimanis killing, Trump tweeted that the US had targeted 52 Iranian sites some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, which would be HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD if Iran struck back. It was after Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo swatted down his threats by declaring that the US would, in fact, abide by the laws of war that Trump conceded to an astonished world, that If thats what the law is, I like to obey the law. Did the US president finally meet a law he does not feel comfortable breaking? Perhaps given his numerous international properties and business interests, he realised that committing indisputable war crimes would put a crimp in his post-presidential travel itinerary? Had the commander-in-chief bothered to read his own Defense Departments Law of War Manual, he might have noticed that the protection of cultural property is mentioned hundreds of times. Who and what deserves protection? For most of recorded history, the killing of non-combatants and destruction (and as often, looting) of cultural sites and treasures was a normal part of warfare. It was not until the American Civil War that the wanton targeting and/or mistreatment of civilians and the devastation of non-combat zones began to be explicitly prohibited during hostilities in the United States. Similar prohibitions were elaborated in numerous international conventions and statutes focusing on the protection of civilians, private and public property and, most recently, sites of historic and cultural importance, most famously the 1899 and 1907 Hague Conventions, the Nuremberg Principles, the Geneva Conventions and the statute of the International Criminal Court. But these regulations have all included important exceptions that excuse the killing of civilians and destruction of property if such actions are justifiable by military necessity a loophole literally big enough to fly a long-range bomber through, as evidenced by such mass atrocities as the Allied and Axis strategic bombing campaigns during World War II, including the Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the carpet bombing of much of Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. The ravages of the colonial era and World War II led to a series of international conventions, Security Council resolutions, and codes of military conduct to more explicitly protect cultural sites. The early 1950s also marked the moment when the world, or at least international institutions, began to take the protection of cultural and historic sites more seriously. In the 1960s, the threatened inundation of the major Ancient Egyptian sites of Abu Simbel as a result of the planned construction of the Aswan High Dam, led to the creation of the World Heritage Site as an officially recognised, protected and supported category of cultural and natural significance and the collection and disbursement of large sums of money from the world community towards that end. In 1972 the World Heritage Convention, administered by UNESCO and ultimately signed by the vast majority of the worlds states, was established to protect cultural and natural sites of outstanding universal value so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and to be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity. With such a legal regime in place, attacks on cultural sites, from the Serbian bombing of Dubrovnik in 1991 to the destruction of historic sites in Malis Timbuktu by armed groups in 2012-13, have been prosecuted as war crimes. In 2017, the Security Council, including the US, unanimously passed Resolution 2347 condemning the destruction of cultural and religious sites by ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda in Syria and Iraq, and calling for measures to protect them. Sadly, one year later, the US pulled out of UNESCO. The darker side of heritage It is hard for any humane person to argue with the importance of protecting World Heritage Sites, and we can only hope all these conventions, resolutions and laws continue to prevent Trump and other leaders from destroying any more of the worlds material and built heritage. But if we return to the event that led to the creation of the World Heritage list the building of the Aswan High Dam the darker side of this emphasis on protecting material, built and artistic culture and heritage becomes apparent. While the world came together to spend huge sums to disassemble, move and reconstruct Abu Simbel and Philae and created the political and financial infrastructure to protect other sites around the world, the tens of thousands of poor and marginalised Nubian Egyptians who lived for millennia in the area of the Nile flooded by the dam were unceremoniously driven from their homeland and are still suffering from the scars of their displacement and battling with the government to return. It is the focus on the art and artefacts produced by people rather than the people producing them which is once again striking with the latest (thankfully aborted) violence. The same military commanders who likely informed Trump they would not bomb Shiraz or Yazd had no problem reducing much of Iraqs infrastructure to rubble and engaging in an illegal war that has cost hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilian lives, or more recently supporting the wholesale destruction of Yemen by the Saudis (never mind Israels unending occupation or Egypts imprisonment and torture of an entire generation of its citizens). Similarly, world leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vocally objected to Trumps Iran threats. Yet they continue to do business with some of the worlds most repressive and even murderous regimes. And let us consider how much of Syrias culture President Bashar al-Assad destroyed with Soleimanis not to mention Russias help. Redefining culture to protect humanity As the great critic and novelist Raymond Williams explained in his seminal philosophical dictionary, Keywords, the root of culture lies in the Latin words cultura and colere, whose primary meanings were to inhabit, cultivate, protect, honour with worship. We see this original connotation in contemporary words like cultivate and colony, which are directly related to the English and French term culture that emerged in the 15th century. That is, from the start culture was a noun of process: the tending of something. Not long after the connotation of cultivation expanded to include the process of human development and education. It was only in the later 18th and then 19th centuries that culture became more of an abstract noun, a product of human activity rather than the activity itself. During this time, culture became associated (and confused) with civilisation, a far larger, more static and essentialised entity, as in the clash of civilisations thesis popularised by neocons like Bernard Lewis and Samuel Huntington and all the damage associated with it. If the kulturkrieg (cultural war) between the US and Iran and the tragic loss of life it has already produced are to have any positive consequence, it would be to remind us that threats to our greatest cultural achievements are even more so threats to the people without whom they could not exist, and who, as individuals and collectives, continue to create and perform culture anew, day in and day out. As can be confirmed by anyone lucky enough to visit Irans world heritage sites, spend time with ordinary Iranians of all stripes and experience the countrys vibrant contemporary culture including the culture of protest and dissent that remains unbowed a decade after the repression of the pro-democracy Green movement Iranians are not just tending to some ancient past, but equally cultivating a future that surely must be held common if humanity is to meet the herculean challenges it faces. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. White House national security adviser Robert O'Brien tells Axios that the Trump administration has "reached out to the North Koreans" to ask them to resume diplomacy that has been all but dead since October. Driving the news: O'Brien sat down with Axios at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Friday to talk about a range of national security challenges at the start of a new year. On the tense and dangerous situation with North Korea, O'Brien told us: "We've reached out to the North Koreans and let them know that we would like to continue the negotiations in Stockholm that were last undertaken in early October. with North Korea, O'Brien told us: "We've reached out to the North Koreans and let them know that we would like to continue the negotiations in Stockholm that were last undertaken in early October. "We've been letting them know, through various channels, that we would like to get those [negotiations] back on track and to implement Chairman Kim's commitment" to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. O'Brien also indicated he was cautiously optimistic about the fact that Kim Jong-un hasn't yet delivered his promised "Christmas gift" which many analysts expected would be a nuclear weapons test. Between the lines: It appears President Trump is again trying to lean on what he has described as his warm personal relationship with the brutal North Korean dictator. Trump recently sent a birthday message to Kim. But the North Koreans have already said Trump's courtship will not change their policy. So far, Trump's diplomacy has yielded little besides giving Kim more time to expand his nuclear arsenal, according to analysts tracking North Korea's supply of nuclear warheads. O'Brien's predecessor as national security adviser, John Bolton, recently told Axios the Trump administration is bluffing about stopping North Korea's nuclear ambitions and should prepare to admit publicly that its policy failed badly. O'Brien indicated he was hopeful about the implications of Kim's decision so far to refrain from firing off a nuclear test in the Christmas and new year period. Kim "promised to send a Christmas present," O'Brien said. "The president suggested he send him a vase. We didn't get a vase or any other sort of Christmas gift. That appears to be positive." "All we know is we were told we were going to get a Christmas gift and the Christmas gift didn't come. And so I think that was an encouraging sign. But, again, that doesn't mean we won't see some sort of test in the future," O'Brien added. The big picture: In four months in office, O'Brien has lived through fresh threats from North Korea, the killing of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani and the rolling crisis with Iran, the killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and Trump's controversial withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Turkish-Syrian border, abandoning America's Kurdish allies in the process. Over that short and intense period, O'Brien has built on what was already a close personal relationship he'd developed with Trump when he led hostage negotiations at the State Department, per officials familiar with their interactions. O'Brien singled out China as "the No. 1 geopolitical challenge to the United States." And he said the two "biggest threats" to America were from "peer competitors" China and Russia, in keeping with the Trump administration's national defense strategy. "The United States has never faced a peer competitor like China," O'Brien said. "Because of its population, because of its political system, because of its economy ... and because of its global ambitions and clear goal to dominate world trade and the world economy, China must be taken very seriously." "We have to be strong enough so that no one would dare challenge us militarily, including the PRC [People's Republic of China]." More from the interview: The developments come in the wake of cancellation of Bangladesh foreign minister A.K. Abdul Momens visit to New Delhi last month. New Delhi: Bangladeshs minister of state for foreign affairs Shahriar Alam has cancelled his proposed visit to New Delhi to attend the Raisina Dialogue conference, triggering speculation that the cancellation may be linked to Bangladeshs reported concerns on the recent Indian Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). How-ever, diplomatic sources from Bangladesh told this newspaper that Mr Alam had cancelled his visit because he will be accompanying Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on a visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The developments come in the wake of cancellation of Bangladesh foreign minister A.K. Abdul Momens visit to New Delhi last month. Mr Alam had been invited by the (private thinktank) ORF to attend the Raisina Dialogue and he had accepted the invite. But when he realised that he had to accompany the PM (Sheikh Hasina) to the UAE, he wrote to the ORF explaining why he could not attend, diplomatic sources from Bangladesh told this newspaper. The Raisina Dialogue is organised annually by the ORF and the MEA. India, nevertheless, appears to be struggling to contain the possible fallout of the CAA controversy on ties with Bangladesh and seems to be in a damage-control mode on this. Bangladesh is one of the three countries mentioned in the CAA. The MEA had pointed out last month that in Bangladesh, the governments of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman (Bangabandhu) and (his daughter and current Prime Minister) Sheikh Hasina had protected minorities in Bangladesh and that persecution had taken place under spells of military rule in Bangladesh and under the previous government there, a veiled reference to the earlier government led by Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief Begum Khaleda Zia, which was seen to be pro-Pakistan and anti-India. On ties with Bangladesh, the MEA had earlier said there is a close relationship between India and Bangladesh and that the close ties between the two should not be defined by postponement of a visit, a reference to the cancellation then of the visit of Bangladesh Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen. The MEA had also said then that a meeting of the Joint Water Commission between the two countries had only been postponed because Bangladesh felt it did not have the data from the six rivers. The MEA had claimed that too much should not be read into isolated incidents. - Actress Regina Daniels has given a shoutout to her friend Jaruma on social media - The actress thanked Jaruma in a social media post and said she loves her - Daniels gave the shoutout after Jaruma sent her mother, Rita, N1 million Regina Daniels, an actress, and wife of billionaire Ned Nwoko, has taken to social media to shower love on popular intimacy therapist, Jaruma. The actress shared a post on her Instagram story thanking Jaruma. The popular actress shared the photo of an alert she received on her banking app. The app had notified her that she just received N1 million. According to her, the N1 million was sent by Jaruma. She noted that Jaruma had sent the money as a gift for mother, Rita Daniels. PAY ATTENTION: Read best news on Nigeria's #1 news app In the post, Daniels thanked Jaruma for her gift to her mother. She also noted that she loves Jaruma and described her as a queen. PAY ATTENTION: Do you have news to share? Contact Legit.ng instantly It seems like the popular actress is on a world tour. On a recent post on her Instagram page, she revealed that she just left Germany and arrived in Paris the next morning. Daniels has also not left her fans out of her trips to different countries. She has been sharing photos from different places to update her fans. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that Jaruma came under fire over her statement about mother-in-laws. The intimacy therapist had said Davidos fiancee Chioma Rowland's life is not a living hell because she does not have a mother-in-law. While some agreed with Jaruma, others reminded her that she would one day become a mother-in-law. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better Who is Nigeria's most celebrated celebrity of 2019? - on Legit TV Source: Legit.ng When Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing's ousted chief, was summoned to Washington last month, he scarcely knew he was in for a dressing-down from the head of the Federal Aviation Administration. FAA chief Steve Dickson -- a former Delta Air Lines employee who in August took over the reins at the world's most influential aviation regulator -- had announced the day before that Boeing's 737 MAX would not return to the skies before 2020. The plane was grounded worldwide last March after two crashes in less than five months left 346 people dead. The meeting between the two men was tense, according to a US official. Muilenburg had promised airlines and investors the MAX would be back in the sky by December 2019. Ominously, he warned a delay could force a temporary halt to production, something that could inflict pain on the entire US economy. But Dickson was unswayed, telling Muilenburg to focus on fixing the MCAS anti-stall system implicated in the crashes. Strikingly, he also publicly accused Boeing of making statements "designed to force FAA into taking quicker action." The souring relations between the two men alarmed Boeing board members, including Larry Kellner, former head of Continental Airlines, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The board feared a complete breakdown in the crucial relationship with the FAA. Boeing needs the agency's support both to emerge from the unprecedented crisis, which has cost it billions of dollars, and also to certify the airworthiness of other jets like those in Boeing's long-haul 777x aircraft line. Ten days of talks followed. And on December 23 Muilenburg's unceremonious firing was announced in a terse Boeing statement that offered no thanks for his years of service. David Calhoun, chairman of Boeing's board, had finally dropped Muilenburg after having earlier assured him of his support in the face of blistering attacks from lawmakers and the victims' families. Adding insult to injury, Muilenburg was informed just hours before the announcement, according to a knowledgeable person. The bonds of trust between Boeing and the FAA had been fraying since October. That month, as lawmakers intensified a probe of the 737 MAX's certification, Dickson leveled explosive accusations against Boeing. He said the company had concealed important documents, including exchanges between employees, showing that the MCAS system, which was meant to prevent stalling, made piloting the aircraft difficult during simulator training. "I expect your explanation immediately regarding the content of this document and Boeing's delay in disclosing the document to its safety regulator," Dickson said in a letter. In the documents, former Boeing test pilot Mark Forkner boasted of easily convincing the FAA to approve the MCAS. Forkner told a colleague he was "Jedi mind tricking" regulators. And the FAA ultimately approved the MCAS software without in-depth scrutiny. Another episode further eroded trust between Dickson and Muilenburg. In early November, Muilenburg asked Dickson to authorize Boeing to resume deliveries of the 737 MAX -- which Boeing assembly plants were still producing at the time -- even before allowing the planes to return to service. Dickson agreed to consider the request, according to an FAA spokesperson. But six days later, before Dickson could respond, Boeing announced it had won approval to resume deliveries before the end of 2019. The FAA was dumbfounded and Dickson had to assure officials that he had not in fact buckled under pressure. "Relations between Boeing and the FAA sucked," said Scott Hamilton, an analyst at Leeham. Richard Aboulafia of Teal Group likewise told AFP that regulators have "lost confidence" in Boeing. Calhoun, a former top executive at General Electric who is due to take over at Boeing on Monday, hopes to repair relations and win permission for the 737 MAX to return to service. The manufacturer recently advised all MAX pilots to undergo simulator training before returning the jets back into the skies -- a concession from Boeing, which had said for years that such training was unnecessary. But the latest release of messages between Boeing employees ridiculing the FAA could make Calhoun's job even tougher. The MAX was "designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys," one message said in 2017. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Authorities here have started an evacuation process in three towns in the province of Batangas, following increased activity and a strong explosion in Taal Volcano that resulted in a half-mile high pillar of ash. According to Sputnik, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) recorded alarming activity and declared a level 3 alert. Magnetic unrest indicative of magma movement has been reported in the volcano, Sputnik reported. A volcanic tsunami is also likely in the region. The authorities while keeping the deteriorating situation in mind have already started the evacuation in the three towns of San Nicolas, Balete and Talisa, which have a combined population of more than 90,000 people. Manila's Ninoy Acquino International Airport (NAIA) is also temporarily suspended due to close proximity to the volcano. "Due to the suspension of flights in NAIA, due to the Taal Volcano eruption, all passengers are advised to coordinate with their respective airlines before proceeding to the airport," NAIA said in its official Facebook account. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Indian Government has given Chinese telecommunications equipment vendor Huawei Technologies the go-ahead to participate in the forthcoming trials of 5G networks. The CNBC-TV18 site quoted an unnamed senior official as saying the trials, which would be open to all wireless operators in the country, would be held this month. The report said the auction for 5G spectrum would be held before March, citing a statement from Telecommunications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. In September 2018, there were reports that Huawei and another Chinese firm, ZTE, had been banned from the trials. That report emerged a week or so after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis met Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi for a so-called India-US 2+2 Dialogue. On Tuesday, US President Donald Trumpthat a first-stage trade deal would be signed with China on 15 January, the first step in ending a long-running trade war that has seen the US ramp up its targeting of Huawei. The US campaign has been running for a number of years, trying to prevent the company from being signed up for 5G contracts in countries Washington considers allies. Thus far, apart from the US, only Australia has made a public statement about banning Huawei from participation in any 5G rollout. Japan and Poland have been reported to be taking a similar stance, but have not made a public statement to that effect as yet. The Trump administration placed Huawei and 68 of its affiliates on its Entity List on 16 May 2019, meaning that the company would have to seek permission to purchase any American components it needed to manufacture its products. On 21 May last year, the US Commerce Department eased some of the restrictions until August, allowing Huawei to maintain and update existing networks and handsets. The company has since been granted two more extensions. There have been reports recently that Huawei is assembling its latest smartphones with non-US technology. India is considered a US ally, but also has close ties to Russia and Iran, both now sworn enemies of Washington. The matter was a peculiar distraction from an otherwise momentous week in Albany, with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo delivering his annual State of the State speech and lawmakers fresh off a legislative session that many said was historic for the number of laws passed returning to the State Capitol. After word of the letter emerged, Mr. Sepulveda said that the effort amounted to extortion, even though it did not specify any demands or threats. All I would say is that I will never give in to extortionists, no matter if they are related to me by blood or not, he said in an interview on Thursday. This is clearly an attempt to extort, and its unfortunate that someone put that out there without speaking to us first, but I have to deal with the consequences. The allegations made against Mr. Sepulveda, who became a senator in April 2018 after nearly six years in the Assembly, were levied by his older brother, Jose Elias Sepulveda. The older brother was sentenced to life in prison in 1998 after being convicted of conspiracy to import and to possess with an intent to distribute 10,251 kilograms of marijuana, 206 kilograms of cocaine and hashish oil over a period of about 17 years, according to court documents. Christmas carols were ringing sweetly at Morningside of Orangeburg's senior living community right before the holiday, thanks to Edisto Primary School. Edisto Primary students serenaded residents of the assisted living facility in the early evening on Saturday, Dec. 21. School was out, but school staff, students and parents still had work to do. They found time to provide community service in the few remaining days before Christmas. We are here to celebrate each of you, our wonderful, loving and devoted senior citizens, and to educate our children about the importance of giving back, said Shannon Williams, early childhood special education teacher. Giving the gift of time to someone who cant repay you in material things can be so much more rewarding than a gift card or a present. Its a good lesson to teach our children, one which they will hold near and dear for many years to come. Jingle Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, and Joy to the World were sung to the residents with piano accompaniment. They were also graced with a passionate reading of Twas the Night Before Christmas. The 20 residents in attendance enthusiastically clapped their hands and sang along. Each of the residents received Christmas cards -- handmade by the students -- as well as a bag of edible goodies including bananas, pudding and apple sauce. Greta Murray -- teacher assistant, bus driver and grandmother of a student -- was glad to be part of it. My grandchildren experienced the love of sharing and love of giving. They also enjoyed singing the Christmas carols to the elderly. We had a wonderful time. On behalf of Edisto Primary School, we thank you for allowing us to bring some Christmas Joy to Morningside, said Dawn Whitesides, Edisto Primary administrator. The residents thanked the school for coming and invited them back. Contact the writer: ldhntr12@yahoo.com. Love 5 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Matthew Dingley (pictured), 28, was on a United Airlines flight when he allegedly attacked a flight attendant A United Airlines passenger was arrested for allegedly trying to storm the plane's cockpit door and brutally attacking a flight attendant while the pilot was preparing to land in New Jersey. Matthew Dingley, 28, was on a United Express flight from Dulles International Airport on January 9 that was about to touch down at the Newark Liberty International Airport when he started behaving erratically. According to passenger, Mike Egbert, Dingley ran to the cockpit and started hitting the door. 'This guy was in a full sprint, right up to the cockpit, hits the cockpit, starts banging on it,' Egbert told NBC New York. While the man was allegedly banging on the door, one of the pilots announced over the intercom: 'Alright 4965, just for your advise, we have an unruly passenger in the back. 'We'll monitor the situation, let you know if anything changes.' Egbert said Dingley then attacked a female flight attendant when she stepped in to try and calm him down. 'A slight woman, petite, and this guy was clocking her,' Egbert told the news outlet. According to passenger, Mike Egbert (pictured), Dingley ran to the cockpit and started hitting the door. 'This guy was in a full sprint, right up to the cockpit, hits the cockpit, starts banging on it,' Egbert said Egbert said Dingley then attacked a female flight attendant when she stepped in to try and calm him down. A short time later, the plane landed at the Newark airport (file image) and police officers met the aircraft on the tarmac. He then allegedly injured six police officers Within a matter of moments, several other passengers, including Egbert, intervened. A short time later, the plane landed at the Newark airport and police officers met the aircraft on the tarmac. Port Authority Police told NBC that Dingley charged at officers when they attempted to arrest him. One of the officers fell down the plane's stairs and broke four ribs. This isn't the first time Dingley has been arrested. Online records show that he was taken into custody in 2016 (left) after leading police officers on a chase in North Carolina. He was also found guilty of a DWI in New York in 2017 (right) Egbert said Dingley was seen picking up a police officer and throwing the cop. 'If he did actually get into that cockpit lord knows what would have happened,' Egbert told NBC. A total of six officers were injured before Dingley was taken into custody. According to NBC, the flight attendant was hospitalized but she has since been released from the facility. Dingley, whose mugshot shows bruising and scratches on his face, is facing multiple charges that include aggravated assault and resisting arrest. This isn't the first time Dingley has been arrested. Online records show that he was taken into custody in 2016 after leading police officers on a chase in North Carolina. He was also found guilty of a DWI in New York in 2017. Journalists say they have been increasingly under attack since wave of anti-government protests began in October. Basra, Iraq Dozens of journalists in Iraqs southern city of Basra have launched a campaign to highlight the dangers they face following the murder of two reporters amid continuing anti-government protests. Ahmad Abdelsamad, a 39-year-old correspondent for local television station Dijla, and his cameraman Safaa Ghali, 37, were killed near a police station late on Friday in Basra. A group of armed men in a 44 vehicle approached their car and opened fire, according to witnesses. Shihab Ahmed, a Basra-based journalist, told Al Jazeera there was a growing sense of fear among journalists in the city and across Iraq, where at least five journalists have been killed since protests began in October. More: We started a social media campaign to encourage all journalists to boycott security officials and government representatives until a thorough investigation into the killings is complete, said Ahmed, referring to a campaign called I Am Next. This [killing of the two reporters] wasnt a one-off incident. Journalists have been and will continue to be targeted to silence them, Ahmed told Al Jazeera. Ahmed Abdelsamad reporting on the Basra protests before his death [File: Azhar Al-Rubaie/Al Jazeera] Amid calls to join the campaign, the Iraqi Ministry of Interior invited journalists to a conference in Basra on Sunday to discuss the citys security situation and the killings. But journalists refused to attend, forcing the authorities to cancel the event. 200108194618643 We boycotted the conference because there is no use in attending. They will not share details or information about the incident, so why should we attend, explained Ahmed. Like Ahmed, 25-year-old Maher Kareem told Al Jazeera he boycotted the event because the identity of Abdelsamad and Ghalis killers had not been revealed. All of Basras journalists refused to attend the conference and we will continue to boycott [the authorities] until we know who killed them [Abdelsamad and Ghali], Kareem told Al Jazeera. I fear for my life. Today it was Safaa and Ahmed. Tomorrow it might be me, he added. Nationwide calls Following the incident, Khalid Muhanna, spokesman for Iraqs Ministry of Interior, told Al Jazeera that an investigation into Fridays killings was under way. We condemn the assassination of the two journalists, Safaa and Ahmed, and have ordered an investigation into the incident. We must bring the perpetrators to justice, said Muhanna. But journalists across the country said more needed to be done. The targeting of journalists has had a deep impact on press freedoms and freedom of expression in Iraq, said Ibrahim Al-Sarraj, head of Iraqi Journalists Rights Defense Association (IJRDA), based in capital Baghdad. A transparent investigation into these crimes is only a first step towards preventing further violence against us, he said. I fear for my life. Today it was Safaa and Ahmed. Tomorrow it might be me. Maher Kareem, Iraqi journalist In a show of solidarity with Abdelsamad and Ghali, a group of journalists in Baghdad on Saturday held a vigil near the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate building to mourn the death of the two reporters. We are here in solidarity with our colleagues Safaa and Ahmed and to express our sincere condolences and rejection of what has happened to them, said Laith Natiq. We condemn the violation of press freedoms in Iraq and the way [armed groups] are trying to keep us silent, he said, Natiq said although it was unclear who was behind the killings, he suspected they were groups who want to keep the journalists silent. In its 2019 annual report, Iraqs National Association of Journalists documented 118 cases of assault against journalists, including electrocution, battery, suffocation and the use of tear gas. The report said journalists were facing unprecedented repression as a result of their coverage of mass anti-government demonstrations which began in early October. Another report by Reporters Without Borders in December said three journalists have been killed in Iraq since the protests erupted. After protests spread across Baghdad and in Iraqs mainly Shia south, activists reported a growing number of assassinations, kidnappings and threats, which they believe was aimed to intimidate them and prevent them from attending the demonstrations. More than 470 people have been killed in the past three months, including about a dozen activists. Mourners blame armed groups Following the killings, hundreds of mourners marched through Basra on Saturday, carrying symbolic coffins and calling on the authorities to investigate the incident. Many of them told Al Jazeera they believed that Abdelsamad and Ghali, who had spent long hours reporting on the protest movement in Basra, were killed because they had called out armed groups attacking the demonstrators. Ahmed and Safaa were among the few with no agenda when reporting on the demonstrations, a protester at the funeral processions told Al Jazeera. The armed groups that wanted to silence them are behind this. 200103122412024 Ahmed Riyadh, a close friend of Abdelsamad and Ghali, agreed that the reporters were killed because of their work. I was shocked once I received the news of their assassination. I think the video Ahmed posted a few days before he was killed was behind his death, he added, referring to a video in which Abdelsamad criticised the role of armed groups in Basra. In another widely-circulated video which Abdelsamad posted minutes before his death, the reporter implied that Iran-backed armed groups in Basra were behind the campaign of arbitrary arrests against activists and protesters. How come there were no arrests when they protested against America? Abdelsamad asked in the video, referring to crowds of mostly Iran-backed Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation Forces or PMF) supporters and members who stormed the US embassy in Baghdad last month. According to a statement by the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory, Abdessamad had sent in a video testimony about threats he received from militias because of his criticism of Iran in his coverage two weeks before his death. Azhar Al-Rubaei reported from Basra, Arwa Ibrahim from Doha. Queen Elizabeth II will host a showdown meeting with Prince Harry on Monday in an attempt to solve the crisis triggered by his bombshell announcement that he and wife Meghan were stepping back from the royal frontline. (Photo: Kensington Royal) London: Queen Elizabeth II will host a showdown meeting with Prince Harry on Monday in an attempt to solve the crisis triggered by his bombshell announcement that he and wife Meghan were stepping back from the royal frontline. Other senior royals including Harry's father Prince Charles and brother Prince William, with whom he has strained relations, will join the monarch at her private Sandringham estate in eastern England, according to British media. Meghan will join the meeting via conference call from Canada as they attempt to work out the "next steps" towards a compromise and nip the growing crisis in the bud. Issues up for debate include how much money the couple will still receive from Charles's estate, their HRH titles and what commercial deals they can strike, according to the Sunday Times. Harry, Meghan and son Archie spent Christmas in Canada, with the US former actress returning there this week. The Queen on Thursday demanded that staff work with the couple to urgently find a "workable solution" that would take into account their demands for more freedom. Several Canadian media reported Meghan had returned to Vancouver island off the country's Pacific coast, where the family spent the year-end holidays and where baby Archie had remained with his nanny. Senior royals were caught off guard by Wednesday's announcement that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex wanted to seek a "progressive new role" and divide their time between Britain and North America. The Queen's office issued a terse statement the same evening, saying there were "complicated issues that will take time to work through". Harry and Meghan said they intended to continue to "fully support" the queen and "collaborate" with senior royals. They also want to keep their home on the queen's Windsor Castle estate as their British base, while aiming to become financially independent. The younger prince, who has struggled with his role, last year revealed he has been growing apart from his brother, who as second in line to the throne is increasingly pursuing a different path. Harry has been open about his mental health issues and he 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 also lashed out at negative news coverage, some of which Harry says was racist -- in light of Meghan's biracial heritage. A volcano on a southwestern Japan island erupted Saturday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, with no immediate reports of injuries. Rocks were thrown about 300 meters from the crater of Mt. Shintake on Kuchinoerabu Island in Kagoshima Prefecture following the eruption around 3:05 p.m., the agency said, adding it had not confirmed any pyroclastic flow. No evacuation order was issued. As of the end of last month, 100 people were registered as residents on the 36-square-kilometer island. It was the first eruption on the island since Feb. 2 last year. The agency maintained the alert level for the volcano at 3 on a scale of 5, which asks climbers to refrain from scaling the mountain, after raising the level from 2 in October following a major earthquake. Several bandits laid ambush where they killed an officer of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) in a gun battle at Birnin Gwari Local Government Area. It was gathered that the bandits laid ambush for security operatives at Unguwan Yako Village along the Kaduna-Birnin Gwari Road who ran into the gang. They were said to have also set two NAF patrol vehicles ablaze during an attack on Thursday. NAFs Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, had confirmed the incident in a statement. He identified the slain airman as Aircraftman Mukhtar Ibrahim, adding that the incident involved troops of the 271 Nigerian Air Force Detachment, Birnin Gwari. Daramola explained that troops foiled an ambush set up by over 70 armed bandits at Ungwan Yako along the Kaduna-Birnin Gwari Road on Thursday. He added that the security operatives were able to fight their way through the ambush to the side of Birnin Gwari, killing several bandits in the process. Unfortunately, the NAF spokesman said Ibrahim was killed during an exchange of gunfire while some personnel sustained varying degrees of injury. He announced that the fallen hero would be buried on Saturday, in accordance with Islamic rites while the injured personnel were receiving treatment at the NAF Hospital in Kaduna. PV: 0 TSB chief executive Debbie Crosbie has told her staff she expects Boris Johnson's administration to usher in a new, 'more sympathetic' era for business and banks, according to an internal report leaked to The Mail on Sunday. The bank chief said the Prime Minister's clear General Election victory was a 'good outcome' for the financial services sector and would have a 'settling effect' on the British economy. Crosbie, who sits on a top committee of the powerful CBI lobby group, circulated the comments internally. TSB boss Debbie Crosbie said Boris clear election victory was a 'good outcome' for banks The glowing appraisal of the prospects for financial institutions will be regarded as among the first candid assessments of the new Government as businesses and City institutions pore over its initial signals to second-guess its plans. Last week, Chancellor Sajid Javid a former banker at Deutsche Bank promised a 100billion 'infrastructure revolution in our great country'. He said: 'In the Budget [on March 11] we will be setting out how we are going to take advantage of all the huge opportunities that Brexit will bring.' Crosbie's comments will be warmly received by the banking industry and by investors keen to see financial institutions given a lift. There have been hopes that the Government would axe City regulation and signal the end of banker-bashing. But the sentiment is unlikely to be shared by those who have been on the sharp end of bank malpractice or by campaigners who may interpret such a sea change as banks being let off the hook. Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake said: 'If regulations are unwarranted they should be reviewed. But I think most of us, after what we've been through over the last ten years, will have great concerns about a lighter-touch regulatory system. 'I think we're still a long way especially in terms of a business banking relationship from having a level playing field between customers and the banks.' Crosbie's comments will be warmly received by the banking industry but not by those who have been on the sharp end of bank malpractice or by campaigners Crosbie said: 'I think that for people in financial services institutions, we should think that it's probably a good [General Election] outcome.' She said the 'agenda set out' by the new Government 'does suggest that they're going to think much more sympathetically about a more considered view of regulation, particularly for mid-tier banks'. The 'Big Six' banks, with about 1.8trillion of assets, are Lloyds, Barclays, RBS, HSBC, Nationwide and Santander. The mid-tier banks comprise 14 lenders, including The Co-operative Bank, Metro Bank, Tesco, TSB, Virgin Money and Yorkshire Building Society. Crosbie said: 'I'm going to be very actively trying to make sure that everything we can do to influence the agenda, to make it easier for us to provide good services to our customers, we put at the forefront.' Despite once reportedly being caught uttering the words 'f*** business', many assume Johnson will reverse the slide into anti-business sentiment initially embraced by his predecessor, Theresa May. TSB denied speculation it was considering a fresh wave of job cuts to help save 100million During the Tory leadership campaign, Johnson said he 'actually stuck up for the bankers' after the financial crisis. He said: 'I defended them day in, day out, from those who wanted to hang them from the nearest lamppost.' Crosbie was hired to lead TSB's turnaround following its IT meltdown in 2018. The bank is targeting struggling families as it shifts its focus away from wealthier customers. Sources said it may lose some of those customers many of whom TSB inherited from the former Cheltenham & Gloucester Building Society due to branch closures. Separately last night, TSB denied speculation it was considering a fresh wave of job cuts to help save 100million. Sources said staff feared hundreds of central office job cuts could be announced as soon as April. They said the wave of cost-cutting may also impact TSB sites in Keypoint, Bristol, and Barnwood, Gloucestershire. But TSB said: 'We have no plans to close those sites.' There is almost nothing that illustrates the profound idiocies of the age quite like the amazing case of Greta Thunberg. Whatever happens in her efforts to draw attention to the issue of climate change is now secondary to her achievement in illustrating why there's an issue in the first place. Last week Australia was on fire - indeed Australia has been on fire for some time, and will be on fire for a while yet. That's Australia - on fire. So naturally you'd expect to hear Greta Thunberg getting "the mention" in relation to this, some acknowledgement that Greta Thunberg might have a point there, all the same. And indeed there were mentions of Thunberg on programmes such as Morning Ireland last week, except they were not related to her apparent prescience, now that Australia is on fire. No, it was all about Ricky Gervais quipping bad-naturedly at the Golden Globes that the movie stars in the room "probably spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg". Now this was not a good joke by the otherwise excellent Gervais. It was poor from him, not on grounds of taste or decency or any of that, it was just a bog-standard line that seemed to be coming from what I would call the 'Teletubbies' school of humour and commentary. This emerged from the popular children's programme Teletubbies, and the fact that everybody seemed to find the mere mention of the word 'Teletubbies' to be amusing in itself - regardless of whether any other part of the line was funny, as long as you threw in 'Teletubbies' at the end, you'd get your laugh. So it is with 'Greta Thunberg' - even with Australia on fire (did I mention Australia?), her name has now assumed this role in our culture as a handy punchline for hacks and funnymen having an off-day. Which is not unusual in most cases, but in this case, it is uncovering a truly stunning level of wrong-headedness. As we know, there is this dark area in which an addiction to the bleeding obvious can make you blind, and it's happening on a grand scale with the Greta-sceptics. Old men old men and old women, and old farts of every kind, from Trump himself to Piers Morgan to some of the "bad boys of Brexit" and down-to-earth no-nonsense types with names like Julia Hartley-Brewer, have been giving Greta the benefit of their wisdom - which they seem to believe is self-evidently superior to hers. Weirdly, both Trump and Ryan Tubridy suggested that she should "watch a movie", to help her get back to the normal concerns of a 17-year-old. Though it must be said that Tubridy was coming from a considerably better place than Trump, who was also maddened that she had beaten him to the front cover of Time as their Person of the Year. Much of the antagonism towards Thunberg is plain hackery, by the sort of "conservatives" who also seem to find the whole concept of veganism to be darkly hilarious - apparently learning nothing from the late Sean Hughes, who in the latter part of his career had a riff about vegans that was quite unfunny. And Sean Hughes, on the whole, was brilliant. These old farts aren't even half-decent, yet they spew out their scorn anyway, sometimes adding a touch of fake "maturity" by adopting the position that poor Greta is more to be pitied than blamed. And they might have a point there, if Greta was all wrong about this climate change thing - yes, you could feel sorry for her then. But she's not wrong, she's right. She's right and they're wrong, but somehow they don't care about that, even as Australia is on fire. Which is where we see a broader pattern in all this unpleasantness. Being objectively wrong about very big things can get you a long way these days. As we can see from the far-right nationalist movements which are now governing the UK and the USA, an inability or a simple refusal to engage with the concept of factual accuracy can give you a great advantage. Interestingly in Australia they recently elected a prime minister, Scott Morrison, who is now utterly despised as so many "conservatives" will eventually be despised, for his refusal to engage with the truth. But it's too late now - and it's too late now in the UK, where the Tories were so deeply impressed by Morrison's campaign, they hired the digital wizards who made it happen for him. For them, Thunberg is just another voice annoying them, as they cling to their geriatric prejudices - like the EU, they wish she would just go away and leave them alone. While they disparage her as a little girl who can't control her emotions, it is they who are driven by rage and unreason and a refusal to do their homework. Like some sad old geezer who is set in his ways, to them every progressive voice sounds like "nagging". Maybe they should chill out, and go to the movies. And never come out again. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Sri Lanka next week during which the two countries will discuss matters related to bilateral ties, according to an official statement. Wang will arrive in Colombo on Tuesday and meet President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his counterpart Dinesh Gunawardena during his visit to the island nation, the ministry of foreign relations said in a statement. Wang will become the second foreign minister to visit Colombo after Mahinda Rajapaksa was appointed as the Prime Minister, days after his younger brother Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was elected president in the November 16 presidential election. India's Foreign Minister S Jaishankar was the first foreign dignitary to meet the Rajapaksas in Colombo after the election. The Chinese foreign minister's visit came ahead of Mahinda Rajapaksa's own visit to Delhi. Mahinda Rajapaksa will visit India early next month and hold talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, according to media reports. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The 36-year old Ugandan woman who already has 44 children has been banned from getting pregnant as a result of her complicating health conditions. Mariam Nabatanzi was just 12 years old when she got married to a 40-year-old man. She gave birth to twins the following year. But due to a genetic condition that led her to having unusually large ovaries that produced multiple eggs per cycle, Mariam had plenty of babies per pregnancy. She gave birth to a total of six sets of twins, four sets of triplets, and five sets of quadruplets. All in all, she had 15 pregnancies, all with multiple births that resulted to a total of 44 babies. She lost six babies in childbirth but had to take care of the rest of her 38 children. Doctors are said to have banned Mariam from getting pregnant again, even though shes still 36 years old. After all, a healthy woman like her could still get pregnant with more kids and she might have over 100 kids if they dont help her out! Acknowledging that the ban is for her own good, Mariam actually felt happy that she is finally free. She admitted that she had asked doctors to help her out after the first few pregnancies, but she was told that birth control pills might actually lead to other health complications because of her genetic condition. Right now, Mariam struggles to raise her big brood after her husband left when the doctors cut her ovaries. Perhaps the husband still wanted more kids! Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates 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. The sultanate of Oman, positioned geographically and diplomatically between the rival powers of Iran and Saudi Arabia, earned outsize influence under the long reign of the late Sultan Qaboos. As the health of the royal ruler declined, and speculation turned to who would succeed him in the absence of an heir, there were questions over the future of Oman and its role as a valued mediator in a troubled region. However, with the passing on Friday of the 79-year-old sultan and the swift appointment of like-minded cousin Haitham bin Tariq as his successor, observers say Oman appears on track to retain its treasured status as a neutral peacemaker. To do so though, the new sultan will need to navigate tricky geopolitical terrain as well as address economic challenges facing his own country. During his half-century reign, Sultan Qaboos thoroughly modernised his country, but also forged a broader role as a go-between in regional and international crises. In the high-stakes Iran nuclear crisis, Oman played a discreet role in dialogue between Tehran and Washington, leading to the 2015 deal involving Western powers, which three years later was unilaterally abandoned by US President Donald Trump. In his first speech on Saturday, the new sultan pledged to follow in the footsteps of his influential predecessor. He expressed support for "our country's foreign policy of peaceful living among nations and peoples... and not interfering in the internal affairs of others". And he said that Oman would continue to "promote peaceful solutions" to regional and global crises. Sultan Qaboos was unmarried and had no apparent heir, meaning that the succession was decided in a meeting of the royal family who opted to open a sealed letter Qaboos had prepared, detailing his preference. The speed of the transition is seen as a sign that 65-year-old Haitham has the backing he will need to steer the country and maintain its diplomatic standing. "The sultanate of Oman will no doubt continue to follow the same policy, from which it has benefited so much," said Bader al-Saif, an assistant professor at the University of Kuwait and an associate researcher at the Carnegie Middle East Center. The royal family's prompt announcement is a "message to its citizens and neighbours to say that the situation is under control". Apart from guiding Oman's foreign policy, Haitham also faces the task of rolling out "Vision 2040", a roadmap for social and economic reforms designed to address high deficits, international debt and youth unemployment. "The best guarantor of Oman's neutrality will be a successful economic restructuring that draws upon its people and avoids too much reliance on any other power," said Kristin Diwan of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. Sultan Qaboos, slight in stature but usually resplendent in sumptuous robes and colourful turbans, was synonymous with Oman's international profile and many of the tributes since his passing have struck a warm and personal note. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who visited Muscat Sunday to pay his respects, recalled a meeting with Qaboos where he was "struck by his commitment to peace and understanding between nations and between faiths". Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Saturday in a tweet -- notably written in Arabic -- that his death was a "loss for the region". Along with Zarif and Johnson, a ceremony on Sunday at Muscat's Alam Palace drew figures from across political divides in the Middle East, including Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. The new sultan also welcomed Britain's Prince Charles, former French leader Nicolas Sarkozy and Tunisian President Kais Saied, among others. But observers say that despite his personal profile, Oman's diplomatic expertise and its willingness to provide a discreet venue for delicate negotiations, goes well beyond Qaboos. In a region where the push and pull between Iran and Saudi Arabia is constant, analysts say it is also in Oman's own interests to signal the transition does not present an opportunity for one of the powers to pull it to its side. The new sultan has an "interest to present himself as someone who is going to... continue the legacy of a leader, such as Qaboos, who was considered to be successful," said Sanam Vakil from the London-based Chatham House think tank. "The message of continuity is very important because Oman faces economic vulnerabilities as well as challenges within the (Gulf) with anxieties about the past few years, where we've seen a very assertive Emirati and Saudi foreign policy." The new sultan takes power at a time when aggressive foreign policy, which has seen Saudi and its ally the United Arab Emirates embroiled in a grinding five-year conflict in Yemen, is showing signs of dialling back. Oman refrained from joining the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen, and leveraged that neutrality to mediate the release of foreign hostages. It also remained neutral in the damaging blockade against Qatar mounted by Saudi Arabia and allies that saw diplomatic and transport ties cut in June 2017. "There is a strong rationale for balance and neutrality, rooted in its geography looking toward the Arabian Sea and history of independence from Gulf neighbours," Diwan said. "The new leadership will draw strongly upon Sultan Qaboos' authority as it looks to navigate the difficult regional conflicts and economic challenges. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Noted tribal leader and former Lok Sabha member Maurice Kujur died at a hospital here on Sunday following prolonged illness. He was 84. Kujur was undergoing treatment at a private hospital where he breathed his last in the early hours, family sources said. Born in November, 1935 at Belmunda village in Sundargarh district, Kujur won the Sundargarh parliamentary constituency as a Congress candidate in 1984. He also worked as chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes from 2008 to 2011. A host of dignitaries including Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik have condoled his death. "I am deeply saddened over the demise of former Sundargarh MP Maurice Kujur. I convey my sympathies to the bereaved family," the chief minister said in a message. Odisha Congress chief Niranjan Patnaik also expressed profound grief over Kujur's death. "My deepest condolences on the demise of eminent Congress leader & former MP of Sundergarh, Shri Maurice Kujur. He will be remembered for the decades of public service he gave to India. May his soul rest in peace," Patnaik said. Closely associated with several organisations, Kujur had made constant efforts to improve the social status of tribals. (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 Christopher Palmeri (Bloomberg) Sun, January 12, 2020 21:05 729 48be62e941b44f04afae568c321dabf2 2 News Star-Wars,Florida,california,Rise-of-the-Resistance,Walt-Disney-Co Free Walt Disney Co.s Rise of the Resistance ride in Orlando, Florida, has been operating at capacity since its opening last month, suggesting the companys new $1 billion Star Wars lands are a hit with fans after a slow opening. The worlds largest theme-park operator said Friday it will introduce a virtual-queuing system, like the one its using in Florida, for the California version of the ride, which opens Jan. 17 at Disneyland in Anaheim. At Disneys Hollywood Studios in Florida, the waitlist has been filling up within minutes of the parks opening, according to LaughingPlace.com, which tracks attendance. Its off the charts in terms of utilization and expectations, said Dennis Speigel, founder of consultant International Theme Park Services Inc. in Cincinnati. Rise of the Resistance is the second of the two rides at Disneys Star Wars: Galaxys Edge themed lands, which opened last year to lower-than-expected crowds initially. The park additions were the largest the company has ever built, but attendance was flat last year at Disneys domestic resorts. Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger told investors last year that guests may have been turned off by fears of crowds or were waiting until the second ride was open. Read also: Disney's newest 18-minute Star Wars attraction opens at Disney World Resort Florida High tech Rise of the Resistance is one of the longest and most technologically advanced rides Disney has created. Guests board a space transport, which is captured by the evil empire. Live and animatronic characters enhance the experience, which also relies on trackless vehicles for their escape. The virtual queue is aimed at eliminating long lines inside the park. Guests use an app to reserve a spot upon entering the park. Theyre then assigned a time to go on the ride. Disney said the technology allows guests to eat, shop or go see other attractions in the park. Fans have been sharing tips online for scoring a place in line, including getting to the park as early as 5:30 a.m. and using multiple phones to get a spot. Disney has been opening Hollywood Studios to the general public at 7 a.m., two hours earlier than its other Florida parks. BlogMickey.com, a website with tips for guests, suggests turning up an hour earlier to secure a spot. Disney took extraordinary steps to control crowds when Galaxys Edge first opened at Disneyland last May, including limiting annual passholder visits. This week, however it introduced discounts for Southern California residents, an annual promotion, but one that suggests the company is confident it can handle the crowds. Now its pedal to the metal, all out, Speigel said. Farmers making more profits by broccoli farming in Manirampur Benapole Correspondent : The farming of broccoli is gaining popularity among farmers in Manirampur upazila of Jashore district as they found it more profitable than conventional vegetables. Farmers are showing more interest in the broccoli cultivation due the high demand of the green vegetable as well as good price. Besides, it is less susceptible to pest attacks. The winter vegetable not only tastes delicious but also has many health benefits. According to nutritionists, broccoli is useful for fighting cancer, diabetics, heart disease, high blood pressure and reducing the cholesterol level in a human body. Farmers of Rohita, Mashimnagar, Jhapa and Chaluahati unions in the upazila have brought their land under the broccoli cultivation and they are earning a good profit. Talking to this correspondent, they said they spent Tk 15,000 to cultivate broccoli on one bigha of land and they are earning a profit of Tk 35,000 from each bigha. The demand of this winter vegetable is higher than other vegetables and it is being supplied to Dhaka, Chattogram and other northern parts of the country, they said. The broccoli was first cultivated at Palashi village in the upazila in 2016 as a private organisation named 'Safal' took the initiative to produce the vegetable. First, Pradip, a resident of the village, brought his land under the broccoli cultivation with the assistance of 'Safal' and achieved success. Being encouraged by Pradip's success, many more farmers, including Ratan Biswas, Srinibash, Swapan Mondal, Mizanur Rahman and Abdur Razzque, have brought a total of 9 bighas of land under the broccoli cultivation this year. Pradip Biswas said, "I've brought my land under broccoli cultivation. I used vermin compost fertiliser and I didn't apply any pesticide in my land. I also produced the saplings of broccoli and supplied those to other farmers." At the beginning, broccoli was sold at Tk 70-80 per kg and this year, one kg of broccoli is being sold at Tk 60. Al-Amin Hossain, local field organiser of 'Safal', said farmers brought 5-10 decimals of land under broccoli cultivation last season but 9 bighas of land have been cultivated in the current season. Hirak Kumar Sarkar, upazila agriculture officer of Manirampur, said broccoli contains nutrition and it helps reduce high blood pressure and the cholesterol level in a human body and fights other diseases. In the winter season, it can be cultivated twice on the same land, he said. A high-level delegation of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), led by President Sukhbir Singh Badal, on Sunday urged Home Minister Amit Shah to constitute a level celebrations' committee to commemorate the 400th birth anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur in a befitting manner. According to a press release, apprising Shah about the solemn and sacred anniversary of Guru Teg Bahadur, which is being celebrated as a year-long event by the Sikh community across the world, Badal requested that the Union government constitute a level celebrations' committee to organize this event in a most befitting manner to give an appropriate tribute to the Guru. The SAD delegation also urged the Shah to set up a Integration Memorial in New Delhi in the memory of the Guru, while also requesting him to announce a national holiday on this pious occasion. "Guru Teg Bahadur laid down his life in the fight against religious bigotry, sectarian hatred and violence," said the delegation, adding that Guru Sahib came to the defense of helpless Kashmiri Pandits who were facing forcible religious conversions. The delegation, comprising the senior SAD leadership, presidents of SGPC, DSGMC and heads of Takhat Sri Hazoor Sahib and Takht Sri Patna Sahib also requested Shah to intervene and expedite the matter of clemency of Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana with the competent authority to commute the death penalty awarded to him and ensure his release from prison at the earliest. Taking up the issue of Bhai Rajoana with the union minister, the SAD delegation informed that Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana had already undergone 24 years of imprisonment without any parole. The SAD President also took up the issue of denial of permission to the SGPC delegation to visit Nankana Sahib to assess the ground situation after the recent attack on Gurdwara Janam Asthan as well as the targeting of members of the Sikh community. Badal urged Shah to take up the issue with the Pakistan authorities and also ask the Pakistan government to take concrete steps to ensure the safety and security of members of the Sikh community as well as other minorities in Pakistan. Other members of the delegation included S Gobind Singh Longowal, S Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Naresh Gujral, Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra and more. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (CNN) United States troops at the Al-Asad air base in Iraq were aware that an Iranian attack was imminent, allowing them to take shelter two-and-a-half-hours before missiles struck on Wednesday, CNN has been told during an exclusive tour of the devastated site. Most troops were either flown out of the base or sheltering in bunkers by 11:00 p.m. local time Tuesday shortly before the first of four volleys of missiles began at just after 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday, officers said during the first tour by journalists of the air base. The attack lasted around two hours, only targeting the US areas of the air base, which comprise around a quarter of the Iraqi base. Officers called it a "miracle" that there were no casualties at the blasted site, with missiles landing just a few meters from bunkers, and some essential personnel remaining outside throughout. It is the first time troops at the base have spoken in detail of the moments before the attack, revealing that they were able to seek shelter in bunkers shortly before missiles struck. US troops knew there was going to be an attack on their base -- they just didn't know what the nature of the attack would be. The Iranian attack on the Al-Asad airbase was one of two on Iraqi military bases housing US troops on Wednesday. The attacks were in retaliation for a drone strike at a Baghdad airport that killed Iran's most powerful military commander, Qasem Soleimani, earlier in the week. President Donald Trump said Soleimani was plotting "imminent and sinister attacks" on Americans, though he has been unable to offer a time frame on when this would be. Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi previously said Iran sent Iraq an official verbal message that an attack "had begun or would begin shortly," on unspecified US military locations. An Arab diplomatic source also told CNN that Iraq gave advance warning to the US on "which bases would be hit" after Iranian officials passed on the information. The first strike hit at 1:34 a.m. and after a brief pause of around 15 minutes, the next volley began. Two more volleys of missiles followed over the next two hours. At dawn, officers finally emerged from bunkers to discover the full scale of destruction. Al-Asad airbase The Al-Asad air base, which houses US troops, is one of the largest and oldest military bases in Iraq. It is located in Anbar province, a hotbed of ISIS activity in western Iraq between 2014 and 2017. Anbar was the birthplace of Sunni extremism in the aftermath of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. In December 2018, Trump visited troops at Al-Asad. "We came in, we felt very safe coming in. It was a pretty difficult journey in certain ways, but we felt very, very good, very safe," Trump said, according to a White House transcript. Vice President Mike Pence visited the base a year later to celebrate Thanksgiving with around 150 service members. The US military presence in Iraq has fluctuated greatly since the 2003 invasion. At its height, the US had 170,000 troops in Iraq. In 2011, former President Barack Obama withdrew US forces from the country. Around 5,000 troops were deployed to Iraq in 2014 at the request of the Iraqi government, seeking US assistance in the fight against ISIS. Troop levels have been roughly the same since. United States troops at the Al-Asad air base in Iraq were aware that an Iranian attack was imminent, allowing them to take shelter two-and-a-half-hours before missiles struck on Wednesday, CNN has been told during an exclusive tour of the devastated site. This story was first published on CNN.com. "US troops knew Al-Asad air base would be attacked and sheltered in bunkers, exclusive tour reveals." Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 21:24:35|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday sent a message of condolences to Oman's new leader, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said, over the passing of Sultan Qaboos bin Said. On behalf of the Chinese government and people and in his own name, Xi expressed deep condolences over the death of Sultan Qaboos and extended sincere sympathies to his family and the Omani people. Sultan Qaboos was a great leader of Oman and had made important contributions to Oman's development as well as to the peace and stability in the Middle East and the Gulf region, Xi said in the message, noting that the late sultan was admired and loved by the Omani people. Calling him an old friend of the Chinese people, Xi said that Sultan Qaboos had made positive contributions to advancing the China-Oman strategic partnership, facilitating practical cooperation between the two countries in various fields, and deepening the friendship between the two peoples. The Chinese government and people cherish their friendship with Oman, Xi said, adding that he is convinced that with concerted efforts, the China-Oman strategic partnership will make new progress. Union minister Smriti Irani on Sunday said that investigation by the Delhi Police will bring culprits of violence on the campus of an education institution to book, an apparent reference to the JNU. Stating that no Opposition party was talking about apolitical students who want to pursue their studies, Irani hoped that "justice will prevail" after investigation. Irani was in Surat in Gujarat to take part in a public meet on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Responding to a query of reporters on the January 5 violence on Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Irani said, "Someone who breaks a server or creates hurdles in an educational institution should understand that it runs on the money of Indian taxpayers and harms their interest". "Such act also hurts the interest of over 3000 students who managed to register themselves, as well as the interest of teachers who have nothing to do with No Opposition party has spoken on their behalf, but I am hopeful that justice will prevail after investigation," the minister said. Many students had sustained injuries when a mask-wearing mob armed with sticks and rods ran riot on the campus of the JNU. Leftist organisations had claimed the RSS-affiliated ABVP's role in the attack, a charge denied by the students' body. The Delhi Police had registered an FIR against unidentified persons for rioting and damaging property. "Criminal investigation is going on. Delhi Police have produced evidences before the country..," the minister said when asked about the JNU violence. "Being on a Constitutional post, all I would say is that guilty (behind the violence) should be punished on the basis of evidences produced before court," the minister added. Irani also chided those who indulged in raising "anti-India" slogans. "Those who talk about dividing India and shout slogans..those who do not accept India's constitution should accept the fact that they are able to shout against independent India because many soldiers have sacrificed their life on the borders," the BJP MP said. Irani also questionned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's "knowledge" on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). "Rahul Gandhi has perhaps not studied law but this has been his nature to not study. But I would like to say this much that those who studied the Act knows that it provides citizenship to Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, and Christians who have been persecuted in neighbouring countries," she said. Irani also participated in a beach cleanliness drive here to mark the National Youth Day. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A leading executive at Coles says Australian supermarkets could have checkout-free shopping in 10 years as innovation in retail technology and an increasing focus on costs quickly make the traditional purchasing experience redundant. The $20 billion ASX-listed retail giant's head of commercial and express, Greg Davis, told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald that customers would later this decade be able to shop and leave the supermarket without going through a checkout. "I have no doubt in the next 10 years, customers will be able to take the product off the shelf, put it in their basket, walk out and have it all paid for," Mr Davis said. Making Moves Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, celebrated the companys new factory in Shanghai by dancing onstage badly in front of a cheering crowd. (The internet was less impressed.) Known as the Gigafactory 3, the plant is Teslas first outside the United States and will produce its Model 3 sedan and, eventually, the Model Y sport utility vehicle. It also helps Tesla tap into the Chinese market without paying tariffs caused by trade rifts with the United States. The companys stock price mirrored Mr. Musks enthusiasm, rocketing past the combined market values of General Motors and Ford on Thursday for the first time. Image Credit... Giacomo Bagnara Whats Next? (Jan. 12-18) Do We Have a Deal? President Trump is to sign the Phase 1 trade deal with China in Washington this week. But theres already more trade trouble on the horizon, this time with the European Union. On Tuesday, Europes new trade chief will meet with American officials in an effort to patch up relations that were strained by a new French tax on American tech giants like Facebook, Google and Amazon, which do a lot of digital business in France but have managed to keep their physical footprint and taxes to a minimum. In retaliation, Mr. Trump threatened punitive tariffs of up to 100 percent on French imports like wine, cheese and handbags. Lets hope they get this straightened out, for all of our sakes. Another Strike Against Boeing Just when you thought things couldnt get worse for Boeing, the company turned up yet another bunch of damning internal emails. The latest included messages that mocked regulators and joked about safety flaws in the companys 737 Max jets two of which later crashed, killing everyone on board and costing the company billions of dollars in lost business and legal fees. This airplane is designed by clowns, who are in turn supervised by monkeys, one employee wrote in 2017. The exchanges certainly wont help Boeing win back customer trust, or get its 737 Max fleet, which has been grounded since last year, back in the air anytime soon. Brexit Gets the Green Light British lawmakers approved Prime Minister Boris Johnsons Brexit deal by a wide margin this past week, paving the way for the country to split from the European Union by the Jan. 31 deadline finally! But dont expect a clean break. Brexits second phase will require the country to wrangle a trade agreement with the European Union by the end of the year, which could be even trickier than getting Parliament on board. Given how messy this process has been so far, European officials have already offered to push the deadline to 2022, but Mr. Johnson is having none of it. So British businesses are still on alert for a no-deal Brexit at the start of 2021, which could disrupt trade and hurt the countrys economy. Games Workshop is set to post higher sales and profits in an update this week (Owen Humphrys/PA) Games Workshop is set to post higher sales and profits for the half-year as it looks to continue the success story which has seen its share price increase by more than 1,000% over the past five years. The Warhammer owner saw shares rise again in November after it once again surpassed analysts guidance. Despite the current zombie-like state of the UK high street, the company which sells model zombies, wizards and orcs has continued to prosper. Games Workshop said it was continuing to trade well in its November update and that it expected to push both profits and sales higher as the year continued. The company was founded in London in the 1970s by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson and developed from selling traditional board games to fantasy-focused games, later leading the business to focus around the Warhammer franchise it owns. Expand Close Warhammer figures (Games Workshop/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Warhammer figures (Games Workshop/PA) It makes the Warhammer figures and games which it sells at its own stores, although it also secures a significant amount of revenue from third-party retailers selling its products. Analysts at Edison have predicted that sales for the company in the six months to December will be at least 140 million when it reports its half-year update on Tuesday January 14. The brokerage also said it expects the firm to report pre-tax profits of at least 55 million for the six-month period. The last full year saw Games Workshop share a 5 million bonus among its staff, handing them 2,500 each, as profits surged to 81.3 million for the year and sales increased by 15%. Edison also said it expects the company to post a 9% increase in pre-tax profits for both the full year 2020 and 2021, as it looks to make strong returns for investors. In its most recent note to investors, Edison noted Games Workshops strong margin growth and encouraging signs with respect to its ability to leverage its intellectual property through royalty income. Institutional investors have put their faith in Games Workshop and account for almost three-quarters of its shareholders, according to filings. The most recent of these is Schroders, which announced in December that it had purchased 5.6% of the 32.7 million outstanding shares in the business. Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba has sought details of employees from all ministries by January 15 as the government launched an exercise to formulate an accommodation action plan under its ambitious project to redevelop Central Vista in Lutyens' Delhi. In his letter to secretaries, Gauba has asked them to appoint a nodal officer not below the rank of joint secretary in their respective ministries to facilitate collection of all required information in this regard, sources told PTI. The Narendra Modi government has readied a blue print for its ambitious plan to redevelop Central Vista -- the nation's power corridor in Delhi -- for which several buildings such as Krishi Bhawan, Shastri Bhawan, Vigyan Bhawan, Vice-President's residence and Nirman Bhawan are likely to be razed. The redevelopment plan of Central Vista is likely to include a triangular Parliament building next to the existing one, common central secretariat for ministries and the revamping of the 3-km-long Rajpath from Rashtrapati Bhavan till India Gate. Shifting the residences of the vice-president and the prime minister close to the Rashtrapati Bhavan is also under consideration. An official said the 2022 Republic Day parade would take place at the "modernised" Rajpath. As part of the Central Vista redevelopment project, the government will construct a central secretariat to accommodate offices of all ministries, the cabinet secretary said in the letter. According to an estimate, the government is currently paying Rs 1,000 crore as rent annually for its offices spread across the national capital. "The cabinet secretary has sought a list of requirement of ministries, their attached and subordinate offices about the sanctioned and filled posts. He has asked secretaries of ministries to submit such details by January 15," a source said. Gauba said that such details will help the Union housing and urban affairs ministry, which is a nodal ministry for the mega project, formulate accommodation plan. The Union housing and urban affairs ministry has planned to float tenders for each project by next month. According to the Central Public Works Department, the entire Central Vista redevelopment project will be executed at an estimated cost of Rs 12,879 crore. The new Parliament building with seating capacity for 1,000 to 1,200 people is targeted to be constructed by August 2022 when India will be celebrating its 75th Independence Day. The common Central Secretariat is likely to be built by 2024. In October this year, Gujarat-based architecture firm HCP Designs won the consultancy bid for architectural and engineering planning of the Centre''s ambitious project. The firm, which will be paid Rs 229.75 crore for consultancy services, will prepare the master plan of the project, including designs, cost estimation, landscape and traffic integration plans, and parking facilities among others. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Government chief whip, Sean Kyne, has said there is now a strong chance that the expected general election will happen at the beginning of next month. Mr Kyne, who as government Dail enforcer is responsible for mustering votes to keep them in power, said it had become very difficult for the Coalition to continue operating. He stressed that it was the Taoiseachs role to fix the general election date but he went on to give his own view in an interview in Irish on Raidio na Gaeltachta. The Galway West TD said the retirement of Dara Murphy before Christmas, the loss of Frances Fitzgeralds Dublin Mid-West seat in late November, and the declaration by Fianna Fails John McGuinness that he would vote against the Government in any no-confidence motion, had all changed things. Its very difficult to continue operating, Mr Kyne told presenter, Mairin Ni Ghadhra on the programme, An tSeachtain. Read More The Government chief said there was a strong chance the election would be called in advance of an expected motion of confidence in Health Minister Simon Coveney due on February 5. He said Finance Minister and national director of elections, Paschal Donohoe, warned TDs and senators meeting last Friday that the election could be called in days, in weeks, or in months. I think there is a very good chance that we will have an election at the start of February. Thats my view, and were ... I believe that all parties are now preparing for an election, Mr Kyne said. The chief whip was speaking before the Taoiseach did an RTE radio interview on the This Week programme. Niger Army Base Attack Death Toll Increases to At Least 89 - Reports Sputnik News 00:37 12.01.2020 On Thursday, a military base in Chinegodar, located north of the local capital in the western Tillaberi Region, was assaulted by unidentified militants. Earlier, the national defence ministry said that the attack had claimed the lives of 25 Nigerien soldiers. The death toll from the attack on the military post in Chinegodar has risen to at least 89, Reuters reported citing four local security sources. According to them, on Saturday, 89 Nigerien army servicemen, killed in Thursday's attack, were buried in Niamey. The actual number of soldiers who died repelling the assault by unidentified militants could be higher, as some of the victims had been buried in Chinegodar immediately after the militants' raid, one of the sources told Reuters. The updated death toll would be announced on Sunday after the meeting of the Nigerien Security Council, Minister of Defence Issoufou Katambe stated, as quoted by the Reuters news agency. 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 (Newser) Eight rockets landed on an Iraqi air base Sunday and injured four Iraqi officersbut who perpetrated the attack remains unclear. Iraq's military says the Katyusha rockets struck Balad Air Base, which hosts foreign contractors and US troops roughly 46 miles north of Baghdad, CNN reports. Al Jazeera notes that the base also hosts US trainers, advisers, and a company that maintains F-16 aircraft. Most of the US airmen stationed there had left before the missiles arrived. No one has claimed responsibility for the strike, which comes days after Iran fired ballistic missiles at Iraqi bases amid fever-high tensions between Washington and Tehran. (Read more Iraq stories.) US Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Sunday said he did not see specific evidence from intelligence officials that Iran was planning to attack four US embassies, an assertion made by President Donald Trump in justifying the killing of Irans top general. While Esper said he agreed with Trump that additional attacks against US embassies were likely, he said on CBSs Face the Nation that Trumps remarks to Fox News were not based on specific evidence on an attack on four embassies. What the president said was that there probably could be additional attacks against embassies. I shared that view, Esper said. The president didnt cite a specific piece of evidence. When pressed on whether intelligence officers offered concrete evidence on that point he said: I didnt see one with regards to four embassies. Since confirming that Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani had been killed by a US airstrike in Baghdad, administration officials have claimed they acted because of an imminent risk of attacks on American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region. Democrats and a few Republicans in Congress have questioned the justification of the attacks and said they have not been given adequate, detailed briefings. Trump said on Friday Iran probably had targeted the US embassy in Baghdad and was aiming to attack four US embassies before Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike on January 3. 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. Esper said in a separate interview on CNNs State of the Union that the administration had exquisite intelligence that a broader attack against multiple embassies was likely but that could only be shared with the Gang of Eight, a group of top congressional leaders who get briefed on sensitive information that the rest of Congress does not have access to. National Security Adviser Robert OBrien echoed Espers comment that the administration had exquisite intelligence on NBCs Meet the Press that a threat was imminent but did not comment on evidence saying four embassies were targeted. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, a California Democrat and member of the Gang of Eight, said on Sunday that the group was not informed about possible attacks on four embassies. There was no discussion in the Gang of Eight briefings that these are the four embassies that are being targeted and we have exquisite intelligence that shows these are the specific targets, he said. Republican Senator Mike Lee on Sunday said he was worried about the integrity of information the president and security briefers have provided Congress about Iran. We were given somewhat general statements, and I believe that the briefers and the president believe they had a basis for concluding there was an imminent attack. I dont doubt that. It is just frustrating to be told that and to not get the details behind it, he said on CNN. One winters day a few years ago, while driving with a reporter around the snow-blanketed villages of Switzerlands Vallee du Joux where the worlds finest watches are produced, Philippe Dufour became nostalgic. He drove past the technical school where he had learned as a boy how to make a watch by hand, from start to finish. But now, the man widely regarded as the greatest living watchmaker lamented during the drive, young people know how to make this part or that, but very few know how to make everything. At factories, they need more machine operators than they need watchmakers. So the schools dont teach it. In the watchmaking center in and around Neuchatel, about 50 miles away, other independent makers were bemoaning the same situation. In 2005 Stephen Forsey and Robert Greubel had formed the watch company Greubel Forsey and we found it difficult to find skilled people, Mr. Forsey said. The independent watchmaker Vianney Halter was having the same problem. We all, Mr. Forsey said, found it difficult to find young watchmakers with the needed skills in watchmaking. He also wears them when he hikes or wades into the ocean near his home on Long Island, which was built by the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation and is filled with amenities to help him live independently. At the trial, Mr. Levi often engaged in what the judge described as gallows levity. But he sometimes broke down while listening to testimony about the deaths of other soldiers, including Sergeant Hake. I couldnt stop crying, and I couldnt leave, Mr. Levi said, adding that it was important for the world to know what happened to them, and who was responsible. Its something other people needed to hear, he said. He added, Im lucky I only lost limbs. In August, in an initial ruling for the plaintiffs, Judge Kollar-Kotelly said that evidence gathered by United States military investigators and intelligence officials clearly showed that material support for the seven attacks she examined had flowed through General Suleimanis Quds Force. The generals name appeared throughout her opinion, as she described the role he played as the head of Quds Force and the fact that he reported directly to Irans supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Now, in a new phase of the litigation, the judge is looking at evidence from more than 80 other attacks, most of them involving E.F.P.s, and will decide whether those strikes were also aided by Iran. Then a special master would recommend the amount of damages owed to each plaintiff. There is little chance that Iran could be made to pay up directly. But plaintiffs like Mr. Levi and Ms. Hake may be able to receive money from a federal fund set up to compensate victims of state-sponsored terrorism, said their lawyer, Gary Osen. In December, China said it would impose sanctions on U.S. nongovernmental organizations, including Human Rights Watch and the National Endowment for Democracy, for their role in advocating for legislation that supported the protesters. A spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry did not provide details at the time but said these organizations were being punished for their odious behavior in Hong Kong. Brazil's Supreme Court has overturned a ruling that TV streaming service Netflix must remove a film depicting Jesus as gay. The film, The First Temptation of Christ, infuriated fervent Christians in the country. Two million people signed a petition calling for it to be axed, and the production company was attacked with Molotov cocktails last month. A judge temporarily banned the film on Wednesday to appease its critics. But Supreme Court president Dias Toffoli said on Thursday that Netflix should be allowed to continue streaming the show, stating that freedom of speech was fundamental in a democracy. "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," the judge said. Why has the film caused uproar? The parody film, which was run as a Christmas special, was created by Brazilian YouTube comedy group Porta dos Fundos. Many of the country's conservative Christians were angered by the portrayal of Jesus bringing home a boyfriend named Orlando to meet his family, while Mary and Joseph plan him a surprise 30th birthday party. On Christmas Eve, a group attacked Porta dos Fundos's office in Rio de Janeiro with fire bombs. Comedy group Porta dos Fundos have won international awards One man suspected of having been part of the attack has fled to Russia, and Interpol are working to arrest him. Why was it banned in the first place? A judge in Rio de Janeiro ordered Netflix to take the film down on Wednesday. Judge Benedicto Abicair said his temporary decision would appease angry Christians until a final decision was made by a higher court. "Exhibiting the 'artistic production'... may cause graver and more irreparable damage than its suspension," the judge said. Porta dos Fundos said in a statement that it "opposed any act of censorship, violence, illegality, authoritarianism" and would continue to air its work. Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro once said he would rather have a dead son than a gay son. His son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, called the Netflix show "garbage" on Twitter, adding that Porta dos Fundos "do not represent Brazilian society". 2020 ELECTIONS / DPP retains legislative majority, KMT gains seats ROC Central News Agency 01/11/2020 11:20 PM Taipei, Jan. 11 (CNA) The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Saturday maintained its majority in the Legislature, giving it a clear path to maintaining complete control of the government for the next four years. The DPP won 61 seats, compared with the 68 it won in 2016, giving it a cushion of four seats about the 57 seats needed to claim a majority in the 113-seat Legislature, according to estimates. While the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) won 38 seats, three more than four years ago, the DPP will have ideologically aligned smaller parties and independents it can count on if it needs additional votes on legislation. The New Power Party kept its presence with three seats and the Taiwan Statebuilding Party took one seat, and four of the five independents are also part of the pan-green (pro-DPP) camp. The most successful small party, however, was the Taiwan People's Party (TPP), formed in August 2019 by Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (). Although the TPP did not win any directly elected seats, it won 11.2 percent of the political party vote and five legislator-at-large seats, making it the third largest party in the Legislature. The KMT will be disappointed by its showing, especially in southern Taiwan. After appearing to make inroads into the region in the local elections of November 2018, it was once again shut out in districts stretching from Yunlin County to the southernmost Pingtung County, as was the case in the 2016 legislative elections. In northern Taiwan, the KMT won four seats, DPP won three, and a pro-DPP independent took on in the capital city of Taipei, while DPP took nine of total 12 legislative seats in New Taipei. In central Taichung city, the DPP and pan-green Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP) won six while the KMT dropped to two from the previous three. Among the most notable legislative races, KMT incumbent Chiang Wan-an () held onto his seat in Taipei's District 3 with a narrow win over Enoch Wu () of the DPP. Both candidates are seen as rising stars in their respective parties. Chiang, the great-grandson of former President Chiang Kai-shek (), is tipped as a future candidate for Taipei mayor, while Wu, the nephew of former DPP Secretary-General Wu Nai-ren (), attracted considerable attention since he entered the race four months ago. A number of incumbent lawmakers, including independent Hung Tzu-yung (); the KMT's Yen Kuan-heng () and Shen Jhih-hwei () in Taichung; Lu Sun-ling () of the DPP in New Taipei, and the DPP's Hsiao Bi-khim () in Hualien, failed to win their re-election bids. Hung, who won the legislative seat as an NPP member in 2016, lost to her KMT challenger -- Taichung Deputy Mayor Yang Chiung-ying (), by less than 1,000 votes. Yen, son of Yen Ching-piao (), a former lawmaker and head of central Taiwan's religious center Jenn Lann Temple in Taichung, suffered a surprising defeat to newcomer Chen Po-wei () of the pro-Taiwan independence TSP. Hsiao, meanwhile, lost to two-time Hualien County Magistrate Fu Kun-chi (). The former KMT member now runs as an independent. Eight-term KMT lawmaker Huang Chao-shun () who served as a legislator for 27 years was beaten by her DPP opponent Liu Shih-fang (). Seven-term KMT legislator Shen, meanwhile, was upset by her DPP rival Chuang Ching-cheng (), a biomedical engineering professor. In the Legislature, 73 lawmakers were directly elected in constituencies in a winner-take-all vote, six seats were reserved for indigenous candidates elected by indigenous voters, and 34 were designated as at-large seats and allocated based on a separate political party vote. A political party had to win at least 5 percent of the party vote to be eligible for a share of the at-large seats. In Saturday's legislative elections, the DPP won 48 of the 73 directly elected seats and 13 at-large seats, having gained 33.9 percent of the political party vote. The number was 10 percent less than four years ago, as many pro-green voters cast ballots for smaller parties. The KMT took 25 directly elected seats and 13 at-large seats, with 33.3 percent of the party vote, a 6 percent increase from 2016. In 2016, the DPP won 68 legislative seats, the KMT 35, the NPP five, the People First Party (PFP) two, while 1 to Non-Partisan Solidarity Union and one independent. In the run up to the elections, KMT was projecting gaining a majority with at least 57 seats. (By Joseph Yeh) Enditem/AW NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Prime Minister on Sunday said the Centre was making every effort to develop West Bengal and its underprivileged sections. Taking a dig at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, he said the state government was not keen on implementing central schemes as it does not benefit "syndicates". Modi, after renaming the Kolkata Port Trust after on the occasion of its sesquicentenary celebrations, said country's coasts were gateways to development. "Development of waterways has improved Kolkata Port Trust's connectivity with industrial centres in east India, made trade easier for our neighbouring countries, Bhutan, Myanmar and Nepal. "Our country's coasts are gateways to development, the (central) government has started the Sagarmala programme to improve connectivity," Modi said. He stressed that the people of Bengal should get the benefits of all central schemes. "The Centre is making every possible effort to develop West Bengal, its poor, Dalits, unprivileged and backward sections. As soon as the West Bengal government gives its approval for Centre's Ayushman Bharat Yojana and PM Kisan Samman Nidhi; people here will start receiving benefits of these schemes," Modi added. Israel Folau has broken down in tears in church speaking of the bushfire crisis, months after he bizarrely linked the blazes to gay marriage and abortion. The sacked Wallabies star was visibly emotional during a sermon at the Church of Jesus Christ in Sydney, the same church where he previously told worshippers bushfires were 'God's punishment' for legalising same-sex unions. In the 17-minute sermon on Sunday, during which Folau repeatedly paused to wipe tears from his eyes, he questioned why it took the bushfire crisis for people to 'finally' turn to God. 'We look around, we see certain things that are happening around the world. Famines, earthquakes, wars, rumours of wars,' Folau said through tears. 'Look at this country here and all these devastating bushfires that have happened. I see on the news there are a lot of people out there saying all the things that they've lost and it's been a tragic event for this country. Israel Folau has broken down in tears in church and told Australians to pray for the bushfires Folau (left with wife Maria) said same-sex marriage and abortion were 'evil in the eyes of God' but deemed 'good' in society during a sermon in November 'I see people saying that they've never prayed so hard in their life... why does it take something so devastating like the bushfires for people to humble themselves and get down on their knees and ask God for help?' Folau went on to say God 'turns his face against the wicked' and that it was the job of believers to have their prayers heard. 'As born again believers in the faith, we need to pray because of whats happening in this nation with these devastating fires our prayers are heard from God,' he said. 'This event can cause people to turn, and to come to the lord Jesus Christ. Thats what our prayer is, for people to come to know who the lord is.' The emotional sermon comes two months after he sparked outrage when suggesting fires and drought were God's punishment for legalising same-sex marriage and abortion on November 17. 'They've legalised same-sex marriage... Going against the laws that God says,' he said in footage posted to The Truth of Jesus Christ Church's Facebook page. 'Abortion - it's OK now to murder and kill infants, unborn children - and they deem that to be OK. 'Look how rapid these bushfires, these droughts, all these things they've come in a short period of time you think it's a coincidence?' Folau told worshippers 'God was speaking' to Australia and said: 'You need to repent.' 'What you see out there in the world it's only a little taste of what God's judgement is like. The news is saying these bushfires are the worst weve ever seen in Australia they haven't seen anything. Footage shows Folau suggesting same-sex marriage and abortion are to blame for Australia's bushfire crisis 'God is speaking to us. Speaking to you to repent and to turn away from this.' The 30-year-old went on to say same-sex marriage and abortion were 'evil in the eyes of God' but were deemed by society as 'good'. 'This generation is full of arrogance and full of pride,' he said. 'They want to turn their back on God. They dont want to know one bit of who God is because theyre so immersed in their sinful, wicked, evil ways.' Folau's $4million contract was torn up by Rugby Australia after a social media post on Instagram saying homosexuals would go to hell unless they 'repent'. The Instagram post that destroyed Israel Folau's rugby union career was labelled homophobic Israel Folau and his wife, former netball player Maria Folau, pose together in a selfie posted on social media The fired footy player in October said he has no regrets over his infamous Instagram post during a conference hosted by the Australian Christian Lobby. Folau reached an out-of-court settlement with Rugby Australia after lodging a $14 million compensation claim for wrongful termination in the wake of his infamous homophobic post on social media. The Folau's posted a video on social media after the settlement thanking God for 'his guidance and strength'. He also thanked the Australian Christian Lobby and apologised for any 'hurt or harm caused' but did not step back from his original anti-gay claim. Folau played 62 Tests for the Wallabies and became Super Rugby's all-time leading try-scorer earlier this year while playing for the NSW Waratahs. His career kicked off in rugby league, where he played 91 NRL games for Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos, five Origin games for Queensland and represented Australia on eight occasions. He also played 13 games for AFL club GWS Giants in 2011-12. Folau (pictured centre) leaves a conciliation hearing at the Fair Work Commission in Sydney on June 28 Six years ago, a village of tycoons appeared in Son Tay District, in the central province of Quang Ngai, as local people became billionaires overnight thanks to land compensation from a hydropower project. Villager Dinh Thi Vun of the Anh Nhoi 2 resettlement village, Son Tay District, Quang Ngai Province. Photo thanhnien.vn Almost immediately, they poured money into building splendid homes that shaped a new urban area in the forest. Most of them, however, soon returned to poverty and now have to live on rice subsidies due to overspending. Only elderly people and children are left in the palatial houses in the Anh Nhoi 2 resettlement area in Son Long Commune, as young people of working age dont stay, seeking out better opportunities in neighbouring cities and provinces or returning to their old villages where they used to live. Village of billionaires Do Thanh Vuot, Chairman of the Peoples Committee of Son Long commune, told Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper that 33 households in Anh Nhoi 2 village under a resettlement housing got a huge amount of money in land compensation from ak rinh hydropower project, with pay-outs ranging from hundreds of million to billions of dong. Vuot said that most of the nouveau riche in the village had returned to poverty because they overspent on luxuries, including cars, motorbikes, palatial mansions, and boozy parties. The house of local man Dinh Van Dieu now sits empty, with rusty locks on the doors. Dieu reportedly sold his house and returned to his former village nearby. Dinh Van Bay, vice police chief in Son Long Commune, said Dieu received VND3 billion (US$130,400) in land compensation. But his 20-year-old son, Dinh Van Thien, frittered away his fortune. Thien asked his father to buy him a VND400 million car and a VND1.9 billion house. The more money his son wasted, the faster Dieu fell into poverty. Dinh Van Re and his wife Dinh Thi Vun in Anh Nhoi Village 2 suffered the same fate. They received VND3 billion in land compensation, but their son Dinh Van Xanh spent their money, the police officer said. Vuns family is now regarded as a poor household. There is nothing valuable in her house, Vuot said. The owners of the abandoned houses havent returned to the village for many months. The owners of homes with children sent their kids to somebody else, so they could move to other cities and provinces to earn a livelihood," Bay said. 'No farmland, no rice' An elderly woman named Dinh Thi Vun, a member of the Cadong ethnic minority, was sitting in front of her house, chewing betel leaves. Vun said she missed her old village. In 2013, Vuns family agreed to give up four hectares of farmland in Ra Manh Village to ak rinh hydro power project in return for a house in a resettlement area and 600 sq.m of land for cultivation. Vun realised that easy come, easy go. I bought land in Ta Muc Village in Son Dung Commune as well as planting cassava in H.Kon Plong in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum. However, the money we earn from cassava is not enough to buy rice. My healthy family members have left for other provinces to earn money, but elderly people like me do not have the strength to move, Vun said. No farmland, so no rice here. We have nothing to do on a daily basis so we often drink alcohol to drown our sorrows, which is not good for our health. The young people in the village only return home during Tet holiday. I am afraid that if someone passes away, nobody will be here to carry his coffin, she said. More people in the resettlement area have moved to their old villages, because there is no source of income. Dinh Van Cong used his pay-out of VND800 million to purchase forest land and cattle. He now owns 20 hectares of land, 40 cows and 50 goats, but he no longer wants to stay in the resettlement area even though it has good roads, schools, and healthcare facilities. Cong decided to go back to his hometown in Ra Manh Village. It is 16 kilometres to move from my new house in the resettlement area to my work place. It is even harder to commute along the forest roads in the rainy season, Cong said. Do Thanh Vuot said that eight out of 33 households in the resettlement area in Anh Nhoi 2 have returned to their old villages because they dont have any means of living here. The rest have moved to urban areas in search of jobs, leaving elderly people and kids alone in the forest. VNS Discovering Tinh Khe coconut water forest in Quang Ngai The lush green coconut forest of Tinh Khe commune has recently emerged as an attractive eco-tourism destination with visitors coming to enjoy the green scenery that is surrounded by a spectacular coastline and hidden villages. Labor exports: Hard-earned money and desolated villages Labor export has been a common practice for poverty-stricken provinces of Vietnam for many years, both via legal and irregular gateways. Lindsay Lohan's mother, Dina Lohan (pictured in a 2013 mugshot), has been arrested for DWI in New York after she allegedly hit a vehicle outside a steakhouse Lindsay Lohan's mother, Dina Lohan, has been arrested for DWI in New York after she allegedly hit a vehicle outside a steakhouse over the weekend. New York police said the incident occurred around 6.30pm Saturday evening near Merrick Mall on Long Island outside an Outback Steakhouse. Dina allegedly clipped a vehicle before fleeing the scene, prompting the driver of the car to chase her to her Long Island home. Authorities said Dina, who was driving a 2016 Mercedes, was taken into custody after refusing to take a breathalyzer test. The Nassau County Police Department confirmed to DailyMail.com that Dina had been arrested for DWI and was transferred to court this morning. Police also said the 57-year-old cursed at Nassau County Police Officers during the arrest. She is expected to appear in court in Hempstead on Sunday on charges of DWI, aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of an accident with property damage and driving an uninspected vehicle. Dina (pictured with Lindsay in December 2017) allegedly clipped a vehicle before fleeing the scene, prompting the driver of the car to chase her to her Long Island home New York police said the incident occurred around 6.30pm Saturday evening near Merrick Mall on Long Island outside an Outback Steakhouse (pictured) A DailyMail.com request for comment to Dina was not immediately returned. Saturday evening's arrest isn't the first for Lindsay's mother. In September 2013, Dina was arrested for drunk driving after being pulled over for driving 77mph in a 55mph zone. New York state police believed she was intoxicated and tested her blood alcohol level. At the time, TMZ claimed that her blood alcohol level was found to be .2, which is more than twice the legal limit of .08. 'Lohan made an allegation that she was injured during the course of the arrest,' police officials said in a statement. However the reality star 'recanted her claim' when medics arrived at the scene and ascertained that she was fine. Dina was taken to a police station nearby and charged with two counts of driving while intoxicated and one count of speeding. Lindsay has also been arrested several times, including twice for DUI. Saturday's arrest isn't the first for Lindsay's mother. In September 2013, Dina was arrested for drunk driving after being pulled over for driving 77mph in a 55mph zone. In June 2014, Dina (right) pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated and was sentenced to community service Lindsay has also been arrested several times, including twice for DUI. A string of run-ins with the law and struggles with addiction cut short her movie career Lindsay (right in court in 2010) revealed on CNN's New Year's Eve telecast (left) that she's returning to the US in 2020 to 'start filming again' A string of run-ins with the law and struggles with addiction cut short her movie career that began with her starring role in Disney's 1998 remake of The Parent Trap. In order to escape the media attention, she decamped to London where she made her West End stage debut in September 2014 in a production of David Mamet's Speed The Plow. By 2016, she was spending time in Greece where she had a share in a nightclub in Athens and was briefly engaged to Russian playboy Egor Tarabasov. Earlier this month, Lindsay, who is a New York native, vowed to return to the US to start making movies again. She revealed on CNN's New Year's Eve telecast from Times Square that she's determined to reclaim 'the life Ive worked so hard for'. Lindsay has been living abroad since 2014. For the last couple of years, Lindsay has been based in Dubai. It's not clear when she plans to travel back to the US or what her new projects will be. JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) A survivor of an Alaska crab boat sinking that left five fellow fishermen missing said the crew went from sleeping to swimming" in minutes as rough seas and ice battered their vessel on New Year's Eve. On the 31st, we just started listing really hard on the starboard side," Dean Gribble Jr. said in a YouTube video that he posted Thursday to answer questions about the disaster. From sleeping to swimming was about 10 minutes. It happened really fast. Everybody was trying to get out. Everybody was doing everything they could, and it was just really a (expletive) situation. Gribble, who's appeared on the Discovery Channel documentary series Deadliest Catch," said the seven-member crew faced 20-foot (6-meter) seas, 40 mph (64 kph) winds and icy conditions. I've fished for 20 years, I know that you do not make it, he said. Everybody can die in those situations, and I knew that's what we were going into. We were in the raft for about five hours." He said his emergency locator beacon wasn't working and complained about other safety equipment. Gribble and John Lawler were the only survivors and suffered hypothermia, the Coast Guard said. They told rescuers that they were the only ones to make it into a life raft and had been able to get into survival suits, the Anchorage Daily News reported. The suits offer some flotation and hypothermia protection. "I just wish the other guys would have made it," Gribble said in the video, shaking his head and looking down. I kind of feel bad now that I'm here and they're not. Some of the fishermen made calls to loved ones in the lead-up to the sinking that also revealed the rough conditions, including ice that did not seem to rattle the captain. Gary Cobban Jr. is among five fishermen who are feared dead after the 130-foot (40-meter) Scandies Rose sank late Tuesday in an area with warnings about strong winds and heavy freezing spray, officials said. The Coast Guard has not released details on a cause. Story continues Cobban's ex-girlfriend, Jeri Lynn Smith, told the Anchorage Daily News that he called her in North Carolina about two hours before the boat sank to wish her a happy new year. When I talked to him, he told me the boat was icing and it had a list to it, but he didnt sound alarmed. He didnt sound scared, Smith said. The boat ices. The boat ices every winter. Its just something they deal with. I didnt worry about it. Also missing are the captain's son David Lee Cobban, Arthur Ganacias, Brock Rainey and Seth Rousseau-Gano, the Coast Guard said. The agency used helicopters, planes and a boat to search for the men over 1,400 square miles (3,625 square kilometers) before calling off the effort Wednesday evening. Ashley Boggs of Peru, Indiana, said Rainey, her fiance who's from Kellogg, Idaho, also called her shortly before the ship sank and said conditions were bad. Im just praying and hoping they find him on land or something, Boggs told The Associated Press on Thursday. Crabbing boats endure perilous conditions in Alaska waters that have been immortalized in Deadliest Catch." Workers face dangers like huge waves, harsh weather, long hours and massive crab pots that could crush them. Commercial fishing is one of the country's most dangerous occupations, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. It said there were 179 deaths in Alaska fisheries between 2000 and 2014, the most recent numbers available. From 2010 to 2014, there were 66 vessel disasters in Alaska waters, including sinkings and fires, that killed 15 people, the agency said. The leading causes of fatal disasters were instability and being hit by large waves. Many of the incidents involved small boats. In 2017, six people died after the vessel Destination capsized and sank in the Bering Sea. An investigative report found stability, weight issues and excess ice accumulation from freezing spray were contributing factors. Samantha Case, an epidemiologist in the agency's commercial fishing research program, said efforts have been taken to make crab fishing safer in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands. They include Coast Guard stability checks for vessels; changes in fishery management that reduced some risks like competitiveness; and increased marine safety training. The last known position of the Scandies Rose was 170 miles (270 kilometers) southwest of Kodiak Island, and it sank about 10 p.m. Tuesday, the Coast Guard said. The boat had sent a mayday call. Rescue crews battled winds of more than 40 mph (64 kph), 15- to 20-foot (4.5- to 6-meter) seas and visibility that was limited to a mile (1.5 kilometers), Petty Officer 2nd Class Melissa McKenzie said. She said the air temperature was about 10 degrees (12 below zero Celsius). The estimated water temperature was 43 degrees (6 degrees Celsius), the National Weather Service said. Bill Rose of Seattle, who used to work on fishing boats in Alaska, said the conditions can be brutal, even terrifying for someone who had never done it. But if it's all you can do to make a living, and you're out there and you're used to it, you really don't think much of it. He said on the right boat, a fisherman could make $150,000 a year. David Otness, a retired crab fisherman in Cordova, Alaska, who spent more than 50 years in the industry, agreed it's dangerous work that's known for its loss." He said it appeals to people with a sense of adventure. The love of it is stronger than the fear of it. It's something that gets into you. It's all-consuming," Otness said. ____ Bellisle reported from Seattle. Associated Press writer Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska, photographer Ted Warren in Seattle and researcher Randy Herschaft in New York contributed to this report. Representative image While Yes Bank is yet to reach a decision on new investors, the sudden exit of an independent director has brought its in-house differences to the fore. Among other issues, the former director has raised concerns about the bank's ongoing fund raising exercise. Here are some of the key developments from the banking sector from last week: Agarwal resigns as independent director of Yes Bank, cites 'corporate governance failure' 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 he was unhappy with the way the private bank was dealing with capital raising. He also expressed his reservations on appointment of employees under the new management. Yes Bank to raise Rs 10,000 crore via mix of equity, debt; board rejects Erwin Singh Braich's investment proposal The board of Yes Bank on January 10, approved raising Rs 10,000 crore fresh capital via a mix of debt and equity. It 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. RBI gives first 'in-principle' nod to convert an Urban Cooperative Bank into a small finance bank The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) granted in-principle approval to Saharanpur-based Shivalik Mercantile Cooperative Bank to convert into a Small Finance Bank (SFB) on January 6, making it the first such lender to have opted for the transition. The in-principle approval implies that the lender now has 18 months to comply with all conditions required to get the final SFB license from the RBI. RBI tightens supervisory action framework for Urban Cooperative Banks The reserve bank revised the Supervisory Action Framework (SAF) for Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) on January 6, with triggers more stringent than before, in order to take corrective action against weak banks. The SAF, if implemented in a timely manner, may help cooperative banks improve their financial conditions and avert restrictions on basic services like deposit withdrawals that are imposed by the regulator as a last resort. ICICI Bank-Videocon case: ED attaches assets of former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on January 10 attached assets of former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar and her family. Assets worth Rs 78 crore (book value) were attached in total. Her Mumbai apartment and some properties of her husband's company were also included. Johnny Depp and his good friend Tim Burton stepped out for a night of fun while hitting the town in London. The 56-year-old Pirates of the Caribbean actor was spotted out with the director, 61, and his new girlfriend Berenice Percival. The three were joined by a few other friends as they hung out in the United Kingdom while sharing a few drinks. Night out: Johnny Depp and good friend Tim Burton stepped out with some friends while out and about in London Great pals: Johnny Depp and Tim Burton shared a smile as Tim brought along his new girlfriend out for an evening of fun While out for the evening, the actor dressed up in a tan overcoat with a navy scarf and a tan fedora. He appeared a bit cold as he kept his hands in his pockets while chatting with the group and wearing a pair of dark shades to keep a low profile. The Beetlejuice creator dressed down the night out while also rocking a pair of dark shades and a black overcoat. Stylish: Johnny wore a tan coat and matching fedora for his night out in the UK Pretty funny: Johnny must have said something hilarious as the mystery woman shared a laugh Effortless: He had a thin navy scarf wrapped around his neck while wearing a navy and green sweater underneath to keep warm Back in 2014, Burton and his wife Helena Bonham Carter announced that they were separating as a couple after 13 years together. A rep for the couple released the news to People before adding that the pair 'separated amicably earlier this year and have continued to be friends and co-parent their children.' While the two were never married, they often attended many A-list events together as a couple and joined forces for many successful films including: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland. Having a puff! The famous actor took a nice long buff while enjoying the company of his friends Stylish: One of the women in the group looked stylish in a green coat and tights Good friends: The longtime friends appeared to be having a blast while catching up Recently, Depp has been faced with his own relationship drama following his split from Amber Heard. As he continues to fight allegations that he abused his ex-partner he continues to state that her accusations are an 'absolute lie.' Back in 2016, Heard claimed that the actor threw a phone at her that hit her in the head and caused her injuries. The Friday Night Lights actress filed the photographs to match her allegations along with a restraining order. The group: Johnny, Tim, and his new girlfriend all conversed with the group Good times: Tim appeared to be explaining something to the group of friends while holding his hat in his hand Having fun: Johnny appeared immersed in conversation while out in the cold chatting away Three people have been charged for supplying MDMA tablets and cocaine at the FOMO 2020 Music Festival in Parramatta on Saturday. More than 10,500 people attended the multi-genre music festival at Parramatta Park. Three people were arrested for drug charges on Sunday. Credit:Rick Clifford Police conducting a "high-visibility operation" with the use of sniffer dogs charged three people with separate incidents of supplying drugs. A 27-year-old man from San Remo in the Central Coast was allegedly found with more than 80 MDMA tablets. He was charged with supplying a prohibited drug and appeared at Parramatta Bail Court on Sunday. 2 Fort Bragg Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan Identified: Pentagon The Pentagon confirmed that two soldiers killed Saturday in Afghanistan by a roadside bomb were from Illinois and Virginia. The two soldiers, identified as Staff Sgt. Ian P. McLaughlin, 29, of Newport News, Virginia; and Pfc. Miguel A. Villalon, 21, of Joliet, Illinois, was named in a Department of Defense statement on Sunday. Both soldiers were assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, according to the statement. The soldiers were conducting operations as part of NATOs Resolute Support Mission. The incident is under investigation, the Pentagon wrote. Villalon and McLaughlin were killed in action when their vehicle was struck by a roadside improvised explosive device (IED), the agency said. The Taliban immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, CBS News and other news outlets reported on Saturday. Qari Yusouf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, told the news outlet that it occurred in Kandahar province in the countrys south. Their deaths are the first for U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan in 2020. Currently, about 13,000 U.S. troops are deployed to Afghanistan, according to the Army Times. More than 2,400 American service members have been killed in Afghanistan over the nearly 19-year war. And last year was among the deadliest in recent years as the United States attempted to hold peace talks with the Taliban. Twenty-three American troops were killed. The Taliban leadership decided at the end of December to support a temporary cease-fire to allow for a peace deal to be signed, but they never said when it would go into effect. The final approval required from their leader, Maulvi Hibatullah Akhundzada, was never announced. US Ambassador to Afghanistan John Bass attends a press conference during the UN Conference on Afghanistan in Geneva on Nov. 27, 2018. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images) Two U.S. service members were killed when their helicopter crashed in eastern Logar province In November. The U.S. military at the time said preliminary reports did not indicate it was caused by enemy fire. However, the Taliban claimed to have shot down the helicoptera claim the U.S military dismissed as false. Last week, John Bass, the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, stepped down in an expected departure, said State Department on Monday. As diplomats, we rarely stay long enough in the country to see and experience a whole story. We arrive in the middle of a tale. We learn about the chapters we missed. And sometimes we become part of the story, Bass said in a farewell video on social media. None of us knows how this story, this chapter in the large tale of this country and its people, will end, he added. The Associated Press contributed to this report. NORTHAMPTON Free Community Day is set for Saturday, Jan. 18, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Smith College as the Museum of Art ushers in a year of special programming celebrating its 100th year. The annual event also falls on the opening weekend of Black Refractions: Highlights from The Studio Museum in Harlem for which there is free museum admission Friday, Jan. 17, through Sunday, Jan. 19. The museum is the only Northeast venue for the nationally touring exhibit of nearly 100 works by artists of African descent active from the 1920s to the present and will be on view there through April 12. Artwork in the show includes pieces by pioneering African American painter Norman Lewis, Faith Ringgold, particularly known for her narrative quilts, and the Lenox-born portrait artist James Van Der Zee. Programming from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for community day will begin with a 30-minute, opening performance by the Chorus from the Campus School of Smith College whose songs will include musical settings of poems by Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes. From noon to 1:30 p.m. Springfield high school students will meet with visitors in the lobby every 30 minutes to share their experiences connecting to artwork in the museums collection as part of a student mentoring project at the museum. Boston-based social justice project Wee The People will present a wearable collage workshop that will involve participants in a celebration of Black identity, experience, and cultural expression from noon to 3 p.m. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Montreal, Canada Sun, January 12, 2020 09:05 730 48be62e941b44f04afae568c321cbe83 2 People Prince-Harry,Canada,Britain,royals,Meghan-Markle,Meghan-and-Harry,poll Free A majority of Canadians would support making Britain's Prince Harry the country's next governor general, according to a poll published Friday as his wife, Meghan, returned to Canada. Sixty-one percent of the Canadians polled said they would support having Harry replace current governor general Julie Payette when her term expires, the National Post said. The governor general is Queen Elizabeth II's representative in the former British colony, a member of the Commonwealth. Payette, a former astronaut, was named to the post in 2017. The governor general, who resides in Ottawa, generally serves for five years. The favorable poll came despite Harry never having expressed any interest in the post, which has been held by Canadians since the 1950s but was previously held by Britons. Britain's royal family has been in crisis since Harry and Meghan's bombshell announcement that they were quitting their frontline duties. Read also: Prince Harry's wife Meghan returns to Canada amid royal storm The Duke and Duchess of Sussex spent an extended Christmas holiday in Canada with their son before returning to break the news this week that they would "step back" their royal roles. The Daily Mail newspaper reported that Meghan flew back to Canada on Thursday. She had left their baby Archie behind in Canada with his nanny, and "she may stay there for the foreseeable future", it said. "I can confirm reports that the duchess is in Canada," the couple's spokeswoman told AFP. She declined to provide further details, or confirm the Mail's report that Harry was likely to join his wife and son in Canada shortly. Meghan, a former actress, lived in Toronto when she appeared in the television series Suits. The National Post poll of 1,515 Canadians was conducted on Monday by Dart and Maru/Blue Voice Canada and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points. Ukrainian authorities said police have arrested the suspected planner of a 2017 attack on a Chechen who was accused by Russian authorities of plotting to kill President Vladimir Putin. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said in a January 12 post on Facebook that the unidentified man was arrested along with an unspecified number of other people who were also allegedly linked to the October 2017 attack on Adam Osmayev. Osmayev was wounded in the October 2017 attack on Kyiv's outskirts that killed his wife, Amina Okuyeva. National Police chief Ihor Klymenko the same day said the coordinator of the attack on the Chechen couple was part of a group of seven people, some of whom were arrested in September on suspicion of carrying out two other killings. Four months prior to that attack, Osmayev was targeted in a separate incident during a meeting with a Russian man who was posing as a French journalist. The man then opened fire as they sat in a car, wounding Osmayev, he later told police. His wife, who was also in the car at the time, returned fire, wounding the alleged attacker. Ukrainian police later identified the alleged shooter in the June attack as Artur Denisultanov-Kurmakayev, a Russian national who went by the nickname "Dingo." Authorities were looking into how he obtained a Ukrainian passport. Denisultanov was turned over to Russian authorities on December 29, 2019, in exchange for a number of Ukrainian prisoners held in Russian detention or by Russia-backed separatist fighters in eastern Ukraine. It was one of two major prisoner swaps that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has pushed through as part of an effort to ease tensions with Russia. Osmayev first made headlines in Ukraine in February 2012 when he was detained and charged with illegal explosives possession, damaging private property, and forgery. At the request of the Russian authorities, he was charged with plotting to kill Putin, and Moscow sought his extradition. Kyiv ultimately refused to extradite him, and he was then released from Ukrainian custody in November 2014, after more than 2 1/2 years in jail. Three months after his release, Osmayev assumed command of a volunteer battalion fighting separatists in eastern Ukraine. His wife, Okuyeva, gained renown working as a medic during the street protests in Kyiv that culminated in violent clashes with police in February 2014, and the ouster of then-President Viktor Yanukovych. On Saturday evening, San Antonians brought their best glitz and glam look to the David Bowie Celebration hosted by Paper Tiger. The evening was filled with live music from the Goon Squad performing some of the artist's top hits and dressed in David Bowie attire. The celebration also included a Bowie-inspired fashion show, costume contest and more. In this image from video, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper talks to the press on Iran and Iraq, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020, at the Pentagon in Washington. (divids via AP) Read more WASHINGTON Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Sunday the Trump administration foresees no more Iranian military attacks in retaliation for the U.S. strike that killed the Islamic Republics most powerful general. The Pentagon chief suggested that Irans government is under internal threat following its downing of a Ukrainian civilian airliner. You can see the Iranian people are standing up and asserting their rights, their aspirations for a better government a different regime, Esper told CBS' Face the Nation. Iranians have expressed anger over the downing of the Ukrainian flight on Wednesday and the misleading explanations from senior officials in the immediate aftermath. Later the government took the blame for the shootdown, saying it was a tragic accident. The plane crash killed all 176 people on board, mostly Iranians and Iranian-Canadians. Esper said Iran's paramilitary Quds Force still presents a threat across the Mideast, but the specific attacks he said were being planned by the late Quds Force leader, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, have been disrupted. Esper also said the Trump administrations offer to negotiate a new nuclear deal with Iran without precondition still stands. Nine Afghan nationals were arrested and high quality 1.623 Kgs of heroin was also seized after an international drug syndicate was busted, Narcotics Control Bureau said on Sunday. "On specific information that few Afghanistan nationals are trying to get heroin trafficked in India via body concealment mode a special drive was launched on the arrival of the suspected flight," read an official statement. Of the arrested, seven were intercepted on arrival in Delhi on December 28, 2019, and were taken for a medical test that confirmed the presence of foreign entities in their stomach. The team led by AD Kuldeep Sharma under the supervision of undersigned laid a trap for few Afghan nationals who were arriving in India. In all seven passengers were rounded off for further examination. The seven intercepted Afghani passengers were taken for medical examination at Safdurjang Hospital where the test report confirmed about presence of foreign entities in their stomach following which the doctor opined for proper medical treatment to extract the ingested objects. The accused identified are--Yusufzai Rahmatullah, Faiz Mohammad, Nabizada Habibullah, Ahmedi Abdul Wadood, Turkman Abdul Hamid, Fazal Ahmed, Noorzai Kabir, Hayatullah and Masood Mohammad. Further investigation is underway. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Epstein Gave $850,000 to MIT, Visited 9 Times, Report Finds BOSTONDisgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein donated $750,000 to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and visited campus at least nine times as he sought to rehabilitate his image following a 2008 sex crimes conviction, according to findings released Friday by a law firm hired to investigate Epsteins ties with the school. The firm found that some MIT executives approved Epsteins donations but demanded that the gifts be kept out of the public spotlight in an attempt to protect the schools reputation. Internally, his gifts were recorded as anonymous donations, the report found, even as Epstein continued to flaunt his MIT ties online and in press releases. Investigators concluded that MITs leaders made significant errors of judgment but did not violate any laws or school policies in accepting gifts from a convicted sex offender. At the time, the school had no formal policy on accepting gifts from controversial donors, leaving officials to make ad hoc determinations, the report found. MIT says it will develop new policies. MIT Presiden, who was largely cleared in the report, called the findings a sharp reminder of human fallibility and its consequences. An enduring MIT value is the willingness to face hard facts, and as community voices have made clear, this situation demands openness and transparency, Reif wrote in a campus letter on Friday. In total, investigators found that Epstein made 10 donations totaling $850,000 to MIT between 2002 and 2017. Nearly all of it went to the MIT Media Lab or to Seth Lloyd, a mechanical engineering professor and former friend of Epstein. Former Media Lab director Joi Ito resigned last year amid uproar over his ties to Epstein. He issued a public apology and vowed to raise money for victims of trafficking. Lloyd, who has also apologized, was placed on paid administrative leave Friday amid findings that he purposefully failed to inform MIT about $100,000 he accepted from Epstein in 2012. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Investigators said Epstein contacted Lloyd in 2012 as he tried to refurbish his image after serving 13 months in jail for sex crimes in Florida. Epstein was disappointed that other universities were rejecting his money, the report says, and sent an email to Lloyd as a test. In the message, Epstein told Lloyd, Im going to give you two 50k tranches to see if the line jingles. Lloyd chose not to alert officials about Epsteins criminal past because he knew it would jeopardize the gift, the report found. He later acknowledged to investigators that he had been professionally remiss. The report says Lloyd also accepted $60,000 as a personal gift from Epstein in 2005 or 2006, and he received $125,000 from the financier in 2017 to support a sabbatical. In August, Reif announced that MIT would donate a sum equal to its Epstein donations to a charity that supports victims of sexual violence. The review found that Reif was not involved with Epsteins donations until the issue attracted public attention in 2019. The president has acknowledged that his signature is on a 2012 letter thanking Epstein for a donation, but said he does not recall signing it. Epstein, 66, killed himself in his New York City prison cell in August after he was arrested on sex trafficking charges. The wealthy financier had pleaded not guilty to sexually abusing girls as young as 14 and young women in New York and Florida in the early 2000s. In lawsuits, women say the abuse spanned decades. Certain senior leaders at MIT became aware of Epsteins philanthropy after he gave $100,000 to the Media Lab in 2013. That donation triggered discussions among at least three executives who initially decided to return the money but later approved Epstein as a donor as long as his gifts were kept quiet. A 2013 memo from Jeffrey Newton, who was then vice president for resource development, requested that officials Please mark all of Epsteins gifts as anonymous. We do not want his name appearing on any list of supporters or donors in any form, Newton wrote. No acknowledgment letters from the president. I think this is the best we can do right now. Along with Newton, who has since retired, the donations were approved by R. Gregory Morgan, senior vice president; and Israel Ruiz, executive vice president and treasurer. Morgan has also retired, and Ruiz has expressed deep regret, which we believe is sincere, for what he believes was a collective and continued error of judgment, the report found. In interviews with investigators, MIT officials said they knew of no other cases in which the school initiated a request to make a donors gifts anonymous. Such demands are typically made by donors, but the report found that Epstein made no effort to conceal his giving, and even publicized his donations despite objections from MIT administrators. As the Media Lab sought more donations from Epstein, it regularly invited him to campus to meet with faculty and researchers. From 2013 through 2017 he visited campus at least nine times, the review found, usually at the invitation of Ito. But from early on, staff had concerns. In a 2013 email, Ito wrote that some in his office were weirded out by Epstein. Some of the labs staff secretly called him Voldemort or he who must not be named, investigators found. Some said Epsteins presence made them feel uncomfortable, especially when he was joined by female assistants who appeared to be in their 20s. The visits were arranged without the knowledge of senior officials, the report found, and Ito stopped inviting Epstein in 2017. Epsteins last donation to the school was $25,000 given to the Media Lab in 2017. In February 2019, he tried to donate $25,000 that had been returned by Arizona State University as he faced federal scrutiny. Media Lab staff members rejected it without clearance from Ito, with one staff member noting that the lab had just awarded a prize to the founders of the #MeToo Movement. I think taking money from him would be a slap in the face to those winners, undermine the Disobedience Prize and make us look like hypocrites, the staff member wrote to Ito. On Friday, Reif promised a slate of changes in response to the findings. He said the school will create policies guiding gifts from controversial donors, and he called for new rules to keep the campus safe from visitors who could pose a direct threat. As all of you demonstrated, there is a great deal that is right with MIT, Reif wrote in his campus letter. We must fix what needs fixing and improve what needs improving. And we must make room for many more voices and perspectives. By Collin Binkley Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 12) A grenade explosion Sunday morning in the headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Quezon City hurt three, including a child, the military confirmed. AFP spokesperson BGen Edgard Arevalo said Sunday in a statement that the explosion, which happened inside the quarters of Staff Sergeant Larry de Guzman, hurt his 34-year-old wife, Erliza, and their 11-year-old son. Their shrapnel wounds are being treated at the V. Luna Hospital. Arevalo added that the soldier sustained bruises, while his five-year-old daughter was not injured. The incident appears to have emanated from a domestic problem where the spouses have been engaged in a heated argument prior [to] the incident, initial investigation further shows, Arevalo said. He added that there are indications that the soldiers wife could have triggered the explosion while her husband was about to leave their home. The AFP and the police are doing a deeper investigation on the incident, he said. CNN Philippines Vince Ferreras and David Santos contributed to this report. By now, most Americans have discovered that surviving the Trump years will require us all to draw deeply on psychological resources that we may never have had to tap before: perseverance, faith, a reliable source of indica-forward hybrids testing at 26% THC or higher, courage, and, of course, lots and lots of Columbo. Its never been more satisfying to watch the decadent rich lose games of wits with a dedicated public servant than it is today, as the decadent rich dedicate themselves to ruining public services. So Netflixs decision to drop the series from their streaming service three weeks before Trumps inauguration will no doubt come to be seen as one of the greatest human rights abuses of the Trump years not actually committed by the Trump administration. Most of the shows run can still be rented from Amazon Prime for $2.99 an episode, but the age of free, fair, and competitive Columbo streaming ended right when we needed it most. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But although the Columbo boom years are over, you dont have to import the 35-disc Japanese Blu-ray box set to escape our unpleasant reality into the carpeted haze of 1970s television: You can do it right here! The official Columbo YouTube channel is mostly supercuts and clip shows, but it does have six full episodes of classic Columbo, ready to watch or embed at will. As a result, Slate is pleased to announce the launch of our very own over-the-top streaming service, which the marketing department is calling, All of the Episodes of Columbo We Could Legally Embed on a Slate Dot Com Post for Free. Thats right: Weve secured the non-exclusive streaming rights to every episode of Columbo that we could embed on our website without paying anyone any money to secure any rights, which is six more free episodes of Columbo than Netfllx, HBO, Showtime, Amazon, and Disney Plus combined. As for the monthly cost for a subscription, well, how much have you got? To pass the time while you fill out our blank check, heres some Columbo. Murder by the Book The first episode of the Columbo series properthere are two earlier pilots that are harder to findMurder by the Book is famous for featuring the work of an up-and-coming television writer named Steven Bochco and an up-and-coming television director named Steven Spielberg. Their ambition shows from the first shot, a pull-back/zoom-out that swoops from Sunset Boulevard up through the floor-to-ceiling windows of an office on 9000 Sunset. Everything that makes Columbo great is on full display here: A whirlwind tour of the grotesqueries of wealth, an over-the-top performance from Jack Cassidy as the murderer, and of course, Peter Falk as Columbo, already fully committed to his unique investigative method, based primarily on annoying suspects until they trip up. Fun trivia: Cassidys character lives at 944 Airole Way in a glass box of a house that was the epitome of 1970s excess; the building has since been replaced by a much, much bigger glass box of a house that is the epitome of 2010s excess. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Etude in Black This episode may not be the most famous collaboration between Peter Falk and John Cassavetes, but its the only time they collaborated to tell a story about Lieutenant Columbo solving a murder, which gives it a leg up. Furthermore, its the only time either man worked with detective-from-another-era Myrna Loyone of those cross-generational moments that happened on Columbo all the timeand if that werent enough, Blythe Danners in it too. And its a classic example of a plot point in Columbo episodes that recurs almost as often as writing partners murdering each other: Lieutenant Columbo gets a break in the case because he happened to be watching television at exactly the right moment, an important reminder to always be watching television, especially when Columbo is on. Also, Columbo gives a stirring rendition of Chopsticks onstage at the Hollywood Bowl. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Any Old Port in a Storm Most viewers know Donald Pleasence for his role as James Bonds cartoonishly evil nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld, which means they are overlooking his role as Columbos cartoonishly evil nemesis Adrian Carsini. Equally successful as a classic Columbo episode and a history of the go-go years of Californias wine industrywait, on closer inspection its only successful as a classic Columbo episode. Still, when Pleasence discovers his vineyard is being sold to the Marino Brothers, he throws the best tantrum in the history of viticulture: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You are an adolescent imbecile, Rick! Do you think Im going to sit by and let some muscle-bound hedonist throw me out of what is rightfully mine? I have given! Twenty-five years! Of my life! To this land! Do you think Im going to let some ignorant Neapolitan turn it into a wino heaven? Also, director Leo Pennyes, thats Sean, Chris, and Michaels fatherwas clearly fascinated by the machinery used in industrial wine production, so if you like your murder mysteries to include cheerful footage of bright green bottles being filled with wine at great speed, this is the Columbo episode for you. Publish or Perish This episode opens with a bombmaker who lights the fuses on his cartoonish sticks of dynamite by setting an open fire in a 1970s kitchen mixing bowl, which he stores right next to all his other bombs. Seriously: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And yet that ridiculousness is nowhere close to the most fun thing about Publish or Perish, because Jack Cassidy is once again playing the murderer. In Murder by the Book, Cassidy played a writer who murders another writer, but this time he tackles a very different role: a publisher who murders a writer. The big period touch in Spielbergs episode was an extreme zoom; here, its split screens, and plenty of them. Plus, pulp novelist Mickey Spillane plays the victim, and watching him get murdered on television is fun for fans of Spillanes work and also for fans of Kiss Me Deadly. Advertisement Negative Reaction Dick Van Dyke is not to be trusted and this Columbo episode proves it. Advertisement Try and Catch Me One of the all-time great Columbo episodes, this outing features Ruth Gordon as a woman who is certainly not Agatha Christie, in a case that revolves around the rights to a play that is certainly not The Mouse Trap. There are only so many different ways Columbo can face off against the people who create things like Columbohes investigated television producers, an actor playing a TV detective, and a long line of mystery writersbut building an extremely literal locked-room mystery around an Agatha Christie figure was one of the shows most satisfying looks in the mirror. That all comes down to Ruth Gordon, who is an absolute delight: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So far, those are the only full episodes of Columbo available on the Columbo YouTube channel, which means theyre the only full episodes of Columbo available on Slates brand new and entirely imaginary streaming service. Readers who need to spend longer than six hours, fifty-three minutes, and fifty-four seconds retreating from modernity will have to find other suppliers of pure, uncut Columbo, try to make do with shake and seeds like The Best of William Shatner, or rise to a prominent position in the civic life of Los Angeles, then attempt to commit a perfect murder. Barring that, theres always that Japanese box set! Pakistan's Border Action Team is suspected to have decapitated a porter, who was among two civilians killed along the Line of Control. (Photo Credit: File Photo) New Delhi: Pakistan's Border Action Team is suspected to have decapitated a porter, who was among two civilians killed along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district on Friday, and taken away the head, officials said in Jammu. The body of Mohammad Aslam (28) was badly mutilated and his head was missing, a senior police officer said. This is the first time that any civilian has been beheaded by the BAT, which comprises Pakistani army regulars and terrorists, though similar incidents involving security personnel have taken place in the past, they said. Asked about the killings by Pakistan, Army Chief Gen M M Naravane said on Saturday that professional armies never resort to "barbaric" acts and they "will deal appropriately with such situations in a military manner". A defence spokesman had earlier said that Aslam and Altaf Hussain (23), both residents of Kassalian village of Gulpur sector, were killed and three others injured after being hit by a mortar shell when Pakistani Army targeted a group of Army porters who were carrying logistics for the troops in a forward area close the LoC on Friday. However, officials said on Saturday that the head of one of the porters was missing and is believed to have been taken away by the BAT. "The body of Aslam was headless when handed over to police for completion of legal formalities. The bodies of both the porters were handed over to their families and their last rites were conducted in their village on Friday evening," the police officer said on condition of anonymity. He said the injured porters -- Mohamamd Saleem (24), Mohammad Showkat (28) and Nawaz Ahmad (35) -- are undergoing treatment in the hospital and their condition is stated to be "stable". "We will deal appropriately with such situations in a military manner," Gen Naravane said when asked about the incident at a press conference in Delhi ahead of the Army Day. He said the Indian Army conducts itself in the most professional and ethical manner including on the LoC. "Professional armies never resort to barbaric acts," he said. Congress condemns killings The opposition Congress strongly condemned the killings and questioned why Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh were "silent" on the "barbarism" by Pakistan. "Is the news of martyrdom run taking into account the government in power?" Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said. "When will Pakistan's cowardly acts be given a befitting reply? 10 heads for 1 when? Surjewala said on Twitter. (PTI Inputs) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Indian-Produced Naval Light Combat Aircraft Lands on Aircraft Carrier Vikramaditya for First Time Sputnik News 10:27 11.01.2020(updated 14:29 11.01.2020) New Delhi (Sputnik): The air variant of the light combat aircraft (LCA) has been named Tejas and is already operational with the Air Force. India becomes the sixth nation after Russia, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and China to have mastered the art of arrested landing on the deck of an aircraft carrier. India joined a select group of countries on Saturday morning when its domestically-produced naval version of a light combat aircraft (LCA) successfully landed on the deck of aircraft carrier INS Vikrmaditya in the Arabian Sea. The Indian Navy confirmed that a two-seater LCA successfully landed on Vikramaditya's deck at 10:02 a.m. (Indian Standard Time). "With this feat, the indigenously developed niche technologies specific to deck based fighter operations have been proven, which will now pave the way to develop and manufacture a twin engine deck-based fighter for the Indian Navy", the Navy said while joining countries such as the US, Russia, the UK, France, and China with the "textbook" arrested landing. The Air Force variant of the LCA has been named Tejas and is already operational. The Air Force has put in an order for 83 additional Tejas. The present air variant is capable of undertaking air defence operations and a conventional ground attack with heavy bombs. The naval version of the LCA received a major setback when in December 2016, the then Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba rejected the jet in the form it was at that time. The Navy then issued a request for information to buy 57 new fighters to supplement the Russian-built MiG-29Ks that it presently operates. The Indian Navy is looking to replace the MiG-29K by 2030-31 and the developer Aeronautical Development Agency in collaboration with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited expect the first flight of the advanced version of the naval LCA by 2026. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Imperial Valley News Center Man Pleads Guilty to Trafficking in CITES-Protected Water Monitor Lizards Tampa, Florida - Akbar Akram, a resident of Holiday, Florida, pleaded guilty Wednesday to illegally trafficking live water monitor lizards from the Philippines. Akram, 44, pleaded guilty in Tampa before U.S. District Judge William F. Jung to one count of wildlife trafficking in violation of the Lacey Act. According to plea documents, Akram admitted to illegally importing more than 20 live water monitor lizards from the Philippines between January and December 2016, in violation of United States law and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Treaty. To avoid detection by U.S. customs authorities, the lizards were placed in socks, which were sealed closed with tape, and then concealed inside electronic equipment and shipped under a false label. The equipment was then shipped via commercial carriers to Akrams associate, who resided in Massachusetts. As part of his plea, Akram admitted that he knew the monitor lizards he received had been taken in violation of Philippine law, and that the import violated U.S. law. Akram also admitted that upon receiving the monitor lizards, he sold some of them to customers, including customers in Colorado, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Akram violated Philippine law and U.S. law by illegally trafficking live water monitor lizards, said Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark for the Department of Justices Environment and Natural Resources Division. The Department of Justice will continue to prosecute those who flout federal laws and seek to profit from trafficking protected species. The illegal trafficking of protected species is a violation of federal law, said U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez for the Middle District of Florida. We will continue to work with our partners, nationally and internationally, to thwart these crimes. Monitor lizard is the common name for lizards comprising the genus Varanus. Monitor lizard species (there are approximately 70) are characterized by elongated necks, heavy bodies, long-forked tongues, strong claws, and long tails. Monitor lizards have a vast geographical range and are native to Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Water monitor lizards are semi-aquatic monitor lizards endemic to South and Southeastern Asia. Water monitor lizards, as their name suggests, are water dependent and easily swim long distances. This ability has allowed them to inhabit many remote islands. Some species of water monitor lizard are common and abundant in the pet trade, while others are extremely rare and are found only on specific islands. In addition to suffering increasing habitat loss due to rainforest destruction, water monitor lizards are often illegally collected from the wild and killed for bush meat, traditional medicine, or for their skins. Water monitor lizards are also targeted for their popularity in the international exotic pet trade. Exotic pet traders seek these water monitor lizards due to their attractive patterns, unique colors, intelligence, and rarity. The yellow-headed water monitor (Varanus cumingi), the white-headed water monitor (Varanus nuchalis), and the marbled water monitor (Varanus marmoratus), are species of large monitor lizards endemic to the Philippines. This case is part of Operation Sound of Silence, an ongoing effort by the Department of the Interiors Fish and Wildlife Service, in coordination with the Department of Justice, to prosecute those involved in the illegal taking and trafficking in protected species, including water monitor lizards. The investigation was handled by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Office of Law Enforcement, the United States Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Florida, and the Justice Departments Environmental Crimes Section. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Colin McDonell and Environmental Crimes Section Trial Attorney Gary N. Donner. PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Haitians on Sunday remembered the victims of the massive earthquake that killed more than 100,000 people a decade ago, although the ceremony was marked by a protest against political mismanagement now and then. President Jovenel Moise laid flowers at a memorial to the victims at a cemetery outside Port-au-Prince, joined by clergy, officials from his government and foreign ambassadors. The earthquake of January 12, 2010 left deep and indelible scars in the memory of an entire people, he said. The 7.0 magnitude quake that hit Haitis capital and surrounding areas just before 5 p.m. left a death toll ranging from around 100,000 to more than 300,000 people. Thousands still dont have adequate shelter a decade later, and the long-term quake response is widely seen as a failure by both the Haitian government and foreign governments and aid groups. Marie-Andre Michelle 42, said her children, aged 15 and 18, had died in the quake and even though she didnt know if they were buried at St. Christophe cemetery, she had saved to buy flowers to leave at the memorial in their honour. I am not sure if my kids are on this site. Bodies were picked up from the hospital like animals, she said. God only knows where they are now. A small group of protesters led by well-known Haitian comedian Mathias Dandor were pushed back from the ceremony by police, but reached the memorial afterwards and destroyed the wreath of white flowers left by Moise, leaving their own in its place. They said they were protesting years of government mismanagement, including Moises failure to take on corruption or improve the economy or security. The negligence of the state has cost thousands of people their lives, Dandor said. Gillian Anderson has revealed it 'would be the end' of her relationship with her screenwriter partner Peter Morgan if they ever moved in together. The Sex Education star, 51, told The Times she liked that 'there is nothing locking us in' by living separately, adding that they don't have to fear how they would manage the logistics should they ever split in the future. Gillian also spoke about balancing 16-hour days filming The X-Files with raising her eldest daughter Piper, now 25. 'That would be the end of us': Gillian Anderson has revealed it would ruin her relationship with partner Peter Morgan if they ever moved in together Speaking about her relationship with Peter, Gillian said: 'If we did, that would be the end of us. It works so well as it is, it feels so special when we do come together. And when I am with my kids, I can be completely there for them. It's exciting. 'We choose when to be together. There is nothing locking us in, nothing that brings up that fear of ''Oh gosh, I can't leave because what will happen to the house, how will we separate?''. 'I start to miss the person I want to be with, which is a lovely feeling. And it is so huge for me to be able to see a pair of trousers left lying on the floor at my partner's house and to step over them and not feel it is my job to do something about it!' Happy couple: The Sex Education star, 51, told The Times she liked that 'there is nothing locking us in' by living separately (pictured with Peter earlier this month) Gillian also said that she has regrets about her daughter having to fly back to see her father due to her own busy acting schedule years earlier. The star, who plays sex therapist Jean Milburn in the Netflix hit Sex Education, said she had always dreamt of the roles she was being offered, and doesn't regret parting from her children. Gillian has been teetotal since her early 20s, and went onto reveal she is obsessed with schedules after trying to see her children as much as possible while working away from them. She has two sons, Oscar, 13, and Felix, 11, with her ex-boyfriend Mark Griffiths - who she split from in 2012 - and went onto say she 'constantly' travelled to see them while filming two of The X-Files movies. Mother-daughter bond: She also spoke about balancing 16-hour days on the set of The X-Files with raising her eldest daughter Piper, now 25 (pictured together in 2017) Gillian also spoke about coming to terms with her three children growing up, adding that she wept when she breastfed for the last time. She also said she loves being at her partner's house and not having to worry about picking up his discarded laundry. Reports that Gillian had found love again broke in October 2016 when The Daily Mail's Sebastian Shakespeare confirmed she was telling friends about dating Peter. Gillian who lives in London, was at a party in New York with Peter to promote The Crown, where she was overheard telling friends they were in a relationship. Peter, whose cinematic hits include The Queen and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, was married to Lila Schwarzenberg - born Princess Anna Carolina zu Schwarzenberg - until 2014. He already has five children with her. Since the relationship revelation, Gillian has supported Peter when The Crown went up for a nomination at The Golden Globes. Gillian has Piper with ex husband Clyde Klotz, who she was married to from 1994-1997. Why did President Trump order the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani? Trump claimed that it was to prevent an imminent threat. However, no U. S. spokesperson has provided any indication of the nature of any alleged threat. Moreover, it is hard to even conceive of any imminent threat that could have been averted by the killing of that one general. Many commentators have expressed the opinion that the real reason for this murder was to divert attention from Trumps impeachment hearing. In my view, that is a very plausible conjecture. There are a number of different governments and organizations involved in various civil wars in the Middle East. For many years, the United States has supported some of these groups. The U.S. always claims that it intervenes for the purpose of establishing democracy. That is hard to believe. For example, Saudi Arabia is an autocracy; nonetheless, the U.S. has never threatened the Saudi regime. For another, the U.S. backed Saddam Hussein as president of Iraq for many years. Was Saddams government of Iraq democratic while it was supported by the U.S.? In 2003, the U.S. decided to depose Saddam. President George W. Bush said the reason Saddam had to be eliminated was that Iraq was producing weapons of mass destruction. Over the years, it became very clear that that was a complete lie. (As someone suggested, Bush could have said I can prove that Saddam hid weapons of mass destruction; we didnt find any, did we?) Trump frequently brags that the U.S. has greater military power than any other nation. That is true. Thus, they dont need weapons or a few Canadian soldiers for logistic purposes. What the U.S. does need is political support. Much of the world regards the U.S. incursions in the Middle East as imperialistic. Canadas nominal participation in U.S. operations sends a message that those operations are legitimate. The U.S. often fails to notify Canada (and other allies) of battle plans, even when their attacks might provoke the killing of Canadians. For example, Canada was not informed of the planned assassination of the general, even though there was a high risk that Iranian retaliation would hurt Canadian soldiers. The U.S. operations promote its economic interests (especially in oil reserves) and political goals (including the lessening of the influence of Iran, Russia and other countries). Canada receives very little from its support as a junior partner. On the other hand, our participation leads to the deaths of Canadian soldiers and makes all Canadians potential victims of terrorist actions, at home as well as in the Middle East. In the wake of the killing of Soleimani, even the parliament of Iraq has said it wants all foreign troops out of their country. There does not seem to be any good reason for Canadian soldiers to fail to comply with the request to leave. Peter Rosenthal is Professor Emeritus of Mathematics and was formerly Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Toronto. He recently retired from the practice of law. Read more about: False: NIA official part of Pulwama attack probe had not submitted dubious bills Top Lashkar commander gunned down with two more terrorists in Pulwama 2 terrorists shot dead in encounters in Pulwama India oi-Madhuri Adnal Pulwama, Jan 12: Two terrorists were killed in an encounter that broke out between militants and security forces in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, police said. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Gulshanpora area of Tral in the south Kashmir district Sunday morning after receiving specific intelligence about the presence of militants there, a police official said. Grade A Intel: Battle hardened terrorists from Pak-Afghanistan ready to hit J&K J&K cop caught with 2 Hizbul & Lashkar terrorists in Kashmir|OneIndia News He said as the forces were conducting the searches, the militants fired at them, triggering an encounter. The exchange of fire was going on, the official said, adding further details are awaited. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, January 12, 2020, 11:42 [IST] With profound sadness and great joy, our family would like to share the gift of a new angel, and the passing of Sandra Suzanne Bednarski, 80. Born in Rochester, N.Y., in 1939, Sandra retired in Rio Rancho, N.M., in 1997, where she lived until her heavenly departure, on Dec. 29, 2019. Sandra was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin and friend to many. Sandra did not have to look too far for the love of her life. Sandra married her childhood friend, who happened to be the boy across the street, Charles, in 1959. Sandra, Charles and their three children traveled to many countries, lived in Germany and Taiwan a total of nine years while Charles was in the Air Force, then landed at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., in December 1975. Sandra concentrated on growing her children to a place of independence, graduated from nursing school in 1980 and practiced nursing until she retired in 1997. After retiring, Sandra and Charles spent time pointing their motor-home in any direction and seeing this great country of ours. Between travels, Sandra donated many hours volunteering, teaching adults English as a second language. Sandra became active in her church, and she cherished spending time with her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and family. Sandra is survived by her husband of 60 years, Charles; daughter Jody Godard, and her husband, Glenn Godard; daughter Mary Bowers and her husband, Alan Bowers; son, Michael Bednarski; granddaughter Natasha Godard and her husband, Bill Weiss; granddaughter Cassandra Nogales and her husband, Damacio Nogales; grandson Alan Bowers Jr. and his wife, Meghan Bowers; granddaughter Ashley McCraw and her husband, Brandon McCraw; six great-grandchildren; siblings Mauro, Diane, Paul and Michael; and a warehouse full of nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, cousins and many others who loved her as their own. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at the Community of Joy Lutheran Church on Jan. 18, 2020, at 10:30 a.m. The church is at 841 Saratoga Drive NE in Rio Rancho, N.M. A reception will follow. New Delhi: A group of people protest over the killing of top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in a US airstrike in Baghdad, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Jan 12, 2020. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi: A group of people protest over the killing of top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in a US airstrike in Baghdad, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Jan 12, 2020. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi: A group of people protest over the killing of top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in a US airstrike in Baghdad, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Jan 12, 2020. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi, Jan 12 : Members of the Shia Muslim community took out a march from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar, here on Sunday, to protest against killing of Iranian General Qasim Soleimani by the USA and raised anti-Washington slogans. The All India Shia Council-organised march demanded trial of American President Donald Trump in the International Court of Justice for war crimes for killing the Iranian General who was on an official tour to Iraq and declaration of the USA as a terrorist state. "The USA has adopted double-standard on terrorism. It claims to be against terror, but killed an Iranian General who was fighting the ISIS. In a way, the US and Israel are supporting terrorists in the world," said Jalal Haider, one of the organisers of the protest. They also demanded that India declare Qasim Soleimani a martyr as he helped the country in crucial times. A street in the national capital should be named after him, they said. The protestors also paid homage to crash victims of Ukranian plane, mistakenly hit by Iranian army. Residents of northwestern North Carolina can expect rain and wind between now and 1 a.m. Sunday, according to the National Weather Service in Raleigh. Its on our doorstep right now basically, said meteorologist Gail Hartfield. Weve got a line of storms moving through into the Asheville area and will continue to progress eastward. Hartfield said the storms have caused a good amount of severe weather from Mississippi to Kentucky. The storms are expected to weaken before they reach Winston-Salem. Its expected to weaken some as it comes into our area, but a chance for severe weather remains, Hartfield said. Things are going to get blown around, she said. Were expecting winds of 40 to 50 mph gusts and were pretty confident were going to get that. Sustained winds are going to be anywhere from 20 to 25 mph. Guilford County has already reported wind gusts of up to 40 mph, based on data recorded at Piedmont Triad International Airport. Hartfield recommended people stay inside for the evening and avoid going out and about. There is a chance for trees and branches to fall, knocking out power in the process, she said. A 12-year-old boy has been rushed to hospital after he was shot in a drive-by attack in Sheffield. Police received reports that shots had been fired near 3.45pm today, with the boy suffering an injury to his leg. He was taken to hospital for treatment and remains in a stable condition. There is an increased policing presence in the Arbourthorne area of Sheffield this evening following the shooting. The shooter, in a white car, fired shots at a group of children and adults before driving away from the scene. A white car was later seen ablaze around two miles from the scene, though it is unclear if the vehicle was the same as the one used in the shooting. The gunman, in a white car, fired shots at a group of children and adults before driving away from the scene in Sheffield Detective Inspector Denise Booth, of South Yorkshire Police, said: 'Specialist officers have been in the area this afternoon and evening, examining the scene and speaking to witnesses as we work to piece together the exact circumstances of this incident, what led to it and to identify those responsible. 'What we know so far is that the boy was with a group of other people, both children and adults, in the Errington Road area when a white car is said to have driven past, firing shots out of the window. 'The car left the area heading towards East Bank Road. 'In the early stages of the investigation, as we continue to gather evidence, we are exploring all lines of enquiry as to the motive of the incident. 'I understand and appreciate the concern this news will cause within the local community particularly given the victim's age, and to help provide some reassurance to residents, we will have an increased presence in the area tonight and over the coming days. This matter is an absolute priority for us and it's imperative that anyone with information or concerns speaks to an officer. 'You can also pass information to us via 101, quoting incident number 516 of 12 January 2020. 'I'd also like to remind people that if they don't feel comfortable speaking to the police they can call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or submit information via their website crimestoppers-uk.org.' A day after Indian Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane said his force will seize control of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), if the government orders, the Pakistan Army on Sunday dismissed his statement as a routine rhetoric for domestic audiences. As far as PoK is concerned, there was a parliamentary resolution many years ago that the whole of erstwhile J&K is a part of India. If Parliament wants that area should be ours at some stage and if we get such orders, we will definitely act on those directions, General Naravane had said while addressing a press conference on Saturday. Chief spokesperson for Pakistan Army, Major General Asif Ghafoor took to Twitter to respond to the remark, saying: [The] statements by [the] Indian COAS to undertake military action across [the] LoC are routine rhetoric for domestic audiences to get out of ongoing internal turmoil. General Naravane knows full well the situation in the region and the capability of the Pakistan Army. He was part of the Indian force on Feb 27 as well. So hes not new, the DG ISPR added. Pakistans Foreign Office also denounced General Naravanes statement as reckless, saying: We reject the new Indian army chiefs irresponsible statement regarding pre-emptive strikes across the LoC inside Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Indian leadership should not be mistaken about Pakistans resolve and readiness to thwart any aggressive Indian move, inside its territory or AJK, the FO added. The Graham (Polly) Farmer Foundation for the AFL player legend will benefit from a funding grant by Motorola which has announced it will give more than US$10 million in grant funding this year to charitable organisations around the world through its Motorola Solutions Foundation. The Polly Farmer Foundation offers a variety of academic enrichment programs for indigenous students across Australia pursuing degrees in engineering and technology. Motorola says the worldwide grants allocations to 250 non-profit organisations that provide education in technology, engineering and public safety will benefit more than two million students, first responders, teachers, veterans and community members in 32 countries. The Foundation is committed to supporting both todays and tomorrows engineers and first responders, said Monica Mueller, executive director of the Motorola Solutions Foundation. We are proud to partner with organisations across the globe that work to create safer cities and promote innovative technology education for students. Motorola says that since 1995, the Motorola Solutions Foundation has awarded nearly US$300 million in grants, and this years grants were awarded based on input from more than 400 Motorola Solutions employees worldwide who volunteered to be grant reviewers. Heres the full list of Motorola grants internationally and in North America: International The Graham (Polly) Farmer Foundation Inc.: Offers a variety of academic enrichment programs for indigenous students across Australia pursuing degrees in engineering and technology. Passerelles Numeriques: Provides education as well as technical and professional training in the digital sector to underprivileged youth. University College London: Teaches students and staff about the physical vulnerability of school buildings against earthquakes, floods and typhoons through a program focused on the safety of community and school facilities. North America Two recent polls show how the race to become the Democratic nominee for president remains decidedly split in Iowa, while black voters across the country have a clear preference. In Iowa, likely caucusgoers continue to be pretty evenly split among four candidates, although there has been some significant shifts among the top tier contenders. Sen. Bernie Sanders has gained ground in Iowa to lead the pack with 20 percent, which marks a five-point jump from November, according to the latest Des Moines Register/Mediacom/CNN poll. The rest of the top three candidates are in a statistical tie behind him. Advertisement In contrast to Sanders gains, former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg has plunged nine points from November and is now in third place with 16 percent. Sen. Elizabeth Warren gained one point and stands at 17 percent while former Vice President Joe Biden holds steady at 15 percent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Below the top four is Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who stands at 6 percent and businessman Andrew Yang with 5 percent. The rest of the field dont cross the three-percent threshold. Even though caucus day is less than a month away the poll suggests things could still move quite a bit. One-in-eight caucusgoers say they still dont have a first choice candidate, and around 45 percent of those who picked a contender said they could be convinced to support someone else. Advertisement Advertisement While the race is decidedly split in Iowa, among black voters, the Democratic contest has a clear winner. And it isnt even close. According to a Washington Post-Ipsos poll released Saturday, 48 percent of Democratic-leaning black voters support Biden, in part due to his time as former President Barack Obamas vice president. Sanders comes in second place with 20 percent, while Warren is in a distant third place with nine percent. The one exception to Bidens dominant position with black Democratic voters is among those under 35. In the age range of 18 to 34, Sanders has a clear lead with 42 percent compared to Bidens 30 percent. The age divide is stark though as Sanders support plunges to 16 percent among black Democrats aged 35 to 49. Queensland Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch will still not say whether she supports Adani's Carmichael coal mine, despite acknowledging the links between climate change and the nation's devastating fire season. "I think the science is absolutely clear on climate change, and we are now living the actual predictions of scientists from over a decade ago," she said. Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch says "we are now living the actual predictions of scientists from over a decade ago" but she won't say what her stance is on Adani. Credit:Fairfax Media When asked if she supported Adani's mine, Ms Enoch said "it is always about that balance". "Let's be clear, one project is neither the harbinger of doom nor the saviour of all jobs," she said. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 12 By Elnur Baghishov - Trend: The Iranian parliament held a closed session dedicated to the crash of the Ukrainian aircraft near Parand city, Tehran province on January 8, Trend reports referring to the Iranian parliament's website. While speaking at the session, Speaker of the Iranian parliament Ali Larijani said that Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Hossein Salami made the report regarding the preparation of the Iranian forces to combat the US, as well as the incident that resulted in shooting of the Ukrainian aircraft. Larijani expressed hope that as a result of the necessary measures, such incident will not reoccur. The speaker of the Iranian parliament added that the Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy commission will investigate the incident related to the plane crash. The Ukrainian International Airlines Boeing 737-800 crashed in Tehran province on Jan. 8, killing all 176 people on board. Iran's Armed Forces General Staff issued a statement on Jan. 11 saying that the aircraft was shot down by the Iranian Air Defense System. 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. Off and running. Nebraska's one-of-a-kind Legislature is back in town, picking up the pace on Monday as it launches into floor debate. A glance at Washington as the Senate prepares to consider conviction of President Trump following impeachment in the House provides a fresh reminder that Congress is a battleground for the political parties and Nebraska is doing this governing thing right. When state senators debate school discipline and a tax break for military veterans on Monday, they will make individual decisions not tied to staked-out party positions. The 49 members of the Nebraska Legislature are independent actors, not tied to party dictates or discipline. There is no Republican or Democratic caucus, no Majority Leader, no party whip who is taking names. Yes, both political parties participate in nonpartisan legislative elections in Nebraska, taking into account how senators have voted or how legislative candidates are likely to vote once they become senators. Yes, Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts has been active in legislative races, most notably in helping push some senators who are Republicans out of office because they voted against his wishes on issues the governor considered vital. But, with the notable exception of congressional redistricting, the parties are not openly active within the Legislature although they're likely to be actively engaged on a voter ID proposal this session. Perhaps the most remarkable recent example of independence in the Legislature came when senators overrode the governor's veto of legislation to abolish the death penalty in 2015. Sixteen senators who were Republicans voted to override that veto by the Republican governor, joining 13 Democrats and Sen. Ernie Chambers, the sole registered nonpartisan, longtime champion of legislation to end the death penalty and sponsor of the bill. Would that have happened in a partisan Legislature? Not a chance. Nebraska's nonpartisan model may not be perfect; no one says it is. But it's the outlier that's closer to what George Washington and those other guys had in mind a couple hundred years ago. * * * Some senators are proposing changes now that do not disrupt the foundation or nature of a nonpartisan, one-house state legislature. An increase in the maximum size of the body from 50 to 55 senators. An increase in the number of term limits from two to three. Those are decisions that ultimately would be made by Nebraska voters in the form of amendments adopted to the state constitution. The argument for one additional four-year term is acquired knowledge and experience that may make a senator more valuable and effective. The counter-argument is the value of turnover, new talent and fresh faces. * * * One more observation about Nebraska's unique legislative model. And that is its remarkable openness. Forty-nine senators convening in a single chamber are relatively easy to keep track of, both by the public and the news media. Kansas counts 165 members in its two houses; Iowa has 150. And the Nebraska Legislature is remarkably open. Citizens can watch the Legislature in session and committee hearings live online. There are no conference committees where bills often go to be reshaped or reinvented or buried behind closed doors. The news media has remarkable access in the Nebraska Legislature, positioned inside the chamber and able to speak with senators at both sides of the floor when the Legislature is in session. The media can sit in on committee executive sessions and is free to report what happens. This is an open government model. * * * Finishing up: * It was beginning to look awfully Biblical before both sides stepped away from that U.S.-Iran confrontation. * Chuck Hagel, speaking during an interview on WBUR, the NPR news station in Boston: President Trump "treats the Congress as inconsequential" as he ignores or fails to recognize its constitutional authority and prerogatives. * When asked whether he would have sought a third term and another four years in the Legislature if he could, Speaker Jim Scheer of Norfolk said no. It's time to move on after eight years, he said. * And why shouldn't we hear what John Bolton knows and is willing or wants to say? And why shouldn't the Senate want to acquire all the knowledge and understanding that it can? * In a world of amazing headlines, this from The Washington Post: "Trump administration refuses to heed Iraq's call for troop withdrawal." That is the language of foreign occupation. * Jane Kleeb's book, "Harvest the Vote: How Democrats Can Win Again in Rural America" will be in book stores on Jan. 21. * And now it's 28 days before pitchers and catchers report; the State Patrol wants to know. Reach the writer at 402-473-7248 or dwalton@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSdon Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 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. The MetService had forecast a cold and windy start to the last week as a cold front crossed over the far south of the South Island. The lingering southerly winds behind the front meant that for much of the working week New Zealanders experienced below average temperatures for this time of the year. By midweek most of the showers had cleared as a ridge of high pressure pushed onto the country. Temperatures remained cool until the end of the week when another front headed towards the country. This cold front had a lot more atmospheric support and Severe Weather Warnings and Watches were issued for much of the South Island and the far south of the North Island for the weekend. On Saturday and during the early hours of Sunday strong northwest winds preceded the front and affected exposed places in the South Island, Wellington and Wairarapa, says MetService meteorologist Kyle Lee. The most extreme gusts were felt in Fiordland where they peaked at 160km per hour, and parts of the Canterbury High Country gusted up to 150km per hour. Areas included in the Watch, like the Canterbury Plains and Wellington, recorded gusts up to 100-110km per hour. Strong winds are expected to ease Sunday afternoon, apart from in Marlborough and the southern North Island. Heavy Rain Warnings and Watches remain in force for these areas. So far parts of the headwaters in the South Island have seen up to 150mm of rain in the last 24 hours. This includes the Canterbury High Country, mainly south of the Rakaia River. Further north is expected to continue seeing the Heavy Rain until around 4pm today, says Lee. This front is forecast to move over the North Island tomorrow, while weakening. Although it is expected to bring rain to most places, northern areas are in line to miss out on the rain. This is not great news though, as dry conditions continue there. A look ahead shows a high-pressure system moving onto the country from late Monday, bringing settled weather to most of New Zealand for the working week. However, some lingering southerly winds will bring rain to eastern parts of the North Island. Irans security forces have deployed in large numbers across the capital, expecting more protests after its Revolutionary Guard admitted to accidentally shooting down a passenger plane at a time of soaring tensions with the United States. Riot police in black uniforms and helmets gathered in Vali-e Asr Square in the city as calls circulated for protests. Revolutionary Guard members patrolled the city on motorbikes and plainclothes security men were also out in force. The plane crash early on Wednesday killed all 176 people on board, mostly Iranians and Iranian-Canadians. After initially blaming a technical failure, authorities finally admitted to accidentally shooting it down in the face of mounting evidence and accusations by western leaders. The plane was shot down as Iran braced for retaliation after firing ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq housing American forces. Expand Close People gather for a candlelight vigil in Tehran (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp People gather for a candlelight vigil in Tehran (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP/PA) The ballistic missile attack, which caused no casualties, was a response to the killing of General Qassem Soleimani, Irans top general, in a US airstrike in Baghdad. Iranians have expressed anger over the downing of the plane and the misleading explanations from senior officials in the wake of the tragedy. Hundreds of students gathered at Tehrans Shahid Beheshti University on Sunday to mourn the victims and protest against authorities for concealing the cause of the crash, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported. They later dispersed peacefully. Others, including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, posted all-black photos on their Instagram accounts in mourning. President Donald Trump, who has expressed support for past waves of anti-government demonstrations in Iran, addressed the countrys leaders in a tweet, saying DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. The World is watching. More importantly, the USA is watching, he tweeted. Iranians took to the streets in November after the government hiked gas prices, holding large protests in several cities. The government shut down internet access for days, making it difficult to gauge the scale of the protests and the subsequent crackdown. Amnesty International later said more than 300 people were killed. A candlelight ceremony late on Saturday in Tehran turned into a protest, with hundreds of people chanting against the countrys leaders including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and police dispersing them with tear gas. Police briefly detained the British ambassador to Iran, Rob Macaire, who says he went with the intention of attending the vigil and did not know it would turn into a protest. Can confirm I wasnt taking part in any demonstrations! he tweeted. Went to an event advertised as a vigil for victims of #PS752 tragedy. Normal to want to pay respects some of victims were British. I left after 5 mins, when some started chanting. He said he was arrested 30 minutes after leaving the area. The UK said its envoy was detained without grounds or explanation and in flagrant violation of international law. Expand Close People gathered at Amri Kabir University in Tehran (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp People gathered at Amri Kabir University in Tehran (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP/PA) The Iranian government is at a cross-roads moment. It can continue its march towards pariah status with all the political and economic isolation that entails, or take steps to de-escalate tensions and engage in a diplomatic path forwards, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement. Irans deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi later tweeted that Mr Macaire was arrested as an unknown foreigner in an illegal gathering. Mr Araghchi said when police informed him that a man was arrested who claimed to be the British ambassador he did not believe them. But he said that once he spoke to Mr Macaire by phone he realised it was him, and that the ambassador was freed 15 minutes later. Irans Foreign Ministry later summoned the British ambassador over his illegal and inappropriate presence at the protest, it said on its Telegram channel. He wasn't detained, but arrested as unknown foreigner in an illegal gathering. When police informed me a man's arrested who claims to be UK Amb, I said IMPOSSIBLE! only after my phone conversation w him I identified, out of big surprise, that it's him. 15 min later he was free. pic.twitter.com/VjuZxN1oTN Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) January 12, 2020 Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a member of Irans parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, accused the ambassador of organising protests and called for his expulsion. Dozens of hard-liners later gathered outside the British Embassy, chanting Death to England and calling for the ambassador to be expelled and for the closure of the embassy. Police stood guard outside the facility. Iranian media, meanwhile, focused on the admission of responsibility for the crash, with several newspapers calling for those responsible to apologize and resign. The hardline daily Vatan-e Emrouz bore the front-page headline, A sky full of sadness, while the Hamshahri daily went with Shame, and the IRAN daily said Unforgivable. Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said that she tore the notification regarding the implementation of Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said that she tore the notification regarding the implementation of Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). Chief Minister Banerjee, who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier today, said that she has informed him that if he wants to do the National Register for Citizens (NRC) and CAA, then he will have to do it over her body. "Yesterday, I saw their notification (regarding CAA). I have torn it. So, that's why I had come here today to protest. Even I have said to the Prime Minister that we are against the CAA. If you want to do NRC and CAA, you will have to do it over my body," said Banerjee, while addressing the protesting students from different universities against the CAA and the NRC. Prime Minister Modi launched the Interactive Light and Sound Show of Rabindra Setu (Howrah Bridge) in Kolkata. Governor of West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar and Chief Minister Banerjee were also present on the occasion. "I was invited to several programmes but I went only for one event at the Millennium Park, due to the Constitutional obligation. I met the Prime Minister and told him that we are against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Population Register," said Banerjee. The Prime Minister is on a two-day visit to West Bengal. By Kang Seung-woo President Moon Jae-in is seeing his role as a facilitator in the denuclearization talks between the United States and North Korea diminishing as Pyongyang has made it clear that there is no room for his government to meddle. Kim Kye-gwan Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue M G Vaidya has said that Maharashtra, among the country's biggest states by area and population, could be divided into "three to four parts". Vaidya was talking to a channel here on Saturday. "It is my opinion that if population of Maharashtra is around 11-12 crore, then it can be divided into three to four parts," Vaidya, a former RSS spokesperson, said. Spread over 307,713 square kms, the state is the third largest in area after Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Its population of 11.2 crore, as per Census 2011, is the second highest after Uttar Pradesh's 19.9 crore. Vaidya had expressed the same opinion in 2016 as well, at the time claiming the ideal population of a state was "three crore" and to achieve this, smaller states needed to be formed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Priyanka Gandhi said the police are still clueless about the perpetrators who committed the crime. New Delhi, Jan 12 (IANS) Five days after the killing of senior healthcare executive Gaurav Chandel in Greater Noida, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday slammed Uttar Pradesh Government over its 'lethargic' attitude and deteriorating law and order situation in the state. The Congress leader in a series of tweets demanded that the family of a 39 year-old victim should be given "justice as soon as possible". She raised questions on law an order arrangements of the UP government, saying "if criminals are so much active in the areas like Noida, what would be the situation in other areas in UP". Gaurav Chandel, who was the regional manager of a private firm, and a resident of Greater Noida west, was murdered on the night of January 7, 2020 after being robbed near his house. It is suspected that the killers were a gang of carjackers who had posed as cops and asked Chandel to stop near Parthala Chowk on Monday (January 6) night when he was on his way home in Gaur City from his office in Gurugram's Udyog Vihar. "The government's action is lethargic in the killing followed by robbery," Priyanka, who is likely to visit the residence of Chandel and meet his family members on Sunday, said. rak/skp/ 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. 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) Read more WASHINGTON House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday that senators will pay a price if they block new witnesses from testifying in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. She said Americans expect a fair trial. Pelosi, D-Calif., said the House plans to vote this week to transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate for the historic trial on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress over Trump's actions toward Ukraine. It will be only the third impeachment trial in American history. Its about a fair trial, Pelosi told ABC's 'This Week." "They take an oath to have a fair trial and we think that should be with witnesses and documents." She warned: "Do that or pay a price. Right before Pelosi was set to appear for the interview, Trump tweeted against Pelosi, calling her a derisive nickname, Crazy Nancy.'' Asked about Trump's tweet, Pelosi, "Every knock from him is a boost. The Democratic-run House is set to vote this week to send the articles of impeachment to the Republican-controlled Senate after Pelosi ended a more than three-week delay. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is seeking a speedy trial to acquit the president. McConnell is reluctant to call more witnesses and has proposed a process similar to the last impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton in 1999 that would start the proceedings and then vote later on hearing new testimony. Pelosi said senators need to consider new witnesses, including former national security adviser John Bolton's announcement he would be willing to testify. Democrats are trying to put pressure on senators, particularly those up for reelection in 2020, to consider new testimony. She defended her decision to delay sending the articles of impeachment against the president saying is produced new potential evidence and turned public attention on the upcoming trial. The House voted more than three weeks ago to impeach Trump on charges that he abused his power by pressuring the president of Ukraine to investigate Democrats, specifically Trump political rival Joe Biden. Trump was also charged with obstruction of Congress for trying to block the House investigation. In a leaked internal post that could have a profound impact on how people view Facebook's role in the 2020 Presidential election, a top company executive says the social network has "tools" to stop a 2020 Donald Trump presidential victory, but shouldn't use them. "As tempting as it is to use the tools available to us to change the outcome, I am confident we must never do that or we will become that which we fear," Facebook executive Andrew Bosworth wrote in a private post last month that was subsequently obtained and published on Tuesday by The New York Times. In the post, which was debated by Facebook employees, Bosworth said that he's been "desperately wanting to pull any lever at my disposal to avoid" Trump winning the 2020 Presidential election. But he believes a scene from Lord of the Rings is enough reason not to do it. "Specifically when Frodo offers the ring to Galadrial [sic.] and she imagines using the power righteously, at first, but knows it will eventually corrupt her," Bosworth wrote. According to the Times, Bosworth called himself a "liberal" in the post, and debated other employees who took issue with his argument (and Facebook policy) that the company shouldn't remove politicians' content, even if they contain misinformation. Some employees suggested Facebook should remove political posts containing misinformation, including those from the President. It was nothing, if not a badly timed leak for Facebook. The company, along with its chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, has faced widespread criticism for its role in providing a platform for the spread of misinformation during the 2016 election. Some blame Facebook for playing a role in getting Trump elected in the first place. Bosworth is one of the top executives at Facebook and widely believed to be a close ally to Zuckerberg. His seeming acknowledgement in the post that Facebook has the ability to adjust the flow of information and in some way impact the 2020 election could raise eyebrows on both sides of the aisle. It could also prove to be a major misstep as Facebook tries to maintain independence in the eyes of conservatives and liberals who fear how its impact might influence the election. For its part, Facebook told the Times that the Bosworth post was indeed real, but not meant for "public consumption." The social network also included a comment from Bosworth, who called on Facebook employees to "continue to accept criticism with grace as we accept the responsibility we have overseeing our platform." So far, neither Trump nor his opponents on the Democratic side have commented on the Bosworth post or what the implications of his comments might mean for the 2020 election. Federation of Somali Journalists has today strongly condemned conviction of the editor of the privately-owned independent Horn Cable TV Mr Abdikadir Saleban Asayr (known as Oday) , saying it is clear intimidation to journalists. On Saturday, Mr Abdulakadir Saleban Aseyr has been sentenced to 1 year in prison by the Marodi Jeeh Regional Court in Somalilands capital Hargeisa,Somaliland and fined 3 milyan Somaliland shilings (270 euros). The editor was accused of spreading what the judge called a false news report he did on 2 November about an air safety related incident involving 1 November flight by Flydubai, a UAE-owned airline which reportedly complained against the services at Hargeisas Egal International Airport and subsequently forced the flight to be diverted to Djibouti and an interview with Suldan Abubakar Elmi Wabar who leads an armed separatist militia in Awdal region released from the TV. According to the presiding judge, Abdisalaan, found Oldon guilty of breaching articles 328 and 312 of penal code while clearing him of the governments allegations under article 220 of the penal code FESOJ strongly condemns the unlawful prosecution of editor Abdulkadir, and is a decision to undermine media work.We support the efforts of the lawyers defending of the journalist and the Somaliland Journalist Association who have been advocating the release of the journalist since he was detained Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu Secretray General of FESOJ said We share our concerns over Somalilands freedom of expression with SOLJA and we see that the harsh treatment of the independent media government will weaken the progress and work of the press Moalimuu added. While in prison, this reporter has been experiencing health problems, according to some of the relatives of the journalist. On 27 October 2019: Federation of Somali Journalists (FESOJ) hosted to Mogadishu three journalists working for the privately-owned Hadhwanaag online media who had fled their station in Hargeysa after repeated harassments and threats of imprisonment, as a result of their work, which has angered the current political leaders in Somaliland. The trio Abdirizak Good Nur, Director of Hadhwanaag Media, the editor Abdikani Abdullahi Ahmed and Abdirahman Shiekh Hassan are currently in Uganda where they sought asylum after receiving phone threats while in Mogadishu. Dignitaries pay respects to Sultan Haitham as Gulf state enters second day of mourning after predecessors death. Muscat, Oman Foreign officials have arrived in Omans capital, Muscat, to offer condolences to Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, the successor to the late Sultan Qaboos who died on Friday after nearly 50 years at the throne. Haitham acceded to power on Saturday after being named by Qaboos in a letter that was opened in the presence of members of the royal family and security services. Three days of national mourning were declared upon Qabooss death at 79, and condolences are currently being accepted at the Al Alam Palace, a ceremonial location in Muscat used to welcome dignitaries. Among the first to pay their respects on Sunday were Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif, on behalf of Irans President Hassan Rouhani, and the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Oman has maintained close relations with both nations despite other Gulf countries seeking to push back against the influence of Tehran and Doha in the region. On Saturday, Zarif tweeted in Arabic that Qabooss death was a loss for the region. Under Qaboos, Oman became a centre for back-door negations between Iran and the United States as well as between representatives of Yemens Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia, who have been locked in a devastating conflict since 2015. Sultan Haitham has been welcoming officials from across regional and global divides in a show of the success of his predecessors forcing policy, defined as being an enemy to no one and a friend to all. These well-wishers included Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Kuwaiti Emir Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, Tunisian President Kais Saied and former French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Haitham also welcomed an envoy of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Oyo Nyimba Kabamba, who is the king of Tooro, one of the five traditional kingdoms of Uganda. Omani state media was not covering the condolences live on Sunday and issued the same few lines on each meeting: Officials had offered their sincere condolences and sympathy on the death of Qaboos, calling on God to have mercy on his soul. They also wished patience and solace to the new sultan, the royal family and the Omani people. Queen Elizabeth: Qaboos was a good friend Sultan Haitham also welcomed the United Kingdoms Prince Charles and the countrys defence secretary, Ben Wallace, as well as the chief of staff of the British army, General Nicolas Carter. Oman state media earlier in the day said the sultan had received a cable of condolences from Britains Queen Elizabeth II, who said in a statement on Saturday that Sultan Qaboos was a good friend and that she was deeply saddened by his death. Queen Elizabeth had visited Oman in 2010 and said it remained a cherished memory. Oman has long enjoyed close ties with the UK, dating back to Qabooss accession to power in 1970 in a bloodless coup against his father that was heavily backed by the UK. His devotion to Oman, to its development and to the care of his people was an inspiration, Queen Elizabeth said. He will be remembered for his wise leadership and his commitment to peace and understanding between nations and between faiths. Trump: Qaboos friend to all While no US envoy had arrived in Muscat to pay condolences as of Sunday afternoon, US President Donald Trump said in a statement that Sultan Qaboos had undertaken unprecedented efforts to engage in dialogue and achieve peace in the region. He also said Qaboos had been a friend to all and a true partner and friend to the United States, working with nine different American presidents. Oman has long been a partner of the US, including in military cooperation through an agreement that has allowed the US to use Omani bases. Sultan Qaboos will truly be missed. Let us take comfort in knowing that his powerful legacy will live on, the statement said. An Australian media agency in New York has attached stuffed koalas to lamp-posts and poles to raise awareness of the bushfire crisis. Staff at Cummins&Partners, which is based in Melbourne but has a New York office, placed the stuffed toys around the Big Apple on Thursday. Each koala has a sign attached with information on how to donate to wildlife rescue group WIRES. Scroll down for video An Australian media agency in New York has attached stuffed koalas (pictured) to lamp-posts and poles to raise awareness of the bushfire crisis Staff at Cummins&Partners, which is based in Melbourne with a New York office, placed the stuffed toys (pictured) around the city on Thursday A dedicated Instagram account called Koalas of NYC was set up as part of the project. Pictures show koalas on poles, bridges, lamp-posts, signposts, trees and fire trucks around the city. More than one billion animals are thought to have been killed in the fires this season, including around 800million in New South Wales. It comes as Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday he will propose a national review into the response to the disaster. The Australian bush has been burning for nearly three months and the fires have killed 28 people, claimed 2,000 homes and consumed millions of acres of land and wildlife. The crisis is becoming increasingly political as the country looks at the causes and the government's response. Pictures show koalas on poles, bridges, lamp-posts, signposts, trees and fire trucks around the city A dedicated Instagram account called Koalas of NYC was set up as part of the project 'There is obviously a need for a national review of the response,' Morrison said in an interview with ABC television. Asked whether it should be a Royal Commission, a powerful judicial inquiry, Morrison said, 'I think that is what would be necessary and I will be taking a proposal through the cabinet to that end, but it must be done with consultations with the states and territories.' Morrison said that the inquiry would examine the response to the crisis, including the deployment of emergency services to battle the fires at a state and local level, the role of the federal government, and the impact of climate change. MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th January, 2020) It is important to end "corrupt" US presence in the region, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday, adding that the local states' governments do not accept the US presence in the middle East. "It is important to put an end to the corrupt American presence," Khamenei said during his speech following Iran's missile airstrikes on US military facilities in Iraq. The leader added that the peoples of the region and the governments did not accept the US presence in the Middle East region. Earlier in the day, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) started a revenge operation to retaliate to Washington's killing of IRGC's commander, Qasem Soleimani, on January 3. According to the Iraqi military, around 22 missiles hit the country, with 17 of them struck the US Ain Al Asad airbase and five attacked the Iraqi city of Erbil, targeting the coalition headquarters. A source in the IRGC said that 80 US soldiers were killed and around 200 others were injured, while the United States reported no casualties at all. Iranian authorities briefly detained Britain's ambassador in Tehran on Saturday, according to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, after he was reportedly arrested during protests against the regime. The arrest of our ambassador in Tehran without grounds or explanation is a flagrant violation of international law," Raab said in a statement after the detention of Rob Macaire. The minister warned Iran that it was "at a cross-roads moment", and had to choose between "its march towards pariah status" or "take steps to de-escalate tensions and engage in a diplomatic path forwards." Macaire was arrested for allegedly "inciting" protesters in Tehran angry at the military's accidental downing of a Ukranian passenger jet, killing 176 people, most of them Iranian citizens, according to the Daily Mail. He was released after around an hour, it added. President Hassan Rouhani said a military probe into the tragedy had found "missiles fired due to human error" brought down the Boeing 737, calling it an "unforgivable mistake". The admission was an "important first step", Prime Minister Boris Johnson said earlier Saturday. "We will do everything we can to support the families of the four British victims and ensure they get the answers and closure they deserve," he said in a statement issued by his Downing Street office. Johnson added that Britain would work closely with Canada, Ukraine and other international partners to ensure "a comprehensive, transparent and independent international investigation and the repatriation of those who died." "This tragic accident only reinforces the importance of de-escalating tensions in the region," he said. "It is vital that all leaders now pursue a diplomatic way forward." -PTI Also Read: United States secret operation in Yemen fails to kill Iranian military official 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... An FIR has been registered against a Kanpur-based firm and its operator in connection with negligence in distribution of free sweaters to students of state government-run primary and junior high schools. In the FIR, the firm and its operator have been charged under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 467 (forging official documents), 468 (forgery with purpose of cheating) and 471 (using forged document as genuine). Lucknows basic shiksha adhikari (BSA) Amar Kant Singh registered the FIR against the firm and its operator, Ashok Kumar Surekha of Kanpur, with Wazirganj police station here on January 5. A senior official of the education department said the firm had placed its bid through e-tendering process for distribution of sweaters to 1,86,040 students of primary and upper primary high schools in Lucknow district on August 16, 2019. He said the tender was allowed to the firm as they had placed the lowest bid after which purchase order was issued on November 16, 2019. He further said the firm was sent multiple reminders to complete the distribution work by December 1, 2019 but they failed to ensure full distribution. The firm distributed sweaters only to 44,649 students, which is only 24 per cent of the total allotted work. It also misused government funds by placing inflated bills, the official added. He said sweaters were distributed to students by hiring another firm. The BSA apprised Lucknow district magistrate Abhishek Prakash about non-completion of sweaters distribution following which the administration decided to register the FIR. Inspector of Wazirganj police station Deepak Dubey said police had summoned the firms operator to present documents and record his statements but so far he has not turned up. Dubey said the operator could be arrested if he did not turn up soon. These progressives in the General Assembly . . . their agenda is ramming through wasteful, unaccountable spending over the Kirwan Commission, Ready said, referring to the $4 billion education funding proposal that conservatives have criticized for being too costly. They want more spending on top of the spending we already do. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has told his Ukrainian counterpart that those behind the downing of the Ukrainian airliner will be brought to justice, the Ukranian presidency said. Rouhani told Volodymyr Zelensky that "all the persons involved in this air disaster will be brought to justice", it said. The Iranian head of state "fully recognises the tragedy that has occurred due to the mistakes of soldiers of this country" and apologised, it added. Zelensky asked Tehran to allow the bodies of the 11 Ukrainian victims to be repatriated "by January 19" and said Ukrainian diplomats had produced a list of steps to be taken to "resolve the compensation issue". "The Iranian side agrees with Ukraine on this issue," the statement added. After three days of denials, Tehran admitted early Saturday that it had "unintentionally" shot down the jet after a missile operator mistook the plane for a cruise missile. The Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) Boeing 737, which had been bound for Kiev, slammed into a field shortly after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport before dawn on Wednesday. The downing of the plane came hours after Tehran had launched a barrage of missiles at bases housing American troops in Iraq, retaliating for the killing of commander Qasem Soleimani in a US strike. As one of the juiciest jobs in Parliament, it is no surprise that the race to become the next chairman of the clandestine Intelligence and Security Committee is hotting up between two Tory knights. The plum role is being eyed by a number of grandees, including Sir John Hayes, pictured above With responsibility for oversight of Britains spooks, the plum role is being eyed by a number of grandees after the voters kicked out previous boss Dominic Grieve. The committee that meets in private shot to prominence before the Election after Downing Street refused to publish its findings into Russian interference in UK politics. The report remains buried until a new committee is convened. Although many no-hopers fancy their chances, I hear the race is coming down to debonair former Security Minister Sir John Hayes and ex-Guardsman and former Policing Minister Sir Mike Penning. After leaving government, no-nonsense Sir Mike has asked a number of intriguing and awkward questions of the Treasury about Russian businesses operating in the City of London. Meanwhile, raffish Sir John delighted the spooks after his herculean efforts to get the Investigatory Powers Act dubbed the snoopers charter by critics through the Commons. With his stonking majority, it will fall to the Prime Minister to give one or other the nod. The voters kicked out previous boss Dominic Grieve. The committee that meets in private shot to prominence before the Election Thrifty Lindsays pet project His predecessor John Bercow was known for his love of a taxpayer-funded limo, but no such frills for Sir Lindsay Hoyle. The Commons Speaker journeyed down from his constituency of Chorley by train on Saturday alongside his parrot Boris and Patrick the cat. Appropriately, I hear Boris has already learned to ape the classic Speakers cry of Order, order. The Commons Speaker journeyed down from his constituency of Chorley by train on Saturday alongside his parrot Boris and Patrick the cat Given that the journey from Brussels to London takes less than two hours by Eurostar, eyebrows were raised when new EC President Ursula von der Leyen chose to fly in for talks last week. In one of his last acts, outgoing Jean-Claude Juncker renewed the EUs notorious Air Taxi account. Three firms from France, Belgium and Portugal share a 9 million contract to provide the Euro-elite with chartered planes at the drop of the hat until 2021. I hear Labour exile Ed Balls had to gently persuade his wife Yvette Cooper not to launch another bid for the party leadership after friends warned she would be humiliated and struggle to fill a taxi with supporters. Pals say the penny only dropped after Yvette rang an old aide about putting a campaign team together only to be told they were already working for rival Jess Phillips. Socialist Clive Lewis is blaming the fact he is black for his lack of nominations to be Labour leader rather than colleagues thinking he is insufferable. Likely to be out of the race tomorrow, Clive should have heeded his own advice to a 1994 edition of Scrapie, the student magazine of Bradford University. Id love to be an MP, wrote young Clive, but added: Youve got to be in some sort of a faction to go anywhere further. Interestingly he also admitted: Id hate to live with myself. Id have punched myself by now if I did because I can be a hypocrite at times. Clive should have heeded his own advice to a 1994 edition of Scrapie, the student magazine of Bradford University Loyalist Hancock flatters to receive Former Tory MP Matthew Parris set tongues wagging by suggesting that Boris Johnson made an insulting gesture behind the back of a particularly obsequious colleague during his campaign for the keys to No 10. I can reveal the brown-noser in question was Health Secretary Matt Hancock, a rather zealous Johnson covert. But it looks like his hard work has paid off, with Hancock unlikely to be moved from overseeing the NHS in a reshuffle and there is plenty of cash to splash in that department these days. Theresa May dramatically withdrew Brexit Britains negotiating trump card our world-class security services and crime-fighting expertise amid a wave of terror attacks. But I hear the new administration is less squeamish about playing its ace. With Brussels making noises about demanding access to UK fishing waters before any deal on the City of London, a top negotiating source is adamant: Security is back on the table. Dividend paying stocks like Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) 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. Unfortunately, it's common for investors to be enticed in by the seemingly attractive yield, and lose money when the company has to cut its dividend payments. A 2.4% yield is nothing to get excited about, but investors probably think the long payment history suggests Sturm Ruger has some staying power. Some simple analysis can reduce the risk of holding Sturm Ruger for its dividend, and we'll focus on the most important aspects below. Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on Sturm Ruger! NYSE:RGR 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. 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. Looking at the data, we can see that 39% of Sturm Ruger's profits were paid out as dividends in the last 12 months. This is a middling range that strikes a nice balance between paying dividends to shareholders, and retaining enough earnings to invest in future growth. One of the risks is that management reinvests the retained capital poorly instead of paying a higher dividend. In addition to comparing dividends against profits, we should inspect whether the company generated enough cash to pay its dividend. The company paid out 88% of its free cash flow as dividends last year, which is adequate, but reduces the wriggle room in the event of a downturn. It's positive to see that Sturm Ruger'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 While the above analysis focuses on dividends relative to a company's earnings, we do note Sturm Ruger's strong net cash position, which will let it pay larger dividends for a time, should it choose. Remember, you can always get a snapshot of Sturm Ruger's latest financial position, by checking our visualisation of its financial health. 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. For the purpose of this article, we only scrutinise the last decade of Sturm Ruger's dividend 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 US$0.34 in 2010, compared to US$1.15 last year. Dividends per share have grown at approximately 13% per year over this time. Sturm Ruger's dividend payments have fluctuated, so it hasn't grown 13% every year, but the CAGR is a useful rule of thumb for approximating the historical growth. Sturm Ruger 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 see if earnings per share (EPS) are growing. Why take the risk of a dividend getting cut, unless there's a good chance of bigger dividends in future? Over the past five years, it looks as though Sturm Ruger's EPS have declined at around 18% a year. A sharp decline in earnings per share is not great from from a dividend perspective, as even conservative payout ratios can come under pressure if earnings fall far enough. Conclusion To summarise, shareholders should always check that Sturm Ruger's dividends are affordable, that its dividend payments are relatively stable, and that it has decent prospects for growing its earnings and dividend. Sturm Ruger's dividend payout ratios are within normal bounds, although we note its cash flow is not as strong as the income statement would suggest. Second, earnings per share have been in decline, and its dividend has been cut at least once in the past. Ultimately, Sturm Ruger comes up short on our dividend analysis. It's not that we think it is a bad company - just that there are likely more appealing dividend prospects out there on this analysis. You can also discover whether shareholders are aligned with insider interests by checking our visualisation of insider shareholdings and trades in Sturm Ruger stock. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our curated list of dividend stocks with a yield 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. Iran Leader ordered swift release of Ukraine plane downing details: Report Iran Press TV Saturday, 11 January 2020 11:07 AM Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei called on authorities to make all details about the accidental downing of a Ukrainian jet public after he heard about it, Fars news agency says. Ayatollah Khamenei also called for an investigation into possible negligence that led to the incident in which 176 people, mostly Iranians, lost their lives. The Leader, along with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, was notified of the matter on Friday after an internal military probe concluded that the downing was the result of "human error", Fars said. The report said the investigation had been concluded less than 48 hours following the crash on Wednesday. Ayatollah Khamenei called for the immediate release of the probe's findings as he ordered a meeting of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Friday night to investigate the incident. After the meeting, Iran's General Staff of the Armed Forces issued a statement on Saturday morning, acknowledging that the country's air defenses had "unintentionally" downed the aircraft. The statement stressed that those guilty would be brought to military justice and that "fundamental reforms" would be pursued to make future incidents "impossible". The incident happened as Iran had "raised the sensitivity" of its air defenses due to increased hostile American aerial activity which came after "threats by the criminal American president and military commanders" to hit Iranian targets, the statement read. All the 176 crew members and passengers, 147 of whom were Iranians, died in the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) crash which happened a few minutes after take-off from Tehran to Kiev on Wednesday. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Jammu: Havildar Rajendra Singh Negi in the Dehradun resident army recently posted in Gulmarg, Kashmir, slipped in the snow and reached the Pakistan border. At the same time, after the news has been received that there was chaos in the whole family. Tears are not stopping every moment due to the possibility of untowardness. The army says that the sergeant is being searched. While the family wants the government to pressure Pakistan to bring their son back to his homeland, like Wing Commander Abhinandan. At the same time, if sources are to be considered, then Rajendra Singh Negi, resident of Ambiwala Sainik Colony in Dehradun, joined 11 Garhwal Rifles in the year 2002. He came to Dehradun in October to spend a month's vacation. Returned in November. He was posted in an icy area in Gulmarg, Kashmir. On January 8, a sudden call came from his unit to his wife Rajeshwari. Hearing the call, his senses flew away. It was told that Havildar Rajendra Singh is missing. They are being searched, but it is not known anywhere. It is being said that after waiting for a day or two, when the unit was contacted, it was found that he had slipped in the snow in the border of Pakistan while on duty. Where it is impossible to defend directly. At the same time, efforts are being made from the army level. Now the family is waiting for Rajendra to return every moment. At the same time, every bell ringing on the phone makes Rajendra feel-good news, but there is also the possibility of something untoward in the mind. Kavan, brother of Havildar Rajendra, says that he wants the central government to put pressure on Pakistan to save his brother like Wing Commander Abhinandan. The young man has 3 children. Also Read: Congress will protest against CAA and NRC, meeting may take place on this day Citizen group's big announcement, clean air public manifesto released Orphaned animals after fire in Australia, Koala finds 'woven love' from whole world America targets Iran, says 'Ukraine plane crashes with missile ....' Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 21:42:38|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday sent a congratulatory message to Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on his succession as the new sultan of Oman. In the message, Xi said that since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, bilateral relations have made significant progress and the two sides have become strategic partners with mutual trust. Xi said that he attaches great importance to the development of China-Oman relations and stands ready to work with Sultan Haitham to take bilateral strategic partnership to a new level. MBABANE - Senior lawyer and former acting judge, Luke Malinga, has been arrested for an alleged fraud of over E1.2 million. Malinga (77) who is also a conveyancer, was arrested with Sithembile Samukelisiwe Kunene of Lundzi (57), who is a property or estate agent. A conveyancer is a specialist lawyer who specialises in the legal aspects of buying and selling real property, or conveyancing while an estate agent is a person or business who arranges the selling, renting, or management of properties and other buildings. They are alleged to have committed the offences in, 2017, 2018 and 2019. The exact amount involved is E1 012 250. From the four counts, Kunene and her company are implicated in only two charges. Investments Other accused in the matter are Malingas law firm and Chaalom Investments (Proprietary) Limited. Malinga operates a law firm trading as Malinga and Malinga Inco in Manzini. It is alleged that the pair used the company and the law firm as conduits to defraud a number of people who desired to own immovable properties in the different parts of the country. In the first count, it is alleged that the quartet unlawfully and with intent to defraud misrepresented to one Makana Reginah Mavuso that they would transfer into her name a property situated at Ngwane Park in Manzini. According to the charge sheet, when they allegedly did all this, they knew that they had no authority to sell the property. Mavuso is said to have paid them a sum of E430 000 but they failed to transfer the property into her name. They are alleged to have committed the offence upon or about the months of July 2017 to March 2018 at or near Manzini. Their alleged next victim was Douglas Myekeni Ntshakala, whom they reportedly defrauded a sum of E236 250. The lawyer and his co- accused are alleged to have promised Ntshakala that they would transfer into his name Lot 193 situated at Mathendele Township in Nhlangano. Again, it is alleged that when they made the aforementioned promise, they knew that they had no authority to sell the property and in the process, allegedly induced Ntshakala to his loss and prejudice of E236 250. misrepresented It is further alleged that on or about the month of July 2018 to April 2019, they unlawfully and with intent to defraud, misrepresented to Thulani Goodman Dlamini that they would transfer into his name Lot No.193, Mathendele Township, Nhlangano measuring 790 square metres. They allegedly told Dlamini that the immovable property would be transferred into his name after he had paid a sum of E196 000, which was part of the purchase price of E270 000. With the desire to own the property, Dlamini is said to have paid the deposit of E196 000 but the quartet allegedly failed to honour their obligation as they reportedly did not transfer the property into his name. It is alleged that in January 2018, acting jointly in furtherance of a common purpose, they allegedly defrauded Sifiso Vusani Aaron Mkhonta a sum of E150 000. They allegedly applied the same tricks, in that they are said to have promised Mkhonta that they would transfer into his name, Lot No 873, Ngwane Park Extension 1 measuring 1000 square metres. immovable According to the charge sheet, the accused told Mkhonta that the immovable property would be transferred into his name once he had paid the sum of E150 000, part of the E385 000 purchase price. Mkhonta is said to have paid the aforementioned amount but the quarter failed to transfer the immovable property into his name. Whereas at the time the aforesaid misrepresentation was made, the accused persons, well knew that they had not obtained authority to sell the said property and accordingly could not transfer into the name of Sifiso Vusani Aaron Mkhonta, read part of the charge sheet. Through their attorneys, the accused yesterday moved urgent bail application at the High Court. [January 12, 2020] AWM Smart Shelf Showcases AWM Frictionless on Microsoft Azure at Retail's Big Show Adroit Worldwide Media, Inc. ("AWM Smart Shelf" or "AWM"), a vision technology company, partners with Microsoft (News - Alert) to enable intelligent retail with their autonomous shopping solution, AWM Frictionless. AWM Frictionless provides convenience to consumers by allowing them to shop as normal and then check out by simply walking out of the store. For retailers, it not only reduces costs but also provides highly detailed data all the way down to product interactions and customer paths. The solution can be implemented in a wide range of store sizes and formats, from micro-markets, to convenience stores and larger-format retailers. From a technology standpoint, the PaaS and IaaS pieces of Microsoft Azure are heavily utilized to provide a reliable and scalable platform, and on top of this sits a full suite of custom AI and application software. This software supports AWM Frictionless as well as powers other integrated and standalone AWM offerings that provide an end-to-end smart store experience. "Microsoft has played an integral role from the start," explained Kevin Howard, AWM Chief Executive Officer. "We have worked hand-in-hand to build out solutions that are truly enabling digital transformation for retail. As we move forward, we are experiencing the customer journey evolving into a seamless experience before our very eyes." While in-store, consumers expect to be met with the samelevel of convenience they experience shopping online. Through the use of specialized cameras and sensors, computer vision / deep learning, and deterministic algorithms, AWM Frictionless makes this possible by achieving a robust understanding of the store environment and the actions occurring within it. To take ease-of-use to the next level, using Azure Cognitive Services, shoppers will be able to be identified with their face plus voice or an alternative verifier, thus completely bypassing any need to sign in on a device at the point of entry. "Our focus is on providing the building blocks that partners can use to build leading-edge solutions," explained Keith Mercier, General Manager, WW Retail and Consumer Goods, Microsoft Corp. "We're pleased that AWM is joining us at NRF to showcase how technology - and the power of Azure - is being applied to help retailers compete and succeed." AWM has already deployed its AWM Frictionless technology for several multi-billion-dollar organizations in the United States and Mexico, with hundreds of locations expected to come online in 2020. Other AWM Smart Shelf solutions have been deployed in 16 countries around the world across North and Central America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Australia. These include AWM's anonymous shopper tracking, demographics reporting, employee productivity monitoring, on-shelf inventory intelligence, and custom shelf-edge LED displays which support ads, electronic shelf labels, and planogram functionality. ABOUT AWM SMART SHELF AWM is a vision technology company with a comprehensive retail solution. The underlying technologies are built utilizing artificial intelligence, computer vision, machine learning, and application engineering to reinvent the retail space as it is known today. The ecosystem of solutions improves operational efficiencies, increases sales, provides new ad revenue streams in store, reduces waste, and more. AWM was recently named the 2019 Outstanding Small Technology Company by OCTANE and was recognized by Gartner (News - Alert) as a vendor transforming retail. For more information please visit: www.smartshelf.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200112005047/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] By Express News Service TIRUPATI: Sri Venkateswara Bhakti Channel (SVBC) Chairman and Tollywood comedian Balireddy Prudhviraj resigned from his post on Sunday after he was allegedly caught in an indecent conversation with a woman employee of the channel in audio tapes, and an inquiry was ordered by the vigilance wing of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) into the issue. Though it was learnt that TTD Trust Board Chairman YV Subba Reddy asked Prudhviraj to step down after directions from Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, he claimed that he himself quit the post and exuded confidence that he would come out clean in the controversy. The day unfolded with CITU leader Murali, on behalf of SVBC employees, convening a press meet here where he revealed the audio tapes purportedly with the voice of Prudhviraj making an indecent conversation with a woman anchor of the channel. Murali alleged that Prudhviraj used Padmavathi Guest House for consuming liquor. The trade union leader also accused the SVBC Chairman of collecting money from at least 36 candidates by promising to provide them jobs in the channel, but failed to fulfil his assurance after the issue went to the notice of TTD Chairman. As the audio went viral, the TTD swung into action and Subba Reddy directed the vigilance wing to investigate the matter. "I spoke to Prudhviraj and he claimed that the voice in the audio tapes is not his. I asked the Chief Vigilance and Security Officer to probe the audio tapes issue and submit a report, Subba Reddy told mediapersons in Hyderabad. Sources said Subba Reddy took up the issue with Jagan, who is also in Hyderabad, and apprised him of the controversy. It is learnt that Jagan took a serious view of the issue and wanted Prudhviraj to quit the post immediately on moral grounds. Minutes after Subba Reddy conveyed the same to Prudhviraj, the latter convened a press meet at the Press Club in Hyderabad and announced that he was stepping down from the post. "There is a conspiracy to defame me. No one has asked me to step down. I am voluntarily quitting the post and I will come out clean. I am ready for any kind of inquiry," he said, and added that the audio tapes were doctored. Prudhviraj also refuted the allegations that he consumed liquor in Padmavathi Guest House and said he is ready for any kind of medical tests to prove that he had not consumed liquor for the past one year. Stating that he will wait for the inquiry report and take the reins of SVBC once he gets a clean chit. Prudhviraj was involved in a political controversy in the recent times when he termed the farmers of Amaravati region, who are agitating against the three-capital proposal, paid artistes. Taking a serious view of his remarks, the YSRC leadership asked him to refrain from making such comment. Speaking to the media on Sunday, Prudhviraj said his comments were only aimed at benamis and not genuine farmers and apologised to the Amaravati farmers for hurting their sentiments. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina joined Akheri Munajat (final prayers) of the 1st phase of Bishwa Ijtema from Ganabhaban residence yesterday morning. She was accompanied by her younger sister Sheikh Rehana. Photo : BSS This combination of photos shows actor Robert De Niro, left, during the filming of "The Irishman" and the younger version of De Niro created by Pablo Helman, visual effects supervisor at Industrial Light and Magic. Helman and his team spent two years looking through old movies and cataloging the targeted ages that De Niro would appear in the film. AP This combination of photos shows actor Joe Pesci, left, during the filming of "The Irishman" and the younger version of Pesci created by Pablo Helman, visual effects supervisor at Industrial Light and Magic. Helman and his team spent two years looking through old movies and cataloging the targeted ages that Pesci would appear in the film. AP North Korea rules out return to talks with US despite good personal relations with Trump Iran Press TV Saturday, 11 January 2020 8:11 AM North Korea says it will not return to the negotiation table with the United States solely based on the "good relations" between the country's leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump. Adviser to the North Korean foreign ministry, Kim Kye Gwan, said in a statement on Saturday that Pyongyang has received Trump's birthday greetings for Kim from South Korea, but this will not bring the country back to negotiations with Washington. "Despite the leaders' good relations, it is a mistake for the United States to expect a return to talks," he said. "We have been deceived by the United States, being caught in the dialogue with it for over one year and a half, and that was the lost time for us," he added. The adviser assured that Pyongyang will not discuss proposals such as those Trump made at his second summit with Kim last year in Vietnam, where the US president refused to accept a proposal for bilateral action and left the talks. He said that Pyongyang will not give up its nuclear facilities for partial sanctions relief, and will only return to talks when Washington makes concessions. The North has been under harsh sanctions by both the United Nations and the US over its nuclear and missile programs. In spite of those sanctions, Pyongyang has taken several unilateral steps as a goodwill gesture in the course of diplomacy with the US since 2018. It even put a halt on its nuclear tests since 2017, but Washington refused to offer any sanctions relief. Trump asked South Korea to send the birthday message to Kim on Friday, said South Korea's Director of the National Security Office, Chung Eui-yong, who has just returned from a visit to Washington. "It is somehow presumptuous for South Korea to meddle in the personal relations between Chairman of the State Affairs Commission Kim Jong-un and President Trump," Chung said. The North's adviser also warned Seoul to steer clear of relations between the North and the United States. South Korea should not intervene in the two nations' ties as if seeking "to play a mediator role," he added. The South's president, Moon Jae-in, who has long been pushing for talks between Washington and Pyongyang, said on Tuesday that "the momentum for US-North Korea talks must continue." The North, for months, had been calling on the US to ease the sanctions imposed on the country over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs in order for diplomacy to make sense. Kim had even set a year-end deadline for Washington for the resumption of talks. The US, however, missed the deadline and failed to take any meaningful action. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who his on a two-day visit to Kolkata, on Sunday addressed an event at Belur Math and clarified the doubts pertaining to the Citizenship Amendment Act. Upon arriving in West Bengal on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the latter reiterated her objection over CAA, NRC, and NPR. At the backdrop of her comments, PM Modi, while addressing the nation from Belur Math, urged the people to not get misguided by the confusion being spread over the act and further reiterated that the act doesn't erode the citizenship of anyone. "I will say again, the Citizenship Act is not a law to take citizenship, it is a law to grant citizenship and Citizenship Amendment Act is only an amendment to that law. Despite such clarity, some people are spreading confusion about the Citizenship Amendment Act. I am glad that today's youth is also clearing the confusion of such people," the PM said. The Prime Minister further cited examples of the persecution faced by the religious minorities after the partition and asserted the act to be a relief of those people. He additionally hailed the youth of the country for raising its voice around the same. The PM further added, "Moreover, the manner in which people of other religions are tortured in Pakistan, our youth is also raising its voice around the world. We are only giving relief to the people who faced religious persecution after the partition. It's our duty to inform about the act correctly." READ: Kolkata witnesses mega political meet, PM Modi & CM Mamata Banerjee hold 20-min chat READ: At meeting, Mamata Banerjee tells PM Modi "we're against CAA, NPR & NRC"; claims assurance PM Modi calls for the youth of the nation During his speech at the Belur Math, PM Modi also called on the youth of the nation to take forward the 'New India Initiative' and be the torch-bearers for changing the country. He said, "The passion and energy of the youth is the basis of changing India in this decade of the 21st century. The resolution of the new India has to be fulfilled by you (youth). This is the young thinking that says don't avoid problems, bump into them, solve them." PM Modi met Bengal CM Banerjee Upon arriving in West Bengal on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata. Prime Minister Modi is in Kolkata to participate in the 150th-anniversary celebrations of the Kolkata Port Trust. The meeting between the Prime Minister and the Trinamool chief comes against the backdrop of the latter holding rally after rally to muster support for her opposition to the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act which has now come into force. West Bengal has been viewed as somewhat of a final frontier for the BJP with the party making major inroads into Mamata's bastion, amid heated and often violent politics in the lead-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. 2021 will witness West Bengal going to polls once again as Mamata will aim to remain CM, having assumed the role a decade earlier in 2011 after defeating the Left - viewed by many as one of the most significant political victories in recent Indian history. READ: Trinamool defends Modi-Mamata meet, slams Congress: 'It's govt-to-govt, no advice needed' READ: Mamata got orders from above, we know from whom: Cong accuses WB CM for skipping Oppn meet The Iranian government has deployed scores of riot police across Tehran amid a fierce backlash following the accidental shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger plane on Wednesday 8 January. The countrys Revolutionary Guard admitted to mistakenly shooting down the jet, killing all 176 people on board, mostly Iranians and Iranian-Canadians. Three British citizens were killed in the tragedy. Sam Zokaei, from Surrey, Saeed Tahmasebi Khademasadi, from west London, and Mohammad Reza Kadkhoda Zadeh, from near Brighton, were passengers on the downed plane. Saeed Tahmasebi Khademasadi, an engineer with Imperial College London, was among those killed in flight PS752 from Tehran to Kyiv on Wednesday. Tensions have boiled over in the capital since the admission, with riot police in black uniforms and helmets gathering in large numbers. Revolutionary Guard members patrolled the city on motorbikes and plainclothes security men were also out in force. Demonstrators hold placards bearing the images of slain military commander Qasem Soleimani. (Getty) After initially blaming a technical failure, Iranian authorities finally admitted to accidentally shooting the plane down in the face of mounting evidence and accusations by western leaders. The tragedy occurred as Iran braced for retaliation after firing ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq housing American forces. The ballistic missile attack, which caused no casualties, was a response to the killing of General Qassem Soleimani, Irans top general, in a US airstrike in Baghdad. READ MORE FROM YAHOO NEWS UK: Iranians have expressed anger over the downing of the plane and the misleading explanations from senior officials in the wake of the tragedy. Hundreds of students gathered at Tehrans Shahid Beheshti University on Sunday to mourn the victims and protest against authorities for concealing the cause of the crash, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported. They later dispersed peacefully. A candlelight ceremony late on Saturday in Tehran turned into a protest, with hundreds of people chanting against the countrys leaders including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Police ended up dispersing the crowds with tear gas. Story continues Police briefly detained the British ambassador to Iran, Rob Macaire, who says he went with the intention of attending the vigil and did not know it would turn into a protest. Can confirm I wasnt taking part in any demonstrations! he tweeted. Went to an event advertised as a vigil for victims of #PS752 tragedy. Normal to want to pay respects some of victims were British. I left after 5 mins, when some started chanting. Irans deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi later tweeted that Mr Macaire was arrested as an unknown foreigner in an illegal gathering. Mr Araghchi said when police informed him that a man was arrested who claimed to be the British ambassador he did not believe them. But he said that once he spoke to Mr Macaire by phone he realised it was him, and that the ambassador was freed 15 minutes later. Irans Foreign Ministry later summoned the British ambassador over his illegal and inappropriate presence at the protest, it said on its Telegram channel. US ships and warplanes can use Oman's ports and airport; Both countries sign agreement The sultan who shielded Oman from the regions turmoil The new Sultan of Oman: Haitham Bin Tariq Al, cousin of late Qaboos sworn in as new royal ruler Govt declares one-day state mourning on Jan 13 following death of Sultan of Oman India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Jan 12: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has declared a one-day state mourning on Jan 13 following the death of Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said. Sultan Qaboos, the longest-reigning leader of the modern Arab world, has died at the age of 79, the royal court said Saturday. "With great sorrow and deep sadness... the royal court mourns His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who passed away on Friday," the court said in a statement. Qaboos, who has ruled since 1970 when he deposed his father in a palace coup, had been ill for some time and had been believed to be suffering from colon cancer. The sultan who shielded Oman from the regions turmoil He left no apparent heir. He was unmarried and had no children or brothers. PM Modi in West Bengal: renames Kolkata Port Trust after Shyama Prasad Mukherjee | OneIndia News According to the Omani constitution, the royal family shall, within three days of the throne falling vacant, determine the successor. If the family does not agree on a name, the person chosen by Qaboos in a letter addressed to the royal family will be the successor. The sultan should be a member of the royal family, as well as "Muslim, mature, rational and the legitimate son of Omani Muslim parents". For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, January 12, 2020, 12:50 [IST] KC Councilwoman wants to name street 'Troy Schulte Way'? What happened to honoring MLK? A new proposal to rename a downtown Kansas City street for recently-retired City Manager Troy Schulte is well-intentioned but ill-considered and politically tone-deaf. City Councilwoman Heather Hall wants to honor Schulte by renaming a street near the south entrance of Kansas City Hall for the former longtime city manager and current Jackson County administrator. The fading Kansas City newspaper attempts to throw the only Conservative under the bus with this editorial but instead reveals the Kansas City Mayor still more interested in a controversial MLK street level tribute . . . It might or might not be worth it to sneak past the paywall for this one: Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 02:05:05|Editor: ZX Video Player Close KIEV, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine International Airlines Vice President Igor Sosnovsky accused Iran of irresponsibility for not closing the airport after the Iranian attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq, reported Interfax Ukraine news agency on Saturday. The Ukrainian airlines top management held a press conference, stating that the airliner took off according to the rules, and there was no deviation from the route and the responsibility for the tragedy entirely rested on the Iranian side. "This is absolute irresponsibility. Because if you play war, then play as you want. But there are people around who had to be protected. If they shoot somewhere, they had to close the airport; they just had to. And then you shoot as much as you want," said Sosnovsky during the press conference in Kiev. "It was the most ordinary Tehran-Kiev flight. People came, prepared the airplane, received permission to start the engines. They left the airport area according to the permissions of the air traffic controller," informed the airlines representative, underlining that the Iranian side permitted to operate the flight. Earlier Saturday Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stated that Iranian Armed Forces' internal investigation had concluded that unintentional missile strike due to human error caused the crash of the Ukrainian plane. A total of 167 passengers and 9 crew members were killed on Jan. 8 as the result of the plane crash of the Ukrainian Boeing 737, which was flying from Tehran to Kiev. The airplane crashed at approximately 6 a.m. Tehran Time shortly after takeoff. Former Chief Election Commissioner Dr SY Quraishi along with other prominent personalities on Sunday appealed to the citizens to observe the 70th anniversary of Republic of India to "resolve to fulfil the constitutional goals envisaged by Dr BR Ambedkar and our forefathers as summed up in the Preamble." "Seventy years ago, we declared ourselves a sovereign, democratic republic to secure to all the citizens' justice, liberty and equality, and promote fraternity among all. We have come a long way since then," they said in a statement, which Quraishi shared along with his tweet on the social media platform. "We have made democracy and universal franchise work against all odds, and proved the many prophets of doom wrong. Seventy years of the working of the Constitution provides us with an opportunity to celebrate our successes, and also to introspect and resolve to overcome our shortcomings," the statement adds. The statement has been signed by other important personalities including former Supreme Court judge Justice J Chelameswar, former Army Commander Lt Gen Harcharanjit Singh Panag, former UGC Commissioner Sukhdeo Thorat, former Planning Commission member Syeda Hameed, prominent film personalities Sharmila Tagore, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, and renowned Carnatic musician TM Krishna. It also asserts that "peaceful and harmonious reconciliation of conflicting interests, healthy public discourse, and respect for dissenting views are at the heart of democracy. We have to introspect whether truth and non-violence, the two values very dear to the heart of the Father of the Nation continue to inform our actions in the public sphere." "The 70th anniversary of the Republic is an appropriate moment to celebrate and introspect by peacefully observing the birthday of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose (Jan 23), Foundation Day of the Election Commission celebrated as the Voter's Day (Jan 26), the Republic Day (Jan 26) and the martyrdom of the Father of the Nation (Jan 30)...," further reads the statement. "We appeal to all citizens to utilise this solemn occasion to celebrate our success, reflect on our current concerns, particularly about our plural, secular society, and resolve to fulfil the constitutional goals envisaged by Dr Ambedkar and our forefathers as summed up in the Preamble," the statement adds. They have stated that each generation has a solemn duty to constantly "introspect and audit the working of the Constitution." January 26, 2020, marks the 70th year of the date on which the Constitution of India came into effect. The Constitution was adopted by the Indian Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949 and came into effect on 26 January 1950. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) - Johnstone Muthama said President Uhuru should be the first person to say Kenya will not take the route that other presidents take where they devise ways to stay longer in power - Muthama said the president should retire honourably like his predecessor Mwai Kibaki - He further poured cold water on the BBI saying it was being used by some individuals to gain more political power Former Machakos Senator Johnstone Muthama has asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to resist the urge to hold on to power after his 2022 constitutional limit. Muthama said Uhuru should be like his predecessors who respectfully vacated the presidential seat after their time elapsed. READ ALSO: Baringo dancing kids join boarding school in Nyahururu Former Senator Muthama said Uhuru should retire respectfully after his term expires. Photo: Daily Nation. Source: UGC READ ALSO: Iranian top commander takes full responsibility for shooting down Ukrainian plane Addressing the media during a funeral ceremony in Matungulu sub-county, the ex-senator said it was important the head of state chooses which category of presidents he will fall under when his term in office expires. "Which category will he join? Will he join the presidents who change the constitution so as to succeed themselves or will be like his predecessor Kibaki who left office honourably by adhering to the law?" posed the ex legislator. " He must be the first person to come out and declare Kenya will not go the route of other African counties where the heads of states devised ways of extending their power," said the ex legislator. READ ALSO: Moses Kuria aachiliwa huru Uhuru and Raila during the launch of the BBI. Photo: The Standard. Source: Facebook Muthama further criticised the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) and said it was being used by some individuals as a tool of gaining political power. Uhuru reading the BBI in State House. Photo: State House. Source: Facebook This comes days after Kandara MP Alice Wahome said the Commander-In-Chief was using the BBI together with opposition leader Raila Odinga to make him the prime minister. There has been debate of Uhuru remaining in power with many arguing he is too young to retire. Former minister Noah Wekesa came under heavy criticism after also suggesting that the president will go nowhere after his term expires in 2022. 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. Please give me a job - Stephen Kinyanjui | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke Larsa Pippen brought the heat when she stepped out to celebrate the PrettyLittleThing x Chantel Jeffries collection party. The 45-year-old stepped out looking as stylish as ever for the event that took place at Petite Ermitage in West Hollywood. The event was held to honor the latest capsule collection with the fast fashion brand and their current line with musician, Chantel Jeffries. Looking good: Larsa Pippen brought the heat when she stepped out to celebrate the PrettyLittleThing x Chantel Jeffries collection party on Thursday evening For her look of the evening, the best friend to Kim Kardashian rocked a white longsleeve one-piece that she paired with a high-waisted black leather shorts. She elevated the look with black thigh-high boots complete with a beige duster that she had slouched over her arms. 'Careful how you play your cards when you have a queen in your hand,' she wrote in her Instagram caption ahead of the event. Stylish ladies: Hrush Achemyan and Larsa strut their stuff while heading to the PrettyLittleThing party Good friends: Larsa gives friend Chantell Jeffries a big hug after arriving in style But it appears as though all that partying caught up to the reality star who later took to Instagram to say she wasn't feeling well. 'Sick as a [dog]' she captioned an Instagram post showing herself looking nearly perfect while laying down. The star appeared to have a bit of makeup on and had her hair curled as she tried to regain her energy. Group photo: J.Ryan la Cour, Hrush Achemyan, Larsa, Umar Kamani, and Rose Bertram pose together on the pink carpet Her outfit: Before heading off to the event, she gave a sneak peak of her outfit Larsa is most famously known for her role on The Real Housewives of Miami and her close relationship with the SKIMs founder. Back in 2018, Larsa filed for divorce from her husband of 20 years, Scottie Pippen. '[We] are really best friends,' she said during an interview with Us Weekly back in December. 'Our kids are amazing, and I feel like we both parent the same way. We're really traditional in the way we raise our children. That's really important.' The two share their children: Scotty Jr., 19, Preston, 17, Justin, 14, and Sophia, 11. 'We are obsessed with our kids. Scottie and I are both the same in a lot of ways. Family always comes first.' Back in 2017, Scottie filed for divorce and later dismissed the case. The suit: Before putting on her shorts she showed off her slimming white bodysuit before calling herself a 'queen' By Express News Service MYSURU: Nalini Balakumar, an alumna of the University of Mysore (UoM) who was seen holding the controversial Free Kashmir placard during a protest held in the city recently to condemn the attack on JNU students, was grilled for about seven hours by the Jayalakshmipuram police on Saturday. On Friday evening, a city court had granted conditional interim bail to Nalini after hearing her plea. A sedition case has been registered against her at the Jayalakshmipuram police station. She arrived at the police station around 11 am on Saturday, accompanied by her father, to record her statement. A team of senior officials, including Assistant Commissioner of Police Shivashankar, questioned her and recorded her statement. The questioning concluded only around 6 pm. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Mutthuraju, who visited the police station in the afternoon, refused to speak to the media persons on the issue. Nalini was asked about 80 questions in connection with the case, said a police source. A police source said that she was asked whether she was affiliated to any organisation and who invited her to the protest. The police also questioned why her mobile phone was switched off and her social media account deactivated after the incident. Nalini of Tamil Nadu, who did her Masters in Journalism from the UoM, declined to give any statement to the media when she visited the police station. However, she released a recorded video to make her point. In the video, she says, I am speaking before you to clarify regarding a poster that I held during a protest at the UoM. By holding the Free Kashmir poster, I was only trying to bring to notice the internet shutdown imposed in Kashmir over the last five months. I am not affiliated to any organisation and I am a simple person who is interested in the functioning of my country and I never intended to cause any kind of hatred. I am ready to cooperate with the police investigation and will appear before them whenever I am needed to. I want to sincerely apologise to the department of police and the public for the confusion caused by the poster I held, she said in the video. The city police, who have registered a suo motu FIR over the protest, issued notices to students forums which had organised the vigil. A few organisationss members, who received notices, also recorded their statements before the police. Photo: Contributed Avalanche Canada says three skiers on Mount Hector in Banff National Park were involved in an avalanche Friday afternoon. CTV News Vancouver reports that one of the skiers got buried. The organization says it happened at about 2 p.m., and they believe the avalanche was triggered by the group. Two of the skiers were able to avoid the snow slide, but the last one wasn't so lucky. The third skier is a 32-year-old woman, and she got fully buried. STARS Air Ambulance was dispatched about an hour and a half later, who then airlifted the woman to the hospital. "STARS transported the patient, in critical condition, to Foothills Medical Centre, arriving at 5:04 p.m.," said Mark Oddan of STARS in an email to CTV News. The woman's condition is unknown at this time. - With files from CTV Vancouver Clean energy In late December, the consultancy group Wood Mackenzie published some forecasts for the energy sector in 2020. The most pertinent prediction for our interests today was its projection of higher stock prices for companies with production that is less harmful for the environment. Wood Mackenzie also predicts record installation of solar powers this year. There has been frustration with Canadas green energy development, with some activists pressing for a more aggressive strategy from the ruling Liberals. The Liberals have laid out a plan to get Canada to net zero emissions by the year 2050, and pledged to halve taxes for companies that develop zero-emissions technology. Today I want to look at two stocks for companies that are operating in the renewable energy sector. Both are well worth targeting to start this decade. TransAlta Renewables TransAlta Renewables (TSX:RNW) is a Calgary-based company that is engaged in renewable power generation. Shares have climbed 50% year over year, as TransAlta put together a terrific year on the market in 2019. However, the stock has fallen marginally to start this year. Investors can expect to see the companys fourth-quarter and full-year results for 2019 in February. In the third quarter of 2019, TransAlta reported adjusted funds from operation of $69 million compared to $67 million in the prior year. So far in fiscal 2019, the company closed the acquisition of the Antrim wind project, and continued construction on Big Level, the 90 MW wind project in Pennsylvania that has a 15-year PPA with Microsoft. The stock last paid out a monthly dividend of $0.07833 per share, which represents a strong 6% yield. Shares still possess a price-to-earnings ratio of 18 and a price-to-book value of 1.8, which puts it on solid footing value-wise as it is priced near a 52-week high. Innergex Renewable Innergex Renewable (TSX:INE) is a Quebec-based developer, owner, and operator of run-of-river hydroelectric facilities. Its stock has increased 28% year over year. It is also expected to unveil its Q4 and full-year results for 2019 late next month. Story continues The company released a very strong third quarter in November. Revenue from continuing operations rose 23% from the prior year to $142.8 million and revenues proportionate was up 19% to $179.8 million. Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations climbed 28% to $107.4 million. Innergex still has a big year ahead. In 2019 it completed the commissioning of its largest wind farm to-date and later in November commissioned the largest solar project in Texas. Innergex is well-positioned with a strong financial position and several promising projects in the pipeline. The stock last paid out a quarterly dividend of $0.175 per share. This represents a solid yield of 4.1%, though it that cannot quite measure up to TransAlta. Shares are trading close to a 52-week high, and investors will be paying a premium for Innergex right now as it possesses a sky-high price-to-earnings ratio over 80. Value investors may want to wait for a more attractive entry point, but this is a stock that is positioned to provide growth and steady income over the next decade. More reading Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fools board of directors. Fool contributor Ambrose O'Callaghan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Microsoft and recommends the following options: long January 2021 $85 calls on Microsoft and short January 2021 $115 calls on Microsoft. 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 Boris Johnson and Prince Charles have arrived in Oman as the country mourns the death of its former ruler Sultan Qaboos bin Said. The prime minister and the royal will both attend a condolence ceremony in Muscat for the Middle Easts longest ruling monarch, who died over the weekend. Mr Johnson will also join other global figures in meeting his successor, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said. Kuwait's emir, Bahrains king and Nicolas Sarkozy, the former French president, have travelled to Oman to meet the new leader as the country prepares for three days of official condolences. Some of those who have arrived to pay their respects are currently at odds with each other, such as the rulers of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Scars on Middle East landscape bear witness to past peace failures Show all 16 1 /16 Scars on Middle East landscape bear witness to past peace failures Scars on Middle East landscape bear witness to past peace failures A Syrian tank lies turned over in the Hermon Stream in the Banias Nature Reserve on the western edge of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israel captured the area, a former demilitarized zone, in the 1967 Six Day War Reuters Scars on Middle East landscape bear witness to past peace failures A part of the trench in a former Jordanian military post known as Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem. Originally built by the British, the site was captured by Jordan in the 1948-1949 war and held by them until Israeli troops captured it in the 1967 Reuters/Ronen Zvulun Scars on Middle East landscape bear witness to past peace failures An abandoned mosque on a rainy morning in the Golan Heights, in territory that Israel captured from Syria and occupied in the 1967 Middle East war. Until 1967 a Syrian village inhabited by Circassians stood near the site, which now lies just 5km on the Israeli side of the United Nations-monitored 'Area of Separation' that divides Israeli and Syrian military forces under a 1974 ceasefire arrangement Reuters/Ronen Zvulun Scars on Middle East landscape bear witness to past peace failures The broken helicopter of the late Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat sits atop a structure in Gaza City. Without its main rotor, it is now on public display in the coastal enclave that is now controlled by the Palestinian Authority's most powerful domestic rival, Hamas Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa Scars on Middle East landscape bear witness to past peace failures A sign warning of landmines on a fence in the Golan Heights. Many Israeli and foreign tourists drive past the site on their way to popular holiday spots Reuters/Ronen Zvulun Scars on Middle East landscape bear witness to past peace failures Part of an abandoned Syrian building in the Golan Heights. Once a military headquarters, it is one of many Syrian buildings left deserted and abandoned since wars fought half a century ago Reuters/Ronen Zvulun Scars on Middle East landscape bear witness to past peace failures The wall of a structure in a former Syrian outpost in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. In stark contrast to the beauty of the surrounding countryside, it is now crumbling and covered in graffiti, one Arabic message reading: "The Syrian army passed by here." Reuters/Ronen Zvulun Scars on Middle East landscape bear witness to past peace failures Buildings constructed during the British Mandate era to serve as jails and fortified positions in Al-Jiftlik village near Jericho, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Long abandoned, sheep now wander through the empty buildings, searching for vegetation in the scorching heat of the Jordan Valley. The Israeli military sometimes uses them for training, Palestinian residents say Reuters/Mohamad Torokman Scars on Middle East landscape bear witness to past peace failures A bunker in the Golan Heights, in territory that Israel captured from Syria. It was used for military purposes and has been deserted for many years Reuters/Ronen Zvulun Scars on Middle East landscape bear witness to past peace failures British soldiers depicted in a mural on an old pillbox in Jerusalem. The pillbox dating back to the era of British Mandatory rule before 1948, stands abandoned in a busy intersection of Jerusalem. The mural was added in recent years Reuters/Ronen Zvulun Scars on Middle East landscape bear witness to past peace failures Concrete blast walls are seen in an open area once used by the Israeli military near Rahat, southern Israel. Once part of a facility for training in urban warfare, the barriers are now an isolated scar on the landscape Reuters/Ronen Zvulun Scars on Middle East landscape bear witness to past peace failures A part of a trench is seen in a former Jordanian military post known as Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem. Originally built by the British, the site was captured by Jordan in the 1948-1949 war and held by them until Israeli troops captured it in the 1967 Reuters/Ronen Zvulun Scars on Middle East landscape bear witness to past peace failures The derelict remains of Gaza International Airport in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Former US President Bill Clinton attended the opening ceremony in 1998. But Israeli air strikes and bulldozers closed it down during the second Palestinian uprising, or Intifada, a few months after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa Scars on Middle East landscape bear witness to past peace failures A house is seen in Lifta, a ruined Palestinian Arab village whose inhabitants left or were forced from their homes in the conflict that accompanied the end of British rule and the founding of Israel in 1948. The abandoned ruins are visible to travelers arriving at the western entrance of Jerusalem Reuters/Ronen Zvulun Scars on Middle East landscape bear witness to past peace failures An abandoned mosque on a rainy morning in the Golan Heights, in territory that Israel captured from Syria Reuters/Ronen Zvulun Scars on Middle East landscape bear witness to past peace failures A part of a structure in a former Jordanian military base near the Dead Sea in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The building is a scar in the landscape as it stands deserted following the 1967 Middle East war when Israel captured the area from the Jordanians Reuters/Ronen Zvulun Irans foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, has also visited. Sultan Haitham, who was the culture minister, has pledged to follow his predecessors example of promoting peace and dialogue in the Middle East. Oman has also served as an interlocutor between Iran and the US, which are facing a level of unprecedented tension. The UK prime minister called former leader Qaboos an exceptionally wise and respected leader who will be missed enormously" after news of his death broke. He leaves a profound legacy, not only in Oman but across the region too, Mr Johnson said. Qaboos ruled the small Gulf nation for nearly five decades after toppling his father as ruler in a coup. He died on Saturday from an undisclosed illness he had been battling for years. Additional reporting by agencies Premier Daniel Andrews has refused to commit to the steepest emission cuts recommended by his government's independent advice panel, saying it is not appropriate to make such an announcement while the state was in the grip of a bushfire crisis. While the Premier said he accepted the grave risks posed by climate change, he controversially commented that people making "ideological points" about the need for tough new climate targets should ensure they do not distract from the emergency relief effort. Premier Daniel Andrews is briefed by emergency services personnel. Credit:Chris Hopkins Former federal MP Greg Combet, who is the state governments independent adviser on proposed new emissions cuts, has recommended up to 40 per cent reductions on 2005 levels by 2025 and 60 per cent reductions by 2030. Mr Combet said the scale of the bushfire crisis was undeniably linked to the warmer and drier conditions caused by climate change, making even more pressing the need for tough targets. Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh) [India], Jan 12 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday accused the left organisations of creating an environment of violence in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in the national capital. "They (leftists) have created an environment of violence at the varsity. They want to malign the image of JNU and disrupt the semester exams. Delhi Police has unearthed their conspiracy. The office-bearers of organisations which claimed to be the victims can be seen with sticks and rods," Yogi said addressing a public rally in support of the Citizenship Amendment Act at GYMC ground here. Delhi Police 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. As many as 36 students, 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 on the night of January 5. He said rumours and lies were being spread by Congress and its allies to fuel violence across the country over the newly amended citizenship law. Referring to the violence at several places across the country during protest against the citizenship law, Yogi said, "Congress and its allies are playing with the interest of the country. They are spreading lies to malign the image of the country." "Congress and its allies are providing oxygen to Naxals, terrorists and separatists," he said. Yogi said that the party which murdered the constitution and democracy is now claiming to be the guardian of the same. "Several states have said that they will not implement the Citizenship Amendment Act in their respective states. Is this not against the constitution?" he said. Yogi's visit comes in line with the BJP's reach-out campaign to inform the public about the provisions of the Citizenship Amendment Act amid major opposition and protests. (ANI) GENEVA Are watches a good investment? Absolutely not, John Reardon said during an interview in November. But in late December he still introduced an online business focused exclusively on trading secondhand Patek Philippe watches and accessories. Mr. Reardon, 45, knows something about the value of watches. He was international head of watches at Christies in New York, where for six years he oversaw about $100 million a year in watch sales, until he left in August to begin working on his new site. He previously worked in Sothebys watch department for two years and, from 2001 to 2010, was in sales at Patek Philippe. If you are buying a watch to make money, then hold on for the ride, because the odds are not in your favor, Mr. Reardon said. Only collectors who buy what they know and love do well in the long run. In November, Mr. Reardon was in Geneva helping with Christies fall watch sales as a senior international consultant, an independent contractor role he plans to maintain. Shortly after the interview, he was taking telephone bids at the Only Watch charity auction when a Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime wristwatch sold for $31 million, making it the most expensive wristwatch ever auctioned. (It displaced the Paul Newman Rolex Daytona that sold for $17.8 million in 2017.) Haiti - Earthquake 2010 : Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau As part of the 10th anniversary of the January 12, 2010 earthquake, Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau today issued the following statement : "Ten years ago today, a devastating earthquake in Haiti took the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, including 58 Canadians, and forever changed the lives of many more. "On this solemn anniversary, we join Haitian communities in Canada and around the world to remember the victims, and offer our condolences to those who lost loved ones. "Over the last decade, the Haitian people have shown incredible resilience in the face of challenges and obstacles, as they continue to work toward a better tomorrow. As steadfast partners and friends, Canada remains committed in our support for the Haitian people. Whether through the generosity of Canadians who donated after the earthquake, or the vibrant Haitian-Canadian community that binds us together today, we stand united. "On behalf of the Government of Canada, I invite all Canadians to remember those who were lost in this tragedy, and offer our support to everyone who continues to rebuild and work towards a brighter future." HL/ HaitiLibre This column has been updated on Jan. 13 to take into account news developments: Over the past week, the world has watched, slack-jawed, as Western relations with Iran have slid precipitously from uneasy detente to open military engagement. Canadians, in particular, were stunned by the horrific deaths of our compatriots, shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. As the world now knows, on Jan. 3, a U.S. airstrike killed Qassem Soleimani, the countrys most important military leader and the puppet master of Irans network of military operations, terror and covert insurgency. Then Iranian forces retaliated with attacks on US Air Force bases in Iraq, seemingly targeted to ensure maximum show of force while avoiding American casualties. In his response, President Trump signalled a de-escalation of tensions, announcing new sanctions rather than retaliation in kind. A collective sigh of relief was shared by many who feared more military conflict. But in political terms, the past week has set the region back significantly, shattering the delicate progress which has been hard-won and fiercely guarded. Last week, the Iraqi parliament voted to expel foreign troops from the country. While the vote was non-binding, it signalled a shift in attitude toward the international coalition which has, for over a decade, worked alongside the Iraqis. Over the past year, the Iranian regime has faced significant challenges to its authority from both external adversaries and internal dissidents. The reintroduction of American sanctions in 2018 increased economic pressure, threatening the stability of President Hassan Rouhanis government. In November, thousands of Iranians took to the streets to protest an increase in gas prices. Many observers spoke of an Arab Spring-like shift in political power. Each of these developments served as a small but significant victory for reformist parties and political moderates. That all seemed to be under threat this week. Crowds came out in mass numbers to mourn Soleimani, signalling what seemed to be a resurgence in unity among Iranians. Then, just days later, scores of dissidents came out in even greater throngs to protest Rouhanis government, in light of his admission that Iran had shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752. So, the regimes campaign to make a martyr of Soleimani has been undermined by its own mistakes. On Feb. 21 little over a month away Iranians will vote in their parliamentary election. History tells us the election will be far from perfect, but just months ago, it was predicted that the outcome would be at least a symbolic step toward a more moderate Iran. The killing of Soleimani could provide a symbol for the regimes malcontent, to be sure. But moderates and reformers have a rallying point of their own in the senseless killing of 176 passengers by the Iranian military. Whats more, in its violent response to widespread protests this week, including reported use of live ammunition, the Rouhani regime has shown its true nature. Over the coming days, in lieu of military engagement, the U.S. will unleash the full extent of economic and political pressure against Rouhanis government. If Trump can successfully convince Americas allies to abandon the Iran nuclear agreement altogether, the return of sanctions will hit the country hard. The question this time, however, is whether Rouhani will again be able to redirect criticism of his regime towards Western nations, instead. Given all thats happened in the past week, it seems highly unlikely. So, what does this mean for Canada? We have approximately 800 soldiers spread across the region, including Maj.-Gen. Jennie Carignan, who leads the NATO mission in Iraq. Those figures, combined with the tragic deaths of the 63 Canadians aboard flight PS752, remind us just how much our country has at stake in the region. As the prime minister said on Thursday, Canadians have questions and they deserve answers, accountability and above all justice. Our armed forces and those of our allies now find themselves in a quagmire: attempting to safely extricate some troops from Iraq, without surrendering the ground strategic, diplomatic and ideological which has been gained thus far. For now, all we can do is support our military and give them our undying gratitude. They, more than anyone, realize the true cost of all that has transpired. Jaime Watt is executive chairman of Navigator Ltd. and a Conservative strategist. He is a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: is executive chairman of Navigator Ltd. and a Conservative strategist. He is a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @jaimewatt Read more about: Taiwan's President Tsai wins 2nd term in office Iran Press TV Saturday, 11 January 2020 3:46 PM Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen has declared her victory in Saturday's election, where voters allowed the self-ruled island's first female leader to assume power for a second term. "Taiwan is showing the world how much we cherish our free democratic way of life and how much we cherish our nation," Tsai, 63, told reporters as she announced her victory late on Saturday. The US-backed incumbent president is known for her tough stance against China, which regards Taiwan as a renegade province and has grown increasingly suspicious that Tsai seeks formal secession. Some 19 million people were registered to vote in the presidential election on Saturday, when the parliamentary election was also held. Voters chose the next lawmakers of the Taiwanese legislature, where Tsai's party has had a majority. Tsai's main rival, Han Kuo-yu, who had promised to ease tensions with China, conceded defeat, admitting that the incumbent had won a second term. "I have called President Tsai to congratulate her. She has a new mandate for the next four years," Han told a crowd of supporters in the southern city of Kaohsiung late on Saturday. Ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections, Taiwan's ruling party had begun a renewed push for passing a bill to combat what it claims as Chinese efforts to influence politics in the island. The draft bill prohibits anyone donating to a political party, influencing elections or otherwise seeking sway in Taiwan politics on the instructions of or with the financial support of "infiltration sources." Beijing insists that the self-ruled island must be unified with the mainland one day, whereas Tsai insists Taiwan's future should be decided by its 23 million people. China has pursued Taiwan's reunification ever since the island broke away from the mainland during a civil war in 1949. China claims full sovereignty over the island under the globally-recognized "One China" policy and almost all world countries, including the US, recognize that sovereignty. The US, however, has long courted Taipei in an attempt to counter Beijing. The US which has no formal diplomatic relations with Taipei by law has extensive military ties with Taipei, selling advanced military hardware to the island, a move that has infuriated Beijing. Relations between China and Taiwan have particularly been strained since Tsai came to power in 2016. She has strong anti-China inclinations and refuses to acknowledge that both sides are part of "one China." Tsai has a bumpy road ahead during the next four years as she has to face challenges in trying to reform the government and economy and push through unpopular cuts in generous civil service pensions. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Robert Booth, on the left, with a patient in Honduras. Read more Orthopedic surgeon Robert E. Booth knew the conditions in the Nicaraguan hospital would not be equal to those of the pristine medical facilities he was used to in the United States. So he bit his tongue when he saw the bare wires that ringed the small stucco building, the flies that came and went through the open-louvered windows, the dirt floor of the operating room. But an exasperated Booth drew a line when, as he worked to surgically replace a patients knee, he saw a small black cat prowling the edges of the OR. Can we at least get the cat out? he recalled asking the Nicaraguan nurse at his side. If the cat goes," she replied, the snake comes back. Booth paused. I can live with the cat, he said. Fifteen years ago, Booth the medical director of 3B Orthopaedics at Jefferson Health and a small medical team volunteered their time to replace joints for patients living in Panama and Central America. They were invited to join a mission being organized by Operation Walk, a Los Angeles-based organization whose aim is to restore physical mobility to patients hobbled by disabled joints. Founded in 1996 by Dr. Lawrence D. Dorr, Operation Walk today includes more than 20 teams in the U.S., Canada, Ireland, and Thailand whose members have operated on 17,000 patients in 25 countries. READ MORE: Haverford has the oldest high school radio station in the country READ MORE: Oh, mama! At Einstein, 14 obstetrics staffers gave birth in 2019 and three more are due In 2009, Booth and a larger team of area surgeons, physician assistants, nurses, physical therapists, and anesthesiologists formed Operation Walk Philadelphia, a separate foundation that either travels on its own or partners with a Denver-based Operation Walk group. Its funded by generous individual donors as well as by area hospitals, including Jefferson Health. Planning for a mission commences eight months to a year in advance, said Liz Sees, a perioperative nurse coordinator for 3B Orthopaedics. Organizers solicit artificial-joint manufacturers for donations (which usually consist of devices that are one generation old and would no longer be used in the U.S. market). They round up medications, instruments, and dressings. They complete reams of paperwork to ensure everything will make it through the host countrys customs processes. Crates containing most of the needed supplies are then shipped to the host country months in advance. The rest is hand-carried in massive duffel bags through airport security by the 60 or so team members. Also in advance of the trip, the team receives and reviews about 150 X-rays belonging to potential joint-replacement patients. About one-third of the patients are found not to be good candidates for the procedure. Once the team arrives at the location, they physically examine the remaining patients, usually finding that another 25 are not healthy enough to undergo surgery. Its heartbreaking to send them back home with no joint, said Booth, who has replaced more than 35,000 knees in his career. During the next four or five days, the surgeons operate on 60 to 70 patients. Most of the surgeries are for new knees and a handful are for new hips, said Booth. Some patients have conditions that are generally no longer seen in the United States, such as severe rheumatoid arthritis, which is now treated and controlled with medication. One Panamanian patient, for example, had arthritis so severe she hadnt walked in years. Her joints were frozen at 90 degrees and her ligaments were not in great shape, Booth said. The day after her double knee-replacement surgery, she was up and walking. It says more about her courage than my skills, said Booth. The changes you can make in peoples lives, even after all these years, it astounds me." To his knowledge, said Booth, his teams patients have have never experienced post-op infection. Why? I dont know, he said. But he speculates that the patients natural immune systems are more tolerant of organisms than the systems of patients in the United States, for example, where antibiotics are over-prescribed and hand sanitizer is everywhere. Most of the teams trips have been to Panama, where they often treat patients who once worked at a now-closed U.S. military base. When we left, these people had no jobs, said Booth. They also lost access to regular medical care. When it comes to tolerating pain, Booth has noticed a marked difference between Latin American and American patients. Overseas, patients who undergo double-knee replacements are able to walk 100 yards to the bathroom the next day without having taken any pain medication. Part of the reason may be cultural: In the host countries, strong narcotics are often prescribed only to people who are terminally ill. Another part may have to do with limited access to pain medication in general: The pain drugs that the teams bring with them for use by orthopedic patients are instead dispensed by the local staff to cancer patients or those who are dying, Booth said. The teams missions include a major educational component. Surgeons teach local medical students and residents how to implant the artificial joints; physical therapists demonstrate how to manage the necessary range of motion exercises; and nurses discuss how to prepare a patient for surgery, pain management and wound care. Our job is to teach them how to take care of patients when we leave, said Michelle Anderson, a physician assistant with 3B Orthopaedics who is also a medical coordinator for the trips. And the education goes both ways, said Booth. We have learned that when a fly lands on a wound, you turn the [operating room] light away and it will take off, he said. If that happened in a Philadelphia hospital, people would be apoplectic." Even with the 12-hour days, no air-conditioning and sometimes dangerous living conditions, the medical team comes home rejuvenated, Booth said. Everyone feel like theyre back doing what they imagined then went into medicine for." An international agency promoting clean energy called Sunday for investments in renewable energy projects to be more than doubled, redirecting funds from fossil fuels. The Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) also said that electricity output from renewable sources would more than double over the next decade. "The agency's data shows that annual renewable energy investment needs to double from around USD 330 billion today to close to USD 750 billion to deploy renewable energy at the speed required," it said in a report. "Much of the needed investment can be met by redirecting planned fossil fuel investment," IRENA said. It estimated as much as USD 10 trillion worth of investments are planned in non-renewables-related energy projects by 2030, risking failure to meet the goals of fighting global warming. Some USD 2.6 trillion had been invested in renewable energy projects by end 2019, according to the United Nations Programme. IRENA director general Francesco La Camera told reporters on the sidelines of its annual assembly in Abu Dhabi that renewable energy programmes must be accelerated. If we want to deal "with the consequences of climate change, we have to accelerate our path. It means we have to go and double our investments in renewables", he said. IRENA's report said additional investment in renewables can achieve substantial savings, including minimising losses caused by climate change as a result of inaction. "Savings could amount to between USD 1.6 trillion and USD 3.7 trillion annually by 2030, three to seven times higher than investment costs for the energy transformation," the report said. Electricity from renewable sources, mainly solar and wind, will supply 57 per cent of global power by the end of the current decade, up from just 26 percent currently, IRENA said. The falling costs of renewable energy has greatly enhanced its contribution. Over the past 10 years, solar costs have dived by 90 per cent and wind turbine prices have halved in the same period, IRENA said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mumbai: The death toll in the chemical factory blast, that took place at Boisar in Palghar district in Maharashtra on Saturday, has plumped to eight, police officials said. Boisar is over 100 km from Mumbai. The under-construction plant of Ank Pharma, which was rocked by a massive blast yesterday evening, is located in a Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) area at Kolwade village. As per local witnesses, the intensity of the explosion was so severe that it was audible in a 35-km range and one building in the factory collapsed. Besides, many homes in the immediate vicinity were shaken and people ran outside thinking it was an earthquake, as power lines also failed. The exact cause of the explosion-cum-blaze which occurred around 7 pm was not immediately available. According to reports, the under-construction plant building collapsed immediately following the explosion. The rescue operation was being carried out till late Saturday. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray expressed his condolence on the incident and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each for the kin of the deceased. A statement from his office said that the Chief Minister was monitoring the rescue work. Top Palghar district administration, police and fire brigade officials were at the spot for the rescue operation, while Fire Brigade teams from Boisar MIDC industrial area and Tarapur Atomic Power Station were engaged in dousing the flames. Gov. Greg Abbotts decision to turn away refugees became a target of criticism among Democrats running for Senate at a Greenspoint area event Saturday, where several hopefuls fielded questions about the economy, gun control in America and criminal justice. Im telling you this, the reality is if we get out and do what were supposed to do in November, Greg Abbott will get the message, said longtime state Sen. Royce West. Abbott, the only governor thus far to opt out of the federal program, said Friday that Texas is overburdened with immigrants crossing the southern border. For much of the rest of the two-hour event town hall, candidates concentrated their ire on Sen. John Cornyn, who the winner of the primary will almost certainly face in the general election. When asked in a lighter portion of the event for a book recommendation, former Houston City Councilwoman Amanda Edwards offered David and Goliath, by Malcolm Gladwell. I of course would be David, and John Cornyn is Goliath, said Edwards, who trained her eye on Cornyn throughout the event. Ten of the 12 candidates vying for the Democratic nomination attended the town hall at Green House International Church, which one organizer hailed as the best attendance so far in the campaign. It was hosted by the Harris County Democratic Party and a bevy of other local groups. The event began with a message from the man whose relative success the field is seeking to emulate: former candidate Beto ORourke. He taped a message thanking participants. This race is winnable, he said. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee was also there to rally the crowd, leading them in chants of We will win. Combat veteran and former congressional candidate MJ Hegar, considered a front-runner in the race, was a notable absence on stage. Hegar has led in the few polls of the field and recently won the endorsement of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Before the start of the event, a Texas Democratic Party official emphasized to the crowd that they get to choose their nominee, not party leaders in Washington, D.C. Chris Bell, a former congressman and Houston city councilman, tied his campaign to efforts to combat gun control and climate change. He came out in favor of a nationwide red flag law in which law enforcement can ask judges for emergency orders to remove guns from someone they deem a risk to themselves or others along with universal background checks and an assault weapons ban. I dont have a problem with the Second Amendment, said Bell. I have a problem with the people who continue to mischaracterize it, and suggest that we cant make certain guns illegal. Weve made certain guns illegal in the United States for centuries now - machine guns, sawed-off shotguns. He found little disagreement on stage. Cristina Tzintzun Ramirez, a workers rights advocate, bragged that she is the best shot in her family, but she too voiced support for universal background checks and an assault weapons ban. I also graduated high school during the year of the Columbine shooting, said Ramirez. And Ive been waiting my entire adult life to see Congress act and do very basic things Instead, we decided to teach a generation of children to play dead in their classrooms. Annie Garcia, a business owner and nonprofit owner, also proposed holding credit companies responsible when they finance gun purchases used in mass shootings. She said they already refuse to finance Bitcoin purchases and should do the same with guns West, who continually emphasized his decades of legislative experience, said hes been working on the issue since Ann Richards was governor. He didnt offer concrete policy endorsements in that domain but said mental health must be a consideration as well. Edwards used the issue to criticize Cornyns leadership. That question I think we must answer with a switch in leadership, she said. John Cornyn has talked about it being complex. Well I have news, if you are not ready for complex issues, then you are not fit to be the U.S. Senator. Edwards branded herself as a pro-growth progressive, emphasizing the need for upward mobility and opportunity. She pitched workforce training programs and the need to expand broadband access to the parts of Texas that dont have it. We have to make sure that we are creating and preserving good job opportunities for Americans, but not just thinking about it in the guise of trade policy, she said. What we need is a systematic, comprehensive approach to how we provide people with upward mobility opportunities within the industries they already exist in today. Ramirez stressed her experience in organizing. She helped create the Workers Defense Project, advocating for workers and immigrants, and launched Jolt, a group dedicated to registering and mobilizing Latinos in Texas. She said her top priorities were universal health care and an accessible economy. She also broached overhauling the criminal justice system, referring to a proposal from Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., that she recently endorsed. The plan gives incentives for state and local governments to decrease prison populations and calls for the elimination of cash bail. How did we get here? We got here by building a system that was more concerned with retribution than justice, Ramirez said. We got here by building a system that disproportionately targeted the poor and people of color. The primary will be held March 3. Charlie Flanagan was right in trying to commemorate the RIC and DMP men who died doing their duty as they saw it - and right in calling it off to spare some of us sinking any lower, possibly by even picketing the ceremony itself. The site is in close proximity to the Garda Memorial Garden where there's already a DMP plaque - do the critics not know that the legendary Colonel Ned Broy was also a DMP detective? Flanagan was acting in the finest traditions of Fine Gael, as were Ministers Josepha Madigan and Heather Humphreys who defended the commemoration. I would have said the same about Leo Varadkar but he was hoist by his own petard - three years of Brit-bashing against Brexit has fuelled tribal fanatics who foul social media with their sectarian sewage. This feeds into the Sinn Fein strategy of subverting the moral boundaries of southern parties by sucking them into its toxic brand of nationalism. "Probe with bayonets," said Lenin. "If you meet mush, push on. If you meet steel, pull back." Last week, Sinn Fein probed the two main parties for signs of moral fibre and found moral mush, first in Fianna Fail, then in Fine Gael. Critics sought to cover their moral cowardice by complaining about 'mishandling' and lack of 'consultation'. They were helped by Professor Diarmaid Ferriter's view that the Government was using the expert advisory group as a "mudguard". Conversely, it could be claimed that politicians lacking the guts to act with good authority were using Ferriter as a mudguard for their mendacity. Ferriter himself should have called out the troll historians who conflated the RIC with the Black and Tans and who claimed the campaign of murders begun by Dan Breen had electoral and public support at the time. But the 1918 election gave the IRA no mandate to murder RIC men in cold blood - that had to be done retrospectively by Dail Eireann to back up Breen. As for public support, PS O'Hegarty, writing about the killing of policemen in his almost contemporary account, The Victory of Sinn Fein (1924), is clear that "the public conscience was never easy about it". No wonder. Most RIC men were from humble homes and the Catholic cottier class. Most joined because - unlike some of their current well-got critics - they desperately needed money to feed their families. Many were married and in middle age, the softest of targets. Dan Breen, who was clearly a psychopath, fell on these sheep like wolves - and better men followed his brutal bad example. The casualty figures show clearly the IRA campaign was aimed at these hapless RIC Irish victims rather than the natural-born killers of the Black and Tans. The IRA killed only 191 Black and Tans but they killed 322 RIC men. Fergal Keane wrote movingly in The Irish Times about these RIC victims. But I cannot agree with his conclusion that we should not seek to "denigrate opponents of the postponed commemoration service as atavists or tribal nationalists". So what are we to call them? To stay silent about their gutless behaviour is to become complicit in their moral cowardice. The Lord Mayor of Cork is the only one with a credible case because of the cruel murder of Tomas Mac Curtain. But he still might have done better to read and reflect on the city's two great writers before he made his decision. Frank O'Connor, in Guests of the Nation, taught my generation that nothing human was alien to us, including working-class British soldiers. Sean O Faolain, the son of a gentle RIC father, wrote: "Men like my father were dragged out in those years and shot down as traitors to their country. Shot for cruel necessity - so be it. Shot to inspire terror - so be it. But they were not traitors. They had their loyalties and they stuck to them." Predictably, RTE failed its duty of care to a rising generation brainwashed by SF trolls peddling fake history on social media. Far from Claire Byrne Live refuting the big lie - that the RIC ceremony was also commemorating the Black and Tans - every young person who saw the show told me they got the impression the Black and Tans were being commemorated. Jim O'Callaghan's dismissive stance on the RIC shocked me, and his cursory nod to Northern unionists did not deflect the Belfast Newsletter from voicing particular disappointment with Micheal Martin whom it often praises as a pluralist. What has happened to our hearts and heads that we can so callously dismiss the relatives of RIC men? Alas, I know the answer. My grandfather, Pat Harris, was the noblest of men. But like the rest of the Cork IRA, he was in the iron grip of an ideology - Irish nationalism. Like any ideology - fascism, communism or Islamism - Irish nationalism can convince its followers to condone things that are contrary to their better natures, both today and 100 years ago. Ideology dictated that Pat Harris did not break ranks in November 17, 1920, when Sgt James O'Donoghue, RIC, who lived around the corner in Tower Street, who never carried a gun and was generally seen as a decent local bobby, was shot dead by young tearaways, a bag of bullseye sweets for his young daughter falling from his dying hand. Worse was to come. Intimidated by the IRA, local undertakers refused to bury his body. Sgt O'Donoghue's weeping widow and her children had to hire a private car to take his body back to Cahirciveen. Pat Harris would have been privately sickened, but he did not protest, silenced by his belief in the ideology of Irish nationalism. The same ideology is currently sanitising the Provo IRA murder campaign. Judging by social media, the rising generation is the most rabidly tribal I can recall. This sick regression, which is degrading Irish democracy, is the result of three factors: the steady greening of academe purged of sceptical revisionists, a sectarian campaign on social media by SF trolls, and three years of bashing Brits and unionists over Brexit. For the first time in my life, I fear for the future of our Republic as it retreats into the nationalism that brought misery to the Balkans. But all is not lost. Two summers ago I was greeted at a filling station in Skibbereen by Joe Riordan, a regular reader, who was on his way to Durrus to put flowers on the lonely grave of Constable Isaac Rea of the RIC, who was only 20 years of age when he was shot by the IRA in Cappoquin, Co Waterford, while on foot patrol. The IRA volunteer who shot young Rea was Joe's grandfather, John Riordan, training officer of the West Waterford Brigade. Joe's respectful pilgrimage to the grave of a young Protestant Irishman killed by his grandfather is a role model we should follow - for the sake of our children. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 21:18:35|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close DAMASCUS, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- At least two people were killed and three others were wounded on Sunday by a rebel mortar attack on residential areas in Aleppo city of northern Syria, state news agency SANA reported. Two kids were among the wounded in the attack, according to the report. On Saturday, the rebels fired mortar rounds on the vicinity of the international airport of Aleppo and the military air base of Nayrab. Since recaptured by the Syrian army in 2016, Aleppo has largely remained safe except for mortar shelling by the rebels. The radical rebels, located in the western and northern countryside of Aleppo, frequently fire mortar shells at the city and government-controlled areas in the countryside of Aleppo Province. Q: I simply cant believe that you were able to get a full half page in todays (Dec. 15) edition devoted to an article about shingles that fails to (even once) mention the significant shortage of the Shingrix vaccine. Did you even bother to look at this page? (Note: this CDC chart uses the alternative name zoster for shingles.) Talk about poor research or are you little more than the propaganda arm for a drug manufacturer that can't seem to come close to providing supply to meet the demand? M.S., Shaker Heights A: Yes, there is a national shortage of Shingrix, the new shingles vaccine. However, locally, many pharmacies said they have adequate supplies. Yet there are some locations that have wait lists. GlaxoSmithKline didnt foresee the unusually high demand of the vaccine when they brought it to market and have been trying to catch up since, said Tom Roth, vice president of pharmacy at Marcs. Vaccine supply in NEOhio While some area drug stores have waiting lists for the shingles vaccine, many do not. All of Marcs 38 pharmacies have an adequate supply of the vaccine, with no waiting lists, Roth said. A recent spot-check of area Walmart, Costco and Walgreens pharmacies found waiting lists at three out of 11 stores contacted. Waiting times varied from a few weeks to three months. Sixty-six of the 76 Discount Drug Mart pharmacies have waiting lists, pharmacy operations director Jason Briscoe said in an email. Most (of these stores) have first-dose-lists averaging 20 patients and second-dose-lists averaging 35 patients, Briscoe said. The second-dose-list carries a higher priority when we have patients due for their second dose. Go to https://vaccinefinder.org/ to use a Shingrix vaccine finder, but call the pharmacy first to check on supplies. If you need help paying for Shingrix, GSKs patient assistance program may help. Supply across the nation Shingrix was introduced in 2017 and became the preferred shingles vaccine over the vaccine Zostavax. Health care providers recommended that people who had received Zostavax be re-vaccinated with Shingrix, which is more effective than Zostavax. This meant that demand for Shingrix rose quickly, explained Roth. More than 11 million people have received the vaccine since it first became available in late 2017, according to GSK. Shingrix is recommended for people 50 and older, while Zostavax is recommended for people 60 and older. The change in age recommendation created a bigger pool of potential customers, Roth said, which also contributed to the shortage. Shingles is a painful rash that usually develops on one side of the body, often the face or torso. The rash consists of small blisters that typically scab over in seven to 10 days and clear up within two-to-four weeks. Some people run a fever, others dont. Shingrix is administered in two shots, given two-to-six months apart. Shortages have meant that some patients have had to wait longer to get the second shot, Roth said. If the second shot is delayed over six months, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends getting it as soon as possible, but shouldnt restart the series and or substitute Zostavax for the second dose of Shingrix. GSK is taking steps to ramp up production of Shingrix in order to meet demand and shortages have begun to ease, Evan Berland, director of U.S. corporate communications at GSK, said in an email. But he stopped short of saying the shortages will end in 2020. In April, GSK announced plans for a $100 million expansion of its manufacturing site in Hamilton, Montana, to increase production of key components of Shingrix. The expansion is expected to be completed in 2022, Berland said. A French facility gained FDA approval in 2019 to produce the shingles vaccine, and the company has more than 20 similar expansion projects underway to increase supply, Berland said. Here are more reader questions about shingles and Shingrix: I seem to recall that (the old shingles vaccine) Zostavax only lasted 10 years, and you could only receive this vaccine once. Therefore, I choose not to get it. Are there similar limitations for Shingrix? I am 63 and in generally good health. I am currently still holding off on the vaccine. -- Bill Colt, Novelty The CDC says this about Zostavax: Protection from (Zostravax) shingles vaccine lasts about five years, so adults vaccinated before they are 60 years old might not be protected later in life when the risk for shingles and its complications are greatest. Shingrix is recommended even for patients having previously received Zostavax. The CDC also states that Shingrix protection stays above 85% for at least the first four years after vaccination. The (Shingrix) vaccine has shown over 90% efficacy across all age groups in the prevention of shingles, Dr. Thomas Breuer, senior vice president and chief medical officer of GSK Vaccines, said in a 2017 statement. The risk and severity of shingles increases with age as the immune system loses the ability to mount a strong and effective response to infection. Shingrix was developed specifically to overcome the age-related decline in immunity. I might recommend that you double check on how Shingrix is priced. I just got my second dose in August and the cost was approximately $165 per dose at a Walgreen's in-store clinic! When I was quoted $165, I assumed it was for both doses. It was not. I wish this was clarified as I certainly didn't know. -- Daniel Lange, Twinsburg You are correct. The price is per dose, and yes, two shots are required. In her column, patient advocacy writer Julie Washington will answer readers questions about navigating health-care systems. (She will not address individual treatments.) Your comments may be published in a future story or column. Send questions and comments for publication including your name, city and daytime phone number to jwashington@plaind.com. You can also find Julie on Twitter @JulieEWash. Recent Health Matters columns by Julie Washington: Hospitals say leave meds at home; readers say otherwise Where to get help paying your medical bill Mens risk of breast cancer is low, but mortality is high Tips for a smooth transition to a skilled nursing facility Local celebrities share their healthy 2020 resolutions: Health Matters Creating healthy habits for 2020: Health Matters Seeking the help of the youth to spread awareness about the new citizenship law CAA, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday alleged some political parties were not ready to understand the legislation and continued to fuel misconception about the Act which provides citizenship and does not snatch it. Speaking on the occasion of the 157th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda at the Belur Math -- global headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, Modi said youth and other citizens of the country are being misled on the CAA which came into force on Friday almost a month after Parliament passed the law on December 11. "CAA is a law to provide citizenship, it does not snatch citizenship. The government is providing citizenship through the law, it is not taking back the citizenship of anyone," Modi said while addressing youth at Belur Math, founded by Swami Vivekananda. Swami Vivekananda's birth anniversary is celebrated as National Youth Day across the country. "Some political are not ready to understand CAA, they are fuelling misconception," he said. "What is there in this Act? Why was it needed? There are lot of questions in the minds of the people which has been fuelled by various people. Lot of youth have awareness. But yet there are some who are victims of misconception, rumours. It is our responsibility to make these people understand. It is our duty to satisfy them on this issue," Modi said. The Prime Minister said that the CAA provides citizenship to those migrants who faced persecution in the name of religion in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. "The people who believe in the constitution of India will be given citizenship on the basis of certain legalities." He said the government is following the path shown by Mahatma Gandhi, who supported citizenship for persecuted minorities. The Prime Minister pointed out that his government's CAA initiative has compelled Pakistan to answer about persecution of minorities in their land. "It's because of this (citizenship) law that people here have become aware of the kind of persecution the Hindus in Pakistan face. Pakistan is now answerable to us," he said. Assuring people from North East India, he said the Act has special provisions for the region. The Prime Minister's remarks related to CAA came in the backdrop of various violent demonstration in different cities across the country against the law which experts say is against the Muslim community. He also appealed youth to clear misconception among people related to the CAA. As per the law, migrants of six non-Muslim communities -- Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian -- who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 will be given citizenship. Sanders argued that the events of the past two decades have discredited the notion that the United States should use its military might to shape the world to its liking. He decried U.S. interference in Iran and Chile in the 20th century. He underlined the need for alliances to confront adversaries such as North Korea. On a smaller scale, he touted the value of partnering with a sister city in Russia when he was mayor of Burlington, Vt. Venezuela's opposition leader and self-declared acting president Juan Guaido said Saturday it is unlikely he will resume negotiations with President Nicolas Maduro. Guaido this week survived dramatic attempts to remove him as head of the National Assembly, and called new protests to try to drive out the leftist Maduro, who is overseeing an economy in free fall and accused of acting like a dictator. "It's not that we don't want a negotiation. It's that we see it as just so highly unlikely. We have been duped over and over," Guaido said in a speech to supporters in Caracas. Aides to Maduro and Guaido held negotiations last year under mediation by Norway but both sides accused each other of breaking terms, and the talks stopped in August. Just Friday, Guaido's aides said a Norwegian government commission would arrive here within hours. But they also stressed that the negotiation process was over. Guaido's apparent refusal to resume dialogue followed a new US drive toward diplomacy, almost a year after the US declared Maduro illegitimate and recognized Guaido as interim president. "Negotiations could open the path out of the crisis through a transitional government that will organize free and fair elections," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. Maduro won a new term in 2018 in elections that were widely criticized internationally as fraudulent, and new presidential polls are not due until 2024. But elections must take place in 2020 for the National Assembly, the only institution controlled by the opposition -- and which the United States and more than 50 other countries see as bringing legitimacy to Guaido. Millions of Venezuelans have fled a collapsing economy, in which they are no longer able to find or afford basic staples. But despite the humanitarian catastrophe and biting US sanctions, Maduro maintains power with the support of the military as well as Russia, China and Cuba. After failing at ousting Maduro in 2019, claiming to have "tried everything," Guaido's popularity fell to 38.9 percent in December after reaching a peak of 63 percent, pollsters Datanalisis say. Guaido just survived dramatic attempts to remove him as head of Venezuela's National Assembly, and called new protests to try to drive out leftist President Nicolas Maduro Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump warned Saturday that the US is targeting 52 sites in Iran and will hit them "very fast and very hard" if the Islamic republic attacks American personnel or assets. In a saber-rattling tweet that defended Friday's US drone strike assassination of a powerful Iranian general in Iraq, Trump said 52 represents the number of Americans held hostage at the US embassy in Tehran for more than a year starting in late 1979. Trump said some of these sites are "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!" Late Saturday night, the president tweeted again, this time warning Iran that the US will hit Iran "harder than they have ever been hit before!" Trump followed up with another tweet, saying the US would use its "brand new beautiful" military equipment "without hesitation" if the Iranians retaliate. Trump spoke out after pro-Iran factions ramped up pressure on US installations across Iraq with missiles and warnings to Iraqi troops -- part of an outburst of fury over the killing of Qasem Soleimani, described as the second most-powerful man in Iran. With the Islamic republic promising revenge, his killing was the most dramatic escalation yet in spiraling tensions between Washington and Tehran and has prompted fears of a major conflagration in the Middle East. In the first hints of a possible retaliatory response, two mortar rounds hit an area near the US embassy in Baghdad on Saturday, security sources told AFP. Almost simultaneously, two rockets slammed into the Al-Balad airbase where American troops are deployed north of Baghdad, security sources said. The Iraqi military confirmed the missile attacks in Baghdad and on al-Balad and said there were no casualties. The US military also said no coalition troops were hurt. With Americans wondering fearfully if, how and where Iran will hit back for the assassination, the US Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin that said "at this time there is no specific, credible threat against the homeland." Story continues However on Saturday the website of the Federal Depository Library Program, a little-known US government agency, was breached by a group claiming to be linked to Iran, who posted graphics displaying the Iranian flag and vowing revenge for Soleimani's death. Separately, US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said in a statement that information given to Congress by Trump, a Republican, "prompts serious and urgent questions about the timing, manner and justification of" the strike. "The Trump Administration's provocative, escalatory and disproportionate military engagement continues to put service members, diplomats and citizens of America and our allies in danger," said Pelosi, a Democrat. Another prominent democrat, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, called the president a "monster", for "threatening to target and kill innocent families, women and children". In a tweet, she said: "This is a war crime." - 'Direct war' - While no one claimed Saturday's attacks in Baghdad, a hardline pro-Iran faction in Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi military network shortly after urged Iraqis to move away from US forces by Sunday at 5:00 pm local time (1400 GMT). The deadline would coincide with a parliament session which the Hashed has insisted should see a vote on the ouster of US troops. Washington has blamed the vehemently anti-American group for a series of rocket attacks in recent weeks targeting US diplomats and troops stationed across Iraq. Many fear the US strike that killed Iran's military mastermind Soleimani would set off a wider conflict with Iran, and have braced for more attacks. "This is no longer a proxy war," said Erica Gaston, a non-resident fellow at the New America Foundation. "What you have is America attacking an Iranian general directly, and groups are now openly fighting for Iran to avenge him. This is a direct war," she told AFP. The US strike on Baghdad international airport early Friday killed a total of five Iranian Revolutionary Guards and five members of Iraq's Hashed. Among the dead was Hashed's deputy head Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a top adviser and personal friend to Soleimani. As head of the Guards' foreign operations arm, the Quds Force, Soleimani was a powerful figure domestically and oversaw Iran's wide-ranging interventions in regional power struggles. Trump has said Soleimani was planning an "imminent" attack on US personnel in Baghdad and should have been killed "many years ago". - 'Act of war' - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei promised "severe revenge" for Soleimani's death and Tehran named Soleimani's deputy, Esmail Qaani, to succeed him. Tens of thousands of Iraqis, including Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, political leaders and clerics attended a mass ceremony on Saturday to honor Soleimani and the other victims. Tehran has slammed the strike as an "act of war" and Abdel Mahdi said it could bring "devastating" violence to Iraq. The attacks on Saturday evening appeared to be precisely the reaction Iraqis had long feared: tit-for-tat strikes between the Hashed and the US on Iraqi soil. Earlier, the Hashed claimed a new strike hit their convoy north of Baghdad, with Iraqi state media blaming the US. But the US-led coalition denied involvement, telling AFP: "There was no American or coalition strike" on Saturday. KYIV - Within hours of Iran's stunning admission Saturday that its missile mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, Ukraine made a big reveal of its own. The country put out photos, taken a day earlier, showing wreckage riddled with small holes, suggesting damage from shrapnel. Well before Iran admitted shooting down Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 outside Tehran on Wednesday, Ukraine realized the plane had been destroyed by a missile. But the country's leaders tread a careful diplomatic path. "The argument already didn't exist for them to deny all this," Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, told The Washington Post. Soon after the plane went down, killing all 176 on board, U.S. officials and the leaders of Canada and Britain told the world they believed the plane was likely shot down by Iran. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked them to share their information with him, but held off announcing any of Ukraine's conclusions - a strategic decision, Danilov said. "We came to this conclusion before the Americans and Canadians," he said. Ukraine wanted its investigators to gather hard evidence of their own, Danilov said. Officials were careful to avoid sharp criticism of Iran during this time to ensure its cooperation in the probe. Zelensky, caught between the United States and Iran after a U.S. drone strike killed Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the leader of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, had the difficult task of securing the "cooperation of Western backers and Iran without being drawn into either side's narrative of the Iran-U. S. conflict," said Katharine Quinn-Judge, a Kyiv-based analyst for International Crisis Group. Four days after the plane went down, Zelensky announced that he and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had "agreed on full legal and technical cooperation, including compensation issues." "Once again, Zelensky walked a thin diplomatic balance beam and came out without falling flat on his face," said Nina Jankowicz, a scholar at the Wilson Center. "For a political novice, he seems to have a keen sense of exactly how to appease opposing factions in order to protect Ukraine's interests." Ukraine has the kind of closure from Iran it still hasn't received from Russia for the July 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. That plane was shot down by a missile launched from rebel territory in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 on board. A team of investigators from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine identified a Russian military unit in charge of the antiaircraft missile system and has pursued prosecution of the Russian and Ukrainian citizens allegedly involved. Russia continues to deny any part in the incident. "When an airplane departed from a European capital five-plus years ago, Europe still hasn't finished its investigation into this catastrophe and can't say who's guilty," Danilov said. "In our case, a lot less time has passed in order to understand what happened." A Ukrainian team of 45 experts and search-and-rescue personnel, including some who worked on the Malaysia Airlines case, arrived in Tehran early Thursday to investigate the cause of the Ukrainian International Airlines crash and identify the bodies. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko told reporters Friday that "as it happens with these cases, the investigation team is not happy." "They want to have more access, they want to have more rapid access," Prystaiko said. "They want to have more info, and so and so forth. Whether this is justified as the requests, that is very difficult to tell." Photos purported to be from the crash site posted on social media showed remnants of a missile from the Russian-made Tor air defense system, known in NATO parlance as the SA-15 Gauntlet. Russia has exported the surface-to-air missile system to several countries, including Iran in 2005. It's designed to hit targets in the short to medium range. Danilov wrote on his Facebook page Thursday that he wanted investigators to scour the crash site for that. But among the challenges investigators faced was that the crash site was quickly cleared and bulldozed. Parts of the plane were taken to a nearby hangar. Ukraine didn't get access to the black box until Friday. Prystaiko said investigators were examining pieces of the plane and the chemical residue on it, and were also at a hospital "analyzing the bodies of the people who perished in the crash." 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. Zelensky said DNA samples from relatives of the 11 Ukrainians who were on the plane were collected to help identify their bodies. "Modern technology, the rapid exchange of information, the work with the information resources that we have today in the world - they give the ability to find answers to very difficult questions," Danilov said. "We believe that they already understood that the option that it wasn't them didn't exist anymore. "The analysis of the information that we had here - not in Tehran but in Ukraine - already pointed to fact that they had nothing to stand on." Avoiding a larger international rift is a significant hurdle cleared for Zelensky, a 41-year-old comedian who received overwhelming support in Ukraine's election last spring. He has been pulled into the impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, and has been negotiating with Russia, France and Germany on ending the conflict in a swath of separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine. In a video address to Ukrainians on Sunday, Zelensky was solemn but triumphant. "We worked systematically, without hysteria, for one thing: to achieve results, to find out the truth about the circumstances of the crash," he said. - - - Khurshudyan reported from Moscow. Analysts say a nuclear conflict although closer is still remote. But they also agree that rhetoric from both sides combined with the possibility of even a small change to Indias no-first-use nuke policy (only China and India have an unambiguous policy) is never safe. by Saira Baig Its far too easier to make war than peace in this part of region that is South Asia which is already full of it: disputed borders, acute resource shortages, and threats ranging from extremist violence to earthquakes. But in 2019, a crisis stood out among all: rising tensions between India and Pakistan. And as serious as both were in 2019, everyone expects it to get even worse this year. The year 2019 was a dangerously tense year for nuke holders India and Pakistan having already fought two of their three wars over the Himalayan region. Iran is burning over the next conflict but what about India and Pakistan? In February, a young Kashmiri man in the town of Pulwama staged a suicide bombing that killed more than three dozen Indian security forces the deadliest such attack in Kashmir in three decades. Jaish-e-Mohammad a Pakistan-based terror group with close ties to Pakistans security establishment claimed responsibility. India retaliated by sending jets across Pakistan-administered Kashmir and launching limited strikes, for the first time since a war in 1971. Soon after, Pakistan claimed it had carried out six air strikes in Kashmir to showcase its might, and it also shot down an Indian fighter jet and captured the pilot. The confrontation, which de-escalated when Islamabad announced the pilots release several days later, represented the most serious exchange of hostilities in years. Then, in August, India revoked the autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir, the India-administered part of Kashmir, and declared it a new territory of India. New Delhi also imposed a security lockdown in Kashmir that included the detention of hundreds of people and a communication blackout. For Islamabad, which claims Jammu and Kashmir as its own, the move amounted to a serious provocation, if hardly a hostile act. Pakistan retaliated by expelling Indias envoy from Islamabad and suspending trade with New Delhi. Undaunted, in the weeks that followed, senior Indian officials, including the defence and foreign ministers, turned their attention to Pakistan-administered Kashmir, which New Delhi has long claimed, and suggested they eventually planned to reclaim it. Bilateral relations remained fraught over the past few months of the year. Islamabad issued constant broadsides against New Delhi for its continued security lockdown in Kashmir. By years end, an Internet blackout was still in effect. Then, in December, Indias parliament passed a controversial new citizenship law that affords fast-track paths to Indian citizenship for religious minorities but never Muslims fleeing persecution in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. The new law angered Islamabad never just for excluding Muslims, but because of the implication accurate but hardly anything Islamabad likes to admit that Pakistan persecutes its Hindu and Christian communities. These prolonged tensions often overshadowed what was arguably the biggest story in both the countries in 2019: economic struggle. India suffered its biggest economic slowdown in six years, and Pakistan confronted a serious debt crisis. The two were hardly unconnected: given the inability of New Delhi and Islamabad to fix their economies, both governments arguably sought political advantages from the distractions of saber rattling. Against this tense backdrop, the opening in November of a new border corridor that enables Indian Sikhs to enter Pakistan visa-free to worship at a holy shrine, which in better times could have been a bridge to an improved relationship, amounted to little more than a one-off humanitarian gesture. Bad as this crisis is, it is poised to get worse this year. And the underlying tensions between the neighbours seem to sharpen. Islamabad rounded up dozens of Islamist militants this past year, but New Delhi was never convinced Islamabad was taking strong and irreversible steps against New Delhi-focused terrorists and their networks. And New Delhis actions in Kashmir in 2019 represented worst-case scenarios for Islamabad. The two nuke-armed nations will enter 2020 just one big trigger event away from war. The trigger could be another mass-casualty attack on Indian security forces in Kashmir traced back to a Pakistan-based group, or acting on the threats issued repeatedly by New Delhi in 2019 an Indian preemptive operation to seize territory in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. In either scenario, escalation would be swift. Bilateral relations are much worse than they were during last Februarys confrontation. Ever since its resounding re-election win last spring, Indias ruling party has pursued its Hindu nationalist agenda in increasingly aggressive fashion which gives it hardly any incentive to go easy on Pakistan, which, in turn, will never give in easily. Analysts say a nuclear conflict although closer is still remote. But they also agree that rhetoric from both sides combined with the possibility of even a small change to Indias no-first-use nuke policy (only China and India have an unambiguous policy) is never safe. For example, if India firms up the change in its no-first-use policy, Pakistan might take this as a signal that India could launch a pre-emptive strike at Pakistani nuclear installations. And that might, in turn, prompt Pakistan to use up all its nuclear weapons first. And so, you get this destabilising dynamic where as soon as the crisis becomes nuclearised, there is an incentive for both sides to go first. Some analysts on either side call the escalating rhetoric a war of words that will never on its own lead to military action. However, the increasing tensions combined with references to nuclear conflict from both sides mean that the two countries are now likely to have changed the status of their nuclear weapons readiness from peacetime to crisis. In practice, this means moving the three main physical components of a weapon the warhead, missile-delivery system and fissile material core either assembled or closer to where they need to be, ready for launch. In peacetime, each component is kept at a different location, for safety and security. Such a state of readiness for a strike heightens the risk of a nuclear accident, but is hardly in itself a sign that war will break out. But if there is another attack inside India as happened in February Indias armed forces might again respond with force. That would precipitate a reaction from Pakistans military, prompting retaliation from India. Unless one side voluntarily holds back, the prospect of such military escalation concerns analysts because it could eventually lead to strikes against nuclear targets. The doomsday clock for the next India-Pakistan war is ticking at a minute to midnight. Diplomatic intervention from Washington and other third parties, and cooler heads on both sides, may keep it from ticking further forward. But its hard to see a path to unraveling such tightly knotted tensions. Saira Baig is a freelance writer focusing on politics (in the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America), feminism, cinema and fashion Why the Narendra Modi government has invested so much political capital in the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) beggars the imagination. The Act is plainly illogical, not least because it leaves out of its purview the largest group of Stateless refugees currently living on Indian soil Tamils from Sri Lanka many of whom are in fact Hindus. The Act is also manifestly immoral, in that it singles out one particular religion, Islam, for particularly spiteful treatment. If the logic and morality of the CAA are suspect, the timing of the Act is mystifying. Had not the abolition of Article 370, the conversion of Indias only Muslim-majority state into a mere Union Territory, already done a great deal to satisfy the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)s hardline Hindutva base? Had not the Supreme Courts verdict in the Ayodhya dispute, mandating the building of a grand new Ram temple, satisfied them further? Is the greed of the base really so insatiable that this third bone had to be thrown their way so soon after the other two? The downgrading of Jammu and Kashmir and the building of a temple in Ayodhya were issues of enormous symbolic importance to the BJP. One could understand why a second successive majority in the Lok Sabha emboldened the Modi government to act quickly in these matters. But the CAA was of relatively trifling importance. It was estimated that just a few thousand refugees would get Indian citizenship as a result of its passing. Why then was it given such a high priority? Particularly at a time when the economy was in such a mess, and its revival needed urgent attention? ALSO WATCH | Delhi: Anti-CAA protest at Jama Masjid, Turkman Gate There are perhaps two reasons behind the Modi governments unseemly haste in passing the CAA through Parliament. The first is bigotry, the ideological compulsion to rub it in even further to the Muslim citizens of the Republic that they live here on the grace or mercy of the Hindu majority. The second is hubris; the sense (or delusion) that since the Muslims of India did not offer any dissent at the abrogation of Article 370 or at the court verdict concerning Ayodhya, this time, too, they would meekly accept this wanton humiliation heaped on them by their own government. It has turned out otherwise. Indian Muslims have turned out in large numbers to protest this dangerous piece of legislation. This is, in part, because despite the post facto, and altogether unconvincing, denials by the prime ministerthe Government of India, and particularly the home minister, have repeatedly made it clear that the CAA would be implemented in conjunction with a National Register of Citizens (NRC). This provoked the (wholly legitimate) fear that Muslims would be made particularly vulnerable by this twin pincer operation for any non-Muslims left out by from the NRC could immediately reapply for citizenship on the basis of the CAA. One striking aspect of the popular protests against the CAA and the NRC has been that people of all faiths have enthusiastically participated. In cities like Kolkata and Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi, tens of thousands of Indians who are not themselves Muslims have recognised the new Act for what it really is a body blow to the founding ideals of the Republic. This is particularly true of students, whose presence and leadership has been particularly noteworthy and impressive. A second striking aspect of the protests has been the widespread international coverage they have garnered. This is for two reasons; the scale of the participation, and the savagery of the States response. Since May 2014, no action of the Modi regime has attracted remotely this kind of opposition. Not demonetisation, not the abrogation of Article 370 either. For weeks on end, thousands and thousands of people have poured onto the streets to express their anger and disaffection with the ruling regime. In cities like Delhi, the regime has responded with panic; by imposing Section 144, by shutting down the Internet, by closing metro lines. In states like Uttar Pradesh, it has responded with brute force. The international coverage of the issue has been widespread, and it has been uniformly negative. The Act has been seen everywhere for what it is a discriminatory piece of legislation. For many decades, India was praised as a pluralist beacon in a sea of majoritarian States in South Asia. No longer. Now, we are increasingly viewed as a Hindu version of Muslim Pakistan and Muslim Bangladesh, or of Buddhist Sri Lanka and Buddhist Myanmar that is to say, a State driven largely and, sometimes solely, by the interests of a religious majority. That the government has responded to the protests so harshly, has only further corroded the countrys international reputation. Even friendly countries like Israel issued an advisory to their citizens not to travel to India. In places like Goa and Agra, tourism is down by more than 50%. Illogical, immoral and not least ill-timed, the CAA has dealt a body blow to Indias image in the world. And perhaps to the prime ministers image and legacy, too. When Narendra Modi first became prime minister, in May 2014, many people this writer included were struck by the extraordinary emphasis he gave to foreign policy. In his first term, Modi travelled ceaselessly across the world, meeting and befriending world leaders. His actions and statements spoke to a keen desire to make his country and himself too a greater force in international affairs. Not since Jawaharlal Nehru, it seemed, had an Indian prime minister invested so much of his personal capital and personal energy in foreign policy. All that effort has now come to naught, obliterated by a single piece of legislation that was as unnecessary as it was unwise. The prime ministers own reactions to the popular protests suggests a normally sure-footed politician ill at ease with himself. To invoke the support of a so-called godman on social media, to ask protesters to criticise Pakistan rather than the CAA, are not signs of authority or command. The prime minister has been damaged; but the country has been damaged far more. Ramachandra Guha is the author of Gandhi: The Years That Changed The World. The views expressed are personal. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Britain must be prepared to fight future wars without the US, the defence secretary has warned after admitting the UK is currently dependent on the American military. Ben Wallace said Donald Trumps unpredictable moves in the Middle East, including his withdrawal from Syria and the assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, had disrupted historic precedents. The assumptions of 2010 that we were always going to be part of a US coalition is really just not where we are going to be, he told the Sunday Times. We are very dependent on American air cover and American intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets. We need to diversify our assets we are going to have to make decisions that allow us to stand with a range of allies. Mr Wallace said he was kept awake at night be the prospect of the US withdrawing from global leadership. 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 His warning came as Boris Johnson prepares to lead what is being billed as the deepest review of Britains security, defence and foreign policy since the Cold War. The prime minister has been criticised for his absence during key moments of escalation between the US and Iran over recent weeks. Brandon Lewis, the security minister, said Boris Johnson was working with the international community to de-escalate that whole situation. Asked if Mr Trump had acted responsibly by ordering Soleimanis death, he said it was its absolutely right for the US to be able to defend itself. The US took a decision about the right way to do that and we have to respect that, Mr Lewis told Skys Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme. The prime ministers focus with partners and talking to president [Hassan] Rouhani has been around de-escalating the situation. That is whats in the global best interest for all of us. Mr Lewis echoed the defence secretarys comments by saying that Britain would work globally with partners, adding: The US plays an important part in that but we also work with partners across Europe and other places around the world. He said the UKs relationship with the US went beyond individual leaders and would continue through channels including Nato. Mr Lewis said the government was working to ensure a transparent investigation into the downing of a passenger plane that was mistakenly targeted by Iranian forces in Tehran. Iranian general Amir Ali Hajizadeh accepts blame for downing of plane Four British victims were among the 176 people killed on board Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752, which was shot down on Wednesday shortly after take-off on 8 January. President Rouhani called the missile strike a disastrous mistake, after military chiefs had for days denied responsibility. Tensions with the UK rose further on Saturday after the British ambassador to Iran was detained in Tehran. Rob Macaire said he was arrested after attending an event that had been advertised as a vigil for victims of the plane crash. Normal to want to pay respects some of victims were British, he wrote on Twitter. I left after five minutes, when some started chanting. Detained half an hour after leaving the area. Arresting diplomats is of course illegal, in all countries. Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, called the arrest a flagrant violation of international law and said there were no grounds or explanations by Iranian authorities. He added: The Iranian government is at a crossroads moment. It can continue its march towards pariah status with all the political and economic isolation that entails, or take steps to de-escalate tensions and engage in a diplomatic path forwards. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 17:31:13|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close On the first anniversary of a control plan for Beijing's sub-center construction in the eastern suburb of Tongzhou District as well as the relocation of the city's key municipal organs, a more livable, business-friendly city with good working conditions is taking shape, sparkling with vigor and vitality. BEIJING, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- West of the 6th Ring Road in Beijing, construction of the widely anticipated Universal Beijing Resort is in full swing. The initial phase of the project, which includes the Universal Studios theme park, the Universal CityWalk commercial complex and two resort hotels, is going to receive visitors in 2021. "The project, after completion, will play a leading role and provide an impetus for the socio-economic development of the surrounding region," said Xu Liping, the resort's vice president of government affairs. Construction site of the Universal Beijing Resort in Tongzhou District, sub-center of Beijing, Jan. 5, 2020. (Photo by Peng Ziyang/Xinhua) Beijing will step up efforts to promote the high-quality growth of its sub-center, said mayor Chen Jining in his government work report delivered Sunday at the opening meeting of the annual session of the municipal people's congress. Priorities will be given to the sub-center in selecting venues for pilot programs, key projects, high-performance companies and technological applications, Chen noted. As implementation of the control plan for Beijing's sub-center construction in the eastern suburb of Tongzhou District speeds up, a more livable, business-friendly city with good working conditions is taking shape, sparkling with vigor and vitality. A NEW FLAPPING WING Another mega project has started construction to the west of some key municipal organs of Beijing, which moved their offices from the downtown area to the city's sub-center. The 1.3 million-square-meter underground transportation hub, the largest of its kind in Asia, is scheduled to be ready for traffic by the end of 2024, linking cross-regional and intercity railways, and several metro lines. Travel time to Xiong'an New Area in the neighboring Hebei Province will be reduced to one hour and it takes only 15 minutes to reach Beijing Capital International Airport, and 35 minutes to get to the new Beijing Daxing International Airport. Construction site of a transportation hub in Tongzhou District, sub-center of Beijing, Jan. 5, 2020. (Photo by Peng Ziyang/Xinhua) With a founding history of more than 2,200 years, Tongzhou is the north end of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and served as the gate of grain shipping to China's imperial capital in ancient times. Zhangjiawan, historically a key port along the canal where the 16th-century Italian priest Matteo Ricci landed to enter the capital city, used to be a major industrial town in Tongzhou with more than 1,000 industrial enterprises. As the district ramps up effort to shut down businesses and factories that fail to meet the sub-center's urban utility and environmental standards, Zhangjiawan is becoming a characteristic design town focusing on creative design and urban technology. Located in the emerging design town, Topnew, a traditional knitwear manufacturer, has had its unused factory buildings replanned and repurposed as the company moved its main business segment out. "The old industrial area, under unified planning with the integration of design and technological resources, will be built into a world-class, energetic fashion design block," said Cao Zonghe, Topnew's general manager. The design town in Zhangjiawan became the permanent site of the Beijing Design Week last September and saw 33 enterprises centering on fine urban management, social services and emerging industries settled in December 2019. The Grand Canal in Tongzhou District, sub-center of Beijing, Sept. 4, 2019. (Xinhua/Jin Liangkuai) Tongzhou was positioned as Beijing's "satellite town" in 1993 and then a "new town area" before the 155-square-km sub-center was planned. Today, as one of Beijing's "two new wings" along with Xiong'an New Area, the sub-center has set a model of quality-driven development by gathering a variety of superior resources. The sub-center has witnessed the settlement of headquarters of centrally-administered state-owned enterprises, branches of state-owned commercial banks, high-tech companies, a national cybersecurity industrial park and a human resource service park. Tongzhou is also at the forefront in building a pilot area as Beijing pushes for further opening of its service sector, with the actual use of foreign capital and total foreign trade volume growing by 8.4 percent and 15 percent year on year respectively in 2019. "We had a solid start in 2019, and will bring in more suitable industries to make the sub-center a vibrant city," said Hu Jiulong, deputy director of the sub-center's management committee. A MORE LIVABLE PLACE Standing under a tall apricot tree along an open and bright hutong (alleyway) ranked among the "10 most beautiful streets in Beijing" in 2019, 64-year-old Ma Yusheng, a Tongzhou local who grew the tree, said the place was a mess several years ago. "Cars couldn't come in, and the neighbors just emptied their trash at the hutong's entrance," Ma recalled. Tongzhou released a three-year action plan on the reconstruction of backstreets and alleys in 2017, renovating buildings and public spaces, building parks and handy service facilities, as well as improving greening and the environment. This undated photo shows the artistic rendering of the afforestation project in Tongzhou District, sub-center of Beijing. (Xinhua) The district also renovated a total of 263,500 square meters of its old residential communities in 2019 and reconstructed 58-km-long water supply pipelines in those neighborhoods. "It's beautiful outside and warm inside, and we have an intelligent access control system now," said Liu Dexin who lives in the Tianqiaowan community. The living conditions of Tongzhou residents have significantly improved one year after the control plan for the sub-center's development was implemented, so was the ecological environment. The region saw its average PM2.5 density drop to its historical low of 46 micrograms per cubic meter in 2019 as emissions of vehicles and production were reduced and dust pollution was controlled. The water quality of 11 rivers and 101 small ponds in Tongzhou was improved. Tongzhou also finished afforestation of 3,000 hectares last year, raising its forest coverage to 33 percent. The sub-center had introduced branches of well-recognized schools and hospitals in Beijing, along with several international ones, and opened 13 new kindergartens in 2019. "It's quite convenient for me to see a doctor here," said Wu Wenxin, lying in bed waiting for surgery at the Beijing Friendship Hospital the next day. (Reporting by Ma Yunfei, Li Bin, Guan Guifeng, Xie Hao) (Video reporters: Xia Zilin, Xie Hao; Video editor: Lin Lin) On citizenship law, Amit Shah challenges, Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Gandhinagar, Jan 12: Union Home Minister Amit Shah alleged that the falsehood being spread by the opposition parties against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) has resulted in anarchy in the country. He also challenged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Communists to show him any provision in the CAA, which would take away the citizenship of Muslims in the country. Maintaining that security was the Narendra Modi government's top priority, the minister said that when India conducted surgical strikes and air strikes, it became the third country after the US and Israel to do so. BJP has power to make people understand: Amit Shah on Citizenship Law "The opposition does not have any other issue, so they are spreading misinformation and falsehood on CAA. This has resulted in anarchy in the entire country," he said. His statements come in the wake of violent protests in parts of India over the CAA, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR). "Persecuted minorities have to come to India to save themselves. However, the previous governments did not give any facilities to these migrants thinking that it would make others unhappy," he said at the inauguration of various projects of the Gujarat Police here. J&K cop caught with 2 Hizbul & Lashkar terrorists in Kashmir|OneIndia News "Rahulbaba, Mamata, Kejriwal and Communists are spreading lies that CAA will take away the citizenship of Muslims. I challenge them to show me any such provision in the Act," Shah said. "I urge the BJP workers to visit every household and bust the lies and misinformation being spread against the CAA. Since there is no alternative to Modiji in politics at present, the opposition is resorting to falsehood," he added. "We have the power to make people understand the truth. After our campaign is over, people of the country will understand the importance of the CAA," the BJP chief said. He also claimed that there was no violence in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 and not a single person has died there due to it. "Some leaders from the opposition had claimed in the Parliament that there will be bloodbath (if special status of Kashmir is revoked). Such statements are on record. But people gave a befitting reply to such leaders. Not a single person has died there ever since Article 370 was abrogated," he said. Shah said that after Narendra Modi took charge as the country's PM, he brought a clear division between the foreign policy and the security policy, unlike in the past. "We told the world that we want peace with everybody, but if we are attacked, we will not tolerate it. Terrorist attacks were frequent in our country...But after Uri and Pulwama attacks, surgical strikes and air strikes made our intentions clear. India became the third country after the US and Israel to do it," Shah said. Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi misleading people over CAA and instigating riots: Amit Shah India carried out surgical strikes on seven terror launch pads across the LoC on September 29, 2016. It came 10 days after a major terror attack on an Army camp in Uri in Kashmir. In February last year, the Indian Air Force (IAF) struck a terror training camp in Pakistan's Balakot area, days after the Pulwama terror attack. On the launch of various projects aimed at strengthening security in Gujarat, Shah said the ruling BJP has ended the previous system, wherein political leaders had a nexus with criminals. He also urged the people of Gujarat not to forget the "lawlessness" of the previous (Congress) governments. "Atrocities on Dalits, curfew, scarcity of food in tribal areas have become a thing of the past in Gujarat today. I urge the people to identify those behind spreading lies and misinformation," Shah said. After meeting PM Modi, Mamata joins TMC dharna against CAA Praising the Gujarat Home Department and the state police force for effectively tackling crime, he said the governments can make maximum use of technology to curb crimes. Shah had earlier served as the minister of state for home in Gujarat when present Prime Minister Narendra Modi was chief minister of the state. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, January 12, 2020, 8:54 [IST] Anti-government protests were filmed in Iranian cities on January 11 and 12. University campuses appear to be the centers of growing anger at the government after the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps acknowledged downing a Ukrainian passenger jet in error. Police deployment was observed outside the Tehran University campus early on January 12 as protests were still ongoing elsewhere. These social-media videos were vetted by VOA and RFE/RL's Radio Farda but their authenticity could not be independently verified. A Guilford County District Court judge who had been under a more than yearlong state investigation into misconduct has resigned, the News & Observer is reporting. The N&O reported that Judge Mark Cummings resigned last month under an agreement that included he would never run for a North Carolina judicial office again. His resignation became effective just before midnight on Dec. 20 but was agreed upon months earlier as part of a resolution with the N.C. Judicial Standards Commission, the paper reported. The N&O reported that commission officials wrote in a consent order that they agreed to the resignation to avoid any further delay to disciplinary proceedings. Cummings told the News & Record in October 2018 that he was being investigated by Judicial Standards but denied all of the allegations, characterizing them as misunderstandings and his misinterpretation of state law. The agency alleged Cummings had a clerk falsify a court document; accused a state trooper of being racist, which forced prosecutors to dismiss a charge in the case; and changed a bond amount set by a Superior Court judge, which District Court judges aren't allowed to do. The head of the UN-recognised government in Libya said Saturday a ceasefire in the conflict-torn country would be conditional on a climbdown by Libyan strongman General Khalifa Haftar. Government of National Accord (GNA) chief Fayez al-Sarraj said he "welcomed" a joint Russian-Turkish initiative for a truce. "The condition is the withdrawal on the part of the attacker, who does not seem willing because he has another modus operandi," he said in reference to Haftar, following talks with Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in Rome. Europe and North Africa have launched a diplomatic offensive to try to prevent Libya, with the increased involvement of international players in its conflict, from turning into a "second Syria". Haftar's forces in April launched an offensive against the capital, seat of the GNA -- a military campaign that a UN panel of experts says has "unleashed new transfers of military equipment" to Libya. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin called for a ceasefire on Wednesday in Istanbul, and Turkey on Saturday asked Russia to convince Haftar to respect it. Haftar has 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. Conte said Italy would make an "increased effort" to have a greater EU involvement in efforts to de-escalate the situation in the North African country, wracked by chaos since its 2011 revolt that toppled longtime leader Moamer Kadhafi. This photo handed out on January 11, 2020 by the Palazzo Chigi Press Office shows Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte (R), who said Italy would make an "increased effort" to have a greater EU involvement in attempts at de-escalation in Libya. By Handout (Palazzo Chigi press office/AFP) "We are convinced that this will offer the best guarantees against leaving the future of the Libyan people to the will of single individuals," he said. The EU is keen to stop the conflict spiralling out of control, fearing that terror groups such as the Islamic State could exploit the instability to launch attacks and concerned the turmoil could lead to more migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean. Conte hosted Haftar on Wednesday and called for a halt to his offensive. The prime minister's office said Conte had spoken with France's Emmanuel Macron after the meeting with Sarraj. Both leaders "reiterated the importance of coordination at a European level in support of the peace process and stabilisation of Libya", it said. Italy sees itself as a key player in Libya because of its historic links as the colonial power and opposes the increased roles of Turkey and Russia. A serial bank robber targeted four New York banks, was released under the city's new law which requires no bail for holding suspects, only to strike a fifth financial institution, police claim. The suspect, Gerold Woodberry, 42, is alleged to have robbed banks in New York's Midtown Manhattan, Harlem, West Village and the Upper West Side, since December 30, sources said. However, under the new 'no bail' law, he was released on Thursday. This man, says the New York Police Department, is wanted for bank robbery in the city. He is pictured on bank surveillance The same suspect is pictured in another surveillance image taken while he allegedly committed a bank robbery Another image of the suspect was released by the NYPD from surveillance footage taken while the man is alleged to be committing a bank robbery 'I can't believe they let me out,' sources said he was overheard saying on the way out of the New York Police Department's headquarters, reports the New York Post. 'What were they thinking?' he added, allegedly striking a fifth bank in Downtown Brooklyn on Friday, the sources told the Post. Woodberry passed paper notes each time he struck one of the financial institutions, and stole $1,000, it is claimed. A police spokesperson told DailyMail.com that the matter has been forwarded to the District Attorney's office. The new law, designed to reduce jail overcrowding and which went into effect in the new year, drops the bail requirement for most misdemeanors and non-violent felonies, including robberies. The suspect was identified by sources as Gerold Woodberry, 42, who was released under the city's new no-bail law, which doesn't require bail for holding certain suspects. 'I can't believe they let me out,' sources claim Woodbery said while leaving police headquarters Woodberry left the NYPD's headquarters at 1 Police Plaza and is alleged to have robbed a bank in Downtown Brooklyn, allegedly his fifth heist since December 30, sources said Critics, however, argue that some suspects should be required to post bail before they are back on the street after they are detained. Woodberry is alleged to have first struck a bank in Midtown and got away with $1,000, sources said. He then was alleged to have hit up banks in Harlem on January 3. Sources said he got away with $1,000 from a bank in the West Village on Monday, but walked away empty-handed after passing a note to a teller on the Upper West Side two days later. He is accused of targeting a bank in downtown Brooklyn after he was released from NYPD headquarters at 1 Police Plaza on Friday. 'Once the banks start complaining, hopefully the politicians will listen and change the law,' a source told to the Post. Anyone with information is urged to contact the NYPD's 'Crime Stoppers Hotline' at 800-577-8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-577-4782. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at www.crimestoppers.com, on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls are strictly confidential. New Delhi: The Jammu and Kashmir police on Sunday confirmed that Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Davinder Singh, arrested along with three others, will be dealt with "as a terrorist". Singh was arrested along with three other persons on Saturday including a Hizbul Mujahideen commander, said Inspector General of Police (Kashmir Zone) Vijay Kumar. Jammu and Kahmir police arrested DSP Davinder Singh at Mir Bazar in Kulgam district along with terrorists of the banned Hizbul Mujaideen - Naveed Baba who was its district commander, and Altaf - besides an unidentified lawyer who was working as overground worker for terror outfits. According to PTI, Singh was posted with a strategic department at the airport. He was arrested for the "heinous crime" of ferrying the three others who were being allegedly taken out of Kashmir valley for a possible terror strike. Terming this as an exceptional case where a senior police officer was involved in such a crime, IG Kumar told reporters that he would be dealt as per the law and the way the police has been treating other terrorists. "It is a heinous crime and he will be treated at par with other terrorists," Kumar said, adding that all three were being subjected to intense questioning by a joint team from central security agencies as well as the police. Singh, who was in line for a promotion as superintendent of police later this month, was posted at the anti-hijacking unit at the Srinagar airport. He was under the radar of the police when the plan was being hatched for smuggling out the terrorists, an official told PTI on the condition of anonymity. Singh's name had also surfaced during investigations for the 2001 Parliament attack when convict Afzal Guru had alleged his role. The probe, however, was in Singh's favour. The IGP said there was no record of the arrested police officer's involvement in the Parliament attack case as was being reported in a section of the media. "We have no such records and I have no information, but we will ask him about this," he said. To a question about whether his posting at the airport was a security breach as the officer was also seen with the envoys of various countries who visited the valley earlier last year, Kumar said the police had no information about the officer's involvement till Saturday. "He was on duty and how could we have stopped him from that as we had no information about his involvement in anything," he said. While refusing to divulge details of the probe so far, Kumar said that after the news spread about their detention on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway in south Kashmir on Saturday, some militants escaped from a hideout in Shopian. One of the arrested militants Naveed Baba, who was a police constable and deserted the force in 2017 to join the Hizbul Mujahideen, has been involved in cases of killing of police personnel and civilians, the IGP told a press conference here. "The police officer (Singh) has worked on several anti-militancy operations. But the circumstances under which he was arrested yesterday when he was driving the car with militants towards Jammu is a heinous crime. That is why he is being treated at par with the militants," the IGP said. "He has been arrested, has been brought under remand and his interrogation is on. The investigation is at an initial stage and I cannot share anything further. The probe is on and we have got several leads which we will not like to share as the operation is on. When this news spread yesterday, some militants escaped from a hideout in Shopian which was eight feet under the ground. It had food items among other things stored there," he said. Giving details of Saturday's operation, Kumar said the Shopian Superintendent of Police had got a specific intelligence input that two militants were travelling in a vehicle on the national highway towards Jammu. "The SP Shopian informed me and I directed DIG south Kashmir and a naka was laid. The car was searched and two wanted militants were there. A deputy superintendent of police was also there along with a resident who is an advocate and a listed OGW (overground worker) in our records," he said. The IGP said the militants and the officer were interrogated by the police and then all agencies, including intelligence agencies IB and RAW, working in the valley. "I called all the security forces and agencies for a joint interrogation which is still going on. One of the militants has been identified as a top commander Naveed who was a police constable in 2017 and had decamped with four rifles from Budgam. He has been involved in police and civilian killings and threatening orchardists. 17 FIRs have been registered against him. He is the district commander of Shopian and 2IC of HM commander Riyaz Naikoo," Kumar said. He said the case has been registered into the incident under the Unlawful Activities Act and the Arms Act. Asked if any recovery has been made from the officer's residence, Kumar said some recoveries have been made. "It is a matter of investigation and the recovery has been brought into the case FIR," he said. On whether his involvement with militants was a bigger security risk as the officer was posted in the anti-hijacking unit of the police at the Srinagar airport, the IGP said, "The joint interrogation is on in which all agencies, security forces, police, IB, RAW, CID, all are involved and that has been done as this is a sensitive matter and so that no loopholes are there." He said the owner of the vehicle is being verified. The IGP denied allegations about police's involvement with militants, saying "it cannot be generalised". He also said the J&K police was at par with the NIA to carry out the detailed probe. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Congress leaders Shaktisinh Gohil, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jyotiraditya Scindia during the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting at the party's headquarters in New Delhi on Jan 11, 2020. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS New Delhi, Jan 12 : In the absence of Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is taking the lead in the party affairs. She also attended the Congress Working Committee meeting on Saturday. On former Congress chief's absence, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, "Rahul Gandhi is travelling and will be available for party work from Sunday." And Sunday also happens to be Priyanka's birthday. She has been greeted by almost all Congress leaders. Supporters of Sajjan Singh Verma, a Minister in the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh, published a newspaper advertisement claiming, "Indira is back". The advertisement carries photographs of late Indira Gandhi and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi. The Congress members are hoping that Priyanka Gandhi will help revive the party. "You are the hope, you have culture of the Congress, need of the hour," tweeted Pankaj Shankar, a well-known face in the Congress circle. The UP Youth Congress workers also organised a "haven" in Lucknow for her long life. Priyanka Gandhi has been spear-heading the party's efforts against the new citizenship law. She has visited houses of victims of the police atrocities in Lucknow, Bijnor Meerut and Muzaffarnagar. She was the first Congress leader to reach AIIMS, here, where JNU students -- hurt in campus violence -- were undergoing treatment. According to a senior leader, the Congress is expecting her to lead the party out of the crisis, when in the last two Lok Sabha poll it was limited to double-digit representation. However, the recent poll success in Jharkhand and political victory in Maharashtra have enthused the party. Rahul Gandhi quit the party leadership following 2019 Lok Sabha polls debacle. Since August, Sonia Gandhi has been navigating the party as interim chief. Many in the party feel Priyanka Gandhi could be the answer to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It's different thing that despite her extensive campaigning, the party lost all but one Raibareli Lok Sabha seat in UP. Rahul Gandhi also lost his family stronghold Amethi in the elections. A 35-year-old woman was allegedly strangled to death by four armed dacoits at her home in a village here when she raised an alarm early on Sunday, police said. The incident took place between 1 am to 5 am in Behta Hazipur village of Loni Border police station area, Ghaziabad Senior Superintendent of Police Kalanidhi Naithani told PTI. Samreen was asleep with her husband Asif (35), son Aatif (12), younger son Taimoor (1), daughter Nameera (7) and brother Zunaid (14) in the first floor of their house, the SSP said. Four armed robbers barged in and held them hostage at gunpoint, he added. Samreen shouted out and tried to resist them but the robbers strangled her leaving her unconscious, Naithani added. The dacoits, then, decamped with gold ornaments and cash worth Rs 1.5 lakh, he said. After the robbers fled, Asif rushed Samreen to a nearby hospital where the doctors pronounced her dead, the SSP said. Police are probing the case from various angles and CCTV footage has also been analysed, Naithani added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Traffic police make record of offenders on Pham Hung Street of Hanoi in June 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Gia Chinh. The prohibition on filming traffic police officers on duty has been lifted amid concerns the new steep fines for drunk driving could engender corruption. A circular from the Ministry of Public Security said with effect from January 15 people could film and record officers without getting in their way. However, officers can request them to leave, and force them if need be, if they do not allow them to perform their duty. The circular follows public fears that the new drunk driving sanctions could cause traffic police officers to demand bribes. The Law on Preventing Alcohol's Harmful Effects, which took effect on January 1, brings cyclists and electric bicycle riders into the net for the first time, fining them VND400,000-600,000 ($17-26) for drunk driving. Fines for motorcyclists and car drivers have doubled to VND6-8 million and VND30-40 million, and everyone caught driving a vehicle under the influence could have their driving license suspended for 22-24 months. In the first six days after the new law took effect, around 2,700 people were penalized, according to police figures. By Niu Song Looking back on the year 2019, the numerous hot issues became a vivid description of the basic characteristics of the Middle East situation, that is, the old problems are difficult to solve and the new problems are always emerging. It is predicted that the situation in the Middle East will continue to evolve inertially in 2020 to a certain extent, but it will also bring about new changes as a result of its own development laws and the intervention of great power outside the region. US-Iran confrontation will continue The siege of the US embassy in Iraq by Iraqi demonstrators, the assassination of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani by the US, and Iran's missile attack on the US military base in Iraq, behind a series of chain reactions from the end of last year to the beginning of this year is the continuation of the complex game between the US and Iran in 2019. As a result, the situation in the Middle East has become increasingly tense and volatile. Iran has gradually suspended part of its nuclear deal in response to US's withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and continued extreme pressure since May 2019. It is worth noting that Iraq's political system has been strongly reshaped by the US, and some members of its new regime have a strong American background. At the same time, the long-suppressed sectarian and tribal forces in Iraq have also been released. Shias, a sect with natural emotions with Iran, has become the country's leading force. 2020 is the year of the US presidential election and therefore, playing the Iran card will still be the core of the current US Middle East policy. Trump needs to maintain tension between the US and Iran without complete loss of control for the sake of election politics. Although the possibility of a direct military confrontation between the two countries is very low, the "violent cycle" under extreme pressure is still difficult to be stopped. The Palestinian issue will continue to be marginalized The continued marginalization of the Palestinian issue has become one of the strategies of the US government since Trump took office. Entering 2020, the escalation of the confrontation between the US and Iran will further deepen the panic and alert against Iran by the Sunni Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia. This may cast more shadow on the Palestinian issue. For major Arab powers such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the Iranian "threat" will intensify while the US acts unilaterally on the Palestinian issue. Based on realistic security considerations, they may have to make compromises and concessions on the Palestinian issue. The Arab countries pragmatic choice of "the lesser of two evils" will exacerbate the marginalization of the Palestinian issue. On the other hand, the current US favoritism policy towards Israel is unabashed. Netanyahu, who was plagued by a series of corruption cases during the critical moments in 2019 elections, received successive "big gifts" sent by the US on issues including Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, and the Jewish settlements in the West Bank. These gross violations of Palestinian rights will continue to help Netanyahu in 2020. At the same time, the "Deal of the Century" proclaimed by the US as a high-profile solution to the Palestinian issue is difficult to come out. Currently, the political "duet" staged between the US government and Netanyahu on a series of core issues such as territory, border and capital is over-consuming the Palestinian issue, which will further intensify the marginalization of the issue. The Syrian situation will move towards general stability After 10 years of civil war and proxy wars, the development of Syria's domestic situation in 2020 is likely to display a relatively stable situation compared with other Middle Eastern issues. In the new year, it is very likely that the status quo between the Syrian government's actual control zone and the opposition's control zone will remain the same. The withdrawal of US troops from northern Syria has accelerated the pace of reconciliation between Syrian Kurdish forces and government forces. The Turkish military's pressure on the Syrian border has also accelerated this pace to a certain extent. Although Turkey will continue to crack down on the Kurdish armed forces in Syria, it is more in Turkey's interest to maintain its "safe zone" on the border in northern Syria. The post-war reconstruction is expected to become a realistic strategic consideration for the Syrian government in 2020. (The author is from the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University) The crisis at Boeing, the US plane manufacturer, is reverberating around the world. This frightening saga, which centres on safety problems with its 737 Max jets after two crashes in which 346 people died, is horribly familiar to watchers of the corporate scene. We have seen variants of it in industries such as car manufacturing, with the VW diesel emissions scandal, and even white goods, when families had to flee their homes to escape incendiary Whirlpool appliances. The Boeing situation is chilling as the firm has played Russian roulette with the safety Each of these cases features a corporate culture riddled with executive greed, contempt for regulators and a callous disregard for the public. At Boeing there is also a lack of real competition since the only serious rival is Airbus and that breeds arrogance. But the Boeing situation is even more chilling because the firm has played Russian roulette with the safety of passengers who place their lives in its hands when they step on board one of its jets. Yet one employee, in internal documents released last week, declared he wouldnt put his family on the 737 Max and another described it as being designed by clowns who are supervised by monkeys. And the man who presided over this farrago, chief executive Dennis Muilenburg, is walking away with an estimated 64million in shares, pension benefits and share options. Here in the UK we are perhaps not fully aware of the totemic status that Chicago-based Boeing occupies in American business and the hugely important role it plays in the US economy. It is the countrys largest manufacturing exporter, the second largest defence contractor and one of the top private employers. A scandal at Boeing tarnishes the reputation of corporate America around the globe. It is already threatening to become a major embarrassment for Donald Trump, who has used Boeing sites as the stage for major announcements, as he ramps up for the presidential election in the autumn. Boeing does not look to be on the brink and, despite a fall in its shares, it still has a market value of $186 billion. But the crisis is already reckoned to have cost it $7billion and the total bill could come to much more. Its 737 Max planes, dubbed flying coffins by US politicians, have been grounded since March and it is not inconceivable Boeing could be forced to scrap the entire project as the price of regaining public trust. There is already speculation the firm could be brought under Government control. Certainly, plenty in the markets would take the view it is too big to fail. Having to bail out Boeing would be a nightmare for Trump. Boeing's 737-7 Max airliner on display at Farnborough Airshow a year and a half ago Boris Johnson, who wants to bring more jobs to the North of England to keep his new Red Wall voters onside, will also be watching developments closely. The US firm has 2,500 staff here, none of whose jobs have so far been threatened by the 737 Max affair. However, it could have an impact on further investment. Boeing had been hoping to open a second factory in Sheffield following the success of a facility it launched there in 2018. That is now on ice. Travel companies and airlines in the UK and Ireland, including Ryanair and Tui, have been caught in the backlash. Others, including BA, which had planes on order, may be hit. There could also be an impact on the forward order book of FTSE 100 engineer Rolls-Royce. The Boeing fiasco could not come at a worse time. The aviation industry is under assault from environmental campaigners, coupled with fears of terrorism and conflict following the downing of the Ukraine International Airlines plane by Iran last week. Statistically there is more chance of being killed by a lightning strike than in a plane crash. Yet the publics faith in safe flying, the bedrock on which the whole industry depends, is now at risk and all because of the rapacity and cynicism at Boeing. The United Methodist Church seems pretty divided these days, and a split in the denomination seems inevitable -- not only in Pennsylvania but throughout the world. The denomination emerged on the world scene in 1968 with a merger of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church. Its a spiritual home to 12.6 million people as disparate in their political and social outlooks as Jeff Sessions and Hillary Clinton. That has meant in many United Methodist congregations, people have become adept at putting aside controversial issues inside church walls and simply not talking about who votes for whom or why. But theres one issue they can no longer ignore what to do about LGBT believers within their midst. Grace United Methodist Church in Harrisburg held OThe Rocky Road to ChristmasO, a Christmas service for those who are hurting for any reason, on December 22, 2019. Vicki Vellios Briner | Special to PennLiveVicki Vellios Briner | Special to PennLive The question United Methodists now must answer is whether to embrace LGBT faithful into the fold, or slam their doors shut to thousands seeking the United Methodist Churchs blessings. Those who oppose granting LGBT couples the right to marry and LGBT preachers the right to pastor -- point to scripture that they believe clearly states God doesnt like it. They point to the Bible, to the book of Leviticus, Chapter 18, verse 22: You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. (New King James version) Thats all many United Methodists or many Christians of any denomination -- need to read to put the matter to rest. Many Christians believe the Bible forbids homosexuality. Homosexuality is sin, they believe, and LGBT believers can have no place in the holy hierarchy of the church. But within the same denomination theres an opposite argument. LGBT people are children of God, whom He loves just as much as all the rest. Christianity, they argue, is about inclusion, not about excluding people on the basis of their sexuality. They argue its time for Christians to change with the times or continue to see church attendance drop. And they argue theres precedence for change, noting the evolution of views on women and ministry. Church leaders once used scripture to forbid women from having leading roles in the church. And its not hard to find a rationale for that prohibition in scripture. The apostle Paul put it quite bluntly in a letter to Timothy: But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. 1 Timothy 2:12 A strict interpretation of that scripture would shut the doors to any woman wanting to serve as a teacher, preacher or pastor a role many now hold in UMC churches in the United States and throughout the world. Clearly, scripture is subject to interpretation, and its not our place to declare which interpretation of scripture United Methodists should accept as their religious doctrine, or which they should reject. What is clear is the battle over what Christians believe is still being fought, even into the 21st century, and a key battle is being waged within the United Methodist Church. If the proposal now being floated to resolve this issue in the United Methodist Church is accepted at its annual worldwide conference slated for May 5-15 in Minneapolis, Pennsylvania churches will face some difficult decisions. Their congregations will have to decide whether they will stay with the United Methodist Church, which will allow churches to grant LGBT believers the same rights as heterosexuals. Or they could leave the body to join with the new traditionalist body and reject full inclusion of LGBT believers. In this April 19, 2019, file photo, a gay pride rainbow flag flies along with the U.S. flag in front of the Asbury United Methodist Church in Prairie Village, Kan. United Methodist Church leaders are proposing a separation within the church that would allow more traditional parishes to break away to form their own denomination over UMCs support of gay marriage. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File) The plan to divide the United Methodist Church is the result of months of quiet deliberations among a designated group charged with offering recommendations for the 2020 worldwide conference, where delegates are expected to vote on the proposed split. With such a provocative issue and with such strong views on both sides, its understandable that compromise to maintain a unified denomination may not be possible. Like in any good divorce, the wisest option is to manage an amicable separation and ensure a fair distribution of the wealth. That is what has been proposed, even to the detail of maintaining pensions for pastors whether they stay with the main group or make a beeline for the traditionalist body. But theres still the sticky issue of fate of the children the local churches that will have to decide which parental structure to accept and which to reject. The hope is they chose wisely to reverse a trend that has brought a decline in church attendance in the United States, and that has left many of their cavernous, aging edifices nearly empty on Sunday morning. PennLive Opinion Editor Joyce M. Davis has served as a member of the Board of Trustees of The Journey Church in Harrisburg. Her husband Russell W. Goodman is pastor of Calvary United Methodist Church in Lemoyne. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Rs 43,000 crore have been directly transferred into accounts of farmers so far. Addressing the 150th celebrations of the Kolkata Port Trust, PM Modi said that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has not implemented several schemes in the state. He accused her of stalling the schemes since the middlemen don't get the money. "As soon as the West Bengal government allows the Ayushman Bharat Yojana and PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, people here will also get the benefits of these schemes," he said at the Kolkata Port Trust celebrations. The Prime Minister also renamed the Kolkata Port. "This port will now be known as Syama Prasad Mukherjee port," said PM Modi. Addressing the gathering at the Netaji Indoor Stadium, PM Modi said, "On the occasion of 150-years of the Kolkata Port Trust, PM Narendra Modi said that the port trust has seen a lot through the times including India's independence. It has been a milestone for India's development." Talking about his schemes, the PM hailed the Jal Shakti project. He said that waterways will help in sea and river tourism in the country. "We are increasing number of cruise ships from 150 to 1,500," said the leader. CM Mamata Banerjee who had met the Prime Minister on Saturday was absent from the celebrations of the Kolkata Port Trust. Earlier in the day, PM Modi addressed students at Belur Math and spoke in favour of the Citizenship Amendment Act. He said that the CAA does not attempt to take away citizenship from anyone but only give citizenship to the persecuted. He said that people with political gains in mind are trying to persuade the youth to believe that the CAA would take away citizenship of Indians. Also read: 'People being misled over CAA, not taking citizenship away from anyone,' says PM Modi at Belur Math Also read: PM Modi stresses on governance, implementation in meeting with economists, industrialists Sunday, January 12, 2020 at 7:25AM While other password managers already support biometrics for autofill, it's a case of better late than never for Google. The company is testing biometric support for its autofill password manager on Android. XDA Developers discovered the feature, which looks like it supports both fingerprint sensor and face unlock, as well as anything that uses Google's new biometric API. So, it will work with the iris scanners available on some of Samsung's handsets. Once you have the feature enabled, the pop-up for autofill result will appear when a user wants to sign into a website or app. However, Google will not fill in the information until the device approves the user's biometrics. The update doesn't seem to be widely available, and we aren't sure if Google plans to roll it out to all users. But you can check to see if it's possible for you. Head to settings and look for Autofill with Google and look for the Autofill Security option. Google's autofill service is available on devices running Android 8.0 and later. You can access it by heading to Settings > System > Languages & input > Autofill service. if the people of Biafra want Republic of Biafra, it will be a reality during my administration. ----Donald Trump Donald Trump I wi... A massive number of protestors participated in a Pashtun unity march in Bannu of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday against the atrocities inflicted by the military and demanded the formation of a commission to probe the army brutalities in the region. 'Pashtun Long March' is a protest movement led by young Pashtuns from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), where they have long been the targets of military operations, internal displacement, ethnic stereotyping and abductions by the security forces. The march was called by the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) -- a political party -- which exposes the military offences and brings to the front the issues, which continue to plague the locals including enforced disappearances and fake encounters by the state. Demonstrators condemned the atrocities carried out by the Pakistani Arm -- gross human rights violations, enforced disappearances, extra-judicial killings, torture, and arbitrary detentions of their leaders and workers living in Pakistan. The protests are being carried out on a large scale. However, Pakistani media has been mum about the event. #PashtunLongMarch2 Bannu was seen trending to the Pakistani Twitter. "A massive gathering with an amazing ecstatic spirit of PTM long march in Bannu against atrocities of state & demanding truth commission to probe the brutalities inflicted on Pashtun land & seek justice. You can jail, kill or disappear us but you can't ignore us," said a user. Pakistanis chided media for not reporting the march. "It is the responsibility of media to give coverage of Pashtun March. In the age of social media, people know what is happening. You cannot hide the news, indeed, it damages your credibility," said a Twitterati. "Internet off, no coverage in Pak media as Pashtun long march takes place to Bannu," said another. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hillsong Church has recently launched its bushfire relief appeal. A relief effort to offer help to the firefighters and victims of the bushfires raging across Australia right now. Hillsong global senior pastor Brian Houston has recently reported on his Instagram page that the church had raised $1,003,988.52. The blazes, which began last fall, has resulted in the death of 25 people and destroyed thousands of homes, the church noted on their website Friday in an update about their relief efforts; it is estimated that approximately 12 million hectacres have burned thus far. The church writes: "The outpouring of love, care and concern and generosity from people from all walks of life both here and overseas, has been staggering and humbling. Our response as a church in any crisis like this involves a two-fold approach which not just looks after the immediate needs but also looks to the long-term recovery and wellbeing of those who are suffering. As a church community we have come together over the past few weeks and extended generosity to those suffering and the emergency service workers who are giving up their holidays to work tirelessly to protect homes, land and families in the path of the fires. In November, Hillsong Men's Event generously gave towards the Bushfire Appeal which enabled us to send much-needed funds to the Salvation Army and volunteer fire brigades for their on-the-ground emergency work within the affected communities." If you would still like to donate, please click here. Hillsong church is the home base of Hillsong Worship. With songs such as "What a Beautiful Name," "Cornerstone," "Mighty To Save," "This I Believe (The Creed)" and "Who You Say I Am," Hillsong Worships catalogue is sung by an estimated 50 million people worldwide each week. Featuring worship leaders and songwriters such as Brooke Ligertwood, Ben Fielding, Reuben Morgan, Joel Houston, Taya Gaukrodger, Aodhan King, David Ware and more, Hillsong Worship is committed to continuing its legacy of writing and leading songs that - by God's grace - impact both individual devotion and congregational worship for the glory of God. For more information, visit www.hillsong.com/worship. Tags : hillsong church Brian Houston Hillsong australian bushfire relief australian bushfires hillsong worship Apata Memorial School has released an official statement concerning the alleged sexual harassment between a teacher and some students. Information Nigeria reported how an Instagram user called out on the Apata sisters, Teni and Niniola over one Mr Raymond and his misconducts. The school has released a press statement over the matter. READ ALSO Nigerian Lady Draws Attention Of Niniola, Teni Over Teachers Misconduct At Apata Memorial School From the statement released, it was gathered that the teacher has been suspended and the girl placed in special care provided by the school. See Photos Here: A group of people here on Sunday held a protest against the United States over the killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad early this month. Holing anti-US posters and Indian flags, protestors marched from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar. The demonstrations also carried a banner 'Go down with USA' written in English and Urdu. Soleimani, the chief of Iranian elite Quds force, was killed on January 03 near the Baghdad International Airport in an airstrike launched by the United States. Washington's action skyrocketed tensions in the middle eastern region as Iran on January 9 fired more than a dozen missiles at two Iraqi military bases hosting United States troops. Earlier this week, an anti-US protest was also held near the United States embassy. Soleimani's killing had earlier triggered protests in Shia dominated Kargil in Ladakh UT, and Budgam in central Kashmir. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Here are todays leading news stories: Politics -- Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, head of the Vietnamese permanent mission to the United Nations (UN), chaired the first meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Committee held in New York on Friday (local time), focusing on activities and priorities of ASEAN member states this year. -- Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc examined the combat readiness of the guard force under the Ministry of Public Security at the headquarters of the Peoples Public Security Guard High Command in Hanoi on Saturday. Society -- Many streets in downtown Ho Chi Minh City and near the citys entrances have become increasingly congested due to the rising demand for transport and delivery ahead of the 2020 Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday. -- Fire engulfed five fishing boats as they were docking at a port in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang on Saturday morning, resulting in damage worth about VND13 billion (US$562,000). -- Garbage has piled up along many streets in Bao Loc City, located in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, due to the breakdown of the local waste treatment plant, causing concerns over serious pollution. Business -- National carrier Vietnam Airlines confirmed on Saturday it will add a total of 56 flights along seven domestic routes to meet rising demand during the coming Tet holiday. Lifestyle -- Open-top double-decker buses will be put into operation in District 1 and District 3 in Ho Chi Minh City on January 15, according to the municipal Department of Transport. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 17:16:12|Editor: Wang Yamei Video Player Close NEW DELHI, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- At least five people were killed and 14 injured in two different road mishaps in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu on Sunday, local media reported. In the first accident involving a passenger bus and a truck, three persons, including a 10-year-old boy, died and 14 people were injured after the two vehicles collided head-on in the Pudukottai district of Tamil Nadu early Sunday morning. The state government-run bus collided with the truck near Thirumayam area in Pudukottai district. The truck driver and one passenger from the bus also died in the mishap. The 14 injured bus passengers were admitted to a local government hospital for medical treatment. In another road crash, two people died when their car rammed into a tree in the same district of the state. This accident occurred in the Parambur area of the district. The two who died in this accident, including the car driver, were the personal staff of the state's Health Minister Vijaya Baskar, said the media reports. While slamming personality development courses, the minister said that such costly classes have led to people losing their culture. Mumbai: Days after she faced flak for stating that newly-sworn in ministers in the Maharashtra government had not yet started making money, Congress leader and state minister Yashomati Thakur on Sunday courted controversy again by claiming that touching a cow drives away negativity. The women and child welfare minister was speaking at a function organised at Sarshi village of Teosa taluka in Amravati to mark the death anniversary of a cow, which the villagers used to worship believing her to be a goddess. While addressing the gathering in the function, she said, Our culture says if you touch a cow, all negativity will go away. Further she said, I believe that the work is religion. What we think, that becomes religion. If we worship Vitthal (Hindu God) with full devotion, our wishes will come true. She also advised young people to work hard towards their careers and said, Young people want to work on different positions. They want to become independent but want to achieve this by only falling on Vitthals feet. That is, however, not enough. We also need to chant the name of Lord Vitthal. While slamming personality development courses, the minister said that such costly classes have led to people losing their culture. This leads to negativity in people. But taking the darshan of the holy cow can lead to negative energy declining. This is a miracle that even our culture clearly states, he said. The ministers comments have led to people criticising her for spreading superstition. But the minister defended herself, adding that she stands by her statement. Cow is a sacred animal. Moreover, be it a cow or any other animal, touching them brings a feeling of love to us. What is wrong in what I said? she said. Earlier, campaigning during the Washim Zilla Parishad (ZP) polls, Ms Thakur, an MLA from Teosa in Amravati since 2009 and a senior Congress leader, had said, We have just come to power, our pockets are not warm enough yet. The minister had also said that voters may accept money from the Opposition but must vote for the Indian National Congress. The mother of the man dubbed Britains most prolific rapist has said he is still my baby despite his conviction for sexually assaulting scores of men. Reynhard Sinagas wealthy Indonesian family financed his studies from 2007 onwards including his time in Manchester - where he sexually violated 48 men at his flat in the city centre. Police believe the 36-year-old student may have abused at least 195 men in total. But his mother Normawati, speaking to The Sunday Times, said she struggles to believe her son was capable of his crimes, and she did not even know he was gay. She said: We are a good Christian family who do not believe in homosexuality. He is my baby. Night club "Fifth" in Manchester where Reynhard Sinaga watched and picked up men that he later raped. (PA) Normawati described how she flew over to visit her son in hospital following his arrest in 2017 after his final victim regained consciousness during his ordeal and beat up Sinaga. She said: Imagine a small Indonesian man being beaten up by a big, tall westerner. I wondered if the other person had made up the story. Reynhard Sinaga is believed to have assaulted 195 men. (PA) READ MORE FROM YAHOO NEWS UK: She said she begged him to return to his home country but he told her he wanted to follow his ambition of becoming a lecturer. She said: He said Indonesia was not a good place to live for him and he felt comfortable living in Manchester. Sinaga went out in the early hours of the morning, hunting for lone, drunk young men around nightclubs near his flat. He posed as a Good Samaritan who offered them a floor to sleep on or promised them more drink. His victims who were mainly heterosexual had little or no memory of the hours that followed as Sinaga repeatedly raped many of them. It is thought he laced alcoholic drinks with a drug such as GHB, also known as liquid ecstasy. Sinaga was jailed for life with a minimum term of 30 years after he was found guilty of a total of 159 offences committed between January 2015 and May 2017. They included 136 counts of rape, 13 counts of sexual assault, eight counts of attempted rape and two counts of assault by penetration. Donald Trump has purported to stand in solidarity with the brave, long suffering people of Iran, days after threatening to commit war crimes by destroying their cultural sites. In a series of tweets written in Farsi and English, he claimed to have been an ally of the Iranian people throughout his presidency, despite having introduced measures to stop them entering the US with his so-called Muslim travel ban and subjecting them to harsh economic sanctions. Days after committing what was widely seen as an act of war, Mr Trump urged the regime to uphold the human rights of hundreds of angry demonstrators, who turned out in Tehran to protest the unintentional shooting down of a Ukrainian plane. The tragedy cost all 176 passengers their lives and, until Friday, the government knowingly denied responsibility. The cover-up appears to have thrust into disarray the rare moment of national unity that followed the Trump-ordered assassination of Irans top general, Qassem Soleimani, which is thought to have seen millions take part in unprecedented memorial proceedings. 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 Less than a week later, riot police fired tear gas at thousands of protesters some of whom destroyed pictures of Soleimani, demanded president Hassan Rouhanis resignation and criticised supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with chants of death to the dictator. In a sign of just how widespread anger at the authorities handling of the plane crisis may be, moderate newspapers carried the peoples demand for those responsible for the plane crisis to resign while the semi-official Fars news agency reported the protests in a rare report on anti-government unrest. In a seemingly brazen attempt to paint himself as a friend of the Iranian people and further undermine the countrys leadership Mr Trump tweeted in Farsi: Ive stood with you since the beginning of my presidency, and my administration will continue to stand with you. We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage. The government of Iran must allow human rights groups to monitor and report facts from the ground on the ongoing protests by the Iranian people. There can not be another massacre of peaceful protesters, nor an internet shutdown. The world is watching. Anti-government protests, thought to be the largest demonstrations since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, had rocked Iran in the months leading up to Soleimanis death. Between 300 and 1,500 people are believed to have been killed and thousands detained in the governments violent repression which the now-martyred Revolutionary Guards elite Quds force commander was thought to have helped coordinate. A government-imposed internet shutdown served to muddy details of the revolt and obscured the death toll. Protesters had initially gathered to oppose a hike in fuel prices, but the scope of their unprecedented anger soon grew to include corruption, poverty and their sense of an inability to change Irans status quo. Donald Trump had placed Tehran under severe economic sanctions, which Washington described as a maximum pressure campaign. The sanctions have placed immense strain on the country and its citizens, restricting access to basic healthcare and critical medications, and causing the cost of living to skyrocket. A UN envoy warned in mid-December of the risk of food shortages and the country becoming shut off from charitable and diplomatic international bodies. Experts also suggested Mr Trumps sanctions had played a role in the violent repression of protests. The regime, under tremendous outside pressure, decided to adopt an iron fist policy to make itself look strong and in control, Sina Azodi, foreign policy advisor at the Washington risk assessor, Gulf State Analytics, previously told The Independent. US announces new sanctions against Iran The premise is that under economic pressure state has further securitised and is willing to use more violence to ensure that it doesnt lose control. Appearing weak in the face of protests could send the signal that the regime is crumbling under outside pressure and its the last thing they want to do, Many criticised the US presidents temerity in professing solidarity with Iranian citizens. Only on planet Trump can you ban Iranians from visiting their family in the US, deny them access to life-saving drugs, threaten to bomb their cultural heritage, and then claim that you are in solidarity with them, said London School of Economics Roham Alvandi, an associate professor of international history specialising in Iran. Captioning the presidents words, the Atlantic Councils Holly Dagres said: Donald Trump: We care about the Iranian people so much that my administration not only banned them from entering the United States, I also tweeted just the other day to destroy their cultural sites. I LOVE IRANIANS! While his call for Iran to honour human rights was welcomed, he was also asked to offer tangible support by granting the regime's victims and critics a home in the US. Well said, Donald Trump. Please now stand with the victims, dissidents and opponents of this brutal regime by rescinding the travel ban, said UN Watchs executive director, Hillel Neuer. Yes, keep out all tied to the regime. But Iranian refugees are the most incredible people who have contributed enormously to life in America. Hours before Mr Trumps message in Farsi, US officials announced he would sign an executive order authorising new sanctions against any individual owning, operating, trading with or assisting sectors of the Iranian economy, including construction, manufacturing, textiles, and mining. They will remain in place until Iran changes its behaviour, Mr Trump said. Additional reporting by AP Tet Viet Festival, an annual event of the Youth Culture House, is taking place on the corner of Nguyen Thi Minh Khai and Pham Ngoc Thach Streets in District 1 until January 29 to celebrate the Lunar New Year 2020, which is merely two weeks away. The Youth Culture House has held Tet Viet Festival for the last 14 years. This has become a popular venue for young people and family members to take photos. The 2020 Tet Viet Festival is also housing numerous major activities like previous fests to imbue national identity. This years Tet Viet Festival still retains the design concept of a golden apricot blossom road and calligraphy street along Pham Ngoc Thach and Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, said Nguyen Hong Phuc, general director of the Youth Culture House. Vietnamese art performances will be combined with folk games and dragon plus lion dance to help visitors understand the Vietnamese Tet. Besides the traditional activities, there are also new ones such as decorations of the great golden apricot tree and sales of second-hand ao dai of Vietnamese artists to raise funds for orphans to enjoy Tet holiday. The fest includes food stalls which feature Vietnamese culinary arts. Among the events highlights are four traditional craft village mini-scenes which include Lang Gom (Ceramic Village), Lang May (Rattan Village), Lang Huong (Incense Village) and Lang Lua (Silk Village). Visitors will have the chance to enquire about the specific characteristics of these villages and get to know all information about Vietnamese culture. Tet, or Vietnamese Lunar New Year, will begin in January 25, but preparatory and celebratory activities are ongoing one week before and after that date. Young ladies gather at the craft village mini-scene with their photographer to take photos on the occasion of Tet holiday. Photo: Kim Anh / Tuoi Tre A young lady is performing her calligraphy skills at the Street of Calligraphers. Photo: Kim Anh / Tuoi Tre A lady poses for a photo next to the decorative items of the festival. Photo: Kim Anh / Tuoi Tre Some kindergarten schools also bring students to the festival. Photo: Kim Anh / Tuoi Tre Kim Xuan, a Vietnamese Peoples Artist, visits the Lang Lua (Silk Village) mini-scene. Photo: Kim Anh / Tuoi Tre Kids excitedly explore the festival with their teachers and friends. Photo: Hoang An/ Tuoi Tre Vietnamese celebrities cheers in a photo with children at the festival. Photo: Hoang An / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Former Congress leader and Tripuras royal scion, Pradyot Kishore Deb Burman, on Saturday appealed to all sectionstribals and non-tribalsof the northeastern state to come together against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Deb Burman was speaking at a massive rally at Khumulwung, the headquarters of Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), called by his newly-floated The Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA). He also shouted the slogan Puila Jati Ulo Jati (community is first and community is the end in Kokborok) and said anyone living in Tripura is a Tiprasa as he asked people to jointly protest against citizenship act. We will continue our struggle against CAA until the end. I appeal to all people to continue the struggle peacefully and dont treat the non-indigenous as enemies. The non-indigenous didnt pass the CAA, he said. Appealing to the Tiprasa or the tribals to maintain unity and solidarity with non-tribals, the royal scion said Bengalis are not the enemies of tribal communities. He also criticised the ruling and opposition parties, without naming any, and said politics has been dividing the people of the state for many years. Your enemies are people who got elected with your vote, went to Delhi and sold themselves Those who enacted this act (CAA). Tribals and non-tribals have to unite and build a unified struggle against CAA, he told the gathering at Dasharampara village. Deb Burman, the successor of the long line of Manikya kings who ruled Tripura till its merger with the Indian Union in 1949, said the state has played its part in accommodating refugees and immigrants since they settled in large numbers from erstwhile East Pakistan. On CAA, which he challenged in the Supreme Court last year, he said the Centre might choose to settle people from Bangladesh or other countries in India, but it would have to do without Tripura in the scope of resettlement. Tripura has already done its part of welcoming migrants. If the government wants to settle more now, let them take these people to Gujarat, Maharashtra or Rajasthan. We cant bear any more burden, he said. Later, he also criticised opposition leader Manik Sarkar for remaining silent regarding CAA in the state even though his party is protesting against it in New Delhi and also Congress for opposing National Register of Citizens (NRC). Deb Burman floated TIPRA, an apolitical forum or organisation to work for the rights of the indigenous people, almost three months after resigning from the Congress. Almost all the indigenous-based political parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJPs) alliance partner Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT), took part in the rally. The IPFT has started an indefinite sit-in-demonstration opposing the new citizenship act from January 6. The Joint Movement Against Citizenship Amendment Act (JMACAA), comprising a few regional-based indigenous political parties and social organisations, had demonstrated at Agartala on January 7. MBABANE The cost of dialysis. Did you know that it costs taxpayers at least E4.1 million a month to render hemodialysis services to patients with end stage kidney diseases. Statistics have shown an increase in the number of patients that are being diagnosed with kidney related diseases in the country. Health practitioners have explained that this disease means your kidneys are damaged and cant filter blood the way they should. Making one even more susceptible to kidney disease is having diabetes or high blood pressure. treatments If you experience kidney failure, treatments include a kidney transplant or dialysis. The Times SUNDAY has established that government is currently in arrears amounting to over E69 million in respect of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) it entered with Fresenius Medical Care, the South African Company that is rendering hemodialysis services to patients in the renal unit, in government health institutions. Hemodialysis, also spelled as haemodialysis, or simply dialysis, is a process of purifying the blood of a person whose kidneys are not working normally. This type of dialysis achieves the extracorporeal removal of waste products such as creatinine and urea and free water from the blood when the kidneys are in a state of kidney failure. replacement Hemodialysis is one of three renal replacement therapies (the other two being kidney transplant and peritoneal dialysis). The Fresenius department is located inside Mbabane Government Hospital and has almost 180 hemodialysis patients. It all started in March 2007, when government opened a renal unit at the Mbabane government hospital. Hemodialysis was performed in intensive care but due to an increase in the number of patients a separate dialysis unit was opened in 2009. Fresenius Medical Care then took over the unit in June 2014. amount Documents seen by the Times Sunday reflect that the total budget for the current financial year amount to E18.8 million. According to a memorandum dated November 20, 2019 from Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Health to the Finance department, government has received invoices amounting to E4.1 million a month which translate to E49.2 million a year. This translates to a budget shortfall of E30 316 471, the memo stated. Minister of Health Lizzie Nkosi yesterday said the costs for conducting dialysis services are not cheap. She said the PPP between government and the Fresenius Company has brought more advantages. She said even though government has its own equipment for dialysis, the advantage with Fresenius is that it has a fast and reliable service. This PPP is the most successful decision that the ministry took and has brought relief to dialysis issues, she said. Meanwhile, some individuals within the ministry have punched holes into the use of Fresenius medical care. A source who spoke on condition of anonymity argued that the amount spent by government under the PPP agreement was unnecessary. We have capable health practitioners that conduct the dialysis very well and professionally. Why then are we spending so much on a South African company yet we have our own machinery, wondered the worried source. It has been reflected in a memorandum issued last year November that unprocessed invoices filed by Fresenius Medical care amounted to E46.5 million. Processed claims during that time amounted to E19.8 million while outstanding invoices amounted to E66.3 million. Minister Lizzie Nkosi said companies are paid once they submitted invoices which are then submitted to the Treasury Department. President of the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union Bheki Mamba said the entire ministry needed to be overhauled. He said this would address the issues of how government spends monies in the procurement of medication and other items needed by the ministry. Government should call a public forum where the people and stakeholders should make submissions on how the department can be effective, he said. As Tropical Depression Imelda washed across southeast Texas last September, the Emergency Department at Texas Childrens Hospital, normally abuzz with action, was unusually quiet. Physicians, nurses and staff working that night worried aloud, What is happening to the kids who arent able to get here tonight? Going in and out of patient rooms, I could see the increasingly familiar images on the news: heroic boat and helicopter rescues, aerial views of entire communities underwater, and soaked and cold families being transported to shelters. Every 30 minutes or so, alerts flashed across cell phones, Stay in place until further notice; Do not travel on roads; Houston ISD will be closed tomorrow. With each alert, we wondered whether we would get home that night or if our colleagues would be able to get to work to relieve us. Climate change is exacerbating the frequency and fervor of devastating weather events. Every storm, flood, wildfire or landslide disrupts the lives of tens of thousands of patients and providers. Patients struggle to access essential care, and providers are hindered in their capacity to deliver it. Going forward, our health-care systems, including in the Texas Medical Center, must adapt to become climate resilient equipped to address disasters as well as the long-term, insidious impacts of climate change on the health of Houstonians. As wildfires raged in Australia in December, in Madrid, Spain, leaders from nearly every country in the world gathered for the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference. At the 2015 meeting, all countries in attendance, including the United States and China, agreed to the Paris Agreement, which set the goal of keeping global temperature rise well below 2 Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2100 and achieving net zero global carbon emissions by 2050. Leaders did not reach consensus on next steps in Madrid, though some progress was made. Meanwhile, Houston is finalizing its own Climate Action Plan, developed in partnership with C40, a network of sustainability experts who help global cities like ours address climate change. From Madrid to Houstons City Hall, the decisions made now will have lasting impacts on every aspect of society, including on health, for generations. Houstonians are already experiencing the negative health impacts of climate change, many of which are readily apparent: limited access to care, acute injuries, toxic exposures, spread of infectious diseases from wading through contaminated floodwaters and profound psychological trauma. Every Houstonian is at risk, though marginalized communities disproportionally suffer these negative impacts. For example, multiple studies of cities across the country, including a report from the journal Environment International, have established that women who experience record hot days while pregnant are more likely to give birth preterm, with rates higher among non-white mothers. In Harris County, the preterm birth rates among African American and Hispanic women are 4.9 percent and 1.4 percent higher than that of White women, respectively. Climate change is compounding the challenge of correcting this disparity. Other research has established associations between temperature, air quality and precipitation, and adverse health events including rates of asthma attacks, strokes, food insecurity, depression, and even infant mortality and gun violence all issues facing Houstonians, especially low-income residents and communities of color. Harris County recently published a Vision of Health report, which assessed the status of residents health countywide. The report marked an important step in raising the centrality of environmental stewardship as critical for public health locally. In Madrid, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed the world now stands at a critical juncture. Just as global and local leaders implement policies to address climate change, it is essential that Houstons health sector also becomes climate resilient. At a population-level, the health risks from climate change need to be included among the key social determinants of health, alongside poverty, race, employment status, housing and literacy. Individually, health-care providers can educate themselves about the impact of climate change on their patients; this is relevant to every field in medicine. Our health-care facilities must follow suit and become rigorously environmental. And, finally, all Houstonians can help protect their own health and that of one another by pursuing environmental stewardship in their daily lives. Recognizing the link between environmental health and human health will provide the impetus to create a climate resilient health care system poised to meet the direct impacts of climate change on health and bring about a healthier Houston and Harris County for everyone. Singer, M.D., M.S. in Environment and Resources, is a resident physician in Global Child Health at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Turkish authorities say eight children are among at least the 11 migrants who drowned when their boat sank off Turkey's western coast. The tragedy came hours after at least a dozen migrants drowned near the south-western Greek island of Paxi. Despite the tragedies, many refugees still want to use the Balkan route to enter more prosperous European Union nations. By Stefan J. Bos Turkey says only eight people were rescued from the waters off Cesme, a tourist resort on the Aegean coast opposite the Greek island of Chios. But at least 11 others drowned after their boat sank. The nationalities of the dead and those rescued were not yet known. Turkey has been a critical transit point for migrants trying to reach Europe, mainly through Greece. Many are fleeing war, persecution, and poverty in their troubled nations. In a statement, the Turkish Coast Guard said it responded to "screaming sounds" from the sea late Saturday. Cesme, where the incident happened, is just 15 kilometers (nine miles) from Chios, where thousands of migrants are living in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. The number of people crossing from Turkey has risen sharply recently. Most of them are coming from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Syria. They often rely on people smugglers and face dangerous land and sea routes, which often result in deaths. Four million refugees Turkey, which is home to four million refugees, reached a financial deal with the European Union to stem the flow of migrants and refugees to Europe. Turkish authorities claim they held some 60,000 people trying to cross the Mediterranean last year. Almost 9,000 suspected human traffickers were arrested reportedly detained. But deadly drama's at sea are continuing. The latest reported tragedy came just hours after another migrant boat sank in the Ionian Sea near the south-western Greek island of Paxi, killing at least 12 people. Greek officials said 21 people had been rescued and that they were still trying to determine how many people were on the vessel. Suffering in Greece But even if they arrive in Greece, their better future is far from certain. In recent days migrants fleeing war, persecution, and poverty could be seen burning a tire and doing other actions to protest the problematic conditions in refugee camps. On the island of Lesbos, refugees expressed anger over the lack of access to essential services, including heating as winter sets in. Many have to use firewood to keep warm between tens and filthy conditions. Separate incidents were illustrating the desperation of migrants seeking a better life. Authorities in nearby North Macedonia said Saturday that 62 migrants were discovered hidden inside freight trains at the border with Greece. Border control teams that included officers from North Macedonia, Austria, and the Czech Republic found 42 migrants during a routine inspection of a freight train in the town of Gevgelija on Friday. Thirty-eight of the migrants were from Morocco. Many more tragedies are expected as thousands of people try to reach more prosperous EU nations. The dress sizes and measurements of Strictly contestants and professionals have reportedly been shared online by a fashion retailer. DSI London is known for selling bespoke clothing for ballroom dance and provides costumes for the BBC competition, as well as West End stage productions such as 42nd Street and Dreamgirls. Sources claim the stars have complained about the 'admin slip-up', with some rumoured to have asked for the removal of their details from the website. Details: The dress sizes and measurements of Strictly contestants and professionals have reportedly been shared online by a fashion retailer (winners Kelvin Fletcher and Oti Mabuse) An insider said: 'The stars werent told their measurements, which theyd given researchers at the start of the series, would be online for the world and his wife to see.' 'A few have grumbled and politely asked the only details given are the dress size. Its an unfortunate admin slip-up', the source added to The Sun. Oti Mabuse's bedazzled Salsa dress comes in a UK size 6/8 and is on sale for 1,920, while the yellow feathered ensemble sportswoman Alex Scott wore to the launch show is up for the same price and is marked as a 8/10. Costumes from the 2018 edition of the series are also available - with Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts' rose pink dress up for 1,680 in a size 6/8, while Katya Jones' 720 striped number comes in the same size. Bespoke: DSI London is known for selling items for ballroom dance and provides costumes for the BBC competition (Oti's Salsa dress comes in a UK size 6/8 and is on sale for 1,920) Intricate number: The yellow feathered ensemble sportswoman Alex Scott (L) wore to the launch show is up for nearly and is marked as a size 8/10 MailOnline has contacted BBC representatives for further comment. Last month, the creators behind the annual extravaganza revealed the names set for the Strictly Live Tour, which will kick off next week. Set to raise the roof, winner Kelvin Fletcher and Karim Zeroual will be joined by professional dancers Janette Manrara and Amy Dowden respectively. Up for grabs: Costumes from the 2018 edition of the series are also available - with Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts' rose pink dress up for 1,680 in a size 6/8 Uh oh! Sources claim the stars have complained about the 'admin slip-up', with some rumoured to have asked for the removal of their details from the website Also featuring will be Saffron Barker and AJ Pritchard, Emma Barton and Graziano Di Prima, Mike Bushell 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. 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. Vibrant: Katya Jones' 720 striped number - the one she wore to perform the Charleston with Seann Walsh - also comes in a 6/8 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. Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in the Basque Country on Saturday to demand prisoners linked to the former armed separatist group ETA be transferred to jails closer to the northern Spanish region. Some 65,000 people marched through the streets of Bilbao, the region's most populous city, calling for prisoners dispersed in jails across Spain to be moved nearer to home and for an amnesty, according to municipal police. Many waved red-white-and-green Basque flags while the crowd chanted "Basque prisoners must return home" as it made its way to city hall. Spanish government policy has been to keep most ETA prisoners in jails hundreds of kilometres away from the region, which had made it difficult and expensive for relatives to visit. After coming to power in June 2018, a month after ETA disbanded, Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez pledged to start reversing the policy but organisations which work with ETA prisoners complain there has been little progress. The demonstration aimed to show that Basque society does not want "the children of these prisoners to have to travel hundreds of kilometres for a 40 minute visit," Joseba Azkarraga, the spokesman for Sare, a group which lobbies on behalf of prisoners told reporters. A second protest is scheduled to take place in Bayonne, in the French Basque Country, later on Saturday also calling for prisoners to be moved. The treatment of ETA prisoners is a sensitive one for Sanchez's government, which would be certain to anger victims associations and conservatives if it made any concessions to prisoners. ETA is blamed for the deaths of over 800 people in a four-decade campaign of bombings and shootings in pursuit of an independent homeland in northern Spain and southwestern France. Sanchez was sworn in last week for a second term after parliament narrowly confirmed him as prime minister thanks in part to the abstention of five lawmakers from Basque pro-independence party Bildu on a confidence vote. There currently just over 200 people in prison in Spain over their links to ETA, of which only a handful are in jails in the Basque Country, according to Etxerat, an association of prisoner families. Over two-thirds are in prisons located over 500 kilometres (300 miles) away, with 19 held at a prison in the southwestern province of Cadiz, about 1,000 kilometres away. CNN Secretary of Defense Mark Esper on Sunday said that he hadn't seen evidence to support President Donald Trumps claim that a top Iranian general killed by a U.S. airstrike was actively planning imminent attacks on four American embassies, saying that he didnt see specific intelligence to support that assertion. In an interview with Fox News Laura Ingraham that aired on Friday, the president justified the decision to kill former Qods Force chief Qassem Soleimani by telling Ingraham I can reveal that I believe it probably wouldve been four embassies. This was an expansion on previous comments, as Trump had told reporters earlier in the week that Soleimani was looking to blow up our embassy in Baghdad and later said at a campaign rally that he was actively planning new attacks on multiple embassies. Members of Congress, however, are saying intelligence briefings did not mention threats to embassies, and senior Trump officials have stated that 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. During an appearance on CBSs Face the Nation on Sunday, Esper noted that while the president pointed out that he believed the attacks on multiple embassies was imminent, there wasnt actually any direct evidence to support his assertion. The president said that he believed that there probably and could have been attacks against additional embassies, Esper told host Margaret Brennan. I shared that view. I know other members of the national security team shared that view. Probably and could have been, that isthat sounds more like an assessment that a specific tangible threat with a decisive piece of intelligence, Brennan reacted. Well, the president didnt say there was a tangiblehe didnt cite a specific piece of evidence, the Pentagon chief replied. Are you saying there wasnt one? Brennan wondered. I didnt see one with regard to four embassies, Esper admitted. What Im saying is I shared the presidents view that probably, my expectation is they were going to go after our embassies. Story continues In a separate interview on CNNs State of the Union, Esper reiterated his insistence that the president never said he had specific intelligence that Soleimani was targeting four embassies but was merely expressing his belief, a belief that he himself shared. CNN host Jake Tapper, meanwhile, wanted to know if the president was embellishing the imminence of the threats, noting that some members of Congress have expressed concern that this could make things more dangerous for troops abroad. I dont believe so, Esper responded. The bottom line is we had exquisite intelligence that could only be shared with the Gang of Eight. So I understand the frustration of many members of Congress. But what was shared with that Gang of EightI spoke to one of the briefers. The briefer told me that most, nearly all of the members of that Gang of Eights said that the information was persuasive and it should not be shared with the broader membership because of the concernsit could reveal our sources and methods. But President Trump said it on TV on Friday? Tapper shot back, adding that it doesnt make sense that Esper cant tell something to Congress that Trump is willing to publicly claim on Fox News. We briefed Congress, and the Gang of Eightthe legitimate representatives of the broader Congress on affairs like this when you have exquisite intelligencethey were briefed. And I'm not going to go into details of what they were briefed, partly because I wasn't there, Esper answered. 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. White House national security adviser Robert O'Brien told Axios in an exclusive interview that "it is possible" Trump will cut a deal with the Taliban this year but that even if a deal can't be struck, the president is still poised to reduce troops in Afghanistan. Driving the news: "We're back in a situation where we're in talks with the Taliban," O'Brien said. "The Afghan forces are doing better, and I think we'll be in a position at some point soon, whether it's with a deal or without a deal, to reduce our military footprint in Afghanistan." Behind the scenes: Trump has long said he wants to pull American troops out of Afghanistan. A source close to the president told Axios Trump views this as one of his biggest unmet promises. The source worries Trump would order a major drawdown before the 2020 election. Asked whether he thought Trump would strike a deal with the Taliban before the election, O'Brien said, "I don't judge things based on when the election's going to take place, but I think it is possible that there'll be a deal this year." "We're working on it. But it has to be a good deal." "We were very close to doing a deal last year, and the Taliban felt that they could increase pressure on the United States by blowing up a bunch of people, including an American, right before some critical end-game talks. This president does not respond to that type of tactic." The bottom line: "The president said there has to be a reduction in violence prior to the signing of a deal and there needs to be a reduction of violence and immediate transition to inter-Afghan talks after a deal," O'Brien added. "Ultimately it's going to be up to the Afghans to bring peace to Afghanistan." More from the interview: Advertisement Renee Zellweger, Laura Dern and Jamie Lee Curtis were visions of sophistication at AARP's 2019 Movies For Grownups Awards. The leading ladies all wore the fashion staple black while walking the red carpet at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills on Saturday. Renee, 50, flaunted her fabulous figure in an ultra chic black frock that fell off the shoulders and accentuated her trim torso. Leading ladies: Renee Zellweger, Laura Dern and Jamie Lee Curtis were visions of sophistication at AARP's Movies For Grownups Awards at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills on Saturday All three of the stars are nominees at this year's awards show, so it's no wonder they were dressed to really impress. Renee, who won Best Actress for her leading role in Judy, looked absolutely incredible in her chic and timeless black dress. The Bridget Jones' Diary actress swept her blonde locks up into a chic style with a few loose tendrils cascading alongside her forehead. Renee was looking fabulous with a light pink dashing of blue across her cheeks, along with jet black mascara to bring out her blue eyes. Simply stunning: The Judy actress looked magnificent in a black, curve-hugging dress with thigh-high slit at the back Lacy Laura: The Big Little Lies actress added a sexy touch with some visible lace below her dress Mother-daughter: Dern was joined by her mother, actress Diane Ladd The wow factor! Curtis looked fabulous in a black velvet dress with knee-high boots Laura, meanwhile, cut an edgy look in a black leather dress with a plunging V-neckline. Adding a sexy touch was a hint of lace, made visible by Laura's low-cut neckline. She finished off the look with slouchy black boots and a head full of beachy blonde waves. All that glitters! Juliette Lewis put on a showstopping display in a floor length sequin gown Date night! Warren Beatty was all suited up as he headed to the show hand-in-hand with his wife Annette Bening It takes two! Adam Sandler wrapped his hand around his glamorous wife, Jackie Suits them! Host Tony Danza, Billy Crudup, and Noah Baumbach looked dashing in their suits Laura, who won the award for Best Supporting Actress for Marriage Story, flashed a winning smile while gracing the red carpet. The star was also joined by her mother, actress Diane Ladd. Diane looked business chic in a double breasted red jacket, black trousers, and array of jade jewelry as she showed her support for her daughter. Looking smart! Tzi Ma and Don Johnson were also looking suave in suits Extra layers! Ladd, Kasi Lemmons and Frances Fisher all wore blazers and coats to the event Double trouble! Rachelle Carson matched her husband Ed Begley Jr. with a coordinating suit Meanwhile, Jamie was looking super cool in a black velvet dress with knee-high boots and a matching clutch. The Halloween actress, whose film Knives Out became the recipient for Best Ensemble, rocked a cool pair of glasses atop her perfectly done-up complexion, which was aglow with just a touch of pink blush. A slew of stars were in attendance for this year's AARP Movies For Grownups Awards, which was hosted by Tony Danza. Say cheese! Arlene Alda flashed a huge smile while enjoying the spotlight with her husband of nearly 63 years, Alan Alda It's an honor: Zellweger won Best Actress for her role in Judy Winner! Dern looked triumphant as she accepted the award for Best Supporting Actress Looking sharp! Don Johnson and Jamie appeared on stage to accept the Best Ensemble award for Knives Out Career milestone: Bening was recognized with a career achievement award, an honor which has previously been given to Kevin Costner, Michael Douglas, and Helen Mirren Congratulations: Martin Scorsese was the winner of Best Director for The Irishman Annette Bening was recognized with a career achievement award, an honor which has previously been given to Kevin Costner, Michael Douglas, and Helen Mirren. The Irishman was the winner of Best Movie for Grownups, while A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood was honored with the Readers' Choice Poll. Renee competed against Helen Mirren, Julianne Moore, Isabelle Huppert, and Alfre Woodard for the Best Actress award, while Adam Sandler beat out fellow nominees Antonio Banderas, Robert De Niro, Eddie Murphy and Jonathan Pryce are for Best Actor. Laura became the recipient of Best Supporting Actress, beating out Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lopez, Zhao Shuzhen and Maggie Smith for the honor. Jamie Foxx, Anthony Hopkins, Al Pacino, Brad Pitt, and Tom Hanks were all nominated for Best Supporting Actor, an honor which ultimately went to Hanks. The 2019 Movies For Grownups Awards ceremony will air January 19 on PBS' Great Performances. Leading man: Sandler accepted the award for Best Actor for his role in Uncut Gems Round of applause: Baumbach became the recipient of Best Screenwriter for Marriage Story Accomplished: Pain and Glory director Pedro Almodovar accepted the award for Best Foreign Language Film, while director Kasi accepted the award for Best Time Capsule for her film Harriet The host with the most: Tony worked the crowd as he served as this year's host Table mates! Renee shared a snap and a table with Diane Warren Girl power: Annette shared the spotlight with Laura during the glam bash Going strong: Sandler enjoyed a fabulous night out with his wife of 17 years Energy authorities in Ontario said an alert sent to residents' phones about an "incident" at a nuclear power station had been sent in error, and that there was no danger to the public. Residents across the province had received a message saying emergency staff are responding to the situation, at the Pickering nuclear power station, but were told they did not need to take protective measures at this time. Authorities had also said that no abnormal radioactivity had been released. The Ontario Power Generation tweeted, "Important update: the alert regarding #Pickering Nuclear was sent in error. There is no danger to the public or environment." Local officials called for an investigation into how the terrifying false alarm had been sent out. 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 "Like many of you, I was very troubled to have received that emergency alert this morning. While I am relieved that there was no actual emergency, I am upset that an error such as this occurred," Pickering Mayor Dave Ryan said on Twitter. "I have spoken to the province, and am demanding that a full investigation take place." Toronto Mayor John Tory complained that many of the city's 3 million residents had been unnecessarily alarmed and also pushed for a probe, citing what he said were "far too many unanswered questions". The plant one of the largest in the world started operating in 1971 and has a power-generating capacity of 3,100 megawatts when fully active. Toronto has a population of around three million. With agencies China on Sunday commissioned its first fourth generation guided-missile destroyer, which is expected to accompany aircraft carriers in new battle groups. The warship named Nanchang was commissioned by People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in the port city of Qingdao, official media reported. Launched on June 28, 2017, the Type 055 destroyer is equipped with new air defence, anti-missile, anti-ship and anti-submarine weapons. The commissioning of Nanchang marks the Navy's leap from the third generation to the fourth generation of destroyers, a statement issued by PLAN said. Having a displacement of more than 10,000 tons, the Type 055 is a 180-meter-long, 20-meter-wide guided missile destroyer with 112 vertical launch missile cells capable of launching a combination of surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles, land-attack missiles and anti-submarine missiles, according to media reports. Beijing-based naval expert Li Jie said that Nanchang is expected to accompany aircraft carriers in battle group, state-run Global Times reported. The Type 055 will serve as a powerful escort to aircraft carriers and is also very versatile and can lead a task group without a carrier and conduct a wide range of missions, Li said. Five other Type 055 destroyers have been launched at the Dalian Shipyard, Northeast China's Liaoning Province and Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai, according to reports. China has two aircraft carriers and building more. Official media reports said that China plans to build five to six aircraft carriers in the near future. Also on Friday, Chinese President Xi Jinping conferred China's top science award to Huang Xuhua, the chief designer of China's first-generation nuclear submarines. Expanding its navy at a feverish pace as part of its efforts to increase its global influence, China reportedly has about a fleet of 68 submarines which include nuclear as well as conventional submarines. China is constructing a major underground nuclear submarine base near Sanya, Hainan. The base could be capable of hiding up to 20 nuclear submarines from spy satellites, reports said. As the first Asian country to have developed nuclear submarines, China has been operating N-submarine since 1970. Since then the N-submarines carried out major upgrades and started taking part in battle groups since 1990. In 1988, Huang took the vessel to its maximum depth to test it, a task so dangerous that many crew members wrote farewell letters to their families to be delivered in the event of their death, state-run China Daily reported on Sunday. Huang was also one of the eight recipients of the Medal of the Republic last year for his outstanding contributions to the nation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bigg Boss 13 contestant Arti Singh has revealed she faced a rape attempt inside her own home, at the young age of 13. She shared details of how it happened, how the unfortunate incident affected her mentally and even the panic attack she had inside the Bigg Boss house was actually related to it. As Deepika Padukone and acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal visited the Bigg Boss 13 house to promote Chhapaak, they asked contestants to share some of the hard-hitting experiences that have shaped their lives. Laxmi began the task by narrating her own journey and how she braved the acid attack. Also read: Chhapaak Vs Tanhaji The Unsung Warrior box office day 2: Ajay Devgn film surges ahead with Rs 35.10 cr, Deepika Padukone movie collects Rs 10.77cr Arti was the first one to narrate her own experience. Is ghar me mujhe, 2.5 maheene ke baad panic attack aaye the aur jab mai 13 saal ki thi waha se mujhe panic attack shuru hue the. Mujhe 1.5 maheena tak panic attacks aate the. Log judge karte hain mujhe depression hai, main depression se bhi guzri thi. Pata nahi, kisi ladke ne hi chhod diya hoga to hi wo depression hota hai..Aisa kuch nahi hota hai. Jab mai 13 saal ki thi, tab mere saath, ghar me band kar ke, almost ek rape attempt hua tha. And, wo ghar ka servant tha, mai ye baat khul ke karna chahti thi. Mai ye baatein Paras ke saath share karna chahti kyuki Paras bahut hi zyada sensitive hai in cheeso ko leke.Wo hua nahi tha. Mai kabhi bhi, aaj bhi kundi band kar ke soti hu. (I had a panic attack two and a half months ago. My first panic attack was when I was 13 and I faced panic attacks for one year. People often judge me she must be depressed, maybe some guy left her. I was depressed but my own servant tried to rape me inside my house when I was 13. I wanted to talk about this and share it with Paras as I feel he is sensitive enough. I told him I cant sleep alone, even today I need to latch the door before I sleep.) Abhi bhi mera haath shiver kar raha hai. I really wanted to share this because hum jis platform pe hain, humare jaisi ladkiyo ko laakhon ladkiya dekh rahi hongi,. Bahut sari bachchiyan hain jo is baat ko khul nahi paati hain ki unke saath kya hua hai (My hands are shivering as I speak. I wanted to share this as we are on a platform where many girls are watching women like us and they need to know they must speak up whenever they face such crimes), she added. She then went on to share details of the incident. So I was all alone in my house, sleeping when my servant tried his best to rape me. I cried, yelled, tore his clothesWe stayed in Lucknow where everyone sleeps around 3 in the afternoon. I shouted and then somehow escaped and jumped from the second floor. That is when I realized my own power. Even today, I call myself Gods child. I faced panic attacks that entire year. I know how disgusted I felt. Finally my family mother and brother helped me and I managed to get out of that mental situation. I think I have been normal for past 7-8 years, Arti told the housemates. Arti also said that she opened up on her own experience so that other girls and women who face similar incidents find the courage to speak up, at least to their parents. Follow @htshowbiz for more Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 23:41:51|Editor: yan Video Player Close ABUJA, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Four Chinese nationals abducted by pirates during a late December attack in waters off Owendo port in Libreville, Gabon's capital were rescued recently in Nigeria, the Chinese Consulate to Lagos confirmed on Sunday. An official from the consulate told Xinhua the consulate has been working closely with Nigerian police and navy in the rescue efforts since the consulate was aware that the four Chinese nationals had been taken to Nigeria. The four Chinese nationals were rescued safe and sound on Thursday and departed for China on Sunday, the official said. Four Chinese nationals working for the fishing company Sigapeche were abducted by pirates who robbed two company vessels in waters off Owendo port in Gabon's capital on December 22. A team of A&M Consolidated High School students has advanced to the next round of an international debate contest. The students, Lars Deutz, Allen Zhang and Celine Choi, will compete against teams from 63 other schools in the International Public Policy Forum. Teams will be debating the topic Resolved: When in conflict, a nations self-interest should outweigh its international commitments to migrants in a single-elimination written debate tournament. Judges will narrow the competition to eight final teams, who will earn an all-expenses paid trip to New York City in April for the final round of competition. Teams are competing for a $10,000 grand prize. The competition is presented by the Brewer Foundation and New York University. The A&M Consolidated High School team was selected out of 150 entries from 19 countries based on the overall quality of a 2,800-word essay. Photo: Living Things Festival The fourth annual Living Things Festival returns on Jan. 15, bringing exhilarating theatre, art and performances to Kelowna. This year's festival features a lineup of shows and performances from South Korea, the Netherlands, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton and the Okanagan. The shows will run from Jan. 15 to Feb. 2, with tickets available here. Different ticket packages are available including family packs and student passes. Shows will feature talkative rice cookers, interactive drag bingo, a stand-off between armies of French baguettes and much more. Protests were reported late Saturday in several parts of the Iranian capital Tehran over the shooting down of the Ukrainian passenger plane by the Iranian military, according to Iranian media. Hundreds of people took part in Saturday night protest rallies outside Tehran, Amir Kabir and Sharif, according to news agencies IRNA and Isna. They criticised both the shooting down and the day-long denials by Iranian authorities and the media. According to Isna, some demonstrators outside Amir Kabir University called for those responsible for the downing of the airliner to resign. Thousands of Iranians posted a black page on social media as a sign of their grief and as a protest against the government. For them, the shooting down of the passenger plane does irreparable damage to Irans image. After days of vehement denials, Irans Revolutionary Guard on Saturday admitted it mistakenly shot down a Ukraine International Airlines passenger plane outside Tehran this week, killing all 176 people on board, including 57 Canadians. U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday voiced support for anti-government protests in Iran just days after the two countries stepped back from an escalated military conflict. We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage. The government of Iran must allow human rights groups to monitor and report facts from the ground on the ongoing protests by the Iranian people, Trump said in a tweet. There can not be another massacre of peaceful protesters, nor an internet shutdown. The world is watching, he added. READ ALSO: Among those taking part in the demonstrations was the UK ambassador, who was reportedly detained briefly. In London, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab accused Iran of a flagrant violation of international law after it briefly detained the British ambassador during anti-government protests on Saturday in Teheran. The arrest of our ambassador in Teheran without grounds or explanation is a flagrant violation of international law, Raab said in a statement after reports that ambassador Rob Macaire was detained for more than one hour. The Iranian government is at a crossroads moment. It can continue its march towards pariah status with all the political and economic isolation that entails, or take steps to de-escalate tensions and engage in a diplomatic path forwards, he added. (dpa/NAN) The FBI and Secret Service agents made their way through the streets of San Franciscos foggy Richmond District neighborhood, about two miles from the Golden Gate Bridge, toward a narrow Victorian house that looked like it had tumbled out of the shadows of Alfred Hitchcocks imagination. The building rose two floors to a sharply pitched roof; nearly every inch of the exterior had been painted the color of midnight. The agencies had spent the better part of two weeks in October 1980 pursuing a case that had all the ingredients of a potential media firestorm, one that could stir up the countrys most traumatic political memories. Nowon Halloweentheir digging had led investigators here, to 6114 California Street. It was called the Black House, and stories about what went on behind its walls had been the subject of curiosity and speculation for more than a decade. The agents climbed a brick staircase, and knocked on the jet-black front door. They were soon met by a bald, middle-aged man with a goatee: Anton Szandor LaVey. No introductions were necessary. LaVey, the high priest of the Church of Satan, was once rumored to have played a mystical role in the death of a former Hollywood star. Hed been expecting these agents to pay him a visit. A day earlier, Senator Ted Kennedy had left San Francisco after campaigning for President Jimmy Carter, whose general election showdown with Ronald Reagan was inching closer. It had been a long, tumultuous year for Kennedy, who was then in his late 40s. Hed tried to wrest the Democratic presidential nomination from Carter; when that bid failed, Kennedy resorted to playing the role of a good party soldier, summoning the remnants of his familys old Camelot magic as he crisscrossed the country to win over voters for Carter. Running for president had also awakened a fear that Kennedy had tried to hide even from his closest confidants: that he would be assassinated, just like his brothers, President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. Anonymous tormentors had been sending Ted Kennedy handwritten threats since the late 1960s. Teddy has to die, promised a note that was once mailed to his father. The death threats only multiplied when Kennedy was on the campaign trail in 1980. He had to be conscious of it. There was always a danger, Bob Shrum, Kennedys former press secretary and speechwriter, remembers. There were always nuts out there, and thats just the way it was. Story continues President Jimmy Carter waves as he is applauded by Sen. Edward Kennedy, left, and other supporters during a campaign appearance in Brooklyn in October 1980. What Kennedy, Shrum and a handful of other staffers didnt know was that one morning that October, teletype machines had clattered to life in FBI field offices across the country with a fresh transmission, seven pages worth of new intelligence information. The bottom of the first page contained a stark message: SENATOR EDWARD KENNEDY VICTIM, CONGRESSIONAL ASSASSINATION STATUTE. An informant had contacted the FBI office in downtown Chicago and explained that a plot to murder Kennedy was being set in motion. Its a story that has never been told until now, a bizarre piece of history that became public only when I discovered records of the investigation that the FBI quietly released in June in The Vault, the bureaus online FOIA library. The files outlined a scheme that supposedly involved money, drugs and the mob. And according to the informant, the ringleaderthe man who allegedly wanted Ted Kennedy deadwas none other than Anton LaVey. Fourteen years earlier, in the spring of 1966, the country was marked by unrest and experimentation. War was raging in Vietnam, flower power was blossoming at home, the Mamas and the Papas Southern California groove was all over the radio. It was an ideal environment for provocateurs, a fact that was not lost on LaVey, then a 36-year-old showman who claimed hed worked in the past as an occult investigator and a performer in a traveling circus. That April, he invented a new role for himself, shaving his head and forming the Church of Satan. LaVey organized his church around a philosophy of self-indulgence and excessaptly mirroring the timesbut still played around with devil worship motifs, vamping in a cape, and wearing a bulbous ring that he claimed could grant little children their wishes. His Jaguar even had a personalized license plate: SATAN9. People like to have a hell of a time, dont they? LaVey asked during an interview around that time with Joe Pyne, a syndicated talk show host. P.T. Barnum had a circus tent, and LaVey had the Black House, where he kept a pet lion and performed rituals. He would sometimes don a hood with two horns and surround himself with nude women in front of a fireplace that hed converted into an altar. LaVeys theatricality attracted the attention of some Hollywood players, like Sammy Davis Jr. and the actress Jayne Mansfield, who was rumored to have had an affair with LaVey. Black-and-white photos from that era show the two posing together campily. In one, Mansfield playfully clutches a skull while LaVey fans his cape out beside her, and in another, she prepares to drink from a chalice that he cradles in his hand. The decade that followed proved to be a period of transition for both LaVey and Kennedy. LaVey cut back on his public performances, and began writing books that cashed in on the pop culture fascination with films like Rosemarys Baby and The Exorcist. He had ended what he called the stuffed rat and tombstone news coverage which had primarily been published in mens magazines, explains Magus Peter Gilmore, the Church of Satans current high priest, in an email. He was now granting his time to more serious discussions of his philosophy, beyond the flamboyant and spooky trappings which initially brought him attention. Across the country, meanwhile, Kennedy was wrestling behind the scenes with questions about his political fate. Supporters had once expected him to pick up his slain brothers mantle and make a bid for the White House, yet the 1972 and 1976 presidential races found Kennedy on the sidelines, immobilized by the specter of his 1969 car crash in Chappaquiddick that resulted in the death of a passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, and led to him pleading guilty to leaving the scene of an accident. Sen. Edward Kennedy, shown at Miami Airport during a news conference on Nov. 9, 1979. But Kennedys hesitancy faded by the end of the decade, and he was heartened by early polls that showed Democratic voters would favor him over Carter in a presidential primary battle. He was running for president because he really believed President Carter was not addressing issues that were important, says Stuart Shapiro, a former Kennedy senior staffer. Thats why, after much soul-searching, he decided to take on a sitting president. Running for the countrys highest office, though, increased the odds that Kennedy could become a target for some deranged would-be assassin who might lurk, anonymous and undetected, at a busy rally. It was no idle threat. In March 1980, a tipster in Charlotte, North Carolina, contacted the police after overhearing a group of men in a movie theater bragging that they planned to assassinate Kennedy in Pittsburgh, with some stolen M-16 rifles. A campaign volunteer in Trenton, New Jersey, received a phone call from a man who vowed to gun down the senator when he visited the city in May. Aside from blurting, Theyre going to shoot my ass off the way they shot Bobby, while on a congressional flight back from Alaska, Kennedy shied away from sharing his assassination fears with aides or family members. Instead, he tried to project an air of invincibility, or at least indifference. I remember being in Iowa, and when wed first go out there, the Secret Service would create this huge space between him and the crowd, Shrum tells me. And he hated it. So he started working the rope line again. Privately, Kennedy sought out his physician and political adviser, Larry Horowitz, and handed him something important. It was a letter my father had written to me at the start of his presidential campaign, in case he was assassinated, Patrick Kennedy, his youngest son, recalled in his 2015 book, A Common Struggle: A Personal Journey Through the Past and Future of Mental Illness and Addiction. In it, he talked about how much he loved me, and how I had given him so much love. He said he would never forget the times we went fishing and sailing. Kennedy took to calling Patrick from the road every nighthis way of letting his adolescent son know nothing bad had happened. The informant who contacted the FBI in 1980 said hed received a phone call, too, on October 20. The caller had identified himself as LaVey, the informant claimed, and disclosed that he wanted the mans help with a plan to murder Ted Kennedy. The FBI and the Secret Service knew two things for certain: LaVey still lived in San Francisco, and they needed to get a handle on the caseand quick. Investigators didnt have to contend with Twitter or Facebook, digital echo chambers that decades later would make political discourse more toxic and create ideal delivery systems for trolls to share threats. But they also had fewer tools at their disposal. We didnt have all of the modern vehicles of communication or detection that you have today, says William H. Webster, who was the director of the FBI from 1978 to 1987. Investigations involved a lot of interviews and personal contacts. The FBIs San Francisco office pulled records it had on LaVey dating back to the mid-70s, when a tipster told the bureau that LaVey had purchased handguns, a shotgun and a rifle. Other files showed that LaVey had once supposedly been interested in joining the National Socialist White Peoples Party, which had been known, in an earlier incarnation, as the American Nazi Party. LaVey had no arrest history, but hed been linked to a tragedy once before. His relationship with Mansfield had reportedly ended with LaVeys putting a curse on Sam Brody, the actress attorney and boyfriend, promising that hed die in a car crash. In 1967, not long after the hex was supposedly cast, Brody and Mansfield were killed in a wreck on a highway near New Orleans. The improbable implicationthat LaVey inadvertently caused Mansfields deathpersisted long enough to fuel a 2017 documentary, Mansfield 66/67. (In truth, LaVey did not have magical powers.) Anton LaVey The Chicago informantwhose identity is still being kept secret by the FBItold agents that hed had dinner once before with LaVey, who explained to him the Church of Satans beliefs. When they supposedly reconnected by phone in 1980, LaVey told the man that he owed the high priest a favor. His alleged instructions were simple: In a week or so, the informant would receive a package, and he must ferry it to a mob boss on the South Side of Chicago; the mob would, in turn, take out Kennedy. After the phone call, the informant was visited by a member of the Church of Satan, whose purpose was specifically to discuss the satanic cult and the plot against Senator Kennedy, according to FBI records. There was more. The informant told the FBI that LaVey was going to fly to Chicago on October 27, carrying with him eight kilograms of hashish and an unknown amount of cash. Was this another piece of the puzzle to the assassination plot? Taking no chances, the FBI, Secret Service and DEA sent agents to OHare International Airport to intercept flights from San Francisco and apprehend LaVey, like something out of Steven Spielbergs Catch Me If You Can. But there was no sign of him at the airport. An attempt at monitoring a phone call to LaVey also failed. The Secret Service had polygraphed the informant prior to the fruitless airport search. Results were inconclusive, investigators noted, due to use of cocaine. They pressed on. They had to find LaVey. I was a young agent when President Kennedy was killed, and [investigated] some leads on the case, says Francis Mullen, who had risen to executive assistant director of the FBI by 1980. When Bobby was assassinated, I was in Los Angeles, coordinating some of the leads on that case. If a threat had come in on the third brother, wed have to take it seriously. Two days after the search at OHare came up empty, agents flew to San Francisco, and made their way to the Black House. A woman who answered LaVeys door told them that he was traveling, and wouldnt be back for several days. Another whiff. The investigators warned her they had information that suggested an attempt may be made on LaVeys life, according to the records. They encouraged the woman to get a hold of LaVey and urge him to make himself available for an interview. Kennedys Secret Service detail was kept in the loop about the potential threat, but its unclear whether the senator was aware of the investigation. I spent a lot of time with him privately, and I dont ever recall hearing about that one, Shapiro says. But I can tell you there were times when the Secret Service wanted him to wear a bulletproof vest. The informant, meanwhile, had been polygraphed again, and was facing increased scrutiny. The FBI began to notice inconsistencies in his account. Were the agencies being played? Investigators returned to the Black House a second time, on Halloween. And this time, when the door opened, they came face-to-face with LaVey. For years, he had enjoyed toying with peoples imaginations, blurring the lines between performance and something darker. But now he was faced with no-nonsense federal agents, and they werent in the mood to play around. For a man who referred to himself as the Black Pope, the notoriety of being linked to an FBI investigation might have been a welcome development when he was first seeking attention for his church. This older version of LaVey, though, decided to come right out with it: He had nothing to do with any assassination plot. LaVey advised that of any political official, he has the highest regard for Senator Kennedy and his family, according to the FBI records. And LaVey could sympathize with the threats that Kennedy often received; he told the agents that he had been the victim of physical and verbal attacks because of his position in the Church of Satan. LaVey checked his recent phone messages, and noticed that hed received calls from the Chicago area on October 23 and October 27. But he told the agents that he didnt know the identity of the caller and hadnt tried dialing the number that had been left for him. And then LaVey shared some surprising news with the agents: His role as the head of the church was all a charade. Most of the churchs followers, he said, were fanatics, cultists, and weirdos, the records show. [H]is interest in the Church of Satan is strictly from a monetary point of view, the agents noted, and spends most of his time furnishing interviews, writing material, and lately has become interested in photography. Ted Kennedy, center, shakes hands after leaving breakfast in Chicago in 1979 in Chicago with Mayor Jane Byrne (wearing the fur collar) and his son Patrick, 12. Kennedy began his first full day of campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination. At right is Kennedy's sister, Pat Lawford. Satisfied that Kennedys life wasnt in danger, the FBI and Secret Service returned their attention to their informant. Though he was sternly admonished for misleading federal authorities, he was not charged with a crime. But he didnt get off entirely. The Secret Service told the man his activities would be monitored on a quarterly basis and whenever an official who was being protected by the agency had to visit Chicago. If he had an explanation for why he bothered to send the agencies on a while goose chase in the first place, no agent bothered jotting it down. This wasnt the last time that LaVey popped up on the FBIs radar, though. In the late 1980s, the bureau would investigate a spate of allegations about child sex abuse that was supposedly linked to satantic churches, including LaVeys, fueling a so-called Satanic Panic. The allegations were never substantiated. Our organization has always been above-ground about its law-abiding beliefs and practices, so wild stories are generally seen to be precisely thatnot having any basis in reality, Gilmore, the current high priest, tells me. LaVey died in 1997, and the Black House was later torn down, replaced by a fairly generic-looking condominium. For Kennedy, the LaVey casesuch as it waswas just another bizarre subplot in a life full of them, the cost of being a Kennedy and leading a public life. No threat ever proved worrisome enough to persuade him to give up his Senate seat, which he held until his death from glioblastoma in 2009. You either live your life or you dont, Shrum says. And he decided to live his life. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-13 05:44:15|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close A Chinese actress performs Sichuan Opera "Changed face" during a cultural show in Tunis, Tunisia, on Jan. 12, 2020. Chinese embassy in Tunisia held a cultural show on Sunday evening to celebrate the Chinese New Year at the City of Culture in Tunis. (Photo by Adele Ezzine/Xinhua) TUNIS, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese embassy in Tunisia held a cultural show on Sunday evening to celebrate the Chinese New Year at the City of Culture in Tunis, capital of Tunisia. This show, including singing and dancing performances retracing a large part of Chinese culture and civilization, was broadcast live on Tunisian state television the Nationale 1. Over 900 spectators attended the show, which has provided the audience with a visual feast of traditional Chinese operas, instrument solos, magic shows and acrobatics. This festival coincided with the 56th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Tunisia and China. In recent years, Chinese culture has become more and more influential in Tunisia, Fatima, a student studying Chinese at the Confucius Institute in Tunisia, told Xinhua, while hoping to watch more Chinese cultural performances. By Express News Service BENGALURU: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has got a shot in the arm with the demolition of two high-rise apartment complexes in Maradu, Kochi, on Saturday. The civic body has started to check on all unauthorised constructions around lakes and rajakaluves. The officials said that normally people would approach courts and assume that their properties would not be demolished. But the demolition of two residential complexes in Maradu in Kochi following Supreme Court directions, has only boosted our confidence now, said a BBMP official. There are 980 illegal structures around lakes and rajakaluves, according to a latest survey by BBMP officials. Also according to Koliwad committee report, there are 1.40 lakh unauthorised structures in the City, including properties falling under Akrama Sakrama. Besides, there are many properties which are still under court litigation. We are assessing all the properties again including the ones before the court. We are working on getting them legally disposed of at the earliest so that a concrete decision can be taken on what to do next with the unauthorised properties, if proven guilty, added the official. BBMP Commissioner BH Anil Kumar said each encroached property will be re-surveyed and mapped. If they are found to be government properties, then they will be removed and if they are private properties then the BBMP will work towards taking possession of them. The concept of buffer zone is new, it came into effect with the Bangalore Development Authoritys comprehensive development plan of 2015. So each property needs to be dealt with separately. As per the Koliwad committee report, all unauthorised structures need to be demolished. The district administration had started the work, but the previous government intervened and stopped the encroachment clearance drive. Later, many experts on the NGT Committee and the lake expert committee, constituted by the state government, had also suggested demolition. But successive governments have not acted upon it. A massive 350-pound fish thought to be 50 years old has been caught off the coast of Florida, leading researchers to call it a 'a big old fish!' The FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute revealed that the massive Warsaw Grouper was caught by a fisherman using the hook and line method in southwest Florida on December 29. The research institute shared photos of the 'big old fish' on Facebook, noting that this is the oldest sample collected for their aging program. They wrote: 'This 350-lb Warsaw grouper was caught by hook-and-line on December 29th 2019, off Southwest Florida in ~600 ft of water.' A fisherman caught a 350-pound Warsaw Grouper off the coast in southwest Florida on December 29 'Biologists from FWRIs Age & Growth Lab estimated the age of this fish at 50 years old, making this the oldest sample collected for our ageing program.' This fish was originally caught by a group of men, including Jason Boyll. Boyll celebrated the catch on Facebook, writing: 'What a way to end 2019!!! Absolute beast of a Warsaw grouper. Cheers to tight lines and good times in 2020 yall. Fish onnnnnnn.' Boyll: 'What a way to end 2019!!! Absolute beast of a Warsaw grouper. Cheers to tight lines and good times in 2020 yall. Fish onnnnnnn' Pictured: Boyll shows off the astonishing weight of the Warsaw Grouper that researchers believe is 50 years old The research institute expressed how important it was to study the fish's otolith, or ear stone. 'Acquiring the otolith from this fish was extremely valuable as samples from larger and older fish are rare,' they wrote. The FWC's website describes otoliths as, 'hard, calcium carbonate structures located directly behind the brain of bony fishes.' Researchers determined the Warsaw Grouper's age by studying the otolith, or 'hard, calcium carbonate structures located directly behind the brain of bony fishes' The post continued to explain that Warsaw Groupers are distinct from other types of Groupers based on their dorsal spines. 'Warsaw are characterized by an elongated second dorsal spine. Theyre the only grouper with 10 dorsal spines; all others have 11,' they wrote. 'Although adults usually occur in depths of 180-1700 ft, juveniles are occasionally seen around jetties and shallow-water reefs in the northern Gulf. ' Measuring the age of freshwater fish The FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute used the Otolith to determine the fish's age, but there are two common methods for this: 1. Otoliths, or 'ear stones', are hard structures found behind the brain of bony fish. Researchers determine a fish's age by counting the number of rings inside the otolith, similar to counting the rings tree. 2. Bomb radiocarbon dating came about during the Cold War when several countries were exploding nuclear warheads and infecting nature. The bomb carbon has settled into the world's oceans and is used as a timestamp for a fish's otolith. Researchers compare the bomb carbon found in otoliths to the amount found in atmosphere to determine age. Advertisement While the FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute appears astonished by the rare find, they caution against fishermen targeting Warsaw Groupers. The status of the Warsaw Grouper Population in the Gulf in currently unknown. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Warsaw Groupers were identified as a 'Species of Concern' in 1997. They are currently considered 'Critically Endangered' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and are 'Endangered' by the American Fisheries Society. The reason for their population decline is said to be fishing and bycatch. 'Fishing is primarily by hook and line and the species is caught incidentally in the deepwater snapper/grouper commercial fishery,' the NOAA wrote. 'Almost all of the catch is in the Gulf of Mexico.' According to Sport Fishing Magazine, the most recent Warsaw Grouper catch doesn't rank on the list of 10 Giant World-Record Groupers. A 436-pound Warsaw Grouper caught in December 1985 off the Gulf of Mexico in Florida ranks number two on the list. The largest fish on the list is a 680-pound Goliath Grouper that was caught off Fernandina Beach, Florida, in May 1961. Donald Trump warned Iran Sunday against killing protesters who have risen up over the regime's downing of a civilian airliner as his defense secretary left the door open to talks with Tehran without preconditions. Trump's salvo came as Iran's Islamic regime faced a challenge from angry street protests, having come to the brink of war with the US with a series of tit-for-tat confrontations. "To the leaders of Iran - DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS," Trump tweeted, warning the world and "more importantly, the USA is watching." In an interview with CBS's "Face the Nation" just before the tweet, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Trump was stilling willing to hold talks with Iran's leaders. "We're willing to sit down and discuss without precondition a new way forward, a series of steps by which Iran becomes a more normal country," Esper said. 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 The 75th anniversary of the end of World War II was the only forthcoming event Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned in his New Year's address to the nation. Creating an alternative to the dominant Western narrative about that war is key to Putin's way of securing Russia's place in the world. Putin has appeared lately to be obsessed with World War II, discoursing about it at every opportunity - during an informal session with other post-Soviet leaders, at his big end-of-year press conference, in a meeting with Russian tycoons, at the Defense Ministry in the presence of top generals. He's talked time and again about delving into archival documents; he's mentioned working on a scholarly article about the war. Even for a leader who has made the Soviet Union's victory over the Nazis (seen by many as a triumph over a rotten Europe) a cornerstone of the new Russian national identity, Putin's evident emotional involvement and the sheer time investment are unusual. That's because Putin, his foreign policy advisers and his propagandists see the dominant narrative of the war shifting against Russia. Throughout the Cold War's worst years, the victorious alliance of the Soviet Union, the U.S., the U.K. and France was a reminder that cooperation was possible. There is, however, a tendency to dump that baggage now and to treat Russia as a villain without any qualifications. Late last year, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was asked to recall when he'd changed his mind. His response: "What I've really changed my mind on was whether it is possible to reset with Russia. I really thought, as I think many foreign secretaries and prime ministers have thought before, that we could start again with Russia. That it's a great country we fought with against fascism. It was very, very disappointing that I was wrong." The Kremlin is extremely sensitive to such signals - not just for domestic propaganda reasons, but because Russia's global power is still based on some important spoils of World War II. As one of the nations that vanquished Hitler, the Soviet Union didn't just win control over Eastern Europe, it received a place atop the postwar global order and an all-important permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. If the Soviet Union is primarily seen as Hitler's ally at the outset of the war - which of course it was - rather than a Hitler conqueror at its conclusion, if Russia has never really been on the right side of history, it has no claim to moral authority and to a role as a global arbiter. To Putin, that role is, in a way, as important as Russia's nuclear shield. The ability to say authoritatively what's right and what's wrong is, after all, a major part of what makes the U.S. a global superpower. Kremlin-linked historians and propagandists see the shifting narrative as the result of Eastern Europe's increased role in the continent as a whole. Since, of all European nations, Poland and the Baltic states are the most concerned with the policy and politics of memory, their loud voices have drawn the European political elite's attention away from the victory and toward the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact of 1939, in which Nazi Germany and Josef Stalin's USSR divided up spheres of influence in Europe. One result of this was a European Parliament resolution last year that equates the Soviet regime with the Nazi one in terms of the damage done to Europe, a document that has been a strong irritant to the Russian leadership and to Putin personally. This year's first issue of Russia in Global Politics, a foreign-policy journal with strong Kremlin links that often provides insights into the Putin administration's geopolitical thinking, contains the transcript of a fascinating debate among prominent Russian historians on how Russia might try to shape the World War II narrative in a more politically advantageous direction. The debate casts Israel as Russia's only ally in fighting the turning tide, and Poland as its main adversary. The logic behind this is that Israel will never agree with the propaganda narratives of the nationalist governments in Poland and the Baltics, which aim to reject all blame for locals' cooperation with the Nazis during the Holocaust. Indeed, as the Polish government has doubled down on its own nationalist memory policy - which casts Poland as an innocent victim of both Russian and German aggression - it has clashed repeatedly with Israel and the global Jewish community. The Poles have also had their difficulties with the European Union: They've tried to push through a reform of their judiciary that is seen in Brussels as an attack on the rule of law, and they've torpedoed various common policies in areas such as immigration and climate protection. So here's the recipe for the Russian memory counteroffensive as formulated during the discussion by Moscow State University historian Fyodor Gaida: "So then our main scapegoat is Poland. If we and the European bureaucrats need a common enemy, I guess Poland will be the first candidate. Poland's role should get the most attention, which is what's happening today. Our main ally is, yes, Israel. I agree completely, this topic must be developed: Jews in the Red Army and so on." Gaida also proposes that Russia should stress that all former Soviet republics contributed to the victory, rather than that Russia led the effort. So far, Putin has played all these cards. He has repeatedly recalled Poland's land-grab in Czechoslovakia after France and Britain agreed to that country's carve-up in Munich in 1938. During the meeting with the generals, he recalled how a Polish ambassador to the Third Reich told Hitler he'd be commemorated with a statue in Warsaw if he managed to dispatch the Jews to Africa, as he once planned. "A bastard, an anti-Semitic pig, I have no other way to say it," Putin raged. Never mind that the ambassador in question, Josef Lipski, actually helped Jews fleeing Germany before the war get into Poland, as Polish Jewish community leaders pointed out. On Jan. 23, Putin will give an address at a ceremony in Israel commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Red Army's liberation of Auschwitz, but Polish President Andrzej Duda has refused to go because he hasn't been given a chance to speak. As for the former Soviet republics' role in the victory, Putin made it the focus of his meetings with ex-Soviet leaders last month, telling them, "For all of us - I'd like to stress that and I know you agree - for all of us this is a special anniversary, because our ancestors, our fathers, our grandfathers have placed so much on the altar of our then-common Fatherland." Over the next few months, we should expect the Russian memory counterattack to develop in new directions. During the historians' debate, Alexander Lomanov from the International Economics and Foreign Relations Institute in Moscow proposed working more closely with China, which, he said, would appreciate more attention to its role in defeating Japan and thus allowing the Soviet Union to spare its forces for the anti-Hitler front. In return, he said, China would be happy to promote the idea that the Soviets were the main force behind the victory in Europe: "The Chinese narrative has retained many of the familiar positive images of the 'great Soviet Union' and 'mighty Red Army,' which made the decisive contribution into crushing fascism. Given the strict control over historical memory in China, any 'spontaneous' criticism of the Soviet Union role in World War II is impossible. The narrative is created from above and controlled by the political elite." Much of Putin's foreign-policy activity this year will be directed toward trying to rebuild a more Russia-centric concept of the victory over the Nazis. This is territory where Putin isn't prepared to give ground, and given the enormous complexity of the historical material as well as the cross-currents of Israeli, U.S. and European memory politics, he can put up quite a diplomatic and propaganda fight. It's precisely these complexities, though, that make any kind of government involvement in shaping the memory of World War II so abhorrent. As politicians cherry-pick the blood-soaked record for political purposes, truth is the biggest loser. As Alexey I. Miller of the European University in St. Petersburg put it during the historians' discussion, "The idea that we are returning to historical memory to overcome political differences and enmity has been superseded by the understanding of memory as one more area where political goals are being sought." Russia, given its size and the dizzying extremes of its World War II record, shouldn't get involved in this. It should take pains to recognize and atone for its crimes even as it celebrates its heroic past. Even if narrative wars are a reality, refusing to fight them is the strongest possible position. - - - Leonid Bershidsky is Bloomberg Opinion's Europe columnist. He was the founding editor of the Russian business daily Vedomosti and founded the opinion website Slon.ru. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Reuters) London, United Kingdom Sun, January 12, 2020 11:04 730 48be62e941b44f04afae568c321cf6b6 2 Entertainment Andrew-Lloyd-Webber,Cinderella,musical,Britain,London,Emerald-Fennell Free British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber will open a new show Cinderella in London in September, in a production described as "a complete reinvention of the classic fairytale". The show, for which Lloyd Webber has written a new score, is based on an original idea by British actress and writer Emerald Fennell, producers said. Fennell was the scriptwriter for the second season of television thriller Killing Eve and also features in season three of Netflix royal show The Crown. She has written and directed thriller Promising Young Woman, starring Carey Mulligan, set for a cinema release this spring. "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," Lloyd Webber said in a statement. Read also: Taylor Swift, Andrew Lloyd Webber write new 'Cats' song for musical film "Emerald Fennell has written something truly exciting and original, and the moment I read her outline I knew Id found my latest collaborator," said Lloyd Webber, famed for such theatre musicals as Cats and The Phantom of the Opera. "Im very pleased to be working with David Zippel, a hugely witty lyricist, once again," he added. Laurence Connor, who has previously worked on other Lloyd Webber shows, will direct Cinderella, which will run at the Gillian Lynne theatre in Londons West End. Lloyd Webber's stage adaptation of comedy School of Rock is currently showing at that theatre until early March. Mounting a strong defence of the new citizenship law, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the dispute that has arisen over it has made the world take notice of the persecution of minorities in Pakistan, which now has to answer for its "acts of oppression". Modi deplored that a section of the youth is being "misguided" over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which is aimed at giving and not taking away anybody's citizenship. "Had we not amended the citizenship law, this 'vivaad' (dispute) would not have arisen. Had this dispute not arisen, the world would not have known the kind of atrocities that were perpetrated on the (religious) minorities in Pakistan. "....how human rights have been violated. How the lives of our sisters and daughters were ruined. It's the result of our initiative that Pakistan will have to answer for its acts of oppression against the minorities there," he told a gathering at Belur Math, the headquarters of Ramakrishna Mission. Soon after Modi had left the premises, the monastic order distanced itself from his speech, saying it is an apolitical organisation where people of all religious faiths live like "brothers of same parents". "Ramakrishna Mission will not comment on PM's speech. We are strictly an apolitical body. We cannot comment on the PM's speech on CAA. We have come here after leaving our homes to answer to eternal call. We do not respond to ephemeral call," Ramakrishna Math and Mission general secretary Swami Suvirananda, told reporters. "We are above politics. To us Narendra Modi is the leader of India and Mamata Banerjee is the leader of West Bengal," he said, adding "we are inclusive as an organisation which has monks from Hindu, Islam, Christian (faiths). We live like more than brothers of same parents". As Modi addressed the gathering, activists of the Congress and the Left continued their protest on the second day of his Kolkata visit, notwithstanding his repeated clarification that the new citizenship law will not adversely impact any Indian citizen. The protesters sat overnight at Esplanade in the heart of the city, carrying placards that read 'Modi go back' and 'Down with BJP'. Waving black flags and chanting anti-Modi slogans, protesters also collected outside Netaji Indoor Stadium where Modi addressed a function to mark 150 years of Kolkata Port Trust and renamed it after Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee. They were quickly bundled into police vehicles and whisked away. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was not present at any of the programmes of Modi on Sunday. She had met him at Raj Bhavan as a "courtesy call" on Saturday before joining an anti-CAA protest close by. However, she shared the dais with the prime minister at a light and sound programme of the port trust Saturday evening. "The CAA is not about taking away citizenship, it is about giving citizenship. Today, on National Youth Day, I would like to tell this to the youth of India, West Bengal, North East that this is not an overnight law for giving citizenship. "We must all know that any person of any religion from any country of the world, theist or atheist, who believes in India and its Constitution, can apply for Indian citizenship through due process. There's no problem in that," he told the gathering at Belur Math. In his speech, Modi invoked Mahatma Gandhi and said even the Father of the Nation had favoured Indian citizenship for those fleeing religious persecution and that his government has only delivered on the wishes of freedom fighters. Referring to anti-CAA protests in the North-East, Modi vowed to protect the distinct identity and culture of the people of the region, and asserted the new law will not hurt their interests. "We've only done what Mahatma Gandhi had said decades ago. Should we send these refugees back to die? Are they our responsibility or not? Should we make them our citizens or not?" he said, evoking a thunderous applause by the gathering. Modi said some people with political interests are deliberately spreading rumours about the new citizenship law, despite "complete clarity" over the CAA. Seeking to assuage the concerns of the people of the North-East, Modi called the region "our pride". "Their culture, traditions and demography remain untouched by this amended law," he said. He said the citizenship law was only "changed a little" for those who were ill-treated in Pakistan after Partition. "They were having a bitter time living there. Women were in danger of losing their pride. Young people have understood the whole thing but those who want to indulge in politics over it will not," he said. Modi said five years ago, there was disappointment among the youth of the country, but the situation has changed now. "Not just India, the entire world has a lot of expectations from the youth of the country. The youth are not afraid of challenges....they challenge the challenges," he told the gathering at Belur Math, the abode of Swami Vivekananda for several years until his death in 1902, aged 39 years. Modi, an ardent devotee of Vivekananda, spent the night at the Math. He has a long association with the Ramakrishna Mission order founded by Vivekananda in 1897. Inspired by the teachings of Vivekananda, Modi had arrived at the Mission Ashram in Gujarat's Rajkot and expressed the desire to join the order. Swami Atmasthananda, who later went on to become the 15th president of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, then headed the Rajkot branch and had advised him that sanyas (asceticism) was not for him and that he should work among people. During those days, Modi used to regularly meet Atmasthananda and sought his spiritual guidance. Although Modi went back after spending some time there, his the relationship with the Swami and Ramakrishna Mission continued. On Sunday, the prime minister paid tributes to Swami Vivekananda on his birth anniversary, which is celebrated as the National Youth Day, and spent some time in the spiritual leader's room in quietude. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Crowds of people wore blue and white knit hats with the four stars of the Chicago flag and March for Life across the front. The event featured about a dozen speakers, including Dr. Karen Deighan, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Loyola University Medical Center; Pat McCaskey, vice president of the Chicago Bears; and U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski, one of the few remaining pro-life Democrats in Congress. A teenager was taken to hospital in a critical condition after falling from the tray of a utility being driven at a reserve outside Toowoomba. Emergency services were called just before midnight on Saturday after the 16-year-old fell from the vehicle at Bowenville Reserve. The teenage boy was rushed to hospital with head injuries. Credit:Queensland Ambulance Service Paramedics rushed the boy to Toowoomba Hospital with serious head injuries. The 20-year-old male driver was helping police with their inquiries, and the Forensic Crash Unit is investigating. Egypt has welcomed the unconditional ceasefire that was declared in Libya on Saturday, saying it supports all efforts to protect the people of its neighbouring country. The Egyptian foreign ministry stressed in a statement on the importance of returning to the political path in order to put an end to the turmoil in Libya. "Egypt supports to a comprehensive solution that supports the unity and security of Libya as well as the security of its neighbouring countries as well as the countries of the Mediterranean," the statement reads. The foreign ministry also reiterated the necessity to continue fighting radical groups in Libya and to reject firmly any form of foreign intervention. The Egyptian foreign ministry said that reforming the Libyan presidential council should follow the ceasefire. Search Keywords: Short link: Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee is distancing from the Left and the Congress to prevent consolidation of anti-TMC votes with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and to hurt the saffron partys electoral prospects, alleged BJP leaders. BJP leaders say it is a shrewd move by Mamata to revitalise the Left and the Congress in Bengal so that these two parties can prevent their votes getting transferred to the BJP like in 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Mamata Banerjee, while opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Census-linked National Population Register (NPR) in the same tone as the Left and the Congress, has accused both the parties of strengthening the BJP by disrupting peace. She has started highlighting her opposition to the Left and Congress with an ulterior motive. She wants to revitalise these marginalised forces. She wants to create a bigger space for the Left and Congress in the anti-TMC vote bank, said BJP state unit vice-president Biswapriya Roychowdhury. BJP state general secretary Raju Banerjee echoed Roychowdhury. At a time when the battle in Bengal was emerging as one with BJP on one side and all the parties on the other, Banerjee is trying to confuse people. Her intention is to bring the Left and Congress back to prominence so that votes against her party get shared between all the parties and does not go to the BJP alone, said Banerjee. TMC started distancing itself from the Left and the Congress from January 7, when state parliamentary affairs minister Partha Chatterjee dismissed the Left and the Congress proposal for passing a motion in the Assembly opposing CAA. On January 8, TMC opposed the all-India general strike called by Left trade unions and the Congress. Banerjee accused these parties of resorting to violence to enforce the strike. On January 9, she announced to boycott the January 13 all-party meeting against CAA called by Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi. She met Narendra Modi in private in Kolkata on Saturday while Left and Congress supporters took to the streets to stage a protest against the prime ministers visit and against CAA, NRC and NPR. At one point of time, it appeared that all parties were opposed to the BJP in electoral battle. TMC has provoked a confrontation with Left and Congress. Banerjee apparently wants to offer the Left and Congress a bigger space in the anti-establishment vote bank. Its a shrewd and calculated move, said Biswanath Chakraborty, a professor of political science at Rabindra Bharati University (RBU). Maidul Islam, who teaches political science at Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Kolkata, said the TMC chief brought the Left and the Congress to prominence in a series of veiled political moves. Even if we take at face value her argument that she merely carried out Constitutional responsibilities by meeting Modi, the chain of events hints at a larger political move aimed at projecting the Left-Congress combine as her opponent as well as that of the BJP. TMC is possibly hoping that a revived Left will recover votes lost to BJP, Islam said. The Left and the Congress, seem to have received a shot in the arm. Banerjees recent moves have vindicated us. We have been saying that Modi and Mamata are only posing to be rivals but are actually partners, said Communist Party of India (Marxist) politburo member Md Salim. State Congress president Somen Mitra said, She has not only proved her insincerity in the fight against the BJP but also exposed her secret understanding with the saffron party, said Mitra. Some political analysts feel Banerjee is playing a risky game. In December, she stood next to all opposition leaders at Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Sorens swearing-in ceremony. Now, her boycott of the meeting called by Sonia Gandhi on a flimsy ground will trigger suspicion among people about the seriousness of her battle against the BJP. This way, a revived Left can also eat into the TMCs share of anti-BJP votes, said Amal Mukhopadhyay, former principal of Presidency College. We dont need to prove our sincerity in the fight against BJP and against CAA, NRC, and NPR. Mamata Banerjee does not need certificates from anyone. We started the battle and we are leading it. The Left felicitated BJPs rise in Bengal by transferring their votes to the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. They have been hand in gloves with BJP in Bengal to disturb peace and development. They should be ashamed, said Trinamool Congress secretary general Partha Chatterjee. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Qatari emir is scheduled to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani over bilateral and regional issues. The visit comes days after Iraq turned into a scene of muscling between the United States and Iraq. Qatar has urged both Iran and the United States to exercise self-restraint amid the escalating tensions and avoid "taking Iraq and the region into endless violence." Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 23:04:47|Editor: yan Video Player Close TEHRAN, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Iran and Qatar on Sunday agreed to boost bilateral ties and help resolve the regional issues through dialogue, official IRNA news agency reported. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Iran and Qatar on Sunday made "significant decisions" to boost bilateral ties, according to IRNA. "Iran and Qatar enjoy very good political relations, and in economic, trade, cultural and scientific sectors both countries have high potentials to harness," Rouhani made the remarks while attending a press conference with the visiting Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Within the next few months, a joint commission will be established to work on the enhancement of cooperation between the two countries in diverse sectors, he said. The Iranian president mentioned Iran's supports to Qatar over the past few years after the latter faced sanction pressures by some Arab countries, adding that "Iran will remain by Qatar's side." "We also decided to expand our political relations," said Rouhani. As for improving security of waterways in the Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman, both sides decided to enhance negotiations and cooperation, he was quoted as saying. For his part, Al Thani said that he held "good and fruitful" talks with the Iranian president. "We set target figures for boosting our trade and tourism cooperation," he said. "We are grateful for the stances of the Islamic republic vis-a-vis Qatar over the past years particularly when we were under sanctions," he said, adding that Iran helped Qatar in that situation and provided timely assistance. He also referred to the regional developments, saying that "I have travelled to Tehran in a very sensitive time of the region." "We agreed on Sunday to solve all the regional issues through dialogue," he noted. The Qatari emir arrived in Tehran on Sunday for talks with senior Iranian officials. China on Sunday slammed officials from the US and other countries for congratulating Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen after she was re-elected with a landslide victory in a stunning rebuke of Beijing's campaign to isolate the self-ruled island. Tsai, who had pitched herself as a defender of liberal democratic values against an increasingly authoritarian China, secured a record-breaking win in Saturday's presidential election. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, as well as top diplomats from Britain and Japan, issued statements congratulating Tsai and the island's democratic elections. But Beijing, which views Taiwan as part of its territory, denounced their actions as violating the one-China principle. "The Chinese side expresses strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to this," said foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang. "We oppose any form of official exchange between Taiwan and countries that have established diplomatic relations with China," he said in a statement. Chinese state media also sought to downplay Tsai's victory and cast doubt on the legitimacy of her campaign by accusing the Taiwanese leader of "dirty tactics" and cheating. Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) used "dirty tactics such as cheating, repression and intimidation to get votes, fully exposing their selfish, greedy and evil nature", said official agency Xinhua in an op-ed Sunday. Xinhua also accused Tsai of buying votes, and said "external dark forces" were partly responsible for the election results. Beijing, which has vowed to one day take Taiwan -- by force if necessary -- loathes Tsai because she refuses to acknowledge the idea that Taiwan is part of "one China". China doubled down on its "one-China principle" after Tsai's victory, with Geng emphasising Sunday that "regardless of what happens in Taiwan, the basic facts won't change: there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China". "The Chinese government's position won't change," he added in a statement. Over the last four years, Beijing has ramped up economic, military and diplomatic pressure on the island, hoping it would scare voters into supporting Tsai's opposition. But the strong-arm tactics have backfired and voters flocked to Tsai's DPP, fuelled in part by China's hardline response to months of huge and violent pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. Chinese state media have accused Tsai, who frequently invokes Hong Kong's protests as a warning about a Beijing-controlled Taiwan, of fear-mongering. Tsai and her party are "orchestrating tensions", wrote the nationalistic Global Times on Saturday. At the end of 2019, the Taiwanese leader "wantonly hyped up the so-called threat from the Chinese mainland while slandering Han Kuo-yu's mainland connections", it said, referring to her Beijing-friendly main opponent from the Kuomintang party. Chinese state media also dismissed Saturday's election results as an anomaly in long-term ties between Taiwan and the mainland, with Xinhua describing Tsai's win as a "fluke". "The fact that the Chinese mainland is getting increasingly stronger and the Taiwan island is getting weaker is an inevitable reality," added the Global Times. "Recognising and complying with the reality is the only feasible option for Taiwan's peaceful development. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tapper, in interviewing Oren Segal, vice president of the Anti-Defamation Leagues Center on Extremism, was discussing the disturbing spate of recent anti-Jewish verbal assaults and physical attacks, especially in the New York City area in December, asking: So, it appears that many, if not most, of these attacks were allegedly carried out not by white supremacists, not by the alt-right, but by people of color. What's your response when members of the orthodox community say and I have heard them say this, and Im sure you have too that there would be more of an outrage if the attackers were white supremacists and thus fell more easily into a political narrative? Iranians students demonstrate following a tribute for the victims of Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 in front of the Amirkabir University in the capital Tehran, on Jan. 11, 2020. (ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images) Trump Warns Iran Regime Against Killing Its Citizens Amid Protests Over Downed Plane President Donald Trump warned Iranian leaders on Jan. 12 to hold back from killing its citizens who are protesting across the country after Tehran admitted to mistakenly shooting down a Ukrainian airliner, killing all 176 people aboard, including 82 Iranians. In a string of Twitter posts over the weekend, including some in Farsi, that expressed support for the Iranian people, Trump said the United States is watching the Islamic regime closely. Protesters continued to gather on Jan. 12 for the second day of widespread demonstrations, as public anger boiled over following days of denials by the Iranian military that it was to blame. To the leaders of Iran-DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. Thousands have already been killed or imprisoned by you, and the World is watching, Trump said. More importantly, the USA is watching. Turn your internet back on and let reporters roam free! Stop the killing of your great Iranian people! Riot police fired tear gas at crowds of protesters, who turned out in the thousands at the capital on Jan. 11, many chanting Death to the dictator, referring to the Islamic regimes Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Videos posted online showed protesters shouting slogans against the regime and moving through subway stations and sidewalks, many near Azadi (Freedom) Square after an earlier call for people to demonstrate there. Other videos suggested that similar protests were taking place in other Iranian cities. The Iranian regime, Trump said in additional Twitter posts in both English and Farsi, should allow human rights groups to monitor and report on the continuing protests. He warned the regime against committing another massacre of peaceful protesters and hinted at the censorship being imposed on the people, such as the internet being restricted. One of Trumps posts in Farsi was the most liked Persian tweet in the history of Twitter, according to Saeed Ghasseminejad, a senior Iran and financial economics adviser at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Riot police in black uniforms and helmets amassed in Vali-e Asr Square, at Tehran University, and other landmarks amid the protests. Revolutionary Guard members patrolled the city on motorbikes, and plainclothes security were also out in force. People looked down as they walked briskly past police, hoping not to draw attention to themselves. Early last month, the United States accused Iranian security forces of killing potentially more than 1,000 people as part of their suppression of protests. The regime at the time acknowledged that at least 200,000 took part in the protests and 7,000 were arrested, marking possibly the largest demonstrations against the regime in its 40-year history. Those protests broke out in Iran on Nov. 15, 2019, after authorities announced a new fuel-rationing scheme that would see gasoline prices increase as much as 50 percent. In additional Twitter posts over the weekend, Trump reiterated that hes stood by the people of Iran since the beginning of his presidency. The Iranian leadership is struggling to keep the crippled economy afloat under tight U.S. sanctions. My Administration will continue to stand with you. We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage, Trump said, in part, in a Jan. 11 Twitter post. In one instance of the protests, students in Tehran University were seen making their best efforts to avoid walking on flags of the United States and Israel that were painted on the ground, defying orders from the Iranian regime to do so, according to a video posted by U.N. Watch. When agents prodded the students to trample the flags, they cried out in protest that the regime was shameless and dishonorable. Iran Retaliation U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Jan. 12 that the administration believes there will be no further Iranian attacks in retaliation against the United States for the killing of its top general. We do not expect any further attacks, Esper said on CBSs Face the Nation. You can see the Iranian people are standing up and asserting their rights, their aspirations for a better government, a different regime. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Irans Quds Force, was killed early on Jan. 3 in a U.S. airstrike ordered by Trump, who has said the general was plotting an imminent attack on American citizens. It follows repeated attacks in recent months by Iranian-backed Shiite terror groups against bases hosting U.S. troops in Iraq. Last week, Trump revealed in an interview on Fox News that the United States launched the airstrikes because it believed Soleimani was targeting four embassies, with Baghdad being the primary target. Trump described it as an imminent attack. Esper said that the intelligence involving the embassy attack was shared with the Gang of Eight and not with the broader Congress. The United States is still open to negotiating with Iran, Esper said, adding that the U.S. government is willing to sit down and discuss with the Iranian government without precondition on a new way forward. As Iran vowed to avenge Soleimanis killing, Tehran responded with missile strikes on U.S. targets in Iraq. No U.S. soldiers were killed in the attack. Trump on Jan. 8 warned the Islamic regime that the United States would respond swiftly to any retaliation. With no Americans harmed, however, Trump opted for sanctions and said he was ready for peace. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the new sanctions on Jan. 10, which included 17 specific sanctions against Irans largest steel, iron, aluminum, and copper manufacturers and eight senior Iranian officials who were involved in the missile attack. Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 18:38:19|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close HERAT, Afghanistan, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Over a dozen people were killed as heavy snowfalls and rains caused the collapse of the roofs of multiple houses in two Afghan provinces over the weekend, authorities said. Six people were killed on Sunday after roofs collapsed in Qader Abad village of Injil district of western Herat province, while two others died in Adraskan district of Herat, Jailani Farhad, provincial government spokesman, told Xinhua. Many of the highways connecting Herat with neighboring provinces have also blocked by the snowfall, the official added. Earlier on Sunday, a woman succumbed to her injuries from the fall of her house roof while being shifted to a hospital in Kandahar city, capital of southern Kandahar province, local government spokesman Bahir Ahmadi told Xinhua. On Saturday, snowfall killed six children and injured 14 others as a roof collapsed in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar. Such incidents are common in the impoverished country as most of the houses and shops in countryside have been built with mud and woods. Later this week negotiations for a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, or CAI, between the EU and mainland China will be held in Brussels. This is an important early test for the EUs new trade chief Phil Hogan, who prioritised the bilateral investment treaty during his recent visit to China, which he expects to conclude this year. Others at the European Commissions offices have expressed scepticism, citing Chinas perceived restrictive market access policies. The commissions director-general for trade said that mainland China and the EU talks need more political commitment on the Chinese side. The success of the negotiations is important for Ireland, which has benefitted in recent years from Chinese foreign direct investment, which reached 128.2m in the first six months of last year. However, Chinese investment here is still at a relatively low level though the IDA expects to continue significant growth in the coming years. Brussels has been pushing for the long-discussed comprehensive agreement to help give the sluggish EU economy a boost. Progress has been hindered over the past two years by the US-China trade war. However, the recent accord between the US and China on a phase one trade deal has freed up the China negotiating team and offers a real opportunity for progress this year. Running second only to the US in terms of international buying power, Trade Commissioner Hogan believes the timing is ripe to win a bigger slice of Chinas foreign direct investment for Europe. The aim of the agreement is to provide investors on both sides with predictable and long-term access to the EU and Chinese markets, as well as to protect investors and their investments. The CAI, once its provisions are agreed, will not only signify a traditional investment protection agreement but will ensure that foreign investors have the same market access as domestic investors. The commission wants to see an opening of key sectors, such as telecommunications, information and communication technology, health, financial services, and manufacturing. According to the commission, financial services, including aircraft leasing, sharply lacks reciprocity. Chinese investment The IDA initially targeted Chinese investment in areas such as financial services, with a particular focus on the aircraft leasing sector, with great success. Eighteen groups from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong are using Ireland as a strategic bridgehead in their push for a bigger share of the 227bn global aircraft leasing market. HNA Groups acquisition of aircraft leasing company Avolon in 2015 has led the way. Subsequently, a raft of Chinese banks and Chinese corporations took control of a significant slice of the global aircraft leasing market. But the commission has pointed out for some time that whereas the EU market is open to Chinese companies to acquire air leasing firms in Europe, the Chinese market is not equally open for European corporations to acquire Chinese assets. Ireland will need to ensure it is not dubbed the Trojan Horse in which Chinese investors enter Europe. The EU is Chinas largest trading partner and the Investment agreement is seen as the first step towards a much wider free trade agreement. Brussels has been striving to secure the deal as part of its efforts to convince EU public opinion that Europes common trade policy defends domestic interests. It also wants to demonstrate that the EU has the negotiating muscle to broker meaningful agreements with Beijing. European businesses have long complained about Beijings restrictions on foreign direct investment and policies that they say unfairly benefit Chinese companies. If Mr Hogan is to succeed with the investment agreement, he will have to deliver notable progress in providing European companies with the same unrestricted access to Chinese markets that their Chinese counterparts have in the EU. John Whelan is managing partner at Irish trade consultants, The Linkage-Partnership COLUMBIA -- Footprints, splatter patterns and the powers of observation mark the journey through "The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes," opening Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020, at the South Carolina State Museum. The interactive experience combines science with history and culture to bring to life the historic underpinnings of author Sir Arthur Conan Doyles rich and vibrant stories. Museum guests will learn how Sherlock Holmes, a scientific expert ahead of his time, used seemingly trivial observations of clues others missed to solve some of his eras most mysterious crimes. His practices and techniques, created in the mind of doctor-turned-author Conan Doyle, changed the way police work was conducted and remain in practice today. "The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes" features original manuscripts and period artifacts, investigative tools influenced and used by Sherlock Holmes, and interactive crime-solving opportunities. Guests will be transported into Sherlock Holmes London to solve a crime in a world filled with innovation and experimentation and just receiving its introduction to his groundbreaking methods. We are excited to bring this state-of-the-art, blockbuster exhibit to South Carolina for the first time, said Willie Calloway, State Museum executive director. It will surely captivate guests of all ages as they get to be apart of the exhibit, helping solve the mystery within. The exhibition is brought to the State Museum as the result of a unique arts partnership between Exhibits Development Group (EDG); Geoffrey M. Curley + Associates; Conan Doyle Estate Ltd.; and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. The Conan Doyle Estate cant remember an undertaking as involved and exciting as this one, says the Estates U.S. representative Jon Lellenberg. Museum visitors will experience the scientific and literary ideas that inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to create Sherlock Holmes, and Holmes methods for investigating and solving crimes as the worlds first consulting detective, and they will visit their two worlds, including the very rooms in which all this took place. Exhibition guests will learn about the practices of Sherlock Holmes, the world in which Conan Doyle drew from to develop his stories, and the history of forensic science. The galleries in the exhibition include: Become a Detective Guests will exchange the museum map for a book full of clues while hot on a trail to solve a remarkable murder. Using their own powers of observation, guests can crack a new Sherlock Holmes mystery written exclusively for this exhibition by Daniel Stashower, the acclaimed writer and award-winning Conan Doyle biographer (author of Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle and co-editor of Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters) and the author of new Sherlock Holmes stories as well. Dr. Conan Doyles Study Conan Doyle, a scientifically educated physician, was a curious and tireless investigator his entire life. Guests will discover his world first as a medical student at Edinburgh University, then as an apprentice at Royal Surgeons Hall, next as a practicing physician in Southsea, Portsmouth, and finally as a creator of literary genius who moved to London in the early 1890s and became a full-time author. On display will be an original manuscript, letters, and illustrations through which guests will gain perspective on the experiences that influenced Conan Doyle in creating Sherlock Holmes. Science and History Sherlock Holmes solved mysteries using observation and solid scientific experimentation, something real-world detectives (police or private) had not fully embraced. Guests will participate in experiments of their own by exploring the developments in science and technology in the 1890s -- developments that are still highly relevant today. Supported by forensics expert and crime historian E. J. Wagner, author of The Science of Sherlock Holmes, the exhibition digs into real forensic studies in order to demonstrate the link between the Sherlock Holmes stories, detective science and the world of today. Sherlock Holmes in Baker Street Guests will visit Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watsons sitting room at 221B Baker Street, London, where their investigations began and concluded. Culture of Sherlock Pop culture enthusiasts will enjoy the exhibitions final gallery, housing a robust collection of all things Sherlockian, ranging from vintage Sherlock Holmes-themed card games, comics and magazines, to radio scripts, and movie and television show props and costumes. Featured are hero props from the Warner Bros. current Sherlock Holmes movies set in the Victorian era, alongside costumes, props and behind the scenes tools from the hit CBS television shows Elementary and the BBCs Sherlock, both of which set Sherlock Holmes in the present day. The exhibition will offer museum guests the most comprehensive display anywhere of Sherlock Holmes as portrayed in popular imagination over the last 126 years since his creation. The conclusion of the exhibition celebrates todays real forensic scientists and their exceptional work. Sherlock Exhibition tickets are $17.95 for adults, $15.95 for seniors (62+) and $13.95 for children (3-12) and include museum general admission. Infants 2 and under are free. Visit scmuseum.org for more information. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Earlier this past week, the FBI sent a letter to Apple, asking for the companys help to open two iPhones that belonged to the Pensacola gunman. Apple has resisted any efforts to alter the encryption on their phones to make it possible for the company to give government investigators access to the data on such phones, saying to do so would weaken the security of all their customers devices. Britain is set to be battered by winds of up to 80mph as Storm Brendan sweeps across the country on Monday. Forecasters from the Met Office warned that coastal communities will be worst hit as large waves batter seafronts. Northern Ireland, Scotland and much of the western half of the UK will see the worst of the high winds starting from 12pm on Monday to midnight. Frank Saunders, of the Met Office, said the UK and Ireland will turn increasingly windy throughout Monday as the storm, named by Irish forecaster Met Eireann, sweeps in. Coastal communities will be worst hit. (PA) Yellow Warning updated Wind across western parts of the UK as well as northeast Scotland Monday 1200 2359 Latest infohttps://t.co/QwDLMfRBfs Stay #WeatherAware #StormBrendan pic.twitter.com/xpmWWCqqjC Met Office (@metoffice) January 11, 2020 He said: Its going to be windy across the western half of the UK, with gusts reaching 60-70mph along Irish Sea coastlines, the west of Scotland and perhaps some English Channel coasts maybe even 80mph in a few exposed places. Mr Saunders added the severe conditions could cause travel disruption, and those in affected areas are advised to take extra care when driving on exposed routes such as bridges or high open roads. READ MORE FROM YAHOO NEWS UK: Looking further ahead to the rest of next week, he said: It looks like its going to stay very unsettled with the potential for further disruptive weather in places. Story continues On Saturday, strong winds and heavy rain battered parts of Scotland, causing road closures and rail disruption. The main A1 road from the English border up to the Edinburgh area was closed to high-sided vehicles for several hours. ---Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK--- Warnings were in place from the Met Office from 4am until 6pm, covering Dumfries and Galloway, Stirlingshire and up towards the Highlands. Large parts of the country were affected, with rail services at risk in a number of areas. At around 1.30pm, ScotRail tweeted: @NetworkRailSCOT are dealing with a signalling fault between Larbert and Croy, caused by heavy flooding of the railway. Services between Queen Street and Aberdeen, Alloa, Dundee, Edinburgh and Stirling may be cancelled delayed or revised. By 5pm, the firm added: Water levels are beginning to subside, however, the track circuit failure still needs to be fixed. Replacement bus services were introduced but roads were also affected by the conditions, with the A1 closed to high-sided vehicles for several hours. Two persons, including a cleric, were arrested for suspected terror links in Gundlupet in Chamarajanagara district on Sunday, police said. "We have arrested two persons including a 'maulavi' for suspected links with a terror group active in Kerala," a top police officer in the district told PTI. Refusing to divulge the names of the suspects, the officer said the two were being questioned. The arrests were made by the State Anti Terror Squad, Karnataka Internal Security Division and the district police. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US Ambassador to India Kenneth I Juster and envoys from 15 other countries arrived on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday (Photo Credit: File Photo: PTI) New Delhi: The US State Department on Saturday expressed concern over the continued detention of political leaders and restrictions on internet in Jammu and Kashmir. The restrictions were imposed on August 5 last year when Indias central government had announced the abrogation of the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir under the Article 370 and its bifurcation into two Union Territories. The twitter handle of US State Departments bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA) said that it was closely following the visit of US Ambassador to India Keneth Juster and other foreign envoys visit to Jammu and Kashmir. The bureau, on behalf of Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Alice Wells, who will be travelling to South Asia next week, expressed hope for return of normalcy. Closely following USAmbIndia and other foreign diplomats recent trip to Jammu and Kashmir. Important step, the bureau of SCA said in a tweet. We remain concerned by detention of political leaders and residents, and Internet restrictions. We look forward to a return to normalcy. AGW, it said in the tweet. Foreign Envoys in Kashmir US Ambassador to India Kenneth I Juster and envoys from 15 other countries arrived on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, the first visit by diplomats since August last year when the states special status was revoked and it was downsized to a union territory. The Delhi-based envoys, who came here on a special chartered flight, landed at Srinagars technical airport and were taken directly to the army cantonment for a briefing. Top officials from the newly carved out union territory of Jammu and Kashmir received the delegation, which will be going to Jammu later in the day and stay the night there. The envoys, who are here as part of the governments diplomatic outreach to rebut Pakistans propaganda on the Kashmir issue, will meet Lt Governor G C Murmu as well as civil society members and receive briefings on the security situation from various agencies, officials said. Besides the US, the delegation includes diplomats from Bangladesh, Vietnam, Norway, Maldives, South Korea, Morocco, and Nigeria. They return to Delhi on Friday. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. The Maharashtra government will set up a "think-tank" to discuss strategies for improving quality of in the state, School Minister Varsha Gaikwad said on Sunday. The think-tank will include professionals from various sectors, elected representatives, experts, teachers, parents, retired bureaucrats who have been involved in formulating education policies, NGOs and media covering the education beat, Gaikwad told PTI. "I plan to start interaction with them from next week. Through personal interaction, I will get to know their experiences. This will help us in coming out with something constructive to upgrade the quality of education in schools across the state," she said. The minister held meetings with officials of the school education department in the last one week to review its functioning and the condition of education being imparted in schools across the state. Gaikwad, who is from the Congress, was given charge of the department earlier this month after her induction into the Uddhav Thackeray-led Cabinet. The Shiv Sena and NCP are other allies in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government formed in November last year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Parliament has unfortunately rejected a request to have New Zealand's Fisheries Office renamed as the "Paua Rangers". A screenshot of an email posted to Reddit from the office of the House of Representatives says a request for the petition to be posted to parliament's website was made on December 19. "The Speaker has ruled that this is a frivolous request and therefore will not be hosted on the Parliament website," the email says. Reddit commenters are pushing hard for a name change to go through, even offering up a few more alternatives. "Next try: Kina Knights, snapper sheriffs, whitebait warriors, [and] gurnard guards," one said. "Let us know what you have submitted," another wrote. "I'll submit the same. Get a ground swell going." Parliament currently has 127 petitions listed on its website. Those accepted and currently open for signatures include a petition to "give animals a bill of rights", and a petition to make all credit and debit cards have photo IDs. Petitions can be created by anyone and must be signed by at least one person, Parliament says. "Each petition submitted to Parliament is checked by the Office of the Clerk to make sure it follows the rules." A petition can only be presented to the House once it has closed for signatures and an MP agrees to present it. Newshub. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 00:14:57|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close DAMASCUS, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army carried out artillery shelling on rebel positions in Idlib province in northwestern Syria on Saturday. The shelling targeted the positions of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and allied rebel fighters in the countryside of Saraqeb area southeast of Idlib, destroying several outposts and heavy vehicles. The army also targeted the rebels in the Maarat al-Numan and Mashorin in southeastern Idlib, reported SANA News Agency. On the opposition side, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor charged that the Syrian warplanes struck a popular market in the city of Binish in eastern Idlib, killing seven people. The Syrian army has made notable progress in recent weeks in the battles against the rebels in Idlib, capturing several areas in the quest to liberate the road linking Hama province with Aleppo in the north. Idlib has emerged as the main destination of the rebel groups, which have evacuated several positions across Syria after surrendering to the Syrian army. That province is now considered as the last major rebel bastion in Syria. Certain parts of Idlib are covered by a de-escalation zones' deal brokered by Russia and Turkey, which backs the rebels. However, such deals exclude the ultra-radical rebels who are affiliated with the al-Qaida and branded as terrorist groups by the UN. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 17:15:12|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's government and the opposition Southern Transitional Council (STC) on Sunday started exchanging about 53 prisoners under a Saudi Arabia-brokered deal in the south of the country. The prisoner swap deal was signed between the two Yemeni warring rivals in the Saudi capital Riyadh last November, a local military official said on condition of anonymity. "Nearly 33 prisoners of the STC were released from the government's jails in Shabwa Province. In exchange, 20 prisoners affiliated with the government were also released from the STC's jails," the source noted. All these prisoners were received by the forces of the Saudi-led Arab coalition operating in Yemen, according to the official. On Thursday, also supervised by Saudi Arabia, the Yemeni government signed an agreement with the STC about the mechanism of mutual troops withdrawal from the country's southern turbulent region. The new agreement specified 20 days, starting Jan. 11, for the withdrawal of all the STC's military units and government forces stationed in the country's southern regions, including Abyan and Shabwa, according to the Yemeni source. Last year, Saudi Arabia persuaded the STC and the Yemeni government to hold reconciliation talks, which succeeded in reaching a deal to form a new technocrat cabinet of no more than 24 ministers. But numerous obstacles prevented the implementation of the deal which included forming a new government and achieving permanent stability in southern Yemen. The deal also asked for the return of the exiled Yemeni government to Aden and the unification of all military units under the authority of the country's interior and defense ministries. The Saudi-brokered deal excluded the Iran-backed Houthis who are still controlling the capital Sanaa and other northern provinces of the war-torn Arab country. The impoverished Yemen has been locked in a civil war since late 2014 when the Houthi rebels overran much of the country and seized all northern areas including Sanaa. (Natural News) A pro-family group in British Columbia has launched a legal complaint against a pro-LGBT lawyer for claiming that its the law that people must use the preferred pronouns of males who now say theyre female and vice versa. (Article by Lianne Laurence republished from LifeSiteNews.com) Vancouver lawyer Adrienne Smith deceives people into thinking the law compels everyone to use the preferred pronouns of trans-identified individuals, asserts Kari Simpson, executive director of pro-family advocacy group Culture Guard, which filed the complaint with the Law Society of British Columbia earlier this month. Smith, a biological woman who identifies as non-binary, appears in a three-minute 2017 video published in connection with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) titled Why Use Appropriate Pronouns for Transgender People? She identifies herself as a lawyer and CUPE member and claims the most important reason to use appropriate pronouns is because its the law. But that statement promulgates a lie that infringes Canadians Charter-protected right to freedom of expression, said Simpson in a press release. Contrary to what Smith says no such law exists, either in BC or Canadian statute law, said Simpson. Canadians might think they have to refer to a gender fluid person by their preferred pronouns because of confusion over federal Bill C-16, Simpson told LifeSiteNews. Passed by Justin Trudeaus Liberal government in June 2017, Bill C-16 adds gender expression and gender identity to Canadas human rights code as prohibited grounds for discrimination, and to the Criminal Codes hate speech section. Its critics notably Toronto psychology professor Jordan Peterson warned the bill would lead to compelled speech. But Simpson says Bill C-16 does not mandate the use of preferred pronouns. Definitely, my complaint to the Law Society is about putting that gauntlet down, because there is so much confusion at this point, she told LifeSiteNews. Bill C-16 gave the right to people to express themselves or to identify a certain way. What it doesnt do is require me to change how Im going to do things, Simpson said. REAL Women of Canada and lawyer Gwen Landolt agrees. The law on the use of pronouns would appear to be unsettled. Consequently, there is not at this time, a legal requirement that designated pronouns be used, she told LifeSiteNews in an email. Neither the BC or Ontario Human Rights Codes make any reference to a requirement that the preferred pronoun chosen by the transgendered person must be adhered to, nor does federal Bill C-16 make any reference to the use of preferred pronouns, Landolt said. Moreover, provincial rulings on transgender cases so far have not settled the issue, she added. When the BC Human Rights Tribunal ruled in March 2019 that Bill Whatcott violated trans-activist Ronan Morgane Ogers human rights, the issue was whether the flier distributed by Mr. Whatcott exposed Oger to hatred and contempt, Landolt explained. The tribunal agreed that it did so. However, it did not make any ruling on Mr. Whatcotts use of the male term rather than female term when he referred to complainant Oger, she said. The panel directed Whatcott to use she rather than he when referring to Oger, and Whatcotts consistent refusal to do so contributed to the extraordinarily high penalty against him, but was not part of the panels judgement on the use of designated pronouns, Landolt said. The tribunal ordered Whatcott to pay Oger $55,000 $35,000 in compensation for injury to Ogers dignity, feelings and self-respect, and $20,000 for Whatcotts improper conduct during and before the hearings. Ontarios Bill 89, which was enacted to amend and repeal the Ontario Family Services Act in 2017, did not make any reference to the requirement that preferred pronouns be used, Landolt told LifeSiteNews. Nor does the BC Child, Family, and Community Service Act make any reference to preferred pronouns, but Section 37 refers to what constitutes the best interests of a child and Section 38 lists what constitutes family violence, she said. BC judges used that section to rule earlier this year against the father who was fighting to stop his 14-year-old daughter receiving testosterone shots in her transition to a boy. On April 15, 2019, BC Supreme Court Justice Francesca Marzari upheld an earlier ruling in her A.B. vs. C.D. decision that the fathers refusal to accept the childs gender change including refusing to use her preferred pronouns was contrary to the childs best interest and constituted an act of violence, Landolt said. Marzaris ruling is under appeal and so is not binding, at least until the B.C. Court of Appeal hands down its decision, she said. The appeals court ruling may also be subsequently appealed before the Supreme Court of Canada, where it would then become settled law and become binding, she said. But until then, the law on pronoun use would appear to be unsettled, Landolt said. Simpsons complaint to the law society alleges that Smith violated BCs Legal Professions Act, which requires lawyers to uphold the rights of all persons, as well as the law societys rule that lawyers not allow outside interests to jeopardize their professional integrity, independence or competence. Clearly, Smiths political zealotry on matters involving transgenderism and identity politics has jeopardized her competency, Simpson said. And demanding that her audience conform to a nonexistent law does more than jeopardize her personal integrityit extinguishes it. Simpson expects the law society will take the matter very seriously and act on it promptly. If it dismisses the complaint, Simpson says shell seek a judicial review in provincial court. This is where we must start standing up and pushing back on these issues, she told LifeSiteNews. If we dont want to lose the right to retain logic and biological application to reality, we need to step up right now. Read more at: LifeSiteNews.com Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker and top Democrat, on Sunday defended the impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, saying that the White House resident has crossed the line on Ukraine and violated the Constitution. The House of Representatives, where the Democrats enjoy a majority, had impeached Trump last month. Now, the Senate, where the Republicans are in majority, needs to put Trump on trial before he can be removed from the White House. "He (Trump) is not worth it but when he crossed that line on Ukraine he violated the constitution in such a way that could not be ignored, Pelosi said in an interview to a private American channel. Pelosi on Friday said that she would "soon" send the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate, amid allegations by Republicans that she is delaying the trial. But, again, he'll be impeached forever, Pelosi said defending her decision to delay in sending the impeachment proceedings to the Senate. Pelosi said that whatever the Democrats wanted in terms of the impeachment was accomplished. "What we did want, though, and we think we accomplished in the past few weeks, is that we wanted the public to see the need for witnesses, witnesses with firsthand knowledge of what happened, documentation which the president has prevented from coming to the Congress as we review this, she said. It is about a fair trial. They take an oath to have a fair trial. We think that would be with witnesses and documentation. So, now the ball is in their court to either do that, or pay a price for not doing it, she said. Trump is seeking his re-election in the November presidential polls. Over a dozen Democratic candidates are seeking to win the primary to be party's presidential nominee to challenge Trump. Pelosi said she has not eliminated the possibility of ever subpoenaing and going forward with former national security advisor John Bolton. "But he has said in this two weeks' period, there was another piece of progress that we made, that he would respond to a subpoena from the United States Senate, she said. Bolton on Monday said he is ready to testify before the Senate on Trump's impeachment trial, months after he was fired by President Trump. Pelosi alleged that Trump is preventing witnesses to depose and come forward. We have done our job. We've defended the constitution of the United States. We would hope that the Senate would do that as well, she said. This is a constitutional challenge, and we feel very proud of the courage of our members to vote to impeach the president. There's nothing that the Senate can do that can ever erase that, she said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prev 1 of 6 Next Paisleys swirl into tanks. A cypress tree bends into a missile. A pomegranate disguises a grenade. Afghan war rugs combine traditional motifs with weaponry reflecting the long history of foreign involvement in Afghanistan. Open at Santa Fes Museum of International Folk Art, the traveling exhibition From Combat to Carpet showcases about 40 handwoven rugs with war-related themes collected across the last 40 years. The museum is supplementing the exhibit with rugs from its own permanent collection. Prolonged periods of political instability devastated Afghanistans centuries-old rug trade, yet rug making remains a cornerstone of the national economy. In 2019, the hand-woven carpet industry counted as the nations second largest employer. To some, war rugs represent cultural opportunism. But some of these textiles read Life without art is death and My wish is on my loom. It all started with the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, said MOIFA curator Carrie Hertz. The technology is little altered; its kind of a new iconography, she said. The Soviet invasion resulted in a massive refugee crisis as millions fled into neighboring Pakistan and Iran. They took their weaving traditions with them, Hertz said. It became a means of survival. Prompted by decades of traders and invaders, weavers adapted traditional imagery and compositions, translating them into depictions of world maps, tourist sites, weapons and military figures. They proved popular with occupying military personnel, journalists, foreign aid workers, international collectors and contemporary art curators. As the decades unfolded, weavers updated popular imagery and themes to reflect current events and changing technologies, as well as the tastes of potential buyers. After 2001, weavers began adding stars and stripes or U.S. dollar bills to appeal to Americans. Suddenly, there are new markets that pop up, Hertz said. Then they get on the radar of art collectors. The more the U.S. has been involved in Afghanistan, the more you see English. They dont know English, but they understand the buyers do. Portrait rugs show the image of Amanullah Khan, the sovereign of the Kingdom of Afghanistan from 1919 to 1929. Tanks rim the borders of a rugs map of the country populated by helicopters, guns and anti-aircraft vehicles. This might mark the celebration of Afghanistan on the world stage. Another weaving features rows of airplanes and helicopters where flowers and vines might have trailed. One shows planes aimed at the Twin Towers with an anti-Taliban message; another shows banners of the U.S. and Afghanistan connected by a dove of peace. A lack of anti-American sentiment might stem from the knowledge that Americans are the biggest collectors, Hertz said. Some of them are exquisitely woven, she added. The meaning of the rugs depends on the weaver. Are they a celebration of modernity or a rejection of war? Are they witnesses to shared trauma or the commercialization of violence? Or do they represent testaments to ingenuity and a spirit of survival? Part of it is reflecting ones environment, Hertz said. If there are military walking around with machine guns, thats the only thing you know. This exhibition debuted at the Villa Terrace Decorative Art Museum in Milwaukee. It has been traveling throughout the U.S. After weeks of criticism over the handling of the bushfires scorching Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on January 12 he will propose a national review into the response to the disaster, as the fires claimed another firefighter's life. With the Australian bush burning for nearly three months now, killing 28 people, claiming 2,000 homes and raging across millions of acres of land and wildlife, the crisis is becoming increasingly political. Morrison said he would propose a powerful judicial inquiry, known as the Royal Commission, into the handling of the fires. "There is obviously a need for a national review of the response," Morrison said in an interview with ABC television. Asked whether it should be a Royal Commission, Morrison said, "I think that is what would be necessary and I will be taking a proposal through the cabinet to that end, but it must be done with consultations with the states and territories." Cooler weather conditions have brought a temporary respite for many of Australia's burning areas over the weekend, but a firefighter died on duty in Victoria, where new flames sparked and authorities said lives and homes are still under threat. Authorities said the risk was far from over and more hot weather is expected. Facing increasing pressure to do more to tackle climate change, Morrison, who has so far been defiant in rejecting any links between his government's conservative climate policies and the bushfires, said his government will look into improving its performance on curbing emissions. "We want to reduce emissions and do the best job we possibly can and get better and better and better at it," he said. "I want to do that with a balanced policy which recognises Australia's broader national economic interests and social interest." While his office earlier on January 12 said that more mental health services will become available to the people affected by the fires, Morrison rejected criticism that his government had not done enough before the bushfire season started. But he admitted that once the fires started, some responses could have been different. "There are things I could have handled on the ground much better," he said. "These are sensitive environments, there are very emotional environments; prime ministers are flesh and blood too in how they engage with people." The snowstorm of January 1985 saw a record 13.5 inches of snow cover the Alamo City delighting a generation of kids, many of whom had never before seen snow. Beginning Friday, Jan. 11, 1985, snow began falling and by Saturday morning the city was covered in mysterious white powder the likes of which an entire generation of young San Antonians never realized was possible. And while the snow of 2017 remains a fun memory for nearly all who experienced it, the snow of '85 reigns supreme in the minds of those who were there for both. It was, after all, a difference of about 11.5 inches. San Antonio was up and running the day after 2 inches fell in December of 2017. But in 1985, the snow had everything shut down. There were no runs on grocery stores or gas stations. Almost no one was driving around and nearly everything that could close did close. And there were no constant posts on social media. Just snow and about a million people playing in it. More Information We want to share your photos! Thirty years ago, more than 13 inches of snow fell on San Antonio in 1985. Can you believe it's been that long? Click through the slideshow above to see our photos from the Alamo City's snow event. Then, email your photos and stories to news@mysanantonio.com, and we'll post them on mySA.com! See More Collapse "We were a city of a million people and 500,000 snowmen," wrote former San Antonio Light managing editor Ed Raedemakers. Yet despite no Facebook or Twitter, there were still Canon, Nikon and Polaroid. Here is a look at some of those photos from San Antonio's record-breaking snow day. US President Donald Trump warned Iran against cracking down on protests that broke out after it admitted shooting down an airliner by mistake, killing all 176 people aboard. "The government of Iran must allow human rights groups to monitor and report facts from the ground on the ongoing protests by the Iranian people," Trump tweeted. "There can not be another massacre of peaceful protesters, nor an internet shutdown. The world is watching," Trump said in apparent allusion to an Iranian crackdown on street protests that broke out in November. Amnesty International has said it left more than 300 people dead. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BOISE The 2020 legislative session is underway, and administrative rules, as expected, have dominated much of the discussion so far. Gov. Brad Little kicked off the session Monday with his State of the State address, debuting a conservative budget and setting his legislative priorities for the year. Little asked for about $4.1 billion in spending, an increase of about 3.75%, the lowest increase requested by a governor since 2014. Idaho has experienced tremendous growth in recent years, he said in his speech. But nationally and internationally, the pace of economic growth is expected to slow. Littles budget includes a modest increase to education spending, with a focus on increasing veteran teacher pay. It also proposes a large increase to spending for the Department of Correction in an attempt to alleviate overcrowding in the state prison system. Most notably, Littles proposal adds $102 million to the rainy day fund. It also keeps a budget surplus of $60 million this year and $61 million next. My budget leaves an appropriate cash balance and shores up our rainy-day funds, which have helped us weather economic storms that forced other states to raise taxes, he said. Idaho is ranked in the top 10 states nationally for the balance of our budget reserves, but a credible stress test showed we have more work to do to prepare for a recession. The Joint Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee adopted Littles revenue projection for 2020, but cut his 2021 projection by about $23.1 million, the Idaho Press reported. The committee projects revenue to grow 4.1%, less than Littles 4.7% projection, the Press reported. Transportation bills introduced Few bills received attention last week, but the House Transportation and Defense Committee introduced the first two of the session. One bill would provide a statewide distracted driving law and replace a variety of ordinances passed by cities and counties. It would also expand the definition of distracted driving to include things like eating or grooming, not just texting. Another bill in the committee would shift $272 million from the rainy day funds into a new account that could help pay for state and local transportation projects, the Lewiston Tribune reported. Administrative rules dominate the first week Following Littles speech, lawmakers immediately dove into administrative rules. All rules are up for review this year, including several defining controversial topics. Last week, though, committees spent most of their time confirming large swaths of rules and hinted at a few potential battles. One moderately contested vote came when House Health and Welfare Committee approved rules related to eligibility under Medicaid expansion. Three Republicans voted against the section that was added to comply with state statute. A similar committee in the Senate approved several sections of rules on tobacco, immunizations, food safety standards and more, but notably withheld a decision on the process to change gender on birth certificates. The House and Senate began discussion on updating the rules review process to avoid a repeat of last years impasse. The week ahead The rules process could get more heated this week as the House Education Committee is set to hold rules hearing on academic standards. English language arts, math and science standards standards will be reviewed Tuesday through Thursday. Standards on climate change education are expected to be contested, but some legislators and leaders from the Idaho Freedom Foundation could try to repeal all standards entirely, Idaho Education News reported. On Thursday, Little will hold a press conference on Zero-Based Rulemaking. In his State of the State, Little said his first executive order of 2020 would require a routine practice for Idaho state government to undergo the kind of successful regulatory review we saw in 2019. The Post Register reported that while details of the executive order are unknown, it could require agencies to review a portion of rules every year and result in the entire administrative code being reviewed every five years. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 " " Men and women across the globe are taking extreme risks to get the perfect selfie and paying the ultimate price with their life. Andrea Comi/Getty Images Witnesses in Panama City, Panama, were horrified on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018, when 44-year-old Sandra Manuela Da Costa Macedo plunged to her death from the 27th floor of the Luxor Tower after she was spotted and videoed by nearby construction workers while taking selfies from her balcony railing. The construction workers, who were concerned for Da Costa Macedo's safety, were shouting at her to get down just seconds before she fell. Unfortunately, stories like Da Costa Macedo's are becoming more common. According to a new study from researchers associated with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, at least 259 people have made the ultimate sacrifice for the perfect photo. That's how many selfie-related deaths occurred between October 2011 and November 2017, anyway. Advertisement The study, published in the July/August 2018 edition of the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, analyzed news reports of the deaths, which lead author Agam Bansal called "a major public health problem" in a Washington Post article. The findings were illuminating, and more than a little disturbing: The leading cause of selfie death was drowning, followed by transportation-related accidents (like posing in front of an oncoming train) and falling. The mean age of victims was 22.94 years old. "What worries me the most is that it is a preventable cause of death," Bansal told the Washington Post. "... Just because you want a perfect selfie because you want a lot of likes, shares on Facebook, Twitter or other social media, I don't think this is worth compromising a life for such a thing." While American selfie deaths have been widely reported in the States, India ranks as the country with the highest number (150), followed by Russia (16), the U.S. (14) and Pakistan (11). According to the analysis, most of the deaths were males about 72.5 percent the remaining were females. And while "risky behavior" caused more deaths and incidents than "non-risky behavior," females were less likely to die due to risky behavior than non-risky behavior. However, male deaths were almost three times more likely to be because of risky circumstances. Researchers considered incidents "risky behavior" when it was "quite evident that the person took risk to click a selfie and lost her life." Scaling a slippery cliff edge to snap a selfie, for example, would be considered risky, while getting hit by an unexpected wave in calm waters would not. Though the study only analyzed news reports up to November 2017, the number of selfie deaths doesn't appear to be dwindling. Several stories have been widely reported, including one of a man in India who was mauled to death after trying to snap a selfie with an injured bear, and another of an 18-year-old hiker who fell more than 800 feet (243 meters) from a Yosemite National Park cliff. While the news remains grim, the researchers have a recommendation they believe could help prevent future deaths: "'No selfie zones'" areas should be declared across tourist areas especially places such as water bodies, mountain peaks and over tall buildings to decrease the incidence of selfie-related deaths," the study concluded. That concept is already catching on in some places: Russia launched a "Safe Selfie" campaign three years ago, and Mumbai declared 16 "no selfie zones" in 2016. The best way to stay safe? Practice common sense and remember no amount of likes is worth tragic consequences. So the moral of the story is to save your selfies for celeb encounters and avoid documenting scary scenarios and maybe consider skipping the risky stuff altogether and just pass the time trying out weird face filters at home instead. Now That's Serious According to some mental health professionals, selfie addiction is a real mental illness. One study suggests that chronic selfie-takers "have an uncontrollable urge to point their phone at their face and post the selfies on social media more than six times per day." He is too good to be on this planet. Keanu Reeves wears his heart on his sleeve. He is one of the most humble, grounded and down-to-earth stars of Hollywood. Once, he ordered an ice-cream, just so he could give his fan an autograph on its receipt. wallpapercave.com Hailed as the "most wholesome person alive", Keanu Reeves is almost always happy to see his fans and there are several stories to prove the same. Once again proving his kindness, he left a "big tip" after ordering for a double scoop Baskin-Robbins ice cream. popsugar-assets.com The incident took place at a Baskin-Robbins ice cream parlor in Alameda, California. Keanu Reeves just wanted to enjoy his ice cream, but he made sure that the person on the other end enjoys his day to the fullest too. So, according to a report on People, he left a "big tip" before taking away his ice cream. And just when he was sitting outside to enjoy, he was approached by a man. Keanu Reeves, being the kind man that he is, happily posed for a picture with the woman, who later on, shared it on social media. In an all black attire with messy and untidy hair as well as beard, Keanu Reeves still managed to look dapper like always. gq.com For the unversed, Keanu is in California to shoot for his forthcoming movie Matrix 4, which is scheduled to release in 2021. While Keanu will be playing his iconic role of Neo, Carrie-Ann Moss is returning in the film too. With that, Matrix 4 will also feature Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who is known for his role as Black Manta in Aquaman. rollingstone.com There isn't any star so humble like Keanu Reeves! A gunman is on the run after shooting five people at an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado, police said early Sunday. The victims include three juveniles and two adults. They have been taken to a hospital with serious injuries, the Aurora Police Department said on Twitter , and are expected to survive. Investigators believe there was a party going on at the complex when gunfire broke out, said Officer Matthew Longshore, a police spokesman. Police are looking for at least one suspecta man of an unknown age who was wearing a yellow hooded sweatshirt. Aurora is a suburb about 10 miles east of Denver. The 10th Meeting of the Committee of the Whole for the ASEAN Economic Community takes place in Hanoi on January 11th (Photo: VNA) The event took place on the third working day of a series of meetings within the framework of the ASEAN economic cooperation in 2020. Chaired by ASEAN Deputy Secretary-General Aladdin Rillo, it saw the presence of senior officials in the three pillars (politics security, economy, and culture society) of the ASEAN Community; chairpersons of the ASEAN Economic Communitys specialised groups; and representatives of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council. According to the Multilateral Trade Policy Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the CoW 10 focused on coordinating ASEANs activities relevant to the pillar of economy. The meeting discussed the blocs main economic priorities for 2020 proposed by Vietnam, priorities in the two other pillars and their relations with the proposed priorities in the pillar of economy. Participants also looked into the enhancement of the intra-ASEAN connectivity; the fourth industrial revolution and the digitalisation of economy in the ASEAN Economic Community; along with the priorities in certain fields in 2020 such as trade, investment, services, trade facilitation, consumer protection, intellectual property, the ASEAN single window, and quality standards. Besides, they deliberated the building of a platform for coordinating activities of the ASEAN Economic Community and settling related issues, which requires coordination among the committees and working groups in charge of different fields so as to promote the groupings economic integration in a more effective manner. At the meeting, Vietnam, as ASEAN Chair in 2020, introduced and chaired talks on the initiatives for the pillar of economy this year. These initiatives focus on promoting the intra-ASEAN connectivity, enhancing the partnership for peace and sustainable development, and improving ASEANs adaptability and operational efficiency in the time ahead. With 14 draft initiatives proposed right from the years beginning, Vietnam hopes to ensure that its 2020 ASEAN Chairmanship will push ahead with the formation of an economy community that plays the central role in regional and global cooperation frameworks. Outcomes of the CoW 10 is reported to the ASEAN senior officials meeting on January 12th./. Charlotte Crosby and Ryan Gallagher's jungle romance has already hit a roadblock. During Sunday's episode of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! Australia, the pair had a lovers' tiff which resulted in Ryan storming away from Charlotte in anger. They clashed after Ryan, 31, had accidentally worn a pair of Tanya Hennessy's socks, leading to a rift in the camp and Charlotte, 29, questioning if he has communication issues with women. Over already? Charlotte Crosby (left) and Ryan Gallagher (right) had a lovers' tiff on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! Australia on Sunday The drama started when Ryan asked his campmates if the pair of socks drying by the fire were his. Several campers believed they were, so he put them on. After Tanya, who is suffering from a foot infection, started crying and ranted that they were her socks, Ryan offered them back and was confused by the outrage. 'I didn't realise they were yours. I asked... are you sure you don't want them? Sorry, I didn't do it on purpose,' said Ryan, as Tanya refused to take them back. The TV and radio presenter then accused Ryan of driving her to a 'breakdown'. 'I didn't do it on purpose': The drama started when Ryan accidentally wore a pair of Tanya Hennessy's socks. She was devastated, but he seemed to think she was overreacting Tensions: Tanya then accused Ryan of driving her to a 'breakdown', while several other campmates - including Charlotte - turned on him As Tanya, Erin Barnett and others felt Ryan's apology was insufficient, Charlotte began to doubt their romance, which began when they shared a kiss last week. Before confronting Ryan, the former Geordie Shore star said in the diary room: 'I think Ryan has communication problems, especially with women. 'I think sometimes he says things without thinking and doesn't realise the effect it will have on someone else. I really like him, but I don't know if we're on the same wavelength.' She then decided to cancel her romantic evening with Ryan, telling her campmates: 'We can't be going on a date now. I don't think I want to.' 'I don't know if we're on the same wavelength': Shocked by what had happened, Charlotte cancelled their first date and accused Ryan of having communication issues with women Clash! Things escalated between them and Ryan eventually stormed off As the pair sat down together, Charlotte asked Ryan directly if he has communication issues. 'We are all living together, remember? And we wouldn't want anybody to feel uncomfortable, would we?' she said. 'No, stealing someone's socks... I didn't know that would make someone feel like s**t', replied Ryan, who was upset the whole situation had escalated so quickly. Charlotte added: 'You're not listening to what I'm trying to say. All [Tanya] wanted was a little bit of communication. Do you think that's something you struggle with?' Will they last? The argument took place just days after Charlotte and Ryan had shared their first kiss in the jungle Ryan said he wasn't sure, to which Charlotte responded: 'For f**k's sake...' This prompted the Married At First Sight star to storm off, saying: 'I think we'll just leave it at that... I'm over it.' Later in the episode, the pair appeared to make up and Ryan also apologised again to Tanya, who acknowledged she may have overreacted. Benghazi: Libya's east-based forces have announced that they will abide by a ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey that was due to start on Sunday. If it holds, the ceasefire would be the country's first break in fighting in months, and the first brokered by international players. It comes as Libya is on the brink of a major escalation, with foreign backers of the rival Libyan governments stepping up their involvement on the ground. A spokesman for the self-styled Libyan Arab Armed Forces, which are led by ex-general Khalifa Hifter, said in a video statement that the ceasefire would take effect starting early Sunday. Spokesman Ahmed al-Mosmari said any violations of the ceasefire by their fighters would be dealt with "severely". It was not immediately clear if Hifter would also agree to a withdrawal of forces from around the capital. His rival, Fayez Sarraj, who is prime minister of the UN-supported government in Tripoli, had demanded previously such a pull out as the truce's condition. Libya is governed by duelling authorities, one based in the east and one in Tripoli in the west, led by Sarraj. Each rely on different militias for support. UPDATE: The second night of Madison's snow emergency has been canceled due to less snow than expected, the city said Sunday. Madison's snow emergency was supposed to last until Monday. Snow emergencies in Monona, Sun Prairie and McFarland ended Sunday afternoon. The Madison area escaped the brunt of a powerful storm Saturday that tracked more to the south than expected, but more snow is expected for Wisconsin Sunday night and again Monday night, according to forecasters. By Sunday morning, all Madison streets had been plowed with about 150 snow-removal vehicles set out overnight. The city of Madison Streets Division crews are on standby for the snow predicted to come Sunday night and will be dispatched along the salt routes again as needed. The Monday morning commute could be "slick, snowy and slow," the city said, depending on the severity of the storm. An active weather pattern that has taken hold also could bring snow and mixed precipitation Wednesday and again Friday to Wisconsin, though the National Weather Service said its too early to forecast possible totals. Light snow will spread into southern Wisconsin Sunday evening and exit early Monday morning, with Madison possibly seeing another 1 to 2 inches, while less than a half-inch is possible Monday night, the Weather Service said. Possible snow totals around the state include La Crosse 1 to 3 inches Sunday night and less than a half-inch Monday night; Eau Claire less than a half-inch Sunday, 1 to 3 inches Sunday night, and 1 to 2 inches Monday night; Green Bay around 2 inches Sunday night and less than an inch Monday night; Racine less than a half-inch Sunday night and less than a tenth of an inch of rain Monday night. The snow Sunday night isn't likely to impact the Green Bay Packers game against the Seattle Seahawks at Lambeau Field, the Weather Service said. Officially, just 1.7 inches of snow fell at the Dane County Regional Airport on Saturday, after some portions of Dane County got 2 to 3 inches on Friday, while some forecasts had the city getting double-digit totals from the two-wave storm. The city of Madison and some surrounding municipalities had declared snow emergencies Saturday which have now all passed. In Madison, the snow emergency was supposed to last until Monday, while Monona, Sun Prairie and McFarland said the snow emergencies were in effect until Sunday early afternoon. Alternate-side parking was in place in Madison until Sunday, although restrictions apply to most city streets through the winter regardless of weather. Areas that face the restrictions only during snow emergencies include streets on the Isthmus and in the Vilas, Greenbush and Bay Creek neighborhoods. Monona, Sun Prairie and McFarland had also barred parking on any streets until Sunday. Other local municipalities have alternate-side parking restrictions through winter months regardless of weather. Road conditions for the state are available by calling 511, using the 511 app, or going to the states 511 website. In Madison on Sunday, look for mostly cloudy skies, a high near 27 and north winds at 5 to 10 miles per hour, turning out of the southeast in the afternoon, the Weather Service said. Overnight, snow will fall, mainly before 4 a.m., and possible totaling 1 to 2 inches as the low falls to around 25. Monday should be mostly cloudy, with a high near 35 and southwest winds at 5 to 10 mph. Theres a 70% chance for snow overnight Monday into Tuesday, mixing with rain between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m., turning to all rain after 4 a.m., with less than half an inch of snow possible as the low falls to around 32. The Weather Service said chances for precipitation are 20% Tuesday in the form of rain and snow before 10 a.m., then rain between 10 a.m. and noon; 40% for snow Wednesday; 20% for snow Wednesday night before midnight; 30% for snow after midnight Thursday night; 70% for rain and snow Friday; 80% for rain and snow Friday night; and 40% for snow Saturday. Skies over Madison should be mostly cloudy Tuesday and Wednesday, mostly sunny Thursday, cloudy Friday, mostly cloudy Saturday, with highs near 39, 32, 24, 36 and 31, and lows Tuesday night through Friday night around 19, 12, 13 and 21. 27 Storm Track meteorologist Guy Brown forecasts a trace to 2 inches of snow Sunday night, flurries in the morning and a wintry mix Monday night into Tuesday morning, light snow Wednesday, light snow Friday, and a wintry mix Friday night. Brown said highs should range from 26 to 38 and lows from 9 to 23. Saturdays high in Madison was 30 at 2:03 a.m., 4 degrees above the normal high and 23 degrees below the record high of 53 for Jan. 11, set in 1880 and 2012. Saturdays low in Madison was 18 at 11:59 p.m., 7 degrees above the normal low and 46 degrees above the record low of 28 below for Jan. 11, set in 1979. Officially, 0.03 inches of precipitation was recorded at the Dane County Regional Airport on Saturday, boosting Madisons January and 2020 precipitation total (rain plus snow converted to liquid) to 0.51 inches, 0.06 inches above normal. The meteorological winter (December through February) total rose to 2.03 inches, 0.16 inches below normal. Madisons record precipitation for Jan. 11 is 0.75 inches, set in 1890. Officially, 1.7 inches of snow was recorded at the Dane County Regional Airport on Saturday, boosting Madisons January and 2020 snow total to 4.2 inches, 0.3 inches below normal. For meteorological winter, Madison has received 7.1 inches, 10.9 inches below normal. For the snow season (since July 1), Madison has received 22.8 inches, 1.3 inches above normal. Madisons record snowfall for Jan. 11 is 6.5 inches, set in 1991. Madisons official snow depth is 2 inches. Photos: Remembering the record-setting blizzard of December 2012 Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 New Delhi: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday joined the protest against Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens (NRC) at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh and Jamia Milia Islamia. Tharoor in his address said, ''Dissent is very precious in our country, it is important to understand students deserve support.'' Tharoor was accompanied by Congress state President Subhash Chopra in his visit Tharoor took to Twitter and shared the information writing, ''Addressed a packed throng of students at @jamiamillia_ with @INCDelhi President Subhash Chopra. So thick were the crowds and so blocked the traffic that we had to walk the last fifteen minutes to reach the site. But the audiences enthusiasm made it all worthwhile.'' While speaking to the students in Jamia Tharoor condemned the violence against students here and said ''Jamia and JNU have been sites for very shameful misbehaviour. In Jamia, the police themselves burst into the hostels and libraries and injured some students.'' Live TV "It is about supporting the protest and also objecting the manner in which the students have been dealt with. It is important to understand that the students deserve support," the Congress leader said. Targeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Tharoor said, "The second problem is Amit Shah himself explicitly linking it with a nationwide NRC. So, these are the two things we are opposing." Meanwhile, the Congress leader also faced protests outside Jamia when the protesters raised posters and slogans of "La ilaha illallah" during his speech. On the other hand, Amit Shah renewed attack on Congress and other opposition parties for spreading rumours about the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 and instilling fears in the minds of minority community members about the law while he was speaking at a public meeting organised in Jabalpur. The Citizenship 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. Jabalpur/Bhopal, Jan 12 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday hit out at the Congress party and Trinamool Congress for "misleading" the nation on Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and challenged them to point out a single provision in the law which allegedly takes away anyone's citizenship. Two days after CAA came into force through an official notification, Shah picked up Congress-ruled Madhya Pradesh to mobilise the people for CAA. Many non-BJP ruled states including Madhya Pradesh have announced that they will not implement CAA. Shah challenged Chief Minister Kamal Nath to establish that the CAA was going to take away the citizenship of any bona fide Indian. "I challenge Mamata Banerjee and Rahul 'Baba' to find out a provision from CAA that can take citizenship away from anyone in this country." He said Hindus, Christian, Sikhs and Buddhists from Pakistan and other South Asian countries have the same rights in this country and pledged that CAA will give citizenship to them. Shah addressed a large rally at Garrison ground as part of BJP's outreach to create awareness on CAA. BJP launched a 10-day door-to-door campaign a week ago to address the people. Senior party leaders including the former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and state unit president Rakesh Singh were also present. "The message is loud and clear for Congressmen. Oppose the (CAA) to the extent you can. We will rest only after giving all these people citizenship. No one can stop us from doing so," Shah said. "The Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Christian refugees from Pakistan have the same rights in India as we have," he said. "The Congress manifesto for Rajasthan Assembly polls last year had promised citizenship to the Hindu and Sikh refugees from Pakistan. Why they are opposing BJP now," he asked. "Gehlotji (Rajasthan CM), check your manifesto," he said. Referring to JNU, Shah said that some boys shouted anti-national slogans, "Bharat tera tukde ho ek hazar, inshallah, inshallah. Rahul Baba and Kejriwal want to save them. Are they your cousins? Such people deserve to be behind the bars." Shah said that the Ram temple will be built at Ayodhya in four months. "The building is going to come up so tall that it will touch the sky." While BJP is drumming up support for the CAA it hasd faced some dissent within. On Sunday the party expelled Javed Baig, media in charge of its minority front for reportedly hobnobbing with groups opposing CAA and NRC. BJP office-bearer Satyendra Bhushan Singh wrote a letter to Baig saying his activities in the recent past have come to the party's notice. "Opposing CAA amounts to involvement in anti-party activities. This act of yours has tarnished the image of the party. State President Rakesh Singh has expelled you from the primary membership of the party," the letter said. CAA protests continue in Bhopal with hundreds of students and local people joining them every day. Asked about the developments Baig said, many among the minority community are poor, with lack of education and belong to labour class that has to work on daily wages for survival. Most of them do not have documents or resources to get them made. In old days deliveries were performed by midwives at home and documentation was not considered important. "There is already an 11-year-old law in India. When we can give citizenship to people like Adnan Sami through that law, we can also give the rest to other people. Then where is the need to bring CAA?" he said. "I never wrote anything against the party or went outside the party line and said anything yet the party has acted against me," he said. Several leaders of BJP Minority Morcha in Khargone and Guna started resigning last week. In Khargone, minority officials from across the district reached the BJP office collectively to resign. Party sources said 176 minority activists have resigned so far. naidu/kr BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 12 By Elchin Mehdiyev Trend: As many as 2,431 people have applied for participation in the early parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan to be held Feb. 9, Chairman of Azerbaijani Central Election Commission (CEC) Mazahir Panahov said at the CEC meeting, Trend reports. The candidacies of 2,354 people have already been approved, the chairman added. As many as 2,247 of them have received the signatory lists, 1,764 returned those lists and 934 have been registered, Panahov said. 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. More than a year since he was placed on leave, a Perry County magisterial judge said he is going to resign, according to ABC27. The news station reports that District Judge Daniel McGuire announced his resignation in a letter to Gov. Tom Wolf. The letter is dated Dec. 30, and notes that McGuire said he will resign his commission effective on April 1. It still remains unclear why McGuire was placed on administrative leave. But, when he was removed from his Duncannon office in August 2018, deputy sheriffs were present, the Perry County Times reported. McGuire was sworn in as a district judge in 2005. He presided over District Court 41-3-03, which includes the Marysville and New Buffalo areas, ABC27 reported. On Aug. 29, 2018, Stacey Witalec, a spokeswoman for the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, issued the following statement: Magisterial District Judge Daniel McGuire of District Court 41-3-03 in Perry County has been placed on administrative leave effective August 28, 2018. The statement did not explain why he was placed on leave. McGuire won his third term as district judge in November 2017, defeating a write-in campaign by Clark Steele, a state constable from Perry County. McGuire narrowly defeated Steele in the primary. McGuire has been district judge since 2005. He won a second in 2011. District judges serve six-year terms. Flash Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed Iran nuclear deal, or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in Moscow on Saturday, saying its further implementation is supported by the two countries, according to a transcript released by the Kremlin. "Russia and Germany resolutely stand for the continued implementation of the joint plan," Putin said at a press conference after talks with Merkel. "We certainly could not ignore the issue of preserving the JCPOA on Iran's nuclear programme, which is vitally important not only for the region but also for the whole world," he said. Putin recalled that after the United States withdrew from this fundamental agreement, the Iranian side declared that they suspended some of their voluntary commitments under the JCPOA. "Let me underscore this: they only suspended their voluntary commitments while they stress their readiness to go back to full compliance with the nuclear deal," the president added. The JCPOA was reached in 2015 between Iran and the P5+1 (permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, France, and China, plus Germany) and the European Union. Tehran agreed to roll back parts of its nuclear weapons program in exchange for decreased economic sanctions. In reaction to the U.S. withdrawal from the landmark deal in May 2018 and the subsequent sanctions, and in response to 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. Anti-corruption protests have swept Haiti for the past two years, precipitated by evidence that the U.S.-backed governments of Haitian President Jovenel Moise and his predecessor misappropriated hundreds of millions of dollars from a Venezuelan aid program for subsidized oil. But for Castin, of the environmental group AREDE, who has played an active role in these protests, the fundamental issues at stakein the anti-government demonstrations and the ongoing struggle around the Caracol Industrial Parkare, in many ways, the same. In both cases, Haitians are fighting for greater accountability in how aid money is spent, and for a future that serves the needs of Haitian communities. At the 2010 UN donors conference, which was called Towards a New Future for Haiti, similar aspirations were voiced. Hillary Clinton acknowledged that years of prior aid to Haiti had failed to address basic needs, and emphasized the need for donors to hold ourselves accountable. Clinton warned, We cannot retreat to failed strategies. Yet U.S. aid in post-earthquake Haiti has been premised on longstanding imperialist assumptions, including the belief that Haitis most viable path of development is through foreign corporations taking advantage of devalued Haitian laboreven as Haitian export manufacturing workers continue to be paid less than any other workers in the hemisphereand the related belief that military control of Haitis population is required to ensure stability for foreign investment. Of the nearly $918 million Congress approved for recovery projects, more than $302 million (almost a third of the budget) was earmarked for governance and rule of law. In addition to funding the expansion of Minustah and prison construction, this U.S. recovery aid was used to strengthen the Haitian National Police (HNP), including support for its SWAT and civil order units. Since 1995, the United States has provided extensive support for this domestic police force in Haiti, which the Haitian government uses to keep the peacemost recently, to put down the anti-corruption protests. More than 40 Haitian protesters have been killed in clashes with the HNP since August 2019. The failures of the neoliberal policies that have long guided U.S. aid have never been more apparent than they are today in Haiti, a country that once produced enough food to feed its population in the 1980s and is now almost entirely dependent on U.S. food imports. Nelange places much of the blame on Haitis low minimum wages. Caracol factory workers like Nelange face U.S. prices for many food staples while earning a minimum day wagewhich was 420 gourdes, just under $5, until November 2019. Garment manufacturing companies in Haiti and their allies in the U.S. government have long fought wage increases. When Haitis lower parliament voted in March 2019 to raise the daily wage to about $8.25 for export manufacturing workers, S&H Global canceled an expansion at Caracol that would have created 10,000 jobs, choosing instead to send those jobs to the Dominican Republic. In the end, garment workers won only a modest increase, effective November 2019, to 500 gourdes (about $5.25 today). A spokesperson for Sae-A confirmed to In These Times that the company is nonetheless building a factory in D.R. as a backup now. Meanwhile, soaring inflation, combined with rapid devaluation of the gourde, has made basic necessities even more unaffordable. Reached by telephone in December 2019, Nelange said his family can now barely even afford potable water. You cant live, he says. Castin has some advice for future aid donors so as not to repeat the same mistakes as the Caracol Industrial Park. He emphasizes the need for a more participatory and transparent approach; advance assessments of the economic, social and environmental risks of aid projects; and mechanisms of accountability, including grievance offices in affected communities. At minimum, Castin says, the United States should not use American peoples tax money to finance projects that forcibly displace Haitian peasants from fertile land that is their principal source of revenue. The print version of this article incorrectly stated that the $202 million allocated by the United States for projects to support the Caracol Industrial Park represented a third of the U.S. Congressional funds for Haitis recovery that were not earmarked for debt relief or USAID operating expenses. The correct figure, indicated in the online version of the article, is nearly a quarter. The print article also incorrectly stated that Milostene Castin had been arrested and jailed in anti-corruption protests. In These Times regrets these errors. This story was supported by a grant from the Leonard C. Goodman Institute for Investigative Reporting. Sophonie M. Joseph provided translation assistance. Ria Bhagwat, Isabel Carter and Juan Caicedo provided fact-checking. Isabel MacDonald is an investigative journalist based in Montreal who has traveled to Haiti frequently since 2005. Jeremy Dupin is an Emmy-winning journalist and filmmaker. Never miss a story. Subscribe to the free In These Times weekly newsletter: Patrick Young waited in the woods to see who had put up a padlocked gate across the entrance to a cemetery where his family has been buried since the time they were enslaved. He had driven up to tend to the graves as he always did when he saw the gate. At first, he figured the people who put up the gate just hadnt known it was a cemetery. But when he told the next person who came to the gate who, he said, worked for one of the many companies that have moved in over the last few decades nothing changed. I was just thinking, what was wrong with these folks? said Young, 50, of the incident around six years ago. If something happened to me, I dont want to be forgotten like that. The Pleasant Green-Culbertson cemetery, which sits in northeast Houston behind roads peppered with concrete plants and trucking depots, is just one of thousands of eroding African-American cemeteries across the state, in danger of being erased as descendants of those buried have died out, moved out or been pushed out. Many of the cemeteries are long gone. For years, mainstream historians didnt pay attention to them; now genealogists, historians and families are rushing to save them. None of the companies in the area around the cemetery have returned requests for comment. The cemetery area is surrounded by more than a dozen plants and industrial areas: concrete, trucking, oil, cranes, welding, suspension repairs and freight cars. Texas law requires owners of land around cemeteries to designate reasonable entry and exit routes, and its illegal to tamper with a grave. Young isnt sure if pushing his way through the woods around the graves when he used to drive right up is reasonable. Theres no set way in: He found the way there in 10 minutes on a recent day, but spent 30 minutes getting lost on the way back . This aint right, he muttered, pushing tree branches and thorns away as he walked toward the graves. It aint right. On HoustonChronicle.com: The first black city in Texas is on the verge of losing its identity. The tract of land where the cemetery sits was once part of a plantation, bought by Youngs great-great-grandfather, who was born a slave. He saved enough when he was freed to buy 12 acres for his 12 children. All those people buried back there theyre all my relatives, said 70-year-old Patricia Angel, Youngs mother. The reason I really stayed here is because Ive always been concerned about the cemetery. Angel grew up tending the cemetery with her mother. Whenever there was a funeral, her grandfather and his brothers dug the grave and uncles, aunts and cousins followed behind the horse-drawn hearse. After the burial, Angel and her cousins checked every so often to see how long it took the dirt to settle. The cemetery today has a few dozen headstones poking out of overgrown trees, partially covered by fall leaves, kept up only by Angel and then, when she couldnt, by Young. A small stone marks a babys grave. One headstone on the banks of the bayou has a Masons mark. Even when Angel was growing up, the cemetery was overgrown. I used to ask my mother, Why didnt we have somebody clean the grave? she said. Whos supposed to do that? Angels mother didnt have an answer. On HoustonChronicle.com: For Houston families who flooded twice in four months, building Christmas traditions feels impossible Harris County Commissioners Court on Dec. 7 approved creation of an advisory board on preserving African-American heritage and culture that could help guide the county as these issues come up. Harris County has jurisdiction over the cemetery itself. But Houston and Harris County officials differed as to who had jurisdiction over the roads. Frida Villabolos, communications director for Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia, said the roads were the city of Houstons responsibility; Erin Jones in the Houston Public Works Department said the roads were part of something called an unrestricted subdivision and not in the citys purview. The Texas Historical Commission estimates that there are 50,000 cemeteries in Texas, from unmarked graves to rows of matching headstones behind a church. Its not clear how many are African American. Efforts like the Texas Freedom Colonies Project are trying to track African American settlements and cemeteries with an eye toward preservation (Texas Freedom Colonies has so far found 500 settlements established by freed slaves). Houston-area groups have made progress with individual cemeteries: One group, a nonprofit called Descendants of Olivewood, rallied volunteers to care for an African-American cemetery northwest of downtown Houston that dates back to the late 1800s. Another Houston-area cemetery holds black veterans. In Sugar Land, the remains of 95 black people forced into labor after emancipation were discovered in a Fort Bend ISD school construction site, a discovery that plunged the district into months of controversy. Nationally, Rep. A. Donald McEachin (D-Va.) and Rep. Alma Adams (D-N.C.) introduced the African American Burial Grounds Network Act in February 2019 to better track cemeteries and streamline research and grants (the bill wound up in House subcommittees). The neglect of African-American cemeteries and communities can be the byproduct of government-level racism, said Nadia Orton, a genealogist and researcher specializing in African-American cemeteries. In a lot of former black communities, you can see signs that say: State maintenance ends right here, she said. And the black community is way beyond that. When there are disputes over who owns the land around a cemetery, Orton said, preservationists and even families have a much harder time reclaiming the burial ground. On HoustonChronicle.com: Families of the homeless deal with grief, guilt and fear. They largely do it alone. Angel has lived in the community near the cemetery since she was born. Once full of her familys houses, its now tucked so far behind industry most people dont know they exist. And while she wants help with the cemetery most, she wishes someone would take care of the unpaved, bumpy road that once made it hard for an ambulance to come get her. For the city, thats still a question of jurisdiction. (Angel says she remembers her road getting city street signs in the 1970s. She said city officials let the family name it, and they chose Guessena after a cousin.) Angel also keeps an eye on the surrounding industry and the vehicles that come through. She uses a walker now so she cant do what she used to: Jump in front of trucks going to lay down gas pipe and make them stop so she could get the license number to verify that they had a right to be there (My husband said, Youre gonna get run over like that. And I said, You better get the license if they run me over!). She hears banging and metallic whines all night and day. Some of the surrounding plants release clouds of gray dust into the air. Her fruit trees died. Her surviving siblings are happy that shes there to watch over the cemetery. But with her walker, and her eyesight going, the day-to-day care has fallen to Young. She loves watching him get excited about the family history. The other day, she said, her granddaughter Youngs oldest daughter called her and said, Grandma, I thought we just owned these houses. I have to get me my acre! Angel calls herself the family library. Along with the cemetery care, shes passing that history the books down to her son. When your momma and daddy gone, she said, whos gonna tell you about this history? sarah.smith@chron.com Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday Iran "knew from the start" it downed a passenger plane. "They knew that it was an unintentional downing but they lied intentionally," said Netanyahu during a weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, "they deceived the entire world." Iran deployed riot police in the capital on Sunday expecting possible protests after its Revolutionary Guard admitted to accidentally shooting down a passenger plane at a time of soaring tensions with the United States. The plane crash early Wednesday killed all 176 people on board, mostly Iranians and Iranian-Canadians. After initially blaming a technical failure, authorities finally admitted to accidentally shooting it down in the face of mounting evidence and accusations by Western leaders. The plane was shot down as Iran braced for retaliation after firing ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq housing US forces. The ballistic missile attack, which caused no casualties, was a response to the killing of General Qassem Soleimani, Iran's top general, in a US airstrike in Baghdad. Netanyahu also expressed his sorrow at the death of Sultan Qaboos bin Said and offered condolences to the people of Oman. In 2018, the sultan hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a surprise visit, further cementing Oman's strategic ability to be a facilitator and even mediator. In a tweet Saturday, Netanyahu said that the meeting was "unbelievably important and exciting," and called the late sultan "a great leader who worked tirelessly to promote peace and stability in our region." Oman's new ruler, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, vowed Saturday to uphold his predecessor Sultan Qaboos bin Said's foreign policy. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-13 05:49:16|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close A Chinese dance troupe performs during a Chinese folk custom fair in Kampala, Uganda, Jan. 12, 2020. Thousands of people including Ugandans, Chinese community members and foreigners living in the east African country on Sunday thronged Kololo ceremonial grounds in Kampala to enjoy the first ever Chinese folk custom fair, also known as temple fair. It was fanfare as Ugandans and other foreigners walked through the journey of various Chinese cultures that were exhibited. For the Chinese community, although home is thousands of kilometers away, they still got a warm reminder of their cultural traditions. The temple fair was held ahead of the upcoming Chinese Spring Festival, or the Lunar New Year, which falls on Jan. 25 this year. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua) KAMPALA, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of people including Ugandans, Chinese community members and foreigners living in the east African country on Sunday thronged Kololo ceremonial grounds in Kampala to enjoy the first ever Chinese folk custom fair, also known as temple fair. It was fanfare as Ugandans and other foreigners walked through the journey of various Chinese cultures that were exhibited. For the Chinese community, although home is thousands of kilometers away, they still got a warm reminder of their cultural traditions. Zhong Shuangquan, a Chinese investor in Uganda told Xinhua in an interview that holding the fair is important especially for the youthful Chinese who are overseas. He said the fair helps to remind the youths born or studying overseas to cherish their traditional culture. "Our culture is that no matter where you are, you will always go back home and gather with your family and celebrate the lunar New Year," Zhong said. "Our young generation cannot go back to China to celebrate that is why the Chinese community in Uganda decided to organize the temple fair." The stalls at the fair exhibited various cultures from different parts of China. Traditional Chinese dishes were a major highlight. Chinese cultural performances like Kungfu and dances mixed with local Ugandan performances caught the attention of the revelers. In an interview with Xinhua, Sylvia Kabatesi, a Ugandan reveler said she noticed some similarities in the way drums are played during Chinese and Ugandan cultural performances. "I heard the way they beat their drum is similar to ours here. I liked the way Ugandans danced the traditional Chinese dances. It is good to see them do something from another country," Kabatesi said. Tracy Hathorn, a foreign resident in Uganda who visited the show said she was amazed by the way the Chinese people relish their culture. "I loved everything the minute I arrived here, it felt like I was back in China," she said. Hathorn said culture is a key factor that describes a group of people. Besides the Chinese products that were also exhibited, like construction equipment, a Chinese medical team was on ground administering among others ancient Chinese medicine. "I have a frozen shoulder. I had a fracture in my shoulder so I could not move my hand backwards, but after this I can take it at least halfway through," Rahul Gajbhiye told Xinhua after getting treatment from the Chinese medical team at one of the stalls. Gajbhiye said doctors have asked him to go to the China-Uganda Friendship Hospital twice a week so that his shoulder can be completely healed. The temple fair was held ahead of the upcoming Chinese Spring Festival, or the Lunar New Year, which falls on Jan. 25 this year. A reader who asked that I not print his name said this makes cars more prone to theft. Basically what happens is that the thief gets an electronic signal repeater and uses it to echo the electronic signals between the car and the wireless key fob, he wrote. This makes the car respond as if its talking to the key fob, and makes the key fob respond as if its talking to the car. Once the two are talking, the car can be unlocked, started, and driven away. A producer who has served pork leadership at both the state and national levels is being recognized with the Dedicated and Distinguished award from the South Dakota Pork Producers Council. Steve Rommereim will receive the award at the Master Pork Producers Banquet in Sioux Falls Jan. 15. The Dedicated and Distinguished Service Award recognizes an individual who provides outstanding and dedicated service to the pork industry. "Steve has certainly demonstrated this type of service, South Dakota Pork executive board member Bill Larsen of Wolsey said. Steve and his wife Charlotte farm near Alcester, in southeastern South Dakota. They have two daughters. Rommereim is the owner, manager and operator of Highland Swine, which markets 12,000 pigs annually. He and his family are also part owners in SDI Pork LLC, which finishes 120,000 hogs a year. Rommereim was elected to the National Pork Board in 2014 representing South Dakota on a national level. During his tenure, he served in each officer role, including president in 2018 and on numerous committees, including the 2020 Strategic Planning Task Force. He is past president of the South Dakota Pork Producers Association, Ag United for South Dakota and currently serves on the South Dakota Animal Industry Board. Rommereim was recently elected to the executive committee for the U.S. Animal Health Association. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Australian actress Naomi Watts has lived in the Big Apple for more than 10 years. And on Saturday, the Hollywood star blended in like a true local as she zipped around New York's streets and sidewalks on a scooter. The mother-of-two, 51, looked casual-yet-chic as she ran errands with her youngest, Samuel 'Kai', 11. Having a wheelie good time! Naomi Watts (pictured) zipped around New York City on Saturday, choosing to run errands on a scooter with her youngest child Naomi shares her two children (Alexander, 12, and Samuel - who prefers the name Kai, 11) with her ex-partner Liev Schreiber, 52, who she split with in 2016 after 11 years together. The Mulholland Drive star kept her look low-key with blue flared jeans, and a white blouse with a camel corduroy coat. She accessorised minimally with pink-rimmed sunglasses and a handbag slung across her body. Casual-yet-chic star! The Mulholland Drive star kept her look low-key with blue flared jeans, and a white blouse with a camel corduroy coat Naomi's blonde locks blew back in the wind as she moved with speed on the scooter, making sure to wear suitable shoes for the outing. Later in the trip, she was seen with a plastic bag hanging off one of the handles. The New York-based star was joined by her eldest child, who was dressed in grey trousers and a green jacket. She's a cool mum! Naomi's child Kai, 11, joined her for the outing on their own scooter Despite her breakup from ex-partner Liev Schreiber, the former couple have remained on friendly terms and are committed to co-parenting their two children. Naomi has since been romantically linked to her Gypsy co-star Billy Crudup while Liev is rumoured to be dating Miss South Dakota, Taylor Niesen, 26. Naomi recently spent the Christmas holidays Down Under with her two children, but returned to Los Angeles last week for the Golden Globes. A driver caught speeding at nearly 130mph told cops he was driving so fast because he was late for We Are Vertigo. The PSNI's Road Policing Unit said the motorist, who was driving a Renault Clio, gave the woeful excuse after being pulled over near Randalstown on Saturday morning. The 22-year-old has been reported for speeding on the A6 dual carriageway. An officer posted on social media: "RPU officers detected this speed near Randalstown this morning. The drivers excuse was they were late for Vertigo. Should have left earlier." We Are Vertigo is an inflatapark and activity centre in Belfast. Great family time, bouncing around @Weare_vertigo today. Apparently they also do team building sessions... pic.twitter.com/Jvl0NKEQs1 Julian Smith MP (@JulianSmithUK) January 11, 2020 Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith visited the centre on Saturday after successfully negotiating a deal to restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland. On social media he joked We Are Vertigo is good for "team building". The 1968 Ford Mustang GT driven by Steve McQueen in the legendary chase scene in the movie Bullitt sold on Friday for $3.74 million. Its a record auction price for any Mustang ever sold, said Dana Mecum, the principal of the auction house, Mecum Auctions, that sold the car. It is the Mona Lisa of Mustangs. The price was about 25 percent higher than even his pre-sale estimate, Mr. Mecum said, which he had considered somewhat optimistic. The reply from the seller, Sean Kiernan, a Kentucky horse farmer, was even more succinct: Holy smokes! His family bought the car in 1974 for $3,500 in response to a classified ad in Road & Track magazine. This has been in my family for 45 years. Its only been sold twice before for $3,500 each time its sold. Thats what my dad bought it for, so thats what we started the auction off at. And it went from there. Earlier this month, Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) announced the launch of the Saudi Arabian Logistics (SAL) Co., the new independent entity within the Saudia Group which will act as the main cargo gate and ground handling and logistics services hub across the Saudi airports. The launch was announced in a grand ceremony held in Riyadh and attended by the Governor of Customs Authority Ahmad Al-Haqbani, Abdulhadi Al-Mansouri, president of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (Gaca); Anef Abanomi, president of Saudi Post; Sami Sindi, the Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) director general, the directors of government agencies working at Saudi airports, CEOs of the companies and the strategic units of the Saudia, cargo and aviation transport experts. A speech was delivered by Fawaz Al-Fawaz, chairman of SAL Board, underscoring SAL logistics goal and its pivotal role in achieving the Vision 2030 objectives. Al-Fawaz thanked everyone who had a contributory role in founding the company, which will usher in a new logistics era keeping up with the growth and development across the precious Kingdom. Following the speech, Saleh Bin Nasser Al-Jasser, the Minister of Transport, announced the official launch of the SAL brand into the world of logistics services. SAL CEO Omar Talal Hariri delivered a speech and played a short video explaining the SAL goals and brand identity. SAL aims to provide integrated logistics operations and ground handling services. It acts as a link between land and sea shipping and the Saudi airports in line with the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program, which is one of the pivotal themes of the Vision 2030, especially in the light of the gigantic economic transformation the kingdom has been seeing. SAL will improve the quality of logistics operations and support the kingdoms vision towards transforming the country into a global logistics hub handling all types of cargo and shipping operations," pointed out Hariri. Gaca president handed over GACAR 151 license to SAL CEO, which qualifies SAL to officially provide ground-handling services at King Khalid International Airports cargo station. Al-Jasser noted that one of the SAL strategic goals is to invest in the kingdoms strategic location as the heart and the crossroads of key international trade routes between three continents: Asia, Europe and Africa and a distinctive logistical getaway between the East and the West and all over the world. Describing the logistics service sector as vital and strategic, Al-Jasser commended the milestone developments achieved so far and hoped to see more public and private sector partnerships that help support and bolster the comprehensive development across the nation in this prosperous era as well as contribute to achieving the logistic goals of Vision 2030. He hopes SAL will have a noticeable effect on the overall logistics industry. The unprecedented comprehensive development projects being implemented require all government agencies and the private sector to join forces in order to execute similar projects that help develop logistical services and efficiency. The government views the transportation sector as pivotal and works to develop it in order to provide the best transportation and integrated logistics services that keep up with the comprehensive development programs. SAL is one of the ambitious initiatives, Al-Jasser said. Sindi said SAL will improve the efficiency of logistics operations and ground handling services through integrating land and sea transportation operations and linking them with the Saudi airports in order to enhance logistical services across all stages. SAL will contribute directly to enhancing and developing the logistics infrastructure including all types of cargo platforms, warehouses and equipment as well as e-commerce cargo and shipping facilities, Sindi explained. He said SAL will start its business activities in January 2020 and offer high-quality logistics and ground handling services in line with the national and development goals. It will also create more economic and development opportunities through forging strategic partnerships with different local and global logistics service providers. - TradeArabia News Service 56% of Americans say they disapprove of President Trump's handling of heightened tensions with Iran, according to an ABC News poll conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs. Why it matters: 52% of Americans said the Trump administration's decision to kill Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani in an airstrike makes them feel "less safe," despite assurances from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other top officials that the U.S. is safer with Soleimani gone. By the numbers: Approval of the airstrike breaks down along party lines. 87% of Republicans approved of Trump's decision-making on Iran, and 54% said they feel safer. 90% Democrats said they disapproved, and 82% feel less safe. 57% of independents a key electoral target for both parties disapprove of Trump's handling of the situation, with 51% saying they feel less safe. Methodology: This poll was conducted between Jan. 1011 in English and in Spanish, among a random national sample of 525 adults. It has a margin of sampling error of 4.8 points. Go deeper: JACKSON, MI If youre looking for a way to escape the dreariness of winter, Jacksons Michigan Theatre has you covered. The theaters Thursday Night Film Series started with East of Eden on Jan. 9 and runs through March 26. On Monday nights, Jackson College hosts the Winter Film Series at the theater at 124 N. Mechanic St. in downtown Jackson. Thursday night films are $5 a person and free for members of the Michigan Theatre. The films start at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. A membership to the theater is $25 a year. Becoming a member at the Michigan Theatre not only gets you into movies for free but it makes you part of the team, and the team is poised to finish the full restoration of the theater in 2020, Executive Director Steve Tucker said. Monday night films are $5 a person and start at 7:15 p.m. The doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the auditorium opens at 7 p.m., according to a Jackson College news release. Its growing every year, Tucker said. We also have the Monday Night College Film Series and thats growing every year too. Heres a list of scheduled movies. Films on March 16, 23, 30 and April 6 have not been decided. March 9 is spring break for Jackson College. Thursday, Jan. 9: 1955s East of Eden Monday, Jan. 13: 1921s The Kid Thursday, Jan. 16: 2019s The Last Black Man in San Francisco Monday, Jan. 20: 1955s East of Eden Thursday, Jan. 23: 1969s Easy Rider Monday, Jan. 27: 2019s The Farewell Thursday, Jan. 30: 1989s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Monday, Feb. 3: 1942s Casablanca Thursday, Feb. 6: 2019s Rocketman Monday, Feb. 10: 1998s The Big Lebowski Thursday, Feb. 13: 1961s Breakfast at Tiffanys Monday, Feb. 17: 1961s Breakfast at Tiffanys Thursday, Feb. 20: 2019s Once Upon a Time In Hollywood Monday, Feb. 24: 1954s Dial M. for Murder Thursday, Feb. 27: 2019s The Lighthouse Monday, March 2: 2017s Lady Bird Thursday, March 5: 1989s Batman Thursday, March 12: 1989s Lethal Weapon 2 Thursday, March 26: 2019s Jojo Rabbit Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-13 02:12:02|Editor: yan Video Player Close BAGHDAD, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Four Iraqi airforce personnel were wounded on Sunday in a round of rocket barrage on the Balad airbase in Iraq's central province of Salahudin, said the Iraqi military. A statement by the media office affiliated with the Iraqi Joint Operations Command said that eight Katyusha rockets landed on the airbase, which previously housed U.S. troops and is located some 90 km north of Iraqi capital Baghdad, injuring two officers and two soldiers. The Balad air base is the largest military air base in Iraq, also known by the U.S. forces as Logistics Support Activity (LSA) Anaconda. The airbase was housing a number of U.S. troops and advisors of a U.S. company operating the Iraqi F-16 jet fighters, but they withdrew about a week ago after the international U.S.-led coalition announced the suspension of its operations against the Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, which came a few days after Qais al-Khazali, leader of the Iraqi Iran-backed Shiite militia Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, said the Iranian initial response to the killing of the Iranian military leader is done and it is time for Iraq to respond to the U.S. airstrike. Al-Khazali's threat came after Iran fired ballistic missiles on Wednesday 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. 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. More than 5,000 U.S. troops have been deployed in Iraq to support the Iraqi forces in the battles against Islamic State militants. By Trend Armenian provocations against the combat positions of the Gazakh separate border division of the Border Troops of the State Border Service of Azerbaijan (SBS), which guards the state border in the Gazakh and Agstafa districts, is continuing, Trend reports with reference to the SBS. In recent days, border guard posts and military vehicles of the SBS, which are moving in the rear direction, have been repeatedly subjected to intense shelling from large-caliber guns and sniper rifles by units of the Armenian Armed Forces at different times of the day. In all cases, the provocations were stopped, the firing positions of the Armenian Armed Forces, from where the SBS border posts were shelled, were suppressed by return fire. 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 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 districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. Coca-Cola Vietnam has paid VND471 billion (US$20.3 million) of the VND821 billion ($35.4 million) in fines and tax arrears it is asked to settle by Vietnamese tax authorities due to incorrect tax declaration, both sides confirmed on Friday. Vu Thanh Truc, public relations and sustainability manager at Coca-Cola Vietnam, said on Friday afternoon that the beverage company had made the VND471 billion payment within ten days of the request by the General Department of Taxation (GDT) although it does not agree with most of the conclusions of the tax governing body. According to the tax departments conclusions, Coca-Cola Vietnam owed more than VND471 billion 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 is 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. In Fridays statement, Truc said the firm had only made some small mistakes and is always committed to ensuring full compliance with all local tax requirements and obligations, echoing words said a day earlier by Coca-Cola Vietnam CEO Peeyush Sharma. GDT deputy general director Dang Ngoc Minh confirmed Coca-Cola Vietnams payment on Friday. The VND471 billion payment made by Coca-Cola Vietnam covers its tax arrears, while the company still owes more than VND288.6 billion in late tax payment fines and over VND61.6 billion in fines for administrative violations. Minh said the outstanding fines must be paid off within ten days or "Coca-Cola Vietnam will have to pay additional fines for any late payment." The tax official added the company reserves the right to appeal against the tax departments conclusions if it believes they are incorrect. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! CLEVELAND, Ohio It might be hard, at least for some Americans, to grasp the full meaning of President Trumps threat last week to attack Iranian cultural sites if war broke out with the U.S., and why his words sparked a swift negative response around the world. Why the fuss? Iran is 8.5 time zones away. Its a place Americans cant easily visit, given 40 years of hostilities between the two countries. Artworks arent made of flesh and blood. Life is more precious than paintings or sculpture. But the Cleveland Museum of Art, where the permanent collection is open free to the public six days a week, is an excellent place to understand the fragility of global heritage and how it contributes to our common humanity. On view in Gallery 116 on the ground floor of the museums 1916 building are more than a dozen examples of elaborate metalwork and luminous lusterware ceramics from Iran, dating from the 900s to the 1600s. Mixed in with centuries-old artworks from the present-day territories of Syria and Iraq, these beautiful objects have survived the ebb and flow of the Turko-Persian Seljuk Empire, the Mongol Ilkhanid Empire and the Persian Safavid Dynasty. Anchoring the gallery is a majestic early 17th century ceramic tile prayer niche, or mihrab, resplendent in heavenly turquoise and deep blue and covered with elegant thuluth script spelling out Koranic verses declaring that God is the light of the Heavens and the Earth. The niche is from Isfahan, one of 22 UNESCO World Heritage sites in Iran, and a place possibly on the target list whose existence Trump mentioned a week ago Saturday. If the U.S. were to attack such sites, it would mean destroying places from which the artworks on view at the museum originated. And once such places are gone, theyre gone forever, said Associate Professor Maggie Popkin of Case Western Reserve University, a specialist in ancient Roman art and architecture. Were talking about things that have stood the test of time literally for thousands of years, she said. Deliberately destroying cultural sites has long been considered an atrocity, not to mention a war crime. The world was outraged in August, 1914 when invading German forces burned Louvain in neutral Belgium to retaliate against civilian snipers in the opening weeks of World War I. In the process, the Germans notoriously destroyed the citys famous university library, which held 300,000 manuscripts. The Taliban earned global condemnation in 2001 by destroying two monumental 6th-century statues of Buddha at Bamiyan, Afghanistan, as part of an effort to erase the countrys pre-Islamic past. The Islamic state in 2015, destroyed most of the ancient Iraqi city of Nimrud, and Greco-Roman ruins in the Syrian city of Palmyra as part of a widespread campaign of destruction. Could the U.S. follow such examples? Under Trump, the possibility cant be ruled out now. The president tweeted a week ago Saturday that the U.S. would attack cultural sites in Iran if the country retaliated for the U.S. drone strike in Baghdad a day earlier that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani. Trumps comment drew swift negative reaction from cultural authorities around the world and in the U.S. The Cleveland Museum of Art, the Toledo Museum of Art and the Cincinnati Art Museum issued statements that echoed condemnations by organizations including the Association of Art Museum Directors, representing 225 institutions, and the American Alliance of Museums, representing several thousand. Trump half-heartedly backpedaled on his threat on Tuesday. On Wednesday, tensions eased between the U.S. and Iran after a non-lethal Iranian missile strike on the Ain al-Assad air base in Iraq, which hosts U.S. and coalition troops. For now, it seems less likely that American forces could vandalize cultural sites. But given that our norm-busting president often reverses himself, its unclear what he would do if hostilities break out again. One of the defining features of this presidency is that its hard to know whats going to happen until it happens, Popkin said. Its hard to say what statements from the administration mean or dont mean. As a city of culture, Cleveland has long embodied values opposed to the presidents threat. Examples at the museum go beyond the Islamic artworks on view in Gallery 116. The museum is full of former Nazi loot recovered by heroic Monuments Men in World War II, including native Clevelander James Rorimer, who became director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York after the war. Sherman Lee, the Cleveland museums director from 1958 to 1983, famously served as a Monuments Man in Japan after World War II, working to safeguard the countrys artistic treasures and to make them available to the public. Lee also left Cleveland and the nation an unforgettable lesson about the fragility of art. Shortly after midnight on March 24, 1970, someone placed a bomb beneath Auguste Rodins Thinker on the museums south steps. The bombing took place during violent unrest over the war in Vietnam, but a connection has never been proven; the case remains unsolved. Instead of restoring the sculpture, Lee decided to put it back on its pedestal as a permanent object lesson about how art survives wars and terrorism only through trust. We stand for preservation, said arts leader and museum trustee Fred Bidwell. We have to stand against destruction. The DSP, who is a decorated police officer, was awarded the Presidentas Police Medial for gallantry in August last year. (Photo Credit: Twitter/ANI) New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir police on Saturday arrested a decorated Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) along with two Hizbul Mujahideen militants in a counter-terror operation in Qazigund area of Kulgam district. Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Vijay Kumar, IG, Jaamu and Kashmir Police said, Yesterday during an operation in Sophian, one Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) was arrested along with two wanted Hizbul Mujahideen militants. Vijay Kumar, IG, J&K Police: Yesterday during an operation in Sophian, one Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) was arrested along with two wanted Hizbul Mujahideen militants, while they were travelling together in a vehicle on National Highway. Interrogation is underway. pic.twitter.com/u5alCpNFPW ANI (@ANI) January 12, 2020 Moreover, the police on Sunday registered an FIR under various laws of unlawful activities act against DSP Davinder Singh and two Hizbul militants. The trio is being investigated at the SOG camp at Aminoo village in Kulgam. The accused were booked under different sections of Arms act and Explosive substance act at Qazigund police station and the police recovered two rifles and several grenades from them. Also Read: Senior J-K Police Officer Detained In Car With Top Hizbul, Lashkar Terrorists The DSP, who is a decorated police officer, was awarded the Presidents Police Medial for gallantry in August last year. A former counter-insurgency officer, the DSP was presently posted at the sensitive Srinagar international airport, say reports. Also Read: Jammu And Kashmir Administration Revokes Public Safety Act Against 26 Detainees DSP Davinder Singh's name had also surfaced in the 2001 parliment attack. In a letter to his lawyer from Tihar jail, prime accused Afzal Guru, had said that he was forced by the then J-K SOG Davinder Singh to take one of the attackers to New Delhi, rent a flat for his stay and purchase him a car, reports India Today. DSP Singh had played an important role in anti-terror operations in Kashmir when militancy was at peak in the valley after 1994. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Beirut, Jan 12 : Thousands of protesters took to the streets across Lebanon to demonstrate against the appointment of Prime Minister Hassan Diab. The protesters on saturday said that they refused Diab's appointment because it would empower corrupted political parties who were adopting the same old concept of arguing about shares in the government, which should not be the case amid the current pressing economic and financial challenges prevailing in the country, reports Xinhua news agency. "This concept is no longer accepted in Lebanon. Officials are still allocating ministries among them while neglecting people's demands," a civil society protester said. Protesters, who have started nationwide movements, have been asking for the formation of a government with independent ministers who are capable of introducing structural reforms to save the country's deteriorating economy. However, Diab has so far failed to form a new cabinet due to interferences by the different political parties who are trying to protect their shares in the coming government. Lebanon is in dire need for a new cabinet as it has been going through a very tough economic and financial crisis caused by failing policies of successive governments which resulted in a public debt of over $86 billion. The country has also witnessed in the past few months a shortage in US dollars caused by economic slowdown and the drop in cash injections from Lebanese abroad, reducing the central bank's foreign currency reserves and leading to a shortage in dollar for businesses and individuals. This has prompted banks to put restrictions on withdrawals of depositors creating fear among depositors about the future of their deposits. The 'Black Widow' killer Linda Calvey has revealed that she used to do Myra Hindley's hair in prison despite calling the child murderer a 'b****' and slapping her during their first meeting behind bars. Linda Calvey was jailed for 18 years in Holloway Prison, London, over her involvement in the death of her lover, Ronnie Cook - despite protesting her innocence. It was there that she rubbed shoulders with some of the UK's most notorious serial killers including Myra Hindley and Rose West. The 'Black Widow' killer Linda Calvey (pictured in 1978) has revealed that she used to do Myra Hindley's hair in prison despite calling the child murderer a 'b****' and slapping her during their first meeting behind bars 'The first time I saw Myra Hindley she was doing her laundry and singing to herself. 'I marched straight over and slapped her in the face and said, "You b****! How can you sing like that when you've killed little children?" She was very bitter and believed she didn't deserve prison. 'There was nothing nice about her, she had a horrible, cold way,' she said, according to the Mirror. Hindley had been in partnership with Ian Brady in the rape and murder of five small children, which became known as the Moors Murders, before police received a tip off from her brother-in-law in 1965. Calvey said that Myra Hindley (pictured), who had been in partnership with Ian Brady in the rape and murder of five small children, was 'very particular' about getting her hair dyed dark red once a month But Calvey and Hindley ended up having number of run-ins after Calvey got a prison job doing the other inmates' hair. She said that Hindley was 'very particular' about getting her hair dyed dark red once a month and would often sit and smoke roll-up cigarettes. Hindley would often ask Calvey to speak to her mother on the phone and clear spiders out of her cell but Calvey said that they were never friends. Calvey had grown up in Ilford, east London, alongside eight siblings. She had started dating convicted armed robber Mickey Calvey in 1968 following a chance meeting as a teenager. She had been taken to a party by some of her friends that was to celebrate his release from prison after serving eight years for robbing an M&S security van. The pair married and had two children - Melanie, now 49, and Neil, now 45. Calvey insists that she only got involved in hard crime after Mickey's death in 1978 when he was shot by police during an armed raid at a supermarket. Linda received 18 years in Holloway (pictured) which made her Britain's longest-serving female prisoner for a time She started her life of crime as a menacing getaway driver before becoming a gun-toting robber targeting post offices and banks. Later, she became a leading figure in the underworld, claiming that she was addressed as 'Lady Boss' and was dubbed the Queen of the East End underworld. Calvey is believed to have earned 1million from her armed robberies but claims that she actually stole 100,000 a raid, suggesting the actual earnings are considerably higher. She was eventually caught and given a seven-year sentence for armed robbery and was forced to leave her two young children behind in the care of her mother. Calvey (pictured with children Melanie, now 49, and Neil, now 45) has since released an autobiography about her life as well as turning her hand to fiction Linda began a relationship with Ronnie Cook when she was released but Cook was still behind bars. But he was murdered on the day of his release 18 months later in what was thought to be an attempted robbery gone wrong. Calvey had described a masked man kicking down the door of her kitchen before shooting Cook in the elbow and head. Police investigated and accused Calvey of paying hit-man Daniel Reece 10,000 to shoot her lover. Reece was sentenced to life in prison with Linda receiving 18 years which made her Britain's longest-serving female prisoner for a time. She has since released an autobiography about her life as well as turning her hand to fiction. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said he wants to take further action to tackle climate change and flagged a royal commission into the horror bushfire season but indicated the crisis would not lead to any increase in his government's target to reduce carbon emissions by 2030. Arguing that Australians now expected the federal government and defence forces to respond more directly to national emergencies, Mr Morrison used a lengthy interview on Sunday morning to say a royal commission that considered climate change and examined federal-state relations was "necessary" to formulate a long-term response to the threat of more catastrophic fires. The Prime Minister also expressed regret about his holiday in Hawaii as the fires spread in a television interview on Sunday. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Asked about his leadership during the bushfire season that has so far claimed 28 lives and destroyed more than 2050 homes, The Prime Minister also conceded there were some things he could have done better when visiting fire-razed communities while saying he visited affected communities "in good faith". "There are things I could have handled on the ground much better," Mr Morrison told the ABC. Suru Avoseh, a member, Lagos State Civil Service Commission, says no fewer than 50,000 applicants applied for one thousand vacant teaching jobs announced by the state government in 2019. Mr Avoseh made this known during the New Year Party organised by the Badagry Women Development Forum on Sunday in Badagry. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Lagos State Government had on November 11 announced the plans to employ one thousand teachers into the public secondary schools across the state. Mr Avoseh said some of the applicants that qualified for the job had been invited for the examination. After the examination, those that passed and meet up with the standard will be called for oral interviews. At present, some of the applicants who succeeded in the examination have started receiving text messages through their phone numbers. It is certain that not everybody that applied for the job will be employed, and not all that passed the examination will be given employment, the commission member said. He said that the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and Civil Service Commission would soon start to employ people in the state. We will soon start employment too; every motion has been put in place and we have discussed it with the Head of Service. Currently, we have commenced staff auditing to know the number of vacancies to be filled up. It is after the auditing that the commission will be able to tell Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu the number of staff to be employed. So, we are making the preparation now, Mr Avoseh said. He challenged women in Badagry to take over from the men in politics for the sake of development of the city. Mr Avoseh urged them to fight for their rightful place in politics, adding that they had every right to contest for any political post of their choice. Also, Funmilola Olajide, Director, Lagos State Office of Special Education, urged women to be best friends of their children. Mrs Olajide said that this would make the children tell them things that happened outside their homes. Create time for your children so that when they are abused they will tell you. Stop putting them under an uncle or your nearby friend; this is dangerous because these area sisters can abuse them. Always make children feel at home, she said. In her remarks, Joy Damilola, a Human Resource Consultant, said women should be warriors at her home-front. Women are warriors, we need to be warriors; we need to be warriors at home, and we have to fight for our children, husbands and families. It does not mean to be physical; it should be a spiritual fight. Fight with prayer to save your home, she said. READ ALSO: Advertisements Commenting, Sewede Pot-Balogun, the Coordinator, Badagry Women Development Forum, said that the purpose of the forum was to fight for rightful position for women in the town. Mrs Pot-Balogun said that the forum consisted of women from different professionals such as lawyers, doctors, engineers, bankers and teachers, among others. She commended the members for standing firm and support since 2017 when it was formed. (NAN) ROR/ENN/GOK News St. Louis, Missouri - A St. Louis resident was sentenced to 48 months in prison Thursday for his role in a tax fraud scheme, announced 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. In particular, Taiwo, Williams, and others accessed from a data breach at a payroll company the information of hundreds of individuals, including school district employees in Alabama and Mississippi. The co-conspirators then used the information to file false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). They sought to conceal their fraud by filing the tax returns under electronic filing identification numbers that the IRS issued to tax return preparation businesses that they obtained without authorization. The conspirators directed that the claimed refunds be mailed to their residences in St. Louis. In total, Taiwo and his co-conspirators filed more than 2,000 fraudulent tax returns that claimed more than $12 million in refunds, of which the IRS paid out $889,712. The Department remains committed to prosecuting those who use stolen identities to steal money from the United States by filing false tax returns and claiming fraudulent tax refunds, said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman. As todays sentence makes clear, there is a heavy price to pay for such criminal conduct. Todays sentencing of Babtunde Taiwo highlights how seriously IRS Criminal Investigation and our law enforcement partners take the issue of identity theft, said Thomas Holloman, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. We will continue to pursue criminals who prey on innocent victims and we will continue to enforce our nations tax laws. Todays sentencings should send a clear message to would-be criminals you will be caught and you will be punished. In addition to the term of imprisonment, Senior U.S. District Judge Catherine D. Perry ordered Taiwo to serve a term of three years of supervised release and to pay restitution to the United States in the amount of $889,712. Co-conspirator Williams was previously sentenced to 78 months in prison for his role in this scheme as well as voter fraud and re-entering the United States after having been removed. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Jensen commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Postal Inspection Service, as well as the Dothan Alabama Police Department and Alexander City Alabama Police Department, who investigated the case, and Trial Attorneys Michael C. Boteler and Grace Albinson of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting this case with assistance from the United States Attorneys Offices in the Eastern District of Missouri and the Middle District of Alabama. Collapsed retailer Mothercare will disappear from the high street on Sunday after nearly six decades in business. The health, beauty and baby product chain will see all 79 of its stores closed by Sunday, with 2,500 jobs lost across the country. Since the start of December, Mothercare has slashed prices on products with special offers including a baby Stroller selling at 69.99, down from 334.95, with an antique wardrobe initially sold for 270 dropped by 70 per cent to 81.00. Customers were unable to access the company's website but were urged to visit their nearest store for up to 80 per cent off on other selected items, with 37 of the 79 still remaining open on Saturday. After 59 years in the business, Mothercare went into administration last year after struggling to compete with online shopping. 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. In May 2018 it secured a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) restructuring deal which it said would lead to the closure of just 50 stores and affect 800 jobs. But after a struggle in keeping up with rent and cheaper competitors, the parent business announced in November 2019 it would file a notice to appoint administrators as it could no longer satisfy the cash needs to keep it afloat. Meanwhile, fellow retailer Debenhams confirmed that 19 of their 160 stores across the UK will also shut their doors for good between 11 and 19 January. A spokesman for the chain said that 660 job losses are expected. The struggling clothing department store entered administration in April 2019 as it sought to reduce its debt and start a major restructuring process. It announced last year that following the January store closures, further branches are expected to shut down in 2021 to bring it to a total of 50. But details of the locations and when exactly this will happen have not been disclosed. Here is the full list of Debenhams stores shutting down and the dates they are due to close: Altrincham, Greater Manchester - 11 January Birmingham, The Fort - 11 January Kirkcaldy, Fife - 11 January Walton-on-Thames, Surrey - 11 January Wandsworth, London - 11 January Wolverhampton - 11 January Chatham, Kent - 15 January Great Yarmouth, Norfolk - 15 January Slough, Berkshire - 15 January Stockton-on-Tees, Co Durham - 15 January Welwyn, Herfordshire - 15 January Witney, Oxfordshire - 15 January Ashford, Kent - 19 January Canterbury, Kent - 19 January Eastbourne, East Sussex - 19 January Folkestone, Kent - 19 January Southport, Merseyside - 19 January Southsea, Portsmouth - 19 January Wimbledon, London - 19 January Press Association This new board comes from such a diverse set of backgrounds, but we all truly believe in the idea that none of us are free until all of us are free, said Womens March co-president Isa Noyola, an immigration activist who joined the organization late last year. For our own communities to actually experience freedom and liberation and have basic human rights . . . we know its not just about the march, its about what happens afterward and how we can continue to support grass-roots organizing along the way and not just our own. Satml.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 13 Mar 2013, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. The total number of people who shared the satml homepage on StumbleUpon. The total number of people who shared the satml homepage on Delicious. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the satml homepage on Twitter + the total number of satml followers (if satml has a Twitter account). This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the satml homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if satml has a Facebook fan page). The total number of people who shared the satml homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. Basic Information PAGE TITLE SATML: Surrey Association of Teachers of Modern Languages - Home DESCRIPTION KEYWORDS OTHER KEYWORDS surrey association of teachers of, association of teachers of modern, of teachers of modern languages, teachers of modern languages home, surrey association of teachers, association of teachers of, of teachers of modern The title found in the head section of the homepage. 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. CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. Domain and Server DOCTYPE HTML 5.0 CHARSET AND LANGUAGE UTF-8 DETECTED LANGUAGE English English SERVER Apache OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux Character set and language of the site. 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) The language of satml.com as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world. Referring domains for satml.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 The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. The URL of the found 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 total number of people who like website Facebook page. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The type of Facebook page. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND Secretary-General of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Vladimir Norov arrived here on Sunday on a four-day visit to attend the Raisina Dialogue 2020 to be held next week. The visiting dignitary will meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar here on Monday, MEA said in a statement. During his stay, the dignitary will also meet and interact with representatives from business chambers FICCI and hold an interaction at India Startup Initiative on Tuesday. On Wednesday noon, Norov will further participate in a panel discussion at the Raisina Dialogue which is scheduled to be held between January 14 to 16 and promises to be a mega show amid the presence of foreign ministers from across the globe. The highest number of foreign ministers, including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and his counterparts from Iran, Morocco, Maldives, Bhutan, Australia, South Africa, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia and Uzbekistan, will be attending the event. The Raisina Dialogue, organised by MEA and leading think-tank Observer Research Foundation since 2016, is a multilateral conference committed to addressing the most challenging issues facing the global community. Every year, global leaders in policy, business, media and civil society are hosted in New Delhi to discuss cooperation on a wide range of pertinent international policy matters. This year's Dialogue titled 'Navigating the Alpha Century' is structured as a multi-stakeholder, cross-sectoral discussion, involving heads of states, cabinet ministers and local government officials as well as major private sector executives, members of the media and academics. Following this, the dignitary will also meet Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and will emplane for his country on Thursday, January 16. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Launching a blistering attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday said that those who had raised "anti-national" slogans at the JNU deserved to be put behind bars. Questioning whether Gandhi and Kejriwal are "cousin brothers" of the "tukde tukde sloganeers", Shah told a public meeting that whosoever speaks against the country will be jailed. "In JNU, some boys had raised anti-national slogans. They indulged in slogans like 'Bharat tere tukde ho ek hazar, inshallaha, inshallaha'...Should they not be put in jails?" he asked a public meeting in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur on Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which has stirred the in the country. With people at the meeting raising slogans like "Desh ke gaddaronko, jute maro salonko" (traitors should be slapped with footwear), Shah asked, "Speak loudly. Should they not be put in jails?" "...Rahul Baba and Kejriwal are saying save them, save them (the anti-national sloganeers). Are they your cousin brothers?" he questionned amid cheers from the crowd. Shah, however, didn't mention the exact timeline of the alleged sloganeering at the JNU in his speech. A case had been registered by Delhi police against then JNU Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar and several others, for being involved in an event at the university on February 9, 2016, in which anti-India slogans were allegedly raised. Shah singled out Kejriwal, who heads the AAP government in poll-bound Delhi, during his speech. "Listen Kejriwalji. Whosoever speaks against the country will find a place behind bars and nowhere else," he said. Speaking about the CAA, Shah said however much the Congress opposes the new law, the government will not rest until all the refugees from minority communities from Pakistan are given Indian citizenship. He once again challenged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to show him any provision in the new legislation that will snatch the citizenship of any citizen in the country. "I am saying it loudly. You Congress leaders, listen carefully...Oppose it as much as you can, but we will rest only after giving citizenship to all these people. No one can stop us from doing so. "Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Christian refugees from Pakistan have as much right over India as you and I have. They are the sons and daughters of India. The country will embrace them," he said amid chants of 'Jai Shree Ram' and 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' raised by the people present at the rally. Shah also accused Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee and Kejriwal of misguiding people over the CAA. "I challenge Rahul Baba and Mamata Banerjee, tell me if there is any single provision in CAA that is meant for snatching anybody's citizenship. There is no such provision. In fact, the Act is meant for giving citizenship," the minister said. "I want to tell the human rights champions the world over that scores of people have faced atrocities in Pakistan they were raped, killed and converted. You did not see their human rights. Don't they have human rights?" he asked. "What is their fault? Recently, Nankana Sahib, a revered place for Hindus and Sikhs the world over, was brutally attacked. Nankana Sahib granthi's daughter Jagjit Kaur was kidnapped," he said. "Through this attack, Pakistan has tried to tell the world what is going on there...I ask the Congressmen to return from the wrong path. Feel the pulse of the country, desire of the country, or else the remaining of you will be wiped out," the BJP chief said. "People of this country want that refugees from Pakistan should be given refuge. I want to ask the deaf and blind Congress leaders to tell where the Hindus and Sikh brothers went missing in Pakistan. They were either killed or made to undergo religious conversion," he said. During the last Assembly election in Rajasthan, the Congress had promised in its poll manifesto that Hindu and Sikh refugees from Pakistan would be given Indian citizenship, he added. "But now they are opposing the BJP...(Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok) Gehlotji, check your manifesto," Shah said. Shah also blasted Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath for opposing the CAA, which was notified by the Centre on Friday. Nath had led a peace march against the new law in Bhopal last month. "Kamal Nathji vociferously opposes the CAA. However, instead of opposing it, he (Nath) should focus on utilising his energy in improving Madhya Pradesh," Shah said. Meanwhile, five Sindhi refugees from Jabalpur met the Union Home Minister on Sunday, BJP MLA (Jabalpur-Cantonment) Ashok Rohani told PTI. He said, the five persons had migrated to Jabalpur from Pakistan in the past and are awaiting Indian citizenship. The Centre had issued a gazette notification announcing that the CAA under which non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be given Indian citizenship, will come into force from January 10. The CAA was passed by Parliament on December 11. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) - Alex Gonzaga recently posted an incident involving her family on social media - In her online post, Alex mentioned that her mother, Pinty Gonzaga, became a victim of a bag-snatching incident - The actress also reminded her fans and the online community to always remain vigilant - Her tweet garnered several reactions and comments from netizens on social media afterwards PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed Kapamilya actress-vlogger Alex Gonzaga recently buzzed her fans and the online community with a piece of bad news regarding her family on her social media account. KAMI learned that the said tweet was about a bag-snatching incident which involves her mother, Pinty Gonzaga. In her tweet, Alex also mentioned that the incident happened in Taytay. According to Alex, "Hello! Parents just got home and informed me na na-snatch buong bag ng mommy sa Taytay tropical a while ago. So to anyone trying to contact my mom, please dont contact her muna." The actress also reminded her fans and netizens in her post, "And take care where ever you are. Always be vigilant and alert to everyone around you. God bless us." The said tweet elicited reactions and comments from netizens on social media afterwards. "Sana mahuli na snatcher jan sa taytay tropical." "I hope mommy is okay. Karma nalang dun sa nang snatch." "Ang mahalaga now, safe sina mommy. Malaki ang balik niyan ate." "Napanood ko pa naman vlog mo ng bag raid ni mommy pinty. Sayang yung skyflakes. Joke. Sayang lahat huhu." PAY ATTENTION: Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! As reported earlier by KAMI, Alex Gonzaga's latest online vlog has stirred buzz on social media after its posting. The said vlog featured her father, Carlito "Bonoy" Gonzaga, who drove a jeep during the vlog. The vlogger-actress also accompanied Bonoy throughout the entire jeepney ride. She also revealed the things she and her sister, Toni Gonzaga, did when their family owned a jeep in the past. Alex Gonzaga was born on January 16, 1988 in the Philippines as Catherine Mae Cruz Gonzaga. She started her career on ABS-CBN's sitcom, Let's Go, where she played the role of Alex, which also became her nickname. POPULAR: Read more news about Alex Gonzaga 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 Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai says the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, (IMN), Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, will remain in DSS custody because of the pains, he and his supporters had caused the people of Kaduna State for over 30 years. Speaking at a live radio interview on Friday, the governor said the fate of the IMN leader does not lie with the Kaduna State Government but with the courts. El-Rufai explained that when the Federal Government said El-Zakzakys fate lies with the Kaduna State Government, it meant it was not the one currently in court with the IMN leader. Read Also: 2023: I May Anoint A Woman As My Successor: El-Rufai He explained further that after El-Zakzaky was arrested and detained by the Federal Government in December 2015, the Kaduna State Government recalled the many alleged offences the IMN leader and his supporters had committed against the people and government for over 30 years. He said the government then undertook an investigation that looked into their alleged disregard for laws, harassment of other citizens right from when they were in Zaria City till they moved to the Gellesu Quarters. Upon conclusion of the investigations, the Kaduna government with its findings requested the federal government to release him to it so it could seek legal redress. It was upon this request, according to the Governor that the IMN leader was brought to Kaduna and subsequently charged to court. As for foreign bodies intervening in the matter, El-Rufai said that they are wasting their time as the pains El-Zakzaky and his people have brought to the people of Kaduna are much hence the state government will not release him until his case is determined by the court. By PTI WASHINGTON: The US State Department on Saturday expressed concern over the continued detention of political leaders and restrictions on the internet in Jammu and Kashmir. The restrictions were imposed on August 5 last year when India's central government had announced the abrogation of the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir under the Article 370 and its bifurcation into two Union Territories. The twitter handle of US State Department's bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA) said that it was closely following the visit of US Ambassador to India Keneth Juster and other foreign envoys' visit to Jammu and Kashmir. The bureau, on behalf of Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Alice Wells, who will be travelling to South Asia next week, expressed hope for a return of normalcy. "Closely following USAmbIndia and other foreign diplomats' recent trip to Jammu and Kashmir. An important step," the bureau of SCA said in a tweet. ALSO READ | Did not receive invite from Indian government to visit J&K: Russian envoy "We remain concerned by the detention of political leaders and residents, and Internet restrictions. We look forward to a return to normalcy. AGW," it said in the tweet. In 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". Pakistan has been unsuccessfully trying to drum up international support against India for withdrawing Jammu and Kashmir's special status on August 5 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. LONDON The United States has rejected Britains request for the extradition of an American woman who fled the country after she was involved in an accident in which a teenager died last year. The State Department called the request highly inappropriate, deepening the diplomatic stalemate over the case. The woman, Anne Sacoolas, who is the wife of a former American diplomat, was charged with causing death by dangerous driving in December after the Northamptonshire Police suspected her of traveling on the wrong side of the road. The authorities said she was behind the wheel when her car collided with the motorcycle ridden by Harry Dunn, 19, in August in Brackley, a town about 60 miles northwest of London and close to a Royal Air Force base that hosts a United States Air Force communication station. As the police sought to question Ms. Sacoolas, who was 42 at the time, she fled the country, spurring a diplomatic tug of war between Britain and the United States and enraging Mr. Dunns relatives. A campaign by his parents seeking her return to Britain has led them all the way to the White House. I t's rare to get so much buzz about one product. But By Sarah's Organic Facial Oil has become something of a cult product, winning awards and garnering 5 star review after 5 star review from loyal customers on its e-commerce site. But the story of how the affordable oil (12 for 10ml) came to be didn't start so happily. In 2012, Sarah Murrell's sister - and now co-founder - Lauren was diagnosed with leukaemia. The treatment left her skin feeling dry and sensitive but her sister, Sarah, couldn't find an existing cream, moisturiser or oil out there soothing enough. So Sarah did what any loving, dedicated sister would do, and took matters into her own hands and created By Sarah's Organic Facial Oil. The oil is packed full of organic ingredients - there is a full list of the pleasingly few ingredients on the front of the bottle - and free from essential oils, which can be an irritant, as well as fragrance and anything synthetic. The brand which has eco credentials at its core - it's vegan and all packaging is recyclable - has since expanded to include hair and body oils, as well as a natural green clay cleansing balm and natural green clay face mask. Here, we talk to Sarah about her daily skincare and wellness routine. Sarah and her sister Lauren / By Sarah London Im usually up by 7am and start the day slowly with some gentle yoga before enjoying my favourite meal of the day Breakfast. I love a bowl of warming hot porridge with Oatly and a side of stewed apples or pears. I love to start my day with yoga to stretch and realign, but theres nothing quite like an invigorating run on a beautiful sunny and crisp winters day. If the weather is kind, Ill aim to get outside every day, even if that means just a power walk through one of the London parks in between meetings. Applying the Organic Facial Oil from our skincare collection each morning is a form of meditation for me. Really taking the time to massage deeply into the skin and being very mindful of the beautiful organic, plant-based ingredients that are providing long-lasting nourishment and hydration. This ritual brings about a feeling of calm and quiets all those busy thoughts, so I can be fully present and set a positive intention for the day ahead. After a morning of meetings or events, lunch tends to be a super food salad; I try and cram as many different colours onto my plate and that way I know I'm benefiting from lots of different nutrient groups. When Im on the go, dark chocolate is my vice! The pace at By Sarah is fast and I love the energy and variety it brings each day. But sometimes you need to take a few moments to just pause and breathe. And Ill often call my sister (and co-founder) Lauren if were working remotely or insist that we step out and enjoy a walk to give us a sense of perspective. Working with my sister is a blessing, we always end up laughing together. By Sarah products only include natural ingredients / By Sarah London I love to meet new people and hear about their stories, so Im often dining out of an evening. But for a night in, something light like salmon with steamed vegetables and lots of pulses or lentils is an easy and delicious go-to meal. I rarely drink alcohol, but enjoy the odd glass of champagne to celebrate an occasion. By 10pm Ill do my very best to make sure my phone is left outside my bedroom. Its hard not to have it by my bedside, but it encourages me to read a book or enjoy my evening skincare ritual. I cleanse my skin with our Green Clay Cleansing Balm, remove with the Organic Muslin Cloth and then finish with the Organic Facial Oil. Super simple. I always take a few extra moments to massage the oil into my skin; it's a moment of mindfulness for me and I find I always sleep so well. I tend not to take supplements, but if I'm feeling a bit low I'll top up with echinacea or local, organic honey, which is rich in antioxidants and trace minerals, including potassium, calcium and magnesium to ward off winter colds. I love to travel and try to explore somewhere new each month, even if just a new part of a city. I find it really inspires and sparks creativity. I love to enjoy a yoga class on a regular basis, and try and get a massage at least once a month to help improve circulation and release any tension in my body. I'm pretty traditional in my approaches to wellness, but I've recently heard great things about floatation therapy so that might be one to try soon. Not so long ago, I tried a sound bath with Jasmine Hemsley which was really moving and I instantly felt so much lighter leaving the class. I would highly recommend. Former DUSU president Shakti Pratap Singh on Sunday formally joined the BJP in presence of Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari. Welcoming Singh in the party, Tiwari said that the resolve of a new India was to be realised through young leaders like him. Singh affiliated to ABVP won the post of vice president of Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) in 2018 and was later promoted to the post of president after incumbent Ankiv Baisoya resigned over a fake degree row. Singh said that the youth were contributing to the progress of the country under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Delhi BJP leaders claimed Singh could be party's candidate in the Assembly polls next month. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Libyan strongman General Khalifa Haftar on Saturday announced a ceasefire in his months-long battle to control the capital Tripoli after calls for a truce from Russia and Turkey. The North African state has seen an escalation of the turmoil that erupted after a NATO-backed uprising killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, with Haftar trying to capture Tripoli from Libya's UN-recognised government. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan this week called for a truce in Libya starting Sunday from midnight, but Haftar had initially vowed to fight on. Haftar's forces on Saturday agreed to the ceasefire from midnight on Sunday (2200 GMT), but warned of a "severe" response to any violation by the "opposing camp", a reference to the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez al-Sarraj. Before Haftar's statement, Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met earlier on Saturday in Moscow and called for international efforts to address the crisis in Libya. Germany and Russia are both acting as mediators in a conflict Berlin has warned could become a "second Syria" and the topic topped the agenda as they met for talks at the Kremlin. "I am really counting on the opposing sides in Libya ceasing fire, ceasing armed combat... within a few hours," Putin said. "It's important to bring an end to the armed confrontation." Merkel, making her first visit to Russia since 2018, said she hoped "the Turkish-Russian efforts will be successful," calling a ceasefire a first step in a peace process. Hafter's forces, who began their offensive on Tripoli in April, did not give any details in their short statement on how the ceasefire would come into effect. Speaking in Rome after meetings with Italy's premier, Sarraj had earlier welcomed the Turkish-Russian initiative, but said any ceasefire would be conditional on a withdrawal of Haftar's forces. Western powers and Northern African states have been working to prevent a widening conflict in Libya with the increasingly involvement of international players backing opposing forces in the conflict. Libya is now divided between the GNA in Tripoli and Haftar's forces in the east and the south and European governments are concerned about Islamist militants and migrant smugglers taking advantage of the chaos. Putin and Merkel both backed a Libya peace conference in Berlin being organised by UN special envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, which could be held in the coming weeks. Putin called the initiative "timely" and a "very good step in the right direction." The conference must include "countries that have a real interest in promoting a peace settlement" and decisions must be agreed preliminarily with the Libyan sides, with the involvement of Salame, he said. While Turkey has sent troops to support the UN-backed Tripoli government, Moscow is accused of backing mercenaries supporting Haftar in his fight against the government. Putin reiterated Moscow's denial of this, saying: "if there are Russians there, they do not represent the interests of the Russian state and do not receive money from it." In Libya, "unfortunately large-scale military action is continuing and terrorist activity is growing," said Putin, who is keen to stress his role as a regional powerbroker. "All this undermines stability not only in the region itself but has a negative influence on Europe," he added, citing smuggling of drugs and weapons. He stressed the need to "restart the political process with the final aim of overcoming the split inside the country and forming single state institutions." The talks that Putin praised as "substantive" also covered other flashpoints in the region, including Iran, with the leaders stressing the need to save the 2015 nuclear deal that the US withdrew from unilaterally in 2018. Merkel said it was necessary to "keep (the deal) alive" to prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, while Putin said it was necessary for Instex, a barter mechanism to allow Iran to circumvent sanctions on trade backed by major European powers, to "finally start working." The talks also covered the Syria conflict where a fresh ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey is expected to go into effect after midnight in the last major opposition bastion of Idlib. Putin warned that "large-scale military conflicts" in the Middle East would be a "catastrophe not only for the region, the Middle East, but for the whole world," leading to "new flows of migrants" to Europe and other regions. This would also cause "huge damage to the global economy," he said. The leaders also discussed the war with Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine. Putin in December took part in talks on the Ukraine conflict in Paris in the "Normandy format" hosted by Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron. This was his first face-to-face meeting with his recently-installed Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, relaunching the stalled peace process. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) London: Meghan, the former actress and wife of Britain's Prince Harry, has agreed to record a voiceover for Disney in return for the company making a donation to a charity that works to protect elephants, the London-based Times reported on Saturday. Meghan and Harry blindsided the royal family on Wednesday by unexpectedly announcing they would be stepping back from their roles to spend more time in North America, and "work to become financially independent". Meghan Markle has reportedly struck a deal in exchange for a donation to a charity that protects elephants. Credit:AFP The Times gave no details about what Meghan's voiceover would involve, but said Disney would make a donation to the charity Elephants Without Borders in return. The newspaper did not say where the information had come from. Elephants Without Borders is a charity that aims to protect the animals from poaching. Among the most welcome and effective disruptive reforms of the Trump presidency is a re-thinking and re-articulation of the use of military power. Historically, military personnel served to perform a number of important, sometimes discreet, objectives, but their most important purpose was always to defeat opposing forces, and keep the peace. It is in this latter role that they were often most vulnerable, as prior administrations left small contingencies of American military personnel literally as hostages for peace, promising implicitly or explicitly that any attack on U.S. forces would bring response, including, but not limited to, the whole might of the U.S. military. These sometimes shockingly vulnerable contingencies served a more symbolic than operational purpose, since it would only be by response and reinforcement that their numbers could be an effective fighting force. The most recent example of troops being removed from Syria demonstrates well the Trump thinking on use of U.S. troops in contrast to traditional and conventional practice. All of the Left, and many on the Right, decried Trump removing what almost everyone agreed was an operationally ineffective number of troops (at the end, less than fifty) left as a symbolic demonstration of commitment to the Turkish Kurds, and an ever-present tripwire against full invasion. In essence, U.S. troops served as deterrent by risking military and non-military lives with complete understanding that a full assault by a Russian-backed Syria into Turkey would easily overwhelm them, but would invite massive response. Trump repeatedly defended his removal of the troops by pointing out that the contingency was operationally incapable of performing any real objective, and that the past practice of engaging in "perpetual wars" had to end. Recently, in response to Trump's surgical targeting of perhaps the most dangerous and effective terrorist on the planet, Iraq threatened to expel U.S. troops from Iraq. All of the Left and some miscreants on the Right crowed that the result demonstrated Trump's recklessness and incapability. Trump, undeterred, responded in an interview with Laura Ingraham that he was "O.K." with removal of troops from Iraq, although he smirked that Iraq was taking a much different position privately: "They speak much differently privately than they do publicly." Trump seized the opportunity to recount his removal of troops from Syria, and said that although the U.S. continues to maintain troops in South Korea, South Korea commits troops and treasure, too. Trump claimed his administration had secured from South Korea $500 million in recently negotiated commitment. Trump also stated that if the U.S. would withdraw troops from Iraq, the U.S. would expect repayment for U.S. contributions to rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure. Trump stated that U.S. troops serve in Iraq only to train and support the Iraqi military. Trump clearly sees U.S. troops as operational tools, not symbolic representations of U.S. commitment. Moreover, in what should be heralded as a welcome evolution in the purpose the troops serve, Trump has no taste for using troops as hostage tripwires to conflict. For Trump, "No more Benghazis" means immediate overwhelming defense and rapid surgical retaliation. The Trump doctrine, that every loss of American life will be quickly avenged by disproportionate response, is simple, clear, and obviously effective. There is perhaps no better proof than Iran's statements that it intentionally avoided the taking of American lives in its short lived response to the killing of Soleimani. Perhaps the world will hold Iran to account for the lives of innocent Canadians, Ukrainians, Russians, and the others, improvidently killed in the heat of Iran's measured response (read: temper tantrum). Regardless, Iran clearly understood the Trump doctrine, and measured its response accordingly. For those of us who regard our troops' lives as worthy of every protection, and who have watched with pain as previous administrations have irresponsibly sacrificed their lives by leaving them unsupported in dangerous parts of the world, the Trump commitment is welcome and awe-inspiring. Likewise, the immediate response to a loss of any American life, even non-service personnel (i.e. the American contractor killed by Iranian-backed terrorists) is welcome. The commitment suggests that Trump values all life, and not only the lives of those those donning a uniform in committed service. It means that any loss of military and security personnel are not accepted "collateral damage" to foreign misadventure. Whether civilian or not, Americans are protected by the Trump administration. One has to wonder why past presidents, as experienced politicians and military leaders, were unable to articulate a policy/red line so simply and effectively that even the hostile Iranians could understand and conform their behavior so as to protect American lives. Like Trump's disruptive reform of political communication and foreign services, it is becoming obvious that only the "apolitical" can see so clearly the need and goal to effectively attain the objective. Image credit: U.S. Army photo by Visual Information Specialist Jason Johnston/Released./ public domain Update: Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has indicated that the country is potentially heading for a general election in the coming weeks, given a change in support in the Dail for the coalition. Speaking to RTE's The Week in Politics, he confirmed he had changed his mind about intending to hold a vote in May. This was in part due to changed support in the Dail for the Fine Gael-led coalition. He said he had decided when to call an election but declined to confirm the date. It's been my view for a long time now that the right time would be the summer of 2020, but I have to acknowledge that circumstances have changed. We have a deal on Brexit. In many ways that was the big job of this government, our magnum opus, to secure a deal on Brexit. We have the institutions up and running in Northern Ireland, which the Tanaiste (Simon Coveney) and I have put a huge amount of work into, particularly the Tanaiste. And also the arithmetic in the Dail has changed, and that's the reality of that. So I have made a decision. But there is some unfinished business to do which I want to get done. "And also there is some respect and protocol around this and I would like to speak to the Cabinet, to leaders of the Opposition. As things stand, the Cabinet will meet on Tuesday and the Dail will reconvene on Wednesday. But Mr Varadkar identified other matters preventing an immediate dissolving of the Dail. I'll end any uncertainty as soon as I can. Bit of unfinished business to do, which I want to get done, which is important around European affairs and British affairs. Government figures were last night trying to finalise an opportunity for Mr Varadkar and British prime minister Boris Johnson to meet in the North over the resumption of power-sharing. On Wednesday, Mr Varadkar will welcome newly appointed European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to Ireland. Given the events, it now seems unlikely that the Taoiseach would dissolve the Dail on Wednesday, but the potential of an election being held on February 14, is still the belief of coalition figures. Mr Varadkar, in his interview, did not say the Government could win a vote of no confidence tabled against a minister, despite last week saying it one could be defeated. It follows confirmation from Fianna Fail TD John McGuinness that he would vote against the Government in any such motion, a move which would breach the support pact his party has with the Fine Gael-led administration. There is some division within Fianna Fail. And that obviously is a factor to take into account as well. The leader of Fianna Fail has always said to me that they've honoured the confidence and supply agreement but it does appear that the division within their party may make it impossible for them to, added Mr Varadkar. Hospital beds Addressing problems in the health service, he said that a previous Fianna Fail government had cut 2,000 hospital beds and that in recent years Fine Gael had reversed that, by adding 1,000 beds. He also said the number of people on waiting lists had fallen. Mr Varadkar also said that since he became Taoiseach, the number of new houses built had trebled and house prices were levelling off because more houses were built last year than any other year in the last decade. Additional reporting by Digital Desk Update: Fianna Fail's John McGuinness has confirmed he would defy his own party and vote no confidence in Health Minister Simon Harris next month. It comes amid mounting speculation that the Taoiseach will call a general election for February 7. The Carlow Kilkenny deputy said the country has had enough "dithering" and it is time to force a general election. Mr McGuinness said: "There seems to be a reluctance to face up to the fact that this government is flogging a dead horse, is a the end of its time, and therefore the members of the Dail should express their own views in the context of the motion of no confidence in Simon Harris. "They would not get the opportunity to vote no confidence in the Government, this is next best thing." How is the election date decided? Under Irish law, once the Dail is dissolved and the President has issued a proclamation confirming it, the Clerk of the Dail issues a writ to the returning officer in each constituency directing them to hold an election of the prescribed number of members. A general election must be held within 30 days of the dissolution of the Dail. The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government appoints the polling day which must be between the 18th and 25th day (excluding Good Friday, Sundays and public holidays) after the issue of the writ issued by the Clerk of the Dail. Earlier: Taoiseach to call general election for February, say reports The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is preparing to call a general election on February 7, according to reports. The Sunday Times says Leo Varadkar could ask for the dissolution of the Dail as early as tomorrow. It follows the restoration of a power-sharing government at Stormont yesterday. The rumoured date would also come after Britain's planned departure from the EU at the end of this month. Michael Healy Rae has said it is time the Taoiseach "pulled the plug" and went to the polls. The Independent Deputy for Kerry said Mr Varadkar has no other choice but to go to the people. He said: "This government is like a motor car that is going down a hill, it's out of petrol, it has four bald tyres and the NCT is out and they are heading for a ditch. "They just have to pull the plug and go to the country to give the people the opportunity that they need to decide who is going to govern this country for the next number of years." Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], Jan 12 (ANI): The Uttar Pradesh government, acting on CM Yogi Adityanath's directions, is distributing pamphlets in Urdu and Devanagri scripts to spread awareness and clear the doubts about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in various areas in UP. "This law is just for granting citizenship. The right of taking away anyone's nationality is not given under this law. The law does not affect minorities, especially Muslims in any way," are some of the points written in the pamphlets being shared by the UP government. "CAA will not affect the nationality of the country's residents. This law is for only those refugees who have faced atrocities outside (India) for years and had no other option for staying but to come to India," few other points read. Protests had erupted in different parts of the country including Uttar Pradesh over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, which grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who entered India on or before December 31, 2014. (ANI) BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 12 By Elnur Baghishov - Trend: Some 98 investors made investments worth 16 trillion rials in industrial parks in Irans Qazvin province this Iranian year (beginning on March 21, 2019), Executive Director of the Industrial Parks Company in the province Hamidreza Khanpour said. Some 238 hectares of land plots have been allotted to investors for the establishment of enterprises in industrial parks this Iranian year, Khanpour added, Trend reports referring to IRNA. Some 160 hectares of land plots were allotted to investors last Iranian year (from March 21, 2018 through March 21, 2019), the executive director said. Some 3,800 people will be provided with jobs after the commissioning of these enterprises, Khanpour said. "Qazvin province is near Iran's capital - Tehran and main airports of the country, the executive director said. The main highways stretch through the province. There are railway and the necessary infrastructure in this province. This is the reason of making huge investments in this province. There are one industrial town and 19 industrial parks in Qazvin province. About 1,000 enterprises operate in industrial parks. A Labour leadership candidate today claimed there was an 'undertone' of racism to the Leave campaign which won the Brexit referendum. Clive Lewis said many non-white Britons suffered 'a sense of dread' after the 2016 vote, which will result in the UK quitting the EU in just over a fortnight. The shadow Treasury minister, who is struggling to make the cut in the competition to succeed Jeremy Corbyn, lashed out at Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage over the way they campaigned three years ago. The Norwich South MP, whose father was from Grenada in the West Indies, has previously suggested racism was a possible reason why few Labour MPs are backing him. Speaking to the Sophy Ridge On Sunday show on Sky News, Mr Lewis said: 'I think part of the Brexit campaign, and part of the undertone of Brexit, from some politicians, Nigel Farage and others, had racism at its core and its heart. The shadow Treasury minister, who is struggling to make the cut in the competition to succeed Jeremy Corbyn , lashed out at Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage over the way they campaigned three years ago 'They used it as a mechanism to divide our communities, to divide our country.' Nigel Farage set for 150,000 payday when Britain quits the EU Nigel Farage is in line for a 150,000 payday from the EU when the UK quits at the end of January, it was revealed today. The Brexit Party leader will get a six-figure 'transition' payment because he has spent more than 20 years as an MEP in the heart of Brussels. But his 29 MEPs elected last May face walking away in a few weeks with nothing because of the short stint they will have put in, the Sunday Times reported. Mr Farage, who loses his job as an MEP for South East England on January 31, is eligible for 179,000 euros (152,000) severance pay. That is on top of his EU pension for 21 years of service - the 55-year-old is in line to receive 70 per cent of his salary of more than 100,000. Advertisement He added: 'How many people of colour, how many people of colour, on the day after the referendum with a sense of dread because of what had happened? 'Ultimately our country had chosen to listen to Boris Johnson, someone who has a track record of racist commentary, of giving credence to racism.' Mr Lewis also used the interview to suggest the reason Labour has not had a woman leader is because of 'structural sexism' in society. He said: 'Why do we think there hasn't been a woman, a female leader of the Labour Party? I would say to answer the question for that (is) because we have something called structural sexism within our society. We have structural sexism and we have structural racism. 'Do I think if you go to the PLP (parliamentary Labour party) and speak to the members that they are overtly sexist, no I don't. Just as I don't believe they are overtly racist. 'But these issues, these things, run through our society.' His comments came as the main left-wing candidate to replace Jeremy Corbyn criticised his inner circle over its handling of the botched general election campaign as she denied being the Corbynista candidate to succeed him. Rebecca Long Bailey, the shadow business secretary, hit out at a scatter-gun approach that saw people and resources wasted on seats that were unwinnable, at the expense of marginal seats that were later lost to the Conservatives. On December 12 Labour's 'red wall' crumbled, with a swathe of the Midlands, the north of England and north Wales returning Tory MPs, some for the first time in over 50 years. Of the 86 seats identified as top targets by the Labour election team led by close Corbyn aide Karie Murphy (above), 60 were 'offensive' targets which the party looked to claim from the Tories. They won one The shadow business secretary hit out at a scatter-gun approach that saw people and resources wasted on seats that were unwinnable Ms Long Bailey told Sky's Sophy Ridge on Sunday this morning that it was 'one of the worst election defeats we've ever faced' but blamed Brexit rather than Mr Corbyn's leadership. But she added: 'There are a number of other issues. 'Our manifesto was not being sold on the doorstep - the messages that should have gone through about economic competence, the fact that we were going to roll out a green Industrial Revolution and kickstart the economy in regions and nations across the UK simply wasn't resonating with people, and certainly the ground campaign itself. 'We had reports of members being sent to seats that we had no hope of winning when we should have been in constituencies trying to protect MPs who were at risk of losing their seats.' She also said she did not like being called a Corbynista, saying: 'It annoys me when people say that. I'm a person in my own right.' In a wide-ranging interview she also said she wanted to abolish the House of Lords and suggested she would not stand in the way of a new Scottish independence referendum. Noor-e-Sehar Special Education School Job For Principal Latest Mari Petroleum Company Limited Education Posts Daharki 2022 Mari Petroleum Company Limited requires the services of highly qualified and experienced candidate for the position of Principal for Noor-e-Sehar Special Education School in Daharki Sindh Pakistan 2020. How to Apply on Mari Petroleum Company Limited Job Advertisement Apply as per details in job advertisement. In some cases, you may apply online at vacancies after registering at https://www.jobz.pk online. Note: Beware of Fraudulent Recruiting Activities. If an employer asks to pay money for any purpose, do not pay at all and report us at contact us form. Apply as per instuctions & dates mentioned in official job ad. Govt jobs may not be applied online here. Human typing error is possible. Error & omissions excepted. The federal government will put $76 million into emergency mental health services for bushfire-affected communities, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison pointing to the widespread trauma caused by the unprecedented crisis. The "initial" mental health funding will go to counselling sessions, extra psychological treatment under Medicare, expanded access to telehealth remote counselling, specialist trauma care for emergency services personnel, local community wellbeing programs and Headspace youth centres in significantly impacted communities. These bushfires have been unprecedented in their scale, coverage and duration. They have caused tragic loss of life and physical damage, that have scarred our landscape. But as I have witnessed in connecting with people on the ground in fire-affected communities, they have also taken a traumatic emotional toll on our people," said Mr Morrison. "We need to ensure the trauma and mental health needs of our people are supported in a way like we never have before." The Chennai Police arrested a journalist on Sunday, a day after he displayed a book on the state governments alleged corrupt activities at a book fair, the Chennai Press Club said. Police officials, however, said journalist V Anbazhagans arrest was not linked to his book. The 13-day Chennai Book Fair, where the book titled Corruption Book of Chennai Corporation was displayed, is being organised by the Book Sellers and Publishers Association (BAPASI) in Nandanam. Anbazhagan had said that in his book he has used Right to Information (RTI) replies to highlight the alleged misappropriation of funds by the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government. Anbazhagan had set up a stall at the book fair but authorities asked BAPASI to ensure that the stall is removed, said Bharathi Tamizhan, joint secretary of the Chennai Press Club. In a statement, the Chennai Press Club said that Anbazhagan removed his bookstall but BAPASI officials lodged a false complaint against him. The case is fabricated. Targeting someone who sells books against the government is an attack on freedom of expression, it said in a statement. BAPASI maintained that the journalist had threatened one of its members. We asked Anbazhagan to remove the stall as he did not follow any norms of BAPASI. He then threatened our secretary Murugan, after which a police complaint was lodged against him, BAPASI president RS Shanmugam said. The police have booked Anbazhagan under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 341(Punishment for wrongful restraint Punishment for wrongful restraint), 506 (2) (Punishment for criminal intimidation) and 294(b) (punishment singing, reciting or uttering any obscene song, ballad or words, in or near any public place) We have not arrested Anbazhagan for his books. He was held for threatening Murugan, a senior police official said on condition of anonymity. In this photo released by the Taiwan Presidential Office, William Brent Christensen (L), director of the American Institute in Taiwan, meets with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen in the Presidential Office in Taipei, Taiwan. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP) Taiwan President Meets With US Official After Election Win TAIPEI, TaiwanFresh from a landslide reelection victory, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen met with the de facto U.S. ambassador to Taipei on Jan. 12. William Brent Christensen, a U.S. diplomat who is director of the American Institute in Taiwan, congratulated Tsai on her victory in Saturdays election, and she thanked him for his support. The United States does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is legally bound to ensure that the island can defend itself against threats. Tsai has sought closer relations with the United States while pushing back against pressure from the Chinese regime. China considers self-governed Taiwan a part of its territory and opposes any official contact with the United States as an interference in its domestic affairs. Since the Nationalist Party fled to the island upon the Chinese Communist Partys takeover of China in 1949, Taiwan has developed its own identity but never declared formal independence. Beijing still claims sovereignty over the island of 23 million people and threatens to use force to seize control if necessary. In her victory speech Saturday night after her rival, Han Kuo-yu of the Nationalist Party, conceded defeat, Tsai urged China to resume talks with Taiwan without preconditions while warning against threatening use of force. Today I want to once again remind the Beijing authorities that peace, parity, democracy, and dialogue are the keys to stability, Tsai said. I want the Beijing authorities to know that democratic Taiwan and our democratically elected government will never concede to threats. Tsais victory is a setback for Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a time when Beijing is grappling with an economic slowdown and long-running, sometimes violent demonstrations in Hong Kong. Opinion polls had showed Tsai leading before the election, but a huge turnout helped her claim more than 8 million votes. She got 57 percent of the vote to Hans 39 percent. Her Democratic Progressive Party also managed to win in areas that often go to the China-friendly Nationalists in central and southern Taiwan. It retained its majority in the 113-seat legislature, though its tally of 61 seats was down seven from 2016. The Nationalists won 38 seats, a gain of three. Tsai has acknowledged that Beijing may well up its pressure on Taiwan following her victory, after cutting off formal ties with her government over the past two years, restricting visits by Chinese tourists and seeking to further isolate Taipei by luring away more of its few diplomatic allies, which now number only 15. Chinese military exercises across the Taiwan Strait and air patrols around the island have added to tensions. But Tsai received a resounding public mandate for her rejection of Chinas suggestion for a one country, two systems approach to governing Taiwan after months of protests in Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, convinced many in Taiwan that such a plan is unworkable. We have sent out a crystal-clear message there are certain values that we are protecting, said one voter, Rocky Hwang, an interior designer. This is a basic opinion that says Taiwanese people want to decide on their future on their own, and protect our own values. Since its transition to a democracy beginning in the 1980s, Taiwan has increasingly asserted its independent identity from China even though it is not recognized by the United Nations or any major nation. The island exercises all the roles of a sovereign nation, issuing its own passports, maintaining its own military and legal system, and serving as an important hub in the global high-tech supply chain. With the election behind her, Tsai now faces the challenges of keeping economic growth on track and delivering on promises to improve the lives of Taiwans people. Its important to enable younger people to make a better livinghis is what we expect, said Lin Li-li, who with her husband, Wang Wen-long, was preparing to return home after visiting Taipei to cast their votes. The focus now, said Wang, is to have a more harmonious society and enhance our living. By Ken Moritsugu and Elaine Kurtenbach Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that the Trump administration did not brief him and other members of Congress that Iran was allegedly plotting attacks on four U.S. embassies, as President Trump claimed in an interview with Fox News on Friday. Why it matters: The administration has come under fire for declining to provide specifics about the nature of the "imminent" threat that prompted the president to order the killing of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani. On Friday, Trump told Fox News' Laura Ingraham: "I can reveal that I believe it probably wouldve been four embassies." He did not provide evidence for his claim. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Sunday on CBS News' "Face the Nation" that he shares the belief that there "probably" could have been attacks against additional embassies, but that he "didn't see" a piece of evidence to bolster that assessment. The big picture: Lee, who is traditionally supportive of Trump and the administration, called the Iran briefing that officials gave on Wednesday "insulting and demeaning." Lee said that he will vote in favor of a Senate war powers resolution to curb potential military action against Iran. Go deeper: Lee calls Soleimani briefing the "worst" he's ever seen AIIMS Nurses Union New Delhi has alleged gender discrimination in the new reservation criteria for recruitment of nursing officers in AIIMS across India. In a letter to Union Heath Minister Harsh Vardhan, the union expressed objections over the implementation of decisions of the 4th Central Institute Body (CIB) meeting on recruitment of Nursing Officers in AIIMS across the country. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of the minister and other members of CIB, but the union alleged that no nursing personnel were present as members of the CIB. It was decided in the meeting that 80 per cent of posts will be reserved for female candidates, while 20 percent will be for male candidates in all categories. The minutes of meeting stated that the CIB discussed the issue of appropriateness and requirement of female nursing staffs in a number of departments/specialised wards vis--vis patient comfort and care. It was decided that 80 per cent of posts may be reserved for female nursing staff, while the remaining may be filled by male nursing staff, the minutes stated. "AIIMS Nurses Union strongly opposes this newly introduced reservation criteria based on gender discrimination for the post of Nursing Officer (Direct Recruitment) and also condemns the decisions taken in the 4th meeting of CIB," AIIMS Nurses Union president Harish Kumar Kajla said in the letter. "This unconstitutional decision taken by the AIIMS CIB members simply shows the gender discrimination to the matter of public employment which is a blatant violation of fundamental rights guaranteed in our Constitution as per Article 16 (1949) which guarantees equality of opportunity in matters of public employment for all Indian citizens," the letter said. They said that AIIMS Nagpur has issued a notification on January 10 for the post of Nursing Officer (on Direct Recruitment Basis) with reservation of 80 per cent to female candidates and only 20 per cent to male candidates in all categories. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A fire at Mount Buffalo merged with a fire at Abbeyard on Friday, and now spans an area greater than 69,000 hectares. The eastern side of the Mount Buffalo fire grew on Saturday night as it moved downhill into the Buckland Valley. An emergency warning for residents of Buckland, Dandongadale and Mount Buffalo, advising them to leave before it became too dangerous to do so, was downgraded on Sunday morning. Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said on Sunday that the forecast for this week was fairly benign and fire services were currently most concerned about the Abbeyard fire. Even though there are fairly benign weather conditions today, this is another reminder that we have a fairly active fire out there and people need to stay across conditions in their local areas," he said. The burnt out areas of Mount Buffalo on Saturday. Credit:Scott McNaughton Bill Slade, a firefighter from Forest Fire Management died while fighting a blaze in Omeo, near the Alpine National Park, Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp confirmed on Saturday night. It brings the Victorian death toll from the bushfires to four. Meanwhile, 15 fires continued to burn across East Gippsland on Sunday night, with 918,000 hecatares in the region destroyed. While the bulk of the state's firefighting efforts will now turn to reinforcing containment lines and burning areas of bush that haven't yet been touched by nearby fires, but could catch alight at any moment, authorities are quick to remind Victorians that the fire threat is far from over. "This is a very valuable window for us. It's the first one of that length weve seen," Emergency Management Victoria's state control centre spokesman Luke Hegarty said on Sunday. "With the right resources, we can do some really good work on protection of communities and critical assets. Loading "We're also looking at longer term containment of these fires. Thats something we havent been able to get really stuck into with some of these fires." Spotters took to the skies on Sunday in a bid to scan the perimeter of the fires and measure how much land has been burnt in Victoria and assess the damage to homes and properties. According to Emergency Management Victoria's State Control Centre more than 1.35 million hectares have been burnt across the state. More than 3147 damage assessments had been carried out and 288 residential and 431 non-residential structures have been damaged or destroyed by fires. Temperatures in East Gippsland will climb into the low 30s by Wednesday. The Bureau of Meteorology is also predicting a chance of lightning, storms and heavy rainfall from Wednesday until the weekend. "While it is getting warmer, the winds are light and humidity is increasing, hence why were getting storms. Those conditions generally suppress fire danger," senior forecaster Richard Russell said. Loading "Over East Gippsland and the state's north east, theres a risk of some thunderstorms from Wednesday right through to Saturday. They won't be dry thunderstorms, there will be some rain. "There is a risk of flash flooding. The biggest concern is if there's heavy rainfall on land thats burnt and near trees that have been destroyed, there's nothing to hold it, and on steep slopes you can have land slips." Smoke is expected to blow back into Melbourne on Monday, and may settle across the city until Wednesday. Chief fire officer from Forest Fire Management, Chris Hardman, said it was likely they would be fighting these fires for months. We need to be really clear - unless we get really significant rain, an east coast low or the tail of a cyclone in northern Australia which will drop 150 millimetres of rain on these fires, we will be in this for the long haul," he said. The legacy of Britains history of empire a global construct based on a doctrine of white supremacy its pioneering role in the slave trade and ideologies of racism that enabled it, and policies of recruiting people from the Caribbean and Africa for low-paid work and then discriminating against them in education and housing, is with us today: The scandal surrounding the wrongful deportation of black British people in recent years is still reverberating. Meghans decision to join the family that is the symbolic heart of the establishment responsible for this troubled history was perplexing to many black British people, as we wondered whether she fully appreciated the institution she had entered. Both she and Harry appear to have gained crystal clear vision as to their reality. Its no wonder the couple want to leave and as the coded statement that they want to raise their son, Archie, with the space to focus on the next chapter seems to suggest protect him from the bile to which theyve been exposed. The British press, having attacked the couple continuously, now reacts with shock at this move. But the clues have been there for some time for anyone willing to read them. There was the decision not to give Archie a title from birth something that is expected among royal children of this rank but which Meghan and Harry appear to have chosen to avoid. Then there were the rumors last spring that they might relocate to a country in southern Africa. In recent months, the couple have begun bypassing official royal channels and communicating with the press directly most notably when the duchess said in a television documentary that she found adjusting to royal life hard, and Harry revealed that the tragic experience of the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, made him want to protect his wife and family. All were signs that the couple would not abide by royal business as usual, to the extent that even announcing this decision to step down from their roles as senior royals appears to have taken Buckingham Palace by surprise. Update 13 Jan, 7.30am: Chloe Clarke has been located safe and well. Gardai in Dublin are appealing for the public's help to find a missing teenager. 15-year-old Chloe Clarke was last seen in the Blanchardstown area last Wednesday, January 8. She is described as being 5'5", with brown hair and is of slim build - when she was last seen she was wearing a red jacket. Chloe is known to visit the Dublin 8 area. Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to contact the gardai in Blanchardstown on 01 666 7000. Editors note: Each Monday, the Kenosha News takes a look at the life of a Kenosha County resident who has recently died. We share with you, through the memories of family and friends, a life remembered. Cathy Carroll had a gift for making connections and bringing comfort in lifes most difficult moments. She was also the dispenser of sound advice and had a good laugh, said her family. Cathy had the best sense of humor and could joke around and brighten your day. She had a beaming smile and a twinkle in her eye, said her sister, Tricia Stuckey. Leading with what her siblings call her tremendous heart, Cathy was a nurse and professional caregiver. For the last 21 years she ministered to the sick, the dying and their families for Hospice Alliance in Kenosha. Cathy had an uncanny ability to remember names and faces and make connections, said Rita Hagen, Hospice Alliance executive director. She was kind, selfless, always thinking of others, funny, compassionate and empathetic. Cathleen Cathy M. Carroll, 66, of Kenosha, died Dec. 11, 2019, at Hospice House in Pleasant Prairie. She is survived by her brothers, John (Beth) Carroll and Tom (Yolanda) Carroll; her sisters, Maureen (Bob) Batchelor, Sheila (Tim) Harper, and Tricia (Ed) Stuckey; and her special uncle, the Rev. Edward E. Carroll. Cathy was born in Milwaukee on Aug. 22, 1953, the daughter of the late William P. and Mary Ann Mickey (Rybold) Carroll. The family moved to Kenosha when Cathy and her siblings were young. Nurturing side apparent early on Cathys nurturing side became evident early in life. As the eldest of six children, Cathy watched out for her brothers and sisters, completely fulfilling the role of big sister, Tricia said. Her sister, Sheila Harper, fondly recalls how the four girls all shared a bedroom as children. Lots of good memories! When Cathy learned she had pancreatic cancer, the sisters again reunited to spend overnights with her, at her home and later at Hospice House. It was the circle of life for all of us, Sheila said. Nursing was Cathys career of choice, and before she left high school, she began working as a nurses aide at St. Catherines Hospital. After graduating from St. Joseph High School in 1971, Cathy received degrees as a licensed practical nurse and registered nurse from Gateway Technical College. She always had a good work ethic and financed her own schooling by working the entire time, Tricia said. Cathy was married on May 16, 1981, to Charles Kreuser. They had a son, Michael, and the marriage later ended in divorce. She worked in various departments at St. Catherines as an LPN and an RN, and in 1980, she went to work at the Kenosha Surgical Center. Life outside of work Outside of work, Cathy was very social, gathering with fellow St. Josephs alumni, meeting up with former St. Catherines colleagues, thrift shopping with her sisters, and organizing and attending family reunions like her dads 90th birthday party. Cathy loved a big get-together, where she was inevitably the life of the party, Tricia said. In April 1998, Cathy started working at Hospice Alliance. For the next 21 years she served as a case manager, director of nursing and, finally, clinical services coordinator. Cathy found her true calling when she joined Hospice Alliance, said Tricia. Her ability to empathize and put herself in anothers shoes made it easy for her to relate to those dealing with pain, suffering and end-of-life matters. She was dedicated and passionate about helping patients and families, agreed Rita. Cathy also bonded with those she met in the course of her work duties, like Kevin Metz, owner of Metz Medical. She became a true friend; I never heard her say she wanted something for herself, he said. Kevin said that Cathy was much more than a good nurse. She was just a genuinely kind person, and thats something you cant teach, Kevin said. She was an active listener and a solver of problems. Cathys strength was put to the test in 2012 following the death of her son, Michael. Her work at Hospice comforted her, and she completely engrossed herself in her career; consoling others gave her fulfillment, noted Tricia. Cathys compassion was also an example to others. Cathy was eight years older than me; yet, we formed a close connection when I followed in her footsteps by becoming an RN, Tricia said. She was not only my big sister, but also a great sounding board when I needed career advice. From nurturer to nurtured After a career caring for others, on Dec. 9, 2019, Cathy herself was admitted to Hospice Alliances Hospice House. There friends, family and co-workers returned the favor of her lifetime of care. Recognizing that she loved all things Irish, her coworkers distributed Claddagh pins, symbolizing love, friendship and loyalty and held a memorial service in her honor, Tricia said. At her memorial service, Cathy was given the Wisconsin Nurses Honor Guard Nightingale Tribute. Cathy didnt just talk the talk, but walked it by looking for a way to serve others, Kevin said. She was one of kind, Rita said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 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. Syracuse, N.Y. -- The storm system rolled like a train from the Gulf of Mexico into Upstate New York on Saturday, hauling ever-warmer air all day and into the night. That air smashed high-temperature records for the date across Upstate and generated some of the highest readings ever recorded in January. Albany reached 67, beating the Jan. 11 record by 10 degrees. Saturday was Albanys third-warmest of 4,526 January days since record-keeping began 146 years ago. It took Syracuse until two minutes before midnight, but that warm air finally pushed the temperature to 67 degrees, tying the record for the warmest Jan. 11 on record. For perspective, thats 36 degrees above normal. Saturdays temperature also tied for the 11th-warmest day in the month of January for Syracuse since records began in 1902. Think of it this way: 99.7% of all January days were colder than Saturday was. The warmth lessened after midnight but then surged again, and by 6 a.m. Syracuse had already broken todays record for the warmest Jan. 12. It was 65 degrees before sunrise, beating the record of 62, set just two years ago. The freakish warm spread across Upstate on Saturday, with most cities tying or breaking records. Buffalo had beaten the record by 9 a.m.; the high of 67 tied for the sixth-warmest January day since Buffalos records began in 1873. Saturday turned out to be warmer than forecast but not as wet; flood alerts were called off this morning after only light rain fell. Winds are expected to be a problem today, especially in Western New York and the North Country. Temperatures are likely to be above normal through most of the week, although nowhere near as warm as Saturdays. Winter is expected to return next weekend. Heres a look at the high temperatures Saturday in selected cities compared to the previous records and normals for Jan. 11. Current Print Subscribers will be prompted to either login to their current site user account or to create a new one. A confirmation email will be sent when a new user account is created, which must be confirmed within three days in order to provide uninterrupted online access through your Print Subscription. Once the email address is confirmed please provide your Account Number to activate your Print Subscription Service. Furious relatives of teenager Harry Dunn have vowed to continue their legal fight after the US rejected an official request to extradite the woman charged over his death. A spokesman for the 19-year-old victims family last night accused Donald Trump of running a corrupt and lawless administration. The outspoken attack came after the US State Department refused to hand over Anne Sacoolas, who ran down the teenage motorcyclist last summer. The US claims that as the wife of a US intelligence officer, Mrs Sacoolas was covered by diplomatic immunity at the time of the crash, and described the extradition request, sent by Home Secretary Priti Patel on Friday, as highly inappropriate. The outspoken attack came after the US State Department refused to hand over Anne Sacoolas - pictured last month - who ran down the teenage motorcyclist last summer The State Department said: The use of an extradition treaty to attempt to return the spouse of a former diplomat by force would establish an extraordinarily troubling precedent. Hitting back, Harrys devastated family said: We are confident that when the legal process unfolds, Anne Sacoolas will be coming back to face justice. Radd Seiger, a US lawyer and spokesman for the family, told The Mail on Sunday: This US administration can pretty much do what it likes they are corrupt and lawless. Harrys parents have done all they can its now in the hands of the authorities. If it takes six months, one year or even five years, they are not going away. They will never let it go. Harry Dunn. The collision happened outside RAF Croughton Mrs Sacoolas, 42, had been driving a Volvo SUV on the wrong side of the road when it hit Harry in Northamptonshire. The collision happened outside RAF Croughton, the US spy base where her husband, Jonathan, worked. The American mother of two spoke to police on the day of the incident, but was then flown out of the UK. Mrs Sacoolas later asked to be interviewed under caution and Northamptonshire officers flew to Virginia in October to question her. But her lawyer has said that she will not return voluntarily to Britain. Last month, Harrys mother Charlotte Charles, 44, was said to be distraught after film emerged of Mrs Sacoolas driving outside her home in the US. The Home Office said it was waiting for the US to respond in writing before commenting further. THE UNIVERSITY of Limerick has paid tribute to their dear friend and colleague Brenda Andrews. Brenda, who was an artist and pianist, passed away unexpectedly at her home in Belfield Crescent, Farranshone on Thursday, January 2. A tribute was released by the Human Resources Division of the University of Limericks, acknowledging Brenda's contribution of over 28 years with the University. It is with deep regret that the Human Resources Division announce the death of our dear friend and colleague Brenda Andrews. Brenda joined the Personnel Department in N.I.H.E in 1977 and served the staff and students of the University for 28 years before retiring in 2005. Brenda witnessed many changes during her time here with us and she was always a source of support and good counsel to her many friends and colleagues across campus. Brenda was an accomplished, award-winning artist who exhibited nationally and internationally and she was a recipient of the Douglas Hyde Gold Medal from the RHA. She was enthusiastic about all art forms but Fine Art and Music were a particular passion for her. The University is indebted to Brenda for her wonderful contributions to the Visual Arts on the campus of the University she loved. The iconic One Man in His Time murals, comprising two large colourful paintings depicting an outside gathering and a scene from the University Concert Hall, adorn the entrance to the main building. These works emanate a charge of energy, a positive spirit and a dynamic strength which appropriately express Brendas style and attitude to all things. Brenda also contributed two pieces to the National Portrait Collection which are on display on campus. Read also: A true love story: Limerick husband and wife die within days of one another Brenda is predeceased by her sister Joan and brother Thomas, Brendas passing is deeply regretted by her sisters Mary and Claire, her brother Gerard, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, nephews, nieces, grandnephews, grandnieces, relatives, and her many colleagues and friends. Her Funeral Mass will take place at St Munchin's Church, Clancy Strand on Monday, January 13, at 12 noon. Law enforcement officers in Iran used tear gas against participants in a protest rally that began in the country on January 11, after Tehran pleaded guilty for the downed plane of Ukraines International Airlines (UIA). Reuters reports about this. The outlet states that on January 12, special forces strengthen their presence on the streets of Tehran. Yesterdays protests spread throughout the country, including major cities such as Isfahan, Hamadan, Shiraz. As we reported before, students went to a protest rally demanding to punish those responsible for the crash of a UIA plane shot down by an Iranian missile in Tehran, near Amir Kabir University. The protest is held under the slogan: "commander in chief, resign!" The Ayatollah is Iran's commander in chief. Students chanted Shame on Iranian leaders, calling for justice in the plane crash. The President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, supported the people who went to the protest in Iran. Ariana Grande is one of the most beloved pop stars of our time. Shes an undeniable hitmaker. Her personality seems both larger than life and down to earth. Its a difficult balance, and she plays it well. Grande has had a lot of success as a musician: Shes a Grammy winner, after all. In 2019, she won Best Pop Vocal album for Sweetener, her 2018 studio creation. She has another chance at an in-person acceptance. Shes nominated for five Grammys this year. Her newest album, Thank U, Next, is nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album and Album of the Year. Despite her recent success, there was a time when things werent looking great for Grande. Fans still remember her biggest mistake, almost four years later. Was Dangerous Woman a flop? Ariana Grande | ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images Fans think Grandes album Dangerous Woman was a flop. The album was released in 2016. It was Grandes third album, and her least successful by most metrics. Most agree that Dangerous Woman had some good songs. However, it was the only one of Grandes albums that didnt debut at number one in the U.S. It went platinum, so it cant exactly be called a flop, but it certainly wasnt as successful as her other albums. Fans on Reddit have a few theories for why Dangerous Woman didnt have the same success as her other albums. One has to do with the song roll out. Before its release, the plan was for the album to be titled Moonlight. Grandes songFocus was planned as the lead single. When the song wasnt that big a hit, Grande and her team decided to take the album in another direction. They removed Focus completely, and changed the name of the album. It wasnt a good start for Dangerous Woman, and it didnt necessarily get better. The song and video roll-out may not have been ideal, but thats not the only thing that went wrong for Grande. Ariana Grandes donut scandal didnt help Right before her album dropped, Grande was caught in a donut related scandal. She and her then-boyfriend, Ricky Alvarez, were enjoying what they thought was a private moment in a California donut shop. Alvarez was Grandes backup dancer, and the two have undeniable chemistry. However, what happened in the donut shop would make fans hate him. Unbeknownst to them, Alvarez and Grande were being recorded by the shops security camera. In the video, Grande licks some of the donuts when she thinks no one is looking. Its clear that Alvarez is egging her on. The scandal, and Alvarez himself, may have had something to do with why Dangerous Woman flopped, in more ways than one. Scooter Braun and Ariana Grande stopped working together right before the album dropped Braun is well known in the music industry. He has made more than one huge career. Hes worked with the likes of Justin Bieber. He is a somewhat controversial figure in the business, but when it came to Braun and Grande, she was the one creating the controversy. Braun says he stopped working with Grande because of a bad boyfriend. Although he is too diplomatic to name names, the timeline points to Alvarez. Fans think that Dangerous Woman flopped in part because Grande didnt have Brauns expertise. After she broke up with her boyfriend, Grande made up with Braun. Hes currently on her team again and likely has had a lot to do with the success of her recent work. Grande is a talented artist. She works hard on her music, and shes dedicated to her fans. They love her back, even though they know shes not perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. All Grande can do is move on, and hope she gets another shot at accepting a Grammy in person. Sahaya Novinston Lobo By Express News Service CHENNAI: Three years after the mysterious death of gangster Sridhar Dhanapal in Cambodia, the vacuum he left behind has resulted in an escalating gang war in Kancheepuram district that has sucked in school and college students. Three weeks after 60 youngsters were summoned to the office of the Kancheepuram Superintendent of Police and warned by the SP, Samundeeswari, Express met some of them to understand how they got drawn into a vortex of violence. The Dawood of the South Once known as the Dawood Ibrahim of South India, Sridhar Dhanapals death in 2017 split his gang into two factions, each vying to take his place. One faction is led by Dinesh, who was Sridhars personal driver, and his partner Thyagarajan alias Thyagu. The other is led by Sridhars brother-in-law Thanikachalam. The violence started just a month after Sridhars death with Thanikas men hurling country bombs at Dineshs car in November 2017. In recent months, the gang war is no longer confined to Kancheepuram district. Thanikas men brutally murdered Dineshs aide M Satheeshkumar on a moving bus in Cheyyar in Tiruvannamalai district after the latter attempted to murder Thanikas advocate Siva. To avenge Satheeshs death, Dineshs men hacked Thanikas cousin Karunakaran to death in Kancheepuram. Police sources say there have been more killings, often staged as accidents. Even cops are leery of looking too closely at the deaths lest the war escalates. However, Dinesh and Thyagu are now in prison and detained under Goondas Act. Thanikachalam is absconding and police are struggling to trace the tech-savvy gangster. Young blood Retired police sub-inspector Natarajan has seen Sridhars rise and fall. According to him, as soon as Dinesh realised there was going to be a full-scale war, he joined hands with Thyagu. Dinesh had a huge amount of money with him and Thyagu had the men. However, in the early days, some of them considered capable were murdered or arrested. So to evade police attention, they started recruiting school and college students and influencing them with money and power, Natarajan said. Just claiming he knew Dinesh, Thanika or Thyagu, would give a boy a lot of power and influence in his locality. The boys would be made to get alcohol and food. For them, it is easy money. For instance, to buy five packets of biriyani they will give the boys `4000 and let them keep the change. They have easy access to booze and cash, said a senior police officer attached to Kancheepuram district. I would get goosebumps One of the youth, warned by the SP, is 23 years old. He has been helping a gang for five years. I had heard a lot about Sridhar and Dinesh in my schooldays and have seen them whenever they visited our village for functions or funerals. I would get goosebumps when people said Sridhars men murdered his rival or talked about how he was so influential and had cops in his pockets, the youngster told Express. My friends and I would hang out with annas in our area who were friends with Sridhars men. One day, one of the annas was very excited to get an assignment from Dinesh. If they trust you for an assignment it means you are considered their close mate, he explained. According to the youngster, the gang had several circles of trust. At the highest level was Sridhar, Dinesh and their close aides. Deals and information would not cross this circle. The next level was the henchmen, who would carry out orders. The henchmen were sworn to protect and do the biddings of Sridhar. They could not refuse any assignment, he said. Then there were occasional goons used only to threaten or assault a person. The last circle was the students and dropouts who are well-paid delivery boys, he said, adding that he had hoped to work his way up to the innermost circle. I wanted to get into Sridhars close circle because even henchmen were respected in their localities and knew policemen and politicians, he said.My friend introduced me to one of the henchmen. When my friend would go to buy food or alcohol I would accompany him. After they became familiar with me, they let me run errands, said the youngster. The last promotion he received was a few months ago. He had to carry a message from Dineshs aide to Thyagus men as the gang was worried their mobile phones were being tapped. I bought a mobile phone, motorbike and helped my family with some money. Now that many of the important persons are arrested, there is no work and I do not know what to do next, he said. Studies, peace lost Its like an open secret. Everyone knows the boys are involved in the gang war but nobody speaks about it, said a resident from a hotspot of youngsters involved in gangs.I know a boy in my locality who was 15 when he joined the gang. His parents were struggling to make him study but he was drawn away by the area boys lifestyle. Soon he was into running errands for the Dineshs men, he recalled. The boy had apparently failed in Class 10 and was hanging out with the gang, until the SP called and warned him. When his parents confronted him, he pulled out a knife and threatened to kill them if they interfered in his affairs, said the resident. The senior police officer told Express of a 20-year-old boy who was selling ganja for Thanikas gang. He would get into fights with students part of Dineshs gang and was taken to the police station and warned. He told the cops his boss would come and fight for him. His boss obviously didnt. After that, he promised police he would stay clear of the gangs, he said. Web of danger Although the youngsters believe they are under the protection of the gangsters, the gang leaders dont care about them, the senior cop said. Worse, gangs can make them part of murder plots. When Thanika decides to kill someone he sends his men and murders the person. But Dinesh takes his time and stages the death as an accident, Natarajan said. He constantly tracks a person and uses students to do so. Once the information is received, a third person will be arranged to commit the murder. These boys will have to report back as to whether the person died or escaped, he said. The roundup On December 28, at least 34 people, members of both gangs, were arrested in a roundup conducted by Samundeeswari with Chengalpattu Superintendent of Police Kannan. With them, some 60 students in the age group of 18-23 were taken to the Kancheepuram SPs office, with their parents, and warned. Police said that since then the activity of both gangs has come down in both Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu districts. The SP told Express the youth were warned and let off after noting their details. Some were willing to leave this lifestyle while others were reluctant. It might take some time, but we are working on it, she said. Iranians students demonstrate following a tribute for the victims of Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 in front of the Amirkabir University Tehran, on Jan. 11, 2020. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images) Trump Warns Iran: Do Not Kill Your Protesters After Tehran Admits Plane Was Shot Down President Donald Trump in an early morning Twitter post on Sunday called on Iranian leaders to halt a crackdown on protesters. To the leaders of Iran DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. Thousands have already been killed or imprisoned by you, and the World is watching. More importantly, the USA is watching. Turn your internet back on and let reporters roam free! Trump wrote. He then urged Irans leadership to stop the killing of your great Iranian people! His message came about a day after he wrote a post in Farsi expressing support for the protesters who demonstrated in Tehran after the regime announced it was responsible for downing the Ukrainian Airlines jetliner that killed 176 people earlier this week. To the brave and suffering Iranian people: I have stood with you since the beginning of my presidency and my government will continue to stand with you, Trump also said on Saturday. We are following your protests closely, he added. Your courage is inspiring. To the brave, long-suffering people of Iran: Ive stood with you since the beginning of my Presidency, and my Administration will continue to stand with you. We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2020 Iran also must allow human rights organizations inside the country to monitor and report on the facts on the ground as Iranian authorities crack down, he wrote. Over the weekend, Iran arrested Britains envoy to Tehran, Rob Macaire, and according to state-run media, he was accused of provoking suspicious acts in a gathering held in front of Tehran Amir Kabir University. But in a statement, Macarie wrote that he was not involved in any demonstrations. Can confirm I wasnt taking part in any demonstrations! Went to an event advertised as a vigil for victims of #PS752 tragedy. Normal to want to pay respects- some of victims were British. I left after 5 mins, when some started chanting, he wrote on Twitter. His boss, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, condemned Macaires arrest as a flagrant violation of international law and noted that Iran was heading towards pariah status, The Guardian reported. The unrest was triggered after Iranian officials denied shooting down the plane for several days before making the stunning admission that it was, in fact, accidentally responsible for the disaster, according to reports in state media on Saturday. The Islamic Republic of Iran deeply regrets this disastrous mistake. My thoughts and prayers go to all the mourning families, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif also blamed the United States and wrote that human error at time of crisis caused by US adventurism led to disaster. An Iranian lights candles for the victims of Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 during a gathering in front of the Amirkabir University in the capital Tehran, on Jan. 11, 2020. (AFP via Getty Images) Iranians light candles for the victims of Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 during a gathering in front of the Amirkabir University in the capital Tehran, on Jan. 11, 2020. (AFP via Getty Images) The downing of the plane came hours after Tehran fired more than a dozen missiles at American troops in Iraq after the United States carried out a drone strike that killed Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad. The victims of the downed plane include 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans, and three UK nationals. Iranian military officials also claimed that American military flights increased around Irans borders after it launched the missiles into Iraq. The aircraft came close to a sensitive IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] military center at an altitude and flight condition that resembled hostile targeting, the statement said, reported CNN. Under these circumstances, the aircraft was unintentionally hit, which unfortunately resulted in death of the many Iranian and foreign nationals. In the early hours of Saturday, January 11, Oman announced that Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said would be the new Sultan of Oman. This took place within a few hours of the passing of Sultan Qabbous bin Said and set at rest intense speculation in the last few years about the succession. Qabbous came to the throne in 1970 in a peaceful coup detat, engineered with the help of the British that sent his father into exile. This set off a reign that fundamentally transformed the backward country into a modern, well-developed nation, in a process that was at once dramatic, comprehensive and yet peaceful. The date of Qabbous accession July 23 is commemorated in the country as Renaissance Day. Qabbous principal effort was to unite his diverse people into a single nationhood Oman has people of Arab, Iranian, Indian and African origin; they are Sunni, Shia and Hindu, while the state espouses the earliest form of Islam, Ibadism, that pre-dates the Sunni-Shia divide. The sultan respected all faiths, but insisted that religious practice be restricted to the home and not enter the public domain. Qabbous modernisation drive was minimally disruptive, since the ruler was anxious to preserve, as much as possible, the best aspects of the countrys ancient history and culture its forts, hills, trees, waterways and traditional villages and townships. This has made Omans development quite different from that of its Gulf neighbours where traditional beauty has been replaced by glass and concrete towers. Not endowed with huge oil and gas resources, Qabbous effort was to utilise these depleting assets for maximum returns, with major investments in human development, backed by supporting infrastructure, so that the country boasts of economic opportunity alongside centres of higher education and attractive tourist sites of historical and cultural interest. The late sultan is being rightly extolled for his role as the regions peacemaker: as West Asia has plunged into one crisis after another, Qabbous maintained close ties with all parties and, when needed, attempted to promote engagement between the contending groups. In 2013, Oman hosted secret discussions between Iran and the United States that culminated in the nuclear agreement of 2015. In recent weeks, Muscat has been hosting a quiet dialogue between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis. Qabbous had a unique strategic understanding of what the region needed for long-term peace and security. Thus, when a visiting Indian dignitary attempted to explain to the ruler the compulsions behind Indias establishment of diplomatic ties with Israel in 1992, his comment was India was late by 20 years: if India had taken this initiative two decades earlier, it would have been an effective peacemaker in West Asia. The ruler also understood that regional peace required that Israel see itself as an integral part of West Asia; hence, he took the pioneering step of inviting Israeli Prime Minister Yitzkhak Rabin to Oman in 1994 and then hosted Benjamin Netanyahu in Muscat in 2018. Qabbous strategic vision had a special place for India. In 1993, after the Cold War and the Gulf War, he understood that Omans security needed a strategic partnership with India. India was the nearest major power with which Oman had had an uninterrupted relationship over several millennia, forged through maritime links that had brought the two peoples together and had imparted to them a high level of mutual cultural comfort. Oman offered India access to its ports on the Indian Ocean and the entry point into the Gulf at Hormuz. The sultan proposed that the proposed partnership be founded on substantial economic ties: two high-value projects to be executed by public sector companies, one in each country, and ties between the private sector be organised through a joint holding company that would pursue projects in the two countries and in third countries. Sadly, India just could not rise to the challenge: the fertiliser project in Sur, Oman, was completed more than a decade later after much acrimony in India, while the joint refinery project in Bina, Madhya Pradesh, got indefinitely delayed so that the Omani side had no choice but to withdraw from it. The Indian private sector companies on their part saw no possibility of working jointly with each other. This sorry experience affirms that India is just not able to shape and pursue a broad strategic vision, and remains condemned to prioritising domestic interests and compulsions and short-term, reactive responses to strategic challenges and opportunities. The new Sultan, Sayyid Haitham, has stated in his first remarks that he will follow in his predecessors path and build on it. He faces formidable challenges. Falling oil prices have imposed an extraordinary burden on the exchequer, so that Oman will have to borrow $5 billion to meet the budget deficit. The economic challenge will be compounded by the need to meet the rising aspirations of the countrys youth. In the wake of the Arab Spring in 2011, several thousand of them had demonstrated on the streets demanding jobs and an end to corruption. A shocked sultan had immediately reshuffled his Cabinet, provided some degree of popular representation, and increased unemployment doles. But the monarch had clearly been unnerved by the popular anger and this, coupled with his ill-health from 2014, gave a sense of inertness and absence of direction to the nation. Sayyid Haitham is thus taking charge at a time when the country is desperate for leadership that will tread not the old path but shape new directions, with greater transparency and accountability in the political order. Again, Haitham, lacking the stature, charisma and experience of the late sultan, will have to steer his country through the treacherous shoals of regional contentions, at the time when Iran is facing battlelines drawn by the United States, backed by Israel and Saudi Arabia. Haitham has been a close friend of India over several years. His accession provides the opportunity to re-affirm bilateral ties and work together for regional peace. This would be the best tribute to the memory of the departed monarch. The writer is a retired diplomat who has served as Indias ambassador to several West Asian capitals Following reports of sexual harassment and even rape at New Jersey political events, Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg is forming a committee to find ways to change this toxic culture for women. The first question is what to do about Gov. Phil Murphys long list of nominees. Hopefully were not going to have to rent Meadowlands Stadium for the first meeting, she said dryly. As she is weighing this, the closeness of various nominees to the governor should count against them, not in favor. Murphy has earned a seat in the penalty box on this issue. Yes, the problem existed long before he came to office, but he is not the doctor. His administration is actively enforcing gag orders against women that could protect harassers, and failed Katie Brennan utterly after she reported being raped by a colleague on Murphys campaign. Of course, we dont want this to be a politically-biased hunt of the governor, either. That was the fear before the Brennan hearings. But they were led by Weinberg and three other senior female legislators who conducted them professionally, in careful search of the facts. That didnt turn into political circus, and theres no reason to think this panel couldnt be conducted equally. Sure, put someone on the committee to reassure the governor that there isnt a political ax to grind like Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, for instance, who has expertise as a local official and Assembly speaker. The aim must be to appoint a nominee with independent political standing, like her, not loyalists hesitant to criticize the governor over his staffs own bad behavior. Deborah Cornavaca, a former union official and political operative for Murphy, is the type of person who should not be on this panel. So is his nominee from the Civil Service Commission, Deirdre Webster Cobb, who is currently being sued for not following through on a sexual harassment complaint. The same goes for the governors wife, Tammy Murphy, a fact witness in Katie Brennans case who was also on the email that Brennan sent asking to discuss a sensitive matter, to which she got no response. Grassroots female leaders who didnt support Brennan in her sexual assault hearings but opted instead to support Murphy in his political war with Senate President Steve Sweeney dont inspire much confidence, either. Is this really a group that will make women feel safer in coming forward? It seems like the needle hasnt moved much, in terms of showing genuine sensitivity on this issue. We need more than a panel full of platitudes. Surely we can come up with a more effective solution than the nonsensical ban on hard booze for the Chamber of Commerces annual grope train to D.C. Theyre trying to save a tradition now under threat, but a five-ounce glass of wine is the equivalent of 1.5 ounces of hard alcohol, folks. Sweeneys got a better idea: Hes just going to stop going to these things, as many women have already opted to do. And in the longer term, lets hope we can find more meaningful reform. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. The Prominent Civil Rights Advocacy group- HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has expressed shock that the Chief Justice of Nigeria Muhammad Tanko and the entire hierarchy of the Supreme court of Nigeria aren't bothered by the apparent contemptuous act displayed by the Enugu State based Catholic Priest Ejike Mbaka which undermines the credibility of the nation's apex court in the subsisting political litigation between the All Progressives Congress 2019 Governorship candidate in Imo State Senator Hope Uzodinma and the declared winner of that election and incumbent governor Mr. Emeka Ihedioha. HURIWA has also accused the controversial Catholic Priest of behaving like a political agent provocateur working for the All Progressives Congress (APC) and some forces bent on creating confusion and chaos in Imo State for their selfish political gains just as the Rights group has challenged the Supreme Court of Nigeria to speak up now and clear the foggy political climate that resulted from the anarchic prediction made reportedly by Reerend Father Ejike Mabaka of Adoration ministries in Enugu State in which he pointedly asked the Imo State governor Mr.. Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic party to get ready to lose his seat this year which in the thinking of millions of people referred directly to a matter that is subsisting before the highest court in The Land. HURIWA in the media Statement by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf condemned the statement credited to Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka just as the Rights group said there is no doubt that since the religious preacher predicted the outcome of a pending litigation between All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic party in the Imo state governorship tussle that is before the highest court in The Land, there has been a heightened climate of uncertainty and the political fear of the unknown with a section of Imo State people believing that someone high up there within the Supreme Court of Nigeria may have allegedly leaked out the contents of the Supreme Court of Nigeria's judgment between the two contending political parties who are before their Lordships over their disagreement over the outcome of the 2019 Governorship poll in Imo state. "This is not the first time that the nation's highest court has faced criticism from the public over alleged leakage or otherwise of a verdict that has not been read and in the first sensational allegations of leakage, the then hierarchy of the Supreme court of Nigeria investigated the claims just as many heads rolled in the nation's judiciary. This time around, may we join millions of worried Nigerians to task the Chief justice of Nigeria to openly tell Nigerians what is going on and why the conspiratorial silence from the Supreme Court of Nigeria since the Enugu State based Catholic Priest who is a well known associate and sympathizer of the All Progressives Congress at the national level made a CONTEMPTUOUS PREDICTION purportedly and pointedly claiming that he has the esoteric knowledge of the outcome of a pending political litigation between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic party (PDP) in Imo state with specific reference to the legal challenge mounted by the All Progressives Congress candidate in the Imo state 2019 Governorship election Senator Hope Uzodinma who is challenging the victory of Governor Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP. We in the organised human rights community have waited for weeks to know what the official reactions from the Supreme Court of Nigeria is and to know what will be the sanction to be unleashed on the politically motivated Catholic Priest in the person of Ejike Mbaka whose undue and unwarranted interference in the ongoing litigation before the Supreme court of Nigeria under the guise of issuing 'spiritual Prophesies' must not be swept under the carpet of impunity because of the fact that the religious personality we are speaking about is a man of means and someone who have all the highest political contacts in Abuja and is in a position to have some privileged information which millions of Nigerians may not have since they do not have the same kind of political networking capacities of a near infinite dimension in Abuja. The Supreme Court of Nigeria must be told to come clean and let Nigerians know what their position is and the reason for which this unambiguous contempt of court is being treated with lack of interest. Constitutional democracy is all about transparency, accountability and full disclosure. We appeal to the Chief justice of Nigeria to make a public statement concerning the prediction made in a matter that is before his court. We must preserve the integrity and independence of the judiciary by every legal means possible." "HURIWA is demanding that the Supreme Court of Nigeria say all that it knows about the Catholic cleric, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka who made a categorical statement about a matter before the Supreme court of Nigeria and has restated his prophecy that Imo State Governor, Emeka Ihedioha would lose his seat this 2020. As is a notorious knowledge , most people already know that Mbaka first revealed the prophecy during the Cross Over service at his Adoration Ministry Enugu. He added that the Holy Spirit showed him that APCs Hope Uzodinma would replace Ihedioha this year. The Imo State governorship election petition is still pending before the Supreme Court. Although we aware that governor Ihedioha urged Imo people to disregard the prophecy, which drew reactions from different quarters but this catholic priest for the umpteenth time again at the Sunday mass at the adoration ministry permanent site, Umuchigbo-Nike, Enugu, Mbaka said that the prophecy did not emanate from him but based on the directive of the spirit. The controversial cleric said, Those who are attacking the message are just casting Pearl before swine, the holy spirit has said it, and that is final. I dont know how it will happen, but the only thing is that I see hope, joy, and a new government coming in Imo state." HURIWA said it is sad and unfortunate that the Chief Justice of Nigeria Muhammad Tanko who has a full department dedicated to media and publicity under his office has not thought it imperative to clear the misconception, conspiratorial plots or otherwise generated by these repeated atrocious and brazen act of CONTEMPT OF COURT so people don't go with the suspicions that the Catholic Priest may have received some intelligence concerning an outcome of a pending suit before the Supreme court of Nigeria. HURIWA also disclosed that it is monitoring the reaction of the Catholic church hierarchy on the disgraceful political prediction by Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka with a view to determining if the matter merits a direct complaint to Pope Francis in the Vatican city. SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) A contingent of grassroots organizations will be gathering to lead a peace march on the Golden Gate Bridge on Sunday calling for no war in Iran, according to organizers. Codepink and other organizations will be hosting the rally on Sunday, organizers said. A group will gather in a plaza on the San Francisco side at about 11:45 a.m., before starting a walk to the center of the bridge at noon. "The large emergency rallies across the country this week have demonstrated to our politicians and military leaders that Americans are tired of endless war," Toby Blome, one of the organizers, said in a statement. The group will return to the plaza at about 1 p.m. for a rally. 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. 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 CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust, Inc. (NYSE:CORR), by way of a worked example. Over the last twelve months CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust has recorded a ROE of 3.1%. One way to conceptualize this, is that for each $1 of shareholders' equity it has, the company made $0.03 in profit. View our latest analysis for CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust How Do You Calculate Return On Equity? The formula for ROE is: Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) Shareholders' Equity Or for CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust: 3.1% = US$15m US$476m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2019.) Most know that net profit is the total earnings after all expenses, but the concept of shareholders' equity is a little more complicated. It is all the money paid into the company from shareholders, plus any earnings retained. You can calculate shareholders' equity by subtracting the company's total liabilities from its total assets. What Does Return On Equity Mean? ROE measures a company's profitability against the profit it retains, and any outside investments. The 'return' is the profit over the last twelve months. A higher profit will lead to a higher ROE. So, all else equal, investors should like a high ROE. That means ROE can be used to compare two businesses. Does CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust Have A Good Return On Equity? Arguably the easiest way to assess company's ROE is to compare it with the average in its industry. However, this method is only useful as a rough check, because companies do differ quite a bit within the same industry classification. As is clear from the image below, CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust has a lower ROE than the average (5.9%) in the REITs industry. Story continues NYSE:CORR Past Revenue and Net Income, January 11th 2020 That's not what we like to see. It is better when the ROE is above industry average, but a low one doesn't necessarily mean the business is overpriced. Nonetheless, it might be wise to check if insiders have been selling. Why You Should Consider Debt When Looking At ROE Companies usually need to invest money to grow their profits. That cash can come from retained earnings, issuing new shares (equity), or debt. In the first two cases, the ROE will capture this use of capital to grow. In the latter case, the use of debt will improve the returns, but will not change the equity. In this manner the use of debt will boost ROE, even though the core economics of the business stay the same. CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust's Debt And Its 3.1% ROE CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust has a debt to equity ratio of 0.33, which is far from excessive. Its ROE is quite low, and the company already has some debt, so surely shareholders are hoping for an improvement. Judicious use of debt to improve returns can certainly be a good thing, although it does elevate risk slightly and reduce future optionality. The Bottom Line On ROE Return on equity is useful for comparing the quality of different businesses. In my book the highest quality companies have high return on equity, despite low debt. If two companies have around the same level of debt to equity, and one has a higher ROE, I'd generally prefer the one with higher ROE. But when a business is high quality, the market often bids it up to a price that reflects this. Profit growth rates, versus the expectations reflected in the price of the stock, are a particularly important to consider. So you might want to take a peek at this data-rich interactive graph of forecasts for the company. Of course CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have 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. VALLETTA, Malta A first-term lawmaker whose father was Maltas president has been chosen to be the countrys new prime minister, replacing a leader who is stepping down amid demands for accountability over the 2017 murder of an anticorruption journalist. The departing prime minister, Joseph Muscat, 42, said on Twitter on Sunday that he would formally resign as prime minister on Monday, leaving the role midway through his second term. Eligible members of the governing Labour Party voted this weekend to choose a new prime minister, and a count on Sunday showed that the first-term lawmaker, Robert Abela, had received nearly 58 percent of ballots cast. I am humbled, he told supporters. There is only one winner today, the Labour Party. He was scheduled to address the party on Sunday afternoon. MONTREALGael Stephenson Chancy remembers the time following the earthquake that struck Haiti ten years ago as the moment he was forced to grow up. As his family rode in a transport towards the military plane that would carry his family to Canada, the then-12-year-old looked out the window and saw horrific sights. They had piled up the bodies of the dead next to the wounded as the rescue teams were trying to hide the wounded, he said in an interview. I remember the adults in my family telling me to hide the eyes of my younger cousins, and I remember thinking, Why wouldnt I hide my own eyes? Chancy was one of the many Haitian-Canadians across the country who on Sunday marked the 10th anniversary of the catastrophic earthquake that devastated their mother country. In a Montreal theatre usually used for circus performances, a crowd in the stands stood holding electronic candles during a moment of silence that gave way to thunderous drumming at exactly 4:53 p.m. the moment the earthquake struck on Jan. 12, 2010. Marjorie Villefranche, the director of the Maison dHaiti community organization, said the sense of loss is still very vivid in Montreals Haitian community. Every time we talk about the earthquake everybody starts crying again, so the trauma is still there, she said. Probably it will be for another 10 years, we dont know. The Maison dHaiti, which helped organize the ceremony, held a weekend of discussions, presentations and artistic performances to mark the anniversary of the tragedy. Villefranche said its important to remember the dead but also the living, who continue to grapple with the aftermath of the disaster. Over 200,000 died in the earthquake, and 300,000 more were injured. Countless other lives were changed. Laurence Magloire, a Haitian filmmaker who has spent much of her life Canada, said she was at home editing footage when her house outside Port-au-Prince began shaking, hard enough to throw her to the ground. With a sense of foreboding, she went out in the street. I saw all these people running around, it wasnt broken there, she said. But I was hearing downtown was totally collapsed, this place is collapsed, that place is collapsed, and then the phones collapsed. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered condolences on Sunday to the loved ones of the victims, including 58 Canadians. Over the last decade, the Haitian people have shown incredible resilience in the face of challenges and obstacles, as they continue to work toward a better tomorrow, he said in a statement. As steadfast partners and friends, Canada remains committed in our support for the Haitian people. There were more than 165,000 people of Haitian origin living in Canada according to the 2016 census, the vast majority of them in Quebec. But despite the international aid that poured into Haiti following the earthquake, Magloire said life in Haiti remains difficult. Magloire said schools and hospitals still lack basic supplies something she blames on government mismanagement and corruption. We had hope to change things, to build it better, she said. But no, all this money is gone because the politicians, the government, theyre not there to make the country work. Stephenson Chancy remembers his first interview after landing in Canada, when he solemnly told reporters his generation would take responsibility for rebuilding Haiti. Im not sure what I thought I could do at 12 years old for reconstruction, he said, smiling a little. I really felt a sense of responsibility. I think it was just a natural instinct to being powerless toward nature. Now, hes doing his best to help. He works for the Maison dHaiti, where he helps with youth programming and welcoming new refugees to Canada. Hes also become involved in working with an orphanage back in Haiti, which he said was completely rebuilt with money from international donations. Its an example of how aid can work, he said, if the parties listen to those on the ground and work together. He said he understands the frustration that more hasnt been accomplished, but gets angry when he hears people say theres no point in trying. I think of all the people who are still there because they have no choice but to live those conditions, he said. Maybe Im demanding, but I think we have a duty to help them. Aircraft are being used to feed the thousands of hungry wildlife stranded amid the Australian bushfire crisis. The New South Wales government has started doing food-drops, trickling thousands of kilograms of carrots and sweet potato from above to feed the state's colonies of brush-trailed rock wallabies. The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service recently commenced 'Operation Rock Wallaby' to combat the at-risk nature of the state's marsupial population. Pictured: The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service commenced 'Operation Rock Wallaby' on Saturday to combat the at-risk nature of the state's marsupial population Pictured: A Rock Wallaby munches on a carrot that's been dropped as part of a New South Wales government initiative to support the wildlife affected by the bushfire crisis The parks service has spent the past week completing the food drops for rock wallaby colonies in the Capertree and Wolgan valleys, Yengo National Park, the Kangaroo Valley, and around Jenolan, Oxley Wild Rivers and Curracubundi national parks. In total they have dropped more than 2,200kg of fresh vegetables for the critters. New South Wales Environment Minister Matt Kean said while the aninmals have managed to flee the fires they're left without a source of food. Pictured: The parks service has spent the past week completing the food drops for rock wallaby colonies across New South Wales NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean said rock wallabies (pictured) typically survive the fire itself, but are then left stranded with limited natural food as the fire takes out the vegetation around their rocky habitat 'The wallabies typically survive the fire itself, but are then left stranded with limited natural food as the fire takes out the vegetation around their rocky habitat,' he said. 'The wallabies were already under stress from the ongoing drought, making survival challenging for the wallabies without assistance,' he said. Mr Keane said they'll be keeping an eye on the native species to check on their progress as part of the post-bushfire recovery process. 'When we can, we are also setting up cameras to monitor the uptake of the food and the number and variety of animals there,' Mr Kean said. Pictured: In total the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service has dropped more than 2,200kg of fresh vegetables for the critters The World Wildlife Fund has estimated about 1.25 billion animals have died either directly or indirectly from the bushfires across Australia. 'This heart-breaking loss includes thousands of precious koalas on the mid-north coast of NSW, along with other iconic species such as kangaroos, wallabies, gliders, potoroos, cockatoos and honeyeaters,' WWF-Australia CEO Dermot O'Gorman said in a statement. The rock wallaby - the main species for the state's food drop initiative - was already deemed at-risk before the bushfires because of habitat destruction. Pictured: Carrots and sweet potatoes are being supplied via helicopter food drops to New South Wales rock wallaby colonies Meanwhile, charity Animals Australia has been using aircraft to transport food supplies for the injured and burnt wildlife in regional Victoria. More than 800,000 hectares of land has been burnt in East Gippsland since fires gripped the region and stranded thousands of tourists and residents before New Year's Eve. Charity group Animals Australia has been using aircraft (pictured) to transport food supplies for the injured and burnt wildlife in regional Victoria The organisation has been relying on donations to lease small planes and then filling them with bags of grain and pellets to distribute to wildlife in the region through 'Vets for Compassion'. The first plane chartered last weekend flew in Dr Elaine Ong and Dr Chris Barton- the first vets on the ground in Mallacoota. A subsequent two plane-loads of food and veterinary supplies were sent off on Wednesday to reach the animals around the Mallacoota fire-grounds. The organisation initially struggled to get food supplies into Mallacoota because of smokey conditions this week In total the group has sent three tonnes of food for kangaroos in the area, in addition to a generator and other supplies. Two more planes have been loaded up and will be ready to leave on Monday and Tuesday next week. Animals Australia Spokeswoman, Lyn White, said they're working as hard as they can to make sure the wildlife that has survived the fires doesn't die from a lack of food. 'With roads likely shut for weeks, the risk of starvation for surviving wildlife in the area is very real,' she said. 'It would be tragic if there was a further loss of life because the needs of surviving animals was not being met.' Pictured: Wildlife carers in Mallacoota tend to a kangaroo joey injured during the recent bushfires in East Gippsland Pictured: Wildlife carers in Mallacoota bandaged up a kangaroo who has suffered burns to his feet during the bushfires in East Gippsland The organisation initially struggled to get supplies in because of the unfavourable conditions. 'Fingers crossed for clearer skies today, but we're working on any and all options to get the food to these hungry animals,' Animals Australia wrote on Wednesday. But the skies cleared and the drop was successfully made, with the group thanking its supporters for providing the funds to make it possible. 'We continue to be absolutely humbled by the outpouring of love and generosity and support from all across the world. 'Today our primary focus is making sure these funds are distributed to wherever they will have the most direct and meaningful impact for animals,' the group wrote. Pictured: More than 800,000 hectares of land has been burnt in East Gippsland since fires gripped the region A fire was reported on Sunday at two adjoining luggage shops in New Lajpat Rai Market in Chandni Chowk area of the national capital, a Delhi Fire Service official said. No one was injured in the fire, the official said. The fire department said it was informed about the fire at 11.33 am after which four fire tenders were rushed to the spot. The fire was brought under control by 12 noon and the cooling process was underway, a senior fire official said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Published on 2020/01/12 | Source Korean cosmetics continue to gain popularity overseas. Advertisement The Korea Trade Statistics Promotion Institute said on Friday that the country's cosmetics exports rose 34 percent on-year to US$490 million last month. China was the biggest importer, with shipments worth $220 million, which accounted for 46 percent of Korea's total cosmetics exports. HSBC Holdings has kicked off the sale of its French retail operations, part of a push by interim CEO Noel Quinn to cut costs at Europe's largest lender by assets, sources said. The bank has sent out an overview of the business to potential buyers, they said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. HSBC is said to be gauging interest from possible suitors including rival French lenders La Banque Postale, Credit Agricole, Credit Mutuel, Milleis Banque and BNP Paribas. It has also reached out to potential private- equity buyers including Apollo Global Management and Cerberus Capital Management. HSBC is working with Lazard on the sale, the sources said. Any buyer would gain HSBC's deposit base in France as well as about 230 retail branches and could take up to 8,000 workers off HSBC's payroll. The move follows an exit by competitor Barclays, which sold its French retail and wealth management business in 2017 to private-equity firm AnaCap Financial Partners. LNA and GNA blame each other for breaking truce, aimed to stop more than nine months of clashes around Tripoli. Libyas warring factions have accused each other of violating a ceasefire proposed by Turkey and Russia, as fighting continues on the outskirts of capital Tripoli. The Turkish and Russian presidents had called for the ceasefire to start on Sunday, more than nine months into an offensive on Tripoli by the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), led by renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar. Both the LNA and the Tripoli-based, internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) had said they conditionally agreed to the truce. However, the GNA said in a statement that it had recorded gunfire in the Salaheddin and Wadi Rabea areas minutes after the ceasefire was meant to start at midnight local time on Sunday (22:01 GMT on Saturday). It said the violations were by the aggressors militias, but that it renews its commitment to the ceasefire, and emphasises the need for commitment from the patrons of this ceasefire and the United Nations mission in Libya in applying it optimally. The [GNA] militias violated the truce on more than one battlefront, with all types of weapons, said LNA commander Al-Mabrouk Al-Ghazawi, adding that forces were waiting for further instruction from LNA general command. Early on Sunday morning, exchange of fire could be heard in Salaheddin and Ain Zara districts, according to the Reuters News Agency. Turkey, which recently deployed forces to Libya to support the GNA, said it had observed that all sides were trying to abide by the ceasefire and that the situation was calm except for one or two separate incidents. GNAs condition Al Jazeeras Mahmoud Abdelwahed, reporting from Tripoli, said any attempt to impose a lasting ceasefire was hard to enforce in the country. [This is] especially with the UN-recognised government demanding that Haftars forces pull out from southern Tripoli as a prerequisite to any settlement in this conflict, he said. The splintered nature of Libyas military coalitions, with disparate factions and foreign fighters deployed on both sides, makes having a dialogue between the sides difficult. They refer to each other as militias. The ceasefire calls by Turkey and Russia came after the LNAs advance into Sirte, a strategically important city midway along Libyas coastline in addition to the offensive on Tripoli. 200112004206081 It also came as the UN and European powers pushed for a summit in Berlin aimed at winding down foreign involvement and resuming a peace process upended by Haftars advance. Anas El Gomati, an analyst working on Libya, told Al Jazeera that the international community needed to find a unified position over the deadly conflict. He said: When we think that there is so much disunity in the international community, they have to have a conference about finding a unified position amongst themselves before they can even bring Libyans to the table. Thats the main issue here. The LNA has received backing from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Jordan, Egypt and Russia, while Turkey backs the GNA and voted this month to allow a troop deployment to the North African country. US Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Sunday said that he shared President Donald Trump and his national security team's view that the Iranians were planning to attack American embassies in the Gulf, even though he did not see specific intelligence suggesting that. "I didn't see one (intelligence) with regard to four embassies. What I'm saying is I share(d) the president's view," the Defense Secretary said during CBS's "Face The Nation." He was responding to a question on President Donald Trump's comment to Fox early this week that Iran's General Qassem Soleimani was plotting against four US embassies before he was killed in American air strikes in Baghdad early in the month. "There was intelligence that there was intent to target the US Embassy in Baghdad," he told CNN in another interview. "What the president said with regard to the four embassies is what I believe as well. He (Trump) believed... they could have been targeting the embassies in the region. I believe that as well, as did other national security team members," Esper said. That is why the US deployed thousands of additional paratroopers to the region to reinforce its embassy in Baghdad and to reinforce in other locations throughout the region, said the former US Secretary of the Army. "What the president said was, he believed. All those things that I believe as well, that the national security team believes as well. The important thing is this. Soleimani orchestrated, resourced, directed the attacks, escalating up to December 1, that killed an American," Esper said. "He orchestrated the siege on the US Embassy in Baghdad, and he was planning this much broader plot in multiple countries that would be bigger in scale, and that likely would have taken us to open hostility with Iran. In fact, a very, very senior intelligence community official said to us that the risk of inaction is greater than risk of action. To me, that is very compelling," said the US Defense Secretary. In response to another question, Esper said there was evidence that part of the attack would be against the United States Embassy in Baghdad. When asked about the four other embassies, he said, "I'm not going to discuss intelligence. What the president said was, he believed it probably could have been. He didn't cite intelligence." "He was orchestrating an attack, likely, include an attack on the United States Embassy," he added. Alleging that Iran has been attacking the United States through its proxy militias for 40 years now, Esper said last summer the US had to deploy 14,000 additional soldiers to the region since May. "They shot down an armed drone. They were striking Saudi Aramco oil fields in the fall. They were seizing tankers. The scale and scope of attacks against our forces in late fall had escalated considerably," he said. Esper said the United States is safer today than it was just a few weeks ago. "Why? Because we eliminated the world's foremost terrorist, Qasem Soleimani, who had the blood of hundreds of American service members on his hands," he said. "Secondly, we restored deterrence with Iran. And we did so without American casualties. Third we reassured our friends and allies in the region that the United States will stand up and defend our interests. And I want to thank all of our brave service members who are deployed for what they did, for their brilliance in executing this very important mission," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Originally intended for the country's citizens, Finland has offered its AI training course to the world. This six-week training program was intended to help Finnish citizens educate themselves about artificial intelligence, but in a recent announcement, authorities have made it universally availability. The course, Elements of AI was designed and implemented by the University of Helsinki and is currently available in five languages - English, Swedish, Estonian, Finnish and German and according to reports, in excess of 1% of the Finnish population has already signed up. The web site claims that there are over 220,000 students registered for the course. The course will be available in all EU languages by the end of 2021 (the site lists 26 languages not currently supported). Finland is relinquishing the EU Presidency at the end of 2019 and decided to offer this course as a gift to the European Union, however, as there are no restrictions as to who in the world can undertake the course, it is available to everyone. The course has six modules, designed to take between 5 and 10 hours to complete and includes short tests to confirm understanding of the various topics. For some students, degree credit is available for successful completion. Subjects range from the philosophical implications of AI to more technical material such as Bayesian probability, Neural Networks and Machine Learning. According to the site's help page, "The course was designed by Reaktor and the University of Helsinki. The lead instructor of the course is Associate Professor Teemu Roos. The creator of the original course concept is Ville Valtonen, Head of Online Education at Reaktor. The course is a part of the AI Education programme of the Finnish Centre for AI, and offered in cooperation with The Open University, and Mooc.fi. The web site states, "The Finnish Presidency of the Council of the EU has decided to invest in people's future skills and will make the Elements of AI online course freely available in all official EU languages. The technical language translation has been provided by the Directorate-General for Translation of the European Commission. "Our ambitious goal is to educate 1 % of European citizens by 2021. We will start launching new languages during the spring of 2020." The author intends to complete the course and will offer a comment once completed. Severe storms sweeping the southern US killed at least 11 people, authorities said, as tornadoes and high winds upturned cars, destroyed homes and left tens of thousands without power. The storms hit parts of the south on Friday and were expected to move east and north on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service, which issued flood and tornado warnings for several states. Among the dead were a policeman and firefighter who were hit by a vehicle in Texas after being called out to respond to traffic accidents in icy conditions, local authorities said. In Louisiana the bodies of a couple were found on Saturday near their destroyed mobile home after it was hit by storms the night before, said Bill Davis of the county sheriff's office. "It's totally rolled over. It looked like a couple hundred feet into the back yard. Debris is all over. It's just a sad situation," said Davis, according to local television channel KTBS 3. The National Weather Service said three people were confirmed dead on Saturday in Alabama, where local channel WHNT News 19 showed buildings reduced to rubble. Other structures had parts of their roofs ripped off and downed power lines were strewn across roads. The storms left more than 200,000 people without electricity early Sunday, the poweroutage.us website said, with North Carolina and Alabama among the worst affected areas. The National Weather Service has issued flood and tornado warnings for several states Labour aide Salma Hamid (pictured) was suspended on Friday Labour leadership contender Jess Phillips has been forced to suspend one of her key aides for posting offensive antisemitic and anti-Israel tweets, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. She took the decision on Friday evening after this newspaper sent her copies of a series of the messages posted by her office manager, including describing Israel as a murderer that was inflicting Holocaust conditions on Palestinians. Another message appeared to compare Israel to terrorist organisation Islamic State. Embarrassingly for Mrs Phillips, she was forced to discipline her own staff member just hours after she put tackling antisemitism in the party at the heart of her bid to succeed Jeremy Corbyn. The outspoken Birmingham MP has emerged as one of the leading moderates in the race to lead her party. But The Mail on Sunday last week confronted her over tweets posted by Salma Hamid, Mrs Phillips Birmingham Yardley constituency office manager. In a series of posts between 2014 and 2016 before she was employed by the MP, Mrs Hamid lambasted Israels treatment of the Palestinians and praised militant group Hamas, which rules Gaza. Jess Phillips, pictured outside the BBC in London on January 5, has been forced to suspend Hamid for posting 'offensive' antisemitic messages between 2014 and 2016. Phillips aide drew a distinction between Jews a faith based on peace and love and Israel or Zionists In one message in 2015 addressed directly to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, she appeared to equate Israel with terrorists in Islamic State, writing: Because Israel obeys human rights/law? Hilarious! Isis are terrible too. So really there is no difference. In another Twitter exchange, Ms Hamid wrote: We must show the world that Israel is the murderer! She also claimed that Israel IS inflicting Holocaust conditions on Palestinians! Oppressive, racist and violent! Mrs Hamid did draw a distinction between Jews a faith based on peace and love and Israel or Zionists. But Denny Taylor, spokesman for Labour Against Antisemitism, said: These offensive tweets are, in our opinion, antisemitic and it is right that Jess Phillips has acted quickly and suspended her office manager. Last night, a spokesman for the MP said: As soon as Jess was made aware of these comments, she acted. Her office manager has been suspended with immediate effect. Her office said Mrs Hamid did not wish to comment. Labour is braced for what many fear will be a damning report from the equalities watchdog into its handling of antisemitism complaints. Two British backpackers have relived the terrifying moment they lost control of their car and flipped on to the roof in the middle of the Australian Outback. Robyn Jago, 23, and Elyse O'Donnell, both from Merseyside, went to Perth from Thailand in February 2018 to begin their 'dream trip'. The friends spent the next year working on a farm 'in the middle of nowhere' in Broome and Hallscreek, to save up to travel the East coast. Robyn Jago (left), 23, from Halewood, and Elyse O'Donnell (right), from Stockbridge Village, Merseyside, went to Perth from Thailand in February 2018 to begin their 'dream trip' But their trip took a devastating turn when a tyre on the car they were in burst, causing it to lose control and veer off in the wrong direction on September 30 (pictured) But their trip took a horrific turn when a tyre on the car they were in burst, causing it to lose control and veer off the road on September 30. Ms Jago said she first realised something was wrong when she smelt 'burning rubber' coming from the tyres. Driver Ms O'Donnell tried to regain control but hit a dip at the side of the road and flipped the vehicle on to its roof, hitting a tree which smashed through the windscreen. Australian police told Ms Jago if she had not had removed her seatbelt she would have been impaled. Ms Jago told the ECHO: 'I woke up and I was on my hands and knees scrunched up in a ball. 'I don't remember being in the air flipping. I just remember seeing a tiny glimpse out of the window which I knew wasn't the road. 'I was trying to understand what had happened when I saw a light switch on the floor next to me and that's when I realised that it was actually the roof of the car and that we were upside down.' Ms O'Donnell (left), who was driving the car, tried to regain control but hit a dip at the side of the road and flipped the vehicle on to its roof and hit a nearby tree, which smashed through the windscreen Australian police told Ms Jago if she had not had removed her seat-belt she would have been impaled by the tree (pictured) Ms Jago and ms O'Donnell were in the car with two other women, who they had met the month before, but who have asked not to be named. Seconds before the accident, Ms Jago had unfastened her belt to change position in the tightly packed car - meaning she took the full force of the crash. She said: 'Your senses slowly start coming back to you and I heard screaming and Elyse's voice. 'She had managed to get out of the car by this point with [one of the other women] and they were stood on the side of the road. 'When I looked to my right I saw (one of the others) covered in blood, I thought she was dead. Seconds before the accident, Ms Jago had unfastened her belt to change position in the tightly packed car - meaning she took the full force of the crash 'She had blood all over her face and wounds where the tree had scraped her. I screamed.' Ms Jago said: 'Elyse could hear a hissing noise coming from the car so she thought it was going to blow. 'She was shouting ''you need to get out of the car''.' By this point, Ms Jago said she knew she had broken her back but they had no other option but to get out of the car. She said: 'I couldn't get out of the side I was on so we had to get out of the other side but there was a branch coming through the window. 'Elyse and [one of the others] had to pull us both out in the end.' Ms Jago suffered a bleed on the brain during the crash and was left with a broken back and a burst finger. Ms O'Donnell broke her back and neck in five places. One of the other two women sustained a total of 14 serious injuries, including a wound to the head, while the other was left with black eye and a torn ligament to the shoulder. Ms Jago said: 'I never take my seatbelt off, I literally just took it off for a minute to get comfortable. 'But the police told me afterwards that if I had had my seat belt on there was a good chance I would have been impaled by the tree and would probably have been dead by now.' Ms Jago suffered a bleed on the brain during the crash and was left with a broken back and a burst finger. Ms O'Donnell broke her back and neck in five places After escaping from the vehicle, the girls stood 'shaking' as they tried to work out what to do next. Ms Jago said the crash took place 'literally in the middle of nowhere' and was a three-and-a-half-hour drive away from the nearest hospital. But thanks to a lorry driver who was going past shortly after the accident, the girls were found. Ms Jago said: 'We were far away from the road because of where the car landed but [one of the others] heard a lorry going past so she bombed it up to the side of the road. 'She told him 'we've just been in a car crash' and he grabbed his first aid kit, he was lovely.' 'There was a mining site not too far away so he called there and said 'have you got first aiders to help in any way they can.' Ms Jago said it took four hours for an ambulance and police to arrive at the scene of the crash (pictured) Ms Jago said it took four hours for an ambulance and police to arrive at the scene of the crash. The girls were taken to the nearest clinic, 40 minutes away, to be assessed before Ms Jago was taken with one of the other women, by air ambulance to Broome Hospital. Ms O'Donnell and her other friend who was involved in the crash were taken to Kunnuara Hospital the next day. Ms Jago said: 'The first person Elyse told was her mum. She panicked at first because all Elyse did was cry down the phone but then once she told her everyone's alive and she went really calm and calmed Elyse right down. 'Elyse told my sister for me because I lost my phone in the crash. It was so surreal it honestly still doesn't feel like it happened to us.' Ms Jago spent eight days in hospital before she was discharged, while Ms O'Donnell spent nine days being treated. Ms Jago spent eight days in hospital before she was discharged, while Ms O'Donnell spent nine days being treated. Pictured: The crash Due to the severity of both of their injuries, they were fitted with neck braces and had to attend hospital appointments several times a week for three months. Ms Jago said: 'We were both in absolute agony. After we were discharged from hospital we spent the next three months mostly indoors at our friends house. 'I had to go back to the hospital for constant checks. I was put on medication for my brain haemorrhage and memory games and brain training. 'We could walk but we spent a lot of time lying down because of the pain. We were tired all the time, we just had no energy.' Since the accident, Ms Jago and Ms O'Donnell have made good progress with their injuries and had their back braces removed in December. Despite being able to walk now unsupported, Ms Jago said they are both unable to return to work until at least March and suffer from a lot of pain which makes it a 'nightmare to sleep at night'. Since the accident, Ms Jago and Ms O'Donnell have made good progress with their injuries and had their back braces removed in December Ms Jago said the psychological pain of the accident, has also been 'unbearable' with both Ms O'Donnell and herself regularly suffering from flashbacks and night terrors. But due to the high cost of receiving physiotherapy for their injuries and counselling, the girls have been unable to get the help they desperately need. Ms Jago said: 'It's taken a toll on our mental health. I've had depression and anxiety before but it's been a whole new level since the accident. 'We've had to sit indoors for three months watching our savings disappear while we recover. 'We've both struggled to sleep since. We have sleep paralysis and suffer from nightly flashbacks.' She added: 'We're so scared of travelling in cars now. We'll be in a taxi and it'll change lanes and we both get so nervous. We're just very nervous about everything little thing. 'The doctor has told us we're not allowed to go back to work until March.' To help the girls get the money they need for physiotherapy and counselling, a Just Giving Page has been set up by their friend Jack. Despite initially being reluctant to ask for help Ms Jago said they have now used up nearly all of their savings on going to and from hospital appointments and from being unable to work for so long. She said: 'We didn't want to ask anyone for help at first we just said we'll figure something out but our friend Jack set up a fund raising page to help us out. 'People have said to us why don't you come home but we're so reluctant to give up because this is the only thing I've ever wanted in my life to move to Australia. 'We worked so hard for over a year to save up to travel and we've not even been able to do that yet. 'We were going to buy a car and go on a road trip up and down East Coast it's ruined everything.' Ms Jago added: 'Nearly all our savings have gone on getting to and from the hospital and not being able to work. 'I am starting to accept that I can't change what happened and to just be thankful each day that no one was paralysed. 'We're just taking it one step at a time but my current aim is just to be able to afford enough therapy so that I can exercise again, I'm just focusing on the little things for now. 'And regardless of how hard things are mentally, physically and financially we have some hope that we might get through it all and continue on our adventure.' Brandon Magnan, 37, was arrested and charged by the Secret Service on Monday, January 6 A former Marine who was kicked out of the military 10 years ago has been charged with impersonating one of the soldiers guarding President Trumps Marine One helicopter. Brandon M. Magnan, 37, was arrested by the Secret Service and charged on Monday after he allegedly breached two checkpoints at Palm Beach International Airport and posed as a member of the security team assigned to Marine One. Magnan, a resident of Naples, Florida, was charged on January 6 with false personation of officer or employee of the United States, according to The New York Times. If convicted, he faces up to three years in prison. Magnan is alleged to have claimed that he was part of HMX-1, the Marine Corps unit assigned to pilot and protect Marine One, the presidents personal helicopter. Marine One usually transports the president on short trips to nearby airports where he then boards Air Force One for longer journeys. It is unclear why Magnan tried to pass himself off as a member of the unit. Trump was spending his winter vacation at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach at the time of the alleged incident. On Saturday, January 5, the president was preparing to leave West Palm Beach and return to Washington, DC. Hours before Trumps scheduled departure, authorities say that Magnan drove a Honda Pilot with an unidentified male passenger at around 3pm. Magnan is alleged to have driven past checkpoints at Palm Beach International Airport using fake documents claiming that he was part of the Marine Corps detail assigned to President Trump's personal helicopter, Marine One. Trump is seen arriving on Marine One at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland in this January 2017 file photo As Magnan approached a security checkpoint, he identified himself as a member of HMX-1. According to authorities, Magnan produced a fake credential indicating that he was a law enforcement officer with the Marine Corps. The fake credential is alleged to have contained the seals of the Marines and the Marine Corps Executive Flight Detachment, the unit responsible for executing and protecting Marine One flights carrying the president. Magnans fake credential worked, as he was permitted to proceed to the second checkpoint, where he once again presented the bogus documents. He was then allowed through the second checkpoint, according to the Secret Service. But a sheriffs deputy standing nearby noticed that Magnan was not wearing a Marine Corps uniform, which is standard procedure for those assigned to HMX-1 during presidential travel. The deputy contacted members of the security detail, who confirmed that the credentials presented by Magnan were fake. When law enforcement officials confronted Magnan, he told them that he was a retired member of HMX-1. Military court documents indicate that Magnan was dishonorably discharged from the Marine Corps almost 10 years ago. He was convicted in a court-martial for sex crimes, including sodomy By law, Magnan registered with the State of Florida as a sex offender The Secret Service then began to investigate Magnan further. Magnan was dishonorably discharged from the Marine Corps 10 years ago after he was convicted at a court-martial for serious offenses. According to military court documents, Magnan sexually abused and sodomized junior Marines after providing them with alcohol. In one instance, a lance corporal testified that he fell asleep in a hotel with Magnan after the Marine Corps ball. When he woke up, he found Magnans hand in his pants and over his boxer shorts. Another lance corporal testified that he once woke up and found his penis in Magnans mouth. Magnan was charged with wrongfully providing alcohol to minors, fraternization, abusive sexual contact, wrongful sexual contact, forcible sodomy, and assault consummated by a battery. After his dishonorable discharge, Magnan was forced to register with the State of Florida as a sex offender. Court records indicate that Magnan was released on $100,000 bond for this latest alleged offense. It is unclear if the man with whom Magnan was driving was also arrested. No details were given as to how close Magnan managed to get to Marine One. Donald Trump's resort at Mar-a-Lago, Florida (pictured), where he was holidaying over the winter. Trump departed West Palm Beach hours after the breach involving Magnan on January 5 This is the latest high-profile security breach linked to the president. Last year, two Chinese nationals - Yujing Zhang (left) and Jing Lu (right) - were both detained after trespassing on Trump's Mar-a-Lago property on two different occasions This is the latest security breach involving the president and his Florida getaway. Last year, Yujing Zhang, a 33-year-old Chinese national, was arrested and charged with trespassing at Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort. After her conviction, she served a brief prison sentence before she was handed over to immigration authorities for deportation back to her native China. Last month, another Chinese national, Jing Lu, 56, was arrested for the same offense. She was charged with loitering and nonviolently resisting an officer, according to records. A Palm Beach police spokesperson told the Washington Examiner that Lus visa is expired and that law enforcement stopped questioning her when she invoked the right to have an attorney present. The price of petrol in Gurugram is Rs 75.16 a litre while diesel was selling at Rs 67.93 a litre. (Photo Credit: File Photo) New Delhi: Fuel Rates Today: After remaining unchanged for a day, fuel prices witnessed a surge on Sunday, January 12. According to the Indian Oil website, the petrol rates are Rs 75.90 per litre in Delhi, Rs 81.49 per litre in Mumbai, Rs 78.48 per litre in Kolkata, and Rs 78.86 per litre in Chennai, respectively. On the other hand, the diesel prices in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai remained at Rs 69.11, Rs 72.47, Rs 71.48, and Rs 73.04 per litre, respectively. In Noida, petrol is retailing at Rs 76.95 a litre, while diesel price is Rs 69.39 a litre. The price of petrol in Gurugram is Rs 75.16 a litre while diesel was selling at Rs 67.93 a litre. Why Petrol, Diesel Prices Change Every Day? The fuel prices are in India are revised daily. Petrol and diesel prices are revised every day at 06:00 am to sync it with the variation in global oil prices. Oil marketing companies (OMC) review the global fuel prices and decide petrol and diesel daily. Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum release the new rates at 6 am every morning. Generally, when international crude oil prices gain, prices in India move higher. Other factors also impact the price of fuel like rupee to US dollar exchange rate, cost of crude oil, global cues, demand for fuel, and so on. Why Fuel Prices Differ In Every City? The price of fuel includes excise duty, value-added tax (VAT), and dealer commission. As VAT varies from state to state, the price of fuel is different in every city. India is 84 per cent dependant on imports to meet its oil needs and any spike in global prices has a direct bearing on its economy. Not just imports but even domestic crude oilwhich forms the raw material for making petrol, diesel and other petroleum productsis priced according to international benchmarks. Middle East accounts for more than two-thirds of the countrys oil imports, with Iraq and Saudi Arabia being the top suppliers. Even though the import basket has been sought to be diversified with oil being contracted from nations such as the US, pricing in all the regions is governed by international benchmarks and rates went up everywhere following last week strikes. Officials said there is no immediate threat of any supply disruption to India and the only impact would be felt in prices. For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. At least state Sen. Richard Martinez was sentenced to jail time. But he got off easy. Last week, Martinez was sentenced to five days behind bars for his conviction, after a trial, for driving drunk and slamming into a car stopped at a red light in Espanola last June. Two people in the other car were hurt, including the driver, who said his injuries have changed his life. Johnny Sisneros neck, back and hip injuries have prevented him from resuming work as a security officer. The senator, Sisneros said, never displayed any remorse and has never apologized for his senseless actions. Meanwhile, Martinez a former magistrate judge whos been a senator since 2001 keeps his Senate seat and will participate in the legislative session that starts up later this month. Maybe his brief sojourn in jail is a time for reflection on New Mexicos chronic DWI problem as he mulls pre-session bill filings. And he says he will run for reelection this year. Martinez has rejected calls from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and others that he resign from the Senate of a state infested with a serious drinking and driving problem, although he did step down from his powerful position as Judiciary Committee chairman. Thats the committee, of course, that can bottle up or support any legislation that has to do with DWI enforcement. Martinezs charge was upgraded to aggravated DWI for his not adhering to one law he should have been familiar with he refused a breath test to determine his blood-alcohol content on the night of the crash. Its true that even five days in jail is more than most first-offense DWI offenders receive. But Martinez caused serious injury. It was only by the grace of God that you did not kill someone on that June 28, 2019, evening, state District Judge Francis Mathew said after announcing his sentence. Also, Martinez virtually admitted at his sentencing hearing that he had put on a totally bogus defense. At trial, his lawyer suggested that Martinezs failure to perform sobriety tests, as shown on police lapel-cam video, was due to Martinez being dazed from hitting his head on the windshield, even though Martinez had admitted to responding officers that he had been drinking beer or wine. But the bumped-head theory went away post-conviction, when Martinez was throwing himself on the mercy of the judge after the Attorney Generals Office, which prosecuted the case, proposed that Martinez spend the maximum six months in jail. He told the judge, I just made a wrong choice, your honor and it was clear that his wrong choice wasnt deciding to allow his head to hit car glass. He said hed changed his life since the crash, attending Alcoholic Anonymous meetings. He told the crash victims hed never had a chance to apologize before. Martinezs lawyer maintained the AGs Office had rejected discussion of a plea deal. Martinez also whined about the press coverage of his case outside the courtroom. The defense lawyer maintained the prosecutors were trying to make an example of him. A relatively light sentence might have been acceptable if Martinez had stood up and admitted his wrong choice and drinking problem long before a trial, apologized to the injured couple, to his constituents and New Mexicans in general, and stepped down from his Senate seat. Coming clean only when youre convicted and facing six months in the slammer is not an honorable way to put this episode to rest. As Judge Mathew noted, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee could have killed someone that night in June. Making an example of him would have been fine. Martinez deserved more time behind bars. Funding extensions for emergency road repair projects in Santa Cruz County have been secured from the Federal Highway Administration, Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo (CA-18) and Congressman Jimmy Panetta announced. The funding was originally approved for infrastructure repair from storm damage in the county in 2016 and 2017, with a two-year spending window. The legendary Dian Fossey is credited with saving the mountain gorillas of Rwanda. But her monumental work was helped considerably by the foundation laid by an 18-month study of gorilla behavior by German-born American wildlife biologist Dr George B Schaller. It inspired her to take it up as a mission, which ended tragically for her. She was murdered but the mountain gorillas came back from the brink, though they are limited to a small area straddling Rwanda, Uganda and Congo. Dr Schaller moved on from gorillas to other animals across the globe. He came to India in 1963 to study the tigers. By then India had already lost its cheetahs and the tigers were on the brink of extinction. Today, thanks to the seeds sown during that decade, India can boast of being a pioneer of tiger conservation. Eighty-seven-year-old Dr Schallers work during the 1960s contributed to the awareness of conservation, and now climate change and global warming. Described by author Peter Mathiesson as a stern pragmatist who takes a hard-eyed look at almost everything, Dr Schaller retains his fighting spirit, saying to conservation pessimists, We may not win, but we havent lost yet. In this exclusive interview, edited for clarity and brevity, with Deccan Chronicle, Dr Schaller suggests that India can do with its tigers what Rwanda did with its gorillas. You made a passage from mountain gorillas to tigers. Tell us how that took place. Both mountain gorillas and tigers are beautiful animals that were in trouble. Gorillas live in a small area and tigers are being hunted for their skin and trophies. After I finished my study on gorillas, I was asked by John Hopkins University to go to India and look at the wildlife situation. The tigers of course caught my attention and I had this wonderful opportunity at the Kanha National Park to study this species, the mammal community and the behaviour of the local people. I had the opportunity to see what went on there. What do you see as the future for mountain gorillas? It is true that gorillas have a small area to survive in. However, Rwanda has made the gorilla its national symbol and is making a lot of money out of it. Tourists from across the globe come to say hello to their near relatives. What Rwanda has done should set an example for a lot of other countries. Most of the money earned from the gorillas is given back to the community by way of spending on health services, schools and hiring staff to monitor them. As a result, local people are for gorillas and they help in tackling poaching. Most other countries make money from such ventures but give back nothing. That should change. How has the conservation movement developed in India? I came here first in 1963 and visited again at regular intervals. There has been tremendous improvement in the peoples consciousness of nature. But in the end, it all depends on the officials who are in charge of policies and enforcing them. If they dont do their thing, your reserves will get destroyed. You know what happened in a couple of reserves. Tigers went extinct there and are only now being reintroduced. That is good, but it is an effort that is never finished. It should go on forever. That means everyone should be involved in one way or other; everyone should be conscious of what he/she owes to the country and its future. What strategy would you recommend for Indias conservation effort? India has started a marvelous job and created a lot of tiger reserves. You can prevent losses such as the cheetahs by being focused. Don't build big highways in protected areas; save protected areas from human activity. This allows tigers from one area to travel to another. If there is too much inbreeding among wild animals, species can vanish. The Rwanda model can be adopted in India. Some part of the money earned from wildlife tourism is indeed being spent on the local community in places like Ranthambore. But that does not mean you can stop protection measures. Poachers can always make good money by killing a tiger and selling its parts. It is a crime but someone will always try to do it. The worlds attention has lately been riveted on forest fires such as in Brazil and Australia. What is your take on that? There have been huge forest fires in Australia, Amazon and in the USA as well. Some of them are due to climate change It is going to be a serious issue for everybody in the next few decades. The fires are due to deforestation, which means there will be less rain and more drought in future. Climate change is set to trigger disasters in the coming years. However, countries do not want to spend money on rectifying them. Theyd rather spend money on building rockets and bombs. In your career as a conservationist, was there a point when you lost hope? No. I don't deal with hope, I deal in action. I look at a situation and if I think I can help, I help. I will collect the details of a problem and try to tell the government what has to be done. Some countries listen and some do not. Youve got to find the right officials to drive home the point. Every country has some officials who care about the future of the country. India is a democracy and it is up to the public to decide on whom to elected as leaders. If public do not bother learning, then you get bad leaders. I won't mention names. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Advertisement Britain's ambassador in Iran has been summoned to explain his 'illegal and inappropriate presence' at an anti-government protest, the Iranian foreign ministry has said. Rob Macaire was called in to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after being arrested by police on Saturday as demonstrations broke out in Tehran over the downing of a Ukrainian airliner by Iranian forces. The move threatened to further escalate the diplomatic row between London and Tehran after Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab denounced Mr Macaire's detention as a 'flagrant violation' of international law. Britain's ambassador to Iran Rob Macaire (left) has revealed he was arrested despite not taking part in demonstrations against Ayatollah Khamenei in Tehran yesterday Thousands gathered to demand the supreme leader's resignation after his regime admitted it had mistakenly shot down a civilian passenger plane Dozens of Iranian hard-liners were reported to have gathered outside the British embassy, chanting 'Death to England' and calling for the ambassador to be expelled. Earlier, Mr Macaire denied he had been taking part in the demonstrations. He said he been attending a vigil for the victims of Flight PS752, when protests broke out and he left. 'Can confirm I wasn't taking part in any demonstrations! Went to an event advertised as a vigil for victims of PS752 tragedy,' he tweeted. 'Normal to want to pay respects- some of victims were British. I left after five minutes, when some started chanting.' Mr Macaire said that he was arrested 30 minutes after leaving the area, although he was later released. The semi-official Tasnim news agency said he was one of a number of people arrested outside the Amir Kabir University on suspicion of organising, provoking and directing radical actions. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs later said on its Telegram channel that he had been summoned over his 'illegal and inappropriate presence' at the protest. Iranian demonstrators set alight a Union Jack in front of the British embassy in Iran's capital Tehran today The protesters held aloft placards bearing anti-Britain slogans such as this one reading 'Down with England' Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (right) meets with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani during a welcome ceremony, in Tehran today Iran's deputy foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Mr Macaire was not detained but was arrested as an 'unknown foreigner' Security Minister Brandon Lewis told Ridge on Sunday the arrest was 'totally unacceptable' as he condemned Iran But later today, Iran's deputy foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Mr Macaire was not detained. He posted on Twitter: 'He wasn't detained, but arrested as unknown foreigner in an illegal gathering. When police informed me a man's arrested who claims to be UK Amb, I said IMPOSSIBLE! 'Only after my phone conversation w him I identified, out of big surprise, that it's him. 15 min later he was free.' Security Minister Brandon Lewis told Ridge on Sunday: 'There is a choice for Iran to make and we hope they will step back from the edge.' Asked about any possible action against Tehran after the arrest of the ambassador last night, he declined to comment but added: 'It was totally unacceptable. Iran needs to step back from that sort of activity.' The Foreign Office hit out at Iran for the 'flagrant violation of international law' after the arrest in front of Tehran's Amir Kabir University where thousands had gathered to demand the supreme leader's resignation after his regime admitted it had mistakenly shot down a civilian passenger plane. The EU's diplomatic chief, Josep Borrell, also criticised Iran, saying: 'Very concerned about the temporary detention of the UK Ambassador @HMATehran in Iran. Full respect of the Vienna convention is a must. The EU calls for de-escalation and space for diplomacy.' In a strongly worded statement, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab warned Iran that it needed to make a choice between becoming a 'pariah' state or to 'deescalate tensions' with the west. 'The arrest of our Ambassador in Tehran without grounds or explanation is a flagrant violation of international law. The Iranian government is at a cross-roads moment,' said Mr Raab. They rejoiced as they set alight Israeli and British flags as the crisis continues to escalate in the region following the death of General Qassem Soleimani Mr Macaire was arrested half an hour after leaving the area even though it is illegal to arrest diplomats Iranians protest against the government after a vigil held for the victims of Flight 752 turned into an anti-government protest outside Amirkabir University in Tehran, Iran 'It can continue its march towards pariah status with all the political and economic isolation that entails, or take steps to deescalate tensions and engage in a diplomatic path forwards.' Mr Macaire was appointed to the Ambassador role in April 2018, replacing Nicholas Hopton. Today, Iran has deployed riot police in the capital expecting further protests. Riot police and plainclothes officers could be seen massing in Vali-e Asr Square in Tehran as calls circulated for protests later in the day. A large black banner unveiled in the square bore the names of those killed in the plane crash Last night, angry crowds gathered in at least four locations across Tehran, chanting 'death to liars' and calling for the country's supreme leader to step down over the tragic military blunder, video from the scene shows. What began as mournful vigils for Iranian lives lost on the flight soon turned to outrage and protest against the regime, and riot police quickly cracked down, firing tear gas into the crowd. 'Death to the Islamic Republic' protesters chanted, as the regime's security forces allegedly used ambulances to sneak heavily armed paramilitary police into the middle of crowds to disperse the demonstration. Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752 was carrying 176 people, at least 130 of them Iranian citizens, when it was shot down by hapless Iranian Revolutionary Guard air defence forces shortly after taking off from Tehran on January 8. President Donald Trump tweeted his support for the Iranian protesters, writing in Farsi that his administration would 'stand by them' as they protested against the country's leadership. 'To the brave, long-suffering people of Iran: I've stood with you since the beginning of my Presidency, and my Administration will continue to stand with you. We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage.' Protesters outside Amirkabir University in Tehran demanded the Ayatollah's resignation over the military disaster Thousands gather outside Amir Kabir University on Saturday screaming 'Death to the Dictator' Iranians shout slogans against the government in protests in Tehran Saturday night Iran for days claimed that a technical failure caused the crash, before admitting on Saturday that its own surface-to-air missiles brought the plane down. Iran was on high alert at the time, hours after launching ballistic missiles at US forces in Iraq in a strike that caused no casualties. That missile strike was in retaliation for a US operation that killed powerful Iranian General Qassem Soleimani On Saturday afternoon, candlelight vigils at universities in Tehran for the victims of Flight 752 began to turn to protests against the regime. Large protests were reported at the universities of Tehran, Sharif Industrial, Amir Kabir, and Allameh. At Amirkabir University, protesters chanted 'Down with the dictator' and 'shame on IRGC [Revolutionary Guard], let the country go.' At Sharif University, crowds of outraged Iranians chanted 'commander in chief, resign!' The Ayatollah is Iran's commander in chief. 'Our enemy is right here, they lie when they say it's the US', protesters were heard chanting in one video. 'I now believe the word of the Great Satan,' one protester wrote in Persian on Twitter, apparently referring to the US intelligence reports that blamed Iran for shooting the plane down, which the regime furiously denied at first. A picture is seen on Saturday next to candles lit by people and families of the victims of the crash of Flight 752 Riot police with shields and batons massed to disrupt the anti-government protests on Saturday night The regime quickly cracked down on the protests with tear gas and water cannons Screams were heard as regime forces fired tear gas at the protesters in a brutal crackdown after night fell A woman gestures during a protest against the government outside Amirkabir University in Tehran, Iran on Saturday Iranians shout slogans against the government after a vigil held for the victims of the Ukrainian International Airlines plane that crashed near Imam Khomeini Airport turned into an anti-government protest outside Amirkabir University Protesters demanded that those responsible for shooting down the civilian plane be publicly tried and held accountable. The crowd also condemned the Islamic Republic's paramilitary internal security force, chanting 'Death to Basij.' As night fell, riot police attempted to break up the protests with tear gas. Cops armed with shields and batons tried to disperse the crowds, and police fired water canons into the crowds of protesters. Anti-regime factions said that the protests reflected the frustrations of Iranian citizens with the government corruption and oppression. 'The protest by thousands of Iranians in Tehran burst the propaganda balloon of the regime regarding Qassem Soleimani's elimination,' said Shahin Gobadi, spokesman of the anti-regime group People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, in a statement to DailyMail.com. Gobadi said that the protests 'showed the true sentiments of the Iranians and once again clearly proved that Iran is a powder keg and the Iranian people will not stop until the regime change.' Iranians light candles and hang flowers for victims of Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 during a protest in front of the Amir Kabir University. What began as a vigil for the dead turned to anti-government protests Iranians protest against the government outside Amirkabir University in Tehran, Iran on Saturday People gather for a candlelight vigil to remember the victims of the Ukraine plane crash, at the gate of Amri Kabir University that some of the victims of the crash were former students of, in Tehran, Iran on Saturday At Amirkabir University, protesters chanted 'Down with the dictator' and 'shame on [Revolutionary Guard], let the country go' Iranian Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh, the Guards' aerospace commander, said on Saturday a surface-to-air missile operator had mistaken the Boeing 737 for a U.S. cruise missile responding to Iranian ballistic missile attacks, and only had ten seconds to decide whether or not to open fire. 'I wish I had died, and I wouldn't have seen such an incident,' Hajizadeh said somberly at a press conference. He claimed that a 'request had been made to clear the sky from civil flights at that time, but it did not happen due to reservations.' For days, Iran vehemently denied that it was responsible for downing Flight 752 from Tehran to Kyiv on January 8, accusing the U.S. of spreading malicious propaganda and lies for suggesting such a scenario. Hajizadeh claimed that the country's top military leaders were not initially aware that their own air defense system had shot the plan down, leading to confusion. Now the country has come clean, but still blames 'US adventurism' for the fatal 'error'. 'The delay in releasing information was not aimed at hiding the issue but it is the routine drill that the General Staff should study the case (first); and all information was collected on Friday morning after studies and what had happened became clear then,' Hajizadeh said. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani extended condolences to the families of those killed in the incident, and promised that those responsible would be prosecuted. 'The Islamic Republic of Iran deeply regrets this disastrous mistake... My thoughts and prayers go to all the mourning families. I offer my sincerest condolences,' Rouhani said in a statement on Saturday. 'I wish I had died, and I wouldn't have seen such an incident,' said a somber Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh, the Guards' aerospace commander, at a press conference. Iran admitted that it shot down Flight 752, thinking the plane was a missile Ukraine International Airlines' Boeing 737-800 plane wreckage is seen in a picture from investigation team released today Rescue workers at the crash site recovered the bodies of victims on Wednesday (above) He said that 'the terrible catastrophe should be thoroughly investigated, and those responsible for this unforgivable mistake will definitely be identified and prosecuted'. But the country's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said 'US adventurism' was to blame for Iran shooting down the plane, a week after an American drone killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Iraq. Zarif wrote: '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.' Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei also offered condolences to the families, as he called for an investigation and ordered the military to address 'shortcomings' on Saturday morning. Striking Cambodian casino workers return to work in NagaWorld deal A cambodian worker holds up a placard during a protest for higher pay and better working conditions in front of the NagaWorld hotel and casino complex in Phnom Penh PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Thousands of striking Cambodian workers of a Hong Kong-listed casino company returned to their jobs on Saturday after winning wage increases and the reinstatement of a suspended union leader in a rare labor victory. About 3,000 workers had joined the strike in front of the NagaWorld hotel and casino complex, owned by Nagacorp Ltd <3918.HK>, in Phnom Penh to demand higher wages. Workers get paid between $150 to $250 a month. The deal struck with NagaWorld also obtained the reinstatement of their union president, Chhim Sithar, who was suspended in September. "Today, we returned to our shifts," Hai Sopheap, 31, one of the strikers and union activist, told Reuters on Saturday, adding "this victory came out of our solidarity." Sopheap said NagaWorld had agreed to raise workers' salaries between 18% and 30%. Strikes over pay and working conditions are common in Cambodia and victory for workers is rare. "The outcome will pave the way for the union to negotiate for other remaining demands," said Khun Tharo, a program coordinator at the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights. NagaWorld did not respond to requests for comment. NagaCorp, which has the exclusive license to operate in Phnom Penh, reported an estimated $1.8 billion in revenue last year, up from $1.5 billion in 2018. It posted a 9-month net gaming revenue of $616.3 million last year. Khiev Savuth, deputy director of the Labor Ministry's labor dispute department, could not be reached for comment on Saturday. (Reporting by Prak Chan Thul; Editing by Jacqueline Wong) The logo of German car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz is seen at Brussels Motor Show BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Mercedes-Benz will build smart-branded electric cars with Zhejiang Geely Holding Group in the Chinese city of Xian from a base with annual capacity of around 150,000 vehicles, a senior official from its German parent Daimler AG said on Saturday. Daimler's Executive Vice President in China Leng Yan made the comments to Reuters on the sidelines of China's EV100 forum in Beijing, an annual event where senior auto industry executives meet to discuss policies and the market. Geely and Mercedes-Benz said on Wednesday they would each invest 2.7 billion yuan ($388.8 million) in a China-based venture to build "premium and intelligent electrified" vehicles under the Smart brand. Like Mercedes-Benz, Smart is a Daimler marque. The firms said at the time that the venture, which will be based in the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo, will have manufacturing capacity in China and sales operations in China and Germany. Geely, which holds a 9.7% stake in Stuttgart-based Daimler, is building car plants in Xian, according to construction bidding documents on its website. Daimler, which partners with BAIC Group to make luxury Mercedes-Benz cars in Beijing, also builds trucks with BAIC's unit Beiqi Foton Motor. Smart delivered about 116,800 vehicles worldwide in 2019, Daimler said in a Jan. 9 statement. (Reporting by Yilei Sun in Beijing and Brenda Goh in Shanghai; Editing by Jacqueline Wong) A large, powerhouse storm is poised to deliver a variety of nasty weather to the central, southern and eastern U.S. starting Friday, which will last into the weekend. Widespread severe thunderstorms with damaging winds and tornadoes are expected across the South on Friday and Saturday, while heavy rain and flooding are possible from the Plains to the Mississippi and Ohio valleys. Meanwhile, heavy snow and ice will lead to dangerous travel from the Plains to New England. Tornadoes and flooding The Storm Prediction Center said more than 20 million people in Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma will be at an enhanced risk of storms Friday that could include strong tornadoes and flooding rains. The area includes several major Texas cities including Dallas, Houston and Austin. In a briefing early Friday, the National Weather Service said the storms could bring wind gusts of up to 80 mph or faster, the speed of a Category 1 hurricane. In Dallas, the citys Office of Emergency Management asked residents to bring in pets, outdoor furniture, grills and anything else that could be caught up in high winds to reduce the risk of flying debris. Matt Hemingway, a weather service meteorologist in Shreveport, Louisiana, said 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." 10:15am CST #SPC Day1 Outlook Moderate Risk: this afternoon through tonight across portions of northeast tx southeast ok northern la central/southern ar and western ms https://t.co/GtEvHQ3UxE pic.twitter.com/oEmHpBgyaL NWS SPC (@NWSSPC) January 10, 2020 Severe storms continue into the South The severe storm threat will continue overnight in the South, focusing on Alabama and Mississippi on Saturday. Story continues The storm also will deliver heavy rain that could lead to flash floods and river floods from the Ohio Valley to the Lower Mississippi Valley, the National Weather Service said. The latest forecasts call for up to 4 inches of rain in parts of Texas and southeast Oklahoma, according to the weather service. "The rain is forecast to really ramp up Friday to Saturday morning from eastern Texas to southern Michigan," said AccuWeather meteorologist Courtney Travis. 950 earthquakes have hit Puerto Rico so far this year: Why? Blame it on an 'earthquake swarm' Snow from the Plains to New England Snow and ice will be the story from the Plains to New England. "A wintry mix of snow, sleet, and rain/freezing rain is possible in portions of the Southern/Central Plains into the Middle Mississippi Valley and northeastward into the Great Lakes Friday into Sunday," the National Weather Service said. Enough heavy snow and ice can accumulate during the event to raise the risk of power outages and broken tree limbs, AccuWeather said. Power may be out for several days in some communities. Meanwhile, winter storm warnings and watches stretch from Kansas to western Michigan: https://t.co/OA99kKJ5TP pic.twitter.com/Am5YlXHeQL AccuWeather (@accuweather) January 10, 2020 Pacific Northwest Not to be outdone, the Pacific Northwest will have its own weather misery to contend with as a separate storm slams the area: Coastal areas will have periods of moderate rain while higher elevations of the Cascades, Northern Great Basin and the Northern Rockies will have heavy snow, the National Weather Service said. Snow accumulations may very well reach or exceed 2 feet in the highest peaks of the Cascades, around 1 foot elsewhere. Contributing: The Associated Press This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Weather: Severe storms, tornadoes to hit from Oklahoma to South Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Sunday ordered a magisterial inquiry into the alleged suicide of Sushanta Ghosh and assured that action will be taken against the guilty. Thirty-eight-year-old Ghosh, who was arrested in connection with the ATM skimming allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself on Saturday night at West Agartala Police Station in West Tripura district. "Magisterial inquiry into the matter has been directed. Due process will be followed. Those found guilty, action will be taken against them," the Chief Minister told reporters here. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nora Quoirin's parents have asked the Irish, French and British governments to publicly join their demand for an inquest into their daughter's death in a Malaysian jungle. The French-Irish family, who live in London, learnt last Friday that the Malaysian police have decided their daughter's case requires "no further action" and that an inquest has been ruled out. In an interview with the Sunday Independent, Nora's mother Maebh, who is from Belfast, said: "What we really need is a beating drum that says this family need answers, we will campaign until it happens. We know the governments - the Irish and French governments - are supporting us. They told us that directly. What we need now are frank, 'in-no-uncertain terms' demands for that inquest to happen." Nora's body was found more than a mile from the resort where she had been on holiday with her family last August. The 15-year-old was discovered after a 10-day search. Exactly what happened to Sebastien and Maebh Quoirin's eldest daughter remains a mystery that has tormented them. The family checked into the Dusun resort for a three-night stay on August 3. Nora slept upstairs with her two younger siblings and was discovered missing by her parents the next morning. The window in the living area of their bungalow was ajar. Nora, a special needs child, was born with a medical condition known as holoprosencephaly which left her with balancing and co-ordination difficulties. Her disappearance was alarming and out of character. But conveying that to the Malaysian police was hard, said Maebh. "In Malaysia, there is such social stigma attached to special needs. It was all too easy for the Malaysian police to ignore that." She said it took four days for the police to consider a criminal connection to Nora's disappearance. "They took prints from the window on day three," she said. "It took until the fourth day for a full forensic team to come to the property." Expand Close Meabh Quoirin with her daughter Nora Quoirin, who died after going missing on holiday in Malaysia (Lucie Blackman Trust/family handout/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Meabh Quoirin with her daughter Nora Quoirin, who died after going missing on holiday in Malaysia (Lucie Blackman Trust/family handout/PA) On the tenth day, Nora's body was found, about 2km from the resort, in an area that had already been searched. "We identified Nora's body on the evening that she was found," Maebh said. The police stopped answering their questions from that point. "We would ask questions and we would be met with blank stares and no responses," Maebh added. Since they left the country it has been "radio silence". A post-mortem examination found no evidence of foul play and attributed Nora's death to bleeding due to a duodenal ulcer, most likely caused by prolonged hunger and stress. The Malaysian police had theories about what had happened. "We knew they favoured the theory that she went out either the front door or the window from the beginning. They repeatedly asked us questions about that," said Maebh. "We know that's impossible. The door was on a spring latch so technically, yes, it's possible to walk out of the door. But the door slammed shut and it created an almighty bang, which didn't happen." She also discounts the theory that Nora climbed out of the "heavy" window. "She wouldn't have been able to physically push it open," she said. "It was pitch black and Nora would not even have seen it." On the first day, the family took a short walk around the perimeter of the resort on a designated path when Nora lost her balance and fell and hurt herself. "And that was with us and wearing shoes," Maebh said. "Nora would never have done what the Malaysian police are suggesting she did of her own accord." The family are suing the resort for alleged negligence. Speaking about their first Christmas without their beloved daughter, Maebh described it as "brutal". "It was very difficult. Nora loved the magic of Christmas, so you can imagine the heartbreak of that. Of course, she was with us in spirit. "We went to her grave on Christmas Eve and we lit a vigil candle. We went back the next morning to put new flowers on her grave. Nora's light will shine brightly in all of us all the time. "As a family we just miss her so much." Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters Donald Trump has the dubious distinction of being the only US president since Gallup began tracking presidential approval ratings in 1938 to have been permanently under water he has never been viewed favorably by half or more of the American electorate. Trump should, by historical precedent, be looking at a thumping defeat in the 2020 presidential election. But political scientists and strategists have told the Guardian that he could be thrown a re-election lifeline thanks to the countrys quirky approach to democracy in the form of the electoral college. Related: The media missed the rise of Trump in 2016. Are they ready this time? The political analyst Larry Sabato has calculated that the 3 November election could see Trump being outgunned by his Democratic challenger in the popular vote the total number of votes cast nationwide by twice the amount that Hillary Clinton surpassed him in 2016, yet still return to the White House for a second term. It is entirely possible that in 2020 we will once again see Republicans losing the popular vote and winning the electoral college, this time potentially by even greater margins, he said. The electoral college was the compromise system for choosing US presidents devised by the founding fathers. Its aim was to balance the direct votes of qualified citizens with a vote in Congress. The result is that the occupant of the Oval Office is not elected directly by the American people but indirectly by state-based electors. There are 538 electors in total, which means that to win the White House the successful candidate must attract the votes of 270 of them. In most election cycles the electoral college results have been in sync with the popular vote. But in 2016 a dramatic gulf opened up. In the electoral college Trump won handsomely by 306 electoral votes to Clintons 232. But in the popular vote Clinton was the clear winner with 65.9m votes to Trumps 63.0m votes a difference of two percentage points (48% to 46%). Story continues By Sabatos reckoning, that rift between the electoral college and the popular vote could be stretched further in November and see Trump win again. The 2020 Democratic nominee could easily double Clintons lead in the popular vote to at least three or four percentage points, and still lose, depending on where those votes came from, Sabato said. Donald Trump arrives to speak during an event in Hershey, Pennsylvania, on 15 December 2016 following his election win. Photograph: Lucas Jackson/Reuters The fear that the electoral college could give Trump four more years to transform America in his image has rippled through the Democrats competing to challenge him in the election. Several of the Democratic candidates have called for overhaul of the current system, including Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg. The solution they propose in common is quite simple replace the convoluted electoral college with a direct national popular vote that would hand the presidency to whichever candidate garners most votes across the country. That may look straightforward on paper, but the practicalities of switching to a new system are daunting. To change would require an amendment to the US constitution which is much easier said than done. Not only would both the House and Senate in Congress need to approve the change by a two-thirds majority, but three-quarters of the individual state assemblies would have to ratify it (38 out of 50 states) . A constitutional amendment is out of the question, said Alan Abramowitz, professor of political science at Emory University. Theres no way to get two-thirds of the House and the Senate to support an amendment of any kind. The Democratic nominee could easily double Clintons lead in the popular vote and still lose Larry Sabato Advocates of reform have devised clever ways around this roadblock that would essentially keep the electoral college in place but shift its method of counting to the popular vote without requiring a constitutional amendment. The most prominent of these attempts is the National Vote Interstate Compact, which seeks to persuade individual states to sign up to a collective agreement the compact which would guarantee the presidency to the candidate who garners the most popular votes. The compact would kick in only when enough states had joined to collectively pass the 270 electoral college votes needed to secure the presidency. Once that line had been crossed, the participating states would deliver the White House to the winner of the popular vote. The problem with this inventive scheme is that a mountain has yet to be climbed before the magic line of 270 is passed. So far the compact has been enacted into law in 15 states and Washington DC, which between them muster only 196 electoral votes a deficit of 74. None of those jurisdictions are Republican-controlled, which is unsurprising given the electoral college has tended to be to the advantage of Republican presidential candidates. The last time the winner of a US presidential election lost the popular vote the discrepancy also helped a Republican George W Bush, who in 2000 received 544,000 fewer votes than his vanquished Democratic rival ,Al Gore. You then have to go back to 1888 to find the phenomenon reoccurring. So rare was the anomaly of 2016, 2000 and 1888 that some experts think that a repeat misfire, as the disparity is known, is unlikely in November. Abramowitz has studied all 11 presidential elections since the end of the second world war in which an incumbent was running for re-election the last being Barack Obama in 2012 and noted there were no misfires. If the Trump campaign is counting on the electoral college gifting them the election again, thats a very high-risk strategy, he said. On the other hand, as the demography of America changes, the distorting influence of the electoral college appears to be growing. The US population is becoming more diverse, and more heavily concentrated in major cities that lean strongly Democratic. That in turn is creating a tendency for Democratic votes to be wasted with vastly more being cast in states like California, New York and Illinois than are needed to win the electoral votes. By contrast, Republican voters who tend to be less diverse are spread out more sparsely in low-density rural states in a way that is more efficient under the electoral college. David Frum, George W Bushs former speechwriter, said the electoral college is just one of several factors that he calls anti-majoritarian influences in play in the US today. It is a pervasive fact up and down, from local elections to the presidency, that electoral outcomes track voter intent poorly, he said. Other factors include low levels of voter registration, hurdles to voting and the skewed voting system for the US Senate that apportions Wyomings population of 579,000 the same number of senators (two) as Californias 40 million. The anti-majoritarian features favor rural America over urban America, light-populated over heavily-populated states, Frum said. Thats an issue that goes back deep into American history, but Trump is its latest benefactor. He added: Trump is an unpopular president. In a purely majoritarian system the election would probably not even be that close. But run his support through the American electoral system and yes, sure, its possible he could win. FIFTY seven Canada geese at Coolmain Strand and 47 Canarian ravens touring the sky above the blunted peak of the long- extinct volcano of La Gomera, in the Canary Islands Garajonay, the volcano is called, for a pair of doomed lovers, Gara and Jonay, she the Gomera Guanche princess, who fell in love with the peasant boy, Jonay, from the island of Tenerife, 50km across the water, which he swam to reach her. But a priest predicted (priests, at least Catholic priests, were then new to the islands, as yet unconquered by Castile) fire and brimstone on the union and, indeed, the volcano of massive Mount Teide, on Tenerife, blew its top, spewing lava into the sea, which boiled and turned blood red, and the two lovers, on the crown of Gomeras volcano, together took their lives to appease the gods. And the volcano was thenceforth called after them, Garajonay. Theres little of the original Guanche language left on the Canary Islands. The uniquely Gomera whistling language is a relict: It communicates worded sentences in whistles. Once immensely useful for communication across the deep valleys, before roads or mobile phones, it is still extant today, as a curiosity. Also, there is a sentence of Guanche, said to be the words of the Princess Iballa, daughter of the King of the Great Valley (Valle Gran Rey). She joined in an illicit tryst with the rapacious Spanish count who then ruled the island, despite her being betrothed to the son of the king of the next valley Vallehermoso (Beautiful Valley) although she was but 13 years old. When her father and brothers arrived, to surprise Hernan Peraza in the act of union with her, in her domestic cave, she heard the whistling, understood it, and, in the famous, surviving Guanche sentence, warned Peraza to flee, which he did, only to run into the arms of the avengers, who beheaded him at the famous spot, still named Degollada de Peraza, The Beheading of Peraza. I hope that long-suffering readers will forgive my repetition of this story, told in this column years, perhaps decades ago. Its a long-lasting story, which I couldnt resist telling again. The geese at Coolmain, and the ravens soaring above the vast swathes of mountain forest of laurel and giant heather, still 70% extant even after the devastating fires of the 1990s, are good news for birders. Certainly, to see so many crows on this island is novel: Canada geese numbers on Courtmacsherry and Clonakilty bay fluctuate, but 57 together is rare. The crows are back, because the locals have stopped poisoning them. Perhaps they did it because, as in Ireland, it was held that ravens and scal crows would pluck out the eyes of new-born lambs or kid goats. Few farmers now herd these animals and small, wild flocks roam the mountainsides, foraging in the rough, but richly endowed, natural plants, many of them spiky or thorny. Clearly, both species are equipped with tough gums and razor-sharp teeth. The goats, especially, are crepuscular: They feed in half-light, at dawn and at dusk. During the days of bright sunshine, when the stones and cliffs of the mountains are as hot as radiators and there are no shadows, only the darkness of caves offers escape from the heat, while some resort to the dense forest all shade, all cover and, quite often, cloud-blanketed and even with a sprinkle of rain. A few miles farther on, a few hundred feet lower, the sun is literally cracking the stones. CRACKED stones can be a problem when the animals forage above the villages, because sharp hooves can dislodge them and start landslides. Ladera is the Spanish for hillside and, indeed, many are as tilted as a house-painters ladder. Shooting the goats or sheep is forbidden. The sheep, dressed in the matted haystacks of wool they carry, look as if no projectile, short of a rocket, could penetrate their natural armour. It is extraordinary how much weight these unlovely animals can carry, especially in the heat, for they often also forage in daylight. They no longer have farmers to shear them or guide them, as they used to. Some are, still, shepherded or penned, but, increasingly, they run wild. Such things have changed since we first came and spent a year here, in 1981. It is a thrill to see the tumbling ravens, as they approximate the aerial acrobatics of our choughs at the Old Head of Kinsale and along our coasts; although they could do with lessons and they do not have the eye-catching red beaks and legs of the glossy choughs. They are all black and, yes, they are shiny; and when they plane above the forests, their plumage winks in the sun. Gunshots were fired outside a home in Perths north on Saturday, frightening surrounding residents. Police were called to a house on Elsie Street in Watermans Bay about 10.35pm in response to reports of gunshots being fired at the residence. Police will return to Elsie Street Sunday morning to carry out further investigation. Credit:Justin Rake It is believed the incident was a drive-by shooting, with a police spokesman saying a car and carport had been shot at and damaged. He said several bullet casings had been found at the scene but thankfully no one had been injured. Forensic officers attended the scene overnight and will return there this morning to carry out further investigation. Neighbours who heard the gunshots took to social media, with several describing the situation as insane and scary. For some who have lived on the street for years, the incident reminded them of a drive-by shooting at a home in 2011 just a street away on Mary Street. Saturdays drama comes after at least six shootings across Perth in late 2019, including two at homes in Landsdale, one at a home in Mirrabooka, and two separate incidents in Girrawheen and Ellenbrook in which three people were shot. Another shooting took the life of Matthew James McPherson in Nollamara in November. CAIRO Libyas warring parties have agreed to a cease-fire that took effect after midnight on Saturday, stoking fragile hopes for an end to months of escalating foreign-backed fighting around Tripoli, the capital, that has threatened to push the country into a major conflagration. The cease-fire was first raised by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia at a meeting in Istanbul last week, ostensibly to end a surge in fighting that had caused thousands of deaths and displaced 300,000 civilians, according to the United Nations. Turkey and Russia are also protagonists in the fight, backing rival Libyan factions as part of a broader struggle for strategic and economic advantage in the Mediterranean. And it was not immediately clear whether the truce would be respected on the ground, where an array of loosely allied Libyan militias backed by foreign military forces are leading the fight. A spokesman for Khalifa Hifter, the commander based in eastern Libya whose forces have been laying siege to the capital since April, announced the truce. The beleaguered United Nations-backed government, whose authority is limited to a corner of western Libya, welcomed the move. DUBAI (Reuters) - A Ukrainian aircraft which crashed earlier this week in Iran had flown close to a sensitive military site belonging to the elite Revolutionary Guards and was shot down unintentionally due to human error, the Iranian military said in a statement read on state TV on Saturday. The responsible parties would be referred to a judicial department within the military and held accountable, the statement said. All 176 people on board were killed in the crash. The Iranian military statement expressed condolences to the families of the victims. The United States and Canada had said that the plane was shot down, a claim Iran had initially denied. (Reporting by Babak Dehghanpisheh; Editing by Jacqueline Wong) Anti-government protesters marched to the presidential palace in Belgrade and symbolically knocked on its door on January 11, calling Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic "a thief." It was the 58th Saturday march in a row since December 2018, when protesters took to the streets in condemnation of an assault on an opposition leader. The demonstrators have been urging Vucic and other high-ranking officials to resign and calling for broader reforms in the country. ATLANTA India Hardy has lived with pain since she was a toddler _ ranging from dull persistent aches to acute flare-ups that interrupt the flow of her normal life. The pain is from sickle cell disease, a group of genetic conditions that affect about 100,000 people in the U.S., many of them of African or Hispanic descent. Sitting in the afternoon heat on her mom's porch in Athens, Ga., Hardy recollected how a recent "crisis" derailed her normal morning routine. "It was time for my daughter to get on the bus, and she's too young to go on her own," Hardy recalled. "I was in so much pain I couldn't walk. So, she missed school that day." Sickle cell disease affects red blood cells, which travel throughout the body carrying oxygen to tissues. Healthy red blood cells are shaped like plump and flexible doughnuts, but in people with sickle cell disease, the red blood cells are deformed, forming C-shaped "sickles" that are rigid and sticky. These sickle-shaped cells can cause blockages in the blood vessels, slowing or even stopping normal blood flow. An episode of blockage is known as a sickle cell "crisis" _ tissues and organs can be damaged because of lack of oxygen, and the patient experiences severe spells of pain. Hardy tries to manage these crises on her own. She'll take a hot bath or apply heating pads to try to increase her blood flow. Hardy also has a variety of pain medications she can take at home. When she has exhausted those options, she needs more medical help. Hardy would prefer to go to a specialized clinic for sickle cell patients, but the closest is almost two hours away, and she doesn't have a car. So, Hardy often goes to the emergency room at nearby St. Mary's Hospital for relief. Until recently, the doctors there would give her injections of the opioid hydromorphone, which she says would stop her pain. Then, some months ago, the emergency room changed its process: "Now they will actually put that shot in a bag which is full of fluids, so it's like you're getting small drips of pain medicine," Hardy said. "It's like torture." It's the same for her brother, Rico, who also has sickle cell disease and has sought treatment at St. Mary's. The diluted medicine doesn't give the same pain relief as a direct injection, they say. St. Mary's staffers explain that they're trying to strike a balance with their new treatment protocol between adequate pain treatment and the risk that opioid use can lead to drug dependence. It's a local change that reflects a national concern. The U.S. is in the midst of an addiction and overdose crisis, fueled by powerful opioids like hydromorphone. That crisis has made medical providers more aware of the risks of administering these drugs. More than 47,000 Americans died in 2017 from an overdose involving an opioid, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That has prompted some emergency room leaders to rethink how they administer opioid medications, including how they treat people, such as Hardy, who suffer from episodes of severe pain. "We have given sickle cell patients a pass (with the notion that) they don't get addicted _ which is completely false," said Dr. Troy Johnson, who works in the emergency room at St. Mary's. "For us to not address that addiction is doing them a disservice." Johnson proposed the ER's shift to intravenous "drip delivery" of opioids for chronic pain patients because of personal experience. His son has sickle cell disease, and Johnson said he has seen firsthand how people with the disease are exposed to opioids when very young. "We start creating people with addiction problems at a very early age in sickle cell disease," Johnson said. He brought his concerns to the director of the ER, Dr. Lewis Earnest, and found support for the change. Hospital officials say they also consulted national guidelines for treating sickle cell crises. "We're trying to alleviate suffering, but we're also trying not to create addiction, and so we're trying to find that balance," Earnest said. "Some times it's harder than others." St. Mary's says the new IV-drip protocol is for all patients who come to the emergency room frequently for pain, and most of their sickle cell patients are fine with the change. The national guidelines cited by St. Mary's also say doctors should reassess patient pain frequently and adjust levels of opioids as needed "until pain is under control per patient report." Some people who work closely with sickle cell patients, upon hearing about the new approach to pain management at St. Mary's, called it "unusual." "When individuals living with sickle cell disease go to emergency departments, they are living in extreme amounts of pain," said Dr. Biree Andemariam, chief medical officer of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America. It's more common for ERs to give those patients direct "pushes" of pain medication via injection, she noted, not slower IV drips. People with sickle cell disease aren't fueling the opioid problem, Andemariam said. One study published in 2018 found that opioid use has remained stable among sickle cell patients over time, even as opioid use has risen in the U.S. generally. "If anything, individuals with sickle cell disease in our country have really been caught in the crossfire when it comes to this opioid epidemic," Andemariam said. She suggested that ER doctors and nurses need more education on how to care for people with sickle cell, especially during the painful crisis episodes, which can lead to death. A study of some 16,000 deaths from 1979 to 2005 related to sickle cell found that men in the group lived to be only 33, on average. Women didn't fare much better, living to an average age of 37. The same study suggested that a lack of access to quality care is a factor in the short life spans of people with sickle cell disease. Researchers who study sickle cell say the opioid epidemic has made it harder for patients with the condition to get the pain medication they need. The American College of Emergency Physicians is focusing on the problem, asking federal health officials to speak out about sickle cell pain and fund research on how to treat it without opioids. "We in the physician community are looking for ways to make sure they get adequate pain relief," said Dr. Jon Mark Hirshon, vice president of the group. "We recognize that the process is not perfect, but this is what we're striving for _ to make a difference." In the meantime, India Hardy said she feels those imperfections in the process every time she suffers a pain crisis, and she's not alone. In addition to her brother, Hardy said she has another friend in Athens with sickle cell disease, and that friend has also reported difficulty in finding pain relief at the St. Mary's emergency room. "It's just really frustrating, because you go to the hospital for help _ expecting to get equal help, and you don't," Hardy said, her voice breaking. "They treat us like we're not wanted there or that we're holding their time up or taking up a bed that someone else could be using." Hardy filed a complaint with the hospital but said nothing has changed, at least not yet. She still gets pain medication through an IV drip when she goes to the St. Mary's emergency room. At this point, she's considering leaving her relatives and friends behind in Athens to move closer to a sickle cell clinic. She hopes doctors there will do a better job of helping to control her pain. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 During a 911 call from Brewer's car to emergency dispatch, the teen can be heard telling Brewer he didn't know the Lexus was stolen. Brewer can be heard responding, "You don't know how bad I want to blow your (expletive) back," and, "You need to tell your buddies I need my (expletive) okay (sic)? Im coming for them." Lake County E-911 released a copy of the 911 audio recording a week after Brewer's arrest Sept. 22 in response to a records request from The Times. Some people in the community have rushed to Brewer's defense, and some have applauded his alleged act to attempt his own brand of justice. If the allegations are true, Brewer's actions were reprehensible and deserve anything but lauding. Like Adkins, Brewer is entitled to see his case play out in a fair and balanced system of justice. But both of the embattled council members should realize that the noise and embarrassment of criminal charges should not be blared at their citizens and other community leaders, distracting from the true business at hand. It's time for Brewer and Adkins to both step aside and face that music on their own time. Executive Editor Marc Chase can be reached at 219-933-3327 or marc.chase@nwi.com. Follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/marc.chase.9 or Twitter @nwi_MarcChase. The opinions are the writer's. Love 4 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly 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. A 63-year-old Indian-origin lawyer has filed a lawsuit against the UKs biggest supermarket chain Tesco over his alleged mistreatment which, he claimed, has dislodged his kidney stones. Lalu Hanuman has claimed 70,000 pounds (USD 91,451) in damages after being falsely accused of theft for walking away with an unpaid bar of chocolate. He was on his way to a concert when he bought the 1.05 pounds (USD 1.37) bar of vegan chocolate and paid for it at the self-service till. Hanuman threw the receipt in the bin and made his way out of the Tesco Express store in the Russell Square area of central London. According to The Sunday Times, he claims to have been stopped by the stores security guard who falsely accused him of not paying and then forcibly moved him back into the shop. Hanuman claims the incident resulted in his kidney stones being dislodged. Tesco admitted that the chocolate had been paid for and explained the confusion over an inadvertent double-swipe of the barcode by the lawyer, who had required some assistance while using the self-service checkout till. A UK court hearing in the case is scheduled to take place on July 21. PTI AK CPS The Iran crisis has thrown plans for a huge Victoria and Albert Museum exhibition of treasures from the country into chaos. Bosses at the west London attraction are worried the National Museum of Iran in Tehran will refuse to lend up to 50 rare artefacts for the Epic Iran show. A US drone strike wiped out top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and a passenger plane was shot down over Tehran, killing 176 people, in a souring of relations between the country and the West. Bosses at the west London attraction (pictured) are worried the National Museum of Iran in Tehran will refuse to lend up to 50 rare artefacts for the Epic Iran show A US drone strike wiped out top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani (right). Left: President Donald Trump Ukraine International Airlines' Boeing 737-800 plane wreckage is seen in a picture from the investigation team Bronze axes and carved stone vessels from Iran are hoped to still be part of the October exhibition, but the museum is concerned they may not come through. Museum director and former Labour MP Tristram Hunt told the Sunday Times: 'Some of the loans might now be less forthcoming and sponsorship [will be] more of a challenge.' Head of London-based charity the Iran Heritage Foundation John Curtis added: 'If we want to have a good representation of the ancient period, we do need to have some material from there because it doesn't exist in western collections. 'If they didn't come, we would have to source the material from elsewhere but it wouldn't be exactly the same. It would mean we would have to write a slightly different narrative for the exhibition.' Yesterday the Foreign Office hit out at Iran for a 'flagrant violation of international law' after the UK ambassador to the country was arrested during a protest in Tehran. Diplomat Rob Macaire was present during demonstrations against Ayatollah Khamenei in front of Tehrans Amir Kabir University and was arrested after allegedly 'organising, provoking and directing radical actions', according to local reports. Diplomat Rob Macaire was present during demonstrations against Ayatollah Khamenei in front of Tehrans Amir Kabir University and was arrested after allegedly 'organising, provoking and directing radical actions', according to local reports Thousands had gathered to demand the supreme leader's resignation after his regime admitted it had mistakenly shot down a civilian passenger plane during retaliation against the US' assassination of Soleimani. Mr Macaire, a diplomat with 30 years experience, was released following more than an hour in detention. In a strongly worded statement, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab warned Iran that it needed to make a choice between becoming a 'pariah' state or to 'deescalate tensions' with the west. A lawyer for former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn, who fled to Lebanon while awaiting trial in Japan, said his client was questioned an average of seven hours a day without a lawyer present. Takashi Takano said on his blog post Saturday the questioning continued through weekends, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Takano has said he told Ghosn he couldn't expect a fair trial in Japan, but his chances of winning were good because the evidence against him was so weak. Japan's judicial system has come under fire over Ghosn's case. Critics have for years said the prolonged detentions tend to coerce false confessions. Suspects can be detained even without any charges. Japanese prosecutors and Justice Minister Masako Mori have repeatedly defended the nation's system as upholding human rights, noting Japan boasts a low crime rate. Mori said the system follows appropriate procedures under Japanese law, stressing that every culture is different. ALSO READ: From financial misconduct to breach of trust, every allegation against Carlos Ghosn and his response to them Takano said he recently looked at prosecutors' data and Ghosn's notes to tally the hours of questioning for 70 of the days Ghosn was detained. On three days, Ghosn had been questioned for some 11 hours, according to Takano's tally. Ghosn was detained under two separate arrests for 130 days. He has been charged with underreporting his future compensation and of breach of trust in diverting Nissan Motor Co. money for alleged personal gain. In a news conference in Beirut lasting more than two hours, Ghosn reasserted his innocence, and accused Nissan and Japanese government officials of plotting his removal. Ghosn, who led Nissan for two decades, has said the compensation was never decided, and the payments were for legitimate business. Much of his news conference was devoted to criticizing Japanese justice as rigged and harsh. He said he had been grilled without a lawyer present while held in solitary confinement. He advised all foreigners to leave. ALSO READ: Carlos Ghosn says Japan threatened to take action against family if he didn't confess to their allegations Kochi: The authorities on Sunday completed demolition of four apartment complexes built near backwaters in violation of coastal regulation zone norms in Maradu on the outskirts of Keralas Kochi by razing two remaining luxury skyscrapers through controlled implosions in compliance with a Supreme Court order. Officials said it took just four seconds to pull down the largest of the four buildings, which housed 128 flats over 25,000 square feet, at 11 am. Another 17-floor building with 40 flats was demolished three-and-half hours later in two seconds to complete one of the largest demolition drives in the country that was planned over four months. Fire department personnel rushed with water jets to control dust that enveloped a major part of Maradu when the buildings came crashing own. Two skyscrapers were earlier reduced to rubble in six seconds through controlled implosions on Saturday as thousands of people assembled in Maradu to witness the spectacle. Other than a portion of a complex slipping into the backwaters no other damage was reported on Saturday. Blasting of all four apartment complexes is successful. Water bodies near these flats are least affected and other dwelling units near these buildings are also safe, said district collector S Suhas. It was a perfect implosion. Not a single debris have fallen in the lake, he said. Said Vijay Sakhare, city police commissioner: It was an absolute success. No damage has happened to the building adjacent to the demolished one. And no harm to any human life or any animal life. No properties in adjoning area damaged, Officials of the Edifice Engineering, the main blasting contractor involved in the demolition, said the demolition of Golden Kayaloram, one of the four buildings, was most challenging because it was closer to backwaters and another building complex. But they managed to bring it down without any damage or obstructions. Officials said clearing 70,000-tonne rubble is now the main task after the demolition and it will take at least 40 days to clear it. A dumping site has been identified and a major part of the rubble will be used for metalling and minor constructions. Some of the flat owners were seen wiping their tears as the buildings came down and complained they were punished for the faults of builders and officials, who gave permission for constructing the high-rises. On the eve of the demolitions, one of the owners had said: It is injustice done by a state against its citizens. The Supreme Court ordered the demolition of the flats in last May after a long litigation and directed the authorities to pay 25 lakh compensation each to the flat owners. A special pooja invoking Lord Ganesha to remove all hurdles was held on Saturday to ensure smooth operation, said the companies involved in the operation. Authorities imposed prohibitory orders to control the surge in the number of onlookers. According to green activists, the demolitions will be a lesson for land encroachers, who misuse water bodies and other natural resources. However, many fear the latest demolition drive will trigger a series of such actions. According to experts, the last big demolition drive was in Chennai in 2016 when an 11-floor building was pulled down through controlled implosions. This is the first time such skyscrapers were pulled down through controlled implosions. Mardu P Vijayan, a local resident, said it took almost five years to build the apartments. But they collapsed in less than five seconds. It is a lesson for those, who bribed officials and flouted laws. With inputs from PTI SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Walkers pictured at the South Bull wall as high winds churn up the sea during high tide.Picture Credit:Frank McGrath 11/1/20 Met Eireann has issued a Status Orange wind warning nationwide for tomorrow as the country braces itself for Storm Brendan to hit. Widespread flooding and gusts of up to 130km per hour are likely on Monday, the forecaster said. The warning, for heavy gusts, is in place for Connacht, Donegal and Kerry, for the hours between 5am and 9pm on Monday, saying it will produce "extremely windy or stormy conditions", heavy rain and a risk of lighting and thunder. The orange wind warning is also in place for Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan, Clare, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford between 8am and 3pm on Monday. Evelyn Cusack, Head of Forecasting for Met Eireann, warned that, despite wind speeds of over 130kmh predicted, the most significant risk is that of widespread flooding. "It's a very deep, active storm," she told Independent.ie. "There will be very high seas on the Atlantic Coast, and this combined with a high tide and storm surge, leaves a high risk of coastal flooding around all of Ireland, not just on the West. "There is a big risk of flooding. Local authorities have been warned and are prepared." Dublin City Council said that they have been monitoring the forthcoming unsettled weather and as its result, they will be erecting flood defences and have closed the car parks at Clontarf and Sandymount from 6am tomorrow. In Galway, where recent flooding caused damage to dozens of cars, City Council crews have been reinforcing the flood barrier at Fishmarket, Spanish Arch in the city centre. A section of the Promenade in Salthill will close from 7.00pm today between Seapoint and Grattan Road and the car-parks at Toft Park, where the cars were previously damaged, and along the Prom will close from 2.00pm on Sunday. Expand Close Paula Kearns and Caitriona Harvey from Bundoran, Co Donegal pictured at the South Bull wall Picture Credit:Frank McGrath / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Paula Kearns and Caitriona Harvey from Bundoran, Co Donegal pictured at the South Bull wall Picture Credit:Frank McGrath "The Severe Weather Assessment Team will continue to monitor the situation and will put further measures in place as necessary on Sunday and throughout Monday," Gary McMAhon, a spokesperson for the Council told Independent.ie. "Bigi Curamach. Stay safe." The RSA has warned drivers to be careful of objects blowing onto the road due to the storm, as well as fallen debris. They have advised motorists to drive with dipped headlights at all times and to be aware that cyclists need more space due to flooding and fallen debris, while they could also be blown off course due to the winds. Dublin Port Company have also temporarily closed public access to the Great South Wall - the wall out to Poolbeg Lighthouse - from 11am until 4pm and and the North Bull Wall Bridge - the main bridge to Bull Island - 12pm until 2.30pm. Ms Cusack said that Storm Brendan will not be long-lasting, however, and by evening time on Monday its major effects will have subsided. Expand Close 12/1/20 Dublin city council shore up flood defences on Clontarf ahead of the forecasted storm. Picture: Arthur Carron. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp 12/1/20 Dublin city council shore up flood defences on Clontarf ahead of the forecasted storm. Picture: Arthur Carron. "The storm will begin at 7am all along the South-West, West and North-West coasts and transfer eastwards. The peak from 7am in the West and the peak in the East for Louth Meath Dublin Wicklow and Wexford probably around midday to 2pm," Ms Cusack said. "The feature here is the high risk of flooding, but it is a storm so we're expecting gusts of 130kmh. In terms of impact, it's impossible to forecast as such, but this time of year the trees are bare, they're not in leaf so there is a risk of trees coming down across the country. "It will be rapidly decreasing but it will be continuing in the West and North-West but it will all be gone by teatime on the same day. It's a 12-hour event but in the North-West it could last longer." The poor weather will not end then, however as Storm Ciara is likely to be named by UK forecasters today. While Ireland will not receive the brunt of the storm, its edge will produce rain over Ireland, which due to the cold weather may freeze. "When the storm subsides, there will be a rapid decrease in conditions," Ms Cusack said. "For Tuesday though there will be a risk of some sleety snow. There's a possibility of Storm Ciara being named by the UK Met Office, tracking across the South of England. That won't affect us but we'll have to keep an eye on that. "We'll get the rain from that storm, if it is named, but it will be cold over Ireland on Tuesday so that rain could turn to sleet or even snow on high ground across the country. "Overall the weather for the coming week is very, very unsettled. we've a very intense jet streams over Ireland steering in these Atlantic systems." In a major crackdown on drug menace, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) busted an international drug syndicate, operated from Afghanistan and Delhi NCR. 1.623 kgs of high-quality heroin has been seized and nine Afghan nationals have been arrested in this regard. Following a tip-off about a few Afghanistan nationals who were trying to get heroin trafficked in India via body concealment a special drive was launched on the arrival of the flight they were suspected to be travelling in. After the agency received information, surveillance was mounted, and the flight manifest was analyzed by the team. A team led by AD. Kuldeep Sharma laid a trap for a few Afghan nationals who were arriving India by Ariana flight no. FG-313 from Kabul via Kandahar on December 28. In all, seven passengers were rounded off for further examination. READ | Woman From Guinea Held At Delhi Airport For Smuggling Narcotic The interrogation The spot interrogation of the two apprehended passengers Yusufzai Rahamatullah & Faiz Mohammad revealed that they were sent by a person based in Afghanistan and were supposed to meet India-based Afghan person named Hayatullah. Following the information, Hayatullah was apprehended from the airport itself and his examination and interrogation led the team to further follow up action which resulted in the apprehension Masood Mohammad, who was based in Lajpat Nagar. The seven intercepted Afghani passengers were taken for medical examination at Safdurjang Hospital where the test report confirmed the presence of foreign entities in their stomach following which the doctor opined for proper medical treatment to extract the ingested objects. After days of medical supervision, a total of 177 capsules were expelled by the 7 Afghan nationals which contained a total of 1.623 kgs of high-grade heroin. A detailed investigation is underway to identify other persons in the syndicate. READ | BSF And DRI Seize Narcotic Tablets From Tripura-Bangladesh Border List of 7 arrested Afghan nationals: Yusufzai Rahamatullah (28 capsules- 215 gms) Faiz Mohammad (38 capsules-304 gms) Nabizada Habibullah (15 capsules-225 gms) Ahmedi Abdul Wadood (15-capsules-225 gms) Turkman Abdul Hamid (18 capsules-142 gms) Fazal Ahmed (37 capsules-262 gms) Noorzai Kabir (26 capsules-250 gms) Hayatullah (facilitator based in India) Masood Mohammad (facilitator based in India) READ | Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Busts 1300 Cr Drug Cartel Operating Internationally The modus operandi of concealment by ingesting drug-filled capsules is a commonly used method to traffic narcotic drugs into India. These carriers are known as drug mules in the narco parlance. The kingpin is suspected to be based in Afghanistan with its contacts in India. The arrested India-based contacts have disclosed that such consignments of drugs are further sold to Nigerian nationals operating in Delhi NCR and they used to receive some sale proceeds for facilitating each carrier. Concerned Foreign Authorities are being approached for investigation at their end. READ | Malaysia Makes Record Drug Seizure, Narcotics From Pakistan Washington: The best thing the US can do for the world is to continue its maximum pressure campaign on Iran's regime to prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon, a top US official said on Sunday. "The best thing we can do for the Iranian people and for the world is to continue our maximum pressure campaign to ensure that the Iranian regime never obtains a nuclear weapon, stops their terrorist activities in the region and cuts back on their ballistic missile program, National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien said. The US has imposed new sanctions on Iran following missile strikes by it on bases housing US troops in Iraq. Iran said the attacks were in revenge for the killing of the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, General Qasem Soleimani, in a US drone strike last week, which was ordered by President Donald Trump. O'Brien said it has never been the policy of the US to change the regime in Iran, but the people of Iran are going to hopefully have the ability at some point to elect their own government. "It's never been our policy to change the regime in Iran, but the people of Iran are going to hopefully have the ability at some point to elect their own government and to be governed by the leaders they choose. I mean we hope that around the world. But that's not our policy. And we're going to support human rights, he said during an interview to a private American channel. O'Brien said the US will work with its allies against Iran and soon the European powers would also join. "We're going to keep doing that. We're going to work with our allies. I think we're going to see some additional assistance on that front coming out of Europe that has not been forthcoming in the past. But I think you're going to see the Europeans getting onboard in the coming weeks as well," he said. Stating that the past one week has been a very bad for the Iranian regime, O'Brien said : "They shot down Ukrainian International Airline 752. And the president's condolences and sympathy goes out to the passengers, their families, and their friends and loved ones". "The Iranians then denied shooting the aircraft down, then give a different story about the aircraft coming close to sensitive military installations, changed it again and said it was because of the United States, he said. Iran's Revolutionary Guard on Saturday acknowledged that it accidentally shot down the Ukrainian jetliner that crashed earlier this week, killing all 176 aboard, after the government had repeatedly denied Western accusations that it was responsible. "This was a regime that's reeling from maximum pressure. They're reeling from their incompetence in this situation. And the people of Iran are just fed up with it, he added. Ireland's tech giants are continuing to find creative ways to address the gender imbalance in the STEM sector, both at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Intel are continuing their Women in Technology Scholarships programme, offering 3,000 per annum to successful applicants studying an honours degree in science, technology and engineering. They will also be given intern placements at an Intel campus either in Leixlip, Shannon or Cork. The final element of the scholarship is a mentor assigned to each student to assist with career progression and further education. In 2011 Dell, Microsoft and Accenture founded a group called Connecting Women in Technology (CWIT) with the aim of supporting the development of women in the technology industry. The group now has 19 member companies, including BT Ireland, Dropbox, Eir, Ericsson, EY, Facebook, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM, Intel, Linkedin, New Relic, Twitter, Virgin Media, Vodafone and Xilinx. They have recently qualified for two-year funding from the latest round of the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Discover Programme. CWIT is now in collaboration with Dublin City University and the 30% Club on the project which places pre-service primary and secondary STEM teachers in paid internships in technology and pharmaceutical companies over a 12 week period so that they can gain first hand experience of STEM roles and careers in industry. The funding will be used to pay a full-time project manager and a full-time researcher recruited to evaluate the impact of the programme on the participating teachers. Participants gain hands-on technical experience and also a greater understanding of the soft skills required to work in the field. Teachers and parents have the greatest influence on career choices and it is hoped that this initiative will help inspire more women to take a STEM career path. The tech sector has a reputation for being tough on women who want to progress, but Laura Sherbin, co-president of the Center for Talent Innovation has spent ten years studying the phenomenon and has found six strategies to help women in STEM achieve success, regardless of how supportive or hostile their company cultures may be. In her article Six Things Successful Women in STEM Have in Common, published in the Harvard Business Review, Sherbin defines success as satisfaction with your job, respect for your expertise, and a senior-level position. She says that about a fifth of women currently employed in STEM meet that bar. CHICAGO - In the middle of a video announcing her reelection campaign, Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx did something few Chicago politicians do: She admitted fault. Foxx had been criticized by President Donald Trump, the Fraternal Order of Police and many Chicagoans for her office's decision in March to drop all 16 felony disorderly conduct charges against actor Jussie Smollett, who police say staged a racist and homophobic attack involving two men with a noose. Then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a Democrat, called Foxx's decision "a whitewash of justice." Trump characterized it as "a real big scam." "Truth is, I didn't handle it well. I own that," Foxx, a Democrat, said in her two-minute video. The criticism has not subsided as Foxx fights to keep her position ahead of the March 17 primary, in which she faces three challengers. She took control of the nation's second-largest prosecutor's office in 2016 as the first black woman to hold the title and a key figure in the wave of "progressive prosecutors" who won elections on pledges to fix what they view as a broken criminal justice system that unfairly punishes poor people and racial minorities. Since then, she has been a model of the reform movement, seeking out wrongful convictions, clearing low-level drug offenses and reducing prosecution of shoplifting in favor of targeting gun violence. But the Smollett controversy threatens to define her term as chief prosecutor. Amid accusations that the dropped charges were a political favor, a judge appointed a special prosecutor to investigate the decision and explore whether there are new grounds to prosecute the former "Empire" actor. Foxx had requested the Cook County inspector general review her handling of the case, as well. Her most well-funded primary challenger, former assistant state's attorney Bill Conway, has made the Smollett controversy a central point in his campaign, promising to be a reformer like Foxx, but one who "will be a beacon of public trust." This past spring, the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police demanded Foxx resign. Martin Preib, a vice president of the local police union, told local television station WTTW that "in almost any other city, the notion of a scandal-plagued prosecutor like Kimberly Foxx running for reelection could not be seriously entertained." Foxx maintains that her record as chief prosecutor demonstrates a commitment to creating a more equitable criminal justice system, and that "trying to sum it all up by one case is just an attempt to distract by those who want to take us back." Her 2016 win was a major victory for the reform movement, criminal justice experts say, mainly because Chicago's notorious reputation for police misconduct and excessive punity was seen as unbreakable for years. "It's not an office historically known for success in confronting the old ways of thinking about crime, and it's an office that has been criticized for the way race plays a role in its charging practices," said David Alan Sklansky, co-director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center. "For constituents to say 'we want to change the way this office operates' is significant." Some fear losing her bid for a second term would impede the surge in prosecutors seeking to shift the nation away from incarceration-driven practices. More than two dozen newly elected prosecutors have taken office in recent years, advocating for policies such as ending cash bail for low-level charges, not prosecuting certain nonviolent offenses and tackling police misconduct. "There are many prosecutors in office now because of the glass ceiling Kim broke," said Miriam Krinsky, executive director of Fair and Just Prosecution, an advocacy group for reform-minded prosecutors. "Who she is and how she eloquently exemplifies the movement has had ripple effects around the country. It's been disheartening to watch her be defined by a single decision in a single case." As the investigation into Smollett's alleged attack began, Foxx exchanged text messages with a relative of the actor and communicated with attorney Tina Tchen, a Smollett family friend and former chief of staff to Michelle Obama who expressed concerns about the probe. Foxx ultimately recused herself from the case, handing it over to an assistant state's attorney, who later announced that the charges had been dropped. Neither Foxx nor her staff has specified why the charges were dropped. Last year, the city sued Smollett to recover the $130,000 in expenses for investigating his claims. Smollett filed a counterclaim, accusing the city of malicious prosecution. As part of the special prosecutor's investigation, a Cook County judge has ordered Google to release documentation related to Smollett's account, including the actor's emails, chats and photos. Donna More, a former federal prosecutor who is challenging Foxx, has seized on the case to characterize her as a political insider who cannot be counted on to target white-collar crime or public corruption. One sign, she says, is that Foxx is endorsed by the top officials in Chicago, including Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, both Democrats. "Kim Foxx has real issues catering to the rich and famous," More said. "The reason she was put in there was not to prosecute public corruption cases. She was put in there by the [political] machine." Conway has made Foxx's judgment his key point of dissension, saying he otherwise agrees with her on most aspects of the state's attorney job. He, too, supports bail reform, expunging marijuana convictions and reducing sentences for nonviolent offenders. "Whether I am the next state's attorney or it's Kim Foxx, there will be a progressive in that office," he said. In her first year in office, Foxx dismissed charges against dozens of defendants wrongly convicted of drug offenses. In December, she began the effort to clear more than 1,000 low-level marijuana convictions. "When I came into office, the county had labored under the reputation of a grossly unjust justice system. We wore the moniker of the false confessional capital of the United States," Foxx said. "We won a historic election where people were saying they wanted something different." Foxx also has raised the standard for prosecuting felony shoplifting charges from a minimum of $300 to $1,000 in stolen goods. That decision played a role in lowering the county's incarceration rate nearly 20 percent, according to a report by the Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice, an advocacy organization that seeks to address inequities in the court system. One of Foxx's most significant changes is making her office the first county prosecutor in the United States to release case data online, Sklansky said, an action that gives unprecedented transparency into every felony brought to court. An analysis by the Marshall Project, a nonprofit journalism outlet that focuses on criminal justice, shows that Foxx has turned away more than 5,000 low-level shoplifting and drug cases that probably would have been pursued by the previous state's attorney, Anita Alvarez, a Democrat. Some were referred to alternative treatment programs, such as restorative justice courts where community members outline restitution measures for young nonviolent offenders. About 2,300 drug cases were dismissed because the defendants entered counseling to avoid trial. But the Fraternal Order of Police and other detractors say Foxx's actions send a dangerous message to criminals. "When you don't hold somebody responsible for retail theft they become emboldened," More said. "Every shoplifter in Chicago knows they won't get prosecuted." Foxx rejected such characterizations of her policies, saying that reducing prosecution of retail theft allows her office to focus on a more severe threat: gun violence. In the first half of 2019, felony arrests for unlawful use of a weapon represented 25 percent of the cases pursued by her office, compared with less than 15 percent the year before she took office, according to the Marshall Project. During her term, the top-prosecuted cases after drug offenses have flipped from retail theft to weapon-related crimes. Violent crime in the county has fallen in recent years, which crime experts here say is part of a long-term trend. Foxx agrees but believes that her reforms have played a role. "We can demonstrate that we have prosecuted more gun cases and prosecuted these gun cases more successfully. That correlates with shootings going down, so we are happy to be part of that conversation," she said. "We believe it has made a difference." But as Foxx fights for a second term, the race has gotten heated. She is one of few prosecutors who has been publicly slammed by Trump, and law enforcement has marched in protest in front of her office. Both, she says, are evidence of the "cultural change" that is underway - not just in Cook County, but across the United States. "This is a shock to those who have benefited from the way that our previous justice system has worked," Foxx said. "When the FOP and Trump talk about criminal justice, they aren't talking about policies, they're talking about fearmongering." Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Saturday that the present state of economy was a "temporary phase", and India will become a USD five trillion economy by 2024. He was addressing a convocation of Gujarat Technological University (GTU) here. "Don't get disheartened. This is just a temporary phase. I want to tell you that India will become a USD five trillion economy by 2024," he said. The Union minister made the claim even as India's second quarter GDP growth slowed to 4.5 per cent, weakest in over six years. "In the first 70 years, our economy grew to USD two trillion. In the first five years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, it was taken to USD three trillion," he said. "Don't be confused by false propaganda. You will be the biggest beneficiaries when India becomes a USD five trillion economy," Shah told students who passed out of the university. "Some people say that poverty, hunger and illiteracystill exist in the country. But the youth should not get carried away by these claims. No one can stop a country which has a market of 130 crore people," the Union minister said. He urged the graduating students to set up research- oriented start-ups to solve problems specific to India, such as farmers being compelled to burn crop stubble. "Activists blame the farmers who burn crop residue, saying they do not understand the problem of pollution. The farmer stays with nature and he understands the problem, but he does not have any solution," Shah said. "Our youngsters should find a technological solution to the problem," he said. Technology can also change how we manage our natural resources, the Union minister said. "The government is using space technology to map and manage our minerals and it will give a boost to the mining sector," he said. "There was a proposal to build posts on our borders. Prime Minister Modi suggested that satellite technology be used. Forty-five such posts have been built using the space technology to map the area on our as well as our neighbor's side. "Now, the security agency says we will not need to set up new posts for next 20 years in that area," Shah said. The BJP president also urged the youth to speak in mother-tongue. "The media will brand me as regressive tomorrow, but I advise you to speak in our own languages. Talk to your friends in Indian languages. It will save our culture and knowledge," he said. WASHINGTON Hogan Gidley, a White House spokesman, was criticized on Twitter after claiming that former President Barack Obama killed Muammar al-Gaddafi, the former prime minister of Libya. Gidley, the principal deputy press secretary, was trying to compare the Obama administration using the threats of imminent attacks as justifications for killing terrorists to Trump and his administration claiming that is what led to the killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, the country's second-most-powerful official. Trump administration officials have defended the strike as legal and necessary, saying Soleimani was planning attacks on U.S. assets in the region. But they have declined to provide evidence of the plot and have given conflicting accounts of how "imminent" it was. More: Trump administration hits Iran with new economic sanctions Exclusive: Americans say Soleimani's killing made US less safe, Trump 'reckless' on Iran On Thursday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News that "we dont know precisely when and we dont know precisely where, but it was real." During Friday's sanctions news conference at the White House, Pompeo was asked for his definition of imminent," and responded: This was gonna happen, and American lives were at risk. In an interview expected to air Friday evening, Trump told Fox News that Soleimani was planning an attack against four U.S. embassies, including the embassy in Baghdad, but did not provide evidence of such claim. Gidley also argued Obama did not offer evidence of an imminent threat posed by Osama bin Laden, founder of al Qaeda, when he authorized the operation that killed him in 2011. "Soleimani was, in fact, planning 'imminent attacks,'" Gidley wrote on Twitter Friday afternoon. "While Democrats and the media quibble over its definition, quick point: When Obama killed bin Laden, al-Awlaki and Gaddafi, without Congressional approval, there were NO 'imminent attacks' and Democrats did not ask or care." Story continues Soleimani was, in fact, planning "imminent attacks." While Democrats and the media quibble over its definition, quick point: When Obama killed bin Laden, al-Awlaki and Gaddafi, without Congressional approval, there were NO "imminent attacks" and Democrats did not ask or care. Hogan Gidley (@hogangidley45) January 10, 2020 Obama's former National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor quickly replied to Gidley, writing that bin Laden and Anwar Al-Awlaki, an al Qaeda terrorist, "were senior, operational Al Qaeda leaders. Congress authorized war against [Al Qaeda] back in 2001." More: Pentagon launched second attack on an Iranian militant the same day it killed Soleimani Moreover, Gaddafi was killed by Libyan rebel forces in 2011. His final moments were captured on video, showing him to be surrounded by a mob of rebels. Under the Obama administration, the U.S. played mostly a supporting role in NATO military operations regarding Libya, but the White House did not have a direct role in his death. Vietor pointed this out Gidley, saying that Gaddafi "was killed by members of the [Libya's National Transitional Council] - not by US forces." Hey Hogan, long time no see. Bin Laden and Awlaki were senior, operational Al Qaeda leaders. Congress authorized war against AQ back in 2001. Gaddafi was killed by members of the NTC - not by US forces. But wrt imminence - you have agency here. Release the intelligence. Prove it. Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) January 10, 2020 Several Democratic lawmakers also quickly criticized Gidley on twitter. "Like, just do a google search, man. Obama didn't kill Gaddafi. Libyans did," Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy tweeted back. #Gadaffi starting trending on twitter following fiery debate between Gidley and his critics. More: GOP Rep. Doug Collins apologizes for saying Democrats 'are in love with terrorists' "Hey 'fact checkers,' don't be ridiculous. What I was clearly saying is that Obama and Hillary took credit for the killing of these terrorists repeatedly, including Gaddafi. Hillary even said: "We came. We saw. He died," Gidley stated in a thread after he received criticism. "Emails (the ones Hillary didnt delete) showed her advisers urged her to own it. Obamas authorization of a bombing campaign and his Administrations assistance in the overthrow of the Libyan government led to Gaddafis death," he continued. Emails (the ones Hillary didnt delete) showed her advisers urged her to own it. Obamas authorization of a bombing campaign and his Administrations assistance in the overthrow of the Libyan government led to Gaddafis death...everyone knows this. We all saw how he died Hogan Gidley (@hogangidley45) January 10, 2020 The House of Representatives passed a resolution Thursday aimed at curbing Trump's ability to wage war against Iran amid concerns about the escalation of tensions following the U.S. killing Soleimani, a top Iranian general. Democrats and some Republicans in both the House and Senate have criticized the Trump Administration's lack of evidence and inconsistency regarding the imminent threats posed by Soleimani. More: Pompeo, Esper briefings on Iran leave Congress bitterly divided over Soleimani strike "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," Murphy also tweeted. Several other members of Congress briefed Wednesday on the attack say this is the first time they've heard of it, as well. GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah emerged from the classified briefing with White House administration officials about the airstrike calling it "insulting and demeaning." Contributing: David Jackson, Deirdre Shesgreen, and Tom Vanden Brook This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: White House spokesman criticized after claiming Obama killed Gaddafi Historian Sir Simon Schama has slammed his former history teacher for almost destroying his love of the subject after his old school tried to take some credit for his knighthood. The 74-year-old made the comments on social media today, after a post from the Old Haberdashers Association in June 2018, congratulating him for his honour. The tweet said: 'Congratulations to @simon_schama for his well deserved Knighthood. History career partially down to the board rubber throwing skills of TE Carrington at Habs!' In a follow up tweet the group said the teacher was 'legendary' for throwing things at students and also for his 'never ending note dictations'. Historian and broadcaster Sir Simon Schama after he was awarded a Knighthood in an Investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace Historian Simon Schama responded to a tweet congratulating him for a knighthood In a follow up tweet Sir Simon did say that a number of his history teachers at the school were excellent The veteran broadcaster, who attended Haberdashers Askes Boys School, in Elstree, was less than impressed with his former history teacher. In a tweet response, he said: 'he was in fact I'm sorry to say, a monstrous bully and history was a dead thing in his hands.' However Sir Simon did add that a number of teachers at the school were brilliant. In a follow up tweet he said: 'He put me off history entirely. 'Luckily every other history teacher at Habs repaired the damage and was wonderful esp Robert Baines, the great Roy Avery, Robert Irvine Smith, and Ian Lister.' Sir Simon collected a knighthood from the Duke of Cambridge for services to history at Buckingham Palace in February last year. The historian and author, is perhaps best known for his BBC series A History of Britain. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 22:31:43|Editor: yan Video Player Close TEHRAN, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said here Sunday that Iran and Qatar had made "significant decisions" to boost bilateral ties, according to the official IRNA news agency. "Iran and Qatar enjoy very good political relations, and in economic, trade, cultural and scientific sectors both countries have high potentials to harness," Rouhani made the remarks while attending a press conference with the visiting Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Within the next few months, a joint commission will be established to work on the enhancement of cooperation between the two countries in diverse sectors, he said. The Iranian president highlighted Iran's supports to Qatar over the past years after the latter faced sanction pressures from some Arab countries, adding that "Iran will remain by Qatar's side." "We also decided to expand our political relations," said Rouhani. As for improving security of waterways in the Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman, both sides decided to enhance negotiations and cooperation, he was quoted as saying. Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani arrived in Tehran on Sunday for talks with senior Iranian officials. New Delhi: Two terrorists were gunned down in an encounter by security force in a Kashmirs Tral on Sunday. The encounter broke out after the security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation on the basis of intelligence inputs. This is when terrorists opened fire. According to officials, two terrorists were killed in the encounter. The identity of slain terrorists is being ascertained. Reports suggest that one more terrorist is hiding in the area. Earlier on Tuesday, a local terrorist was killed in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmirs Awantipora. The security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Churswoo village of Awantipora in the early hours of Tuesday following an information about the presence of the terrorist there, they said. The killed terrorist has been identified as Shahid, a resident of Bijbehara area of Anantnag district, the police said. He was asked to surrender by the security forces but he chose to engage them in a gunbattle, they said, adding that the ultra was killed after a brief exchange of fire. Meanwhile, security forces have been conducting Operation All Out to root out terror outfits from the Valley. As many as 160 terrorists were killed and 102 arrested in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019. Jammu and Kashmir polices stated that 250 ultras were active in UT. Security Arrangements have been beefed up in Jammu and Kashmir post abrogation of Article 370. Since the removal of the special status from J&K, Pakistan is trying to push militias via LoC. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Joycelyn Soriano has faced challenges and setbacks in the last year, including surgery and finding stable housing. But amid cake and celebration Thursday at Lower Columbia CAP in Longview, the Kelso High School graduate put another hurdle a fourth-degree assault charge behind her. Soriano, 38, is one of the first graduates in Cowlitz Countys new misdemeanor-level Community Court. Similar to the countys felony-level diversionary courts, its goal is to steer criminal offenders out of the criminal justice system by addressing the root causes of their crimes, such as mental illness, drug abuse or poverty. Former Cowlitz County District Court judges Ed Putka and David Koss started work on the court before their simultaneous retirements in January 2019, but the program didnt snap into place until last year. New district court judge Debra Burchett oversees the court, which started in earnest in March. Only about 25 people have participated so far, and after this week four people have officially graduated. Typical crimes that people enter the program with include theft, shoplifting and low-level assaults, Burchett said, but all entrants are determined on a case-by-case basis. Soriano got in trouble in late 2018 when she was getting paperwork from a resource fair at the Three Rivers Mall. Soriano said she snatched the documents from a woman, but the woman alleged Soriano grabbed her arm, Soriano said. Community Court Coordinator Cindy Wright introduced Soriano to Community Court. She had to have no other charges for a year and complete mandatory counseling and mental health treatment, among other requirements. There was a domino effect after she got into the program, Soriano said: She got a spot at the Community House after a brief period of homelessness, which gave her time to find an apartment in October, get accepted at LCC and work on getting her drivers license. A setback came this winter, when Soriano had to undergo an emergency laparoscopic surgery, hysterectomy and blood transfusion. Its healing now, but it took a lot out of her, Soriano said. Shes amazing, Wright said. Honestly, from the time when I first met her and how shes turned around, she has grown so much. She doesnt give herself enough credit. Those accepted to Community court start by visiting a weekly resource fair at Lower Columbia CAP, where treatment providers such as Awakenings and AmeriCorps set up tables to offer information and referrals. Soriano said she visited just about every booth when she visited: I got a lot of pens. Based in part on what those providers say they need, the court crafts an agreement. If a rehabilitation agency says a person needs six months of alcohol treatment, then their Community Court program could last for only those six months, for example. Its not cookie cutter, Judge Burchett said. Everybodys different, every issue is different. If the defendant completes the program, their charges are dismissed. If they fail, they can be found guilty and sentenced without a trial. Beyond the goal of addressing the underlying reasons people commit crimes, the program saves taxpayer money, Burchett said, because defendants arent running up $80 or $90 per night stays at the county jail. The program isnt a walk in the park, Burchett said. The prosecutor in the case has to agree to let the defendant join, and lying egregiously or being extremely rude to coordinators or using drugs while in the program are likely grounds for termination. I am not working their lives harder than they are, Burchett said. People graduate the program with improved self esteem and without the black mark of a conviction on their record for whatever crime brought them into the program, Burchett said. As far as the long-term effects of the program: Only times going to tell. After a year of challenges, Soriano is still attending LCC and seeking a better job, although its a challenge financially. If she can attain financial assistance, shed like to get a degree to become a psychiatrist. The criminal charge, at least, is in the past. Im glad that Ive gone through it with minimal complications, Soriano said. Itll give me some time to heal up. I guess thats how life goes it seems after youre done with the next thing, you have something else to do. Life keeps going. Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 1 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Commemorative 50p coin Millions of commemorative 50p coins are being minted and will be put into circulation from January 31 Millions are being minted and will be put into circulation from January 31. Made out of gold, silver and cupro-nickel, theyll be inscribed Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations. One million Brexit 50p coins with the date October 31, 2019 were minted but had to be melted down when that deadline was missed. The Royal Mail has been criticised for refusing to issue commemorative stamps, claiming it is not an important anniversary. It said it prints 13 sets of special stamps annually but they mark important anniversaries and activities that reflect the UKs heritage and contribution to the world. Immigration and expats The 1.3 million Britons living in the EU can continue to do so until the end of the transition period running until December 31. If they want to stay in the EU after that date, they must apply for permanent residence status by June 2021 and prove they have been there for five years. EU nationals living in the UK before January 31 must apply for a permit under the Settlement Scheme. Already 2.5 million have applied. Those who have lived here for less than five years can apply for pre-settled status, which can be converted to settled status after five years. Brexiteers are planning a party costing 100,000 in Westminster on the night of January 31 (stock image) Party night Brexiteers are planning a party costing 100,000 in Westminster on the night of January 31. There is also a campaign for Big Ben to be rung at the moment we leave the EU 11pm. Special permission has to be sought as the bells have been silenced since restoration work on the Elizabeth Tower began in 2017. There are calls for Union Jacks to be flown from all public buildings and Tory MPs have invited brewers to make bottles of Brexit beer. There are calls for Union Jacks to be flown from all public buildings and Tory MPs have invited brewers to make bottles of Brexit beer (pictured) MEPs gone Britain's 73 MEPs will lose their 91,000-a-year jobs. Long-standing ones such as Nigel Farage will get an end-of-term allowance equivalent to one months salary for each year they served. British Ministers will also stop attending EU summits, and there will no longer be a UK European Commissioner in Brussels. House prices The property market is enjoying a 'Brexit/Boris bounce'. According to the Halifax, the value of the average home rose by 4,000 in December the biggest monthly increase since 2007. It pushed the annual increase to 4 per cent, and further rises are expected. Driving in Europe Motorists had been warned that a No Deal Brexit would have forced them to have a GB sticker on their car. During the 11-month transition period that wont be necessary, but afterwards vehicles are likely to require them. From 2021, drivers going abroad may also need a green card to prove they have motor insurance for European travel, and they may also need an international driving permit (costing 5.50) on top of their normal DVLA licence. Flights From October, British airlines will lose access to European air space, which means they wont be able to operate flights from one city to another within the EU. EasyJet has prepared for this by setting up a branch in Austria, so it can carry on running European flights as an EU airline. From October, British airlines will lose access to European air space, which means they wont be able to operate flights from one city to another within the EU (stock image) Food prices About 28 per cent of our food comes from the EU. There should be no change to prices unless the value of the pound falls. In the event of a No Deal at the end of the transition period, prices may go up. In the long run, food may become cheaper as the UK strikes new trade deals beyond the EU. European health cover The NHS has issued about 27 million European Health Insurance Cards (EHIC), which enable Britons to receive either free or subsidised medical care within the EU, as if they were citizens of those countries. Benefits will remain the same throughout the transition period. If there is no agreement with Brussels at the end of the year, UK travellers to the EU will lose EHIC benefits and would be urged to take out private health insurance before travel. However, some EU countries, such as Spain and Belgium, say British citizens will be able to access their healthcare even if there is no deal, provided their citizens in the UK are given access to the NHS. Trains and ferries Cross-Channel passengers should not notice any changes at first. Eurotunnel says no new rules will apply to travellers or goods during the transition period, and Eurostar says services and timetables will remain the same. But once the transition ends, there could be queues at both Dover and Calais, as lorries carrying goods both ways are subjected to customs checks. Mobile data roaming The surcharge-free mobile phone roaming deal thats been in place since 2017 will continue until 2021. But this could change with the return of higher roaming charges as the UK might be considered to be the rest of the world zone. But Ministers insist favourable charges for British citizens in Europe will be part of the wider trade talks with the EU. Most suppliers have an extra six weeks stock of medicines, having stockpiled last year in case of a No Deal Brexit (stock image) Medicine Most suppliers have an extra six weeks stock, having stockpiled last year in case of a No Deal Brexit. As much as 73 per cent of medicine imports come from the EU so any interruption of supply could cause severe shortages. The Government says a key area of negotiation will be trade of medicine without tariffs. If, after December 31, Dover and Calais become clogged with lorries, pharmaceutical firms have plans to use alternative ports so there is no delay in importing vital drugs. Police and security Britain remains part of the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) scheme under which criminals in Europe can be arrested and extradited to the UK quickly. Our police forces will continue to use the resources of Europol, Europes police force, but membership of it and the EAW will end after the transition period if the Government does not strike a new deal. More than 54,000 files on foreign criminals have been copied into databases by the National Crime Agency in case the UK loses access to European databases. MI5 and MI6 will continue sharing intelligence with EU countries. The tweet comes at a time when Ms Wells is due to visit India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan starting from January 13. New Delhi: Soon after US ambassador to India Kenneth Juster and a group of 15-odd foreign diplomats returned from a two-day trip to Jammu and Kashmir, the US state department has reiterated its concerns over the detention of political leaders in Kashmir and the ongoing Internet restrictions. While terming the diplomats J&K visit as an important step, the US government said it remains concerned by the detention of political leaders, residents, and Internet restrictions in the Union territory. Closely following & other foreign diplomats recent trip to Jammu & Kashmir. Important step. We remain concerned by detention of political leaders and residents, and Internet restrictions. We look forward to a return to normalcy. AGW, the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs of the state department headed by principal deputy assistant secretary Alice Wells said in a tweet. AGW stands for Alice Wells. The tweet comes at a time when Ms Wells is due to visit India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan starting from January 13. The Internet and communications restrictions in the new Union territory were imposed on August 5 and continue in several areas. The Supreme Court had last week asked the J&K government to review its orders in this regard. Under international pressure, the Indian government had organised a two-day trip of 15 foreign diplomats posted in India where they interacted with political figures and civil society members. Among those who went to J&K were the ambassadors of the US, South Korea, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Fiji, the Maldives, Norway, Philippines among others. Kolkata [India], Jan 13 (ANI): Chinese ambassador to India Sun Weidong on Sunday said the relations between the two neighbours have entered a "sound stage," and hoped that both countries can work together to enhance mutual understanding and friendship. Speaking during the celebrations of Chinese New Year here, Weidong said that peaceful existence is needed for economic development and cooperation. "President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Modi held two informal summits to co-write the chapter of dragon and elephant dancing together," he said. He also said that China stayed committed to peaceful development and oppose unilateralism and hegemonism. The envoy added that both China and India can join hands to contribute to the process of multipolarity and safeguard the interests of developing countries. "This year marks the 70th anniversary of China-India diplomatic relations. Over the past 7 decades, China-India relations have been moving forward despite ups and downs, rain or sunshine," Weidong said. Noting that Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore had a profound impact on China, the diplomat said that it is possible for both the neighbours to go beyond the bilateral scope with a positive and open attitude. (ANI) WATERLOO Waterloo firefighters were involved in a dramatic rescue from a working house fire in Waterloo early Sunday. Battalion Chief Ben Petersen said two young girls were rescued from a bedroom, a firefighter was injured and an adult male who escaped the home were all transported to the hospital following the incident. The fire was reported about 12:45 a.m. at 2646 E. Fourth St. Firefighters said they arrived on the scene within three minutes and found a chaotic scene as they were told that children were trapped inside. Two Waterloo firefighters entered the story and a half single-family residence through a bedroom and found two girls, ages 2 and 3, in the bedroom. They girls were passed outside to awaiting fire personnel. One girl was found on a bed and another on the floor, Petersen said. A male who had been in the residence was found later sitting in a passing car that stopped to help. He also was transported to the hospital. The firefighter, who was not identified, was taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, Petersen said, and later released. He could not give any update as to the condition of the homes occupants. Flames were coming from the first floor living room area, Petersen said. Fire personnel entered the home and had the fire extinguished within five minutes, he said, but the home sustained fire and smoke damage throughout. The fire marshal has been called into to assist in the investigation into the cause of the fire, he said. Petersen said in total nine fire units were on the scene with a total of 21 personnel fighting the fire. Jeff Reinitz Fire Photos 2019. Nancy Newhoff Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Mark Esper said Sunday that he 'didn't see' intelligence that proved Iranian General Qassem Soleimani was planning attacks on four other U.S. embassies in the Middle East. 'The president didn't cite a specific piece of evidence. What he said was he believed,' Esper said in an interview on Face the Nation Sunday morning. 'I didn't see one, with regard to four embassies. What I'm saying is that I shared the president's view that probably my expectation was they were going to go after our embassies. The embassy is the most prominent display of American presence in a country.' He also told CNN's Jake Tapper that there was intelligence that there was intent to target the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, but wouldn't comment on intelligence regarding the other supposed plans. 'There was intelligence that there was an intent to target the U.S. embassy in Baghdad,' the secretary of the Department of Defense said on State of the Union. 'What the president said with regard to the four embassies, is what I believe, as well.' Defense Secretary Mark Esper (pictured) said Sunday that he 'didn't see' intelligence to suggest Iranian General Qassem Soleimani was planning attacks on four additional embassies The comments came after Donald Trump told Fox News on Friday that Soleimani was planing to attack more U.S. embassies in the Middle Eastern region Esper said in an interview with CNN Sunday morning that he agreed with Trump when he said he believed Soleimani was orchestrating additional attacks outside of the one on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq 'He said he believed that they probably that they could have been targeting the embassies in the region. I believe that as well, as did other national security team members,' he continued. 'That is why I deployed thousands of additional paratroopers to the region to reinforce our embassies in Baghdad and reinforce other locations throughout the region.' Donald Trump said Friday that there were 'probably four' U.S. embassies in the crosshairs of the attack, which was being orchestrated by Soleimani. 'I can reveal that I believe it probably would've been four embassies,' Trump told Fox News' Laura Ingraham in an interview Friday. Trump's comments come after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo doubled down on the president's claims that embassies were Soleimani's targets. '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.' Esper's comments Sunday are a continuation in the defense of Trump's decision to direct the drone strike earlier this month that took out Soleimani. The strike came after the U.S. embassy in Baghdad was breached by a group of protesters who back pro-Iran Shia militia. 'We had specific information on an imminent threat and those threats included attacks on U.S. embassies. Period. Full stop,' Pompeo said Friday Soleimani was killed earlier this month amidst rising escalations between the U.S. and Iran after Trump ordered a drone strike on an airport in Baghdad, Iraq When Tapper asked Esper to expand on if there was intelligence to suggest follow-up attacks, the Pentagon chief said he wouldn't discuss specifics of the information on TV. 'I'm not going to discuss intelligence matters here on the show. Let me just say this ' Esper said, but was cut off by Tapper who brought up Trump's Fox News Channel interview. 'The president did though,' Tapper said. 'It's the president's prerogative,' Esper shot back. 'The important thing is this: Soleimani orchestrated, resourced, directed the attacks, escalating up to December 1 that killed an American,' Esper continued. 'He orchestrated the siege on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and he was planning this much broader plot in multiple countries that would be bigger in scale and that likely would have taken us to open hostility with Iran. In fact, a very, very senior intelligence community official said to us that the risk of inaction is greater than the risk of action.To me, that is very compelling.' He did concede, however, that 'there was evidence that part of the attack would be against the United States embassy In Baghdad.' 'What about the others?' Tapper pushed. 'I'm not going to discuss intelligence,' Esper reiterated. 'What the president said was he believed it probably could have been. He didn't cite intelligence.' BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya on Sunday hit out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her statement that she has informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi that if he wants to do the Register for Citizens (NRC) and CAA, then he will have to do it over her body. Speaking to ANI, Vijayvargiya said, "I think nothing has been discussed with the Prime Minister regarding this. However, if Mamata Banerjee has said this then this is a filmy dialogue and the country is not run on filmy dialogues." "To run the country we have the Constitution, and everyone has to follow the law," he said. When asked about Congress party bringing resolution against the CAA in the Congress-ruled states, he said, "the Centre has rights over issuing passport, visa and giving citizenship. When a bill is passed in both houses then the state governments are answerable to work according to that." "The Congress party should understand the democratic values and support the bill passed in the Parliament," he added. Banerjee, who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday had stated that she has informed him that if he wants to do the Register for Citizens (NRC) and CAA, then he will have to do it over her body. The CAA grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh and who 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.) The official Twitter account of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reportedly been suspended. Khamenei's latest tweet had hit out at the Trump administration and claimed that the assassination of General Qasem Solemani by the United States has united all of Iran. Account suspended for unusual activity The account was of the Supreme Leader was blocked after Iran admitted to unintentionally shooting down a Ukranian passenger jet which resulted in the death of all 176 people onboard. Twitter has not yet released an official statement about the reason behind the account being blocked. IRAN For some reason Twitter has temporarily restricted access to the account of Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader. 'Caution: This account is temporarily restricted. Youre seeing this warning because there has been some unusual activity from this account.' pic.twitter.com/ZMkTKe75HR Russian Platform #NoWarWithIran (@RussiaConnects) January 11, 2020 Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed his deep sympathy, and called on the armed forces to pursue probable shortcomings and guilt in the painful incident. On state TV, Gen Amir Ali Hajizadeh said that when he learned about the downing of the plane, I wished I were dead. pic.twitter.com/03g5PchtrX Graphenes (@Graphenes1) January 11, 2020 Earlier Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei has issued an apology over the downing of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS 752. The apology comes after Iran issued a statement on Saturday morning admitting that the plane was hit by its a surface-to-air missile. Iran stated that it was a "human error" which led to the catastrophe that killed 176 people. In a statement, the supreme leader said that the causalities are even more severe after the results of the investigation. He went on to apologize for the act and expressed "deep sympathy". He also urged the government and the forces to pursue any shortcomings have emerged from the incident. Shortly after the announcement was made, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani tweeted an apology and later issued another statement where he again apologized to the family members of the victims and tried to explain the situation which led to the unfortunate event. Read: Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei Issues 3-point Statement On His Country Downing Ukraine Jet Read: Trump Warns Iran Against 'massacre' As Protests Erupt Over Jetliner Downing "In the atmosphere of threats and intimidation by the aggressive American regime against the Iranian nation after the martyrdom of General Qasem Soleimani, and in order to defend ourselves against possible attacks by the American Army, the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran were on full alert, which unfortunately led to this terrible catastrophe taking the lives of dozens of innocent people because of human error and mistaken shooting," Rouhani said in a tweet. Read: Iran's Rouhani Promises To Punish Those Behind Plane's Downing: Ukraine Read: Trump Says US Following Protests In Iran 'closely' President Donald Trump is set to sign a trade deal with China on Wednesday that he will trumpet as a major victory, but it comes at a steep cost after a bitter two-year standoff between the world's two top economic powers. Though the details of the new deal have not been revealed, the White House has stipulated that Beijing will buy an additional $200billion in American products over a two-year period compared to 2017, including $50billion in agricultural goods. In return, the Trump administration has called off new tariffs on Chinese-made goods like electronics and cell phones that were due to take effect last month, and cut in half those imposed on September 1 on $120billion in products. 'The hard issues between the United States and China are still outstanding,' said Edward Alden, trade policy expert at the Council on Foreign Relations. But he acknowledged: 'Politically, this does work pretty well for Trump' as he runs for re-election next year.' The White House can boast it has been 'tough on China,' and that 'technically he's got a deal,' something he promised voters in 2016, Alden said. China's Vice Premier Liu with US President Donald Trump in 2019 is expected at the White House again for the signing of a 'phase one' trade deal between the two economic powers At the very least, the truce has reassured markets, roiled by constant upheaval in 2018 and 2019 amid threats, counter-threats and waves of tariffs. The current ceasefire also could help Trump on the campaign trail by giving the American economy a boost. As uncertainty eases, consumers would have greater reason to spend with confidence, and businesses might also move forward with investments that were put on hold over fears about how the conflict would play out. Trump announced to great fanfare on New Year's eve that he would sign the 'phase one' deal on January 15 in the White House. But it was not until Thursday that the Chinese Ministry of Commerce confirmed the visit of Vice Premier Liu He, who will be in Washington from Monday to Wednesday. Details of the scope of the agreement have remained a mystery, however. 'The whole document will be released Wednesday,' Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, told reporters Friday. There will be 'a lovely ceremony,' he added, preceded the night before by a formal dinner and followed by a lunch. Kudlow dismissed criticism that the deal fell short of expectations, saying US negotiators won numerous concessions. The White House has said the deal includes improvements on the technology transfers requirements that Beijing imposes on foreign companies, as well as better access to the Chinese market for financial services. But many tariffs remain in place, and the trade war has squeezed US businesses. The deal is a 'mixed success' and comes at a price, said Eswar Prasad, a professor of trade policy at Cornell University and an expert on China. 'Trump has extracted some concessions from China and other US trading partners but at a significant cost to the US economy and with an erosion of the US' international standing as a trustworthy and reliable trading partner.' The Chinese economy has slowed markedly, partly as a result of the trade war, but American manufacturing and farmers also have suffered. To mitigate losses in the agricultural sector, the Trump administration had to provide a total of $28billion in aid to farmers in 2018 and 2019. And US manufacturing entered a recession in August. 'There's been significant harm to American farmers and significant harm to the US manufacturing industry and the new purchase commitments by China are unlikely to undo that damage,' Alden said. One of Trump's main goals for launching the trade war was to reduce the US trade deficit and put an end to unfair trade practices, but trade experts doubt Washington can achieve significant structural changes from Beijing. Prasad said China is unlikely to yield on key demands from the Trump administration, such as substantially reducing state subsidies to companies. Xu Bin, professor of economics and finance at the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai, said the two sides can declare they have an agreement 'that will be acceptable, (but) not a victory.' 'I think essentially the fight between China and the US will continue as far as we can see, over the next few years, next 10 years, next 20 years, even further,' veering between conflicts and truce. Many Americans have turned inward and stopped worrying about the heavy load carried by fellow citizens. Our national motto used to be: "E pluribus unum (out of many, one)." Now it has become: "It's not my problem." But desperate times call for a collective response. We need to speak with one voice and say loud and clear: "Enough!" This new year, Americans all need to join together and make the same resolution: We need to resolve to be more empathetic to those who are targeted, picked on or even killed not because of what they do, but simply because of who they are. Think about that. We're taught by our parents -- if we're lucky -- that our decisions and actions have consequences. You want to avoid pain, loss and suffering, and have relatively smooth sailing through life? Make better choices, we're told. You'll be fine. But what if you're not fine? What if you're singled out and preyed upon because of the color of your skin, who you love or how you worship? Racism. Anti-Semitism. Islamophobia. Nativism. Homophobia. These cancers are all around us, afflicting one group after another. Janta Dal (United) vice-president and political strategist Prashant Kishor on Sunday thanked the Congress party and its leadership for their "formal and unequivocal rejection" of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and Register of Citizens (NRC). He also reassured the people of Bihar that the CAA and NRC will not be implemented in the state. Thanking Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, he tweeted, "I join my voice with all to thank #Congress leadership for their formal and unequivocal rejection of #CAA_NRC. Both @rahulgandhi & @priyankagandhi deserves special thanks for their efforts on this count. Also would like to reassure to all - CAA and NRC will not be implemented in Bihar." This comes a day after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) demanded that the CAA should be withdrawn and the process of Population Register (NPR) should be stopped. At a meeting of CWC, chaired by party chief Sonia Gandhi, the party accused the BJP of following a "divisive agenda". The meeting was held yesterday at AICC headquarters and was attended by the party's top most leaders, however, Rahul Gandhi was not present in the meeting. According to sources, Congress-ruled state governments will pass a resolution against the CAA and NRC, in their respective assemblies. On January 5, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi accused the opposition parties of spreading "myth" among Muslims about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). He also announced that the Population Register (NPR) would be updated in Bihar from May 15 to May 28 and that the nationwide exercise has to be carried out between April 1 to September 30. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least seven mortar bombs hit Iraqi's Balad base hosting US troops on Sunday, Sputnik has reported. The origin of bombs has not been identified yet. Further details are awaited It is important to note that Balad military base was a target of the last week's rocket attacks carried out by Iran in retaliation to the death of Iranian Quds chief Qassem Soleimani. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Peretz also described the normal Israeli family as one with a man and a woman, called for the annexation of the West Bank without granting voting rights to the Palestinians who live there and said he favored keeping out African asylum seekers because they have their own certain mentality and their place is in their own country. We are the state of the Jews. The EU will not be rushed into striking a deal on future relations with the UK just because Parliament has passed a law to prevent an extension of negotiations, Irelands foreign minister has said. Simon Coveney said the 31 December deadline written into Boris Johnsons EU withdrawal legislation was "very ambitious and would not apply to the remaining 27 nations of the EU. Mr Johnsons insistence that he will not extend the transition period for negotiations beyond the end of 2020 has raised the spectre of a chaotic no-deal Brexit disrupting trade and travel. But Mr Coveney told BBC1s Andrew Marr Show that the deal on future EU/UK relations must involve more than just trade, also taking in thorny issues like fishing, aviation and data transfers. "I know that Prime Minister Johnson has set a very ambitious timetable to get this done. He has even put it into British law, said the Irish deputy premier, Bizarre: Boris Johnson drives 'Brexit' digger through boxes Show all 8 1 /8 Bizarre: Boris Johnson drives 'Brexit' digger through boxes Bizarre: Boris Johnson drives 'Brexit' digger through boxes Conservative party leader Boris Johnson drives a JCB through a fake wall POOL/AFP via Getty Images Bizarre: Boris Johnson drives 'Brexit' digger through boxes PA Bizarre: Boris Johnson drives 'Brexit' digger through boxes AFP via Getty Bizarre: Boris Johnson drives 'Brexit' digger through boxes PA Bizarre: Boris Johnson drives 'Brexit' digger through boxes REUTERS Bizarre: Boris Johnson drives 'Brexit' digger through boxes PA Bizarre: Boris Johnson drives 'Brexit' digger through boxes AFP via Getty Bizarre: Boris Johnson drives 'Brexit' digger through boxes AFP via Getty But just because a British parliament decides that British laws say something doesn't mean that that law applies to the other 27 countries of the European Union. So the European Union will approach this on the basis of getting the best deal possible - a fair and balanced deal to ensure the EU and the UK can interact as friends in the future. "But the EU will not be rushed on this just because Britain passes a law." Mr Coveney raised concerns about the possibility of a series of side deals on specific areas if time ran out to strike a comprehensive agreement by December. "We would certainly much rather negotiate a comprehensive deal that deals with all of these things collectively and together," he said. "If we have learnt anything from the first round of Brexit - which has taken a lot longer than it should have - it is that we have got to provide certainty for people, we can't continue to have crisis after crisis and the uncertainty and brinkmanship of Brexit negotiations." Mr Coveney raised concern about the tone of UK commentary framing the negotiations as an opportunity for Britain to defeat or stand up to the EU. "This is the language of enemies, not friends, and we need to move away from that," he said. "Both sides in this negotiation in the next stage of Brexit has a vested interest in working together - not to try to outmanoeuvre each other." By Express News Service BENGALURU: Much to the disappointment of newly-elected BJP legislators waiting to join the BS Yediyurappa government, the cabinet expansion is unlikely to take place immediately after Sankranti on January 15. Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, who was planning to visit Delhi on Sunday to discuss ministry expansion with the party president, cancelled his visit as central leaders are busy with the Delhi elections and rallies to create awareness about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Amit Shah is coming to the state on January 17 and 18. We will discuss it with him then and take up ministry expansion, Yediyurappa said on Saturday. Shah is scheduled to address a party rally in Hubballi to create awareness about the CAA. In Bengaluru, he is attending a programme organized by Vedanta Bharati at the Palace Grounds. With the CM waiting for Shahs arrival to discuss ministry expansion, newly-elected MLAs, who were hoping to join the cabinet immediately after Sankranti, may have to wait a while longer. Sources said the CM is keen on inducting the 11 new legislators as they had supported formation of his government. However, if all of them are inducted into the cabinet and two berths are kept vacant as the RR Nagar and Maski byelections are yet to be held, the CM will be left with only three slots to accommodate party loyalists. Since a number of senior leaders in the BJP are lobbying for cabinet berths, it would be difficult for the CM to placate them with chairs of boards and corporations. It would also be equally difficult for him to keep some of the new legislators out of the ministry. Sources said the CM will take a final decision after consulting central leaders. Meanwhile, the new MLAs are said to be insisting that the CM complete the ministry expansion process before the assembly session starts next month. Congress and JDS legislators resigned from the assembly membership to help form the BJP government, and were reelected as BJP MLAs. Now, they are keen to return to the assembly as ministers and not just as MLAs, sources said. Space unites us: First Iranian-American astronaut was gunship pilot Jasmin Moghbeli is a Marine Corps major, MIT graduate and college basketball player. AP file photo AFP, Houston : Jasmin "Jaws" Moghbeli earned her fierce nickname during her time as a decorated helicopter gunship pilot who flew more than 150 missions in Afghanistan. The Marine Corps major, MIT graduate and college basketball player can now add another accomplishment to her burgeoning resume: the first Iranian-American astronaut. Speaking to AFP after graduating in NASA's latest cohort, the 36-year-old immigrant said she hoped her example might help inspire others from similar backgrounds. "I would love for everyone to be able to be inspired by everyone, but it is a little easier to be inspired by someone who looks like you or has something in common with you, so I do hope there is that influence," she said. She and her brother were born in Germany to Iranian parents, architecture students who had fled their native country after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jennifer Sidey-Gibbons says when the first woman steps onto the Moon it will be a "unifying event." But Moghbeli grew up in Baldwin, New York, which she considers her hometown-and her story after that reads like an immigrant's fairy tale. At 15, she attended an advanced space camp, cementing her ambition to one day reach for the stars. She graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she studied aeronautical engineering. But her parents were concerned to learn she then planned to become a military pilot (a well-trodden path to the astronaut corps). Moghbeli signed up in 2005 -- just four years after the September 11 attacks, and her parents were worried about what their daughter might face as a person of Middle Eastern heritage. "But once I joined, they gave me absolute support," she said, crediting the backing of her family, and later her partner Sam, whom she married three months ago, for her success. Following a brief US-Iranian rapprochement during the Obama years, tensions between the two countries have soared again under the current administration. President Donald Trump tore up the landmark nuclear deal signed by his predecessor and added Iran to a list of mainly Muslim countries whose nationals are banned from entering the US. And last week's killing by US forces of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani raised the specter of a broader conflict. But Moghbeli said she had personally not faced problems during her time in service. "I haven't in any way felt that changed anything about how I'm treated," she told AFP. She spoke fondly of close friendships forged during her military missions and astronaut training-feelings that are clearly reciprocated. At her NASA graduation ceremony, classmate Jonny Kim described Moghbeli as "dependable," "resilient" and "fierce," in short, "the perfect crewmate I'd go into the void of space with." Kim is himself a decorated Navy Seal and emergency physician. He and Moghbeli were two of the five people of color in the graduating class of 11, selected from a record-breaking 18,000 applicants. As an astronaut, Moghbeli will need to draw upon her experiences and the close calls she faced both as a test pilot and later as a combat pilot, to think fast and mitigate the unique risks that come with space flight. People and families of the victims of the crash of the Boeing 737-800 plane, flight PS 752, light candles as they gather to show their sympathy in Tehran, Jan. 11, 2020. Reuters Iranians light candles for victims of Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 during as they protest in front of the Amir Kabir University in Tehran, Jan. 11, 2020. EPA Iran said Saturday it "unintentionally" shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing all 176 people aboard, in an abrupt about-turn after initially denying Western claims it was struck by a missile. President Hassan Rouhani said a military probe into the tragedy had found "missiles fired due to human error" brought down the Boeing 737, calling it an "unforgivable mistake". Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei offered his condolences and ordered the armed forces to address "shortcomings" so that such a disaster does not happen again. The acknowledgement came after officials in Iran had for days categorically denied Western claims that the Ukraine International Airlines plane had been struck by a missile in a catastrophic error. The jet, which had been bound for Kiev, slammed into a field shortly after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport before dawn on Wednesday. Early on Saturday evening, a gathering of people at Tehran's Amir Kabir University paying tribute to those killed in the disaster turned into an angry demonstration. A few hundred students chanted slogans denouncing "liars" and demanded the resignation and prosecution of those responsible for downing the plane and allegedly covering up the actions. The crash came only hours after Iran launched a wave of missiles at bases hosting American forces in Iraq in response to the killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike. The aerospace commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards accepted full responsibility. But Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said the missile operator acted independently, shooting down the Boeing 737 after mistaking it for a "cruise missile". The operator failed to obtain approval from his superiors because of disruptions to his communications system, he said. "He had 10 seconds to decide. He could have decided to strike or not to strike and under such circumstances he took the wrong decision." "It was a short-range missile that exploded next to the plane," Hajizadeh added. - 'Important step' - Iran had come under mounting international pressure to allow a "credible" investigation after video footage emerged appearing to show the moment the airliner was hit. In footage that the New York Times said it had verified, a fast-moving object is seen rising at an angle into the sky before a bright flash appears, which dims and then continues moving forward. Several seconds later, an explosion is heard and the sky lights up. Ukraine, Canada, Sweden and Afghanistan called for accountability after Iran's admission. Napa resident Maxine Maas has two drawers full of 29 aprons one for each year she has volunteered for Auction Napa Valley. She has been a volunteer for the annual Napa Valley Vintners-sponsored wine auction for many years, starting the year after she moved to Napa in 1986, although along the way, Maas has missed three years. This year, shell receive her 30th apron. Maas is one of some 500 people who volunteer for Auction Napa Valley, but she also volunteers each Tuesday at the St. Helena office of the Napa Valley Vintners. On a recent Tuesday in December, she was in the office, rolling posters and doing name tags, after she had brought Christmas ornaments for each person on the NVV staff. Why the ornaments? Its an annual kind of thing, she said. Its a thank you, because theyre like family to me. I was here when they only had five people (in the office) and five volunteers. What does Maas means to the trade organization? Linda Reiff, NVV executive director, said, She is the most important part of the NVV family. Shes been here longer than me. She comes every Tuesday to help us and shes at every major endeavor. We couldnt do what we do without her. Shes incredible. Reiff said all of the ladies at the NVV agree When we grow up, we all want to be Miss Maxine. Maas said she volunteers for one simple reason: Its fun. Yeah, it really is. I miss work, actually, which is part of it. Auction Napa Valley (ANV) is held annually the first weekend of June and brings people from all over the world to Meadowood Napa Valley. Proceeds pay for childrens education and health nonprofits in the Napa Valley. It started in 1984. Maas remembers those early auctions, when Margrit Mondavi and Veronica di Rosa and others would show off and sell their art in a meadow, along with selling Napa Valley wines. For a number of years, before cellphones and copiers, Maas said she was where they served the volunteer meals and ran errands throughout the Meadowood property, carrying hand-written notes and messages back and forth. More recently, she has been at Suite 16, which is the Napa Valley Vintners office during the auction. I sort of hang out, I man the telephones and make sure people are authorized to go in, Maas said. She is one of several door guards, who also hands out Cokes or water or whatever to the emergency personnel manning their ambulances which, hopefully nobody will need. 29 aprons, 29 tablecloths Besides owning 29 aprons, Maas also has 30 ANV tablecloths and you can bet theres a story behind them. Years ago, ANV ended with a big formal party. People would come dressed for the occasion, she said, and one year there was a group of Texans sitting at one table who started a bean fight. I dont know what started it, but some guy was picking up the beans and using a rubber band to shoot other people, she said. Its possible that chili was part of the menu, and there was an awful mess after the bean fight ended. At that point, the NVV was not renting tablecloths; instead, they were part of what was sold on Sunday, along with whatever was left over from the store, along with linens, art pieces, aprons and T-shirts and flower arrangements. Maas said the bean-soaked tablecloths were beyond washing. NVV employee Stacy Dolan put them on a porch because they couldnt be in the NVV office and told Maas, If you want them, why dont you take them? Maas took them home, soaked them and ended up with 30 tablecloths, which she offered back to the Vintners, but they wouldnt take them. Believe it or not, I use them at (the di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art), where I volunteer every Thursday, she said. Working at age 13 Miss Maxine was born in 1925 in San Diego. After her father passed away, she went to work at age 13, which she says is not unusual to help support her mother and two brothers. Talk to any other 95-year-old person and youd get the same answer, Maas said. At 13, Maas said she had several really interesting jobs, adding that she was going to be this great and wonderful actress, so I took whatever job would promote my career. Her favorite job, one of the first ones, was being a parade girl at San Franciscos Palace Theater. You wore a full body stocking and a sandwich board and you walked out between acts. Applaud was on one side, and then youd turn around, wiggle your rear end. The other side of the sandwich board would tell you what the next act was. That was my big job and it included a pair of sequined-colored silver pumps. She was 14 and the job paid well. She earned $7 a night, plus tips whatever the crowd threw at you three nights a week, Friday through Sunday, because she was still in school. You could make more money in a week than a man did in a month. It turned out really very well. Maas said when the plumber was paid and the family was up to date on its bills, her mother would come down to the theater and ask the owner, Do you know how old that girl is? Maas added her mother embarrassed her terribly, and then she quit. The owner sent Maas home with her mother. I had several jobs like that, she said. At one point, Maas ended up in musical comedies, both in San Francisco and went on a road trip to New York, where she stayed for 18 months, performing in several Broadway musicals during World War II. Those included Bloomer Girl, Up in Central Park, and Marriage Is For Single People, with Cesar Romero, which Maas said was banned in Boston and closed rather quickly in upstate New York. It was funny, but it was ahead of its time, she said. Her last performance was in 1953. Marriage and a career Then marriage happened she was a Republican and her husband a staunch Democrat and Maas said she wanted to go to a dinner for President Dwight Eisenhower that was held in San Francisco. She was volunteering at a childrens center in Contra Costa County and her husband told her: If you got paid for all the time you spend with those children, you could take me to Eisenhowers dinner. Today, Maas said simply, Needless to say, we didnt go. But from volunteering came another job that became a full-time career for Maas. After graduating from UC Berkeley, she worked at a juvenile hall in Contra Costa County, ending up as superintendent in charge of 96 employees and up to 103 kids. She said she enjoyed it, because she spent 41 years there before she retired. You may reach David Stoneberg at 967-6800 or editor@sthelenastar.com 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. Three months ago this week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren looked like the 2020 front-runner so many Democrats dreamed she could be. After months of languishing in the New Hampshire polls a must-win state for the Massachusetts senator she had roared back to the top of the pack. She was leading in Iowa, too, five points ahead of second-place Joe Biden. She had even managed to raise more money than Bernie Sanders in the previous quarter. Today? Warren is fading and fast. The former front-runner is in fourth place in both Iowa and New Hampshire. In the Granite State, her support has fallen by a jaw-dropping 50 percent. In a sure sign that the campaign is struggling, the Warren camp is celebrating the endorsement of former HUD Secretary Julian Castro as a big win. The Washington Post referred to it as a timely boost. The New York Times says the endorsement could help Ms. Warren reignite excitement at a critical moment. As calendar turns to 2020, all eyes are on Iowa caucuses After more than a year of frenetic efforts, the Iowa caucuses campaign has hit the home stretch. With just one month until the Democratic nominating process formally begins on Feb. 3, here are some things to watch. But in the last New Hampshire poll taken before he dropped out, Castro was polling at 0 percent. How did Warren, a one-time Democratic rock star who seems to fit her partys 2020 mood so well, wind up trailing a relatively unknown Midwestern mayor in her own New Hampshire back yard? Some campaigns struggle with message. Thats Sen. Cory Booker, whos offering an optimistic vision of unity and partisan reconciliation to a Democratic base thats ready to rumble with the Republicans. Some campaigns have structural problems: Not enough money, too little name ID, no natural political base. Would governors like John Hickenlooper and Jay Inslee have made good nominees? Well never know. And then there are the campaigns facing the most daunting obstacle of all: Their own candidate. (See ORourke, Beto.) Joe Biden is winning the electability primary When voters are asked who they think is most electable against Trump, Biden wins. Even some voters who prefer other candidates say Biden has the best shot. The first two problems can be fixed. The last one cant. And every day the evidence builds that the Elizabeth Warren campaigns biggest problem ... is Elizabeth Warren. She got an authenticity problem, one D.C. political operative told InsideSources. Its the one thing about her thats real. The authenticity issue appeared again last week when Warren amended her views on the U.S. military strike that killed Iranian Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani, after blowback from progressives. Her first reaction was to declare Soleimani a murderer responsible for the deaths of thousands, including hundreds of Americans. Within 24 hours she was calling him a senior government official, who had been assassinated, and she repeatedly refused to concede that Soleimani is a terrorist. (He was declared the leader of a terrorist organization by both the Bush and Obama administrations.) Rather than celebrating his demise, Warren was suggesting that Soleimani only died because Trump is facing impeachment. California's presidential primary is wide open but not because Kamala Harris dropped out It's a good bet that California Democrats won't be rushing to fill out their mail ballots. They'll be sizing up how the candidates are faring elsewhere and trying to get behind someone who has a good crack at winning the nomination and ousting President Trump. Wow. We went from murderer to wag the dog in the space of a few days, quipped CNNs liberal commentator Chris Cillizza. Why the shift? Because progressives like Sanders were denouncing the Trump administrations action as illegitimate and were uncomfortable with criticism of Soleimani that might support Trumps case. Given where she is in the race, Warren simply could not withstand that sort of criticism from the left, Cillizza wrote. The Soleimani story is small potatoes. But its part of a growing list her claims of Native American heritage, her debunked story about being fired over a pregnancy, her misleading statements about her children attending public school and her backtracking on Medicare for All that suggests Warren is willing to say whatever it takes to get elected. She started off as a candidate with a strong message: I want to fight for you, Im going to take on corruption. She sounded like someone who knew exactly what she wanted to do, Democratic strategist Joel Payne said. Now she sounds like a candidate whos still looking for a message, and thats not good. What Pete Buttigieg doesn't get about how college has ripped America in two The divide between elites who can afford the best schools money can buy and a middle class drowning in college debt surely poses a threat to whether America can compete in a knowledge-based world economy. Some Democrats disagree. I dont think the Native American thing or these other stories are hurting her. I think shes got an explanation for all of them, said Bob Shrum, director of the University of Southern Californias Center for the Political Future and a veteran of multiple presidential primaries. I think its one thing: Medicare for All. Thats a common explanation for Warrens weakness. Democrats and pundits point to the release of Warrens poorly received $52 trillion health care plan as the moment her campaign began to founder. Its not true that New Hampshire Democrats dont like Warren, one senior Democratic Granite State source said. They just hate her Medicare for All plan. But even the Medicare issue highlights Warrens authenticity problem. One reason she was forced to release the politically damaging specifics of her plan was because shed spent weeks refusing to say whether her proposal would require a middle-class tax hike. She gave so many obviously evasive answers that late-night TV host Stephen Colbert begged her on the air to find a better response. Why do so many people believe Trump will win? Even with the Democrats' problems, polling doesn't offer many reasons to believe that Trump will win a second term -- or that his electoral fate is sealed. Warren supporters are quick to suggest that shes the victim of misogyny, that conversations about authenticity and likability are just code words for being uncomfortable with a woman nominee. But that hardly makes sense in New Hampshire, where three of the four Democrats in the congressional delegation are women, the two previous governors are women and where Hillary Clinton won both the 2008 primary and the 2016 general election. These are voters who are more than willing to vote for a woman. At the moment, however, they appear reluctant to vote for Warren. And thats a candidate problem. Michael Graham is politics editor for InsideSources.com. Srinagar, Jan 12 : A day after Jammu and Kashmir DSP Devinder Singh was arrested along with two militants, the state police have confirmed that he will be dealt as a "terrorist". Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar said: "We consider DSP Devender Singh's involvement as a heinous crime and he will be dealt in the same manner as other arrested militants." Singh was arrested on Saturday after the police intercepted his vehicle and found two militants inside it along with five grenades. Two AK-47 rifles were also recovered in a subsequent raid at Singh's house. He had served in many senior posts of the state police. The police have confirmed his arrest from the car along with two other militants. The police have no record of his involvement in the case of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, kumar said. In a separate encounter in Tral, three militants have been killed on Sunday. THE boil water notice which has been in place in Fedamore since December 2, is set to continue. According to a spokesman for Irish Water, the company along with Limerick City and County Council, were on site this week working to resolve issues. But, he said: In order to protect public health, the Boil Water Notice remains in place pending the outcome of these works and follow-up testing. The issue that led to the boil notice being put in place more than five weeks ago, was a drop in the quality of the raw water from the underground source which supplies the area. This was due to an increase in turbidity, or cloudiness, in the water. Irish Water told householders in a letter dated December 23. High turbidity can affect the treatment process leading to a risk that water entering supply is not adequately disinfected, The decision to issue a Boil Water notice was taken in consultation with the HSE, the letter said, and warned that it would continue over Christmas and the New Year. But no timeframe has been given for the completion of the works currently being undertaken which include installing new filters at the treatment plant as well as upgrading the borehole supplying the area. In the meantime it is important that all customers continue to boil their water before using it.We fully appreciate and understand the inconvenience a Boil Water Notice causes and would like to assure the public that we are working hard to restore a normal water supply as soon as it is safe to do so, the Irish Water spokesman said, thanking people for their patience and support. In the biggest locust attack ever, crops over at least 1,50,000 hectare land have been damaged across four districts in Rajasthan, a special crop assessment report has found. The locust outbreak was reported in May 2019 after 26 years, and grasshoppers returned in December-January period to cause extensive damage, the officials of the Locust Warning Organisation (LWO) said. Officials have warned that if locust control was not carried out in the desert areas of Pakistan, a new attack was possible in the Indian Thar Desert next week. On Saturday evening, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot directed the states disaster management and relief department to start payment of compensation to affected farmers in two days. Earlier Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani announced compensation to farmers in the border areas of the state. As per the State Disaster Relief Force norms, a farmer would get Rs 13,500 per hectare for crop damage and for a maximum of two hectares. State revenue minister Harish Choudhary said the biggest damage has been reported from Jalore and Jaisalmer districts, where 60,000 and 55,000 hectare areas were affected respectively. About 35,000 hectare area in Barmer and 10,000 hectares in Jodhpur were also affected, he said. Crop losses have also been reported from Jodhpur, but its assessment is yet to be completed. In all, the crop damage is estimated to be worth more than Rs 150 crore. Of this, the Jaisalmer district collector has estimated the crop loss at Rs 40 crore. The LWO, headquartered in Jodhpur and under the Union ministry of agriculture and farmer welfare, said the current locust invasion is the largest and the longest-running. The locusts were first spotted in Jaisalmer district in May last year and until now the swarms from Pakistan have damaged crops in a hundred thousand hectare, said LWO deputy director K L Gurjar. LWO officials said that the desert locust has always been a major threat. The magnitude of the damage and loss caused by the locusts is huge. The locusts currently being controlled are the third generation of summer breeding. It was believed that the locusts would shift towards the breeding ground on the Iran-Baluchistan border, but there was some delay. Due to this, the locust outbreak continued till the second week of January, Gurjar said. We have controlled locust outbreaks in Jodhpur, Bikaner and Jaisalmer districts. Conditions in Sriganganagar, Barmer and parts of Pali district will come under control in few days. Gehlot reviewed the measures taken to control locusts in various districts of western Rajasthan on December 24. He wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 27 and urged him to have the central government coordinate with neighbouring countries, including Pakistan, for control of locusts. Gehlot suggested that the neighbouring countries should take effective measures to control locust breeding and growth. The prevailing situation in the state is driving away the prospective investors. Guwahati: The ongoing agitation against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) and the state governments announcement to introduce new land policy putting restriction on sale of land to the non-indigenous people have impacted the investment scnario in Assam. The prevailing situation in the state is driving away the prospective investors. Informing that many companies, who were in process of procuring land to start new ventures in Assam, have put their projects on hold, sources in the industry told this newspaper. They said that the state governments decision to introduce new land policy in which the government is contemplating to ban sale of land to non-indigenous people, has created fear among industrialists who had invested huge amount of money in land. Pointing out that dozens of sale and purchase agreements have already been cancelled or put on hold, sources said that fear of crash in land price is also looming large. Talking about the mpact of the anti-CAA protests recently, Assam minister for commerce and industry, transport and parliamentary affairs Chandra Mohan Patowary told reporters, Many companies are now refusing to come here. Being the industry minister, I am today the most despondent person in Assam. There are companies from countries like Hungary and Norway which were keen to invest in the state. Now, they are calling us and saying that they are no longer willing to do so. One company was planning to invest Rs 2,000 crore, while another had investment plans of Rs 4,000 crore. But, now they are telling us that this is not the correct time to hedge their bets on Assam. He, however, refrained from giving the exact figures regarding the loss of prospective investment suffered by the state or the number of companies which have backtracked due to the anti-CAA agitation. Mr Patowary, who was working tirelessly to bring investment, said that once a state loses its image as an ideal investment destination, it is not easy to regain that status. He said that corporate houses seek favourable environment. He argued, Today, there is peace in Kashmir. But companies are still reluctant to invest there, because once an impression is formed then it becomes difficult to change it. The northeast was a disturbed region for a long time. But, in the past three and half years, the image of Assam had changed and companies were making a beeline here. Then scenes of burning tyres on the streets became viral in the social med and th scnee changed. It is a huge loss for Assam. He further said that Abu Dhabi-based billionaire businessman B.R. Shetty, who had shown interest in acquiring the Nagaon and Cachar paper mills, has also now become reluctant to go ahead with the plan. He called a few days back and said that he will not come to Assam now as the time is not conducive. But, I have not given up hope. I will talk to Mr Shetty again. If necessary, I will visit Abu Dhabi and meet him, said Mr Patowary, while regretting that a big food processing firm from London was also keen to start its business in Assam and is now reluctant because of the current situaton in state. They wanted to set up a unit in Assam. Now, the company has cancelled the plan, said the industry minister. He reiterated that all sections of society should come together to ensure that agitation should not hurt the economic and development prospects of the state. Pretoria (AFP) - Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Sunday asked South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene in a long-running dispute with Egypt over a massive dam being built on the Blue Nile River. Ethiopia's ties to Egypt have soured since the east African country launched the construction of the Grand Renaissance Dam in 2011. Set to become the largest hydropower plant in Africa, the project has fuelled tensions because Egypt depends on the river for 90 percent of its water supply. Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan -- where the Blue Nile converges with the White Nile before flowing north -- started discussions under US mediation in November that are meant to yield an agreement next week. But major sticking points remained in the latest round of talks on Thursday and the parties have yet to clinch a deal. Abiy, who visited South Africa this weekend, called on Ramaphosa to intervene in the negotiations as the next chairperson of the African Union (AU), which he will take over from Egypt this month. "As he (Ramaphosa) is a good friend for both Ethiopia and Egypt and also as incoming AU chair, he can make a discussion between both parties to solve the issue peacefully," Abiy told reporters at a news conference in South Africa's political capital Pretoria. Ramaphosa said South Africa was open to playing a role in facilitating "whatever agreement can be crafted". "What is pleasing, as far as I'm concerned, is that both countries are willing to discuss this matter and find solutions," he said. The president said he had already brought up the issue with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who was "willing to have discussions with Ethiopia". Egypt's irrigation ministry did not wish to comment on whether they would accept South Africa as a mediator. - Ethiopian elections - The $ 4.2 billion (3.8 billion euros) Grand Renaissance Dam is expected to begin generating power by the end of 2020 and be fully operational by 2022. Story continues Ethiopia -- one of Africa's fastest growing economies and most populous countries -- says the project is essential for its development. But Egypt is concerned Ethiopia will reduce water flow by filling the dam's reservoir too quickly. "Ethiopia always believes in a win-win approach with Egypt and Sudan," said Abiy, adding that "peace" was essential to "realise our vision of development and growth". As Africa's youngest leader at just 43, Abiy has been lauded for rolling out a series of democracy-boosting measures after he took office in April 2018 -- marking a stark contrast to his authoritarian predecessors. He took on a series of political and economic reforms, and vowed to hold Ethiopia's first "free, fair and democratic" elections since 2005 in May. His rule, however, has stoked ethnic tensions and fuelled violent protests which the electoral commission says could delay the poll. Abiy on Sunday reiterated his promise to hold elections this year despite "logistics" and "security" challenges. "I am not sure whether it is May or June because the schedule will be declared by the election board," he added. "But I think we will conduct the election this year because it is a constitutional mandate." - Trump's remarks - Abiy received the Nobel Peace Prize last month for his efforts to resolve a long-running conflict between Ethiopia and its neighbouring foe Eritrea. Just three months after Abiy took office in 2018, he ended a 20-year-old stalemate between the countries over a 1998-2000 border conflict. US President Donald Trump made a controversial statement earlier this week in which he complained about Abiy receiving the prestigious award. Trump, who claimed it was he that "made a deal" and "saved a country", appeared to be confusing the 2018 peace accord with the current dam dispute. "To be honest, I don't have any clue about... how the Nobel committee selects an individual for the prize," said Abiy, struggling to contain a smile at the mention. "If President Trump complained it must go to Oslo, not to Ethiopia." Abiy and Ramaphosa pledged to increase cooperation between their countries and signed bilateral agreements on health and tourism. sch/har FILE PHOTO: Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, and his wife Carole pose during the 70th Cannes Film Festival TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese authorities have requested the International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO) for an Interpol wanted notice for the wife of former Nissan Motor <7201.T> boss Carole Ghosn, local media reported on Saturday. If the notice is issued for his wife, Carole, the couple's travel chances outside of Lebanon may be restricted, Mainichi newspaper said. Interpol has already issued an arrest warrant for Ghosn. The request from Japan was made on Thursday, Mainichi and other Japanese media said, quoting unnamed sources. Officials at the Japanese justice ministry weren't immediately available for comment. Japanese prosecutors on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant against Ghosn's wife for alleged perjury, as officials stepped up efforts to bring the fugitive car industry boss back to face trial on financial misconduct charges. Ghosn, the former Nissan and Renault chairman, 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, which has no extradition agreement with Japan, may lift a travel ban on 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. (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) This was the biggest show of dissent against government since Prayuth assumed office after 2014 military coup. Thailand has seen its biggest political protest in years in the form of what activists are calling a run against dictatorship. Al Jazeeras Leah Harding reports on the group wanting Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha to step down. GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip Israel contacted the Egyptian intelligence Dec. 30, warning against Hamas firing rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel and vowing to go back on all the recent economic concessions it made to Gaza under the truce understandings reached by Egypt between the two parties, at the end of March 2019, an Egyptian parliamentarian close to the Egyptian intelligence services told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. The most recent rockets were fired Dec. 25. Israel responded by launching several raids on the Gaza Strip at dawn Dec. 26, targeting several positions of the Palestinian armed factions in the north, center and south of Gaza without reporting any casualties. Yet Israel considers that any Palestinian rocket launching toward it, even if Hamas is not directly responsible, is a violation of the truce understandings and is enough to disrupt it. On Dec. 30, Israel decided to import strawberries, tomatoes and eggplant from the Gaza Strip to support its local markets, for the first time since a ban imposed several years ago. It decided at the same time to introduce transportation buses and fishing boats to Gaza, in addition to rubber tires, which had been banned since April 2018. These new concessions came after the Higher National Commission for the Great March of Return and Breaking the Siege, supervised by the Palestinian factions, most notably Hamas, announced during a press conference held in Gaza City Dec. 26 that it decided to halt the marches of return that it organized on a weekly basis on the eastern border with Israel, for a period of three months, and then only resume monthly marches beginning in March 2020. The Egyptian parliamentarian noted that Egypt believes Hamas and Israel are taking positive steps to make sure the truce is a success, but firing more indiscriminate rockets toward Israel would disturb and sabotage this truce. On Dec. 2, while laying the foundation stone for the construction of 12 new factories in Ashkelon, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, There will be no long-term settlement with Gaza, as long as the sporadic rocket launching continues. Hamas leader Yahya Moussa told Al-Monitor, The Israeli warnings have no value and we do not take them into consideration. What we take into account is Israel's commitment to the truce understandings, which means stopping the targeting of our people in the Gaza Strip and breaking the blockade it imposed. Speaking about whether or not Hamas was able to prevent the firing of rockets from Gaza into Israel, Moussa said, Rockets can be fired individually by any given faction and they usually come in response to an Israeli aggression against our people; Hamas is not a police force working to protect Israel from these rockets. It must not target our people in order to avoid these rockets. Islamic Jihad leader Ahmad al-Mudallal told Al-Monitor, The Israeli warnings aim to cover up the ongoing Israeli attempts to avoid implementing the understandings of breaking the siege [the truce]. He explained that the recent concessions are part of the understandings, while Israel continues to ignore the implementation of the remaining provisions of the understandings the most important of which is to allow the establishment of major projects in Gaza such as the industrial zone in the east, and to facilitate citizens movement through the Erez crossing and the entry of goods through the Karam Abu Salem crossing. Mudallal added, The Islamic Jihads position on the truce understandings is clear; we are committed to them so long as Israel is. Iyad al-Qarra, a political writer and analyst and former editor-in-chief of Felesteen newspaper in Gaza, told Al-Monitor, Hamas is interested in implementing the truce understandings and has taken measures to make it succeed, the most important of which is limiting the marches of return on the Gaza border and objecting to launching indiscriminate rockets, individually [by some factions] without national consensus. He believes that Hamas and Islamic Jihad have started rejecting indiscriminate rocket launches individually outside the national consensus, after the meeting Egypt organized between the leaders of the two movements in Cairo on Dec. 3, 2019. Qarra ruled out any talk of a long-term truce between Hamas and Israel at the present time, saying, Instability currently prevails at the Israeli and Palestinian levels, and this prevents talk on a long-term truce. Israel is heading toward a third election, and the Palestinian street is also awaiting general elections that may lead to major political changes. Meanwhile, Hamas is waiting to see where things could go given the recent developments in the region after the United States assassinated the second most powerful person in Iran Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad on Jan. 3. Wadih Abu Nassar, a political analyst and expert on Israeli affairs and director of the International Center for Consultations in Haifa, told Al-Monitor, Israel believes a truce is the best option in dealing with the resistance in the Gaza Strip at the present time for several reasons, namely in order to set the stage for talks to conclude a new prisoner exchange deal with Hamas and to provide sufficient opportunity to complete the construction of the separation barrier that Israel began building in September 2016 along its borders with Gaza to eliminate the resistances tunnels. Abu Nassar said that Israel also wants calm with the Gaza Strip at this particular time to focus more on the northern front where the chances of a military confrontation with Israel escalate, especially after Soleimani's assassination. Qarra believes that Hamas is absolutely not interested in being part of the confrontation that may occur between Iran and the United States due to Soleimanis assassination. Talal Okal, a political analyst for the Ramallah-based newspaper Al-Ayyam, told Al-Monitor, The truce between Gaza and Israel has become a reality on the ground. On the Palestinian side, military activities have been stopped and the marches of return halted. On Israels part, economic concessions have been made and permission has been given for some previously banned materials to enter the Gaza Strip. He noted that firing indiscriminate and individual rockets into Israel indicates the presence of small groups [without naming any] operating in the dark concerned with sabotaging this truce in order to destabilize Hamas rule in Gaza. Okal added, Still, I do believe that Hamas is able to a great extent to stop the indiscriminate rocket fire against Israel, but sometimes it does not take sufficient measures to stop it so as to pressure Israel not to renounce the truce understandings. One of the worst NSW blazes has been brought under control as forecast rain and thunderstorms are set to give firefighters a further reprieve. The Gospers Mountain mega-blaze northwest of Sydney, which has burned over 512,000 hectares over the last two-and-a-half months, was on Sunday finally brought under control. 'Containment took longer than expected due to unfavourable weather conditions, however due to our hardworking crews, we have achieved that today,' the Hawkesbury RFS said on Facebook. The Gospers Mountain (pictured in November) mega-blaze northwest of Sydney, which has burned over 512,000 hectares over the last two-and-a-half months, was on Sunday finally brought under control Rain forecast for most of NSW this week is set to provide relief for firefighters and bushfire-ravaged communities (stock) Crews have been working to get the Gospers Mountain fire (pictured) under control since November and have been delayed due to poor weather conditions 'It is important to remember not to be complacent as there are still a few months of the bush fire season to go with some bushland that still has not been burnt.' Rain forecast for most of NSW this week is set to provide relief for firefighters and bushfire-ravaged communities. The Bureau of Meteorology is expecting significant rainfall for most of the state to arrive mid-week and hang around until the weekend. Rain is expected on parts of the state most severely affected by bushfires in recent weeks, with the Snowy Mountains and South Coast forecast to receive rain and possible thunderstorms on Wednesday. Sydney is expected to receive its most significant downpour in several months, with forecasts of 2-8mm on Thursday and 5-10mm on Friday. BOM meteorologist Gabrielle Woodhouse said while rain would be welcome at the fire grounds, it may also bring dangers to fire-affected landscapes. Across NSW on Sunday night there were 122 fires burning, but none were at emergency levels. Pictured: Gospers Mountain fire destroying a structure in Bilpin in December 'We are looking at a couple of days in a row of some showers and thunderstorms, some of which may produce significant accumulation over those couple of days,' she said. 'It will be quite welcome but there are some extra dangers and risks associated with it as the landscape is quite vulnerable with the fire damage. 'We've lost a lot of vegetations and there is the risk of landslips.' Across NSW on Sunday night there were 122 fires burning, but none were at emergency levels. The Department of Defence said they would use favourable conditions over the next few days to create a 70km-long, 1km-wide firebreak in the Snowy Mountains region. The Bureau of Meteorology is expecting significant rainfall for most of the state to arrive mid-week and hang around until the weekend (stock) Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday paid tribute to 19-year-old Courtney Partridge, who died on November 29 last year after suffering an asthma attack as a result of smoke in Glen Innes in the New England region. 'The sheer sense of loss, pain, hurt, grief, frustration, fear, particularly well away from the fires where we've seen also that terrible loss of the young girl as the result of an asthma attack,' Mr Morrison said. 'This has I think, created an environment where people for the first time have wanted to see a more direct involvement of the federal government in responding to these national disasters.' The Department of Defence said they would use favourable conditions over the next few days to create a 70km-long, 1km-wide firebreak in the Snowy Mountains region. Pictured: Fire near Lithgow RFS deputy commissioner Rob Rogers confirmed on Sunday that 2136 NSW homes have been destroyed this fire season. More than 1200 of those homes have burned down since New Year's Eve. The Catholic Diocese of Sydney held a special service on Sunday for bushfire victims and drought-affect communities at St Mary's Cathedral. Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher said many Australian priests had flocked to the south coast to assist, or were serving as army reservist Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 16:49:10|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close People mourn during the funeral ceremony of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 6, 2020. (Photo by Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua) At an open debate on upholding the United Nations (UN) Charter, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres lamented that this year began with fresh turmoil and long-standing suffering and geopolitical tensions reached "dangerous levels," most recently in the Gulf. BEIJING, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- The international community has called for restraint and a de-escalation in the Middle East and the Gulf region amid rising U.S.-Iran tensions following the U.S. killing of a top Iranian general and ensuing Iranian attacks on U.S. military bases. The situation was further complicated when Iran's state TV on Saturday quoted the Iranian military as saying that it "unintentionally" shot down the Ukrainian jetliner on Wednesday, in which all the 176 passengers and crew members on board were killed. "This tragic accident only reinforces the importance of de-escalating tensions in the region. We can all see very clearly that further conflict will only lead to more loss and tragedy," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Saturday. "It is vital that all leaders now pursue a diplomatic way forward." "Iran's admission that Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was shot down by mistake by its own armed forces is an important first step," Johnson said. People attend a mourning ceremony for the victims of the Ukrainian plane crash, in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 11, 2020. (Photo by Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua) "This will be an incredibly difficult time for all those families who lost loved ones in such tragic circumstances," said the British prime minister. "We will do everything we can to support the families of the four British victims and ensure they get the answers and closure they deserve." "We now need a comprehensive, transparent and independent international investigation and the repatriation of those who died," Johnson said. "The Britain will work closely with Canada, Ukraine and our other international partners affected by this accident to ensure this happens." Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Saturday that the country welcomes any international cooperation concerning the plane crash, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. "Iran welcomes any international cooperation within the framework of international regulations which is aimed at clarifying dimensions of the incident," Rouhani said in a telephone conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. At a news conference on Saturday, Trudeau said that "a full and complete investigation must be conducted," adding that "we need full clarity on how such a horrific tragedy could have occurred." A woman sheds tears at a vigil outside Vancouver Art Gallery for victims of the Ukrainian passenger plane crash in Vancouver, Canada, Jan. 11, 2020. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua) In another phone talk with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, Rouhani said that "all those involved in the air disaster will be brought to justice." He said that the joint investigations between the Iranian and Ukrainian experts over the incident will continue and the judicial measures will "soon" start. At an open debate on upholding the United Nations (UN) Charter, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres lamented that this year began with fresh turmoil and long-standing suffering and geopolitical tensions reached "dangerous levels," most recently in the Gulf. China's Permanent Representative to the UN Zhang Jun 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 society. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, called on Wednesday for dialogue instead of war in the Middle East, saying that "the use of weapons must stop now." A rally against war with Iran is held outside the Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., the United States, Jan. 9, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) Von der Leyen, head of the European Union's executive arm, also said that "we are called upon to do everything possible to rekindle talks," adding that "there cannot be enough of that." Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called for restraint and diplomacy to avoid "a new cycle of instability" in the Middle East. In a joint statement issued following their meeting, the two leaders urged both the United States and Iran to act with restraint and prioritize diplomacy. "The use of force does not contribute to finding solutions to complex problems in the Middle East, but would lead to a new cycle of instability," the statement said. For Gods sake do not let this disciplinary meeting get out of hand. This man is a good compliance person, as I told you. The (attorney generals) office and the Sheriffs love working with him," McClain wrote to top aides of then-Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn. "He has kept his mouth shut on Jones ghost workers, the rape in Champaign and other items. He is loyal to the Administration. Prince William and his younger brother today showed a united front to deny 'offensive' claims Harry and Meghan feel that they have been pushed out of the Royal Family by the Duke of Cambridge's 'bullying attitude'. Prince Harry is understood to be in turmoil over his decision to 'abdicate' which will be the subject of crisis talks held by the Queen at Sandringham today - but insists his brother is not to blame. Meghan Markle has driven the extraordinary move for the pair to step down, a source told The Times, saying: 'She wants to leave ... She thinks: 'It's not working for me.' 'Harry is under intense pressure to choose. It is sad. He loves the Queen. He loves this country. He loves all his military stuff and I think it will genuinely break his heart to leave. I don't think that's what he really wants. I think they want some halfway house.' But the brothers have moved swiftly and dismissed it as a 'false story'. A statement on behalf of the Duke of Sussex and Duke of Cambridge said: 'Despite clear denials, a false story ran in a UK newspaper today speculating about the relationship between The Duke of Sussex and The Duke of Cambridge. 'For brothers who care so deeply about the issues surrounding mental health, the use of inflammatory language in this way is offensive and potentially harmful.' Harry is understood to be in turmoil over his decision to 'abdicate' which will be the subject of crisis talks held by the Queen at Sandringham today (pictured: the Sussexes and the Duke of Cambridge at Buckingham Palace in 2018) The Sussexes are said to be frustrated by 'constantly being told their place' over the last two years, a couple that knows the pair well told The Times. They are said to have felt 'tethered' and that the Cambridges' had been competitive and decided from the outset, 'We are going to tell these people their place and we are going to push them away.' However, sources close to both the Cambridges and Sussexes strongly contested the claims that the couple feel ousted by Prince William. The Queen leaving a church service at Sandringham on Sunday Senior royals are gravely disappointed by Harry's decision to pull the plug on his position 'without a thought' for William and his family, insiders revealed. The 35-year-old is said to be so caught up in his own misery he hasn't considered the fall-out for the brother he was once inseparable from and his little niece and nephews. It was reported on Saturday that the Duke of Cambridge had spoken of his sadness at the broken bond with Harry. 'I've put my arm around my brother all our lives and I can't do that any more; we're separate entities,' he told a friend according to the Sunday Times. 'I'm sad about that. All we can do, and all I can do, is try and support them and hope the time comes when we're all singing from the same page. I want everyone to play on the same team.' When it was put to Harry last week that he needed to discuss his plans with William at least before 'pressing the nuclear button', he made clear he hadn't any intention of doing so. Neither had it occurred to him that there would also be ramifications for the young Cambridge children, George, six, Charlotte, four, and Louis, just one. The siblings have only seen their cousin Archie, eight months, once or twice since he was born. 'He is so caught up with his own problems and just hadn't thought through how it would affect everyone else,' said a source with intimate knowledge of the week's events. Friends say the rift between the two is so deep now that it is unlikely to be repaired for the foreseeable future. Privately, William and Harry have always felt the public perception of them as Diana's 'boys' wedded together for the rest of their lives by tragedy was an anachronism. Pictured together at Thorpe Park in 1993 Prince William accompanies his brother on his wedding day in May 2018 (left). It was reported yesterday that the Duke of Cambridge had spoken of his sadness at the broken bond with Harry (right) While sources close to William say he 'does not recognise' the quote in the Sunday Times, it is widely acknowledged it is 'fairly close' to what he is thinking. 'Sadness, I'd say is the overwhelming emotion,' said one source. Harry and Meghan announced their intention to step down as senior royals on Wednesday 'This is his brother, for God's sake. He loves him. And he is desperately sad and worried that it has come to this. There's an acknowledgement that things are very estranged at the moment. But maybe time and a little distance will heal that.' While understandably concerned for his brother, William is also said to be worried about the increased workload Harry's stepping down will bring for other family members. Although now seventh in line to the throne, Harry and Meghan would still have undertaken more than 200 public engagements each year. And even in the slimmed-down monarchy their father is hoping for, the Sussexes would have had a significant role. Privately, William and Harry have always felt the public perception of them as Diana's 'boys' wedded together for the rest of their lives by tragedy was an anachronism. They have always had each other's back, but have always had different ways of handling things and different paths. One source said the rot began after Harry left the military in 2015 and began to feel frustrated at his rather rootless existence compared to William's clearly defined career path. Prince Harry decided to pull the plug on his royal role 'without a thought' for William and his family, according to insiders. Pictured arriving together for the Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service at St Paul's Cathedral in 2017 It was Kate who brought the brothers together, particularly as they collaborated on their mental health campaign, Heads Together. But others say it was just a plaster on a long-festering wound that was ripped off when Meghan came on the scene and Harry had his own family to defend. The Mail understands while William feels both he and his brother have been deeply affected by Diana's death, Harry seems unable to move on with his life. A NASA satellite has discovered an Earth-sized world within its stars habitable area -- where liquid water could possibly exist. The world is known as an exoplanet. This term is used for planets that orbit a star outside of our own solar system. NASAs Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, made the discovery. TESS was launched in 2018 to expand on the work of earlier exoplanets that space telescopes had discovered. Exoplanets are hard for telescopes to identify; the bright lights of the stars they orbit can hide them. TESS contains four individual cameras that search for drops in light levels. This may be linked to planetary movements. Scientists then attempt to confirm the presence of worlds and try to estimate the size and orbit of the planets. The newly found planet, called "TOI 700 d," is about 100 light years away from Earth, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said. It is about 20 percent larger than Earth. TOI 700 d is one of three planets orbiting a star known as TOI 700. The discovery was announced during a recent meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Honolulu, Hawaii. Being in a stars habitable area means that a planet has temperatures that could permit liquid water to exist on the surface. Since water is necessary for life as we know it, the presence of liquid means it could possibly support life. Astronomers have not yet been able to measure TOI 700 ds mass. Such measurements will be necessary to estimate whether it is a rocky planet like Earth, or a gassy one like Neptune. Elisa Quintana is an astronomer at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. She told Nature magazine that few Earth-sized planets have been discovered in habitable areas. She says this makes the latest find exciting. Scientists say they confirmed the planet information using NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope. They have modeled the planets possible environments to help support future observation activities. The modeling team for TOI 700 d is led by Gabrielle Engelmann-Suissa. She is a visiting research assistant at Goddard. She said in a statement that the modeling process is very important to help learn more about conditions on TOI 700 d as more data is collected. Its exciting because no matter what we find out about the planet, its going to look completely different from what we have here on Earth, Engelmann-Suissa said. Another exoplanet discovery was also discussed at the Astronomical Society meeting. Scientists announced that TESS had found its first exoplanet orbiting two stars instead of one. The planet is called TOI 1338 b, which lies about 1,300 light years away from Earth, NASA said. It is about seven times larger than Earth. That makes it between the sizes of Neptune and Saturn. Astronomers have estimated that one of the planets stars is about 10 percent more massive than our sun. The other star is cooler, less bright and only one-third of our suns mass. The two stars orbit each other every 15 days. These kinds of planets, called circumbinaries, are difficult to identify. So far, scientists have confirmed about 24 of them. The first such discovery came in 1993. Overall, more than 3,500 exoplanets have been discovered over the past 20 years. Im Bryan Lynn. Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from NASA, Agence France-Presse and Nature. Ashley Thompson was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. Quiz - NASA Observer Discovers Earth-sized World in Habitable Zone Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story habitable n. able to be lived in WASHINGTON About a dozen Saudi students training alongside the American military in the United States will be sent back to Saudi Arabia after a review that stemmed from the killing of three American service members at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Fla., last month, according to a United States official. The review, first reported by CNN, did not find evidence that the Saudi students aided the gunman, who was himself a Saudi trainee, in the Dec. 6 shooting, the official said. But some were found to have ties to extremist movements, and others were found to possess pornographic material, something forbidden in the Kingdom. In an appearance on Fox News Sunday, Robert OBrien, the national security adviser, did not provide any specific reasons for the expulsion of members of the Saudi military, citing an abundance of caution after the shooting, which also wounded eight. Were being very careful, Mr. OBrien said. Obviously, Pensacola showed that there had been errors in the way that weve vetted. Army looking in Pakistan hand following beheading of J&K porter India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Jan 12: Security agencies have learnt that one of the two porters killed in the cross border shelling in Jammu's Poonch district may have been beheaded by Pakistan's BAT. The Army suspects that Mohammad Aslam may have been beheaded by the Border Action Team of Pakistan. This could be the first instance where the BAT has targeted a civilian. The BAT normally targets security personnel. Defence Ministry spokesperson, Colonel Devender Anand said that one of the porters had found to be headless and they were probing if there was a Pakistani hand in it. Army Chief, General Mukund Narvane said that professional armies never resort to such barbaric acts. We will deal with such situations in a military manner, he also said. 'PoK belongs to us, if Parliament wants it, then we will take action: Army Chief J&K cop caught with 2 Hizbul & Lashkar terrorists in Kashmir|OneIndia News The two porters along with four others were injured during Pakistani shelling at the Kassalian village in Poonch. Civilians are normally hired by the Army for logistic duties in this area. While Aslam was killed on the spot, Altaf Hussain died on the way to hospital. The other three porters who were injured are undergoing treatment at hospital. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, January 12, 2020, 9:52 [IST] T J S George By What is happening to our country? Suddenly, it is a ship drifting in a storm, rudderless and captainless. The brutality that was unleashed in JNU last week was unprecedented, more in-your-face than the violence that recently rocked Jamia Millia and Aligarh. The goons, who beat up students and teachers at JNU, were masked. But the Hindu Rashtra Dal assumed responsibility for the violence, confirming that Hindutva zealots were the ringleaders. The government backed them by keeping the police inactive. When the police moved, it was to switch off the streetlights, perhaps to facilitate the movements of the hooligans. Not a single attacker was taken into custody. Worse, they filed charges against the students union leader who had been wounded in the head by a lathi blow. Never has a government been so anti-people in India. For that matter, never has India seen an uprising of people as spontaneous as the one that is currently shaking it. Young people from across the land have risen with the demand that they be heard. The citizenship law provoked protests that took everyone by surprise. The protests were not organised by anyone in particular; groups of young people went out on their own, thus adding to the significance of the nationwide uprising. It is clear that people have become disillusioned with the existing order. They want change. They want action such as the removal of JNUs vice-chancellor Jagadesh Kumar whose talent is confined to turning students into enemies. Foolish government leaders imagine that peoples movements can be crushed by force. The UP government has been more foolish than others. It has been vicious as well. The saffron-clad chief minister, in his drive to make the state a model for Hindutva, has been encouraging the police to pick up Muslims for third-degree treatment. He threatened that his government would take revenge (badla) by auctioning off the properties of protestors. Many citizens were sent notices demanding money to compensate for damages caused. Muslim activists were singled out for special treatment. It is astonishing that there are politicians in this day and age who think they can be crudely communal and get away with it. They wont succeed because India is no longer what they think it is. Young people across the country are showing that a new India is rising. Even UP will have to recognise this. Drama artiste Ratna Pathak put it magisterially in the course of a recent conversation with a young student. With a stage actors clipped accent and clear cut verbal punctuations, she said, This is the first time a generation is actually seeing what it feels like to be misruled. Your generation is the first real generation that is feeling hopeless. How long will we carry on in this horrible state? She was optimistic that things would work out right because I have never seen so many educated people in India, and so many young educated people in India working for a meaningful India. Those in power do not want to accept this reality. They imagine that conflicts and clashes will bring about an ideological showdown that will facilitate the growth of Hindutva. Hence, the support extended to militant forces, often surreptitiously and sometimes openly, by the government. Its not just UP. Even the Centre seems ever ready to encourage confrontations. The violence in the countrys famous campuses is a deliberate attempt to bring those centres of higher learning under the communal umbrella. The central government as much as the openly Hindutva lobbies see the countrywide opposition to the citizenship law as a challenge to their hegemonic ambitions. What they do not see is that the ruthlessness with which they oppose new forces in the country will only strengthen the resolve of the young protestors. Amit Shah-style threats do not wash with this generation. Resistance will grow if the government persists with suppression policies. Dont forget that there are several states in India that are ruled by non-BJP governments. Intolerance from Delhi may well accelerate the growth of resistance across the country. Not only will this weaken democracy in India with unpredictable consequences; it will noticeably reduce Indias stock in the eyes of the world. This is already happening. Reports abroad are all about India becoming divisive and lost in narrow religious confrontationism. Darkness envelopes India led by Modi and Amit Shah and Adityanath. Only light can fight the darkness. In universities across the country, young people have lit candles. They are self-propelled messiahs of change who are not scared of darkness. They will ensure that light spreads and prevails. Qatar and Iran agree that de-escalation is the "only solution" to regional tensions, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said on Sunday after meeting Iran's President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran. "This visit comes at a critical time in the region, and we agreed with the brothers and with His Excellency the president that the only solution to these crises is de-escalation from everyone and dialogue," he told a conference. "Dialogue is the only solution" to resolve the crises, he said at a time of heightened US-Iranian tensions. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-13 02:41:04|Editor: yan Video Player Close OTTAWA, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- An emergency alert of an unspecified incident at the Pickering nuclear generating station east of Toronto Sunday morning was sent "in error," according to Canada's Ontario Power Generation. The alert was sent out to the entire Ontario province around 7:30 a.m. Sunday, saying an incident was reported at the station and it applied to residents living within 10 kilometers of the station. Ontario Power Generation said on Twitter about half hour later that the alert was "sent in error" and there was no active emergency. "There is no active nuclear situation taking place at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station. The previous alert was issued in error. There is no danger to the public or environment. No further action is required," Ontario Power Generation said. Ontario Premier Office confirmed the alert sent by the Provincial Emergency Operations Center was a mistake. "There is no safety incident and there is no danger to the public. The emergency alert was triggered in error," said Kayla Iafelice, a spokesperson for the Ontario premier's office. Some 73,000 liters of demineralized water leaked from the station in 2011, causing no known impacts to human health. There were also no known adverse effects from a leak of radioactive heavy water at the plant in 2014. The nuclear station generates approximately 14 percent of Ontario province's total electricity, according to CTV Sunday. Russian and French Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron, discussed the situation in Iran and called on all the parties to show restraint, the Kremlin press service said on Sunday after their telephone conversation, Trend reports citing TASS. "In the context of the tense situation around Iran, the Russian and French presidents stressed the necessity for all the parties to show restraint and spoke in favor of further efforts towards saving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action," the press service said. Apart from that, the two leaders also discussed issues of the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict and the situation in Syria, the press service added. The president agreed to continue personal contacts. Allan Coutts, 61, (pictured) bought an official Highways Agency lorry to swindle elderly victims A rogue road-layer who bought an official Highways Agency lorry to swindle elderly victims has been ordered to repay 150,000 for his dodgy driveways. Allan Coutts, 61, from Sandhurst, Berkshire, pulled up in the 'official' truck to target hundreds of elderly victims for shoddy driveway resurfacing work. The fraudster bought a second-hand Highways Authority roads resurfacing lorry and kept the logo on the front. A court heard Coutts told unsuspecting householders there was tarmac left over on his lorry from his highways work. And conman Coutts said he could offer a deal on driveway work before it hardened - and promised a five-year guarantee. But the work would often crumble and fall apart within just weeks. The court heard his victims paid from 600 to 7,000 - and he made 905,000 in a 14-month period from February 2015 from his fraud. The fraudster bought a second-hand Highways Authority roads resurfacing lorry and kept the logo on the front A court heard Coutts told unsuspecting householders there was tarmac left over on his lorry from his highways work to carry out resurfacing He was jailed for five and a half years and a Proceeds of Crime hearing in Cardiff Crown Court ordered him to repay 150,000 within three months - or face another two years behind bars. Judge Richard Twomlow told Coutts that any money recovered will go back to the his victims. One victim, Alan Crossley, 71, a retired GP from Powys, Mid Wales, paid Coutts 2,000 to resurface the drive to his house. Mr Crossley said: 'During the first really big storm we had after the work was completed it just washed away. He was jailed for five and a half years and a Proceeds of Crime hearing in Cardiff Crown Court ordered him to repay 150,000 within three months - or face another two years behind bars Work would often crumble and fall apart within just weeks. Judge Richard Twomlow told Coutts that any money recovered will go back to the his victims 'Rainwater was running down my drive and it washed a whole river through the middle of the gravel. 'It lasted just weeks and then I started clearing away everything he'd laid. 'I felt stupid to be taken in by what was a fairly transparent operation. Conman Coutts said he could offer a deal on driveway work and promised a five-year guarantee The court heard his victims paid from 600 to 7,000 - and he made 905,000 in a 14-month period from February 2015 from his fraud 'I couldn't believe the scale of the operation. I thought maybe I was one of half a dozen people in Powys, but this was nationwide. ' A trading standards investigation was launched and found 600,000 of cash and card payments had been made in just over a year. Coutts (pictured) denied fraud but was found guilty after a trial at Merthyr Crown Court The case was brought by Powys Council. Coutts denied fraud but was found guilty after a trial at Merthyr Crown Court. After the case Clive Jones, trading Standards officer at Powys Council, said Coutts had 'little concern' for his victims. Mr Jones said: 'He pushed poor quality tarmac and work onto unsuspecting vulnerable consumers right across Wales and the UK. 'He had little concern about the impact of his crimes or victims. The average age was 75 years old.' Mr Jones said Coutts 'preyed on the elderly and vulnerable to get that money'. A Highways Agency spokesman said the vehicle was not owned by them when it was sold. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Dale Hogarth climbs to the top of the stairwell, motors roaring and steam hissing through the cobweb of pipes below. As maintenance leader at EnergyAustralias Yallourn power plant, one of the nations largest, Hogarth cares most about the performance of four enormous cylinders here on the uppermost floor. When we talk about reliability, he says over the noise, its all about keeping these turning. The four cylinders are Yallourns turbine generators, which together supply 22 per cent of Victorias power demand, enough for 2 million homes. Steam produced by burning high-moisture brown coal flows into the turbines, past blades that turn the central shaft and spin a generator to create electricity. The Yallorn power station near Morwell in Victoria. Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui A fairly simple process, Hogarth says. But with 300 kilometres of tubes running through each of the boilers, in a plant built way back in the 1970s, there are a lot of pinch points along the way, he says, meaning theres plenty of room for failure. Summer in Australia means extreme weather, sweltering heatwaves and devastating bushfires. For the reliability and security of the nations electricity system, its the most trying time of the year. The hotter it gets, the more people switch on their airconditioners hiking demand for power and placing extraordinary strain on the grid. Energy insiders have privately expressed concerns the system could be facing its biggest test in years. Compounding this pressure is the susceptibility of ageing coal power plants to sudden breakdown on hot days, stripping significant supply out of the market with little or no notice. Making matters worse still, bushfires pose the threat of knocking out key transmission lines at critical moments. Advertisement This summer, however, began with parts of the grid looking especially frail. With scorching forecasts and multiple power plant units taken offline for unplanned repairs all at once, there were warnings of an elevated risk of blackouts facing more than a million households. 'Broadly speaking, AEMO is on top of everything. But everyone is a little bit nervous.' Tony Wood, energy expert at the Grattan Institute This summers bushfires have brought down vital interstate links, leaving the grid on a knife-edge for hours at a time. Although reluctant to say so openly, some energy insiders have privately expressed concerns the system could be facing its biggest test in years. A perfect storm is how one described it. The head of the Australian Energy Market Operator, Audrey Zibelman, who previously ran New Yorks Public Service Commission, likened conditions to 2012 when the destructive Hurricane Sandy hit the north-east of the United States, forcing days-long blackouts for hundreds of thousands of homes. This summer, I have to say, is reminiscent to me of the experience we had in New York after Sandy, she said. [It] began a wake-up call to the government and to the industry that things needed to be done differently. Energy blame game Advertisement While the difficult season intensifies, a deeper blame game is playing out over how Australias energy policy has failed to adequately prepare the National Electricity Market for this situation. On one hand, the decade-long energy policy vacuum at a federal level has stunted the investment needed to spur new forms of generation to replace the ageing and increasingly failure-prone fossil-fuel facilities. The Morrison government, meanwhile, points to the influx of wind and solar projects providing more intermittent supply largely under ambitious state-based schemes without enough coal and gas to support them. Scott Morrison and Angus Taylor in Parliament. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Most in the industry believe both of these factors are partly to blame for the perilous state of the grid. Whatever the cause, one thing is certain: Australias energy market is feeling the pressure to keep the lights on this summer. And the tolerance for failure is next to nil. Weve been clear, Victorian Energy Minister Lily DAmbrosio said last month. Private power companies need to do the heavy lifting to make sure their plants are available when we need them. A spokesperson for the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment said the state is well placed for the next five summers but conceded there is some risk of disruption during extreme weather conditions in the state. In a power station as old as Yallourn, the heavy lifting began in earnest about four months ago in anticipation of this summer. Advertisement Loading Throughout the plant, the pinch points Hogarth refers to are most often found somewhere in the plumbing the hundreds of kilometres of boiler tubes which, as they age, wear out and become thinner. If there is a rupture in a tube, a whole unit will often have to be taken offline for repair. And small holes somewhere in all this tubing are not easy to locate. A needle in a haystack, as Hogarth puts it. On hot days, something as small as a tube leak could set in motion a sequence of events ending in power cuts to homes and businesses on a dramatic scale. The current make-up of the grid allows for minimal storage of electricity, so power has to be generated around the clock to meet the nations energy needs. When the sun isnt shining and the wind isnt blowing, Australia still relies on fossil fuels for energy. It is this unavoidable truth that has come to underpin the Coalitions insistence that early closures of coal-fired power plants must be avoided at all costs. Renewable energy provides an ever-rising share of Australias power. It is now at 20 per cent. But coal remains king, accounting for 60 per cent. Advertisement Despite growing calls for accelerated coal phase-outs, federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor says he wants coal and gas plants to remain in the market running flat out. Last year, his government successfully pressured AGL to keep its Liddell plant open longer than the company had intended. The problem this poses for power companies, however, is that their plants are old and nearing the end of their technical lives, meaning maintenance becomes far more expensive, and sudden failures far more commonplace. EnergyAustralia has spent $180 million in the past year to upgrade and maintain its generation fleet: $50 million went to Yallourn alone. Its program has added 90 megawatts to the grid, enough to power 16,000 homes 60 megawatts from installing a water plant to cool the air going into turbines at Victorias Jeeralang power station and 30 megawatts in South Australia with a new fast-start gas turbine. 'We are doing our best to ensure we get through.' Mark Pearson, Yallourn power station Yallourn chief Mark Pearson says: We are doing our best to ensure we get through. AGL has run a summer-readiness program for the past nine years. This season, it spent $150 million to bolster its assets of Macquarie in NSW (Liddell and Bayswater), Victorias Loy Yang and South Australias Torrens on top of an already considerable regular maintenance spend. Origin Energy supply chief Greg Jarvis points to upgrades the company has carried out at facilities in Mortlake in Victoria and Eraring in NSW. The extra capacity that Origin added proved critical last week, when fires took down the Snowy transmission line and brought the network to the brink. Advertisement Security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation in the Gulshanpora area of Tral in the south Kashmir district Sunday morning after receiving specific intelligence Srinagar: Three "most wanted" Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists were killed on Sunday in an encounter with security forces in the Tral area of Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, police said. The terrorists Umer Fayaz Lone alias "Hamad Khan" of Seer village, Faizan Hamid of Mandoora and Adil Bashir Mir alias "Abu Dujana" of Monghama were wanted for their complicity in terror crimes, including attacks on security establishments and civilian atrocities, a police spokesman said. He said the trio were affiliated with the proscribed Hizbul Mujahideen terror outfit and were trapped during a cordon-and-search operation jointly launched by police and security forces on a specific intelligence input in the Gujar Basti Gulshanpora area of Tral. As the forces were conducting searches, the militants fired at them, triggering an encounter, resulting in their killing, the spokesman said. According to police records, the spokesman said, Lone had a long history of terror crimes since 2016 and was involved in planning and executing several terror attacks in the area. "He was part of groups responsible for carrying out a series of terror attacks and many other civilian atrocities besides killing of policeman Haleem Kohli of Gutroo Bangdar Tral and killing of civilian Mehraj Din Zarger of Tral," he said, adding he was wanted in 16 cases registered at Tral police station and two cases at Awantipora police station. Similarly, the spokesman said, Adil Bashir Mir and Faizan Hamid had a history of terror crimes and were also involved in carrying out several terror attacks in the area. "They were also part of the group involved in the killing of civilian Mehraj Din Zarger near Tral Bus Stand and were responsible for several other terror crimes. Terror crime cases were registered against both of them including three cases at Tral Police Station. "Incriminating material, arms and ammunition were recovered from the site of the encounter," the spokesman said. REGULATING CANCER-LINKED PFAS CHEMICALS: Voting 247 for and 159 against, the House on Friday passed a bill (HR 535) that would give the Environmental Protection Agency one year to designate a class of chemicals known as PFAS for coverage by the federal Superfund law, which requires abandoned toxic sites to be cleaned up and imposes retroactive legal liability on those responsible for the pollution. The designation would require cleanup actions near scores of military bases and manufacturing sites throughout the United States where PFAS compounds have leached into groundwater and drinking water. But they would join a long list of Superfund sites awaiting remediation. The bill also would require the EPA to set standards for PFAS air emissions and levels in drinking water and test all PFAS compounds within five years, and it would bar new compounds from the marketplace. PFAS stands for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. They are components of firefighting foam used at airports and military installations as well as nonstick cookware; personal-care products including floss and makeup; household items including paints and stains; water-repellent clothing and carpeting; and other everyday products. There are more about 7,800 PFAS compounds, some of which the Food and Drug Administration has approved for use in food packaging and medical devices, others of which are linked to health conditions including kidney, liver, testicular and pancreatic cancers; infertility; weakened immune systems and impaired childhood development. Officials from Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan are due to meet in Washington on Monday in a final attempt to resolve the dispute Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has called on South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene in Ethiopia's dispute with Egypt over a giant dam project Addis Ababa is building on the Nile. Following talks in the capital Pretoria, Abiy said he had requested Ramaphosa "negotiate between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan" on the matter. "I'm sure he will play a significant role on bringing us on win-win solution." "He [Ramaphosa] is a good friend for both Ethiopia and Egypt. Also as upcoming [African Union] chair he can make a discussion between both parties so as to solve the issue peacefully," Abiy said during a joint press conference with Ramaphosa. The South African president is set to assume the rotating presidency of the African Union (AU) next month, succeeding Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. "Ethiopia always believes in a win-win approach with Egypt and Sudan. We will follow the same track," Abiy said. "Without having peace we can't realise our vision of development and growth." South Africa's public broadcaster SABC reported that Ramaphosa "has agreed to assist the Ethiopian government in solving its impasse with Egypt over the massive Nile dam project." There must be a way in which a solution can be found. As for ourselves, we are willing to play a role in facilitating whatever agreement that can be crafted, said the president. Ministers from Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan are set to meet in Washington on Monday for the final round of meetings mediated by the US that aim to resolve the dispute over Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). The talks will be attended by representatives from the US administration and the World Bank The three countries have set a 15 January target to resolve their disagreements over the filling and operation of the $4 billion hydroelectric dam. If the dispute is not resolved by that deadline, the three countries will either seek international mediation or involve their heads of state, under an agreement the nations reached in Washington in November. Egypt fears the 6,000-megawatt mega project will restrict the amount of Nile water it receives, which comprises the vast majority of its freshwater. Ethiopia says the project is key to its development goals and its target to become Africa's largest power exporter. Last week, the three countries have failed to reach an agreement on technical issues including the filling of the dam, with Cairo and Addis Ababa exchanging blame for the deadlock. Ethiopia said Egypt is trying to reinforce self-claimed sole ownership of the Nile waters with a proposal of filling in 12-21 years. Egypts slammed the claim as deliberately misleading, saying its proposal suggests filing the dam within six-seven years during average or above-average flow of the Blue Nile. Search Keywords: Short link: Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 21:48:38|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TEHRAN, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry on Sunday summoned Robert Macaire, the British ambassador to Iran, for what it called the envoy's "unusual behavior" and "attending an illegal gathering" in Tehran. "Iran handed over its formal protest to Macaire and the British government," the ministry's website said. The British ambassador was reminded that "participation of foreign ambassadors in illegal gatherings do not correspond to their responsibilities as the political representatives of their respective countries," according to the ministry's report. Iranian officials detained Macaire on Saturday amid an anti-government gathering outside of a university in Tehran. He was released about an hour later. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he is "outraged" by a rocket attack on an Iraqi air base on January 12. "Outraged by reports of another rocket attack on an Iraqi airbase. I pray for [the] speedy recovery of the injured and call on the government of #Iraq to hold those responsible for this attack on the Iraqi people accountable," he said on Twitter. "These continued violations of Iraqs sovereignty by groups not loyal to the Iraqi government must end." At least seven mortar shells struck an Iraqi air base north of Baghdad, wounding four Iraqi soldiers. Some of the shells hit the runway of the Balad air base, where some U.S. military personnel are based. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which comes amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran. Military bases in Iraq hosting U.S. troops have been targeted by rocket and mortar attacks from Iran-backed militias in recent months. One U.S. contractor was killed in such an attack in December. On January 8, Iran launched missile attacks against two such bases in Iraq in retaliation for an earlier U.S. drone strike that killed top Iranian military commander Major General Qasem Soleimani. Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, and dpa The Beatles gave us classic songs in numerous genres. While My Guitar Gently Weeps stands as one of their great hard rock songs. Recently, the original handwritten lyrics for the track went up for sale. This incredible piece of rock memorabilia can be yours for a hefty sum. The Beatles performing Rain and Paperback Writer on television in 1966 | Mark and Colleen Hayward/Redferns What we know about the handwritten lyrics for While My Guitar Gently Weeps While My Guitar Gently Weeps is one of the most famous songs written by George Harrison. During the bands early years, Georges songwriting capabilities were often dismissed. However, While My Guitar Gently Weeps helped him to earn respect as a songwriter. CNN reports, however, these handwritten lyrics were (mostly) not written by George. Instead, they were mostly written by another Beatle whose talent is often overlooked Ringo Starr. Only the first and last lines of the handwritten lyrics were written by George, complete with punctuation and capitalization errors. The handwritten lyrics begin with Georges writing: I Look at You all see the love there thats sleeping While my guitar gently weeps. At the end of the lyrics, George wrote While my Guitar Gently Weeps as Im sitting here doing nothing but aging still my guitar G W. What makes this auction special Beatles members Ringo Starr with George Harrison at the session for All You Need Is Love | Cummings Archives/Redferns According to Metro, the asking price for the lyrics is $195,000 or 149,000. That may sound expensive to begin with, but the piece of memorabilia could sell for much more. After all, another handwritten copy of lyrics for While My Guitar Gently Weeps which was written by George alone was purchased for over $1 million, or 765,000. It could be interesting to see whether the copy of the lyrics written by both George and Ringo will sell for more or less than the copy of the lyrics written by George on his own. Whoever buys the lyrics will also receive a letter of authenticity, reports CBS Pittsburgh. The letter which was written by Beatles memorabilia salesman Frank Caiazzo, attests to the fact the lyrics were written in George and Ringos handwriting. As anyone whos religiously watched Pawn Stars knows, such letters greatly increase the value of a momento. Other fascinating documents for sale right now Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaks to a large rally in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968 | Bettmann The lyrics are being put up for sale by a company called Moments in Time. The company is currently selling written or typed documents by seminal historical figures. Among them are a letter from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to pop idol Sammy Davis Jr. and a letter by Galileo Galilei. In addition to George and Ringos manuscript, the website also sells the personal papers of other famous musicians, including Broadway songwriter Irving Berlins handwritten lyrics for God Bless America. Many people love collecting mementos of their favorite celebrities. These Beatles lyrics are a bit more expensive than most. To have them, youd have to be a rich man. Also see: John Lennon: Broken Memorabilia Sells for $183,500 Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 10:31:42|Editor: ZX Video Player Close ROME, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and head of Libya's Government of National Accord Fayez al-Serraj on Saturday called for a ceasefire and resumption of the political process in war-torn Libya. The two leaders made the appeal at a joint press conference after their meeting here as the international community -- including the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) -- strives to halt the ongoing conflicts in Libya between the eastern-based army led by General Khalifa Haftar and the forces of the UN-backed government led by Serraj. Conte said that the EU must play a strong role in bringing all involved parties to the table at an international conference in Berlin, which has been in preparation since 2019 and is spearheaded by UN Special Representative and head of its Support Mission in Libya Ghassan Salame. The Italian premier added he will travel to Turkey on Monday and to Egypt on Tuesday "to continue weaving this fabric, which must lead us to a peaceful solution" in Libya. For his part, Serraj called for the general to withdraw his troops before a ceasefire, welcomed the call by Russia and Turkey for a ceasefire, and expressed thanks to Germany for its efforts toward a diplomatic solution to the conflict. Serraj made the remarks shortly after German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for a ceasefire and a resumption of the Berlin process during a televised joint press conference in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Conte also met Haftar on Wednesday in Rome and "urged (him) to give up the military option," according to the communique released after their meeting. Imported scraps to be managed synchronously Updated: 14:00 - 12/01/2020 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on December 19 issued Decision 35/2019/QD-TTg to promulgate the regulation on interdisciplinary coordination in the management of scrap import__Photo: Internet Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on December 19 issued Decision 35/2019/QD-TTg to promulgate the regulation on interdisciplinary coordination in the management of scrap import.The regulation prescribes principles, purposes and methods of and responsibility for effective coordination among the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Science and Technology and provincial-level Peoples Committees in the state management of scraps imported into Vietnam.Specifically, they will have to exchange information and documents on new regulations, guidelines and policies directly related to the management of scraps imported for use as production materials in their attached units, coordinate in inspecting and monitoring scrap import activities when necessary; exchange information about unlawful methods and tricks of violators so as to identify, investigate and handle their violations in scrap import.The coordination can be carried out by sending written requests, via emails, at meetings to exchange ideas or by updating or sharing information about scrap import on the national single-window information system or their portals. They may organize working teams to deal with inter-sector urgent problems.- New York, Jan 12 : The US has called the visit of its Ambassador Ken Juster and diplomats from 15 other countries to Kashmir an "important step". Alice Wells, the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, tweeted on Saturday that she was "closely following" the visit of the envoys to Kashmir, describing it an "important step". Wells, who will be visiting India this week, added: "We remain concerned by detention of political leaders and residents and Internet restrictions. We look forward to a return to normalcy." The group of diplomats made a two-day visit to the Union Territory on Thursday and Friday to see the conditions there after Jammu and Kashmir's special constitutional status was removed last August. While some US politicians and media have criticised the action by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, the US has officially appeared to support the abrogation of the Constitution's Article 370 on the special status. Last October, Wells told the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific that the State Department supported the objectives behind it, while not directly mentioning the abrogation. "The Indian government has argued that its decision on Article 370 was driven by a desire to increase economic development, reduce corruption, and uniformly apply all national laws in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly in regard to women and minorities. "While we support these objectives, the Department remains concerned about the situation in the Kashmir Valley, where daily life for the nearly eight million residents has been severely impacted since August 5," she had said. Washington has banked on India's democratic institutions - the judiciary and public debates - being able to steer the country. Bearing this out, the Supreme Court last week ordered the government to review its decision to shutdown the internet in Kashmir, which it declared was a fundamental right, thus taking a step to address Wells's concern. (Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter @arulouis) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling out how she believes the Senates Republican majority will handle the impeachment trial against President Donald Trump. On Sunday, Pelosi, 79, told ABC News George Stephanopoulos that she had no regrets about withholding the impeachment articles from the GOP-led Senate, adding that Democrats remain concerned about how the trial will be handled. The president is impeached for life, regardless of any gamesmanship on the part of Mitch McConnell, Pelosi said on This Week. There is nothing the Senate can do to ever erase that. Pelosi also pushed back on Majority Leader McConnells claims that he will follow the precedent of former President Bill Clintons impeachment trial in the late 1990s in bringing out any witnesses and new evidence after the opening presentations. President Clinton allowed the witnesses to come forward. President Trump has not allowed that, she said. The evidence was all there, it was just a question of bringing it to the forefront. Pelosi and Trump | J Scott Applewhite/AP/Shutterstock; NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images RELATED: Republican Senator Says Shes Disturbed By Mitch McConnells Coordination with Trump on Impeachment Trial Last month, McConnell told Fox News host Sean Hannity that he would be in total coordination with the White House over how the impeachment trial would play out, angering Democrats and raising questions over whether it will be a fair trial. Republicans have been openly concerned as well, including Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski who told local KTUU last month that shes hoping to see a full and fair process play out during Trumps impeachment trial in the Senate. When I heard that I was disturbed, Murkowski said of McConnells comments. To me, it means that we have to take that step back from being hand in glove with the defense, and so I heard what leader McConnell had said, I happened to think that that has further confused the process. Story continues McConnell and other Republican lawmakers have made it clear they want a quick trial in the Senate, where it is widely expected Trump will be acquitted on his two impeachment charges. Sen. Lisa Murkowski | Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Until the Senates trial begins, Murkowski said shes unsure how shell vote. How we will deal with witnesses remains to be seen, Murkowski said, later adding that she doesnt know yet how shell vote until the trial takes place. For me to prejudge and say theres nothing there or on the other hand, he should be impeached yesterday, thats wrong, in my view, thats wrong. Trump became the third president in American history to be impeached in December when the House of Representatives voted to impeach him on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress over the Ukraine scandal. Democratic lawmakers say Trump allegedly withheld about $400 million in military aid while pressuring Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky into launching a pair of investigations that would benefit Trump in the 2020 election. Donald Trump | NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images RELATED: Megyn Kelly Says President Donald Trumps Impeachment Trial Is Rigged in New Interview The impeachment was preceded by a day-long debate on the House floor between Democrats and Republicans, who argued over the merit of Trumps impeachment charges and later ultimately voted along party lines to impeach him. Its unlikely Trump will be removed from office over his impeachment, as a two-thirds majority vote is needed to remove him and Republicans already hold a majority in the 100-seat Senate, where the vote will take place with 53 seats. It remains unclear when the impeachment trial will exactly take place or whether the Senate will call additional witnesses for the trial. The Bridgeport Board of Education might have had good reason to award acting Schools Superintendent Michael Testani a three-year contract last week during a closed-door session that was meant to serve as a performance evaluation. Its possible Testani is the best choice, and that hiring him to the position on a permanent basis makes sense. But for now, there simply isnt enough information available to the public to justify those claims. The move surprised almost everyone, and took place out of public view with nothing in the way of notice or public comment. Observers are right to be skeptical. For his part, Testani said he did not go into his job evaluation on Monday expecting to leave with a contract that will raise his salary by 22.5 percent in July, and Board of Education Chairwoman Jessica Martinez said she didnt go in to the meeting prepared to offer one. But that was the result, and now the school board again finds itself with more questions than answers. This isnt an unfamiliar position for the Bridgeport Board of Education, which for at least a decade has been mired in near-constant acrimony of one form or another. Though the days of the state takeover and celebrity superintendent have long passed, and certain members who were often at the center of firestorms have moved on, the penchant for controversy remains. And since Testanis hiring, members who supported the move have done little to tamp it down. Yes, the public is important to me, their voices matter, Martinez said, even as she acknowledged the move was made without allowing the public any say. Many people in the citys education system say theyre happy with the move. Testani says removing the word acting from his title will allow him to plan for the future in a way he was unable to until now, which will benefit students and faculty. Others have praised the work Testani has done in the district to this point, saying it bodes well for the rest of his tenure. But there has been little in the way of specifics. There has been no indication of why this vote had to happen now, and what benchmarks the board based its decision on. Mostly the city is left with vague reassurances that this is the right move. Its true that hiring Testani means the board avoids the time and expense of a national superintendent search, but thats not a good reason to upend the process. Even if the search had ended in the same place, with Testani getting the job, it would help everyone to know he was the best candidate available, and not simply the most convenient choice. Bridgeport politics, from City Hall to the school board, has long invited skepticism, and for good reason. Its essential to show transparency and ensure the public is part of important decisions at every step of the process. The legacy of distrust is long, and public officials need to work hard to overcome it. That didnt happen in this case. The public is left with too many questions, and the school board needs to change that. "As it was, his sleeve catching in the cogs pulled his arms into the machinery and it was bruised and lacerated in a manner that will keep him home for several weeks. "The belt driving the machinery was loose and when the boy's arm was caught in the wheels, it slipped off the pulley. Had the belt been tight, nothing could have saved the arm from being ground up in the cogs. "The injured lad was taken to the office of Dr. Matthey where Dr. Matthey (and an assistant) dressed the wound." But what if the belt had been tighter and had not slipped off the pulley and Uchtorff's arm had been ground up? Would he have recovered to go on to found his company? Without antibiotics, wounds in those days could become fatally infected. Even if he had lived, maybe his disability would have prevented him from doing what he eventually did. We'll never know, because the belt did slip off the pulley. ... And two years later, when he was 17, Uchtorff got a job at the Rock Island Arsenal where he worked for the next 25 years, working his way up, through diligence and ability, to foreman of the blacksmith and press shops. He then started his own company. The best thing the US can do for the world is to continue its maximum pressure campaign on Iran's regime to prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon, a top US official said on Sunday. "The best thing we can do for the Iranian people and for the world is to continue our maximum pressure campaign to ensure that the Iranian regime never obtains a nuclear weapon, stops their terrorist activities in the region and cuts back on their ballistic missile program, National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien said. The US has imposed new sanctions on Iran following missile strikes by it on bases housing US troops in Iran said the attacks were in revenge for the killing of the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, General Qasem Soleimani, in a US drone strike last week, which was ordered by President Donald Trump. O'Brien said it has never been the policy of the US to change the regime in Iran, but the people of Iran are going to hopefully have the ability at some point to elect their own government. "It's never been our policy to change the regime in Iran, but the people of Iran are going to hopefully have the ability at some point to elect their own government and to be governed by the leaders they choose. I mean we hope that around the world. But that's not our policy. And we're going to support human rights, he said during an interview to a private American channel. O'Brien said the US will work with its allies against Iran and soon the European powers would also join. "We're going to keep doing that. We're going to work with our allies. I think we're going to see some additional assistance on that front coming out of Europe that has not been forthcoming in the past. But I think you're going to see the Europeans getting onboard in the coming weeks as well," he said. Stating that the past one week has been a very bad for the Iranian regime, O'Brien said : "They shot down Ukrainian Airline 752. And the president's condolences and sympathy goes out to the passengers, their families, and their friends and loved ones". "The Iranians then denied shooting the aircraft down, then give a different story about the aircraft coming close to sensitive military installations, changed it again and said it was because of the United States, he said. Iran's Revolutionary Guard on Saturday acknowledged that it accidentally shot down the Ukrainian jetliner that crashed earlier this week, killing all 176 aboard, after the government had repeatedly denied Western accusations that it was responsible. "This was a regime that's reeling from maximum pressure. They're reeling from their incompetence in this situation. And the people of Iran are just fed up with it, he added. (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.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 15:19:01|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is the most preferred Democratic presidential candidate among African American voters, according to a Washington Post/Ipsos national poll released on Saturday. Forty-eight percent of African American voters who are likely to vote for a Democrat picked Biden as their top candidate, the poll showed. U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts are a distant second and third, with 20 percent and 9 percent, respectively. The online poll was conducted on Jan. 2-8 and surveyed a random national sample of 1,088 non-Hispanic African American adults over the age of 18. Overall, the poll has a margin of error of plus-minus 3.5 percentage points, and a four-point margin of error for the sample of 769 Democratic-leaning voters. Biden, who served as U.S. vice president from 2009 to 2017 to then President Barack Obama, formally announced his bid for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidency in April 2019 and has campaigned on his political experiences and electability. The latest Des Moines Register/CNN poll put Biden fourth in Iowa behind former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg in third, Warren in second place and Sanders, who is at the top. However, just five points separate Biden and Sanders. The polls came days before the seventh Democratic presidential primary debate and weeks before the 2020 Iowa Caucuses next month, which will kick off the presidential nominating calendar. There are currently 13 Democrats contending for the party's nomination to take on President Donald Trump in November. More than a dozen Saudi troops undergoing training at US military bases will be expelled from the country after deadly firing at a naval base in Florida, CNN reported. Saudi troops being expelled from the US are not accused of complicity in the crime committed by the second lieutenant of the Saudi Arabian Air Force, who killed three sailors at Naval Air Station Pensacola on December 6. The FBI and the Saudi embassy in Washington have not yet commented in this regard. After the fatal shooting incident, the Pentagon announced the cessation of exercises with the participation of all Saudi troops. Later, on December 19, the Pentagon stated it did not find a threat during the inspection of about 850 military students from Saudi Arabia. According to the FBI, US investigators believe the second Saudi Arabian Air Force lieutenant, Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, 21, shot his American counterparts. Later, he was shot dead by the deputy sheriff. We accept full responsibility for Ukrainian plane crash: IRGC Aerospace chief Iran Press TV Saturday, 11 January 2020 11:39 AM Head of the Aerospace Division of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has accepted full responsibility for the downing of a Ukraine aircraft which crashed near the capital Tehran earlier this week. Speaking on Saturday, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said he had "wished he could die" after being informed of the matter on the same day the crash took place on Wednesday. Hajizadeh said he had notified related authorities immediately but that public announcement of the matter was pending an investigation of Iran's General Staff of the Armed Forces as required by existing procedures. "Neither the IRGC nor the Armed Forces never intended to cover up, but this was a process that had to be perused," he said, adding that concerned individuals had been quarantined. He added that further judgment on the matter was the responsibility of the higher authorities and the judiciary and that "we will comply with any decision taken by them". The remarks come after Iran's General Staff of the Armed Forces put out a statement saying the Ukrainian plane was shot down "unintentionally" due to "human error" earlier on Saturday. The statement added that those found guilty would be brought to military justice. The incident happened as Iran had "raised the sensitivity" of its air defenses due to increased hostile American aerial activity which came after "threats by the criminal American president and military commanders" to hit Iranian targets, the statement read. All 176 crew members and passengers, 147 of whom were Iranians, died in the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) crash which came a few minutes after take-off from Tehran to Kiev on Wednesday. 'Our system detected a cruise missile' Detailing the events which led to the tragic incident, Hajizadeh said the country's air defense networks had been put on the "highest level of readiness" and alerted to a possible cruise missile attack prior to the incident. The IRGC aerospace chief added that the operator manning the system had repeatedly called for a halt in flights in the region during the night. He added that the operator then identified what his air defense system had detected as an incoming cruise missile 19 kilometers away. The operator, as required by military guidelines then proceeded to call for orders to deal with the perceived threat, but wasn't able to do so as his communication network failed to work. Hajizadeh added that the operator then "took the wrong decision" of firing on the perceived threat in a "ten-second" time span to shoot or ignore the flying object. The aerospace chief added that Iran's aviation authorities had no information regarding the matter and that they, along with the plane's crew, had conducted no wrongdoing in the incident. Hajizadeh also said the General Staff of the Armed Forces's Friday statement regarding the matter was released after it was established that certain parties were guilty over the incident. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address New Delhi: Former head of the audit committee of the Yes Bank board Uttam Prakash Agarwal has filed a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) seeking a probe into "the illegal gains made by a certain set of people" in giving misleading information to the markets and the people on potential investors, including Citax and Erwin Singh Braich. Though Agarwal, who recently resigned as the independent director from the Yes Bank board and head of the audit committee, has not spelled it out, it implies to insider- trading, which needs to be investigated by SEBI. In a letter to SEBI Chairman Ajay Tyagi and Wholetime Member G Mahalingam, Agarwal, former president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), has revealed the chain of events when Yes Bank was evaluating potential investors. The copy of the letter is also marked to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das, Secretary of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs Injeti Srinivas, NSE Managing Director and CEO Vikram Limaye, and BSE Managing Director and CEO Ashish Chauhan. The NSE has acknowledged the receipt of the letter. Agarwal has asked SEBI to investigate whether the process followed by MD and CEO Ravneet Gill had been law-compliant. He has also sought a probe if the information provided to the board, disseminated to the public through a press release, and to the stock exchanges and the RBI "are false or misleading or distorted". Agarwal has also raised the question if the whole process influenced decision of investors on account of dissemination of false and misleading news, which may have enthused sale or purchase of securities. Even more serious is the former director's demand for a probe into "the resultant illegal gains made by a set of people on account of non-compliances, false/misleading news," and for fixing responsibility with appropriate fines, punishment and other measures. According to the compliant, the Yes Bank management first didn't share names of potential investors with the board members and when it did in the form of Citax and Braich, these were not binding term sheets devoid of details and without any due diligence from legal experts or investment bank. Following pressure from the board members, Agarwal alleges, Gill downloaded from the internet a copy of balance sheet of Citax with paid-up capital of only 100 pounds at which the aghast members insisted that no such misleading information on investors putting in billions of dollars should be shared with the public or the regulatory authorities. "In addition to the two term sheets, CEO/MD tabled three more single-page letters from different investors, namely Rekha Jhunjunwala (undated), Ward and Ferry and Discovery Capital. They were expressions of interest (EoIs) and not commitment," he said. On the basis of a letter issued by Prime Securities (previously banned by SEBI), stating that it will find out interest of investors in the UK was a clear ploy by the MD/CEO to salvage commitments made to the board and given to the public. In view of the management's failure to oversee capital raising, the "board set up an empowered committee to suggest alternative and corrective ways to deal with the situation, which was caused by the inefficiencies and failure on the part of the CEO," Agarwal said. Agarwal also suggested a forensic audit to investigate dissemination of misleading information, but no such action was taken. IDFC Securities, Ambit Capital and Avendus made presentations to the empowered committee of the board and agreed on the concerns expressed. Regulators should bar any board meetings on capital till legitimate and investors are presented, they said. Meghan Markle is expected to join the Queens crunch talks about her and Prince Harrys future roles by phone after returning to Canada. The monarch has called Harry, his brother Prince William, and their father Prince Charles to a crisis meeting at her private Norfolk estate of Sandringham where the next steps for the couple will be decided on Monday. It comes after Harry and Meghan released a bombshell statement outlining their plans to step back as senior royals, become financially independent, and split their time between the UK and North America. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made the announcement on Wednesday without telling the Queen or other senior royals first. Meghan, who returned to Canada on Friday to be with the couples eight-month-old son Archie, is likely to join the talks via conference call, according to a royal source. 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 Buckingham Palace said a range of possibilities would be discussed, but the Queen was determined to resolve the situation within days, not weeks. Among the details that need to be worked out are who will pay for the couples currently taxpayer-funded security, what money-making activities they can undertake and what the tax consequences would be of moving to Canada or the United States. The crisis talks will take place amid speculation that Harry and Meghan could give a "no-holds-barred" interview which could be "very damaging" for the royal family, who are still reeling from Prince Andrew's links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. "I have some idea of what might be aired in a full, no-holds-barred, sit-down interview and I dont think it would be pretty," the couple's close friend Tom Bradby, the ITV news anchor, wrote in The Sunday Times. Royal biographer Angela Levin told Sky News: The Queen has said she wants [the situation resolved] really fast, and that is because she doesnt want Harry to go off in a huff, I am sure, and not come back. They want to maintain the link of the family. It would be an absolute tragedy if it was done with a very bad feeling. However William appeared on the front page of The Sunday Times, which reported that he was sad that he and Harry were separate entities because he wanted everyone to play on the team. Harry, who is sixth in line to the throne, married American actress Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle in 2018, and their son was born in May last year. While many praised the couple for injecting youth and glamour into the royal family, last weeks announcement marked an explosive turn in the growing rift between the couple and the rest of the clan. Harry said in an October interview that he and William destined one day to be king were on different paths. The couples shock announcement last week came amid their growing unhappiness about their treatment by the media. Harry, who blames the press for the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in a Paris car crash in 1997, has long chafed at the intense scrutiny he receives. The couple have sued several newspapers over allegedly intrusive coverage, and Harry has accused the media of targeting Meghan, who is mixed race, with abuse, some of it with racial undertones. Their decision to distance themselves from the royal family has drawn a mixed reaction from the British public. Many expressed sympathy for Meghan and Harry but said they should not receive taxpayer-funded security if they do not perform public duties. There has been widespread sympathy for the 93-year-old Queen, who attended church at Sandringham on Sunday, arriving by car dressed in a camel-coloured coat and hat. Members of the public gathering near St Mary Magdalene Church said they felt sorry for the Queen, with some saying that Harry and Meghan should not receive any more taxpayers money. Additional reporting by Press Association Celeste Barber has jokingly asked Jacinda Ardern to become the leader of Australia. The 37-year-old comedian, who has helped raised $50m for the bushfire crisis, tagged the New Zealand prime minister in her Instagram story on Sunday. She wrote: 'Can you please make us West New Zealand? Can you be our leader and look after us? We need you.' In the post, Barber shared a photo of Miss Ardern, 39, speaking to young people about climate change in New Zealand. Scroll down for video Celeste Barber (pictured with husband Api Robin in 2018) has jokingly asked Jacinda Ardern to become the leader of Australia The comedian, who has helped raised $50m for the bushfire crisis, tagged the New Zealand PM in an Instagram story on Sunday Barber, who became famous for mocking celebrities on Instagram, has been a critic of the way Prime Minister Scott Morrison has handled the bushfire crisis. Her fund to raise money for the disaster has gathered more than $50m. The prime minister of Australia must be an Australian citizen. On Saturday, Miss Ardern was spotted touring a winery on holiday with her fiance in Australia. Misss Ardern and fiance Clarke Gayford went wine tasting at Mason Wines on Tamborine Mountain in South East Queensland on Friday. Mason Wines host David Wistow shared a picture of himself and co-host Anna along with Miss Ardern, who gave a big smile to the camera. 'Anna and I were honored to get a surprise visitor, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern,' Mr Wistow captioned the post. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (centre) has continued her Australian holiday by drinking local beers and wines in regional Queensland on Friday 'She enjoyed an hour or so of peace and quiet on the stunning Mason Wines deck.' The same picture was shared to the official Mason Wines Instagram account, with a caption that hailed her as 'one of the world's most impressive leaders'. Later in the day, the couple were treated to a private tasting platter at Witches Chase Cheese and tried craft beers at the nearby Fortitude Brewing Company. The couple have been holidaying in Australia for about a week. On Monday night, Miss Ardern and Mr Gayford dined at Fins Restaurant and Bar in Kingscliff on the New South Wales north coast. After a photo of Miss Ardern at the restaurant was posted to Facebook, people called for her to replace embattled Australian leader Scott Morrison. Last week, Miss Ardern and Mr Gayford (right) dined at Fins Restaurant and Bar in Kingscliff, prompting people to say she should replace Scott Morrison as leader An additional 22 New Zealand firefighters sent to help tackle the Australian bushfire crisis (pictured) touched down in New South Wales to a hero's welcome on Thursday 'Jacinda there is an opening for you in Canberra hun, just head on down there,' one person wrote. Another wrote: 'Run down and grab her please. I'll get Scomo on a flight to NZ.' Miss Ardern has received praise for her leadership skills during the catastrophic bushfires that have ravaged Australia this month. Whereas, Mr Morrison has faced backlash for his handling of the crisis. On Thursday, an additional 22 NZ firefighters landed in New South Wales to help tackle Australia's bushfire crisis. This comes on top of the rotation of more than 150 New Zealanders who been working at the fire fronts in Australia since October. Mr Morrison was heavily criticised before Christmas when he took a Hawaiian holiday as bushfires destroyed communities. He was forced to flee a NSW town destroyed by bushfires after furious residents hurled abuse at him during a visit. A $1 million reward has been offered for information about the murder of a toddler who was snatched from a beach toilet block in broad daylight. Cheryl Grimmer, three, was kidnapped 50 years ago today on January 12, 1970, outside an amenities block at Fairy Meadow Beach in Wollongong, NSW. She had been spending the day with her mother and three brothers. A man who had confessed to the crime had been due to face trial last year but a key piece of evidence was ruled inadmissible by the Supreme Court. The NSW Police homicide squad on Sunday announced a $1 million reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. Pictured: Cheryl Grimmer was snatched from outside the toilet blocks at Fairy Meadow Beach Cheryl (pictured with her father John) vanished 50 years ago today on January 12, 1970 The heartbroken family are hopeful the reward will bring a close to the cold case as they continue to search for answers in the five decades since Cheryl's abduction. Cheryl's brother, Ricki Nash, who was at the beach when his sister went missing, still holds out hope they will find justice for the little girl. 'There are no words to describe the pain of losing a sister and the impact Cheryl's disappearance has had on our entire family,' he said. Homicide squad commander Daniel Doherty said detectives would welcome any information from the community. Cheryl (pictured, right) was kidnapped after spending a day at Fairy Meadow Beach with her mother and three brothers Pictured: The toilet blocks where police believe the three year old was abducted from 'Witnesses at the time reported seeing an unknown male carrying Cheryl towards the car park 50-years ago today but there has been no trace of her ever since,' Det Supt Doherty said in a statement. On the day she was kidnapped, Cheryl and her elder brothers had ran ahead of their mother, who was packing up their belongings a short distance away. She hid in the ladies' bathroom while her older brother Ricki tried to coax her out - too afraid to step inside to get her because he knew boys weren't allowed inside. But while he went to fetch his mother, somebody else grabbed Cheryl. Ricki was gone no more than 90 seconds, but his sister was never seen again. A delinquent teenager confessed in excruciating detail to murdering a toddler, dumping her body and burning her clothing just 18 months after she went missing. But the confession wasn't followed up for 45 years when a detective Frank Sanvitale took on the case and reopened the investigation. Cheryl's brothers, Ricki Nash (centre), Stephen Grimmer (second left), and Paul Grimmer (right) address the media in December 2016 The detective conducted a second interview with the man in 2017, however it failed to elicit a second confession - as the man claimed the 1971 confession was made up. Police still processed the individual and charged him with Cheryl's murder, and he was due to face trial last year. However the original confession was ruled inadmissible by the Supreme Court and the man was released from custody on February 15 2019 after prosecutors decided to drop the charge based. An emotional Ricki Nash (pictured centre), 55, one of Cheryl's older brothers, after charges were dropped against a man accused of murdering his sister Cheryl Grimmer In the 1971 confession the 17-year-old said he planned on sexually assaulting the toddler, but panicked when she wouldn't stop screaming and killed her. 'I tied a handkerchief and a shoelace around her mouth to stop her screaming and with the other shoelace I tied up her hands,' his 1971 confession read. 'I was going to have sexual intercourse with her. 'I put my hands around her throat and told her to shut up I guess I must have strangled her. She stopped breathing and stopped crying and I thought she was dead, so I panicked and covered her up with bushes and run for it.' The boy gave police a detailed description of where he left her body, what he did with the swimmers she was wearing and where he dumped her beach towel, but at the time it wasn't enough. Pictured: Cheryl Grimmer, aged three, (second right), with her brothers The charge was dropped in April 2019 after a ruling by Justice Robert Allan Hulme that the confession was inadmissible based on the fact there was no parent, adult or legal practitioner present at any stage of the interview. The court ruled the accused, who was 17 at the time of the police interview, should have had an adult with him, despite no such legal requirement existing in 1971. In finding the police interview was inadmissible, Justice Robert Hulme noted: 'The Crown accepts that its case cannot succeed without it.' At the time there was no mandatory requirement, legislative or otherwise, instructing police on how to proceed with minors. He referred to evidence of records and reports on the teenager from 1970-71 about his interaction with the juvenile justice system. 'I hasten to add that any criminal behaviour was of a relative minor kind (e.g. petty theft) and that what seemed to be more concerning was the accused's frequent absconding from homes and from detention facilities,' he said. The judge also heard evidence from two psychiatrists, who agreed the teenager had a very disturbed mental state at the time and was acting out in various ways. They also said he had a low average intelligence, was immature and more vulnerable than the average 17-year-old as a result of his disturbed upbringing, difficult relationship with his parents, history of running away from home, moving countries, low intellect and limited education. The World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), in association with Globalia, the leading tourism group in Spain and Latin America, has selected the finalists of the 2nd Global Tourism Startup Competition, an initiative that the two entities have been working on since 2018 when its first edition was held. In the competitions first two editions, Wakalua, the global tourism innovation hub powered by Globalia, in collaboration with the World Tourism Organisation, has received proposals of nearly 5,000 startups from 150 countries. The countries with the highest number of projects submitted have been Spain, followed by India, the United States, Portugal, Nigeria and Colombia. The second edition features startups in a more mature stage, with 10 per cent having had more than 500,000 euros in turnover in 2018. The finalists will present their projects at the Wakalua headquarters in Madrid. Seven will win awards in their respective categories. Building on the success of the inaugural competition, this new edition continues to identify new companies that will lead the sectors transformation. The aim and common denominator is to achieve a sustainable and profitable future through technology and innovation. This initiative is supported by partners such as Turismo de Portugal, Telefonica, Amadeus, Intu Costa del Sol, IE Africa Center and Distrito Digital Valencia, among others. These partners will participate actively in the final decision and in the subsequent promotion, financing rounds and implementation of the pilot projects with the winners: This annual competition is one of the flagship projects of Wakalua, the tourism innovation hub powered by Globalia in collaboration with the World Tourism Organisation. Wakalua will host the winning startups for further development, providing support in order to establish links with leading companies in the sector. Innovation consulting firm Barrabes.biz is also a partner making this project possible. Deep Tech, rethinking location and geolocation: With the backing of Amadeus, the aim in this category is to select the best startup that simplifies trips for customers or suppliers using location systems. Solutions that combine location data with artificial intelligence can be used to identify tourism regions, associate them with nearby airports, optimise, and offer opinion mining, among others. Smart Mobility: In partnership with Telefonica, this category features projects that improve the quality of travel and that facilitate the mobility of users using any transport system. The objective is to reduce economic, environmental and time costs. Smart Destinations: With the collaboration of Distrito Digital Valencia, solutions will be identified to improve the sustainability and profitability of destinations from the economic, environmental and socio-cultural perspectives by leveraging technology to help foster innovation and accessibility in an increasingly globalised world. Disruptive Hospitality: Intu Costa del Sol will analyse companies that contribute to optimising the total experience of travellers by combining the best solutions in the world of retail, shopping centres, food, leisure and hotels, so that, through personalised services and digital connectivity, every trip can be as efficient and effective as possible. Rural Development: Globalia will place special emphasis on rural areas with the objective of transferring knowledge and innovation, and improving their viability and competitiveness. With the overall objective of promoting a shift towards an increasingly low-carbon economy, this category also seeks out companies devoted to risk management and animal welfare, as well as the restoration, preservation and improvement of ecosystems. Innovative tourism solutions: Turismo de Portugal will present an award for the best innovation project outside the above categories. Special award for sustainability: In addition, the UNWTO and Globalia will present a special sustainability award with the aim of giving more visibility to projects that are committed to more efficient and sustainable tourism. Lastly, the IE Africa Center will recognise 2 projects in terms of social impact in Africa, awarding them with the Social Innovation Retreat scholarship, Sun Cycles Namibia and Enjoy Agriculture Senegal, presenting their initiatives. The winner of the Travel Tech 4 Good accelerator, in collaboration with the Tui Care Foundation and Enpact, Halla Travel, will also present its startup.-- Tradearabia News Service A DANGEROUS paedophile has been jailed after being snared by predator hunters in an undercover sting. John Martin was sentenced to four months behind bars on Friday after pleading guilty to sexual communication with a child and attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming. Due to time served on remand, he will be freed later this month. Belfast Magistrates Court heard the father-of-one, who has learning difficulties, was arrested last September after trying to lure what he thought was a 14-year-old girl to a forest near his former home on Deerfin Park in the Rathcoole estate in Newtownabbey. What Martin (inset) did not know was that he was speaking to an online paedophile hunter group which confronted him on Church Road while an under-18 rave was taking place nearby. They forcibly detained the 52-year-old, who claimed in recorded footage that he was "going to Tesco to buy my wife pants", until the PSNI arrived. In online chats the paedophile said he wanted to take the girl "into the woods" and "have some naked fun". He also made highly sexual comments about his genitalia. Martin, who was born in Northern Ireland but grew up in England, tried to flee the paedophile hunters on several occasions. He was held back each time and threatened with "being put on the ground". Martin then told them: "I'm really sorry. This won't happen again." When asked what he would have done had he met the fictitious girl, he replied: "We were going to go to KFC and get a burger and then we were going to go into the woods. We were going to have some naked fun." After his arrest, Martin was bailed to a hostel in Ballymena, but he had to flee the premises after locals discovered he was charged with child sex offences. The predator was taken into custody and has been behind bars for the past three months. He has just weeks of his sentence left to serve. The PSNI opposes paedophile hunter groups because their methods almost always result in failed prosecutions. They often mistake legislation regarding citizen arrests and powers of detention, leading to cases collapsing. Senior cops have also questioned the backgrounds of many involved, with criminals known to play a role. It cannot be denied, however, that there is some public support for their actions. Several such groups are active in Northern Ireland, including the one that trapped John Martin, who was prosecuted last Friday. Police have identified the victim of a fatal shooting in Scarborough in the early hours on Saturday as Paul Anthony Desouza, 25, of Toronto. The shooting took place at a townhouse complex on Military Trial, near Ellesmere Road and Neilson Road in Scarboroughs Morningside neighbourhood, around 2 a.m. Saturday. In a tweet, police said they responded to sounds of shots being fired at or near a home. When officers arrived, they found a man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was rushed to hospital where he later died. In a news release, police said a post-mortem examination was scheduled for Sunday. Police said they believe a number of people were present in the area at the time of the shooting. Anyone who was there, or might have any videos of the shooting is asked to contact investigators at 416-808-7400, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-8477. Desouza is Torontos second homicide victim of 2020. Last year was the citys bloodiest on record for overall gun violence, with 292 people injured or killed in shootings, more than in any year in police data that goes back to 2004, even adjusted for population growth. Despite a more-than 20-per-cent increase in the number of shootings over the previous year, 2019 saw seven fewer people killed by guns than 2018. Durban, Jan 12 : England captain Joe Root has picked up a stomach bug and missed practice on Sunday for the third Test against South Africa. According to a BBC report, Root stayed at the team hotel while players rehearsed in Port Elizabeth for the match which starts on Thursday. England's tour to South Africa has seen many players getting affected by illness with Rory Burns and James Anderson ruled out with injuries. Ollie Pope, Chris Woakes and Jack Leach were ruled out of the 107-run first-Test defeat in Centurion, while Root, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes spent time off the field. The four-match series is locked 1-1 after England's 189-run win in Cape Town. More than 200 academicians, including vice chancellors of universities, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday over recent incidents of violence in varsity campuses across the country. Expressing concern over the agitations, the academicians said the university campuses are being turned into islands of ossified worldviews. The signatories to the statement include Hari Singh Gour University VC R P Tiwari, Central University of South Bihar VC HCS Rathore and Sardar Patel University VC Shirish Kulkarni, among others, reported news agency ANI. The recent turn of events on the campuses from JNU to Jamia, from AMU to Jadavpur alarms us to the deteriorating academic environment due to the shenanigans of a small coterie of left-wing activists, the academics said in the letter. ALSO WATCH | JNU violence: Delhi police identify injured JNUSU president, 8 other suspects Violence erupted at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus on January 5 when a number of masked people armed with sticks and sledgehammer were seen vandalizing hostels, thrashing and threatening students. Violent protests were also reported from other universities across the country against the newly amended citizenship act. The letter, accessed by ANI, alleged the censorship imposed by left-wing politics is making it difficult to organise public talks or to speak independently at the campuses. Strikes, dharnas and shutdowns over maximalist demands are common in left strongholds. Personal targeting, public slandering and harassment for not conforming to the left ideology is on increase, read the letter. They also lose out on the freedom to articulate their own views and alternative politics. They find themselves constrained to conform to the majoritarian left politics, it said. Calling for academic freedom, the top academics said the protests and incidents of violence are turning students into political activists rather than learners. Massive protests were witnessed against the CAA, mainly by the student community, since its passage by Parliament in December last year. Zhang Yuan from Tsinghua University [For Women of China] Four Chinese women students have been selected for the Class of 2020 Rhodes Scholars, who will arrive at Rhodes House at the University of Oxford in autumn 2020, the Rhodes Trust announced recently. The four women Chinese students receiving the Rhodes Scholarships are: Zhang Yuan and Gao Jun from Tsinghua University, Yan Yan from Nanjing University, and Zhou Xiaorui from the National University of Singapore and the Institut D'Etudes Politiques de Paris. Zhang Yuan is currently a Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University. She received a bachelor's degree from Tsinghua's School of Architecture and Xinya College, graduating first in her department. She has twice won national scholarships and received the special scholarship for undergraduates of the university in 2018. Zhang led a team that proposed a redesign of the Piazzale Loreto metro station in Milan that provided refuge for transient populations. Always with an attention to people, her other design projects have focused on the redesign of old communities and suburban areas to improve living conditions for the elderly, newcomers, and migrant workers. Zhang plans to study for a master's degree in social anthropology at Oxford University. She hopes to use architecture as a tool to bridge theories, policies and real life, and do her best for the development of Chinese urban and rural areas. Gao Jun from Tsinghua University [For Women of China] Gao Jun is studying in Tsinghua University's Global Environment Program, ranking first in her class. She was selected as one of 10 2018 Yinghua Scholars to study at Oxford. Gao is dedicated to pursuing a career as an environmental researcher and advocate in China. She has conducted research on photovoltaic practices in nine provinces in China and presented the results at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP24). She is studying air quality and transportation as a visiting researcher at MIT China Future City Lab. Gao will pursue her master's degree in economics at Oxford University. She hopes to better understand people's awareness of environmental issues and human behaviors, learn about policy analysis methods, and work out solutions to environmental problems through effective policy design in the future. "I hope to conduct some randomized control experiments on environmental policies in Oxford," she said. Yan Yan from Nanjing University [For Women of China] Yan Yan is studying applied psychology at Nanjing University, being the top student in her class. She was a visiting student in experimental psychology at St. Anne's College, Oxford. She has also investigated the interplay between sleep and emotion regulation at the Stanford Psychophysiology Lab. Yan aims to study clinical and therapeutic neuroscience for her master's degree in the Department of Psychiatry at Oxford University, and hopes to investigate the basic psychology of emotional and anxiety disorders and improve the current diagnostic standards based on cognitive mechanisms and neurological indicators. She hopes to become a clinical psychologist dedicated to psychopathology research that is socially informative. Zhou Xiaorui from National University of Singapore and the Institut D'Etudes Politiques de Paris [For Women of China] Zhou Xiaorui is currently studying history and Middle Eastern studies in a double degree program at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Institut D'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po). While studying at the Institut D'Etudes Politiques de Paris, she ranked first place in terms of academic performance in 13 subjects. At NUS, she was awarded the Tin Ka Ping Foundation Scholarship twice and the George E. Bogaars Memorial Prize for the top student majoring in history. Zhou, who focuses on gender studies, aspires to pursue a master's degree in contemporary Chinese studies and women's studies at Oxford University. "I realized that identity and women status are topics that cannot be bypassed in the study of modern society: it is both a product and a promoter of modern society," she said. After the results of the selection were announced, Dr Elizabeth Kiss, Warden and CEO of the Rhodes Trust, said she was pleased to see many more Chinese scholars join in the Rhodes Trust family. She looks forward to the contributions of the four Chinese Rhodes Scholars to the Rhodes community. Ten years ago, the number of young Chinese women enrolled at colleges and universities exceeded that of men for the first time. Today, young Chinese women are at the forefront of promoting social change in China and the world at large, according to Diana Fu, National Co-Secretary of the Rhodes Scholarships for China. She said she was proud of each one of these scholars and that the selected scholars are making their own contributions to a more equal and just world. (Source: China Women's News/Translated and edited by Women of China) 'Our state has accommodated a large number of migrants from the then East Pakistan after the Partition of the country and has no space to accommodate anymore,' Deb Barman said. Agartala: Former Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee president and royal scion, Pradyot Kishore Manikya Deb Burman, who has recently floated an apolitical organisation, TIPRA, on Saturday said, the illegal immigrants, who would be legitimised after implementation of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) would not be allowed to stay in the state. The founder of Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance (TIPRA) said this while addressing a large gathering at Khumulwng, the headquarters of Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), 20 km from Agartala. "Our state has accommodated a large number of migrants from the then East Pakistan after the Partition of the country and has no space to accommodate anymore," Deb Barman said. "After implementation of CAA, a sizeable number of people coming from foreign countries would get citizenship, but none of them could be resettled in our state," he said. He also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take all the foreigners, who would get citizenship after the implementation of CAA, to Gujarat, Tamil Nadu or in other states except Tripura or any part of the Northeastern region. "We are proud Indians and we oppose this bill (sic) because it would harm the prospect the indigenous people of the state and the existence of our community would be at stake," he said. Before joining Indian union in 1949, Tripura was a princely state and ruled by a tribal king, and due to influx of people from East Pakistan the majority tribals were reduced to minority. He has also appealed to people to reject all political parties, adding, they divided people for their interests and to increase their vote banks. "We should reject all the political parties and the politicians, because they divided people for their party interest and to swell their vote banks", he said. Without naming any political party, Deb Barman said, some quarters also tried to create a communal conflict between the indigenous people and the Bengalis of the state. "We are the indigenous people of the state, but we are not against Bengalis. After the rally, you people have to promise me that you are not going to attack Bengalis because they are not our enemies, the main enemies are the politicians who have sold us," he said. Deb Barman's grandfather Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur was the last king of Tripura. Roger Scruton, who died yesterday aged 75, always remained something of an outcast He was a brilliant philosopher and one of the most eminent conservative intellectuals of his generation, who spent his life fighting for freedom, whether in academia or on behalf of those oppressed behind the Iron Curtain. He loathed Communism and lived to see his criticism of it vindicated first in Eastern Europe, then in Latin America. He wrote more than 50 books on a vast range of subjects and was knighted in 2016 for services to philosophy, teaching and public education. Yet Roger Scruton, who died yesterday aged 75, always remained something of an outcast, vilified by the liberal establishment for daring to challenge the fashionable nostrums of our age. Because he was an unapologetic conservative and defender of Western civilisation he was never given the respect he deserved. Following his knighthood, that respect appeared finally to have been conferred upon him. And when, in 2018, he was appointed as chair of a government commission on building and architecture, it seemed certain. But the announcement of his appointment was greeted by what he called a hate storm, with those appalled by it on the Left sifting through everything hed said or written dating back 50 years to find opinions to be shocked and outraged by. Sir Roger survived that ordeal, but he had to endure a second wave of attacks following an interview he gave to journalist George Eaton in the New Statesman magazine in April last year. Sir Roger had been racist about the Chinese, suggested Eaton. He had apparently derided the influence of Jewish financier George Soros and dismissed Islamophobia as an invention to suppress criticism. In 2018, he was appointed as chair of a government commission on building and architecture. Pictured: Scruton in December The response was immediate and angry. Conservative MP Johnny Mercer declared that sacking Scruton was a no brainer. George Osborne, the former Conservative Chancellor, condemned Scrutons bigoted remarks. Soon Housing Secretary James Brokenshire who had appointed Sir Roger as an advisor, announced he had been fired. And Eaton responded by publishing a picture of himself on Instagram quaffing champagne, and crowing about getting Sir Roger, the Right-wing racist and homophobe, the sack. Scruton published a rueful article in the Spectator magazine, lamenting the Maoist climate of intolerance sweeping through our institutions. We in Britain are entering a dangerous social condition in which the direct expression of opinions that conflict or merely seem to conflict with a narrow set of orthodoxies is instantly punished by a band of self-appointed vigilantes, he wrote. And then, of course, it transpired that Sir Roger had been grossly misrepresented by Eaton. The full transcript of Sir Rogers interview with the New Statesman was published thanks to the efforts of the Right-wing journalist and writer Douglas Murray and it became clear his remarks had been taken out of context and bore no relation to Eatons interpretation. Following his knighthood, respect appeared finally to have been conferred upon him. Pictured: Scruton with his wife Sophie and children Sam and Lucy when he was knighted in 2016 Eventually, he was reinstated to the commission for which, incidentally, he was never paid and received a public apology. But it was too little, too late. He had been hounded by the kind of intolerance he had spent a lifetime fighting. In his 20s, Sir Roger was awarded a double first in philosophy at Cambridge, and attributed this achievement to the excellent teaching hed received at the Royal Grammar School in High Wycombe. But even as a boy he had to contend with Left-wing prejudice. His father, an austere socialist, would not let him read Beatrix Potter because she was too bourgeois. When he won his scholarship to Cambridge, his father refused to speak to him, regarding it as a bastion of class privilege. But Scruton considered this estrangement a price worth paying to pursue a life of scholarship and contemplation. It was during the May 1968 student protests in France that he first embraced conservatism. He was in the Latin Quarter in Paris, watching students overturn cars, smash windows and tear up cobblestones, and for the first time in his life he felt a surge of political anger. Scruton published a rueful article in the Spectator magazine, lamenting the Maoist climate of intolerance sweeping through our institutions. Pictured: Scruton in 2014 I suddenly realised I was on the other side. What I saw was an unruly mob of self-indulgent middle-class hooligans. When I asked my friends what they wanted, what were they trying to achieve, all I got back was this ludicrous Marxist gobbledegook. I was disgusted by it, and thought there must be a way back to the defence of western civilisation against these things. Thats when I became a conservative. I knew I wanted to conserve things rather than pull them down. It was brought home to him after the publication of his third book, The Meaning Of Conservatism (1980), that he would never be accepted by his academic colleagues, nearly all of whom were Left-wing. Because of his right-of-centre political views, he never would climb to the top of the greasy pole at Oxford and Cambridge. When he won his scholarship to Cambridge, his father refused to speak to him, regarding it as a bastion of class privilege. Pictured: Scruton in 1992 Instead, he started The Salisbury Review, a serious conservative magazine that quickly earned him pariah status not just on the Left, which was to be expected, but among the wets of the Tory Party as well. It cost me many thousand hours of unpaid labour, a hideous character assassination in Private Eye, three lawsuits, two interrogations, one expulsion, the loss of a university career in Britain, unendingly contemptuous reviews, Tory suspicion, and the hatred of decent liberals everywhere, he wrote in the Spectator in 2002. And it was worth it. In 1984 the Review published a controversial article by Ray Honeyford, a headmaster in Bradford, questioning the benefits of multicultural education. Honeyford was forced to retire because of the article and had to live for a time under police protection. The British Association for the Advancement of Science accused the Review of scientific racism, and the University of Glasgow philosophy department boycotted a talk Scruton had been invited to deliver to its philosophy society (the university awarded an honorary degree to Robert Mugabe on the same day.) Sir Roger could be insouciant about the ignominy his views attracted, but the truth is he was a sensitive man who was often wounded by criticism. He found the almost universal derision that greeted his book Thinkers Of The New Left (1985) particularly hard to bear. A collection of essays that had first appeared in The Salisbury Review, it was a withering assessment of the leading intellectuals of the European Left whom he condemned for their dismissal of bourgeois Western values and their endless excuse-making for totalitarian regimes, such as Maos China. Sir Roger had the temerity to point out that the admirers of John-Paul Sartre, the French existentialist philosopher, included Pol Pot, the Communist leader responsible for the genocide that wiped out a third of Cambodias population between 1975 and 1979. Pot was a student in Paris at the height of Sartres cult-like status. Not surprisingly, Thinkers Of The New Left was met with a fusillade of negative reviews and Longman, Scrutons publisher, quickly caved in to demands from its Left-wing authors and took the book off sale. Sir Roger could be insouciant about the ignominy his views attracted, but the truth is he was a sensitive man who was often wounded by criticism. Left: Sir Roger in 1989 and, right, in 2010 I was actually very depressed by it, the philosopher confided in 2015. I was close to suicide at one stage, actually, my first marriage had ended, I was very much on my own and all these reviews just went on and on about what I had done being a disgrace to the intellectual world. I had expected some people to be cross. But not that. What made this contemptuous dismissal particularly hard to take was that Sir Roger knew first-hand just how destructive the ideas of Karl Marx and his followers could be. He helped the Czech dissident Julius Tomin create an underground university in the 1980s, smuggling in books, giving lectures in secret and even arranging for the Cambridge theology department to award external degrees to the mature students. For his trouble, Scruton was detained by the Czech secret police, ejected from the country by armed guards and placed on the Index of Undesirable Persons. In spite of the risks, he continued to do whatever he could to help the growing opposition movement behind the Iron Curtain, not just in Czechoslovakia but in Hungary and Poland, too. Needless to say, his intellectual peers back in London dismissed these efforts as those of a foolish romantic, standing in the way of progress. Even when Scruton might have expected to enjoy a moment of triumph, with the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, he was shunned by his colleagues. He was teaching philosophy at Birkbeck College in London at the time and to mark the occasion the history department invited two Left-wing intellectuals to debate the momentous event. It was going to be a debate between the old Left and the new Left, Scruton recalled 26 years later. They were aware that I actually knew people who were then being appointed president and prime minister of various countries they were talking about, that I had been directly involved, but of course there was no suggestion that I be allowed to say a word. I only got to know Sir Roger four years ago, having hired him to write a column for a magazine I was editing. I was lucky to have visited him at his 250-year-old farmhouse in Wiltshire which he mischievously named Scrutopia a haven from the constant brickbats hurled at him by the cultural warriors of Islington. Towards the end of his life, he could take comfort from a successful marriage to Sophie Jeffreys, a historian, as well as two children, both now young adults. It was his love of hunting, a passion he discovered in middle age, that led to him meeting his second wife. He was out hunting in 1993, when he fell from his horse and Sophie, then 22, stopped to help him to his feet. Two years later they were married. Only a few weeks ago, he agreed to be on the advisory council of a new pro-free speech organisation I am about to launch and I was looking forward to marching into battle with him by my side. Sadly that will no longer be possible, and Britain is the poorer for it. If Roger Scruton had embraced the pieties of the liberal elite, as most of his peers did, his extraordinary intellectual gifts would surely have earned him the very highest accolades the academic establishment can confer a chair at Harvard, halls of residence named after him, admission to the Order of the Companions of Honour. As it is, he was a prophet who was never properly acknowledged in his own country, even when, unlike his enraged critics, he proved to be on the right side of history. Let us hope posterity is kinder to him than his blinkered contemporaries. Scott Morrison's approval rating has plunged amid mounting criticism over his handling of the bushfire crisis. For the first time since the federal election, Anthony Albanese is Australia's preferred prime minister, while the Coalition has fallen behind Labor on a two-party-preferred basis, according to the latest Newspoll. Approval for Mr Morrison tumbled from 45 to 37 per cent, while Mr Albanese's rating leapt from 40 to 46 per cent. Scott Morrison's personal approval ratings have plunged as voters have made it clear they would prefer to have a Labor government after his handling of the bushfire crisis While Mr Morrison's approval rating have gone down because of his handling of the bushfire crisis, there is still primary support for the Coalition. Pictured: A NSW RFS volunteer given instructions by a colleague as he douses a fire during back-burning operations in bushland near the town of Kulnura, New South Wales Prime Minister Scott Morrison said details of the royal commission into the bushfire crisis would be put to the premiers and federal cabinet in coming weeks The Labor leader has overtaken Mr Morrison as preferred prime minister and leads the Liberal leader 43 to 39 per cent, according to the survey of 1505 voters conducted from January 8-11. These are the lowest Mr Morrison's ratings have been since taking the top job in August 2018, with the numbers on the same level of Bill Shorten at his most unpopular. Support for the Greens rose one point to 12 per cent, while One Nation lost ground, falling one point to four per cent. Backing for other minor parties dropped off one point to eight per cent. Since the last poll Mr Morrison has faced sustained criticism over his handling of the bushfire crisis, especially his decision to take a family holiday in Hawaii. On Sunday Mr Morrison announced a royal commission will look at the impact of climate change, the operational response at a state and local level and the role of the federal government. He flagged the inquiry as he conceded there were things he could have handled better at a personal level. Mr Morrison faced weeks of criticism - as the bushfires death toll rose to 28 - starting with his decision to take his family on a holiday to Hawaii and flowing through to his fire-ground visits during which he was met with anger and frustration. Furious protesters across the globe took aim at Mr Morrison's handling of the disaster on Friday, which has destroyed more than 2,000 homes. The announcement comes as thousands took to the streets to protest the government's alleged lack of action on climate change. Pictured: Three women hold placards demanding action in a rally in Sydney on Friday Catastrophic: The current bushfire season in Australia has so far claimed 25 lives, destroyed 2,000 homes and killed close to a billion animals Activists from Europe to South America flooded to the streets to demand action on climate change amid a relentless bushfire season. More than one billion animals are thought to have perished and at least eight million hectares have been scorched. Meanwhile, demonstrations were in full swing in central Melbourne and Sydney, with many calling for the Mr Morrison to be sacked. Many held banners which read 'Time is Running Out,' 'Declare a Climate Emergency,' 'You have blood on your hands, Morrison,' 'Make Fossil Fuels History,' and 'Sack ScoMo.' More than 30,000 people rallied at Town Hall Square in Sydney with similar banners. Protesters in both cities chanted 'ScoMo has got to go' while Sydney protesters also yelled 'the liar from the shire our country is on fire.' The latest plank in the federal response is a $76 million mental health plan to provide support to firefighters and residents in affected communities, but more announcements are expected in coming weeks including a royal commission and further support for small business. Australians would now prefer Labor Leader Mr Albanese move into the position of the country's leader Many held signs and banners calling for the prime minister to be sacked. Pictured: protesters in Sydney 'There are things I could have handled on the ground much better,' Mr Morrison told ABC TV on Sunday. 'These are sensitive, emotional environments. 'Prime ministers are flesh and blood too in how they engage with these people.' He said in hindsight he would not have taken his family for a holiday to Hawaii, despite being defensive about it in a radio interview at the time. His original intention was to holiday, as was routine for his family, on the NSW south coast. Mr Morrison said the scale of the bushfires was 'unprecedented' and had created a situation in which Australians were demanding a greater response from the federal government than had been provided in the past. 'That was not something that was recommended going into this fire season,' he said. 'There is a very new appetite, a very new expectation.' Meeting this new expectation could require federal legislation and new agreements with state and territory governments. The prime minister said calling out 3,000 defence reservists to help with the bushfires and instructing the defence force chief to act regardless of any request from the states had taken the federal government into 'extreme constitutional territory', which required clarification and discussion with the premiers. Thousands of protesters braved the wet weather as they marched through the Melbourne CBD Activists for climate action dance as they walk along Bent Street in Sydney's CBD Consideration would also be given to laws enabling a 'federal state of emergency' to be declared - something that does not exist at present but would likely require a referral of powers from the states and territories. As well, details of a royal commission would be put to the premiers and federal cabinet in coming weeks, he said. 'I think Australians have a very reasonable expectation that any commission of inquiry, royal commission, would need to cover the full gamut of issues.' Facing criticism that federal authorities sat on their hands earlier in the bushfire season, Mr Morrison said his government had acted on all recommendations put to it. He said the government's climate policy would continue to 'evolve', including its emissions target, and adaptation and resilience measures. Mr Morrison, pictured with Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud on Friday, said his government is responding to an unprecedented wildfire crisis with an unprecedented level of support Mr Albanese said the bushfires clearly required national leadership. 'Bushfires do not recognise state and territory boundaries,' he told reporters in Hobart. Mr Albanese supported the idea of climate policy being included in the royal commission, but called on Mr Morrison to ensure the inquiry was not used to delay action. Meanwhile, the Australian Council of Social Service welcomed the mental health spending but urged the government to boost disaster recovery payments and allowances and review the affordability of insurance. 'As extreme weather events increase in Australia, insurance premiums are escalating and too many people, particularly people on low incomes, find themselves under-insured or not insured,' ACOSS chief Cassandra Goldie said. For those who live under a rock, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, also known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, dropped jaws around the world on January 8 when they basically announced theyre leaving the royal family. OK, theyre not totally leaving, but they are going to step back as senior royals and now split their time between the United Kingdom and North America. Though the announcement came as a shock to some, to others, it wasnt that surprising. In fact, Harry and Meghan gave a major hint a while back that they wouldnt last long in the worlds most famous family. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | Ben Birchall/PA Wire Harry and Meghan are starting 2020 with a bang New year, new me that seems to be the phrase Harry and Meghan want to live by. The royal couple shocked fans around the world (even though we actually all saw it coming) when they announced on January 8 that they will step back as senior members of the royal family. The couple announced via Instagram that, after giving the idea a lot of thought, they want to now take a smaller royal role and split their time between the United Kingdom and North America. Harry and Meghan also said they plan to seek financial independence. The two are essentially paid to be royals, so seeking financial independence would allow them to leave the family entirely, should they choose. There have been rumors about the couple leaving the family for a while For some, the announcement came as a massive shock. But for others, it was totally predictable. Meghan and Harry have had a hard time in the royal spotlight ever since they wed. The British public hasnt taken a liking to Meghan, and its made it difficult for her and Harry to live in such an intense spotlight. Plus, Harry was never crazy about being a royal. Hes always disliked the spotlight, and he realized this during his mothers funeral back in 1997. For those who follow the family closely, the writing was on the wall. They gave a major hint about their future plans when they named their son Harry and Meghan hinted that they would be leaving the royal family back when they welcomed their first child in May 2019. The two chose not to give Archie a royal title, and at the time, people were surprised. But omitting royalty from Archies name was only setting the stage for the two to omit royalty from his entire upbringing. Its been made clear that they want to raise Archie as a private citizen, but at the time, people didnt realize that its likely because they were planning to leave the family in some capacity later on. Its unclear if the two will eventually leave the family entirely Right now, Meghan and Harry are planning to remain royals, but they want to take a step back. However, once Harry gets even more of a taste of living a normal life, the two might opt to exit the family entirely. If they can become financially independent, which they plan to, there would be no reason to remain a legal part of the royal family (of course, Harry will always be related by blood). Its tough to say right now what their definitive plans are, but the public will certainly learn in time. After a protracted fight over how much Newark should regulate the short-term rental industry dominated by Airbnb, the city council passed a set of tighter measures last year making it harder for those who want join in the shared economy. But four months after the last new rule was approved in September, Airbnb hosts say theyre still waiting for direction on how to proceed. Its not clear when the new taxes will kick in or how the permitting process will work. Although the slow season has kicked in, many are continuing business as usual. We dont make enough money to pay double insurance and to pay extra taxes. We dont make that kind of money, said Airbnb host Deborah King. Its going to hit us hard. Newarks corporation counsel did not immediately respond to questions about what the citys implementation plan looks like. A spokeswoman for Airbnb said the company will be educating hosts as information becomes available. She referred to an August statement the company made in response to the proposed ordinances. We have a number of concerns about the impact they will have on our local host community, jeopardizing the economic opportunities that short-term rentals have created citywide," the statement said. Newarks clamp down comes after Jersey City also imposed stricter measures on the industry. To rent out a room or apartment through Airbnb, Newark now requires hosts to own the residence and pay a $250 short-term rental permit. There will be a 6% hotel occupancy tax on charges for all short-term rentals and properties in the citys tourism improvement district will be taxed an additional 1.5% tax that is also paid by hotels. Additionally, rental properties cannot have more than two verified incidents with police in the last two years, have any open code enforcement violations or unpaid water and sewer bills. Airbnb was a God send for us because we had a couple of situations in the family and that extra income kept me housed, host Gary Foote said. If youre paying your taxes, no one should be able to come into your home and tell you how to live your life. Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Congress, Left supporters stage massive protests. Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday evening amid massive protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR) across Kolkata. At their meeting in Raj Bhavan, Ms Banerjee raised her fierce opposition to the CAA and NRC and demanded that they be withdrawn. Due to several large protests across the city, including at the airport and along the route his convoy was to take, Mr Modi was forced to avoid travel by road twice. Mr Modi, who is on a two-day official visit to the state, had to fly in an IAF chopper from the Kolkata airport to the Royal Calcutta Turf Club from where he entered the Raj Bhavan in his convoy. Many demonstrators were waving black flags and flying gas-filled black balloons though the city as they shouted slogans against the CAA, the NRC and carried banners that said, Go Back Modi. While several protests were organised by Left and Congress supporters, students, youth and various apolitical outfits were also out on the streets venting their anger against CAA and NRC. After her meeting, Ms Banerjee said that she told the PM that Bengal is against citizenship law, NRC, NPR and that she had asked the PM to withdraw CAA and NRC as no person should be thrown out of the country or face any discrimination and torture. Soon after her meeting she rushed to her party's dharna at Esplanade where she vowed to continue her movement to counter the allegation of the Left and Congress of her support to Mr Modi. The state Congress has accused Ms Banerjee of having a tacit understanding with Mr Modi. She boycotted the all-party meeting against citizenship law that Sonia Gandhi convened in Delhi on January 13 but fixed an appointment with Modi on January 11. Her real intentions are out in the open, said Bengal Congress president Somen Mitra. Mr Modi and Ms Banerjees one-to-one meeting was earlier likely to be held at 9 pm at Raj Bhavan. But it was brought forward due to a change in the PM's itinerary following Mr Modi's wish to stretch his visit to Belur Math, the headquarters of Ramakrishna Mission in Howrah, and spend the night there amidst speculation of his meditation on the occasion of youth icon Swami Vivekananda's birth anniversary on Sunday. When Mr Modi reached Raj Bhavan in the afternoon, Ms Banerjee was already present there to greet him. The Trinamul chief said, "Since the PM came on a visit to our state, it is my constitutional responsibility and also courtesy to meet him. I have told the PM, since you have come here as my guest, I do not know if I should tell you about it or not. We are against the CAA, NRC and NPR. A movement has been underway against the three across the country. We certainly want no discrimination among the people, no person be dropped out or faces any kind of torture." She elaborated, "I have requested the PM to look into it. I also urged him to reconsider the CAA and NRC. We want these be withdrawn." Ms Banerjee also asked Mr Modi to release around Rs 38,000 crore, including Rs 7,000 crore for damages due to Cyclone Bulbul, as dues from the Centre to her government. "He told me he would go through the letters regarding the state-matter. If needed, he would talk about it in New Delhi," she added. Ms Banerjee later shared the dais with the PM and West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar at the launch of the interactive light and sound show of Howrah Bridge at the Millenium Park by the Hooghly. After the event, Mr Modi sailed in a vessel to Belur Math across the river, avoiding a road journey due to the heavy protests against his stand on the CAA and NRC in the city since morning and continued till night with rallies. via REUTERS MOSCOWThe balance of power in the Middle East is shifting. German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Moscow on Saturday to discuss the crises there with President Vladimir Putin and try to save whats left of the Iran nuclear deal. Russia to Iran: Dont Admit GuiltBlame the U.S. Instead In spite of U.S. President Donald Trumps calls to put maximum pressure on Irans bad deal, Merkel said everything should be done to keep the agreement. And Russian politicians gloated: This is remarkable, at the peak of the pre-war crises around Iran, Merkel is coming to Putin and not to Trump. Negotiations with Trump would make no sense, he would just repeat his statements, Senator Aleksey Pushkov told Russian news agencies. Whoever has American bases on their territory (including Germany) should pay attention to Washington threatening Iraq with severe sanctions, Chair of the Federation Council Committee of Foreign Policy Konstantin Kosachev said: Alliances with the USA might look romantic, devoted to values, peace and democracy but only on the surface. Nobody can imagine a Putin-Trump alliance in the conflict with Iran. In most of the Middle Easts conflicts, Moscow and Washington back forces on different sides of the front lines. Moscow blamed Washington for not making an alliance in Syria to back up the dictator Bashar Assad while Moscow builds up its Tartus, Khmeimim and Tiyas military bases there. I can see Russia deploying military experts now both to Iran and to Iraq, pro-Kremlin political analyst Sergei Markov told The Daily Beast. Russias general strategy is to continue strengthening its uniquely strong alliances in the region with Iran, Israel, Turkey, Syria, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, said Markov. We should be careful taking responsibilities though, especially with Iran, who we are told can be slippery when it comes to sticking to agreements. In sum, said Markov, We should benefit from U.S.-Iran tensions. Story continues In the last six years Moscow has been taking part in military conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, with the excuse of defending Russians on the ground. We dont know if there are Russian officers and engineers on the ground in Iran; if there are this is situation might grow uglier, Moscow based military analyst, Alexander Golts told The Daily Beast. America has Started a War, the popular television channel NTV informed Russians in the headline on the Orthodox Christmas eve. The major state newspaper, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, reported that the Russian minister of defense, Sergei Shoigu, spoke with Iranian military commandership and intelligence several times on Monday to prevent the escalation of tensions mainly in pro-Iranian Syria, where Russia has thousands of soldiers on the ground. No more details were revealed. The Kremlin is using the opportunity to say repeatedly in one way or another, See, didnt we tell you America cannot be trusted? and emphasize Russias unique role in the Middle East. In fact, during the years of war in Syria, Russia has become Irans major military ally, but so far the Kremlin has not given any indications of Russias plans to to fight on Tehrans side in case of a direct military conflict with the U.S.. Nobody knows if Shoigu told Teheran not to count on Moscow or if he promised Iran Russias support, said military analyst Golts told The Daily Beast. When the U.S. aviation attacked Syria, Russia demonstrated two types of reactions: ignored the attacks and threatened retaliatory measures both on missiles and carriers that will use them. If a war begins in Iran, the U.S. might strike Russias four S-300 missile systems, Golts says. And then the key question would be whether Russia is going to use its S-400 and other missile systems deployed to its Khmeimim air base base in Syria. Irans Days of Rage, a Chernobyl Moment for Tehran On Tuesday Russian leader Vladimir Putin flew to Russian military bases in Syria to discuss the fight against terrorism with Assad. Putin speaks with authoritarian leaders in the Middle East and Western Asia from a position of money and power, just as Trump does, but unlike Trump, Putin manages to build alliances in the region. Earlier last week Putin visited Istanbul, where he opened a $7,8 billion pipeline, TurkStream. When German Chancellor Angela Merkel went to Moscow to discuss the crisis over the Soleimani assassination her governments spokesperson says Russia is indispensable when it comes to solving political conflicts. Few people are saying that about Trump. 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. New Delhi [India], Jan 12 (ANI): Nine Afghan nationals were arrested and high quality 1.623 Kgs of heroin was also seized after an international drug syndicate was busted, Narcotics Control Bureau said on Sunday. "On specific information that few Afghanistan nationals are trying to get heroin trafficked in India via body concealment mode a special drive was launched on the arrival of the suspected flight," read an official statement. Of the arrested, seven were intercepted on arrival in Delhi on December 28, 2019, and were taken for a medical test that confirmed the presence of foreign entities in their stomach. The team led by AD Kuldeep Sharma under the supervision of undersigned laid a trap for few Afghan nationals who were arriving in India. In all seven passengers were rounded off for further examination. The seven intercepted Afghani passengers were taken for medical examination at Safdurjang Hospital where the test report confirmed about presence of foreign entities in their stomach following which the doctor opined for proper medical treatment to extract the ingested objects. The accused identified are--Yusufzai Rahmatullah, Faiz Mohammad, Nabizada Habibullah, Ahmedi Abdul Wadood, Turkman Abdul Hamid, Fazal Ahmed, Noorzai Kabir, Hayatullah and Masood Mohammad. Further investigation is underway. (ANI) Saddles made at Taiwanese firm Pro Active Global Vietnam, located in Dai Nang Industrial Park in the southern province of Binh Duong. Disbursed capital of FDI projects reached US$20.4 billion in 2019. VNA/VNS Photo Danh Lam The message was delivered by Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung at the Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) in Ha Noi on Friday. Appreciating the contributions made by foreign direct investment (FDI), he said: FDI is again a bright spot. For the first time, disbursed capital of FDI projects reached US$20.4 billion in 2019. He added last year the total registered capital reached more than $38 billion, the highest in the last 10 years. Dung told the forum: Viet Nam will continue to select quality FDI projects with high value-added content, high technology and innovation to help the country enter the global value chain faster. Chairman of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and co-chairman of the VBF Consortium, Vu Tien Loc said that local enterprises should work more closely with FDI to make good use of market expansion opportunities and reform. He added: It is also a way to facilitate FDI businesses to take deeper roots in Viet Nams economy, through the value chains established with domestic businesses. Regarding public-private partnerships (PPP), Loc said: Viet Nam needs up to $25 billion for infrastructure development projects each year. He suggested foreign investors should join PPPs to finance the countrys development in the future. Telling Viet Nam to prioritise a sustainable economy, Virginia Foote, co-chair, Vietnam Business Forum Consortium thought innovation could be the next chapter of Viet Nams success. She told the forum: Viet Nam is well known for its talents in science, internet. Foote said she believed the country could benefit further from the digital economy with innovations of IT and Fintech, IoT and other smart industries. But Fred Burke, head of BVFs investment and trade working group said: Viet Nam still confronts serious obstacles to maximise its tremendous potential. He raised concerns of the foreign investors in the capital limit in the local fintech, saying: Non-cash payments are critical to innovation, smart cities, and Industry 4.0 but the current draft decree amending Decree No. 101/2012 / ND-CP that imposes a foreign-ownership cap may affect some foreign fintech companies in the country. Burke thought the limit could drive out current innovation and prevent other foreign investment while most of the local fintech start-ups raised institutional capital from foreign investors. As the result, it would restrict the ability of the local fintech firms and make them less competitive with others in the region, said Burke. Seck Yee Chung, Vice President, Singapore Business Group in Viet Nam said: "The Government should continue efforts to streamline the foreign investment licensing and approval process. This can be achieved with the use of emails of courier between licensing authorities and regulators. " Chung also asked the Government to develop the use of online applications for foreign investment and M&A approvals. VBF is organised twice a year, providing regular policy dialogues between the Government and business community aiming at a favourable business environment and sustainable economic development in Viet Nam. CLEVELAND, Ohio The Cleveland Museum of Art has appointed veteran scholar, educator and curator Gerhard Lutz of Germany as its incoming Robert P. Bergman Curator of Medieval Art, filling an important post left vacant by the retirement of Stephen Fliegel last May. The Cleveland museums medieval collection is relatively small, with 1600 objects. But it is a major area of strength, anchored by famous items such as the Guelph Treasure, a group of nine objects bought by the museum in 1930 and 1931. Lutz, whose appointment the museum is announcing today, said that getting the job is absolutely amazing, and has left him speechless with enthusiasm. Hell start work in Cleveland in early May. He called the Cleveland museum renowned because of the high quality of the collection. Other museums have more objects, he said, but this one has the star objects. Lutz, 54, has been a curator since 2002 at the Dommuseum in Hildesheim, Germany, which the Cleveland museum described in a news release as one of the finest treasuries to survive from the Middle Ages. Lutz has curated numerous exhibitions, including Medieval Treasures from Hildesheim, a major traveling exhibition displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Before joining the Dommuseum, Lutz worked at the Romer-und Pelizaeus-Museum in Hildesheim and on exhibition projects with the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. His most recent project is Islam and the Christian West, 10001250, which will open at the Dommuseum in 2022. The Cleveland museum is discussing bringing the show here, a spokesperson said. Gerhard is an impressive scholar with more than twenty years of experience working in museums, Cleveland museum Director William Griswold said in the news release. His commitment to presenting medieval art to a broad public is reflected in the significance and range of the exhibitions he has curated. Lutz, a native of Heidenheim in southern Germany, located north of Ulm between Stuttgart and Munich, earned his Ph.D. and masters degrees from the Technical University Berlin after studying medieval art history, history and archaeology at the universities of Bamberg, Vienna and Freiburg. Lutzs new position is named for Robert P. Bergman, the revered former Cleveland museum director who led the institution from 1993 to 1999 until his death from a sudden illness. The Bergman curatorship was endowed through half of a matching grant from the New York-based Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in 2000. Bergman, an expert in early Christian art, was especially devoted to the medieval collection. Holger Klein, now a professor at Columbia University, was the first Bergman curator, serving the museum from 2004 to 2008. Fliegel, who joined the museum in 1982 as a curatorial assistant, rose through the ranks until he assumed the title of Bergman Curator in 2017. Medieval art has been a highly active area at the museum over the past two decades. C. Griffith Mann, the former chief curator at the museum, who now heads the Cloisters in New York, a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, organized the acclaimed 2010 exhibition, Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics, and Devotion in Medieval Europe. Klein co-curated Treasures of Heaven, and also worked on the museums 2007 traveling exhibition, Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures. Fliegel wrote three books during his tenure, collaborated with Klein on Sacred Gifts, and worked on numerous other exhibitions including Art from the Court of Burgundy: The Patronage of Philip the Bold and John the Fearless, in 2004. He also curated a show in 2013 on the museums Caporali Missal, an example of Renaissance manuscript illumination, and in 2016, he co-curated the museums famous medieval French table fountain with art history Professor Elina Gertsman of Case Western Reserve University. Lutz said hes honored to join the lineage of experts in medieval art at the Cleveland museum, who include William Milliken, the former director who advocated for the purchase of the Guelph Treasure in 1930. He said hes also thrilled that hell be able to tap the museums acquisition budget of roughly $10 million a year to add to the medieval collection. He said hell be looking at gaps that need filling. But maintaining the museums level of quality will be his top concern. You have to keep the high level, he said. Note: This story has been updated to indicate that Elina Gertsman of Case Western Reserve University co-curated the Cleveland Museum of Art table fountain exhibition in 2016. New Delhi: Laxmi Agarwal, who has been an inspiration of courage and resilience will be seen meeting the contestants tonight on Bigg Boss. Laxmi plays a very unique and empowering game with the contestants called the Muh Dikahi where each of the housemates have to share some of their own experiences that have shaped them to be the people they are today. Before starting off , Laxmi shares her acid attack story with them. She tells the Bigg Boss contestants how she stood her ground during the worst phase of her life and decided to show the world her hard hitting reality. Sidharth gets very emotional and salutes her for being the strong woman that she is. Laxmi requests each contestant to share their own story. Aarti who is known to be strong and independent opens up about a dark incident in her life. She reveals that she was molested by a servant in her own house when she was young and how she escaped by jumping off from the second floor. Its just not Aarti who talks about her bitter past. Madhurima and Vishal too open up and share their own life-changing experiences. Madhurima and Vishal share the horrors of being molested when they were young. Madhurima breaks down when she reveals that her tutor molested her when she was young. Vishal, too, speaks about the time that he was molested by some creeps when he was 9-10 years old. These two incidents took a toll on their studies and education life. Next to step up and speak is Rashami, who says her journey has never been easy. She reveals that she comes from a very poor family, and the fact that she was not loved because she was a girl. She talks about how she went through depression because of all this.Yet, she decided to be strong and make something of her life. SPRINGFIELD Pressure is mounting on red-light camera operators as Democratic Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza announced Monday, Jan. 6, that, beginning Feb. 6, her office will no longer assist municipalities in collecting fines for violations caught by the devices. Over the years, it has become clear that these red-light cameras were less about keeping people safe and more about collecting revenue, Mendoza said in a street-corner Chicago news conference overlooked by a red-light camera. The cameras are automated devices that photograph vehicles if they pass through a red light without stopping, and generate a citation to the vehicles owner. Local governments typically split the revenue from citations with vendors that place the cameras. They were sold as a way to prevent motorists from racing through the intersections, but the stories have shown they are now more about charging people high fines for failing to come to a complete stop as they make a right turn on red at intersections where right turns on red are allowed, Mendoza said. Mendoza said the comptrollers office has been helping collect red-light fines since 2012 after the General Assembly allowed municipalities to use the comptrollers offset system which withholds state income tax refunds or other state payments to collect traffic fines including red-light violations. Historically, this system had been used to collect child support, overpayment of benefits and other types of debt, the comptrollers office said. Mendoza said her office helped collect about $11 million in revenue specific to red-light cameras last year. The comptrollers office said it does not collect red-light camera fines for Chicago, but a growing percentage of offset collections have involved violations from the citys suburbs. Beginning Feb. 6, that arrangement, which Mendoza called plain rotten, will end. It exploits taxpayers and especially those who struggle to pay the fines imposed, often the working poor and communities of color, she said. Beyond that, red-light cameras have been a source of public corruption and FBI scrutiny, the comptroller said. When federal agents in September raided the Statehouse office of former Sen. Martin Sandoval, D-Chicago, they were looking for information on SafeSpeed LLC, a politically-connected red-light camera company based in Chicago. The company has been named in several other news reports regarding the ongoing federal corruption probe of several Statehouse insiders and local government officials, although its CEO denied any wrongdoing from the company in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times in October. In a news release, Mendoza urged municipalities to take a second look at any contracts with red-light camera companies and determine if those contracts were procured properly in light of recent news reports and criminal investigations concerning the red-light camera industry and its relationship with government officials. * * * INVESTIGATION CALLS: Lawmakers from both parties are calling for an investigation of a 2012 email exchange between a government insider and then-Gov. Pat Quinns staff regarding a possible cover-up of rape and other criminal activity. The bombshell report was published Tuesday, Jan. 7, by Chicago National Public Radio affiliate WBEZ-FM detailing emails from former Commonwealth Edison lobbyist Michael McClain and Quinns staff. WBEZ reported that McClain a close confidant of Illinois Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan sought leniency for a state worker facing disciplinary action, calling the employee a good compliance person. He has kept his mouth shut on Jones ghost workers, the rape in Champaign and other items. He is loyal to the administration, McClain said of the employee, according to an email obtained by WBEZ via an open records request. No further information about the alleged cover-ups was revealed in the email exchange, and the disciplinary hearing that prompted McClain to email the administration was apparently postponed. McClain responded to the news at the time with an email noting nothing happens accidentally. Lawmakers and advocates responded to the report swiftly Wednesday, Jan. 8.The Illinois Senate Womens Caucus, among others, called for a criminal investigation. That email is horrifying. If anyone has any information about this crime, please contact authorities, said Sen. Linda Holmes, an Aurora Democrat and co-chair of the caucus. Sexual assault will not be tolerated. We need to get to the bottom of this and hold people accountable. Sen. Sue Rezin, a Morris Republican who also co-chairs the caucus, agreed. I am stunned and disturbed that keeping quiet about a rape was so casually offered up as proof of loyalty. This needs to be investigated thoroughly, and anyone who helped cover it up needs to face the consequences, she said. House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, of Western Springs, called the report one of the most disturbing and shocking set of facts hes ever seen and called for accountability. House Speaker Michael Madigan said Thursday, Jan. 9, he will not initiate a House-led inquiry. Durkin sent Madigan a letter Thursday requesting a House committee be given full subpoena authority to launch an investigation.Madigan denied the request in a response letter. In response, Durkin said the House Republican caucus will continue to fight to investigate this disturbing revelation and will do everything we can to restore pride in state government. Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at an unrelated news conference Thursday the matter was forwarded to the Illinois Office of Executive Inspector General for investigation. I think all of us want to know, what are they referring to, because I dont think its clear yet what circumstances are being referred to in this email, he said. In order to get the answers, weve gotta do an investigation, weve gotta figure out what the real facts are and then weve gotta hold those accountable who are responsible for perpetrating either the crime, the cover-up or the threats that are associated in that email. Late Thursday, Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady, of Bloomington, sent a letter to Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly requesting he initiate a criminal investigation. * * * FDA RULE: 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. 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. * * * SEXTING IN SEX ED: Sex education in Illinois middle and high schools would be required to include a discussion on sexting if a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives becomes law. House Bill 4007, introduced 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. Issues surrounding sexting that would be required in curriculum include long-term consequences, bullying and harassment, resisting peer pressure and using the Internet safely. Lessons would also have to 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, let's just make sure they're 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. * * * TRANSGENDER THERAPY: The Illinois Medicaid program now covers medical procedures for people transitioning from one gender to another. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the states primary Medicaid agency, published new administrative rules that spell out the types of gender-affirming services covered and the conditions under which the program will reimburse providers for those services. The rules became effective Dec. 23. The department announced in April that it would develop such a policy. Previously, Illinois specifically excluded what had been referred to as transsexual surgery from Medicaid coverage. The procedures are available to people diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a recognized condition in which people experience distress or discomfort because the gender they were assigned at birth does not match the gender with which they identify. Researchers say it occurs in only a small percentage of all individuals. Under Illinois new policy, coverage is available to people over age 21, although it can be provided to some people younger than 21 if its determined to be medically necessary. Procedures covered include genital surgery as well as breast or chest surgery. To qualify for genital surgery, a patient must submit letters from two qualified medical practitioners, including the patients primary care provider, who have each examined the patient independently. Non-genital surgery requires only one letter from the primary care provider or a gender-related care physician. To qualify for genital surgery, patients first must undergo hormone therapy, unless they are medically unable to do so. They also must have lived for at least the past 12 months in the gender role to which they are transitioning. According to the advocacy group Movement Advancement Project, 20 states, including Illinois, and the District of Columbia now cover gender affirmation procedures in their Medicaid programs. Nine states explicitly exclude that coverage. The others have no specific policy. * * * ISOLATION ROOMS: Legislators and advocates began discussions Tuesday, Jan. 7, of what action the state can take to counteract the overuse of physical restraint and forced isolation of students in Illinois schools, particularly those serving students with special needs. At a joint Illinois Senate and House committee hearing in Chicago, several of those who spoke credited revelations unearthed by a Chicago Tribune and ProPublica investigation published in November for the increased interest in the topic. That investigation showed there were more than 20,000 documented incidents of isolation used in the state from the start of the 2017-2018 school year through December 2018. In Illinois, it is legal to isolate students if they pose a safety threat to themselves or others, the report found, but the practice is used far more than in such situations. Children were sent to isolation after refusing to do classwork, for swearing, for spilling milk, for throwing Legos. School employees use isolated timeout for convenience, out of frustration or as punishment, sometimes referring to it as serving time, according to the report. The report also found that while schools must document isolation instances, that documentation often goes unread, and the Illinois State Board of Education had not collected any data on the practice at the time the article was published. The investigation prompted ISBE to initiate emergency rules banning the use of isolated seclusion in any educational entity serving public school students in Illinois in November. A news release at the time said ISBE would begin collecting data to increase accountability and transparency for all instances of timeout and physical restraint. The board proposed permanent rules in December. At the committee hearing Tuesday, Amanda Elliott, co-director of legislative affairs at ISBE, said the emergency rules allowed ISBE to collect data on the use of seclusion and restraint in prior years. She said ISBE is reviewing the data for violations which would prompt investigations and potential disciplinary action. She said nine investigations are pending as a result. She said sanctions resulting from violations could result in licensure suspension, professional development requirements or even criminal charges for individuals. For schools, recognition status could be affected, which would impact funding, she said. * * * PROPERTY TAXES: A task force formed to study ways to reduce property tax burden on Illinois residents is calling for consolidation of school districts and other local units of government and a boost in the states share of funding for K-12 education. Those and other recommendations are part of a draft report circulated among the 88-member Property Tax Relief Task Force that state lawmakers formed during the 2019 session. A final report is expected to be released before the 2020 legislative session begins Jan. 28. The bill creating the task force was part of a package of legislation also including a proposed constitutional amendment to allow for a graduated income tax. And while the draft report does not mention the proposed amendment, which will appear on the November general election ballot, Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said that he wants at least some of the new income tax revenue to be used for property tax relief if voters approve the amendment. Rising property taxes have been a political flash point in Illinois for many years. The current system dates back to a 1901 Illinois Supreme Court decision that overturned the tax levying method that was used until that time, according to the draft report. The report notes, however, that property ownership today is no longer the indicator of wealth and ability to pay that it was in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It also states the current system is full of special exemptions for select groups of property owners including Tax Increment Financing districts, or TIFs, that have the effect of shifting the tax burden on to other property owners. The document also notes that local governments in Illinois school districts in particular rely more heavily on property tax revenue than in other states. Local property taxes account for two-thirds of all funding for public schools in Illinois, while state funding accounts for only about 26 percent. The report argues the property tax system should be reformed on several levels, including how property values are determined, consolidating townships and other local units of government, and reducing or eliminating some property tax exemptions. But addressing the issue of education funding would likely have the biggest impact because school taxes make up the bulk of most peoples property tax bills. * * * HOUSE GOP OBJECTIONS: Illinois House Republicans on Wednesday, Jan. 8, blasted a draft final report from the special Property Tax Relief Task Force that lawmakers formed last year. They said the panels Democratic majority summarily rejected dozens of proposals from Republicans. Following the release of their draft within the last week, we once again see [House Democrats] refuse to be serious at a time when our citizens are so desperate and wanting for change in state government, House GOP Leader Jim Durkin, of Western Springs, said during a news conference in Chicago. The draft report has been circulating among the 88 members of the task force or about half of the General Assembly as the group prepares to issue a final report to Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the legislature ahead of the start of the 2020 legislative session Jan. 28. It calls for, among other things, having the state take over a greater share of funding responsibility for public schools, consolidating potentially hundreds of elementary school and high school districts into full K-12 unit districts, and extending the state sales tax to various services that arent currently taxed to raise state revenue that could be used to lower local property taxes. Among the Republican proposals not discussed in the draft report, according to Rep. Deanne Mazzochi, of Elmhurst, was cutting pension benefits for new employees of local governments and school districts and capping pensions for school administrators. We propose capping administrator pensions so that they cant exceed the average household income in the state of Illinois, because administrative pensions are going absolutely crazy and driving costs up, she said. None of these were up for debate or up for consideration. Property tax reform is expected to be a significant topic in the upcoming legislative session and Gov. Pritzker has made it a high priority for his administration. * * * ELECTRIC UTILITIES REFUND: Two of the states largest electric utilities owe their customers a combined $543 million in refunds, according to state regulators, but there is sharp disagreement over how much time the companies should have to pay it back. At issue for Ameren Illinois and Commonwealth Edison, also known as ComEd, is money they collected to pay future tax bills before federal tax cuts which took effect in 2018 lowered those anticipated rates. When the corporate tax rate was slashed from 35 percent to 21 percent, both companies found themselves holding onto large surpluses, known as excess deferred income taxes, or EDIT. For ComEd, which serves 4 million customers in Chicago and northern Illinois, the excess amounted to $385 million. For Ameren, which serves about 1.2 million customers in central Illinois and the Metro East area, it amounted to $158 million. In a pair of rulings last year, the Illinois Commerce Commission, which regulates public utilities, said ComEd could pay off its EDIT over 38 years and Ameren could pay off its bill over 35 years. But on Monday, Jan. 6, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced he is asking the ICC to reconsider that decision and shorten the payout period to just five years. Consumers paid public utility rates to ComEd and Ameren reflecting the higher federal tax rate, and now that the federal tax rate has lowered, fairness dictates that consumers should get that money back, Raoul said in a news release. Allowing an unreasonable refund period of close to 40 years nearly guarantees many customers will never get their fair share of the refunds. n testimony before the ICC, both Raouls office and the Citizens Utility Board argued future customers are not entitled to the benefit of a refund because they arent the ones who paid the higher-than-necessary rates. They also argued the longer payout period will mean that many customers who were charged higher rates prior to the change in tax law will never see their full refund. CUB argued in favor of a seven-year payout schedule while Raouls office argued for five years. The ICC has not said whether it will grant the request for reconsideration. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 European Council President Charles Michel says Berlin process 'is the only way forward' President of the European Council Charles Michel discussed tensions in Libya with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi during a meeting in Cairo on Sunday. "The situation in Libya was at the core of our discussions," Michel said in a tweet in the early afternoon. "The Berlin process is the only way forward", he said about Libyan peace talks that will be held in the German capital with the aim of ending the conflict in the country. "Dialogue and negotiations are needed more than ever". This is Michel's first visit to Egypt since he became the President of the European Council in December 2019. Michel arrived in Cairo Saturday following talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul. The meetings are part of his tour to discuss the Libyan crisis with regional leaders in an effort to de-escalate tensions in the North African country amid Turkish plans to send troops to Libya which were denounced by western powers. Libya's warring parties, the eastern forces loyal to commander Khalifa Haftar and the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), have agreed to a ceasefire that started earlier on Sunday following calls by Turkey and Russia for a truce. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday that Germany will start sending out invitations for Libya peace talks soon. Search Keywords: Short link: The Australian Defence Force has managed to reach Mallacoota over land but the winding two-lane road to the isolated township could be blocked to civilian traffic for up to another month. Hundreds of soldiers are involved in the slow and dangerous work of clearing fallen and badly burnt trees along the badly damaged Princes Highway the major thoroughfare between East Gippsland and the NSW South Coast as well as the only road out of Mallacoota. Australian Defence Force troops and members of Forest Fire Management Victoria clear felled trees on the Princes Highway just outside Genoa. Credit:Private Luke Jones/7RAR 1 Brigade/ADF While army convoys are bringing in supplies, the risk of falling trees and fire mean the road remains too dangerous for any residents, volunteers or remaining holidaymakers to drive out of the town yet. Cooler weather forecast for this week will allow additional resources to be diverted towards road clearing, with a focus on reopening the road to the two isolated communities of Club Terrace and Combienbar. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's announcement they plan to step down as senior royals has sent shock waves around the world. After they broke the news on their Instagram page on Wednesday evening it emerged no other members of the royal family had been informed of their decision. While the Queen and Prince Charles prepare for a showdown with Harry at Sandringham tomorrow, with Meghan on a conference call from Canada, royal commentators are all vying to give their thoughts on 'Megxit'. From former press secretary to the Queen Dickie Arbiter asking 'How dare you?, to Kate Williams urging us to give the 'flexi-royal' a try, MailOnline brings you a round-up of what the Sunday paper columnists make of the Sussexes dramatic exit from the spotlight. From former press secretary to the Queen Dickie Arbiter asking 'How dare you?, to Kate Williams urging as to give the 'flexi-royal' a try, MailOnline brings you a round-up of what the Sunday paper columnists make of the Sussexes (Harry and Meghan pictured this week) dramatic exit from the spotlight Pictured: Alexandra Shulman ALEXANDRA SHULMAN, The Mail On Sunday: 'Yes they're hot now. But they'll find the world of international celebrity fickle and brutal' 'This is a woman who knows what she can achieve and what she is worth. As Meghan Markle, B-list actress in a successful TV series that calculation was relatively straightforward. 'For Harry, as Duke of Sussex and sixth in line to the British throne, there was similar clarity. 'But as second-tier Royals roaming the world on the speaker circuit, making red-carpet appearances, endorsing products and occasionally appearing on the balcony at Buckingham Palace, the rules of engagement become very murky. 'Right now the Sussexes are hot. Meghan is beautiful and impassioned. Harry still dashing and a frontline Royal. Things change. In the world of celebrity you are always having to watch out for the new kid on the block. Fame is a greedy beast that has to be continually fed. 'If they are hoping to build a new life that trades on royalty without fulfilling the more difficult obligations that come with it, which is reliant on a toxic mirage of fame without worth, not that many years down the line they could be looking at a very different picture.' CAMILLA LONG, The Sunday Times: 'Meghan's snubbed the Queen and country, and now she's off with her prince. Charming! 'Even if you don't like the royal family, there is something truly horrifying about watching them being turned over by someone they met only four seconds ago. 'They told their readers they had come to this decision 'over the last few years'. Whereupon I thought, 'over the last few years'? But Meghan's only been here three seconds. 'We clearly still have really no idea who this woman is however many thousands of words she no doubt personally writes on the lardy sussexroyal blog, a resurrection of her original blog, The Tig. 'Maybe even Harry does't know who she is, although I'd imagine he's getting more a sense of things now. 'But the main thing I felt, as the palace fired back that the Queen was 'disappointed', as a sense of sad foreboding: we aren't watching the end of the royal family, or the end of Britain... but yet another series of awful stresses and strains that could now spell the beginning of the end of the marriage. 'Even if you aren't a damaged and delicate person like Harry, few people would be able to cope with the sudden estrangement of their entire family and transfer to the alien landscape of what Meghan describes as 'Canada' and I call 'Los Angeles'. Pictured: Dickie Arbiter, former press secretary to the Queen DICKIE ARBITER, FORMER ROYAL PRESS SECRETARY, The Sun on Sunday: 'Meeting like none in history' 'This is an absolutely unprecedented landmark meeting. To my knowledge, something like this has never happened before in terms of what it is all about and that it is happening so quickly. 'This is the ultimate summit between the head of state, the two heirs to the head of state and the sixth in line to the throne. 'The atmosphere at the meeting will be, up to a point, heated. But people won't lost their tempers. 'The Queen is pragmatic. She understands problems people have but Harry will be fully aware of her displeasure. 'To go off half-cocked as he and Meghan did is unacceptable. The question is how dare they do that. She signed up for this.' Pictured: Kate Williams, royal author and historian KATE WILLIAMS, The Observer: 'Why the flexi-royal plan could truly modernise the monarchy' 'This is an unprecedented move in the British royal family, and could end up bringing ours more into line with the royal families of Europe. 'So many commentators are saying that 'half-in,'half-out is not going to work. I couldn't disagree more. 'We've never tried the 'flexi-royal' plan and I think it has huge potential. 'I expect the Sussexes to set up their own charitable foundation and support the Queen with overseas work and visits, particularly in the Commonwealth. Manged well, it would be the beginning of a real modernisation of the monarchy.' KATE WILLIAMS, The Sunday Express: 'New 'hybrid' model is a way forward' 'Can the hybrid model be done? I say it can. And actually it could be a way forward for the royals, especially the younger members of the family. 'Harry has always found the Royal Firm constraining. Now I expect ti see them set up their own charity, like the Gates or the Obama foundation. 'Some say they want to be global celebrities and draw attention to the trademarking of the Sussex brand. But my expectation is that they'll use these branded goods in charitable collobrations - rather like 'make poverty history' T-shirts. 'If it works, it frees up future royals, both their own son, Archie, and other junior royals, for a future which they can both support the monarchy and have some degree of living their own life.' 'We pay for the royals, yes. But that doesn't mean we own them.' Tony Parsons: Sun On Sunday columnist TONY PARSONS, The Sun on Sunday: 'We adored you. Tragically, we now can't wait to see the back of you' 'What a waste of the mountain of goodwill there was towards that happy, glamorous couple who wed on a sunshine-soaked day in Windsor in 2018. 'If Harry and Meghan want a new life hanging out with the Clooneys and striking deals with Apple, they should fund it themselves. 'Do it on your own dime. Give up the HRH titles. Stop leeching off your royal status. 'Let history record that no royal couple was ever as adored as Harry and Meghan. 'It is astonishing - and unbelievably sad, perhaps even tragic - that millions of us will be happy to see the back of them.' Pictured: Royal biographer Christopher Wilson CHRISTOPHER WILSON, The Sunday Express: 'Caught between love for family and love for wife' 'For many royalists, the drama now unfolding is nothing short of a tragedy - a young man caught between love for his family and love for his wife. 'Given the conventional path he followed up to his marriage. it's fair to say that responsibility for this radical shift in direction must be laid at Meghan's door. 'He's happy to follow her initiatives, but she, an American and a new arrival to royalty, can't possibly understand how easy it is to cause offence. 'In Harry's mind's eye must be the picture of another second son, Prince Andrew, his life now a shambles. 'If Harry insists on departing these shores without the Queen's permission, he may face a permanent exile along the lines of the Duke of Windsor's after the 1936 abdication.' Pictured: Duncan Larcombe Prince Harry biographer DUNCAN LARCOMBE The Sunday Mirror: 'He's long dreamed of being Normal' 'Harry is the rebel prince who has always tried to escape what he calls his 'accident of birth'. 'By 'stepping back', Harry is boldly stating what many of us have known about him for years. He simply doesn't want to be royal, owned by the public and judged how successfully he toes the line. 'People should think twice before blaming Meghan for this decision. Far from being the woman who stole the people's prince, she has merely given her husband the courage to face his demons and follow his dream. 'I hope for his sake this bold step works, although I fear that once he has tasted life on the outside, Harry will regret turning his back on his family and the public, who have always held such a special place in their hearts for him.' Pictured: Loose women presenter and Sunday Mirror columnist SAIRA KHAN, The Sunday Mirror: 'Harry's brand panned' 'With my business hat on, let me offer some advice on building Brand Sussex. 'You've got your Unique Selling Point - you're royal, big tick. Wait sorry, you want to shake that off. 'Still you're getting the best PR coverage ever, more than a common celeb, Only you hate all that. 'If I were an early investor, I'd have thought your brand would be revolutionary - just what the country needed. Now I'd feel betrayed and want out. Pictured: Rod Liddle, Sunday Times columnist and associate editor of The Spectator ROD LIDDLE, The Sunday Times: 'In my progressive new role, I'm stepping back from writing but keeping my salary' 'After many months of reflection and deep internal discussion with myself, I have chosen to make a transition this year to carve out a progressive new role with The Sunday Times. I intend to 'step back' from writing anything whatsoever for the newspaper while still, of course, lending my full support to both the editor and the readers and being paid exactly the same as I am now. 'I will require the services o fa private jet, a helicopter and a fleet of Range Rovers, for those times when I suddenly wish to attend a summit in a Third World country about the terrible, devastating effects of climate change and what we, as deeply concerned individuals, can do to combat it. 'The truth is that of the many wonderful things about working for such an august institution as the Sunday Times, the one I have always appreciated most is the money, and it would sadden me, and impinge on my extremely fragile mental health, if that were to somehow 'stop' simply because I have ceased to work for it. ''Progressive', incidentally, in my vocabulary means anything I want it to be. It could mean 'enlightened'. Equally it could mean 'utterly stupid' or 'transcendentally delusional.' Welcome Guest! You Are Here: 1 / 11 A sushi chef holds up the head of a bluefin tuna at a restaurant in Tsukji market area in Tokyo, after it was sold at the first auction of 2020 at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market. The tuna was sold 193.2 million yen. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) 2 / 11 Ariot policeman sprays pepper spray at a man as they disperse a crowd during a demonstration against "parallel traders" who buy goods in Hong Kong to resell in mainland China in Sheung Shui near the Chinese border in Hong Kong. Protesters in Hong Kong marched through the border town Sunday to oppose traders from mainland China. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File) 3 / 11 A visitor looks at an ice sculpture on the opening night of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin in northeastern China's Heilongjiang Province. The Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival is known for massive, elaborate, and colourfully lit ice sculptures featuring animals, cartoon characters, and various landmarks. (Chinatopix via AP, File) 4 / 11 Visitors offer prayers for New Year at the Kanda Myojin Shrine on the first business day of the year, in Tokyo. Kanda Myojin is known as the shrine of commerce and industry. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File) 5 / 11 Pro-democracy demonstrators holding placards are reflected on a protester's sunglasses during a rally outside the Times Square shopping mall at Causeway Bay in Hong Kong. As Hong Kong enters its eighth month of anti-government protests, Beijing's new top official in the territory said Monday that he has full confidence in the city's long-term prosperity and stability so long as it has the support of mainland China. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File) 6 / 11 People stand in lines to buy train tickets for their hometown visits during the Lunar New Year holidays, at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea. South Koreans will visit their hometowns during a four-day holiday of the Lunar New Year which falls on Jan. 25 this year. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File) 7 / 11 School children perform yoga during the inauguration of an international kite festival in Ahmadabad. Kite flyers from various countries and across India are participating in the festival that is annually held on the Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmadabad. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki, File) 8 / 11 Commuters wear protection masks inside a subway train in Hong Kong. Hong Kong health chief Sophia Chan said Tuesday that a respiratory illness whose cause remains unknown will be added to an official list of diseases that medical practitioners are required to report to the government. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File) 9 / 11 A crowd of Filipino Roman Catholic devotees follow the carriage of the Black Nazarene during a raucous procession to celebrate its feast day, in Manila, Philippines. A mammoth crowd of mostly barefoot Filipino Catholics prayed for peace in the increasingly volatile Middle East at the start Thursday of an annual procession of a centuries-old black statue of Jesus Christ in one of Asia's biggest religious events. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, File) 10 / 11 Workers stand over a furnace at a bricks factory to keep themselves warm on the outskirts of Kathmandu, Nepal. Thousands of workers come to the Kathmandu valley to work in brick factories during the dry winter season. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha, File) The power dynamics in the Middle East after Qassim Soleimanis death are likely to be redrawn between Iran, China, and Russia vis-a-vis the United States. Added to this paradigm is Iraqsandwiched between the United States and Iran and increasingly being pushed toward China, according to geopolitical analysts who study the region. Frankly, the Iranian government will remain closer to Beijing than ever before. Because Tehran knows well that Russia could not be the only balance of power vis-a-vis the American hegemony in the Middle East, Esra Serim, a Turkish analyst based in France, told The Epoch Times in an email. Serim believes that Tehran needs the presence and support of both Russia and China following Soleimanis death to counterbalance Washington and Tel-Aviv in the region. In addition to the economic relationship between Iran and Russia/China, Tehran also has robust military relationships with them, such as transference of military technology and equipment, and even infrastructure services to Irans nuclear facilities, she said of the already existing relationship. Kanishkan Sathasivam, a Massachusetts based Geopolitical analyst, told The Epoch Times that he expects a notable improvement in Irans relationship with China after Soleimanis death, but its Iraq that is a greater emerging opportunity for both China and Russia. I would expect a significant upgrade in their relations, said Sathasivam. By contrast, Iraq is a more open opportunity because it is an adversary state [to] the U.S., whose influence China would be supplanting. So, my expectation is that both Russia and China will now make a huge play for influence with the Iraqi government, offering themselves as a viable alternative to the U.S., he said. Sam Bazzi, a Lebanese Middle East expert based in the United States, told The Epoch Times in a written interview that both Iran and Iraq will increasingly need China after Soleimanis death because only it can come to their rescue in the face of increasing U.S. economic sanctions. The advantage that China offers is its willingness to engage in barter and exchange oil for the implementation of major projects such as reconstruction, infrastructure development, and industrialization, at a relatively low cost (in terms of oil value), he said. China and Iran recently found another way of bypassing the U.S. sanctionslast year China signed a multi-decade oil-supply deal that would inject $280 billion in the Iranian petrochemical industryall to be paid in Chinese Yuan, thus bypassing the established petrodollar system, reported The Telegraph. China and Russia Diplomatically Shield Iran In the situation emerging after Soleimanis killing, China and Russia acted diplomatically in ways to dilute the United States posture against Iran because the United States killing the Iranian commander on Iraqi soil has strategic implications for them as well, explained experts. A day after Soleimanis killing, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in his call with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, talked about China playing a constructive role in maintaining peace and security in the Middle East, according to Xinhua, Chinas state-controlled news agency. On Jan. 5, Wang also spoke to his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, to discuss the emerging state of affairs in the Middle East. Wang opposed the abuse of military force and cautioned the United States against military adventurism, reported the Turkish Anadolu Agency. Sathasivam explained that China and Russia were quick to respond because the U.S. strategic deterrence posture against Iran impacts them. Strategic deterrence is a politico-military posturing of capabilities (military power and technology) and doctrinal principles that represents the grand strategy of the nation, according to the Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis. Sathasivam said that the United States had been rolling back its deterrence posture for some time, but things changed with Soleimanis killing. The U.S. has been slowly giving up its deterrence posture against Iran for many years now, from the GW Bush years through especially the Obama years What Trump has now (seemingly) done successfully is to reestablish deterrence with Iran, he said. And yes, when you establish deterrence with one state, that also helps establish deterrence with other potential adversaries, for example, China, Russia, and North Korea, he added. Sathasivam, however, added that we cant conclude from these developments that China and Russia are ready to go to war with the United States over Iran. A key realist view is that states help one another when interests are common, but will usually be willing to fight wars only for their own interests and never for another states interests. Even Russia is not at the point yet in its relationship with Iran where it will go to war against the U.S. on behalf of Iran, he said. Serim, a Senior Researcher, Ph.D., at the University of Aix Marseille, is of the view that China intervened because it cannot afford war between the United States and Iran. Any war in the region could likely harm Chinas present investments in the Middle East, notably in Iraq and Iran, as well as in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Egypt. Since right now, Beijing has become a major power and game-changer in the region. China wants to rise by implementing soft power in the region, she explained. So while China and its ally, Russia, condemned the New Years Eve attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, the duo also blocked a U.N. Security Council statement condemning the attack because it didnt address the subsequent killing of Soleimani. It is a classic realist approach to international relations. If the Russian or Chinese embassy had been attacked in this way these states would be outraged. But because it is something happening against their perceived adversary, they have a different reaction, said Sathasivam. Serim said China is a rising threat to Washington in the Middle East, the way it is in the Pacific region. Because, for many years, Beijing, unlike Moscow, has been an implicit ally of Iran. For example, Beijing and Tehran have still been holding joint naval and military exercises in Strait of Hormoz where oil/gas tankers have been transiting. This is in the open. In major developments before Soleimanis death, China decided to invest $120 billion into Irans transport infrastructure and also decided to deploy 5,000 Chinese security personnel to guard the Iranian assets and shipments of oil on tankers en route from Iran to China, according to The Telegraph. Serim is of the belief that U.S. allies dont want to get involved in Chinas military activities in the region because of their own economic interests and dont want to antagonize China. Almost all of the U.S. allies are still doing business with China, as an alternative power to the U.S., she said. Sathasivam said that every situation like this has its unique dynamics and that it always comes down to influence and power. In todays Middle East, and, for that matter, todays world, the U.S. has the vast majority of influence and power. So every other state that wants to become more powerful automatically targets the U.S., and we have the U.S. versus everyone else situation. If in the future the U.S. has less power and influence and these other states have more, then surely they will start competing with each other as well. Iraq Wants US Forces Out, Wheres China? Since Soleimani was killed on Iraqi soil and because it hosts multiple U.S. military bases, by default it became the target of the Iranian missiles. After the strikes, the Iraqi government tried to distance itself militarily from the United States and talked more about China. After Soleimanis killing, the situation between Iraq and the United States developed to the point that the outgoing Iraqi prime minister, Adil Abdul al-Mahdi, asked U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a phone call on Jan. 9 to make plans for troop withdrawals. The Iraqi government seriously started talking about American troop withdrawal on Jan. 5 when the Iraqi Parliament passed a non-binding resolution to expel foreign troops from the country. The very next day, al-Mahdi received Chinas ambassador to Iraq, Zhang Tao, who expressed a readiness to provide military assistance to Iraq. The outgoing Iraqi PM met with the representative of a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council to gauge Beijings intentions in the upcoming phase as he most probably anticipated a military escalation, Joseph A. Kechichian, a senior fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, told The Epoch Times in an email. In turn, China is interested in taking Abdul Mahdis pulse as the caretaker PM tries to figure out how he may salvage whats left of his countrys sovereignty, he said. The day al-Mahdi met Zhang, Iraqs U.N. Ambassador Mohammed Hussein Bahr Aluloom called on the U.N. Security Council to condemn the U.S. airstrike and the killing of Soleimani and a senior Iraqi militia commander. It condemned the U.S. airstrike that killed Irans top military commander as a flagrant violation of the terms of the American forces presence in the country and a dangerous escalation that might ignite a devastating war in Iraq, the region and the world. Bazzi, who is also the founder of Hezbollah Watch, told The Epoch Times that the meeting between al-Mahdi and Zhang is not a high-level engagement. But it was amplified to highlight the Axis of Resistance countries collective desire and determination to resort to China as an alternative to the United States and nations that deal in only hard currency, particularly the U.S. dollar. This is consistent with Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallahs call upon Beirut to open the door to Chinese investments in Lebanon, said Bazzi. The Axis of Resistance refers to the anti-Western and anti-Tel Aviv alliance between Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah, Irans proxy militia in Lebanon. Nasrallah alluded to Chinese investments even in his speech in the aftermath of Soleimanis liquidation, said Bazzi. Serim also expressed similar insights about Iraqs economic dependency on China after Soleimanis death. China has still been very willing to invest and play both an economic and political role in Iraq as well as making big investments, along with the European firms/banks in Iran, she said. Serim said that Iraq will use its relationship with China and Russia as a trump card and will try to use it to jump over U.S. sanctions. She said despite sanctions, Baghdad will speed up to make oil and trade deals with both Russia and China. Kechichian, however, believes that the developments dont indicate that the Middle East is looking for an alternative to the United States. This is wishful thinking at best but everyone is entitled to be delusional, he said. The senior analyst, who has authored several books on Saudi Arabia, also said that both China and Russia would draw a cautionary line as they go about their affairs with Iran and Iraq. Time will tell whether China and Russia will set their own markers in the area. For now, it looks like a rejectionist front, though both countriespermanent members of the U.N. Security Councilknow that their long-term interests are with the leading Western economic powers, said Kechichian. The Associated Press contributed to this report. From The Epoch Times Philippine authorities warned Sunday a volcano near the capital Manila could erupt imminently, hours after it sent a massive column of ash skyward that grounded flights and coated towns across the region in fine dust. Thousands of people living near Taal volcano, a popular tourist attraction set in the centre of a picturesque lake, were evacuated from their homes as it spewed ash, rumbled with earthquakes and lightning exploded above its crest. A hazardous explosive eruption is possible within hours to days, the nations seismological agency warned, adding that the ash could pose a risk to aircraft. Aviation officials ordered a suspension of flights in to and out of the capitals Ninoy Aquino International Airport, after the ash cloud was reported to have reached 50,000 feet (15,000 metres). Government seismologists recorded magma moving towards the crater of Taal, one of the countrys most active volcanoes located 65 kilometres (40 miles) south of Manila. Taals last eruption was in 1977, he added. A kilometre-high column of ash was visible and several volcanic tremors were felt within the vicinity of the volcano, which is popular among tourists for its scenic view. The local disaster office said it had evacuated over 2,000 residents living on the volcanic island, which lies inside a bigger lake formed by previous volcanic activity. Solidum said officials will also order the evacuation of people living on another island nearby if the situation worsens. Ash has already reached Manila... it is dangerous to people if they inhale it, he told AFP. Earthquakes and volcanic activity are not uncommon in the Philippines due to its position on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where tectonic plates collide deep below the Earths surface. In January 2018, Mount Mayon displaced tens of thousands of people after spewing millions of tonnes of ash, rocks, and lava in the central Bicol region. rbl/jm/fox They say revenge is sweet - and it's even sweeter when it's uploaded to social media so we can marvel at the extreme lengths some people will go to. Bored Panda has collated a list of the most petty examples of getting your own back online - and some will have you in hysterics. One person, believed to be from the US, got so frustrated with a driver who parked across two spaces in a supermarket car park that they cable tied a trolley to the driver door handle. Another conniving man from Leeds used a syringe to inject mustard into a pack of doughnuts after becoming annoyed at people stealing his snacks in the office. Here FEMAIL collates some of the best examples of those who went to great lengths to get the upper hand. Don't eat it too quickly! This conniving man from Leeds was sick and tired of his treats being taken from the work fridge, so he decided to inject his doughnuts with English mustard Traffic jam! A Facebook user from Buenos Aires, Argentina uploaded this image of a poorly parked car - and the revenge from workers in the shopping centre it was parked outside Catty behaviour! 'Locked my cat in the bathroom while I made a meal because he was being annoying. Revenge was had,' said this user from the US of their crafty feline friend Very English revenge! This polite pettiness took place on the south coast of England, with the original poster saying: 'Our neighbours very precisely only cleaned their part of the wall' Parking mad! This bent parking was punished with a very sarcastic response from a California resident who wrote: I've carried chalk in my car for 10 months JUST so I could do this' Fishy behaviour: We've had mustard in a doughnut, so what about cat food in a taco? This Canadian resident had endured their lunch being stolen too often at work, so took affirmative action Effort: This person, believed to from the US, went and collected every cigarette butt thrown onto their property by their neighbours, and handed them back to them in a sealed bag 'Joe mode': US-based tech reviewer Quinn Nelson told of a 'guy named Joe' who told Tesla CEO Elon Musk that the Tesla autopilot chimes are too loud and waking up his baby.' The company responded by creating a 'Joe Mode' Trouble in paradise: 'Pettiness level 100,000,00...... My husband was angry this morning so he decided he was only making his half of the bed,' said this Reddit user from the US Commitment: 'As revenge for my brother wrapping my Christmas present in duct tape last year, this year I've wrapped my brother's present in concrete!' said this English joker The breast response: 'Stay Away From The Coffee Creamer At Work,' was the headline on this incredible comeback shared on Reddit (CNN) The British royal family will meet Monday to discuss the future of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after the couple announced this week they would step back from their roles as senior members of the royal family, a palace source told CNN. Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry will attend the meeting at the queen's Sandringham estate, the source said. Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, is expected to call in to the meeting from Canada. News of the discussions follows a series of meetings and consultations over the last few days. There are a range of possibilities for the family to review, considering the couple's thinking that they outlined in their announcement on Wednesday. Any change in the working life and role of a royal requires complex and thoughtful discussion. It still remains the wish of the Queen that this happens at pace. There is a genuine agreement and understanding that any decision will take time to be implemented. This will be the first time the senior royals have met since Harry and Meghan made the announcement in defiance of the Queen's wishes that they would step back from their royal duties, seek financial independence and split their time between Britain and North America. The Duchess of Sussex has since returned to Canada, where the couple spent the holidays with her mother. It's unclear when Meghan will return to the UK from Canada. This story was first published on CNN.com. "The royal family will hold a summit Monday to discuss Prince Harry and Meghan." Kolkata/IBNS: After completing his courtesy meets on the first day of his Kolkata visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi got down to his business of politics by launching one after the another attacks on Opposition on Day 2 of his stay in the eastern state. Staying over at Belur Math, Modi started his Sunday winter morning by paying tributes to Swami Vivekananda whose birth anniversary is celebrated across the state on this day. Dressed in white kurta, pajama and no winter clothes, the Prime Minister chose a crowd at Belur Math to launch his political attacks on Opposition. Speaking on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, Modi said, "The Citizenship Act is not about taking away citizenship from anyone.... The Opposition is intelligent to understand it but they don't want to understand it (to play politics)." The Trinamool Congress (TMC), Left and Congress- the opponent parties of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)- were quick to hit back at Modi accusing him of "politicising" a religious platform. Tributes to Swami Vivekananda on his Jayanti. Live from Belur Math. https://t.co/yE8lOghIIQ Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 12, 2020 "I feel ashamed to hear such words," West Bengal Minister and senior TMC leader Partha Chatterjee told a local channel. "Modi has mixed politics and religion," CPI-M leader Md. Salim said while Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury urged the Prime Minister "not to use religious places for politics". Taking a jetty from Belur Math on his way back to proper Kolkata (Belur Math is not a part of district Kolkata), Modi waved his hands to the crowd standing to get a glimpse of the Prime Minister and seemed to enjoy the winter morning. Several university students- mostly Leftists- spent the entire Saturday and Sunday morning on streets protesting against the contentious CAA- which if implemented will grant citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi but not Muslim refugees who came to India from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan before 2015- as well as National Register of Citizens (NRC), National Population Register (NPR) and the assault on Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students. An interesting twist in the tale came in late morning when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee skipped a Port Trust event after receiving huge taunts from the Opposition-Left and Congress- for holding a close-door meeting with Modi at Raj Bhavan on Saturday though the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo maintained she met the Prime Minister out of "courtesy". In an absence of the Chief Minister and presence of a huge crowd chanting "Modi, Modi" at Netaji Indoor Stadium, the Prime Minister made veiled attacks on Banerjee and her TMC government which is in place in the state for almost nine years now. Referring to the TMC government's opposition of Ayushman Bharat, Modi said, "If Ayushman Bharat is allowed in West Bengal then lot of poor people will be benefited. But this has not been done because there is no cut money and no syndicate." The Central Government is leaving no stone unturned for West Bengals development. I urge the West Bengal Government to participate in Ayushman Bharat and PM Kisan Yojana. Let there be no politics on development issues. pic.twitter.com/p1Ym6mmL7r Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 12, 2020 The TMC government has opposed to the implementation of Ayushman Bharat Yojana which is a national health scheme. Besides launching attacks on the Opposition, the Prime Minister on Sunday renamed the Kolkata Port as Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port which has also not gone down well with the TMC. Hitting back at Modi, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee tweeted, "Bengal has no differences with PM Modi renaming the Kolkata Port after one of the Stalwart legends of Bengal as a part of his Govts renaming spree. Sadly, the name change brings very little relief or benefit to the lives of common people in #Bengal." Bengal has no differences with PM Modi renaming the Kolkata Port after one of the Stalwart legends of Bengal as a part of his Govts renaming spree. Sadly, the name change brings very little relief or benefit to the lives of common people in #Bengal. (1/2) Citizen Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) January 12, 2020 "If the Honble PM could have announced any Port Development and/or Waterways Development initiatives which created further jobs & investments, it would have been the perfect gift to the youth of Bengal on Swami Vivekananda's birthday which we celebrate as National Youth Day," he added. (sic) If the Honble PM could have announced any Port Development and/or Waterways Development initiatives which created further jobs & investments, it would have been the perfect gift to the youth of Bengal on Swami Vivekananda's birthday which we celebrate as National Youth Day (2/2) Citizen Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) January 12, 2020 Despite the political hurls, the TMC like on Saturday tried to maintain a balancing act by sending once again West Bengal Minister and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim to Kolkata Airport to see off the Prime Minister who had barely travelled on roads due to the unsparing protests mostly by the Leftist students. Highlights of PM Modi's Day 1 of Kolkata trip The first day began with the launch of citywide protests by university students- mostly Leftists- who took out rallies from five different locations namely Golpark, Jadavpur 8B Bus Stand, Esplanade, College Street and Hatibagan while #GoBackModiFromBengal trended throughout the day on Twitter. With mostly Indian Flag, the students staged a protest at Airport Gate Number 1 with an intention to block Modi's entry into the city though the Prime Minister took a chopper (helicopter) after landing at Kolkata Airport to reach Raj Bhavan. At a time the students were blasting Modi with "Go Back slogans", Modi was warmly greeted by Hakim, who is one of the closest people of West Bengal Chief Minister Banerjee. After reaching Raj Bhavan, Modi first met Banerjee and later a host of BJP leaders including their president Dilip Ghosh. Visiting the Old Currency Building at an event in the meantime, Modi refrained from making any political statement but spoke about "India". He said, "Indias history isnt merely about battles and power struggles. Every part of India has unique art, culture and music. Our land has produced outstanding Saints, seers and social reformers who have led extraordinary changes in society." Modi went to Belur Math in a jetty (launch) while the Leftists students occupied the entire downtown Kolkata to protest virtually collapsing the transport routes in major parts of the city. Washington On New Year's Day in 1999, Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., sat on the floor of his Capitol Hill office, surrounded by piles of documents and legal notes, drafting his opening argument in President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial in the Senate. With the sound of the University of Wisconsin Badgers facing off against the UCLA Bruins in the Rose Bowl blaring from a television in the background, Sensenbrenner readied his case that the president should be removed from office for lying about a sexual affair with a White House intern. In the coming days, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is expected to select four to 10 members of the House of Representatives for a similar assignment, making the case to the Senate for why President Donald Trump deserves to be ousted for pressuring Ukraine to investigate his political rivals. But unlike Sensenbrenner or the dozen other prosecutors who made the case against Clinton 21 years ago, the new prosecutors will not have had the benefit of a two-week holiday break to prepare their arguments or hone their strategies. On Friday, after a weekslong impasse, Pelosi alerted lawmakers that she would move next week to transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate, prompting the start of a Senate trial as early as Wednesday. Pelosi's decision to withhold the articles of impeachment in an unsuccessful effort to extract assurances from Senate leadership about the terms of the trial has delayed the appointment of the so-called impeachment managers, compressing the timetable of their already challenging task. It is a job that veterans say is fraught with legal complexity, political pressure and historic significance. "I really don't want to give them any advice," Sensenbrenner said. "But I guess I can say is that this is going to be a lot more work than you think." The pivotal role of the managers is one reason that Pelosi has waited to send the charges to the Senate. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the majority leader, said that he had the votes to move forward with an impeachment trial without committing to calling witnesses or hearing new evidence. Without knowing whether there will be witnesses to question or new documents to digest, the speaker cannot decide what kind of lawmakers are best suited to the task. People close to Pelosi say it is all but certain that one of the managers will be Rep. Adam Schiff of California, a former federal prosecutor who oversees the Intelligence Committee and led the investigation into Trump's dealings with Ukraine. Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, chair of the Judiciary Committee that approved the two articles of impeachment against the president that the House passed last month, is also expected to be a leader. For now, final decisions on the rest of the team remain unresolved. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Times have changed considerably since 1998, when the Republican-led House sent 13 white men to the Senate to serve as impeachment managers. Given the diversity of today's rank-and-file Democrats, Pelosi is likely to select a group to prosecute Trump that includes women and members of color. Sensenbrenner had served as an impeachment manager in the case of Walter Louis Nixon Jr., a federal judge who was impeached and removed from the bench for lying to federal grand juries. In his preparation for the Clinton trial, Sensenbrenner recalled being given some advice from the House Judiciary Committee chairman at the time, Henry J. Hyde, R-Ill., who instructed him to keep his opening statement shorter than the two-and-a-half-day speech that kicked off President Andrew Johnson's impeachment trial in 1868. Another impeachment manager, James E. Rogan, R-Calif., was chosen despite having just joined the House in 1997, in part because he had previously been a prosecutor, which had helped land him a seat on the Judiciary Committee. Rogan was defeated by Schiff in 2000 and is now a state trial court judge in California. A framed poster that hangs above the door to his judicial chambers in Orange County reminds him daily of the vitriol he attracted as one of Clinton's main antagonists. "People unite! DENOUNCE ROGAN!!!" it reads. "I've been through one of these before," Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, one of the 13 Clinton impeachment managers, said at a hearing last month. "And they're ugly. So I have a lot of sympathy for the House managers that are going to be picked." In the years since Clinton's trial, the job of the managers has only grown more complex. The debate is also more starkly partisan than it was then, with almost no defections from either side. Social media now allows for running commentary online, including by the president himself. During the House's impeachment inquiry, Trump used Twitter to disparage witnesses as they were testifying against him. "They need to understand the seriousness of what they're going into," said Bill McCollum, a former representative from Florida who was one of the Clinton impeachment managers. "They're going to be doing something very unique very few people have done what they're about to do." OAKLAND(BCN) The Oakland Department of Transportation and shared-vehicle company Reveal launched the placement of 1,000 mopeds on Friday as another form of mobility around the city. Oakland officials said the city will be Reveal's first market on the West Coast and the company's service area will cover the entire city. "In 2017, Oakland and Berkeley launched the first multi-jurisdictional, free-floating car share program in the country, allowing users to rent and park vehicles at any legal parking space within the service area," said OakDOT director Ryan Russo, "Today, we add a second operator to that program, offering a space efficient and sustainable electric vehicle." Reveal stated that it will take considerable measures to make sure riders are safe and responsible while riding around on the mopeds. A possible user would need to download the Reveal mobile app and upload their driver's license that confirms that the user is 21 or older to drive. The user also should not have a history of reckless driving, as they won't be accepted into Reveal's program. Once approved by the app, riders can find, reserve and unlock any moped using their phone. Each vehicle comes with two certified helmets and can carry a maximum of two riders. Each ride will cost $1 per person to start and follows with 29 cents per minute. "We've worked closely with the Oakland Department of Transportation to ensure our system will meet the city's needs and help Oakland move towards its emissions reduction goals," said CEO and co-founder Frank Reig. As the mopeds will be a part of the city's car share program, riders can unlock and park in any legal parking space within the Oakland service area. All mopeds must be parked perpendicular to the street with the rear wheel to the curb and can park at the painted T spaces when at a metered space. The company will also offer free lessons for Oakland residents interested in additional riding or safety instruction. Users can sign up online for lessons, which will be located at 1960 Mandela Parkway. As part of the agreement, the moped company will create over 30 new jobs with benefits in Oakland. "This affordable new transportation option will be available through the entire city, helping OakDOT to achieve our goal of equitable access to shared mobility options," said OakDOT director Ryan Russo. 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 day after Puerto Rico's most powerful earthquake in more than a century, scientists warn it's impossible to predict when the tremors will stop. The 6.4 magnitude quake, Puerto Rico's strongest since 1918, leveled buildings and killed at least one man in the southern part of the island early Tuesday morning, leaving more than 300 people homeless. There have been nearly 1,000 tremors in roughly the last week alone and a state of emergency is now in effect. It's just the latest blow to a community that is still feeling the lasting devastation of Hurricane Maria. In Guanica, signs of the earthquake are everywhere. There are downed power lines, buildings reduced to rubble, and cars crushed beneath crumbled foundations. In some areas, it looks like a bomb went off. Puerto Rico Earthquake Cars are crushed under a home that collapsed after an earthquake hit Guanica, Puerto Rico, Monday, Jan. 6, 2020. Carlos Giusti / AP First responders handed out water, provided medical care, and dispersed cots for hundreds of displaced residents as they prepared to settle in for the night. Correspondent David Begnaud said there are people who feel safer outside than they do in their own homes because they've been dealing with earthquakes, as one woman said, seemingly almost every hour for the last seven days. "[I've] never seen anything like this," Felix Rodriguez said. "Never." Rodriguez kept watch over his elderly neighbor Tuesday night. Elsewhere, Rosalie Torres kept her children, 2 and 5 years old, close. "We woke up. We'd been thrown around. Everything was shaking back and forth, back and forth. Everybody [kept] falling back down," Torres said. "Boom, and then it started shaking, everybody started screaming, running, people on the floor," Torres' mother-in-law Noelia DeJesus said. DeJesus told correspondent David Begnaud the family had just finished fixing the damage to their home inflicted by Hurricane Maria. Now, they'll be forced to start over again. Story continues "Really, we don't have no place to stay because our house collapsed," DeJesus said. "I lost everything." Puerto Rico's governor Wanda Vazquez Garced said Tuesday there was no way to prepare for the earthquake and warned families to evacuate because property can be replaced, but lives cannot. The earthquake also destroyed a famous Puerto Rican landmark and natural wonder: The Punta Ventana arch. UNA FOTO MAS CLARA, LA SEGUNDA FOTO ES COMO SE VEIA ANTES (Pasa a ser historia Playa Ventana en Guayanilla luego de fuerte sismo que sacudio el sur de la isla de Puerto Rico esta manana.) pic.twitter.com/GfkUwWp3rS El Lenguetero (@ellenguetero) January 6, 2020 Meanwhile, the Trump administration is monitoring the situation in Puerto Rico, and has authorized FEMA to coordinate relief efforts. Queen Elizabeth to gather with royal family to find a solution to "Megxit" Puerto Rico hit with 5.9 magnitude earthquake, leaving thousands without power President Trump gives new details on what led to the killing of General Soleimani Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 23:12:48|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close The capacity building workshop on Juncao technology was held in Antananarivo, capital of Madagascar, on Jan. 11, 2019. (Sitraka Rajaonarison/Xinhua) Chinese-invented Juncao technology can help Madagascar speed up sustainable development given its potential to transform farmers' livelihoods by increasing their income, a Malagasy official says. ANTANANARIVO, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Juncao technology speeds up Madagascar's progress in 2030 agenda for sustainable development, a Malagasy senior official has said. The general secretary of Madagascar's Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fishery, Tilahy Desire, made the remarks during a capacity building workshop on Juncao technology held on Saturday in Antananarivo, capital of Madagascar, for policy makers and farmers in the country. Juncao, which literally means "mushroom" and "grass," refers to a Chinese-invented technology using grass to grow mushrooms. Its use can help increase local income through low-cost mushroom cultivation and contain desertification by providing a new source of cattle feed. Lin Zhanxi (1st L), a Chinese professor who invented Juncao technology, showed the plantation of mushroom by Juncao during a capacity building workshop on Juncao technology held on Jan. 11, 2019, in Antananarivo, Madagascar. (Sitraka Rajaonarison/Xinhua) "It is with the importance of partners in mind that my department has decided to advance the introduction of Juncao technology in several countries, including Madagascar," the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs finance officer Armin Plum said at the workshop. "Madagascar has enormous climatic potential for planting Juncao grass," Lin Zhanxi, a Chinese professor who invented the technology, told the participants at the workshop. Lin said he hoped Juncao technology will develop in wide scale in Madagascar, where Juncao is still known only through the sale of Juncao cuttings and the giant pennisetum silage bale, which is used to feed livestock during the dry seasons since its implementation in the country in 2017. Tsai Ing-Wen (C) waves as she addresses supporters following her re-election as President of Taiwan on January 11, 2020 in Taipei, Taiwan. China will not change its position that Taiwan belongs to it, Beijing said on Sunday, after President Tsai Ing-wen won reelection and said she would not submit to China's threats, as state media warned she was courting disaster. The election campaign was dominated by China's efforts to get the democratic island to accept Beijing's rule under a "one country, two systems" model, as well as by anti-government protests in Chinese-ruled Hong Kong. "No matter what changes there are to the internal situation in Taiwan, the basic fact that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China will not change," China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. While China says Taiwan is its territory, Taiwan maintains it is an independent country called the Republic of China, its formal name. Tsai, who has firmly rejected China's "one country, two systems" model, won another four-year term by a landslide on Saturday, and her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) secured a majority in parliament. "Taiwan's people once again use the vote in their hands to show the world the value of democracy," Tsai said on Sunday when meeting the head of the United States' de facto embassy in Taipei, Brent Christensen. "Democracy and freedom are indeed Taiwan's most valuable asset and the foundation of the long-term Taiwan-U.S. partnership," Tsai said, vowing to deepen cooperation with the United States on issues from defense to economy. On Saturday, Tsai called for talks to resume with China, but said she hoped Beijing understood Taiwan and its people would not submit to intimidation. However, China will not change its stance on the "one China" principle and opposing Taiwan independence, the Chinese foreign ministry said. "The universal consensus of the international community adhering to the 'one China' principle will not change either." China hoped the world would support the "just cause" of Chinese people to oppose secessionist activities and "realize national reunification", it added. Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said China should respect the election result and stop putting pressure on the island. "Our government will firmly defend the sovereignty of the Republic of China and Taiwan's democracy and freedom," it said. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has extended his condolences to Oman over the death of the Gulf country's sultan, a UN spokesman said, Trend reports citing Xinhua. "The secretary-general extends his profound condolences to the royal family, the government and people of Oman on the passing of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said," said Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric in a statement. The statement highlighted the sultan's leadership, saying he "led Oman for 50 years and spearheaded the transformation of Oman into a prosperous and stable country." "He was also committed to spreading messages of peace, understanding and coexistence in the region and globally, earning the respect of his people and those in the region and beyond," it said. Guterres paid tribute to the sultan's "enduring contributions in the field of regional and international diplomacy," it said. The Sultan of Oman Qaboos bin Said passed away at the age of 79 on Friday evening. Canadian authorities have issued a flood warning in the Greater Toronto Area as a powerful storm is causing hazardous conditions in North America. "Due to the potential for further snowmelt caused by above freezing temperatures in the region, rivers within the Greater Toronto Area will be experiencing higher flows and water levels, resulting in hazardous conditions," said an advisory issued by the Toronto Region Conservation Authority cited by Xinhua news agency. In the advisory, the authority called on residents in the area to exercise "extreme caution" around all bodies of water and avoid driving on flooded roadways in low-lying areas and underpasses. The flood warning is in effect until January 12. Toronto Police said on Twitter that they have reported road closures in the area due to flood-like conditions. The area could witness between 40 and 60 millimetres of rainfall by Saturday evening. Strong winds of up to 80 kilometres per hour are expected on Sunday morning, the authorities added. The fast-moving storm raged through the southern United States on Saturday, leaving at least 10 people dead and a trail of destruction in its wake, The New York Times reported. Powerful winds pummeled Georgia and Tennessee, officials issued flood warnings in Mississippi and strong gusts were predicted in the Midwest. Warnings of hail and snow followed closely behind, extending from Oklahoma up through Michigan. "This is one of the stronger systems that we have seen in recent years," Kurt Van Speybroeck, an emergency response specialist at the Southern Region Headquarters of the National Weather Service, was quoted as saying. High winds were expected in Ohio and along the East Coast. Residents from Western New York to Cleveland were told to expect gusts up to 60 m.p.h. on early Sunday morning. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 17:27:13|Editor: Wang Yamei Video Player Close SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- A documentary about a San Francisco Chinese community leader was screened at a city public library here and inspired Chinese American children to become "ambassadors" who work for closer China-U.S. ties, an organizer said Saturday. The short film about Florence Fang, who is a Chinese American publisher and a prominent Chinese community leader in the San Francisco Bay Area, allowed children from many Chinese American families to learn about Fang, who has been dedicated to promoting China-U.S. friendship for over 80 years, Betty Yuan, an organizer of the U.S. non-profit Bridge Road International Foundation, told Xinhua. Fang was invited to attend the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China after she left the Chinese mainland seven decades ago, Yuan said. "I hope Fang's story will encourage our next generation of overseas Chinese to see her as their model, to continue her endeavor of carrying forward cultural exchanges between Chinese and American people," Yuan said. Fang was the former owner of the San Francisco Examiner, a mainstream U.S. English newspaper in the Bay Area that served as a platform for Chinese Americans to be heard in mainstream U.S. society. She was also the founder of the World War II (WWII) Pacific War Memorial Hall in San Francisco Chinatown, the first private overseas commemorative facility that kept an extensive record of those who fought Japanese aggression in Asia, including China during WWII. Chang-Lynn Tan, a 14-year girl from Mission San Jose High School in Fremont, East Bay, told Xinhua that it was "really interesting to see how Florence Fang was able to preserve her Chinese heritage and combine it with American culture." "By establishing the WWII Pacific War Memorial Hall, she was able to establish a statement where the two countries could work together peacefully to achieve something greater," Tan said. As a Chinese American, it was very empowering to see how Fang could achieve her dreams through hard work and determination, she added. The documentary screening event held at the Main Library of San Francisco Public Library was hosted by the Bridge Road International Foundation in partnership with the Hanlin Education Foundation of America. A new MageCart attack made the headlines, crooks installed a software skimmer on a website that collects donations for the victims of the Australia bushfires . Experts from Malwarebytes have discovered a new Magecart attack that compromised a website collecting donations for the victims of the Australia bushfires . #Magecart skimmer stealing from folks donating to Australia's bushfire effort. Skimmer is 'ATMZOW', exfiltration domain vamberlo[.]com was already known. pic.twitter.com/1qwPqSPEQm MB Threat Intel (@MBThreatIntel) January 10, 2020 Crooks planted a malicious script on the website that was designed to steal the payment information of the donors and send them to a domain under the control of the attackers. The software skimmer named ATMZOW was planted in the checkout page and is executed when visitors of the site adds an item to their cart. Source Bleeping Computer Stolen credit card data are sent to the vamberlo [ . ] com domain. Malwarebytes Jerome Segura has told BleepingComputer that once they became aware of the compromised site they were able to get the vamberlo [ . ] com shut down. states the post published by Bleeping Computer. The malicious domain used by the attackers was shu t down, this means that the software skimmer is not able to send the stolen credit card data to the attackers, but we cannot exclude that attackers could use a different domain. The only way to secure the website is to remove the software skimmer, but the malicious code has yet to be removed. Malwarebytes attempted to contact the owner of the website without success. Unfortunately, many other e-commerce sites were compromised with the ATMZOW skimmer. Querying the PublicWWW online service for the malicious skimmer we can find it on tens of websites. Recently other MageCart attacks were reported by security experts, last week experts reported that the Magecart group has compromised the website of the photography and imaging retailer Focus Camera. Two distinct MageCart groups have compromised multiple European websites for the Perricone MD anti-aging skin-care brand with the intent of stealing customer payment card info. A few days ago I reported the news of two Magecart groups that planted software skimmers on Perricone MD websites in Italy, Germany, and the U.K.. Pierluigi Paganini (SecurityAffairs MageCart attack, hacking) Share this... Linkedin Share this: Twitter Print LinkedIn Facebook More Tumblr Pocket Share On Two persons were on Sunday arrested here for waiving black flags at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's convoy, police sources confirmed. One of the two was identified as Sourav Prasad, the president of the West Bengal unit of the Congress Chatra Parishad, they said. He was held from outside Netaji Indoor Stadium where Modi had come to attend a programme organised by the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT), police said. The incident took place at around 11 am when Modi's convoy was entering the stadium, a senior officer of Kolkata Police said. "As the PM's convoy was entering through the Kshudiram Anushilan Kendra gate, two persons appeared from the crowd and started raising slogans of 'Modi go back' and 'chhatra parishad zindabad'," he said. "They also took out black flags which were hidden in their trousers and began waiving them," he added. The policemen present there immediately nabbed the duo, the officer said. However, the police denied that the incident was a security breach. "The PM's convoy was far off from the spot where these two were waiving the flags... There was no security breach," another senior officer said. Modi arrived here on Saturday on a two-day visit to participate in sesquicentenary celebrations of the Kolkata Port Trust and dedication of heritage buildings to the nation. Students, mostly affiliated to the Congress and the Left parties, continued protests for the second consecutive day on Sunday against the amended citizenship act, despite Modi's assurance that the new law would not harm the interests of any citizen. Activists, who had hit the streets on Saturday with placards that read 'Modi go back' and 'down with BJP', continued their sit-in all night at Esplanade area in the state capital on Sunday, insisting that their agitation would continue till the prime minister leaves the city. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) But among the challenges investigators faced was that the crash site was quickly cleared and bulldozed. Parts of the plane were taken to a nearby hangar. Ukraine didnt get access to the black box until Friday. Prystaiko said investigators were examining pieces of the plane and the chemical residue on it, and were also at a hospital analyzing the bodies of the people who perished in the crash. Shaheed Al-Hafed, January 11, 2020 (SPS) - The National Secretariat of the Polisario Front on Friday denounced implicating some African countries by the Moroccan occupier in committing direct assaults against the Sahrawi Republic by opening the so-called consulates in the occupied cities of Western Sahara, which represents a flagrant violation of the Constitutive Act of the African Union. In a statement culminating its founding session following the 15th congress of the Polisario Front, chaired by President of the Republic, Secretary General of the Polisario Front, Mr. Brahim Ghali, the National Secretariat of the Polisario Front expressed the intention of the Sahrawi Republic, a founding member of the African Union, to take all political and legal steps to ensure respect for the sovereignty of the Sahrawi people over their land and the legal status of Western Sahara as an occupied country in the process of decolonization. In assessing the relationship with the United Nations, the National Secretariat of the Polisario Front confirmed the content of the letter of the President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Polisario Front to the President of the Security Council dated 28 December 2019, which contained the clear practical conditions that the United Nations should provide to restore the lost confidence of the Sahrawi people as a necessary step for the success of the new Personal Envoy in his mission. In this regard, the National Secretariat stressed that the Sahrawi people has run out of patience after 30 years of passive waiting, the most prominent features of which were arrogance and disregard by the Kingdom of Morocco, with the inability and failure of the United Nations to fulfill its original commitment, namely the application of the agreement signed between the two parties to organize a self-determination referendum. (SPS) 062/SPS/T Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion curated for you. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times. Indian history has ignored many major events: PM Modi The countrys history, written during the Colonial rule and after Independence, has ignored several major events, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday, while stressing on the importance of awakening national conscience in the age of violence. Read more here. SGPC panel denied visa to visit Pakistans Nankana Sahib Pakistan government has denied visa to a Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) delegation to visit Nankana Sahib, the birth place of Guru Nanak, after Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib was vandalised by a mob. Read more here. India plans surveillance at major airports following pneumonia outbreak in China India is likely to start surveillance at major airports to track in-bound international passengers, especially those travelling from China, for symptoms of a new strain of pneumonia following an outbreak. Read more here. Affordable education still out of reach for Indians NSO survey shows that only 10.6% of the Indian population aged above 15 years has successfully completed a graduate degree. Read more here. Delhi Assembly Election 2020| CM rewarded those who burnt the city: BJP MP Lekhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday attacked the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for supporting those are who were involved in the violence during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests. Read more here. Ranji Trophy will remain poor cousin of IPL until...: Sunil Gavaskar makes bold suggestion India legend Sunil Gavaskar on Saturday made a suggestion to increase the popularity of countrys premier first-class tournament Ranji Trophy. Read more here. Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite to launch in India on January 23: Heres what we know so far The S10 Lite is going to launch in India just a few days ahead of the annual Galaxy Unpacked event (scheduled for February 11) where the company is expected to launch the Galaxy S20. Read more here. Chhapaak Vs Tanhaji The Unsung Warrior box office day 2: Ajay Devgn film surges ahead with Rs 35.10 cr, Deepika Padukone movie collects Rs 10.77cr Deepika Padukones latest offering Chhapaak showed growth on the second day of the release, making a jump of 35% in the collections from Friday. Read more here. (Natural News) A National Health Interview Survey found that 82 percent of American adults between the ages of 65 and 74 rated their health as either excellent, very good or good despite the fact that around 60 percent of older Americans are managing two or more chronic conditions. The National Health Interview Survey was administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to their data, only 18 percent of participants described their health as either fair or poor. However, this totally contradicts data from the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, which states that roughly 60 percent of adults over the age of 65 are battling at least two chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, bronchitis or emphysema, diabetes, Alzheimers disease and cancer. Older adults may be thinking differently about their health The disparity lies in what older adults perceive as good health. For many people, this means not being burdened by either an illness or a disability. However, for seniors, poor physical function is less important. The factors they consider more important are vitality, healthy emotional well-being, having positive social relationships, remaining active and being generally satisfied with life. Lorelei Goldman, 80, of Evanston, Ill. said: Being healthy means being able to continue doing what I like: going to the theater, organizing programs, enjoying the arts, walking. She has described her health as good despite having gone through ovarian and breast cancer. 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. I have all my faculties and good, longtime friendships, continued Goldman. She said that she is sleeping well and that she is involved in a lot of activities that make her feel sustained and bring her both clarity and joy. Goldmans metrics for what constitutes good health are different from that of younger adults, who may measure their ideal health as closer to the norm of there shouldnt be anything wrong with me. These standards seem to change as people get older. Self-perception is more than just wishful thinking Many researchers have noted that self-rated health can be a good predictor of longevity, even if many of those who claim to be in good health are dealing with one or more chronic conditions. Good cognitive health and use and access to healthcare services are also good factors for long life. (Related: Unlocking longevity: What do people who live to 100 have in common?) Ellen Idler of Emory University and Yael Benyamini of Tel Aviv University were one of the first researchers to highlight the association between self-rated health and mortality in their article published in 1997 in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior. In an interview, Benyamini offered two possible explanations for the disparity between actual health and self-rated health. Firstly, Benyamini suggested that a persons body may be able to tolerate more than what doctors may recommend. A person with diabetes, angina and osteoarthritis may get used to these conditions and find a way to live with them without them greatly affecting their quality of life. Secondly, people who feel healthy, even if they carry an illness or condition, may be more likely to be physically active and take care of themselves better. This means that simply feeling healthy may be enough to help people survive. There are still some dark spots when it comes to self-rated health. For example, African Americans, Asian Americans and Hispanic Americans with lower levels of either income or education are less likely to rate their health positively as they age. Younger women may also perceive their health more negatively than men of a similar age, and a persons mental health also factors in heavily to self-rated health. Sources include: DailyMail.co.uk HealthyPeople.gov KHN.org JSTOR.org Journals.SagePub.com Australia has regained its title as Bali's number one tourist source for the first time since China took the crown in 2017 after a record number of Australians flocked to the holiday island last year. Whether it is because of Bali's warm weather, cold Bintangs or tropical seaside resorts, Australia's love affair with the holiday island is far from fizzing out. Figures by Perth-based Indonesia Institute Inc show Australian arrivals to Bali were up by 5.24 per cent last year, while Chinese tourist numbers continued to collapse. Tourists strolling along the central street of Ubud. Credit:iStock Australians have long been among Bali's largest visitor numbers, with upwards of 1 million travellers taking to the holiday island in 2016. Trump: US troops won't leave Iraq unless it pays for 'money we put in' Iran Press TV Saturday, 11 January 2020 10:22 AM US President Donald Trump says American troops should not leave Iraq unless Baghdad pays for "the money we put in" the country over the past several years, defying calls by Iraqi officials for US troops to withdraw. "If we leave ... you have to pay us for the money we put in," Trump said Friday in an interview with Fox News at the White House. When host Laura Ingraham asked how Trump planned to collect money from Iraq, the president said: "Well, we have a lot of their money right now. We have a lot of their money. We have $35 billion of their money right now sitting in an account. And I think they'll agree to pay. I think they'll agree to pay. Otherwise, we'll stay there." "We built one of the world's most expensive airport facilities, anywhere in the world," Trump told Ingraham. "I mean, I wish we had it in New York. I wish we had it in Washington." Trump had tweeted last week: "The United States has paid Iraq Billions of Dollars a year, for many years. Earlier this week, Iraqi caretaker Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi called for American troops to leave the country after the country's parliament approved a resolution that called for the expulsion of all foreign forces from Iraq. The vote came two days after the US military - acting on Trump's order - launched a drone strike on top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani upon his arrival in the Iraqi capital at the invitation of the Baghdad government. The attack also claimed the lives of senior Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and a number of their companions. Iran subsequently conducted retaliatory missile strikes on two American bases in Iraq. The US State Department said in a statement on Friday that Washington would not hold discussions with Baghdad regarding US troop withdrawal. "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. "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," she added. The US, backed by the UK, invaded Iraq in 2003 under the pretext that the former regime of Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. No such weapons, however, were ever found in the country. The invasion plunged Iraq into chaos and led to the rise of terrorist groups across the region. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Dublin tourism attraction The Vaults Live is to shut its doors after just over a year in business, staff were informed on Friday. Construction giants the Lagan family, who are the main shareholders, are to pull the plug on the interactive venue after a bid to bring in a new shareholder failed last week. Staff - including more than 20 actors - were told of the development on Friday and are to receive formal emails explaining the closure tomorrow. The 5.3m walk-through venue combined live performances and special effects to tell a series of stories about the history of Dublin, featuring characters such as Bram Stoker and Molly Malone. The tourism venture was originally conceived and financed by broadcaster and entrepreneur Paul Blanchfield and Gerald Heffernan, a former independent producer who founded Irish production company Frontier Films. The backers had envisaged that the Dublin 8 venue would ultimately attract up to 450,000 visitors a year but the crowds failed to materialise. The venue - a converted schoolhouse just off Thomas Street - was on leasehold and it is understood that the closure will not see result in large outstanding debts. Cost overruns emerged in the summer of 2018 before the extensively refurbished venue could open, and the company was placed into examinership. It was then the subject of rival investment plans from Tayto Park owner Ray Coyle and separately from the Belfast-based Lagan family, who had just sold their huge construction materials group for 455m. The Lagans won out and backed Heffernan and Blanchfield with a 3m investment that allowed the venue to open in October 2018. Sources said the show had proven popular with audiences but that marketing the venue had proven difficult. "It was an attraction that was just ahead of its time," said a source. "It didn't help that last year was not a great one for tourism." Lagan Investments said in a statement issued to Independent.ie: "It is with regret that we confirm that Vaults Live will cease to trade at the end of January. "The project brought innovation and vibrancy to Dublin's tourism scene. However, having worked closely with and invested in the project's partner and producer since 2018, low visitor numbers over a sustained period impacted the viability of the business. "We will support all team members throughout the process who will remain in post until the end of the month. "Lagan Investments continues to invest in and support a broad range of businesses and start-ups throughout Ireland which creates employment and economic prosperity." Several women held a demonstration in Amaravati on Sunday against the YSR Congress Party government's proposal of three capitals in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Protesters demanded Amaravati to be retained as the only capital of the state. Several protests have taken place across Andhra Pradesh including Mandadam, Tulluru, Velagapudi village against the three capitals proposal. Police forces have been deployed in these areas. There were reports of women farmers being beaten by the police during their protest against the state government's proposal of shifting the state capital to Vizag. Taking suo motu cognizance of the alleged reports of violence on women in Amaravati, the Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Rekha Sharma has announced to send a fact-finding team to Amaravati. The GN Rao Committee, which was set up by the Andhra Pradesh government to look into the suggestion of three capitals had earlier made a favourable recommendation saying the move 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.) 90 Day Fiance Season 7 stars Mursel Mistanoglu and Anna Campisi began to struggle as soon as Mursel arrived in Nebraska from his native country of Turkey. In addition to their language barrier, which requires them to use a translation app for even basic communication, Anna and Mursel clashed over Annas three sons. Because he knew his parents would disapprove, Mursel refused to tell his family back in Turkey that Annas boys even existed. When Mursel finally came clean to his family, things didnt go well, to say the least. And in a newly-released sneak peek of the Jan. 12 90 Day Fiance episode, Mursel and Anna dealt with the heartbreaking aftermath. Anna Campisi | Anna Campisi via Instagram Mursel finally came clean to his parents about Annas three sons After Annas bachelorette party guests urged her to give Mursel an ultimatum, thats exactly what the 90 Day Fiance star did. The 38-year-old mother of three insisted her fiance give his family a call and come clean about her family situation. When Mursel reluctantly agreed, things went even worse than he thought they might. Not only did Mursels parents demand he return to Turkey, but they also told their son theyd never liked Anna in the first place. I never wanted Anna, Mursels mom told him during a video call. While he was heartbroken, Mursel said he couldnt betray his parents and sadly prepared to return to his home country. The 90 Day Fiance stars had a heart-to-heart before he returned to Turkey In TLCs new sneak peek of the Jan. 12 90 Day Fiance episode, Mursel and Anna had what looked like their last conversation before he was slated to leave for Turkey. Mursels face was wet with tears as they sat together on Annas couch, discussing their breakup. I cant believe youre not choosing me, Anna told her fiance. I want marriage, but my family very bad, Mursel said in Turkish. Switching to English, he tried to connect with her one last time, declaring: I love you, Anna. No, you dont, Anna responded sadly. Anna told 90 Day Fiance producers that she was sick of her fiances indecisiveness and lack of courage when it came to his family. Im just angry over this whole situation, she said. I really thought he wouldve picked me over his family and hes not doing that. He keeps telling me that he loves me and hes sorry. But he cant man up and prove it. Anna told Mursel he broke her heart Mursel looked increasingly heartbroken as the conversation continued. He told his fiancee with their translation app, You are so mad at me. Yes, she responded straightforwardly. But Mursel insisted Anna wasnt the only one hurting. I am suffering too much pain, he told her. My heart is broken, Anna admitted, before turning Mursel away when he tried to embrace her. Mursel sat down for an interview with TLC producers, confessing that his breakup with Anna was nothing short of devastating. Anna was awful when I saw her, the 90 Day Fiance star said. She was very sad. She has no hope. I mean, I was devastated. I was very sorry. Back on the couch, Mursel confessed, I will love you for a lifetime. But Anna had had enough. No. Love finish. You lost me, she replied as Mursel sobbed, I know. Finally, she said it was time for him to leave. I just want you to go. Mursel, dont contact me again, okay? Anna demanded. Her fiance was silent as he folded into the couch, still weeping. Tata-SIA joint venture airline Vistara has started phasing out nine Boeing 737 planes, which it had leased after the grounding of Jet Airways, from this month amid induction of the latest batch of A320 neos in the fleet. The airline is returning two of these nine leased B737 from January and the rest seven will be exited the fleet between 2022-23 as they are on long term lease, a Vistara spokesperson told PTI. The government has temporarily reallocated as many as many as 488 Jet Airways' slots to Air India, IndiGo, SpiceJet, Vistara, GoAir and AirAsia India to fill the capacity gap in the wake of the airline ceasing operations mid-April last year. A slot is a specific date and time at which an airline can arrive or depart at an airport. "Two of our Boeing 737-800NG aircraft are exiting fleet this month as their lease tenure ends. The remaining seven have longer lease duration and most of them will exit fleet between 2022 and 2023," a Vistara spokesperson said in response to a PTI query. The spokesperson also said that by the time Vistara phases out all these leased Boeing planes, it would induct more than 50 narrow-body and wide-body aircraft in its fleet from Airbus and Boeing additionally. After the government put a rider that temporary allocation of ex-Jet Airways slots was subject to aircraft induction, Vistara leased nine Boeing 737-800 planes to reportedly secure as many as 110 additional slots of the 488 slots. Vistara, which is 51 per cent owned by the Tata Group and rest by Singapore Airlines, had placed orders for 50 aircraft, comprising both A320 Neos and A321 Neos for domestic as well as short and medium-haul international operations with deliveries between 2019-2023. The airline has already taken deliveries of some of the A320 Neos from this order, starting last November. Besides, the carrier has also bought six Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners for long-haul international operations. Vistara will start inducting these wide-body planes in the fleet from next month. The Delhi-based airline, which completed five years of operations on January 9, currently operates over 200 daily flights to 34 domestic and international destinations. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on Saturday offered a major concession to unions contesting his governments overhaul of the pension system, in a move aimed at ending strikes which are now in their fifth week, Trend reports citing Reuters. Philippe said in a letter to unions and employers that he was prepared to withdraw plans to raise the retirement age for full pension benefits by two years to 64 if certain conditions were met. The compromise that Im offering ... seems to me the best way to peacefully reform our retirement system, Philippe said in a copy of the letter obtained by Reuters. He made the concession after talks between the government and trade unions to break the deadlock failed on Friday. The CFDT, Frances biggest union which is inclined to accept a limited reform, welcomed the move, saying in a statement that it showed the governments will to find a compromise. But the hardline CGT union, which wants the reform dropped altogether, rejected the offer and called on workers to participate in a series of protests planned for next week. The governments concession comes as tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through eastern Paris against the reform, which aims to replace Frances myriad sector-specific pension schemes with a single points-based scheme. The protest turned violent on its fringes with police firing tear gas and charging groups smashing windows and lighting rubbish bins and billboards on fire. The governments standoff with the unions is the biggest challenge yet of President Emmanuel Macrons will to reform the euro zones second-biggest economy. Philippes government had hoped to create incentives to make people work longer, notably by raising the age at which a person could draw a full pension to 64 while maintaining the legal retirement age at 62. The government has argued that the pension reform, which would be the biggest since World War II, would make the system fairer while also putting it on a more sound financial footing. With one of the lowest retirement ages among industrialized nations, France currently spends the equivalent of 14% of economic output on pensions. Philippe aims to present the reform bill on Jan. 24 so that it can be discussed in parliament starting in mid February with the aim of passing a law before the summer break. He said in the letter he expected unions and employers to agree on how to ensure the long-term financing of the pensions system in April. If they failed to agree, the government would pass decrees guaranteeing the pension system is in the black by 2027, he added. The CGT said that was simply a tactic to impose a higher retirement age as unions and employers were unlikely to find an agreement. Eight in 10 Sydneysiders have safety concerns about the structural soundness of high-rise apartment buildings in the wake of the crisis sparked by the cracked Opal and Mascot towers. An Ipsos poll of residents for advocacy group the Committee for Sydney found the quality of construction and the structural integrity of towers were by far their biggest safety concerns, followed by fears of becoming trapped in a fire. Both easily outranked crime as major concerns. The cracked Mascot Towers has stoked safety concerns about high-rise buildings. Credit:Brook Mitchell Retirees, people aged 50 and over, home owners and women are more concerned than the average of those polled about high-rise building safety, while men, high-income earners and those living in towers are less worried. Of those surveyed, 36 per cent were concerned and 48 per cent a little concerned about the structural integrity of high-rises. Only 16 per cent did not have any safety concerns. Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex watch a flypast to mark the centenary of the Royal Air Force from the balcony of Buckingham Palace on July 10, 2018 in London, England. Queen Elizabeth has summoned her grandson Prince Harry for a crisis meeting to discuss future arrangements for him and his wife Meghan following the couple's shock announcement that they want to step back from royal duties. Harry's father Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, and his elder brother Prince William, will also attend the meeting, due to take place on Monday at the queen's Sandringham estate in Norfolk, eastern England, a Buckingham Palace source told Reuters. Meghan, an American former TV actress, will try to join via telephone from Canada where she returned earlier in the week to rejoin the couple's baby son, Archie. Harry and Meghan, officially known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, surprised the rest of the royal family on Wednesday by publicly announcing they wanted a "new working model" that would allow them to spend more time in North America and to be financially independent. They did not consult the 93-year-old monarch or other members of the family before making their announcement on a new website, sussexroyal.com, a move which hurt and disappointed the queen and other royals, according to a royal source. The meeting on Monday will be the first time the senior royals have met in person to discuss the concerns raised by Harry and Meghan. Officials had been holding talks behind the scenes since the bombshell statement to try to work out a new arrangement for the couple, and a royal source said those efforts progressed well. The consultations, which also included the British and Canadian governments, paved the way for a face-to-face meeting between Harry and the queen. The palace source said it remained the queen's aim to a find a resolution to the crisis in days rather than weeks but it would require "complex and thoughtful discussions" and any agreement would take time to be implemented. The split between Harry and the other Windsors is the latest crisis the royal family has faced in a period described last month as "bumpy" by the queen in a televised annual address. To celebrate the 158th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission Sevashrama, Lucknow, organised a series of programmes on Sunday. The National Youth Day celebrations began with a colourful procession that was flagged off by Vikram Singh, former UP director general of police and pro-chancellor of the Noida International University, from the Police Lines Ground here at 10 am. The procession, which included a tableau of Swami Vivekananda and a young boy dressed as the celebrated monk, halted at the Vivekananda Polyclinic and Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, before concluding at the Ramakrishna Math in Nirala Nagar. A school band, more than 600 youths drawn from various educational institutions such as Saraswati Vidya Mandir, Ramadhin Singh Inter College and Police Modern School, as well as paramedical students of Vivekananda Polyclinic and Institute of Medical Sciences also participated in the procession. After that a special programme for youths was organised at the Math. It started with lamp lighting amid chanting of Vedic mantras by brahmacharins. The youths recited the Swadesh Mantra and the Amrit Mantra. Vikram Singh, chief guest on the occasion, addressed the audience about the significance of the National Youth Day and how it was celebrated on Swami Vivekanandas birth anniversary. The youths assembled here are fortunate to be able to participate in this august gathering and receive the blessings of Swamiji on the holy occasion of his birth anniversary, said Singh. Swami Muktinathananda, adhyaksha, Ramakrishna Math, Lucknow, delivered the presidential address. He said that the youth must have self-confidence, physical strength, mental concentration and an attitude of service towards others in order to become successful. The programme concluded with a closing hymn on Swami Vivekananda, followed by the National Anthem and distribution of literature and food packets to the participants. In the evening, another special programme was organised. The various programmes organised on the National Youth Day left an indelible positive impression on the minds of the participants, said Swami Muktinathananda. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Some angry youth in the Tamale Central constituency of the Northern Region have seized a vehicle belonging to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) chair of that area. They claimed Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahim has reneged on a promise to secure them jobs prior to the 2016 general elections. The coalition of youth groups including ward executives have deflated the tyre of the pickup vehicle and are in possession of it. Spokesperson of the group, Shira Majeed, who spoke to JoyNews said, the executive promised them while in opposition that if they worked hard, and the party won the elections they will be rewarded with jobs. Three years after Nana Akufo-Addo won the Presidential election, however, they are yet to see any of the things they promised, he stated. He claimed the party executives abandon them and never stepped foot into the area since they came into power only to appear in another election year. Majeed said they have taken them for granted and only remember them when it is an election year, therefore, their actions. They are tired of being used by people for their personal gains, he added. When JoyNews contacted the Tamale Central NPP chairman, Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahim admitted, the vehicle is in possession of the boys. According to him, the constituency had programmed to engage the various youth groups in the constituency because of agitation among them. He said accusations were levelled against the executives of having seized contracts meant for the boys which were not true and so there was the need to engage with them on some of the issues. Alhaji Mohammed said, the Zogbleli group was the eighth group they were meeting Friday night to engage them to resolve their differences and work towards whipping interest in the proposed new voters register. He said when the meeting began tempers started flaring and he suddenly heard a loud noise. When he asked what was happening. he was told the boys had started loosening his vehicle tyres. The party chairman said he did not react because the boys were angry but revealed they (the boys) went too far by beating the constituencys deputy Nasara Coordinator. Alhaji Mohammed said, he has decided not to press charges because its a party matter. He expects the matter to be resolved amicably at the party level. ---Myjoyonline.com A woman has left social media users in hysterics after sharing her co-worker's excuse for being late to work online. Twitter user Sydney Whitson, from Oklahoma, posted the photograph her anonymous colleague sent to their boss of a dubious-looking nail in a tyre. Alongside the image, Sydney penned: 'My co-worker called in (yet again) and said she had a nail on her tire that caused her to have a flat. I need everyone to stop what they're doing and zoom into the nail in the picture she sent to my boss.' Other social media users couldn't believe the story, and pointed out it looked like a poorly edited picture using an emoji of a nail, with one user questioning why the employee didn't simply use a real picture of a flat tire. Twitter users were left in hysterics after Sydney Whitson, from Oklahoma, shared a photo that cheeky co-worker sent as an excuse for being late to work (pictured) The picture, which was shared last week, was quick to go viral, sparking over 245,000 likes in days. Many could hardly contain their hysterics over the post, with one teasing: 'Hope she isn't a member of your graphics or marketing team.' One excited user asked: 'Bruh why did she take time to badly edit a emoji nail in her tire instead of getting a realistic looking picture off of Google if he asked for a picture? A prime example of work smarter, not harder.' A third mocked: 'Before she picks up her last check, after being fired, tell her to scroll down, closer to the bottom of the Google results page, or even screenshot a pic from Pinterest, for more believable proof.' The picture sparked thousands of likes and comments with many users mocking the woman's unrealistic photo 'Lol. I mean. She literally could of just googled an image of a real tire with a nail in it. It would've been a lot less work', agreed another. Others felt that the employee shouldn't be going to such drastic efforts to avoid work, with one writing: 'If people need to send photo evidence of why they are off work there is a problem to begin with.' Another wrote: 'If this is true, seems like she basically quit. Also if this is true: your boss is really unprofessional.' However, some users were sympathetic of the woman's plight and even offered up photos of their own flat tyres for the next time she wanted to phone in sick. Sydney suggested she was in shock over the image, which she said had been sent to her boss by an anonymous co-worker Social media user Sydney left many social media users in hysterics when she shared her co-worker's excuse online 'Just use this one next time lol. You're welcome courtesy of Northside Drive lol,' said one. Another added: 'I legit don't even know what happened here. I just heard a weird noise and then this happened.' A third wrote: 'Adding to the thread: if anybody needs this picture for work or something feel free to use it :) a truck wheel weight busted my tire over the summer'. Other social media users were divided over the post, with some suggesting the boss was unprofessional for sharing the story in the first place Some users felt that the boss was 'unprofessional' for sharing the story in the first place. One angry user fumed: 'Stop telling her business.' Another commented: 'Mind your own business. Your boss shouldn't be discussing the employee with you.' Janta Dal (Secular) leader and former prime minister, HD Deve Gowda, could return to Parliament as a member of the Rajya Sabha, according to senior functionaries familiar with the matter. In the May 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Gowda left his traditional stronghold of Hassan from where he was elected five times between 1991 and 2014 to his grandson Prajwal Revanna, and contested from the Tumkuru Lok Sabha seat. While Revanna won, Gowda lost to GS Basvraj of the Bharatiya Janata Party by about 13,000 votes. The BJP swept the Lok Sabha polls in the state, winning 25 of the 28 seats and one independent backed by the party also won. The Congress and the JD(S) were reduced to a seat each. Four Rajya Sabha seats from the state will fall vacant this June when Rajeev Gowda and BK Hari Prasad of Congress, Prabhakar Kore of the BJP and D Kupendra Reddy of JD(S) retire there is an opportunity for Gowda to re-enter Parliament. The composition of the state assembly is such that the BJP has 117 seats, apart from backing of two independents, the Congress has 68 seats, and JD(S) has 34. The other two seats are with the Bahujan Samaj Party and a nominated member each. In the indirect Rajya Sabha elections, each candidate would require the support of 44 MLAs, which means BJP can get two members into the Upper House comfortably, while Congress can elect one member. The JD(S) is short of 10 MLAs to directly elect a member from its party. Speaking at the JD(S) national executive meeting recently, party spokesperson Tanveer Ahmed Ullah said JD(S) national executive has requested the former PM to contest the polls. Getting the additional votes will not be a challenge with him as our candidate. Everybody across the political spectrum respects Deve Gowda ji. Karnataka needs a strong voice at Centre, Ullah said. Another JD(S) leader, who did not want to be named, said Gowda is reluctant to contest, but the party and the state need his voice to be heard in Parliament to protect the interests of Karnataka. Apart from its outgoing RS members, Congress is considering the names of Mallikarjuna Kharge, KH Muniyappa and Muddda Hanume Gowda for the lone seat it is assured of winning, said a Congress leader. Its too early to talk about it. The party high command will take a call on who our candidate will be or what we will do with our votes. Deve Gowda has good relations with our high command. We may not be averse to supporting him, he added. Political analyst Manjunath said the state would do well to have a powerful voice at the Centre. Gowda, being a former PM and his cross-party network, would be an asset in protecting the states interests. All this if he manages to convince the Congress to back him and gets elected to the RS, which is a clear possibility, he said. The Bank of England now thinks the City will be better off not having free access to Europe after all. Mark Carney, the outgoing Governor of the Bank, not only acknowledged in an interview that the UK should not agree to align its financial regulations with those of the EU, he went further. He called for the Government not to compromise on this to try to get preferential trade terms. This is an extraordinary volte-face for he was part of the Project Fear camp before the 2016 referendum, but it makes a lot of sense. Europe accounts for about 20 per cent of London's financial services business It varies from market to market, but as a rule of thumb Europe accounts for about 20 per cent of London's financial services business. So much better to focus on the 80 per cent, which would be at risk if the City had European rules imposed on it. In any case, London can serve the European market by setting up local subsidiaries, or by its European customers setting up UK offices to access the City. So far there has been only a trickle of UK jobs being relocated to Europe, despite fears thousands would go. In some services such as foreign exchange, London has actually been increasing its share of the global market. It has also been paying more tax. Last financial year, UK financial services paid 75billion in tax, an all-time record, accounting for 11 per cent of the Government's revenues. The key point is the City is extremely innovative. Innovation can be stifled by regulation. The two great bursts of development in finance of the past 60 years have been London's invention of the Eurodollar market in the 1960s and the 'Big Bang' reforms from 1986 onwards. In the first case, London took advantage of new US regulations, by providing a way round a new US tax the Interest Equalization Tax in 1963. In the second, it took advantage of the freeing of UK domestic regulations such as the Stock Exchange's fixed commissions and the jobber/broker distinction. That cleared the way to increasing its international business. Current innovation includes the burst of new services known as fintech applying technology to create and deliver financial services online, ranging from crowd-funding to robotic investment advice. Some of these services are a bit ropey. But others will change the world. London has the largest single global cluster of successful fintech companies, with 17 of the top 50 located here. Sajid Javid is a Chancellor 'who understands global finance backwards', says McRae As we report here, this new Government will take a more positive attitude to finance. Of course, there have been huge failings in the industry. We need to be vigilant. But we now have a Chancellor, Sajid Javid, who understands global finance backwards, having spent 18 years working in banking in New York, Latin America, and Singapore as well as London before he went into politics. We will also have a new Governor, Andrew Bailey, who understands the City backwards, having spent more than 30 years working at the Bank. There will be tension between the two indeed there should be, because they do different jobs. But having people who understand what they are doing is not a bad place to start. John Lewis There has certainly been tension at the top of John Lewis, and the new chair, Dame Sharon White who starts tomorrow, has a mammoth task on her hands. I know her and she is terrific, but she needs to get a cluster of top retailers around her if that great national institution is to be brought back to health. First, she has to fix the online operation. It is clunky, with poor customer experience. It ought to be as slick as Amazon and as customer-friendly as its stores. Second, she has to trim the property portfolio. There probably have to be some closures, which will not be nice but may be essential. Third, she has to rethink how the partnership should reconnect with its inherently loyal customer base. More appropriate advertising? A better link between the online service and the stores? Create a John Lewis club that is as slick as Amazon Prime? Just about all of us want the Partnership to succeed and that is a great base to work from. But we need a bit of TLC to keep us on board. Dancing on Ice star Trisha Goddard has ruled out any 'drastic' plastic surgery despite having fillers and 'her frown lines done' once a year - and branded young women with breast implants 'mad' because they 'can't feel for lumps'. The TV presenter, 62, from London, who previously battled breast cancer, says her youthful looks are entirely down to being 'muscular and strong'. She believes many women who have undergone dramatic cosmetic procedures 'move like old ladies' because they're not agile. In an interview with The Sunday Mirror's Notebook magazine, the Loose Women host said: 'The best thing I've ever done is get muscular and strong, you sleep better and feel better. Trisha Goddard, 62, from London (pictured) says she would never have 'drastic' plastic surgery - but admits she has 'fillers and her frown lines done' every year Trisha says that her youthful looks are entirely down to being 'muscular and strong'. She is pictured as one of the contestants of ITV's Dancing On Ice 'Where I live in America you see these women who have had all this cosmetic work done but they move like old ladies. 'You need to stay mobile and agile. Once a year I have my fillers done and my frown lines done but I wouldn't have anything more dramatic done. 'I think these youngsters who have breast implants are mad - you can't check for lumps.' Last year Trisha opened up about the gruelling chemotherapy she endured during her breast cancer battle 10 years ago - which led to her undergoing cosmetic treatment. She revealed how she had fillers after her face 'literally fell in' following her treatment and claimed she had Botox to help with her eyesight. Last year on Loose Women, Trisha opened up about the gruelling chemotherapy she endured during her breast cancer battle ten years ago Speaking on Loose Women, she said: 'I believe in being honest. When I was going through chemotherapy and I was on air, my face literally fell in so I had fillers there. 'I had a cranial surgeon do mine and once a year I have those lines done, and a bit of filler in my face, and for the first time last year I had a tiny bit of Botox. 'I have a real issue with my eyesight, and of course Botox was initially developed for eyes, so that is where I got it. 'Don't get me started, I'll get upset because my eyes, I'm really struggling with my sight.' Trisha told how she had a lumpectomy, but they 'moved the fat around' so her boobs 'are OK'. She previously spoke of the 'low moments' she faced during chemotherapy and said at her lowest point she felt like she was '103-years-old'. Trisha, who previously battled breast cancer, claimed that young women who have breast implants put in are 'mad' as you aren't able to 'check for lumps' She told MailOnline: 'I had some very low moments during chemotherapy. How can I describe the pain? It's similar to chronic arthritis and you feel as if you're 103 years old. 'Every connective tissue is screaming out and, one day, I could not stand up. I started panicking. 'But then I remember being told how it helps to breathe deeply and slowly through pain. I was skeptical but I did breathing exercises for about 10 minutes and then, thankfully, it started to work. She continued: 'My physical symptoms included chronic diarrhoea and mouth and throat ulcers. My hair and eyelashes fell out and sometimes I'd be doing a piece to camera in my show and a producer would point out that my false eyelash had fallen off. 'As for food, some days I'd just eat pretzels because I was too nauseous to eat anything else. My eyes got infected and very often there'd be tears streaming down my face.' International relations is typified by its vagueness of definition and its shallowness of justification. Be it protecting citizens of a state in another, launching a pre-emptive strike to prevent what another state might do, or simply understanding the application of a treaty provision, justifications can prove uneven and at odds. The pre-emptive jerk behind the killing of Major General Qasem Soleimani of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps-Quds Force was one such occasion. (It transpires that there was another effort, failed as it turned out, against the Quds commander Abdul Reza Shahlai.) The ingredients behind the drone strike were supposedly clear: the now vanquished leader of the Quds operational arm was planning attacks on US soldiers and interests. In any case, he had killed many US personnel before. The attack could therefore be seen as an adventurous, and advanced reading, of self-defence, billed by the legal fraternity as anticipatory self-defence. Article 51 of the United Nations Charter qualifies the use of force against another state by imposing two conditions. There must be authorisation by the Security Council to use force to maintain or restore international peace and security. The second arm of the provision legitimises the use of force where a state is exercising its recognised right to individual or collective self-defence. But the boundaries of the latter are often unclear; they include preventive military action and pre-emptive military action, with the former focused on targeting the enemys acquisition of a capacity to attack, the latter focusing on foiling an imminent enemy attack. Both the United States and Iran duly resorted to Article 51 letters in light of Soleimanis killing. US Ambassador to the UN, Kelly Craft, claimed that the strike took place as a response to an escalating series of armed attacks in recent months by Iran and its proxies on US personnel and interests in the Middle East in order to deter the Islamic Republic of Iran from conducting or supporting further attacks against the United States or US interests. The addition purpose of the attack was to degrade the Islamic Republic of Iran and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force-supported militias ability to conduct attacks. Iranian Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi obliged with a counter letter to the UN on Wednesday justifying its January 8 actions in retaliation against a US airbase in Iraq for the killing of Soleimani. The retaliatory strikes were deemed measured and proportionate, precise and targeted, and left no collateral damage to civilians and civilian assets in the area. For all the padding offered, the Soleimani killing could be considered a legacy of a tenuous, and precarious reading of self-defence offered by the United States since 2001. US policy makers have done their obfuscating bit to compound the sheer vagueness of anticipatory self-defence since President George W. Bush occupied the White House. The US National Security Strategy of 2002, followed by its 2006 variant, showed the sloppiness that comes with imperial overconfidence in the pursuit of enemies. Pre-emption and prevention lose their distinct forms when the drafters search for legitimate uses of force against a shady enemy that prefers to play by different rules. NSS 2002 acknowledges that centuries of international law recognized that nations need not suffer an attack before they can lawfully take action to defend themselves against forces that present an imminent danger of attack. But the scope is given a good widening. The United States has long maintained the option of pre-emptive actions to counter a sufficient threat to our national security. The greater the threat, the greater is the risk of inaction and the more compelling the case for taking anticipatory action to defend ourselves, even if uncertainty remains as to the time and place of the enemys attack. Embracing such a broad reading of pre-emption was conditioned by the capabilities and objectivities of todays adversaries. Rogue states and terrorists do not seek to attack us using conventional means. So it goes: the enemy obliges us to adjust, alter and repudiate conventions. Flying civilian planes into the Twin Towers in New York on September 11, 2001 constituted such an unconventional manner of attack. The 2006 National Security Strategy stated unequivocally that the place of pre-emption in our national security strategy remains the same though conceding that no country should ever use pre-emption as a pretext for aggression. Using such force would take place after weighing the consequences of our actions. The reasons for our actions will be clear, the force measured, and the cause just. Four years later, under the Obama administration, the position had not much improved, and the muddle remained. The killing of a senior Iranian commander in circumstances that could hardly be seen as a matter of combat revived that hoary old chestnut of imminent threat. When US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was pressed about the nature of such imminence in a press conference, the old tangle of interpretations became manifest. Mr. Secretary, came one question, the administration said this strike was based on an imminent threat, but this morning you said we didnt know precisely when and we didnt know precisely where. Thats not the definition of imminent. Pompeo was not exactly helpful, resorting to the classic rhetorical device of circularity. We had specific information on an imminent threat, and those threats included attacks on US embassies. Period. Full stop. He conceded to not knowing, with exact precision, which day it wouldve have been executed. I dont know exactly which minute. But the evidence was sound enough: Soleimani was plotting a broad, large-scale attack against American interests. And those attacks were imminent. Each time he was confronted with a question on clarification, Pompeo dissembled. In not taking any action to stall the efforts of Soleimani, the Trump administration would have been culpably negligent in not recommending the president to take his action. President Donald Trump, for his part, has given the impression of justified clarity. I can reveal, he told Fox News, that I believe it would have been four embassies. Before a campaign rally in Ohio on Thursday, he suggested that Soleimani had been actively planning new attacks, and he was looking very seriously at our embassies, and not just the embassy in Baghdad. None of this really matters in the final analysis. Uses of force must be justified after the fact, and the tradition of big power statecraft shows that the more formidable a power, the more likely threats against it will be magnified. The attack on Soleimani had as much to do with inflated claims of US security as it did with chronic insecurity. Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne. Email: [email protected] New Delhi: The candidates who are preparing for WBPSC Clerk examination, we have some important news for you. The West Bengal Public Service Commission will release WBPSC Clerk Admit Card soon. The candidates must note that the admit card will be available on the official website of the commission i.e. pscwbonline.gov.in. As per the media reports, the admit card is expected to be out next week. The candidates who will have to appear for the examination can download the admit card after it releases from the official site of WBPSC at pscwbonline.gov.in. As per the official notice, the Clerkship Exam, 2019 (Part-I) will be conducted on January 25, 2020. Here are some of the important details of the examination: The written examination will consist of two parts- Part I will be objective type questions and Part II will be the conventional type. Part-I will carry 100 marks having 100 questions of 1 (one) mark each. The Part-I will comprise of multiple choice and Part II shall consist of conventional type questions on Group-A: English Group-B: Bengali/Hindi/Urdu/Nepali/Santali carrying 50 marks each for Group-A and Group-B. The direct recruitment exam will be conducted at various centres in Kolkata and in certain other districts in West Bengal. Candidates who will be selected for appointment will be required to appear before a Medical Board for certificates of their fitness for Government service in the form prescribed for the purpose. For more related details can visit the official site of WBPSC. Davinder Singh, who is presently posted as the deputy superintendent of police at the airport, was detained along with the top commanders. (Photo Credit: PTI) New Delhi: A deputy superintendent of Jammu and Kashmir police was detained in a car along with two Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashker-e-Taiba terrorists in south Kashmir, officials said on Saturday night. Davinder Singh, who is presently posted as the deputy superintendent of police at the airport, was detained along with the top commander of Lashker-e-Taiba Naveed Babu and Altaf of Hizbul Mujahideen, they said. The officials said that the police officer is alleged to have been ferrying the militants from Shopian area, possibly out of the valley. Deputy Inspector General of South Kashmir Atul Goyal was supervising the operation and caught the car at a police barricade at Mir Bazar in Kulgam of South Kashmir. The DIG, according to the eyewitness, lost his cool at the DySP. Two AK rifles were seized from the car. A search was conducted at his residence and the police allegedly seized two pistols and one AK rifle, the officials said. Senior police officials termed the DySPs involvement unfortunate. Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh did not respond to repeated attempts to seek comments from him on the issue. Earlier this month, security forces arrested Nisar Ahmad Dar, a most wanted terrorist affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit, from Jammu and Kashmirs Srinagar. Arms and ammunition were also recovered from his possession. This comes at least two weeks after a Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Saddam Mir was arrested during a search operation in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir. On December 22 last year, Rayees Lone, another terrorist linked with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), was arrested in Jammu and Kashmirs Ganderbal. Rayees was involved in supporting and assisting active terrorists in the area. Terror alert in Kashmir With an aim to prevent the normalcy from returning Kashmir, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) are preparing for terror strikes this winter, latest intelligence reports have warned. Tensions are high in Kashmir after New Delhi on August 5 announced abrogation of provisions of Article 370 and decided to bifurcate the state into Union territories - Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh - hours after Kashmir was placed under a total clampdown. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. A jihadist attack on a military camp in western Niger three days ago left 89 soldiers dead, according to a new toll announced by the government on public radio Sunday. "After a thorough search, the toll has been established as 89 dead among friendly forces, and 77 dead for the enemy," said spokesman Zakaria Abdourahame. Three days of national mourning have been declared to honour the dead. The previous toll given for Thursday's attack on the Chinegodar camp was 25 soldiers killed. Heavily armed assailants had stormed the military base in an area where dozens also died in a previous jihadist attack. The raid near to the volatile frontier with Mali was carried out by attackers in vehicles and on motorbikes. The attack happened in the same region Tillaberi, also bordering Burkina Faso, where 71 Niger soldiers were killed in a December attack, claimed by the Islamic State group, that saw hundreds of jihadists storm a camp near the border with Mali with artillery. The latest attack is the deadliest on Niger's military since Islamist extremist violence began to spill over from neighbouring Mali in 2015. The December attack spurred leaders of the G5 Sahel nations to call for closer cooperation and international support in the battle against the Islamist threat. Militant violence has spread across the vast Sahel region, especially in Burkina Faso and Niger, having started when armed Islamists revolted in northern Mali in 2012. Thousands of civilians have also died and more than a million have been forced to flee their homes since the jihadist revolt began. Analysts note an escalation in the jihadists' operational tactics, which seem to have become bolder and more complex in recent months. Ranged against them are the impoverished armies of Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, plus a 4,500-man French force in the Sahel and the 13,000-man UN force in Mali, MINUSMA. The Sahel region of Africa lies to the south of the Sahara Desert and stretches across the breadth of the African continent. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pat Finken knows his way around North Dakota. The mover and shaker from Douglas who built Odney into a premier advertising agency and who worked on campaigns for both of North Dakota's U.S. senators made many friends across the state that turned into clients over the course of his 30-year career with the firm. "The first account I signed after I came in as partner was Coca-Cola. I had a friend who was regional rep, and we did some creative for them that started regionally and ran nationally," Finken said in an interview with the Tribune. Since then, "We have had a lot of success and done a lot of remarkable things." Finken officially retired and stepped back into an advisory and consultant role with Odney on Jan. 1, following the sale of his ownership shares to a group of employees last March. "Pat has built an incredible organization. Our challenge now is to live up to his standards and continue to build upon the legacy he left for us," said Don Larson, Odney president. Odney, once named the "Top Shop" in the state by Adweek, a notable advertising trade publication, saw its billings grow from just under $1 million to over $20 million during Finken's tenure with the firm. Finken came on board with Odney as a partner to founder Jim Odney in 1990, following the completion of his degree at Minot State and a 12-year stint in Minot doing sales, management and some radio work for Reiten Broadcasting, now known as KX News. Rapid growth within Odney's business in both Minnesota and North Dakota led to an amicable split of the firm between the two partners in 1996. "I was focused on North Dakota, he was focused on Minnesota, so we split the company in two. I kept the North Dakota piece and he (Jim Odney) kept the Minnesota piece," Finken said. Odney made several key acquisitions over the years, including Graphic Traffic, DH Research and I-Net Technologies, to expand its capabilities in web design and primary research. Several of his advertisement campaigns went national over the years, including work for Taco John's, Coca-Cola, and one for a labor group out of Tacoma, Wash., that ran during a World Series. His favorite campaign, however, was one that any North Dakota resident would recognize. Finken worked on the "Legendary" branding campaign in the early 2000s for use on tourism and state government materials that has seen long staying power. It has since been slightly tweaked to "Be Legendary." "The Legendary campaign was really the first major, research-driven branding campaign that the state had done. The work that went into creating that and the research that drove it was really impactful and served us well," said Sarah Otte Coleman, tourism division director. She got acquainted with Finken in the late 1980s or early 1990s and said she's always respected his work. "He always cared, and thats what you really want. You don't want somebody who's just going to sell the newest, greatest thing to get attention and win awards. You want somebody whos really focused on doing the right thing and moving the bar and measuring it," Coleman said. "We just have considered him a great partner." He's influenced state government in other ways as well. Twice in his career he's taken leaves of absence from Odney to serve as a campaign manager and media adviser to top Republican campaigns: once in 2000, to help out childhood friend and now U.S. Sen. John Hoeven defeat Heidi Heitkamp to become governor, and again in 2018, when he helped Kevin Cramer defeat Heitkamp for her U.S. Senate seat. Hoeven said Finken was a frequent supporter of North Dakota Republican candidates, and a "great guy, very outgoing." "When I decided to run for governor, he was just a natural to be my campaign manager" alongside co-campaign manger Carol Olson, Hoeven said, adding that Finken is a champion for business in rural America. Finken served on the board of directors for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a business-oriented lobbying group, for six years in the 2010s. "His roots go back to rural North Dakota and he understands the challenges of running a business in a small town," Hoeven said. Odney President Don Larson, who has also worked as a campaign manager on one of Hoeven's governor's races and two of his Senate races, said Finken has great intuition and ideas when it comes to advertising, but didn't realize how good of a leader he was until he went to work for Odney. "Its a fun place to work. Weve got a great team that hes put together here through the years. Were not only colleagues, but we're a family here, and thats because of his leadership," Larson said. Finken has also been recognized for his philanthropic work. He was nominated for the Tribune Awards in 2018 for his role in establishing an emergency homeless shelter after Bismarck's only shelter closed in October 2017. He said it feels bittersweet to step back from a successful business he helped build, but feels gratitude for the opportunities the state gave him. "I really am grateful to the people I've worked with all these years: the clients and my friends and family," Finken said. "Its been a fun ride." Finken, 62, is a snowbird, and is spending the winter in Arizona golfing and working on a few special projects. He and his wife, Lori, have two adult children, Erin and Alex. Reach Bilal Suleiman at 701-250-8261 or Bilal.Suleiman@bismarcktribune.com Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Nearly seven years ago, two boys were diagnosed on the same day at the Medical University of South Carolina with identical rare brain tumors. They both lived in Mount Pleasant. There were other children who had been diagnosed with cancer, too. Over the years, pediatric cancer cases seemed to be cropping up around town. It got people talking to each other on social media. And, in 2017, the online chatter captured a television reporter's attention. "Eleven cases of rare tumors, most in three neighboring Mount Pleasant subdivisions," reporter Alex Heaton told viewers on Charleston ABC affiliate WCIV Channel 4. "Is it the water? ... Is it the air, or simply more awareness of rare brain diseases as the population grows?" The three-minute segment aired June 26, 2017. No one could have guessed it at the time, but the segment sparked a 38-day crisis that sent health experts and water-safety staff scrambling to manage a public relations mess. The story quickly escalated from local TV to national news. Attorney Erin Brockovich, famously played by actress Julia Roberts 20 years ago in an Oscar-winning feature film, chimed in on the controversy. There are more unanswered questions about Mount Pleasant and Charleston, South Carolinas water quality than there are answers, Brockovich posted on Facebook two weeks after the first TV spot aired. From the get-go, officials assured the public they should not worry. The water was clean and there was no cancer cluster in Mount Pleasant, the state health department repeatedly said. But that didn't stop parents from panicking about their children's health or real estate agents from fearing what might happen to home values in some of the Charleston area's most desirable neighborhoods. "There was just lots and lots of misinformation," said Clay Duffie, general manager of Mount Pleasant Waterworks. Duffie was fishing with a friend when he first heard about the TV story. An official from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control called him on a boat. "Weve got a problem with accusations," Duffie remembered the DHEC official told him. "I said, 'Yeah, I hear you,'" Duffie responded. "We initiated the crisis communications plan the very next day." Unlike some public health statistics such as flu deaths and hospitalizations which are reported on a weekly basis cancer incidences and deaths take years to compile. DHEC, which is responsible for making these numbers publicly available, still hasn't reported any information related to childhood cancer cases occurring from 2017 to 2019. But the data has been updated since the cancer cluster scare of 2017 and it shows there is no cause for concern in the Lowcountry. In fact, the number of childhood cancer cases in Charleston County has declined in recent years. In 2004, 23 children in Charleston County were diagnosed with some type of cancer. By 2016, that number had fallen to 13. "I was skeptical of (a cancer cluster) all along. Im a data person. I wanted to see numbers that were proof," said Erin Benson, whose son, Sam Lee, was one of the two boys diagnosed with the same rare form of terminal brain cancer at MUSC. Sam died in 2016. "When your kid is diagnosed with something that youd never imagine, you absolutely need to blame something. There has to be a reason, right?" Benson said. "Looking for a villain is a super-normal human response. Im glad that there is no villain in this case, at least as far as we know. I think that would be worse." Heaton, who now works as an attorney, referred all questions about the 2017 report to Cathy Hobbs, WCIV's news director. Hobbs declined to comment. Cluster 'alarms' Andrew Lawson is a distinguished professor of biostatistics at the Medical University of South Carolina and has spent his career studying cancer clusters in the United States and Europe. He said "cluster alarms," like the one sounded in Mount Pleasant in 2017, are common. "In fact, cluster alarms arise almost daily in California," he said. The alarm raised in Mount Pleasant didn't meet the definition of a cluster for several reasons, he said. Many of the children under scrutiny had been diagnosed with different types of cancer. And it was likely that their families had moved into Mount Pleasant from other areas of the country, Lawson said. "The Mount Pleasant area has a large amount of immigration," he said. Cancer clusters do exist, he said, but they aren't always related to environmental sources. "There are potentially a lot of different causes," he said. "Especially childhood brain cancer, its not very clear." To actually prove that a cluster of cancer cases is linked to an environmental source, he said, public health officials must be able to establish that the patients were exposed to the source and they must identify the obvious "causative agent." "Its actually quite hard to prove, to definitely prove, a link to an environmental source," he said. "You might be strongly suspicious ... but its very difficult to prove it." In the original TV segment, WCIV reported that DHEC was examining its cancer data but could not immediately provide answers. Gary Schwitzer, who formerly ran the medical news unit at CNN, criticized the TV station for rushing to air the segment without more information from health officials. In 2005, he founded a website called Health News Review, which offers critical analysis of health care coverage in the media. "You cant rush to judgment and you cant rush to publicizing without knowing the landscape, without knowing the science and without knowing what it might mean and what it might not mean," Schwitzer said. "Even if this (cancer cluster) was real, there was nothing in a 24- to 48-hour time frame that dictates the rush to broadcast before you can get state and federal agencies to weigh in." On June 28, two days after the first TV segment aired, DHEC announced it had analyzed the data and determined no cancer cluster existed in Mount Pleasant. "In our minds, that was good news, naturally," said Michael Saia, a spokesman for Charleston Water System. "We thought that might be the end of it." 'Fear first, facts second' Water officials in Mount Pleasant and Charleston bore the brunt of public criticism during the crisis. Some residents, wanting to make sure their drinking water was safe, started buying test kits online and questioning water officials about the results. Those home-based tests fell short of industry-accepted standards, Saia said, and could not be considered reliable. "It was one of the most challenging situations and, I got to say, one of the most rewarding situations. We learned a lot," said Duffie, of Mount Pleasant Waterworks. Duffie's department issued press releases and held public meetings through the crisis. Likewise, Charleston Water System, which sells some of its water to Mount Pleasant, had to manage its message carefully. "We knew our water was completely safe," said Kin Hill, CEO of the Charleston Water System. "We dont just meet the regulatory requirements for our water, we exceed them." Duffie estimated Mount Pleasant Waterworks spent about $106,000 during the crisis on overtime and extra water sampling costs. The department has since changed some of its practices in response to the alarm. It flushes school pipes after holidays, for example, to ensure that children are drinking clean, fresh water, Duffie said. Saia, the spokesman for the Charleston Water System, estimated the department spent $60,000 on "unrequired" testing and has since implemented a new protocol to test the water for contaminants beyond those that are required by the Environmental Protection Agency. All of those results are published online. None of them exceed regulatory limits. "We had some parents who were really genuinely concerned for their kids. We recognized the sensitivity in the whole situation," Saia said. But he criticized the initial TV report for causing undue alarm. "It seemed like it was fear first, facts second." A spokeswoman for the state health department told The Post and Courier the 2017 cancer incidence data would be ready later this month. Iranian authorities briefly detained Britains ambassador in Tehran on Saturday, according to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, after he was reportedly arrested during protests against the regime. The arrest of our ambassador in Tehran without grounds or explanation is a flagrant violation of international law, Raab said in a statement after the detention of Rob Macaire. he minister warned Iran that it was at a cross-roads moment, and had to choose between its march towards pariah status or take steps to de-escalate tensions and engage in a diplomatic path forwards. caire was arrested for allegedly inciting protesters in Tehran angry at the militarys accidental downing of a Ukranian passenger jet, killing 176 people, most of them Iranian citizens, according to the Daily Mail. He was released after around an hour, it added. President Hassan Rouhani said a military probe into the tragedy had found missiles fired due to human error brought down the Boeing 737, calling it an unforgivable mistake. The admission was an important first step, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said earlier Saturday. We will do everything we can to support the families of the four British victims and ensure they get the answers and closure they deserve, he said in a statement issued by his Downing Street office. Johnson added that Britain would work closely with Canada, Ukraine and other international partners to ensure a comprehensive, transparent and independent international investigation and the repatriation of those who died. This tragic accident only reinforces the importance of de-escalating tensions in the region, he said. It is vital that all leaders now pursue a diplomatic way forward. Australia has reclaimed its title as Bali's number one source of tourism for the first time since China took the crown in 2017. Official figures to be released this week reveal a record 1.23 million Australians traveled to Bali in 2019, a 5.4% increase from the previous year. The figures were released by the Perth-based Indonesia Institute Inc who have been working closely with the Bali tourism board for the past six years. Indonesia Institute President Ross Taylor told the Daily Mail Australia said that could possibly correspond with 'people trying to escape the bushfires.' He said it's also likely to do with the growing wellness culture among Australians. Australians have traded in wild nights out for wellness retreats and yoga escapes in Bali (stock) 'Bali has reinvented itself, changing its perception from being full of bogans and drunks to a more sophisticated demographic with a good range of high quality restaurants and food,' he said. He said Australia has always had a love affair with Bali, but Chinese influence from 2016 boosted their visitation figures. 'Until 2016 we had been the kings and queens of Bali but 2017/18 the Chinese have come storming in after an international scam run by the Chinese mafia,' he said. The scam involved Chinese buying up restaurants, hotels and tour buses and then offering heavily-discounted upfront payments for packaged tours. The way the tours were run meant when the Chinese tourists were arriving in Bali none of their money was going into the actual Indonesian economy - but into the businesses set up by the Chinese operators. Official figures to be released this week have revealed a large jump in the number of Aussies going to Bali (stock image) in 2019 'Contrary to public perception Australians are really well behaved... they're not getting pissed they're at wellness retreats,' Indonesia Institute President Ross Taylor said Early last year the Indonesian Governor started raiding Chinese establishments and cracking down on the operations. Meanwhile the reputation of Bali as a party destination is changing. The same set of figures revealed the percentage of Australians who have gotten into trouble requiring police attendance in Bali was only 0.17%. 'Contrary to public perception Australians are really well behaved... they're not getting p***ed - they're at wellness retreats,' he said. He said its only a very small percentage of high profile Australians who are creating this international reputation as a nation of troublemakers. 'It's really damaging the reputation of Australians abroad,' he said. As angry demonstrations broke out in Iran for a second day over the way Tehran has handled the downing of a Ukrainian passenger airliner by its air defenses, reports suggest the authorities have refrained from using excessive force to confront demonstrators. But the situation in Tehran and in other Iranian cities was tense throughout the day on January 12, and tensions were rising as crowds began to gather for planned evening demonstrations. At sundown, one clash was reported between security forces and protesters at Tehran's Beheshti University, where student protesters had been chanting anti-government slogans throughout the day. Meanwhile, security forces were bracing for mass demonstrations on the evening of January 12 at several public spaces in central Tehran, including Azadi Square and Vali-e Asr Square. Video from Azadi Square showed crowds of protesters gathering shortly after sundown on January 12. Earlier in the day, student protesters at several Iranian universities denounced the country's religious leadership and the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which maintains internal order and protects the political system. A day earlier, protests broke out in several Iranian cities when senior officials admitted that Ukrainian International Airlines Flight PS752 had, indeed, been shot down by an Iranian antiaircraft missile shortly after it took off from Tehran's Imam Kohmeini International Airport on January 8. All 176 people aboard were killed. Iran's military said the Boeing 737-800 airliner was shot down "unintentionally" by air-defense forces, which were on high alert following an Iranian ballistic-missile attack a few hours earlier against U.S. forces in Iraq. Over the previous three days, Iranian military and political leaders had repeatedly declared it was impossible that Iranian air defenses had shot down the plane. They insisted that such reports were part of a campaign of "psychological warfare" against Iran being led by the United States. After the January 11 admission, protests broke out in the cities of Tehran, Isfahan, Hamadan, Kerman, Rasht, Sari, Shiraz, Babol, and Urmian. Demonstrators were confronted late on January 11 at Hafez Bridge in central Tehran by police who fired tear gas at them. But reports suggest authorities were more restrained in other cities where protests continued into the early morning hours of January 12. Shortly after dawn on January 12, security forces were deployed across the Iranian capital and in several other cities in an attempt to prevent crowds from gathering for further demonstrations. Around noon, some 1,000 demonstrators at Beheshti University and hundreds at Allameh Tabatabai University in Tehran could be heard chanting: "They are lying that our enemy is America. Our enemy is right here." Those protesters also declared "the students are vigilant and are disgusted" with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Meanwhile, at Isfahan University of Technology in the central Iranian city of Isfahan, protesters declared that the IRGC "commits crimes" and Iran's supreme leader "supports" them. At Vali-e Asr Square in Tehran, demonstrators on January 12 unveiled a large black banner with the names of victims of Flight PS752 -- many of whom were Iranian or Iranian-Canadian citizens. But by mid-morning, after riot police and plainclothes security officers were deployed at Vali-e Asr Square and elsewhere in Tehran, the banner had been removed. Iranian state news agencies, which usually criticize protesters who chant anti-government slogans, did not condemn the students who demonstrated in Tehran and Isfahan on January 12. Instead, the news agencies noted that "some angry students" had chanted at gatherings that were meant to be vigils for the victims of Flight PS752. The latest protests in Iran come just weeks after authorities used deadly violence to quell anti-government demonstrations that began in mid-November after Tehran announced that gasoline prices in the country would be dramatically increased. As those protests spread to more than 100 Iranian towns and cities, they quickly turned political, with some slogans targeting Iran's conservative clerical establishment -- including chants of "Mullahs get lost," "Death to Khamenei," and "We do not want the Islamic republic." That prompted authorities in Tehran to shut down the Internet across the country for six days in an attempt to stop information about the protests and the government crackdown from being spread on social media. Reuters in late December quoted three unnamed officials from Iran's Interior Ministry who said the death toll from the government crackdown was "about 1,500" people, including "at least 17 teenagers and about 400 women." How does star power manage a snowball effect on public opinion? Is it the brand; or the lives lived on screen which makes for a certain aura and adds to the infallibility of the person? Deepika Padukone had the nation talking when she came out of the blue in all black and appeared to resolve the grey lines in a controversial campus episode which has so divided India. The New Indian Express takes a re-look at the crisis and the persona. Last week when Deepika Padukone made an unscheduled and surprising appearance on the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus in New Delhi, she had the nation riveted. She stood there, speaking nothing, but captured all the attention. Head-to-toe in black incidentally the colour of the Hong Kong protests Deepika appeared in the crowd stealthily like a ninja, interacted with the JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh with folded hands, listened to former JNUSU chief Kanhaiya Kumar with eyes lowered and took off quietly. ALSO READ: Bollywood condemns attack on JNU, call out Delhi police for inaction Here was the star wielding her immense brand power, drawing eyeballs and forcing people to think a big influencer! By that one act, she may have heaped attention on JNU to such extent as to give the students movement some legitimacy among people who generally dismissed them as rabble-rousers and anti-nationlists; and delegitimised the attackers who wielded the stick, while putting the police and administration in a dilemma on how much further force to use to tackle the rebellion. It, in effect, brought caution into play. Why was she there after all? was the question, which hung on social media for days. Some attributed a conscience, others, publicity to bolster her maiden directorial venture Chhapaak and ensure its success. The overwhelming sentiment was, She has risked herself her standing, her fame, her films. The unforgiving bayed for blood-a boycott of Chhapaak. STUNNING AVATAR Deepikas voiceless act, however, was different, a political stunner, and came at a juncture when the JNU happenings had again been turned to questions of national virtues vs anti-national and when political capital was sought by either sides over it amidst a deeply divided public opinion. The act forced Bollywood stars, only known for onscreen activism in their movies till now, to join the campus movement, which had till recently only JNU alumni Swara Bhaskar as its B-town poster-girl, among a few others. ALSO READ | I want to know what Deepika Padukone's political affiliation is: Smriti Irani at ThinkEdu Conclave Brand power has been known to influence public opinion, radically at times. Closer home there have been examples in the successes of silver screen personalities NTR, Jayalalitha, MGR Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh who challenged status quo in politics. Their larger than life screen presence had helped. Then, there have been stars nominated to politics Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini etc. talking selectively on issues, steering off the controversial. There are also the Mahesh Bhatts and Anupam Khers and Paresh Rawals taking up social and political causes strongly at times. The Johars and the Kapoors have been silent though. Unlike Tollywood, where the Bengal history steeped in Tagore and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in the context of the legacy of the freedom movement and struggles of people, besides the rich cultural and artistic connect on campuses and the countryside where Baul too stirs the soul, the Bollywood majority has kept away from voicing its feelings on any issue. The surprise, this time, were the numbers which stood out to condemn the campus violence. Alia Bhatt, Sonam Kapoor, Hansal Mehta, Anurag Kashyap, Anubhav Sinha, Jim Sarbh, Dia Mirza, Shabana Azmi and family (Javed, Farhan and Zoya Akhtar), have been among the growing list of angry Indians, the latest being Kartik Aryan. Deepika Padukone at a gathering on JNU violence at JNU campus in New Delhi on Tuesday. (Photo | EPS) LOST IN THE MIDDLE Maybe they were waiting, testing the waters, whether JNU would die out on its own like #MeToo and the lynchings, over which many had chosen silence, said freelance lifestyle writer Salva Mubarak, who has taken up the cudgels to correct the spine of celebrities on her online parody magazine, Rayon. There were still those who sent out PR crafted statements that sort of appease both sides. And then you had Kangana Ranaut saying, In our population, only three to four per cent people pay taxes. Others are actually dependent on them. So, who gives you right to burn buses, trains, create ruckus? Being politically articulate is not every actors forte, maybe why Deepika chose presence over speech. Alia, who recently tweeted a wrong Preamble, would know. Yet, she has continued to voice her concerns, undeterred. Even Taapsee Pannu. Despite admitting in an interview that she hadnt expressed her views on CAA because I havent studied about it, Pannu is distressed over violence in universities. CAA or no CAA, what happened in JNU is totally wrong, she tells us. Violence on students and teachers is brutal to a level that it cant be tolerated anymore. I get petrified imagining that a few years back, when I was in college and if this wouldve happened, how I and my family wouldve felt, and how I wouldve expected my country to stand by the students. No political agenda can justify this assault. Its plain, simple WRONG. Her Twitter bio says it all, all in all REAL.... with flesh, blood and SPINE :) and her feed is populated with videos on the student movement. PILLOW FIGHTS While Deepika appeared anti-establishment, husband Ranveer Singh, otherwise loud, flashy and full of OTT antics, has been stoking another kind of silence. Another puzzle is Twinkle Khanna-Akshay Kumar. For the tweet wherein Khanna condemned Jamia violence India, where cows seem to receive more protection than students, is also a country that now refuses to be cowed down, she got trolled by people asking her to pass on the advice to her own husband, who fuelled a PR nightmare with his accidental like of a video that justified Jamia students. Whether politics continues to be a thorn in these star-marriages, just like in the US where couples reported to have hit rock bottom with one spouse all for Trump and other hotly against, only time will tell. But another duo, Ajay Devgn-Saif Ali Khan, got quite jittery at a recent interview to promote their movie, Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, that shared the release date with Chhapaak. Devgn, also the producer of the film, didnt share the same feistiness as Deepika, also the producer of Chhapaak. If Saif says something, people will go out and start protesting. They will ban a film called Tanhaji. Who is going to suffer? The producer, thats me. He does not have the right to make me suffer... as if signaling Saif to stay mum. Saif, in a later interview kept it simple, saying he needs time to read up. His India will be defined by either the judiciary or the government or ultimately the people and we will know in what kind of environment we are living in, wins hands down as the safest, on-the-fence quote from Bollywood. FIGHTING UNKNOWNS Then there is the studied silence of the Khans-Shah Rukh and Aamir. Its public knowledge that both had voiced their fears over the growing intolerance in the country in 2015, for which Snapdeal terminated its contract with Aamir as its brand ambassador. Also perhaps why, Priyanka Chopra, who is facing a backlash for issuing just one feeble tweet on the tensions here, is quieter. Perhaps because she saw how cousin Parineeti was allegedly dropped as the face of the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign by the Haryana government for her tweet on the Jamia violence. The reaction the Khans got earlier is why theyve not actively spoken out on politics of the day, says noted art and film freelance journalist, Ayaz Sheikh. Some actors like Swara are activists and will raise their voice. But overall, celebrities have a lot to answer for and a lot more to lose. They dont want to ruffle feathers, films to suffer, protestors landing at their door and Twitter going after them, he adds. Salva Mubarak, who is a big SRK fan, says the stars dont have an excuse to play safe. They are in a position of immense privilege, power, and influence. You cant keep crying about being told to go to Pakistan. Yes, you will face losses but will it really affect your life? If people with lesser resources are on the streets protesting, how can these stars justify doing nothing? VOTING FREE SPEECH But TV actor and presenter Sushant Singh cant understand the obsession with the public wanting Bollywood stars to comment. Without getting into the gendered argument of why the number of A-list actresses are protesting loudest, he asks, Why are we even looking up to them? To express my freedom of opinion or not to; both are part of freedom of speech. Sushant has lodged a complaint with CINTAA (Cine and TV Artistes association) where hes the general secretary, claiming his contract with the show Saavdhaan India was prematurely terminated after he expressed his anti-CAA views. He admits hes looking for work and recollects how he was always the activist, did plays in college across Delhi to protest the Mandal Commission and always used wry humour to point out scams in all governments. Often I ask myself, am I over-reacting? What are the pitfalls? I keep reading to reconfirm my thoughts, my analysis, to check if I am paranoid. Fortunately, or unfortunately, it seems Im not paranoid, says Sushant. His friend and actor Mohammad Zeeshan Ayub Khan, also a Kirori Mal alumni like Sushant, reasons that the opinion of stars matter because in this country, our actors are larger-than-life. You start believing that person is part of your life, and its understandable why people are getting affected by those not taking a position on the issue, says Khan, who did a shout-out video on social media, asking everyone to join him on New Years protest. Ranjani Mazumdar, professor of cinema studies at JNUs School of Arts & Aesthetics, was quoted in the media as saying, Stars can play a huge role in opinion building, and Deepika is an A-list star. She has ensured there is mainstreaming of JNU in the public domain. And, she has also left for the future generation a digital trace of what stars can do. Hollywood has done this always by refusing to accept the Oscars during the Vietnam War, taking positions on issues. Jane Fonda was known as Jane Hanoi. Then there is Susan Sarandon. This becomes part of popular memory. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Michael Cheang (The Star/Asia News Network) Sun, January 12, 2020 22:01 729 48be62e941b44f04afae568c321db129 2 Entertainment Henry-Golding,G-I-Joe,film,Iko-Uwais,Japan,Snake-Eyes,Canada Free Not content with being the current prince of rom-coms, Malaysian actor Henry Golding is getting closer to international action blockbuster stardom, as production on the upcoming Snake Eyes, the latest film in the G.I. Joe live-action franchise moved to Japan earlier this month. The film had started shooting in Vancouver on Ocober 2019. Golding will be playing the lead role of ninja Snake Eyes, one of the most iconic characters in the G.I. Joe franchise. The silent ninja was previously played by Ray Park in the previous three G.I. Joe live-action movies. Directed by Robert Schwentke, the movie also stars Andrew Koji as Snake Eyes arch nemesis Storm Shadow and Ursula Corbero as Baroness, while rest of the cast includes Samara Weaving, Haruka Abe, Iko Uwais and Takehiro Hira. Read also: With strong accent, Hugh Grant 'went for it' in Ritchie's 'The Gentlemen' This movie will serve as an origin story for Snake Eyes who is one of the most prominent members of the G.I. Joe team. A highly skilled martial artist and combat warrior, Snake Eyes most distinct feature is his black costume and the fact that he cant talk on account of his vocal chords being damaged during a mission. The casting of Golding as the ninja marks a slight departure from the characters lore, as he has previously been shown as a Caucasian in previous iterations. Snake Eyes will be the third movie in the live-action G.I. Joe movie franchise, after 2009s G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra and 2013s G.I. Joe: Retaliation. The franchise is based on Hasbros G.I. Joe toyline, which spawned hugely popular cartoon series in the 1980s. It is scheduled for release in October 2020. Topics : This article appeared on The Star newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post You are here: World Flash Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had phone talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday after Iran admitted its missile "unintentionally" downing the Ukrainian plane, killing all 176 people on board, including 57 Canadians. In a news conference on Saturday, Trudeau said he told Rouhani that Iran's admission was an important step in providing answers for families, but more must be done. "A full and complete investigation must be conducted," Trudeau said. "We need full clarity on how such a horrific tragedy could have occurred." In their conversation, Rouhani promised further investigation into the circumstances surrounding the plane crash. Rouhani said that the investigation by the Iranian military found that the missiles that caused the downing of the plane were fired due to "human error." He said Iran welcomes any international cooperation in the framework of international regulations to shed more light on the incident. The plane crashed early Wednesday local time just minutes after it took off from Teheran Imam Khomeini Airport. It happened hours after Iran launched a missile strike on two U.S. military bases in Iraq after a U.S. airstrike killed Iran's Major General Qassem Soleimani near Baghdad International Airport. A crippling French transport strike dragged into its 39th day on Sunday despite the government's offer to withdraw the most contested measure of the pension reform plans that sparked the protest. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said Saturday he would drop plans to increase the official age for a full pension to 64 from 62 in an effort to end a strike which has paralysed Paris and its suburbs, with bus, train and metro services all badly disrupted. French President Emmanuel Macron called the change "a constructive and responsible compromise". Philippe late Sunday called on the unions to take "responsibility". "Those who incite (the strikers) to continue the strike are leading them perhaps into a dead end... I think that they need to assume their responsibilities," Philippe said in a television interview. The more reformist trade unions -- the FDT, Unsa and FRC -- welcomed the compromise announcement and said they were now ready to work with employers on the sustainable financing of the state pension system. The Unsa union for national railway workers maintained its strike call on Sunday while recognising the government's reconciliatory move. The union "remains on strike " but will return to the negotiating table, secretary general Didier Mathis told AFP. However, the more hardline CGT, FO and Solidaires unions were standing firm, calling for the strike and protests to continue, including a major demonstration on January 16. - 'Some want to return to work' - French rail operator the SNCF said it expected services to improve on Monday. Nine of 10 high-speed TGV trains would run on French and international routes, it said -- and commuters in and around Paris could expect seven out of 10 trains to operate. CGT head Philippe Martinez played down the impact of the CFDT and Unsa's readiness to resume negotiations, and spoke of internal splits within these groups. "We will see" what these unions' workers have to say on the issue, he said, reiterating his call for the government to withdraw the pension reforms completely which he described as "the major requirement of a majority of unions representing a majority of employees". However the financial hit is weakening the resolve of some strikers. "It is clear that some colleagues want to go back to work," said one disillusioned Paris Metro worker during demonstrations on Saturday. "It's going to get tricky financially," he added. Private sector workers have not followed the unions' lead on the stoppage to turn the campaign into a true national strike. The government was adamant that the strikers should now go back to work. "There is no longer any reason for this strike movement to continue," said Elisabeth Borne, minister in charge of transport. - 'We're still here' - The government's compromise move came a day after meetings with unions in a bid to end a strike that has frustrated Paris commuters, ruined December holiday travel plans, and hurt business. Demonstrators in the capital on Saturday, some masked and hooded, broke shop windows along their protest route, set fires and threw projectiles at police in riot gear who responded with tear gas. Several stores were ransacked as marchers brandished union flags and chanted defiantly: "We are still here!" and "Macron resign!" Protests were also held in Marseille, Toulouse, Lyon, Nantes and several other cities. The interior ministry said 149,000 people had turned out throughout France. The CGT put the figure at half a million, saying the 150,000 marched in Paris alone. - 'Pivot age' - In one of Macron's signature reforms, the government is seeking to rationalise 42 existing pension schemes into a single, points-based system it says will be fairer and more transparent. Unions fear it will force millions to work longer for a smaller retirement payout. Particularly controversial was the proposal to impose the 64 "pivot age" that people would have to work to in order to qualify for a full pension. Union meetings Monday will decide on the future of the strikes on France's local and national rail services. The government, employers and unions are also keeping their eyes on the opinion polls. "Public opinion supports the strikers," Martinez insisted late Saturday. The government has ruled out cutting pensions but insists that something must be done to boost funding as workers are living longer post-retirement. A thriving culture of protest in India is facilitating creation of original work. The beats are fast. The structure is verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/chorus typical of pop songs. The lyrics, potent. Hum bhi dekhenge, hum bhi dekhenge Jab zulm-o-sitam ke koh-e-garan Rooyi ki tarah ud jayenge, hum dekhenge We, too, shall see. We also shall see When the mountains of oppression and cruelty. Will float away like carded wool. We will see. Faiz Ahmed Faizs Hum Dekhenge (1979) is the anthem of anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests nationwide. It doesnt matter that its in Urdu, a language the majority doesn't read or speak. It's being sung late into the night by crowds in Delhi, Vadodara, Pune, and Mumbai. If you are a protest regular you will know that those demanding justice for Jawaharlal Nehru University and the repealment of CAA have a protest playlist. Bismil Azimabadis Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna (1921), Makhdoom Mohiuddins Jang-e-Azadi, Amsi Narayanapillas Varika Varika Sahajare and Pashs Sabse Khatarnak works that were written during the freedom struggle are part of it. But theres more. A thriving culture of protest in India is facilitating the creation of original works. Its customised for 2020, Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and CAA. The songs are catchy. The beats are fast. The structure is verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/chorus typical of pop songs. The lyrics, potent. The themes are similar to Strange Fruit, which was about the lynching of African Americans in the 1930s and considered to be the most heart-wrenching protest song of all times. Southern trees bear a strange fruit/ Blood on the leaves and blood at the root/ Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze/ Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees But juxtapose these lines against those of Varun Grovers or law student and protest poet Iqra Khans, and you will realise that these Indian artists are more direct. Metaphors and allegories are few. Their work is a straightforward demand for revolution, for action, much like their tweets. Grovers Hum Kagaz Nahin Dikhayenge that went viral: Tanashah aake jayenge, hum kagaz nahi dikhayenge, Tum aasoon gas uchaloge, zeher ki chai ubaloge, Hum pyar ki shakkar ghol ke usko, gat gat pee jayenge, Hum kagaz nahin dikhayenge, Ye desh hi apna hasil hai, Jahan Ram Prasad bhi bismil hai Mitti ko kaise baantonge, sabka khoon toh shamil hai, Tum police se lath padadoge, Metro band karadoge, Hum paidal paidal aayenge, Hum kagaz nahin dikhayenge. Hum manji yahin bichange Hum kagaz nahin dikhanyenge Hum samvidhan ko bachayenge Hum kagaz nahin dikhanyenge A verse from Iqra Khans poem: Tum khanik ho, mistari hum, Har hunar ka naaz ho tum, Phir chhida hai is hawa se, Woh purana saaz ho tum ...Ab katar do bediyan ye, Hausle phir sakht kar do, Deemako se tum jo thehre, Dhul ab ye takht kar do... You are the miner, you are the mason, The mechanic, You are the pride of every skill, In sync again with the winds of revolution, You are a musical instrument Break these shackles, Strengthen your resolve, Theyve called you termites Now, turn this throne to dust For the woke millennial, Instagram and Twitter are no longer just for pretty pictures and likes. Social media is step-1 of the revolution. Subreddits inform you of protest venues and schedules, Twitter updates you about police permissions, changes and detentions and Instagrams stories reveal your politics. Ghazals, sketches and poems are the aam aadmis everyday thing. On my Facebook feed, HR professional Rukkini Sens free verse showed up on 5 January: Godman says hum badla lenge Young boys in jail bleed from violation Humanity bled Until theres nothing left except for a terrorist People whistle as they walk by Put on their headphones to numb out the screaming Roll up the windows of their Mercedes They say, This is India. We have too many. No place for any more. The bleeding boy hears them. All of 14. Terrorism sounds like a good deal now. To deal with political terrorists, one needs to be A terrorist, he thinks. College campuses nationwide are rife with chants of azaadi, the chant that Kanhiya Kumar gave us in 2016: Hai haq hamara, aazadi Hum lekar rahenge, aazadi Sangvaad se, aazadi Bhukhmari se, aazadi... ...Tum kuch bhi karlo Hum lekar rahenge, aazadi In 2020, the list has grown longer. Internet shutdowns, fake news, CAA, NRC... sabse aazadi. This song, performed at a Chhatra Bharti event at Yashwantrao Chavan Centre in Mumbai on 5 January, calls the BJP government fascist. The crowd sang along, obviously entertained. And for those who werent interested in the rhetoric of student leaders, the simple stanzas on CAB clarified what the amendment meant: Hum bharatvasi kehte hai sunlo In naziyon se desh bachao Aaya hai nazi, laya hai nazi, Bola pehchan karao varna jao jao jao Jab uska man ho, kehta hai humse Karoonga zulm aur sitam, sehte jao jao jao Chu mat karna, ghut ghut ke marna Bhooka rakhoonga Beta jao jao jao In the last decade, the country has seen many powerful protests 2011: Anti-corruption and Jan Lokpal, 2012: Nirbhaya, 2014: Jadavpur University protest, 2015: FTII agitation, 2016: The Afzal Guru and Rohith Vemula protests and 2017: The Pro-Jallikattu protests. But the current anti-CAA protests have been the most violent. With over 25 dead, more than 1,000 arrested and more than 5,500 in detention, the costs for participation in this protest are high, especially if youre in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. As the state increases its atrocities, the number of dissenters increases. Even Bollywood, that has traditionally been apolitical for obvious reasons, has come out on the streets in solidarity with JNU. While protests in the north are getting increasingly violent, the call for student-led protests throughout the country has been for peaceful resistance. Come with water, blankets, food and newspapers, most protest invitations say. At Gateway of India, the vibe was one of celebration. There were songs, sandwiches, bananas, Appy and chai. Students were painting posters and picnicking. That ended on the morning of the 7th, with the Mumbai police clearing the Gateway site and moving protesters to Azad Maidan. Protest art does many things, but two of the most important are 1) forming public opinion on a serious subject in a creative fashion 2) authentically documenting the goals and intentions of a campaign through which measuring the success of the protest becomes easy. There is a lot that humour, music and theatre can do, that serious speeches and the news cant. In early 2019, Id attended Kunal Kamras stand-up act in Ahmedabad. He made a joke about a common question that people were asking before the general elections. If not Modi, then who? Kunal Kamras response was, Whoever. Kisi ko bhi le lao, inko nikalo. It simplified for many what many long editorials didnt. It didnt matter if Rahul Gandhi or the Congress, in general, were incompetent or corrupt, at least they didnt pose the problem of an existential crisis for the Muslim community. Around the same time, in the lobby of a doctors office, I found myself sitting next to a Muslim gentleman. We chatted about his work and family and then I broached the subject of politics. He bent down and whispered into my ear, Mein Muslim hoon. His long beard and skull made that clear the moment one noticed him, but the fact that he wanted to secretly whisper his religious identity to me in my ear, made me wonder how unsafe this individual felt. He answered my question on political belief with a question of his own, Maut aur mohtaj mein behtar kya hai (Whats the choice between poverty and death?). But the anti-CAA protests are clear, theyre fighting for the secular idea of India. And while protesters have been safer in non-BJP states, theyre not extolling the values of the Congress or any other opposition party. They dont want the movement hijacked. To the aam aadmi, no political party offers any hope. Ye sab chor hai. Inko desh ka pada nahi hai. Ayenge, jeb bhar ke jayenge, my Uber driver on the ride back from Gateway told me. Poet Naveen Chourey, says it best: Rang, bhasha, pranti, link aur jaat, mazhab Baantne pe tul gaya hai hukmran jab Aman ka ailan sadko pe nikal ke hum karenge Hum ladenge, hum ladenge, hum ladenge... The naval version of the indigenously-built Tejas light combat aircraft on Sunday successfully took off from the "ski-jump" deck of the aircraft carrier INS Vikramadity in a big leap in overall development of the jet. The ski-jump is the upwardly curved ramp on the deck of aircraft carriers designed to provide sufficient take-off lift for fighter jets. "The naval version of Tejas achieved another important milestone today by successfully undertaking the maiden ski-jump take-off from INS Vikramaditya," a Navy Spokesperson said. On Saturday, the aircraft made its first landing on the deck of INS Vikramaditya which was also a major milestone. Both the landing and take off by the aircraft put India among a select group of nations having the capability to design such a jet which can operate from an aircraft carrier. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is involved in development of the naval variant of Tejas along with Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), Aircraft Research and Design Centre of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC) and CSIR among others. "This landmark event demonstrates professional commitment and synergy between various agencies ADA, HAL, CEMILAC and Indian Navy in harnessing the potential of our scientists, engineers and naval flight testing community towards meeting the expectations of the nation," the Indian Navy tweeted. After Saturday's successful landing of the aircraft on INS Vikramaditya, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called it a "great event" in the history of Indian fighter aircraft development programme. The naval version of Tejas light combat aircraft is in development stage. The Indian Air Force has already inducted a batch of Tejas aircraft. Initially, the IAF had placed an order with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for 40 Tejas aircraft. In 2018, the IAF issued the request for proposal (RFP) to HAL for the procurement of another batch of 83 Tejas at a cost of over Rs 50,000 crore. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) If you remember The Wizard of Oz you will recall that Toto, Dorothys dog, pulled back the curtain, revealing that the wizard was just a little guy working a panel of sound and light gimmicks to fool people into thinking he was more omnipotent than he really was. In the same way, the Presidents killing of Qassem Soleimani and the aftermath reveals the four-decades-long treatment of Iranian terrorism and Israel by the foreign-policy establishment -- our presidents from Jimmy Carter up to now and Congress -- was based on myths. The brilliant Caroline Glick makes the case. For the past 40-odd years, two narratives have guided American Middle East policy. Both were invented by the Carter administration. One relates to Iran. One relates to Israel. Both narratives reject reality as the basis for foreign policy decision-making in favor of delusion. Over the past two months, President Donald Trump has rejected and disavowed them both. His opponents are apoplectic. She begins by reviewing the takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979 when 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days. If President Jimmy Carter acknowledged that the "students" werent students, but soldiers of Irans dictator Ayatollah Khomeini, the US would be compelled to fight back. And Carter and his advisers didn't want to do that. So rather than admit the truth, Carter accepted the absurd fiction spun by the regime that Khomeini was an innocent bystander who, try as he might, couldn't get a bunch of "students" in central Tehran to free the hostages. Hoping that Iran would be satisfied, they left Khomeini alone. Khomeini and his "Death to America" shouting followers got the message. They understood that Washington had given them a green light to attack Americans in moderate and, as Smith put it, "plausibly deniable" doses. it. For the next 40 years, Iran maintained its aggression against America. And from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama, every president since Carter accepted and kept faith with Carter's decision not to hold the Iranian regime responsible for the acts of aggression and war it carried out against America through proxies. Trumps decision to kill Soleimani along with Muhandis destroyed the Carter administration's Iran narrative. By killing Soleimani, Trump made clear that the blank check for aggression the previous six presidents gave Tehran is now canceled. From now on, the regime will be held responsible for its actions. From now on US policy towards Iran will be based on reality and not on escapism. The second false narrative that has formed the basis of US Middle East policy since Carter is that Israel and the so-called "occupation" are responsible for the absence of peace in the Middle East. [snip] Just as Reagan turned a blind eye to Iran's responsibility for the terror attacks its proxies carried out against the United States -- including the bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut in April 1983, and the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut in November 1983 -- so he substantively accepted Carter's anti-Israel narrative which blamed Israel for the absence of Middle East peace. The Bush administrations and the Clinton administration followed along with the delusional Carter policies that blamed Israel for the troubles in the region, Obama, of course, went full circle. [snip] The fact that the Carter narrative was self-evidently ridiculous and destabilizing made no impression on these successive administrations. PLO aggression and refusal to either disavow terrorism or accept Israel's right to exist in any borders were brushed aside as irrelevant and unwelcome information. Israel's profound concessions for peace were pocketed, poo-pooed and forgotten. [snip] In Pompeos words, It is important that we speak the truth when the facts lead us to it. And that's what we've done. She explains why the Trump refusal to join in the delusions has so upset the foreign policy establishment -- an unforgivable transgression in her words. Hes rejected their collective wisdom with reality-based policies which might, unlike theirs, actually work. Their legacy is in the ash heap. All their protestations, all their fancy resumes and titles as former officials will lose their allure and market value. I urge you to read her entire article. Its detailed and compelling. My online friend The Infamous Ignatz agrees with me that Glick has nailed it, including her explanation of the venom directed against the president and his followers: It's that he doesn't indulge their idiotic fantasy world of political delusions. He picks up his jacks and walks over to his own yard and plays on HIS playground not theirs. And their choices are either stomp their feet while he sails past them or go play and get beat cuz they're no longer on their home field. All these hundred years of inevitable progdom are suddenly threatened, just as they were about to succeed, by this funny talking, funny haired creep they only pretended to like cuz he was loaded. And what they're really terrified of is what if the right should realize if Trump can do it anyone can? Yes, Trump is brilliant at what he does and yes, he's a one-off who won't be replaced. But we're fundamentally misunderstanding what is happening if we think his success can't continue after he's off the stage. The actual problem that the left sees more clearly than the right is Trump's complex idiosyncrasies and style conceal a simple truth; declare the left's shibboleths so much bullshit masquerading as fairy dust and their mystique and, more importantly, their political advantage goes poof! Trump shows that the Republicans have CHOSEN to play on the Dems' tilted field for 100 years and have always had only to walk off of it to end the prog advantage. Of course it has happened for so long most of the GOPe like spoiled brats refuse to do the right thing and act like grown-ups. But the curtain has been pulled back and might not be put back in place and hence all the screaming. Trump isn't Mussolini or Hitler. Neither is he Abe Lincoln or Daniel come to judgment. Donald Trump is Toto. This weeks actions by the president also put paid to the foreign policy dimwits who falsely claim that the president lacks any strategy for dealing with the Middle East. (What they mean is he isnt buying into their lunacy.) Conrad Black explained how wrong they are in advancing this claim. He details the moves so far and notes that, among the new pieces on the board is that we have achieved energy independence -- indeed, we are now a net energy exporter, an important first step in permitting us to defend our interests in that area without being firemen constantly on call to intervene there. He concludes: Iran can bluster and threaten all it wishes, but even its deluded theocracy must now realize that the free lunch of appeasement in Washington is over. It should now be clear to everyone that the United States could not interpose itself with 400 of its special forces between the Turkish army and the PKK Kurdish militia. Egypt and Saudi Arabia can make it clear that the Palestinians can have an autonomous state if they end their violence and accept Israels right to exist as a Jewish state, along the lines of the 2001 Taba discussions with a narrower West Bank and deeper Gaza Strip for Palestine and a connection between them. Syria and Iraq should ultimately be regrouped in a loose confederation of largely autonomous zones, including Kurdistan. The inner stability and integrity from outsiders of this arrangement could be sponsored by Turkey, Russia, the United States, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and a respectable regime in Iran when one emerges. It is generally in this direction that the administration is going, and it is a sensible path. The Democrats are going to lose badly by championing Mr. Obamas green light for Iran to have nuclear weapons just six years from now, with its $150 billion signing bonus to promote terrorism and kill Americans. It was a terrible agreement and should be unmourned. As the week ended, the President by Executive Order ordered further economic sanctions on Iran, which is already reeling from the imposition of the original sanctions and dealing with widespread internal unrest with the people beset by the use of their money to advance jihadist actions throughout the area. By weeks end Iran admitted it had shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane in its airspace. I cannot say with certainty why they shot it down, though incompetence seems a not unlikely possibility. Though it could well have been an effort to keep the mullahs from bowing to U.S. pressure to sue for peace and straighten up. As to why they admitted guilt -- well, there was ample intelligence of what they'd done. And as Tom Maguire notes: I am intrigued by Iran's admission of responsibility for the airliner shoot-down. Apparently they may have set back Operation National Unity, their attempt to provoke a foreign crisis to distract from domestic woes: In Iran, a debate over how much blame the government bears threatened to destroy the national solidarity that followed the countrys conflict with the United States. Many Iranians said that their anger over the lack of accountability at the highest levels of government had quickly returned. However, they were in a bit of a box. Another Iranian goal is to present themselves to the international community as the more credible and responsible negotiating partner vis a vis Trump. Shooting down airliners is not helpful but pretending they weren't at fault would have been worse. Theres no shortage of rotten apples at the bottom of the cart that the president just overturned. The Government is committed 100% to introducing tougher security checks at public venues in honour of one of the 22 victims of the Manchester Arena bombing, ministers have said. Figen Murray has fought tirelessly for the implementation of Martyns Law, which would force public venues to incorporate specific counter-terrorism plans into their safety regime. Her son Martyn Hett, 29, died in the atrocity at the end of an Ariane Grande concert in May 2017, which also injured hundreds others. Expand Close Figen Murray (centre) wants to save lives with introduction of Martyns Law (Kim Pilling/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Figen Murray (centre) wants to save lives with introduction of Martyns Law (Kim Pilling/PA) Earlier this week, Manchester City Council said it was prepared to enshrine the principles of Martyns Law into future regulations. The council said it was developing a scheme of best practice among licensed venues and that existing conditions would be revised to ensure venues had a counter-terrorism plan in place, including associated staff training. Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Security Minister Brandon Lewis said: The Prime Minister, Home Secretary and I are all 100% behind Figen and are working to improve security measures at public venues and spaces. We are working quickly to come up with a solution that will honour Martyns memory and all of those affected by terrorism. I am pleased that last week Manchester City Council announced new licensing rules, but we are committed to going further and making Martyns Law a reality for all public venues across the UK. I am committed to working with Figen and others to ensure that we are all safe at the public venues and spaces we enjoy. Expand Close Security minister Brandon Lewis on The Andrew Marr Show (Jeff Overs/BBC) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Security minister Brandon Lewis on The Andrew Marr Show (Jeff Overs/BBC) The newspaper reported that some venues which can host thousands of people may have to install metal detectors and scanners, while others will be told not to allow entry to anyone carrying large bags. Announcing the Manchester proposals, Councillor Nigel Murphy, the councils deputy leader, said: We are proud to work with Figen to lead the way on bringing in an improved culture of safety in this country, but we need the Government to take action. Only they have the power to get Martyns Law onto the statute books and we hope it treats her campaign as a priority. Ms Murray said: It feels like a recognition and deep respect for the bereaved families and the hundreds of injured people. I am certain that Martyns Law will save lives through the council applying simple common sense. Mt. Paekdu / Korea Times file A state-funded science institute on Sunday announced plans to start research on volcanic activities at Mount Paekdu, the highest peak on the Korean Peninsula, located along the North Korea-China border. A four-member team, set to be launched this month, will conduct the research in line with growing interest in the mountain's volcano activities and preemptive preparations for a possible joint study with North Korea, according to the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources. The mountain was once considered a dormant volcano, but recent signs have indicated possibilities of an eruption, leading to numerous international research on the mountain. Historic records show the mountain erupted once in 946 and again in 947 during the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), covering the southern half of the peninsula with emissions measuring roughly 1 meter in height. The institute said it plans to pump in 1.6 billion won (US$1.4 million) over the next four years to develop a volcanic plumbing system to better detect signs of eruption. It also plans to research the exact period of past eruptions through rock samples extracted from Ulleung Island in the East Sea and Mount Halla in the country's southern resort island of Jeju. Mount Paekdu is revered in both South and North Korea. South Korea considers the 2,744-meter peak as one of the peninsula's most sacred places as it's known as the birthplace of Dangun, the legendary founder of Gojoseon, the first Korean kingdom, founded more than 4,000 years ago. North Korea regards the peak as sacred because it's where Kim Il-sung, the country's late founder and grandfather of the current leader, set up a secret military base for anti-Japanese, independence struggles during the 1910-45 colonial rule. The peak is also known to be the birthplace of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and led to the coining of the term "Paekdu bloodline," regarding the Kim family. But some historians say the late leader was actually born in Russia. Most recently, "Ashfall," a blockbuster disaster film featuring some of South Korea's top film stars, was released, sparking fresh interest in the mountain. (Yonhap) Advertisement Prince Harry fast-tracked plans for both himself and Meghan Markle to quit as senior members of the royal family as he was worried she would have a 'meltdown' if she remained in the UK, it has been claimed. The Duke of Sussex is said to have been growing increasingly concerned about his wife's wellbeing, with life at Buckingham Palace leaving her 'on the brink', according to the Sun on Sunday. As a result, a statement announcing the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would be stepping down as senior members was hastily rushed out and plans for them to spend more time in North America accelerated. According to courtiers, Meghan felt more comfortable returning to Canada while Harry remained in the UK to deal with the fallout of their decision, which will come to a head during a summit at Sandringham on Monday. He will come face-to-face with his father Prince Charles, his brother Prince William and his grandmother the Queen, who is said to be increasingly concerned for Prince Harry's own mental wellbeing. Harry and Meghan, both of whom are heavily invested in mental health charities and initiatives, first made it clear in May that they would like to break away from what they see as the stifling constraints of life inside 'The Firm'. A source said that Meghan and Harry found the slow pace of Palace life 'painful' and that in another echo of Brexit Meghan wanted to 'take back control' of her work and charitable endeavours. A separate source told The Sun on Sunday: 'The statement was rushed out and part of the reason for that is that Harry knew he needed to take swift action. Meghan has not settled in the UK and he knows that and wants her to be happy. A statement announcing the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would be stepping down as senior members of the Royal Family was hastily rushed out because Meghan was 'on the brink', sources say Prince Harry reportedly grew concerned of his wife's welfare in the UK and fast-tracked plans to take a step back from Royal duties The Duke of Sussex holding his son Archie during their six-week break in Canada Scene of the showdown: The Queen has summoned Princes Charles, William and Harry to her Sandringham Estate (pictured) on Monday for unprecedented crisis talks to resolve the Sussex situation According to the source, the couple's six-week break in Canada helped Meghan to determine that her family would be better off splitting their time across the Atlantic. The source added that Harry decided to move quickly, fearing that staying in the UK for too long would lead to his wife 'having a meltdown.' Behind closed doors, courtiers are desperately searching for a face-saving measure that will keep the family together and the dignity of the monarchy intact. It comes as the Duke of Cambridge has said he is unable to even 'put an arm round' his younger brother nowadays, after a rift saw them grow apart over the past year. Harry and Meghan's intention to quit as senior Royals has widened the gulf between the two siblings, with William understood to be 'incandescent' over his brother's blindsiding of the Family. But as the brothers gear up to come face-to-face at the Queen's high-stakes crisis summit at Sandringham on Monday, the second-in-line to the throne confided in a friend his raw agony over the cracked sibling bond. He said: 'I've put my arm around my brother all our lives and I can't do that any more - we're separate entities,' according to the Sunday Times. The Queen driving in Sandringham, Norfolk, on Saturday afternoon wearing a headscarf, was seen driving away from the estate in her Land Rover at lunchtime According to the source, the couple's six-week break in Canada helped Meghan to determine that her family would be better off splitting their time across the Atlantic William also spoke of his frustration that Harry is no longer part of the 'team' by deciding to become 'financially independent' in a pared-back Royal role. Yet he hopes that there will 'come a time' when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be 'singing from the same page' once again. The Queen, who was pictured ashen-faced behind the wheel of her Land Rover on Saturday, is also said to be concerned for the mental fragility of her grandson Harry, according to a royal source speaking to the Mail on Sunday. After laying down a 72-hour ultimatum to aides on Friday to hammer out a solution to the Sussexes' future roles, Her Majesty summoned Princes Charles, William and Harry to her Norfolk Estate to put an end to the turmoil ravaging the monarchy - while Meghan is expected to join the discussions via a conference call from Canada. Ahead of this crunch Sandringham summit: ITV presenter and Sussex confidante Tom Bradby said the couple could give a 'no-holds-barred' interview that could further damage the Royal Family. Courtiers fear Meghan could brand the household racist; Royal aides were poised to spell out the punitive taxes that could be inflicted on Harry and Meghan if they press ahead with their plans to quit; A video from July emerged where Harry seemed to tell head of Disney Meghan is interested in doing voiceovers. She has since been given work with the company; Prince Philip was said to be livid with the current crisis ravaging the Family; A source rubbished speculation the Sussexes plan to settle down on Vancouver Island where they spent Christmas and instead touted Toronto or LA as potential cities; It emerged Meghan sneaked back to Vancouver Island on a 134 budget flight; It was revealed Meghan and Kate Middleton haven't spoken in over six months after the sisters-in-law severed all communication on a family WhatsApp group Reuters reported that negotiations between Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, Kensington Palace and the Sussex household has been progressing well; Her Majesty was pictured stony-faced as she emerged from her Norfolk estate behind the wheel of her Land Rover for the second day running Courtiers have quickly crashed together a document outlining several blueprints for Harry and Meghan's new position within the Royal ranks. Palace staff will also spell out the punitive taxes which could be inflicted on the couple, should they press ahead with their plans to resign from frontline duties. However, a royal insider confirmed to the Sun on Sunday that the Sandringham Summit will extend to the 'next steps' for the entire monarchy, which is staring down the barrel of its worst crisis since 1992's Annus Horriblis, when both Charles and Diana, and Andrew and Sarah Ferguson both divorced. Commentators have drawn parallels between the New Way Ahead Group - when the senior Royals bunkered down 28 years ago to chart a path out of the chaos - and the Queen's urgency to stamp out the Sussex situation immediately. Prince William is desperately sad that the once close relationship he enjoyed with Prince Harry has been wrecked, it was claimed by a friend on Saturday night Inside high-stakes negotiations at Sandringham: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be offered a compromise 'Commonwealth role' as courtiers desperately search for a face-saving solution to Megxit and one aide warns 'I've never seen the monarchy in such a bad state' By Kate Mansey for the Mail on Sunday Sandringham House, near the coast in rural Norfolk, is normally a private sanctuary for the Queen and Prince Philip, a place for family gatherings where they can escape the endless formalities of London and Windsor. Since Wednesday, however, this Royal retreat has found itself at the heart of the crisis enveloping the Duke and Duchess of Sussex following their shock decision to step back from their official duties and spend more time in North America. Palace sources say the Queen has demanded a solution be found 'at pace' a sign of real concern in an institution that prefers to operate at glacial speed. But then, as a well-placed source put it: 'I have never seen the monarchy in such a bad state.' Sandringham House has found itself at the heart of the crisis enveloping the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Pictured: The Queen on the Sandringham Estate today Who will be at the crisis summit? Fiona Mcilwham, the Sussexes new private secretary is expected to be at the summit The Queen and her private secretary Sir Edward Young The Queen is head of state and head of the royal family, and will ultimately have the final say in the matter. As the nation's longest-reigning monarch, her experience and knowledge on the workings of the institution of the monarchy are unrivalled. Through the decades, the Queen has weathered the Windsors' many storms and is a symbol of stability both for the nation and within the royal family. Although left hurt by Harry and Meghan's actions, the Queen is not given to rash decisions, and will be approaching the problem in a calm and pragmatic way. The Prince of Wales and his principal private secretary Clive Alderton Heir to the throne, Charles is the future king and currently bankrolls Harry and Meghan's public duties through his 21 million-a-year Duchy of Cornwall income. The prince is a caring, sensitive soul, and is said to be furious at how Harry and Meghan have handled the situation. He is committed to his royal duty, but will also want his impetuous youngest son, who endured the loss of his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, when he was only 12, and Meghan to be happy. The Duke of Cambridge and his private secretary Simon Case When Harry turned 21, he described William as the one person on the planet to whom he could talk to about everything. But talk of a falling out between the brothers, with William said to have urged his brother to not rush into marrying Meghan, has changed their once-close relationship. William, who was said to be 'incandescent with rage' at the Sussexes' actions, is a future king, and his position within the royal family is vastly different from sixth-in-line Harry, who has moved steadily down the line of succession and has to carve out his own role. Mr Case was has been a leading civil servant previously tasked with trying to solve the border issue in Northern Ireland and Ireland during Brexit discussions. The Duke of Sussex and the couple's relatively new private secretary Fiona Mcilwham Harry has always been a favourite with royal fans, who have never forgotten the heart-rending image of the 12-year-old prince walking behind his mother's coffin. In his younger days, he was a royal liability - dabbling with cannabis, dressing up as a Nazi and brawling with a paparazzi photographer - before he pulled off a charm offensive as he carried out overseas tours on behalf of the Queen. Advertisement Behind closed doors, courtiers are desperately searching for a face-saving measure that will keep the family together and the dignity of the monarchy intact. And not only that, for Her Majesty is said to be increasingly concerned for Prince Harry's mental wellbeing. After days of meetings, The Mail on Sunday understands that senior courtiers are preparing to offer the Sussexes a compromise deal potentially involving a Commonwealth role. This would allow them to both maintain their HRH status and live in Canada. Anxious to avoid exacerbating an already tense situation, the Royal Family is keen to tread carefully. A source said: 'There is no suggestion that they will be punished or stripped of their Royal titles or HRH status. Everyone wants to find a solution to this as quickly as possible.' All the same, the Palace let it be known that the 93-year-old Queen was 'hurt' and 'disappointed' by Prince Harry and Meghan's decision to make their announcement without consulting senior Royals. Prince Harry had been due to fly back to Canada with wife Meghan on Thursday to be united with their eight-month-old son Archie, but decided to stay on in Britain while a deal is thrashed out. The Queen has a warm relationship with her grandson so it might seem a surprise that the 'Megxit' crisis, as it has been termed, should have been allowed to develop in this way. In truth, however, tensions have been simmering for months. It was back in May that Meghan and Harry first made it clear they would like to break away from what they see as the stifling constraints of life inside 'The Firm'. A source said that Meghan and Harry found the slow pace of Palace life 'painful' and that in another echo of Brexit Meghan wanted to 'take back control' of her work and charitable endeavours. To the couple's dismay, senior Royals were reluctant to discuss their plans with them so the pair decided to take 'time out' with a six-week sabbatical to Canada in November and December. This decision, too, came as a surprise: the Queen only found out about the break in November when she telephoned Harry to ask if he would be spending Christmas with the family at Sandringham. The answer was no. Harry asked for a meeting with the Queen at Sandringham when he returned to Britain after Christmas, but it seems aides blocked this until he had ironed out the details of his future plans with his father, Prince Charles. He in turn asked his son to think about it some more and submit a more thorough proposal. Harry tried again a few days later, and again he was told more time was required to consider the implications, particularly over how the funding would work. It was made clear he should not make his proposals public until further discussions had taken place so there was almost no warning at all when the storm broke over Sandringham. The Queen was still hosting the last of the informal gatherings of the festive season, with the decorations still on display (they traditionally remain up until February 6, to mark the anniversary of the death of the Queen's father, George VI). Just a few days before, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had joined her for the Sunday morning service at St Mary Magdalene Church on the estate. Kate's parents Carole and Michael Middleton were there too, having recently returned from a winter break in St Barts in the Caribbean. The sermon was given by Rt Rev Vivienne Faull, the Bishop of Bristol, who is believed to have later joined the family for Sunday lunch back in Sandringham's ornate, green-painted dining room. But late on Wednesday afternoon the atmosphere of celebration was shattered. A private secretary at Sandringham broke the news to the Queen just ten minutes before the Sussexes' statement was made public. Her Majesty is thought to have been told of the announcement in a wood-panelled sitting room known as the salon a room open to visitors who tour Sandringham when it opens to the public every summer. Despite the traditional setting, the Queen is understood to have read the announcement on an iPad before watching coverage on TV as broadcasters revealed the shock announcement to the country. What do each of the Royals want from the Sandringham Summit? The Queen: Her Majesty will want to ensure relative continuity in the monarchy and not allow it to become a vehicle for Royals to make money, as Harry and Meghan have been accused of plotting to do. But she will also want to safeguard Harry's wellbeing, amid concerns for her grandson's mental fragility. Prince Charles: The first-in-line to the throne is also seeking stability to ensure his impending ascendancy is not jeopardised. But like the Queen, he has also expressed concern for Harry. Prince William: He is planning for a streamlined and modern Royal Family and has said he wants his brother 'singing from the same song sheet'. William will also want to resolve the crisis so Harry is not stealing his thunder. Prince Harry: The Royal who sparked the current crisis by announcing his and Meghan's decision to step back will drive a hard bargain to secure the best financial settlement possible while guaranteeing his family's independence. Advertisement Her public response, that there was much more to discuss, was delivered swiftly, as were comments from those inside the palace that senior Royals had been left 'hurt' and 'deeply disappointed'. It hardly helped that the following day, Thursday, was the Duchess of Cambridge's 38th birthday. Not only were courtiers alarmed by the abrupt way in which Harry and Meghan dropped their bombshell, but sources say there is also some bitterness that they were misled for weeks beforehand. When the Palace first became aware that Harry and Meghan were launching a new website, Sussex Royal set up by the team behind Meghan's now defunct lifestyle blog The Tig they had been reassured that its purpose was to support their charitable foundation. So when it emerged that it was in fact to be the launch pad for their new independent career, many in the Palace felt that the couple had been disingenuous, or as one source rather more cautiously put it, their behaviour had been 'suboptimal'. The timing, meanwhile, was terrible. Announcing such news ahead of Brexit and with the monarchy still reeling from the Prince Andrew debacle, not to mention the Duke of Edinburgh's recent hospital stay, was seen as inconsiderate. The response has been complicated by senior Royals being dispersed across the country Charles is at Birkhall, his Scottish retreat in Aberdeenshire, and William was at his home in Kensington Palace. Meghan has returned to Canada with Harry thought to be staying at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor. Thankfully for the Queen, she has been able to rely on her 98-year-old husband for support. Prince Philip spends most of his time at Wood Farm, an unassuming cottage on the estate, after retiring from public life in 2017. However, The Mail on Sunday understands he has been staying in the main house since the crisis broke. Sir Edward Young, the Queen's private secretary, is overseeing the co-ordination of talks between the different households. Yesterday aides from the four households of the Queen, the Prince of Wales, William and Harry were locked in talks at Buckingham Palace after earlier meetings involving some of Britain's most high-ranking civil servants, lawyers and the keeper of the privy purse. The 'principals', as courtiers refer to members of the Royal Family, held telephone calls to discuss the options. What will be discussed at the summit? 1. Whether Harry and Meghan will keep their HRH titles. 2. The volume of royal duties the couple will still be expected to perform both in the UK and abroad. 3. The Duke and Duchess's funding and whether they will receive money from the Queen and Prince Charles after they are cut off from the sovereign grant cash supply. 4. Rules regarding the commercial deals the couple will be allowed to broker in their move to becoming 'financially independent'. Advertisement The Mail on Sunday understands that Sir Mark Sedwill, head of the Civil Service, has been drawing up plans to offer Harry and Meghan a high profile Commonwealth role, which would allow them to live in Canada and travel abroad on a certain number of official trips each year. Harry is already the president of The Queen's Commonwealth Trust, last year Meghan was made vice-president and it is a cause close to the Queen's heart. The arrangement could mean that the Sussexes could adopt a 'George Clooney or Leonardo DiCaprio' role, said one source, allowing their charitable endeavours to co-exist alongside their commercial interests without clashing. But the source also pointed out that: 'a half-in, half-out scenario will be very difficult to pull off'. On the one hand they will have access to public occasions, such as riding in the carriages at Trooping the Colour and standing on the balcony at Buckingham Palace, but on the other hand they could be seen to be cashing in on their royal status with a multi-million pound deal for Harry to work with US TV mogul Oprah Winfrey on a series about mental health already announced and an expected book by Meghan sure to be a bestseller. Palace officials are looking at whether the Sussexes should be required to get Palace authorisation for each commercial deal, although this would undermine the freedom they are seeking. An insider said: 'The difficulty will come if they do a deal with a jewellery brand one day and then, on an official engagement, Harry is seen wearing one of the company's watches. It will be hard to differentiate the two.' It is hoped that an agreement can be reached by Wednesday. Perhaps the clues to an imminent crisis were there all along or, at the very least, since Meghan guest-edited the August issue of Vogue. In Meghan's Editor's letter reached by readers after 80-odd glossy pages of adverts for designer clothing and handbags she quoted a book called The Four-Chambered Heart by Anais Nin, where a character says: 'I must be a mermaid, Rango. I have no fear of depth and a great fear of shallow living.' So was life in The Firm 'too shallow' for Meghan? Perhaps cutting ribbons at community centres was never going to satisfy the ambitious young actress who had her engagement ring 'upgraded' by adding extra diamonds to the band. It is suspected that she had no wish, either, to play a supporting role to her sister-in-law, the Duchess of Cambridge. The Sussexes will look to the example of former US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle, who, after leaving the White House, launched a lucrative commercial career with multi-million-dollar book deals, a Netflix documentary series and carefully selected public speaking appearances without compromising their 'brand'. But being a member of the Royal Family is different. It's far from clear, for example, exactly what sort of work Harry and Meghan could do without trading on their titles. The Sussex Royal trademark registered with the Intellectual Property Office allows them the right to produce trademarked goods everything from notebooks to pyjamas. A source said: 'The trouble is that there is no precedent for this.' And when it comes to the monarchy, that is quite a problem. Shocking videos involving an interstate marijuana trafficking conspiracy led to the seven-year-long sentencing of a 30-year-old man from Houston. Jody Tremayne Wafer, received an additional three years' supervised release for his role in organizing and leading a conspiracy to traffic marijuana grown in Portland to Texas, according to a release from the US Attorney's Office in Oregon. Wafer pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiring to manufacture, possess with intent to distribute, and distribute marijuana, maintaining drug-involved premises and using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime. Scroll down for video On December 2, 2017, Wafer and an accomplice - Trent Lamar Knight - found their storage unit empty at a Public Storage warehouse in Southeast Portland. They held up the storage facility manager and filmed themselves asking him where their weed was Investigators say that bulk amounts of US currency were used as drug proceeds and sent to Oregon via mail and passenger luggage on commercial airlines. Since August 2017, federal authorities seized approximately 11,000 marijuana plants, 546lbs of processed cannabis, more than $2.8million in cash, 51 firearms, 26 vehicles, trailers, pieces of heavy equipment, a yacht and three houses used as marijuana grow sites. Wafer, 30, was sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in leading the conspiracy to traffic marijuana from Portland to Texas During Wednesday's sentencing, US District Judge Robert E. Jones said that 'sneak and peek deception' allowed the suspect and his accomplice to believe that their weed stash had been stolen by a storage warehouse manager when it had actually been seized by agents. On December 2, 2017, Wafer and an accomplice - Trent Lamar Knight - found their storage unit empty at a Public Storage warehouse in Southeast Portland shortly after 9am. The pair had found the unit's door left open and broken. Wafer and Knight confronted the storage manager - identified as Shawn Riley - and pushed him into an empty unit before holding him up at gunpoint, Oregon Live reports. The pair tied the manager's wrist and ankles with duct tape and demanded that he tell them where their cannabis was taken. The pair tied the manager's wrist and ankles with duct tape and demanded that he tell them where their cannabis was taken. Federal agents retrieved the man from the unit Prosecutors also played video that showed Wafer and Knight posing with the pistols in a hotel room the night before They express their shock and dismay at learning that police took the drugs. Authorities eventually retrieved Riley and arrested the two men. Knight faces sentencing on January 22 'That's really disturbing to this court, this sneak and peek deception that law enforcement engaged in,' Jones said. He continued: 'They knew you had a weapon and were going to go in there and find your drugs gone, taken. They should have anticipated the conduct that could have cost (the storage manager) his life.' Prosecutors also played video that showed Wafer and Knight posing with the pistols in a hotel room the night before. 'I wasn't thinking. I was terrified,' Wafer responded when asked why he filmed the videos. 'I just wanted to get the truth that I didn't steal that stuff.' Wafer explained that he took the videos to show that he had not taken the drugs so people wouldn't come after his family. Knight faces sentencing on January 22. The Supreme Court, which reopened on January 6 after an 18-day winter break, had a hectic first week in 2020. Here are the important developments from the top court last week. Freedom of speech, freedom to trade through internet is a fundamental right Restrictive orders suspending internet, telecommunication and movement should be published by the government indicating the specific reasons for imposing the clampdowns and it should be proportional to the concerns necessitating such suspension, the Supreme Court held on January 10 in a significant judgment ordering the Jammu & Kashmir administration to review all restrictive orders passed by the government in Kashmir including suspension of internet services in the Valley. In its 130-page ruling, the top court held that the 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. Appointment of teachers to Madrasas can be regulated The Supreme Court held that government can in national interest frame laws to regulate the appointment of teachers to educational institutions regardless of whether they are run by majority or minority community provided the intent behind such a law is to ensure the standard of excellence of the institutions. A bench of justice Arun Mishra and justice UU Lalit upheld the validity of West Bengal Madrasah Service Commission Act, 2008 (Act) which regulate the process of appointment of teachers in aided madrasas recognised as minority institutions through a commission created by the that states government and set aside the judgment of Calcutta high court which had struck down the commission created under the act unconstitutional. CJI-led 9 judge bench to hear Sabarimala petitions The court announced that a nine-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India, SA Bobde, will hear the petitions concerning entry of women between the age group 10-50 into the Sabarimala temple, the hill shrine in Kerala dedicated to Lord Ayyappa. As per the notice available on SC website, besides CJI Bobde, the bench will have justice R Banumathi, justice Ashok Bhushan, justice L Nageswara Rao, justice Mohan M Shantanagoudar, justice S Abdul Nazeer, justice R Subhash Reddy, justice BR Gavai and justice Surya Kant. The hearing in the matter is slated to commence on January 13. Probe into alleged overvaluation of coal imports by Adani revived The top court paved the way for resuming overseas probe against Adani group in a case concerning alleged overvaluation of coal imports from Indonesia. The court stayed an October 17, 2019, judgment of Bombay high court which had granted relief to Adani Group by quashing the letter of rogatory (LoR) issued by a Mumbai court. A letter of rogatory, which is issued by a magistrate under Section 166-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), is a request to a judicial or any other authority in a foreign jurisdiction to gather evidence. A bench headed by CJI Bobde and comprising justice BR Gavai and justice Surya Kant after hearing the appeal filed by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) stayed the high court verdict on January 8 and sought reply from Adani Enterprises Limited, the flagship entity of Adani Group. No evidence of murder in Muzaffarpur shelter home The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) informed the Supreme Court on January 8 that the 35 girls believed to have been murdered in Muzaffarpur shelter home in Bihar are alive and the investigating agency could not procure any evidence regarding any of the alleged murders in the shelter home. Attorney General KK Venugopal, representing the CBI, told the court that all the 35 girls have been traced and suspicions of the existence of a burial ground where human bones were unearthed were also negatived after a probe revealed that the bones belonged to two adults and not children. Country going through difficult times, CJI SA Bobde The country is witnessing troubled times and petitions in the Supreme Court should not exacerbate the situation, CJI Bobde observed on January 9 on an unusual petition that wants the top court to declare the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) as constitutional. Country is going through difficult times. The object should be to bring about peace. Such petitions dont help. As it is, there is a lot of trouble, the CJI said, a reference to the widespread protests - some of them violent - that broke out after parliamentary approval to the law. 2016 Mercedes hit and run accused to be tried as juvenile The 17-year-361-days-old boy, 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 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. Consequently, the accused will not be tried as an adult but will be tried as a juvenile under the JJ Act without entailing any serious punishment. Delhi gang rape convicts file curative petition Two of the four convicts in the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case, Vinay Sharma and Mukesh, filed curative petitions in the Supreme Court challenging the May 2017 judgment of the court which had upheld their conviction and death sentence. The curative petitions will be heard in chambers by a five-judge bench on January 14. 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 - and 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 petition. Relief to Tata Sons Tata Sons Limited, the holding company of the Tata Group, secured temporary relief from the top court which stayed the December 18, 2019, judgment of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) which had reinstated Cyrus Mistry as the executive chairman of Tata Sons Limited and as a director on the boards of other Tata Group companies. A CJI-led bench said that the NCLAT judgment has errors remarking that it granted a relief which was not prayed for. Plea for reservation for Dalit Christians Social exclusion of people from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) background who have converted from Hinduism to other religions like Christianity and Islam is a pertinent issue which requires the consideration of the Supreme Court, said CJI Bobde while hearing a plea seeking reservation benefits for Christians of SC origin. We will hear it as soon as possible, remarked CJI Bobde when the petition came up for hearing on January 8 before a bench which also has justice BR Gavai and justice Surya Kant. The court issued notice to the central government in the matter. The Bahujan Samaj Party is likely to skip a meeting of opposition parties convened on Monday to discuss the situation arising out of violence in various university campuses and protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act. Sources in the BSP said the party may not send a representative at the meet. The BSP's differences with the Congress are said to be the reason behind the move, the sources said. Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress has already announced its decision to stay away from the meet. When the opposition members had approached the President against the amended Citizenship law, the BSP had not joined them. It had met the President on the issue later. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Express News Service VIJAYAWADA: Stating that the TDP supported the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha as the Centre mentioned that it was intended to give citizenship to those migrating to India from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, which were once part of India, Guntur MP Galla Jayadev has said that the party, however, will not support any attempts of the Centre to harm the interests of Muslims. Speaking to mediapersons at the party central office at Atmakur near here on Saturday, Jayadev said it was clearly mentioned in the CAB that it is to provide citizenship to Hindus migrating to India from the above said nations. As there was nothing wrong in that, the TDP supported the bill, he maintained. "However, when the Centre came up with CAA and NRC, we realised that it harms the interests of Muslim minorities and opposed it as we doubt that if the laws are implemented together, there are huge chances of officials misusing them," he added. Stating that the apex court found fault with the Centre for imposition of Section 144 in Kashmir, he alleged that the State government was trying to suppress the agitations of farmers and women, who have been staging protests for the last 25 days. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Want to add a family room to your home or build your dream house? Theres a good chance youll have to factor in the cost of solar panels for your roof, thanks to a new city law aimed at creating a greener" city. Local laws 92 and 94 took effect in November, mandating that any roof undergoing major construction be covered in either solar photovoltaic (PV) panels or a green roof system (covered in vegetation). Construction projects affected include new construction, vertical and horizontal extensions, and major modifications to the roof requiring a permit. Proponents of the laws, including City Councilwoman Debi Rose (D-North Shore), who voted in favor of the bills back in spring 2019, say solar panels play a significant role in moving the city away from a carbon-focused energy and toward renewable energy sources. Councilmen Joseph Borelli (R-South Shore) and Council Minority Leader Steven Matteo (R-Mid Island) voted against the bills, which were sponsored by Council members from Brooklyn and Queens. INNOVATIVE ACTION Climate change, air pollution and rising energy costs are realities that affect the most vulnerable of our world, including hundreds of thousands of New York City residents, Rose said. Addressing this climate emergency requires us to take decisive, innovative action to reduce our carbon emissions. Buildings make up more than 70% of greenhouse gas emissions in NYC, the City Council points out in its Climate Mobilization Act, which includes the laws 92 and 94. Energy consumption from electricity use, heating, and cooling all contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, science has shown. But the new green legislation has residents and those in the Staten Island building community seeing red. The mandate places an unfair financial burden of at least $15,000 to $20,000 on those who are building and buying new homes, they say, and it especially hurts those putting additions on their homes. NO CONSIDERATION FOR REGULAR PEOPLE There hasnt been any consideration for the regular people, said Alan Becker, a senior officer and past president of the Building Industry Association of New York, a Staten Island-based organization of builders. The cost of the solar panel system to many new homebuyers, or those making additions to their homes, wont be offset by the energy cost savings, he said, and it is wrong to make home buyers pay for a system that they may personally find unattractive or even dangerous. Some think it causes cancer, he said. How does the government force that upon me, the developer? Its really one of the worst things theyve ever done. Rose said the bills were part of a package that paves the way for a cooler, greener future by using rooftops as a resource to reduce the negative impact of new development. This house at 70 Manor Rd. is fit with solar panels. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel) Yet, Islanders seeking to add space to their existing homes will be particularly hard hit, said Ronald Victorio, a West Brighton architect, who added that many of his clients have chosen to walk away from renovation projects because of the solar panel requirement. ONE HOMEOWNERS STORY Conor Farrell is just such a client. He was looking forward to adding 12 feet to the back of the 1930 West Brighton Colonial he bought with his wife, Charlene, in September 2019. But when told by Victorio that the square footage he was adding forced him to comply with the solar panel law, he backed out, Farrell said. We figured wed expand the house and it fit into our budget, Farrell said. But I never considered solar panels. We knew it would cost $30,000 or $40,000, and I didnt have that to spend on something I didnt need or want. But, even if I had an extra $50,000, I still wouldnt have done it. When it comes to new construction, Staten Island homes dont fit the typical New York City profile with expansive, flat roofs that are more ideal for vegetative green roof systems, Island opponents of the law say. Though the law provides exemptions for certain homes, like those with very steep roofs and those that arent structured to create the required 4 kilowatts of energy, itll cost builders and residents money to research that, and the required paperwork will delay their projects, said Victorio. The exclusions must be calculated by the architect or engineer and submitted to the DOB (Department of Buildings) on a premise-by-premise basis, he said, noting that his office hasnt processed any such requests yet. It will require additional cost to determine the feasibility. And many older homes arent structurally designed to support a solar panel system -- even if the homeowner wants one, said Frank Martarella III, president of the Staten Island chapter of the American Institute of Architects, which has issued a statement opposing the new laws. All that stuff now has to be considered at the beginning of the project, he said. The burden falls on me to run the calculations and determine if you have enough area. I have to determine if enough solar power can be achieved and if the answer is yes, they have to be installed. Martarella said his peers are also angry that the city informed them of the new law just 21 days before it took effect. It was sprung on us, he said. We were not even contacted or consulted. Though opponents all said they see the environmental value of solar panels, (Becker even said he has them on his own home), they all question the fairness of a mandate. NOT A CURE-ALL To just place that burden on the homeowner when it might not be in their best interest is just the wrong policy, said Borelli, who served on the state Assemblys Energy Committee when he was in the state legislature. I am totally in favor of putting solar panels on public buildings. We have school buildings with large, open flat roofs where it makes a lot of sense. But it just doesnt always make sense. Its not a cure-all. Matteo and Borelli both said incentives for residents would have been more fair. Rather than imposing costly mandates, government should be providing owners more incentives, like tax abatements and rebates, to make their buildings more energy-efficient, Matteo said. Victorio said he agrees, adding that the move will hurt the Island economy, as many more residents will consider leaving the borough for New Jersey when their desired home becomes unaffordable here. The part that is frustrating is the mandate, he said. It shouldnt be mandatory because of the financial burden. It should be something they choose to do." At least seven mortar bombs hit Iraq's Al-Balad base hosting US troops on Sunday evening, news agency ANI quoted a report by Sputnik. The origin of the bombs has not been identified yet. Balad is located 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad and was a target of last week's rocket attacks. According to some military sources, some Iraqi airmen have been wounded in the attack though a majority of the US airmen stationed at airbase had already left. Live TV The Iraqi military in a statement did not say who was behind the attack and made no mention of heightened tensions between the United States and Iran. On Wednesday (January 8), Iran had attacked multiple locations in Iraq including the al-Asad airbase that hosts US forces, a US official had told Reuters. It was unclear what other sites may have been attacked. The attack's last week was carried out by Iran in retaliation to the killing of Iranian Army Commander and Quds chief Qassem Soleimani in a US drone strike near Baghdad airport on January 3. Hours after launching the missiles on Wednesday in a disastrous move, Iran shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane in Tehran, killing all 176 people aboard. After much condemnation from the international community, on Saturday the Guards' aerospace commander General Amirali Hajizadeh took full responsibility for striking down the aircraft. This is a developing story, more details are awaited. On Sunday, thousands of Pakistanis gathered in Bannu city of Khyber Pakthunkhwa province demanding an end to the atrocities committed by the Pakistani Army. The rally organised by Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) also demonstrated against the Imran Khan-led government. Alleging that the Pakistani Army treated the Pashtuns as third-class citizens, the protesters also revealed that the former indulged in torture and killings. They also pointed out the lack of development in the areas where the Pashtuns lived. On this occasion, the Pakistani government has ensured a complete media blackout of the protests besides snapping internet services in the region. Meanwhile, the local administration organized sporting events to keep the people away from the PTM protest. Read: Pak PM Imran Terms Quetta Mosque Blast 'cowardly Terrorist Attack', Demands Report What is the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement? Occupying the north-western territory of the country, Pashtuns are the second-largest ethnic group in Pakistan, representing approximately 15.42% of the population. Despite having a huge representation in the Pakistani Army, they have consistently suffered discrimination at the hands of the authorities. The killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud, a young Pashtun in Karachi on January 13, 2018, led to the advent of the PTM led by Manzoor Pashteen. Read: UNBELIEVABLE: Pak PM Imran Khan's Nephew Abuses Driver & Kicks His Car In Road Rage Video Since then, the PTM organized massive rallies in major cities of Pakistan such as Lahore, Karachi, Swat, Peshawar, and Quetta seeking justice for the death of innocent Pashtuns. As the ire of the protesters was directed at the Pakistani Army, the latter started propaganda about a foreign conspiracy. Despite the oppositions charge of massive rigging in the 2019 General Election in Pakistan, the Army was unable to prevent the election of PTM members Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir. Read: With The World On Tenterhooks Over Iran-US Escalation, AAAs The Magic Word For Imran Khan Attempts to crush PTM Both the Pakistani government as well as the Army has done everything possible to crush the spirit of the PTM. For instance, parliamentarians Dawar and Wazir were arrested on charges of terrorism after a clash between PTM activists and Army troops at a security post in May 2018. They languished in jail for 4 months before being granted bail. Apart from seeking justice for Pashtuns, the PTM leaders have also been at the forefront of the struggle for civilian supremacy. This was evident from the fact that Dawar and Wazir were the only parliamentarians to vote against the extension of Pakistani Army Chief Qamar Bajwa. On the other hand, all the mainstream parties including the opposition PML-N and PPP gave unconditional support to the extension. Read: Ashok Gehlot Slams Imran's Pak Govt After Attack On Nankana Sahib, Killing Of Sikh Man By IANS WASHINGTON: Just three days into his internship, little did 17-year-old Wolf Cukier realise that he is going to make history -- in helping NASA discover its first Earth-size planet resting in its star's habitable-zone -- the way our Earth rests in its Goldilocks zone. In 2019, when Cukier finished his junior year at Scarsdale High School in New York, he joined NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, as a summer intern. His job was to examine variations in star brightness captured by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and uploaded to the Planet Hunters TESS citizen science project. "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," he said in a NASA statement. NASA last week announced that its Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) found a planet in a habitable zone, the range of distances where conditions may be just right to allow the presence of liquid water on the surface. "I noticed a dip, or a transit, from the TOI 1338 system, and that was the first signal of a planet," Cukier told NBC 4 New York. According to NASA, TOI 1338 b is 6.9 times larger than Earth and is located about 1,300 light-years away from Earth. The planet orbits in almost exactly the same plane as the stars, so it experiences regular stellar eclipses. A paper, which Cukier co-authored along with scientists from Goddard, San Diego State University, the University of Chicago and other institutions, has been submitted to a scientific journal. Meanwhile, Cukier is now planning about his future in college. "My top three choices are Princeton, MIT and Stanford," he told News 12. SHOWS: NEAR UYUNI, BOLIVIA (FILE JANUARY 2016) (REUTERS PICTURES - ACCESS ALL) (MUTE) 1. PAULO GONCALVES DURING THE DAKAR RALLY 2016 BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (FILE JANUARY 2016) (REUTERS PICTURES - ACCESS ALL) (MUTE) 2. GONCALVES DURING THE DEPARTURE CEREMONY FOR DAKAR RALLY 2016 UNKNOWN LOCATION, SAUDI ARABIA (JANUARY 12, 2020) (REUTERS PICTURES - ACCESS ALL) (MUTE) 3. GONCALVES DURING STAGE 7 OF THE 2020 RALLY UNKNOWN LOCATION, SAUDI ARABIA (JANUARY 9, 2020) (REUTERS PICTURES - ACCESS ALL) (MUTE) 4. GONCALVES DURING STAGE 5 UNKNOWN LOCATION, SAUDI ARABIA (JANUARY 12, 2020) (REUTERS PICTURES - ACCESS ALL) (MUTE) 5. GONCALVES DURING STAGE 7 BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (FILE JANUARY 2016) (REUTERS PICTURES - ACCESS ALL) (MUTE) 6. GONCALVES SMILING AFTYER TECHNICAL CHECKS AHEAD OF THE DAKAR RALLY 2016 STORY: Portuguese rider Paulo Goncalves died following a crash in the seventh stage of the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia on Sunday (January 12), organisers said. The 40-year-old Hero Motorsports rider, taking part in his 13th Dakar Rally since making his debut in 2006, suffered fatal injuries after a fall 276km into Sunday's special stage from Riyadh to Wadi Al Dawasir. "The organisers received an alert at 10:08 and dispatched a medical helicopter that reached the biker at 10:16 and found him unconscious after going into cardiac arrest," organisers said in a statement. "Following resuscitation efforts in situ, the competitor was taken by helicopter to Layla Hospital, where he was sadly pronounced dead. "The entire Dakar caravan would like to extend its sincere condolences to his friends and family." Goncalves finished in the top 10 at the Dakar Rally four times and was runner-up to Marc Coma in 2015. He was 46th overall after the sixth stage on Friday. (Production: Jim Hatley) Crowds in Tehran call on leadership to quit after Tehran admits it mistakenly shot down plane with 176 people on board. Protesters in Irans capital are demanding the resignation of senior leaders following the admission by authorities after initial denials that Iranian forces accidentally shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, killing all 176 people on board. Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 bound for Kyiv, Ukraine, crashed minutes after the takeoff from the Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran on Wednesday. It happened just hours after Iran launched missile attacks on US forces in Iraq in retaliation for the US assassination of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani. Here are the latest updates as of Sunday, January 12: Iran issues more visas to Canadian team probing crash and helping families Iran issued eight more visas to a team of Canadian officials following the crash of PS752 and most members of the group should be in Tehran on Monday, Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said. Champagne said on Twitter that three officials from the rapid deployment team had flown to Iran on Saturday to set up a base of operations and a further eight would travel on Monday. The last member will arrive in Ankara on Monday. We expect [the team] to be fully in place to do their important work by Jan 14, Champagne said. Update on #PS752. Summary: More visas being issued by Iran today. We expect the Standing Rapid Deployment Team (SRDT) to be fully in place to do their important work by January 14. Francois-Philippe Champagne (FPC) (@FP_Champagne) January 12, 2020 IRGC commander says he wished he had died in plane crash The commander-in-chief of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said he wished he had been killed along with the passengers on the plane downed by unintentional missile fire. General Hossein Salami, who was summoned to a closed-door session of the parliament to explain the incident, added he never felt as ashamed as he did after learning about the accident. I swear to almighty God that I wished I were in that plane and had crashed with them and had burned but had not witnessed this tragic incident, he told Iranian MPs, according to state TV. He assured his force would make up for the deadly mistake, stressing it would not back down from its fight against the United States. Hossein Salami, IRGC commander, told parliament in a closed-door session that he wished he had died in the Ukrainian plane [File: Morteza Nikoubazl/Reuters] IRGC chief says missiles did not aim to kill US troops Salami also said the IRGC did not aim to kill US troops when it fired a wave of missiles last week at Iraqi bases hosting US forces. Our aim was not really to kill enemy soldiers. That was not important, he told parliament. The physical destruction was just because we wanted to say that we are so much more superior to the enemy that we can hit any point we choose, Salami added in a speech aired on state television. Rockets hit Iraq base hosting US troops: Military A volley of rockets slammed into an Iraqi airbase north of Baghdad where US forces have been based, wounding four local troops. In a statement, the Iraqi military said eight Katyusha-type rockets landed on Al-Balad airbase 80km (50 miles) north of the capital wounding two Iraqi officers and two airmen. The base had held a small US air force contingent as well as American contractors, but a majority had been evacuated following tensions between Washington and Tehran over the past two weeks, military sources told AFP news agency. Khamenei calls for better regional cooperation, criticises US Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for increased cooperation among countries in the region to deal with problems he blamed on the US, according to his official website. The situation in the region is inappropriate because of the United States and its friends, and the only way to deal with it is to rely on inter-regional cooperation, Khamenei told Qatars visiting ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. France, Germany, UK urge Iran to stick to nuclear deal The leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Germany called on Iran to return to full compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and refrain from further violence. We urge Iran to reverse all measures inconsistent with the agreement and return to full compliance, the leaders said in a statement issued by the office of French President Emmanuel Macron. We call on Iran to refrain from further violent action or proliferation, and we remain ready to engage with Iran on this agenda in order to preserve the stability of the region. Second day of Iran protests over downing of plane Protests erupted across Iran for a second day, piling pressure on the leadership after the military admitted it had mistakenly shot down the Ukrainian airliner. They are lying that our enemy is America, our enemy is right here, a group of protesters outside a university in Tehran chanted, according to video clips posted on Twitter. Posts showed other demonstrators outside a second university and a group of protesters marching to Tehrans Azadi (Freedom) Square. The videos also showed protests in other cities. Top Iran security official says Tehran did not hide plane crash cause A senior Iranian security official said Iran had no intention to conceal the cause of the crash of the Ukrainian airliner, which the Iranian military admitted it had mistakenly shot down. From the start, there was no intention to conceal the causes of the accident, especially since its nature and technical characteristics make it virtually impossible to conceal, the secretary of Irans top national security body, Ali Shamkhani, was quoted as saying by the state-run IRIB news agency. Salami, the IRGCs top commander, said we are more upset than anyone over the incident, state media reported. But other officials said Irans enemies, a term usually used to refer to Washington and its allies, were exploiting the incident. Irans enemies want to take revenge on the Guards for a military mistake, said Ali Shirazi, a representative to the Quds Force, an elite unit. UK and Germany condemn arrest of UK ambassador UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned the arrest of Britains ambassador to Tehran, a spokesman from Johnsons office said in a statement issued after the two leaders spoke. On Iran, they discussed the tragic loss of life on the Ukraine International Airlines passenger jet. They condemned Irans arrest of the UK ambassador to Tehran as a violation of international law, the spokesman said. The leaders also discussed our shared interests in ensuring Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon, and reaffirmed their continued commitment to preserving the JCPOA [Iran nuclear deal]. Dozens of hard-liners gathered outside the British embassy in Tehran chanting death to England while calling for the ambassador to be expelled. Last night he [Macaire] took part in protests organised people and interfered, which has angered the people. That is why we have gathered here to voice our protest, said Seifi, who did not give his last name. Protesters chanted: This den of espionage must be closed down. Pentagon chief: US does not expect more Iranian retaliatory attacks US defence chief Mark Esper said the Trump administration foresees no more Iranian military attacks in retaliation for the US strike that killed Soleimani. The Pentagon leader suggested Irans government is under internal threat following its downing of the Ukrainian civilian airliner. You can see the Iranian people are standing up and asserting their rights, their aspirations for a better government a different regime, Esper told CBSs Face the Nation. Esper said Irans paramilitary Quds Force still presents a threat across the Middle East, but the specific attacks he said were being planned by the late General Soleimani have been disrupted. Esper also said the Trump administrations offer to negotiate a new nuclear deal with Iran without precondition still stands. Iran braces for protests after admitting plane shoot-down Irans security forces deployed in large numbers across the capital expecting more protests after the IRGC admitted to accidentally shooting down the passenger plane. Riot police in black uniforms and helmets massed in Vali-e Asr Square, Tehran University and other landmarks as calls circulated for protests later in the day. IRGC members patrolled the city on motorbikes and plainclothes security men were also out in force. People looked down as they walked briskly past the police, hoping not to draw attention to themselves. US President Donald Trump, who has expressed support for past waves of anti-government demonstrations in Iran, addressed the countrys leaders in a tweet, saying DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. The World is watching. More importantly, the USA is watching, said Trump. To the leaders of Iran DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. Thousands have already been killed or imprisoned by you, and the World is watching. More importantly, the USA is watching. Turn your internet back on and let reporters roam free! Stop the killing of your great Iranian people! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2020 Suffering and pain: Iranians mourn crash dead Iranians mourned the dead from the plane crash among whom were a large number of young people with promising futures who were studying abroad. Hundreds of students gathered at Tehrans Shahid Beheshti University to honour the victims and protest against authorities for concealing the cause of the crash. They later dispersed peacefully. Even talking about it makes my heart beat faster and makes me sad, said Zahra Razeghi, a Tehran resident. I feel ashamed when I think about their families. The denial and covering up the truth over the past three days greatly added to the suffering and pain of the families, and me, she added. Another individual, who only identified himself as Saeed, said the largely state-run media concealed the cause of the crash for political reasons. Later developments changed the game and they had to tell the truth, he said. Iran summons UK envoy over his attendance at illegal rally Iran summoned the UK envoy to complain about his attendance at an illegal rally in Tehran to commemorate those killed in the Ukrainian airliner mistakingly shot down. Today, Rob Macaire was summoned because of his unconventional behaviour of attending an illegal rally on Saturday, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website reported. Britain said earlier its ambassador in Iran had been briefly detained on Saturday, which Iranian media said was because he was inciting anti-government protests. Macaire denied he took part in the demonstration. The British government called the arrest a flagrant violation of international law. Some demonstrators burned British flags during a protest in front of the British embassy in Tehran, witnesses said. They demanded the expulsion of Macaire. Hardline armed group rallies at UK embassy, demands closure Irans Basij militia staged a demonstration outside the UK embassy in Tehran demanding it be closed, Iranian state media reported. The rally by the Basij, affiliated to Irans elite Revolutionary Guard, followed the brief detention of the UKs ambassador to Iran during protests after the Iranian military admitted to mistakenly bringing down a civilian airliner in Iran. Qatar, Iran agree de-escalation only solution to tensions Qatar and Iran agreed that de-escalation was the only solution to regional tensions, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said after meeting Irans President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran. This visit comes at a critical time in the region, and we agreed with the brothers and with His Excellency the president that the only solution to these crises is de-escalation from everyone and dialogue, he told a news conference. Dialogue is the only solution to resolve the crises, he said at a time of heightened US-Iranian tensions. Iran opposition leader says Khamenei directly responsible A leader of Irans opposition Green Movement, Mehdi Karroubi, called on Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to step down over the handling of the downed airliner. You, as the commander in chief of the armed forces, are directly responsible for this, he said in a statement. If you were aware and you let military and security authorities deceive people, then there is no doubt you lack the attributes of constitutional leadership. Iran deceived the entire world: Netanyahu Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran lied intentionally about the downing of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752. They knew from the start that they had downed it. They knew that it was an unintentional downing, but lied intentionally, Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting. Iran lied. Just as they lied about their secret nuclear program, they are lying about the downing of the Ukrainian aircraft. They knew from the start that they had downed it. They knew that it was an unintentional downing, but lied intentionally. They deceived the entire world. pic.twitter.com/ldihaG0yVr PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) January 12, 2020 Canadas Trudeau to attend plane crash victim memorial Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to attend what is expected to be the countrys largest memorial to the victims of the Ukrainian airliner shot down in Iran. Trudeaus office confirmed on Saturday that the prime minister will address the memorial service, due to be held in a basketball arena that seats 1,700 people in the western city of Edmonton. Thirteen of the victims lived in Edmonton. Memorials are also planned on Sunday in Toronto. Top Iran Guard briefs Parliament over downed jet Irans top Guards commander, Major-General Hossein Salami, briefed Parliament in a closed-session about Soleimanis assassination, Irans retaliation and the downing of the airliner, semi-official news agency ISNA said. Reparation for victims depends on Tehran-Kyiv settlement: IRNA An official from the Iran Civil Aviation Organisation said reparation for victims of the Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 depends on a settlement between Iran and Ukraine due to the process of the air disaster, Irans state news agency IRNA reported. Hassan Razaeefar said the plane was insured by a Ukrainian company, which would usually cover the plane, the passengers, and their belongings on board. Normally the contractors pay reparation, but taking into consideration the fact that this crash was not normal, the two countries need to reach a settlement, Razaeefar said, according to IRNA. Iranian newspapers pay tribute to crash victims Newspapers in Iran paid tribute to those killed in the Ukrainian passenger plane while heaping pressure on the countrys leadership amid growing public anger. Read more here. EUs diplomatic chief urges de-escalation The EUs diplomatic chief criticised Iran for briefly detaining the British ambassador to Tehran, calling for de-escalation. Very concerned about the temporary detention of the UK Ambassador @HMATehran in Iran. Full respect of the Vienna convention is a must. The EU calls for de-escalation and space for diplomacy, Josep Borrell tweeted. UK envoy denies taking part in Iran protest before arrest Rob Macaire, the United Kingdoms ambassador to Tehran, denied that he took part in a demonstration that erupted at a memorial for the 176 people killed when a plane was shot down. Can confirm I wasnt taking part in any demonstrations! Went to an event advertised as a vigil for victims of #PS752 tragedy, Rob Macaire wrote on Twitter, saying he left after 5 minutes, when some started chanting. Macaire added he was detained for half an hour after leaving the area. Thanks for the many goodwill messages. Can confirm I wasnt taking part in any demonstrations! Went to an event advertised as a vigil for victims of #PS752 tragedy. Normal to want to pay respects- some of victims were British. I left after 5 mins, when some started chanting. Rob Macaire (@HMATehran) January 12, 2020 IRGC head briefing parliament The chief of Irans elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was briefing Parliament over the killing of Soleimani, Tehrans retaliation and the subsequent downing Ukrainian airliner, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency. Major General Hossein Salami was addressing the members of the Majles in a closed session, ISNA reported. Twitter users decry Trumps Tweets Twitter users criticised Trump for saying he stood in solidarity with the Iranian people, noting that he previously threatened to attack 52 Iranian sites very hard as tensions between the two nations escalated earlier this month. How about you sit down and mind your own business?! one Twitter user said. Yes we saw how you stood with us when you threatened our cultural sites, starved Iranians with sanctions, and banned us from entering the US. How about you sit down and mind your own business?! ! pic.twitter.com/wbK0KZrCAE M. Ali Kadivar (@MAliKadivar) January 11, 2020 Only on planet Trump can you ban Iranians from visiting their family in the US, deny them access to life-saving drugs, threaten to bomb their cultural heritage, and then claim that you are in solidarity with them, another Twitter said, referring to US sanctions against Iran and the US administrations Muslim ban. Trump monitoring protests in Iran US President Donald Trump told Iranians in tweets in both English and Farsi that he stands by them and is monitoring the demonstrations. To the brave, long-suffering people of Iran: Ive stood with you since the beginning of my Presidency, and my Administration will continue to stand with you, he tweeted. There can not be another massacre of peaceful protesters, nor an internet shutdown. The world is watching, he added. We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage, he said. The government of Iran must allow human rights groups to monitor and report facts from the ground on the ongoing protests by the Iranian people. There can not be another massacre of peaceful protesters, nor an internet shutdown. The world is watching. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2020 Britains ambassador to Iran briefly arrested The United Kingdom confirmed its ambassador, Rob Macaire, was arrested briefly by Iranian authorities during demonstrations in Tehran. He was accused of inciting the protesters in front of the Amir Kabir University on Saturday. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the arrest was a flagrant violation of international law and repeated calls for Iran to de-escalate tensions. The Iranian government is at a crossroads moment, Raab said in a statement. It can continue its march towards pariah status with all the political and economic isolation that entails, or take steps to de-escalate tensions and engage in a diplomatic path forwards. Truth about Iran crash could not be hidden: Ukraines Zelenskyy The findings by Ukrainian experts in Iran meant the truth about the crash could not be concealed, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a televised address. He also said he had agreed with Irans President Hassan Rouhani on the beginning of joint work to decode the black boxes of the Ukrainian plane that was shot down this week. He also urged Ukraines international partners to remain united and persistent until the investigation was complete. Read the full story here Click here to read earlier updates Our Divisions Copyright 2021-22 DB Corp ltd., All Rights Reserved This website follows the DNPA Code of Ethics. The 'Indira is back' advertisement has juxtaposed images of both Indira and Priyanka Gandhi. An attempt has been made to match and compare the looks of Priyanka with her grandmother with striking similarities. The colours chosen for the two pictures -- white for Indira Gandhi and a colourful face of Priyanka -- seem to suggest the future of India. The poster reads: "The same vision, the same dedication, the same determination...the passion to take people of all faiths towards the path of progress." Shobha Ojha, media in-charge of the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, said, "One should not look for politics in the advertisement issued on the occasion of Priyanka Gandhi's birthday. She carries the image of her grandmother and the same charismatic appeal. Party Workers see in her an image of Indira Gandhi." Countering the comparison, BJP spokesman Hitesh Bajpayi said, "Congress is a family party. Those who want to do politics in Congress will have to placate Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka. What is Rahul Gandhi -- he is now known to all after the party's defeat in the general election. A group in the party wants shows allegiance to Priyanka, hence this devoutness." Political commentator Ravindra Vyas said: "Congress has released this advertisement ostensibly for political gain and is trying to cash in on Indira Gandhi's charisma on the birthday of Priyanka. But the question is: how much does the new generation know about Indira Gandhi? The party will have to look for new ways to cash in on the contributions made by their erstwhile leaders. This way of reaching out to the young generation through newspaper advertisements is not likely to stick." Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has told Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz that Japan will make every diplomatic effort it can to stabilize the situation in the Middle East. Abe also explained that Japan's dispatch of Self-Defense Force aircraft and a destroyer to the region is designed to gather information to ensure the safety of ships with ties to Japan. The two leaders met in a palace in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Sunday. It was their third summit and the first since March 2017. At the start of the talks, King Salman said he is glad that cooperation between the two nations has been strengthening in various fields. The King said he hopes bilateral strategic partnerships will deepen in energy and many other areas. Abe said 2020 is a historic year as Saudi Arabia will host the Group of 20 summit in Riyadh and Japan will hold the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. The two leaders agreed to work together to make those events successful. Abe praised Saudi Arabia's reform efforts, calling them necessary to stabilize the Middle East. He outlined his stance of fully supporting the reform programs by accelerating cooperation in a wide range of fields, in addition to energy. With the King describing Japan as an important partner in promoting the reform agenda, the leaders agreed to continue improving bilateral cooperation. Police will investigate the death with Worksafe and prepare a report for the coroner. Parks Victoria chief executive Matthew Jackson said he had been honoured to present Mr Slade with his 40-years service recognition in November last year. It was a privilege, he said. Not only for our peer group [and the] recognition of his service to the Victorian community in conservation, but to make sure his legacy will go on. "And having that formalised and recognised most recently as a month ago, whilst it's a tragedy, we can also honour such a great career and proactive approach and expertise that Bill provided. Loading Bill was a much-loved colleague, friend and member of the community. He will be sorely missed by Parks Victoria and our thoughts are with his family. Mr Slade had spent 40 years as a Parks Victoria field services officer, helping to fight forest fires and care for national parks, urban parks and waterways in the South Gippsland area. He started working for the organisation he was 17 years old and was instrumental in the fox eradication program on Phillip Island, and later helping to fight the Ash Wednesday fires in the 1980s. He was also known as a mentor to other fire fighters, passing on his extensive knowledge to many who are continuing to fight the fires ravaging East Gippsland. "Bill has been one of our most experienced, long-serving and fittest firefighters," said Mr Jackson. "He worked in multiple teams, multiple regions where staff are deployed right across the state in times of emergencies ... Quite an outstanding career." Former colleague Peter Dell said it was "always a pleasure" to work with Mr Slade. "Bill was such a great person from a great family. My relationship with Bill was through working alongside him in my role as a CFA volunteer," he said. "Bill was always prepared to share his vast skills and experience with anyone. Knowing most of Bills workmates, they would be gutted today after learning of this terrible loss." Emergency Services Commissioner Andrew Crisp said it was a sad day, not just for the emergency services community but for all Victorians. We get up every day to keep our community safe. When we get up to see something like this, it has a devastating effect on all our services," he said. "On behalf of emergency services, we extend our sincere condolences to Carol, Steph and Ethan. We have no real appreciation of how you are feeling at the moment, but we feel for you and we will be there to support you through this no matter what it takes. Premier Daniel Andrews described Mr Slade as an "absolute mentor" to his colleagues. Loading "I want to send my best wishes to the Slade family. Bill Slade was a long-term staff member at Parks Victoria, Forest Fire Management. He just received his 40-year certificate, he was much loved, an absolute mentor to many, many people and we send our best wishes to Carol and his two kids, his broader family, to his friends and colleagues," he said. "It shows us that this is still a very dangerous environment." DELWP secretary John Bradley said Mr Slade "protected Victorians and our natural environment for over 40 years". Mr Slade was working as a member of a taskforce which was consolidating the fire edge near Anglers Rest when he was killed. Although they do have enormous experience with identifying hazardous trees, there are occasions where some of these tree failures can't be predicted. In this case, he was struck by trees while working to consolidate the fire edge. He said it was a traumatic experience for everyone on that taskforce. Asked whether Mr Slades death would prompt any change in Forest Fire Management practices, Mr Hardman said the organisation's policies were some of the worlds best in terms of firefighting and safety. This is the worst day you can imagine, having to talk about a loss of another firefighter but practices and systems of work are best they can be," he said. Talking in generic terms, its sometimes a dynamic environment which is difficult to predict. The investigation will look at all the actors which led to this tragic outcome." Mr Crisp said it was a reminder for those travelling in fire-ravaged areas to be careful near trees. Sadly we see on a regular basis tree strikes do seriously injure and kill people at times," he said. This is a tough time for everyone, I know when I was here in the State Control Centre last night, everyone was flat and this is a difficult time but we will work through this ... support each other, support the family and continue to do what we do very well and that's keep the community safe." The death follows that of another Forest Fires Management worker, Mat Kavanagh, who was on duty when he was killed in a car crash. LOS ANGELES - Once a month, a very particular Sunday service unfolds on a patio outside a Starbucks in El Monte. When jets fly overhead, members of the congregation have to shout across the table at one another. Some days, there's a small crowd, and the conversation lasts for hours. On other days, Arlene Rios waits alone. It's not easy being an atheist raised in a devoutly Catholic culture. But here in the San Gabriel Valley, you don't have to doubt God's existence all alone. You can head to the monthly meetup of secular Latinos and share a latte with Rios. There are no Communion wafers at this service, just coffee and pastries, support and understanding from Atheists United Secular Latinos of San Gabriel Valley. "Some people are afraid to RSVP, because they're afraid their family members might know they're questioning religion," said Rios, who started organizing this unusual convocation in Fresno three years ago. "I still show up just in case." ADVERTISEMENT She is up against centuries of tradition. In Mexican and Latin American homes, saints abound. Pope bobblehead dolls adorn bookshelves. Palm Sunday branches are tacked up on walls. Paintings of the Last Supper hang in dining rooms. Abuelas give rosaries to hang on the rearview mirror of the family car. Moms say "persignate" - make the sign of the cross - when you get on the freeway or there's turbulence on the plane. In Mexican culture, there is no greater icon than the Virgen de Guadalupe. In Spanish, goodbye literally means "to God." Adios. A Dios. Even though identification with the Catholic Church, or any church for that matter, has dwindled some among Latinos in the United States over the last decade, Latinos do not hold atheists in high regard. Some 47% of Latinos describe themselves as Catholic, down from 57% a decade ago, according to a Pew Research Center survey on America's changing religious landscape released in October. At the same time, 23% of Latinos say they are religiously unaffiliated, up from 15% in 2009. Another survey from the Pew Research Center indicated that "Latinos feel more unfavorably toward atheists than they do toward any other group." "Religion for Latinos overwhelmingly for the longest time has been Catholic. It's so embedded and imbued in the culture," said Arlene Sanchez-Walsh, a professor of religious studies at Azusa Pacific University. "Becoming completely nonbelieving, that's a major rupture." Which is something the members of this meetup know all too well. ADVERTISEMENT Alex Flores' mother discussed his loss of faith with the local priest. If the 37-year-old wanted to convert back to Catholicism, she told her son, he could get rebaptized "in one hour." Tomas Rodriguez Jr.'s family thinks the 54-year-old is going through a phase. His mother jokingly blames herself for his "disbelief in God." At Alfredo Beltran's job in Commerce, a co-worker announced that she thought atheists were "devil worshippers." Another asked Beltran if he even mourned death. Beltran, 44, grew up Catholic and recalls the guilt that came with it. When it would rain, his family told him it was because he had "been bad and Diosito is mad." At confession, he wondered why he needed to repent for forgetting to do the dishes or not taking out the trash. He attended Mass with everyone in his family except for his grandfather. "He would always stay home, and I would hear little comments (from him) here and there like, 'Oh God didn't give me that meat. I got that meat; I made the money for that,'" said Beltran, who became an atheist when he was in his 30s. Beltran met Rios while the two stood in line in L.A. to listen to a talk with atheist activist Matt Dillahunty, host of the live internet show "The Atheist Experience." When Rios told Beltran she wanted to start the group, he was immediately supportive. Rios, a Navy veteran, grew up Catholic but walked away from religion when she was in her 30s because "it just didn't make any sense to me." But the 43-year-old said she missed one important function that church provided, "the community aspect of it." ADVERTISEMENT She started Fresno Latino Atheists after hearing about secular Latino meetups across the country. Six people came to her first gathering. The group now boasts hundreds of members online. After Rios moved to the San Gabriel Valley, she held her first meetup there in June 2018. Her parents were supportive, she said, although at times her mother - who grew up in Mexico - still references the Bible when speaking to her daughter. Although Maria Elena Avila's "natural being tells me to believe," she respects her daughter's nonbelief. "This is a free country, and you can become whatever you want to become," she said. "My purpose as a mother was to raise my kids being good citizens, and I think I did." But other family members dismiss Rios' beliefs - or lack thereof - altogether. "Ay mija," her aunt tells her, "you were baptized Catholic, so you're always going to be Catholic." In the U.S., a decreasing number of adults identify as Catholic, while the number of people who answer the religion question with the word "none" has steadily grown. The religiously unaffiliated share of the population, which consists of people who identify as atheist, agnostic or "nothing in particular," went up from 17% in 2009 to 26% in 2018-19, according to Pew Research Center. Those numbers have grown across multiple demographic groups. Around the country, Latinos have banded together in Facebook groups and Reddit threads to share their secret - or not-so-secret - lack of faith. One Reddit user said he became disillusioned with religion around the time he went through confirmation in high school. His mother, who he described as "still very Catholic," attends Mass every Sunday and prays before bed and at every meal. His father has always seemed "to just kind of tolerate it." "Though he grew up Catholic, too, I get the feeling he just kind of goes through the motions for the sake of keeping the peace with my mom," he wrote. "I guess I do the same thing when I'm home visiting." Another Reddit user emphasized "how deep-rooted our cultures are in superstition." "In a nutshell, if you're not Catholic, you're not one of the 'normal' ones, so it can be very tough to fit in," the user said. "My hope is that other atheist Latinos will help normalize atheism in their respective communities." Seven people gathered on the second Sunday of November for the meetup, oblivious to the churchgoers heading into the Starbucks after services. Rios rooted through a Loteria wallet for cash so she could grab coffee to keep herself warm in the chilly air, as she handed out Atheists United newsletters. They are open about their nonbelief. Rios' black T-shirt read "Secular Latinas." Beltran has an atheist tattoo on his wrist and a sticker on his truck promoting Atheists United Secular Latinos of San Gabriel Valley. The majority of Beltran's co-workers in the Commerce Public Works Department are Latino, and all are religious, making him the "butt of all jokes," he said. Often, he questions their faith. After a co-worker explained that his own daughter was disabled because of all the bad stuff he did in the past, Beltran questioned believing in something that would punish an innocent 4-year-old for a grown man's alleged sins. When a friend died, Beltran said he called another co-worker to tell him about his pain. That colleague had once asked him: Do atheists actually mourn death? "We don't correlate it to religion," Beltran said. But when "we lose someone, our hearts are broken." Although some friends worry about him being a nonbeliever, he stands by his moral code. "I don't know about you guys, but when I finally decided to say I was atheist I felt like this huge weight just fell off my back," Beltran told the assembled nonbelievers. A murmur of agreement ran through the circle. "I wanted to scream and tell everybody," he said. At times, though, being a nonbeliever has come at a cost. After Flores' sister gave birth to a son and it was time for the baby's baptism, she told Flores she wanted him to be the child's godfather. "But you being an atheist," she told him, "I had to go with someone else." Leticia Flores-Mejia considered Flores, she said, but "the church that we went to, the godparents did have to be Catholic." Beltran ran into a similar roadblock. When friends wanted him to be their son's godfather, it was the priest who said no. "Apparently I couldn't because, how am I supposed to teach their son about God and the Bible if I'm not a believer?" Beltran said. "Technically you can teach it," Flores said, "just not the things they want." That Sunday morning, the group of seven talked about hobbies - including running an atheist and agnostic Latin dance workshop. And recent European vacations - including a visit to a church that urged tourists not to help the false poor but to "help the real ones" with an offer to the parish. They cite evolution to disprove Genesis and the story of Adam and Eve and their immediate descendants, asking if God is OK with incest. There is comfort in swapping stories about people who don't understand who atheists are. "You don't believe in God? But you're so nice," Rios has heard. "You can't be an atheist, because you're such a sweet guy," said Beltran's friend, who asked him not to talk to her children about religion. (EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE) When these atheists go to church, it's for weddings, baptisms, or funerals. Beltran and his wife were married in their backyard. Rodriguez Jr. and his wife were married at City Hall. Still, remnants of their past lives remain. At times they say "bless you" when someone sneezes, or "oh my God" when something surprises them. The Last Supper hangs on Rios' wall, reminding her of her childhood; Beltran still has rosaries; and Rodriguez Jr. has a packet of "Bible stuff" from his first Communion that his grandmother sent when he moved to California. There's only one Virgen de Guadalupe in Rios' home - a print of the Virgin Mary depicted as Princess Leia holding a gun. She put it away, after her grandmother visited, took one look - and called it blasphemy. --- (c)2020 Los Angeles Times Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Addressing the centenary celebration of Sri Ramakrishna Vijayam, a Tamil monthly magazine, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday asserted that respect for all religions was rooted in Indian blood. Moreover, he stressed that secularism did not entail the insult or appeasement of any religion. Maintaining that India had always given shelter to persecuted persons, Naidu claimed that some individuals were trying to create controversy at this juncture. His statement assumes importance in the wake of the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Read: Language Should Not Be Seen From The Prism Of Community Or Religion: Venkaiah Naidu Takes an indirect dig at the Opposition The Vice President also indirect took a dig at the opposition by stating that some people had an allergy with the word Hindu. He pointed out that even before secularism became a part of the Indian constitution, it was ingrained in the Indian ethos. While conceding that people had a right to hold a negative view about the word Hindu, he opined that it was not the correct way of looking at Indian tradition and culture. Venkaiah Naidu remarked, Some people in this country have an allergy towards this word Hindu, we cannot help them. And they have got every right to have that view. But they are not right. Let me put the record straight. Understand what is culture and tradition. Religion is a way of worship. You worship in any way. No problem. But culture is the essence of our life- that is what is important. Read: M Venkaiah Naidu Complements RSTV For Crossing 40 Lakh Subscriber Mark On YouTube Provisions in the CAA The CAA seeks to provide citizenship to the minority communities namely Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. This will be applicable to the members of these communities having arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014. Moreover, they will not be considered as illegal migrants. Additionally, the mandatory residence period for naturalised citizenship for these communities would be reduced to 5 years. The opposition contends that the Bill discriminates on the basis of religion, which might go against Article 14, which guarantees the right to equality. (With ANI inputs) Read: Every Day We Used To Consult One Another...: VP Naidu Remembers His Friend Arun Jaitley Read: Vice President Venkaiah Naidu Arrives In Chhattisgarh To Attend Indian Economic Association Stockholm: Climate activist Greta Thunberg has called on German engineering group Siemens AG to review its role in helping to develop a controversial coal mine project in Australia. "On Monday they (Siemens) will announce their decision. Please help pushing them to make the only right decision. #StopAdani," Thunberg tweeted. Engineering giant Siemens said it will decide by Monday on its involvement in the development of the mine which is being built by India's Adani Power, its CEO Joe Kaeser said on Friday. Siemens' contract to provide signalling technology to the coal mine's railway is worth 18 million euros ($29 million), Kaeser said. After five years, they are no longer an item. Self-made cosmetics creator and makeup reviewer Jeffree Star released an emotional Instagram post and confessional YouTube video Saturday confirming that he and his longtime partner Nathan Schwandt have split up. 'We broke up... Sorry for the silence, Ive been trying to heal,' Star, 34, captioned a still from his YouTube video, in which he has a grimace on his face from crying. Emotional: Jeffree Star released an emotional Instagram post and confessional YouTube video Saturday confirming that he and his longtime partner Nathan Schwandt have split up In a teary-eyed selfie video posted to his Instagram Story, Star appears uncharacteristically makeup-free and with tears streaming down his face, announcing his new video that catches fans up as to what happened. In the 17-minute clip, he recounted the reasons for their rupture, which he insisted was not due to any 'crazy drama,' but rather, due to the intense nature of their busy schedules and lifestyle. 'We were both so busy being there for each other that we forgot to be here for ourselves, and thats what 2020 is focusing on ourselves.' Specifically, the death of two of their beloved dogs last year took a toll on their collective mental health. Teary-eyed: In a selfie video posted to his Instagram Story, Star appears makeup-free and with tears streaming down his face, announcing his new video that catches fans up 'We havent processed our dogs fully because this lifestyle is so crazy and were always on to the next thing,' Jeffree explained. He also made sure to let fans know that there is no bad blood between the two. 'Me and Nathan will be friends forever, I will always have love for him. Are we in love with each other? No, but we love each other and he will always be in my life.' Earlier this week, fans of the makeup mogul had expressed concern when Jeffree tweeted and then deleted distraught messages such as, 'Dear God please stop the pain' as well as, 'My dogs always make me smile when Im down'. Confessional: In the 17-minute YouTube clip, Jeffree recounts the reasons for their rupture Speaking his truth: 'We were both so busy being there for each other that we forgot to be here for ourselves, and thats what 2020 is focusing on ourselves' But on Saturday morning, his messaging seemed just a little more positive, when he tweeted, 'The hardest part has been waking up and he's not laying next to me anymore.. But I'm a tough b***h and 2020 is going to be my year.' Astonishingly, just last month Jeffree closed the deal on a $14.6 million sprawling new Hidden Hills, California mansion for himself and Nathan, 26. The home includes eight bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, a dramatic ballroom, a master bathroom complete with a sauna, a spa room, two-story gym, wine cellar, pool, outdoor kitchen and built-in BBQ area, two guesthouses, an unfinished barn AND a studio space. Thus far, it is unclear whether the YouTuber and owner of Jeffree Star Cosmetics, who has an estimated net worth of around $200 million, will live on the property alone, or whether Nathan will remain as a guest. Happier times: The pair together in Bora Bora in November Salman Khan To Share The Big Screen With Kriti Sanon In Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali? Find Out David Rogers, a Midland criminal defense attorney, has announced his candidacy for 142nd District Court judge. The native Midlander has practiced criminal and family law for 25 years. He is currently a partner at Fivecoat & Rogers. Rogers said in an interview he believes his experience as a criminal lawyer would serve him well on the 142nd District Court, which primarily oversees criminal cases. I thought as a board-certified criminal law specialist, it fit with what the court does, he said. Rogers is the sole candidate running for the 142nd District Court seat who is board-certified in criminal law, he said, and one of three criminal attorneys in Midland to be certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He said in a press release he believes a record of accountability, transparency and fairness are essential to presiding over the courtroom. I will ensure that anyone who enters the courtroom is treated equally and has confidence in an impartial justice system, he said in the release. But I will also be unafraid to issue tough sentences to the worst actors in Midland County who violate our laws and prey on the innocent. Rogers attended Midland High School and graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in history. He attended law school at St. Marys University in San Antonio before returning to Midland to practice at Brockett & Lindemood. He is one of three candidates vying for the Republican nomination for 142nd District Court judge. Mary Baker, an oil and gas attorney, and Wayne Frost, who ran for 441st District Judge in 2018, previously announced their candidacies. The presiding judge of the 142nd District Court, George Jody Gilles, announced in September that he wont seek re-election after 27 years on the bench. His term will end January 2021. The Republican and Democratic primaries are March 3; the general election is Nov. 3. In a rational world, the burning of Australia would be a historic 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 countrys fire seasons to begin earlier, end later and be more intense starting around 2020. Furthermore, although 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. These political reactions are more terrifying than the fires themselves. Climate optimists have always hoped for a broad consensus in favor of measures to save the planet. The trouble with getting action on climate, the story went, was that it was hard to get peoples attention: The issue was complex, while the damage was too gradual and too invisible. In addition, the big dangers lay too far in the future. But surely once enough people had been informed about the dangers, once the evidence for global warming became sufficiently overwhelming, climate action would cease to be a partisan issue. The climate crisis, in other words, would eventually become the moral equivalent of war an emergency transcending the usual political divides. But if a country in flames isnt enough to produce a consensus for action if it isnt even enough to produce some moderation in the anti-environmentalist position what is? The Australia experience suggests that climate denial will persist come through devastating heat waves and catastrophic storm surges alike. You might be tempted to dismiss Australia as a special case, but the same deepening partisan division has long been underway in the United States. As late as the 1990s, Democrats and Republicans were almost equally likely to say that the effects of global warming had already begun. Since then, however, partisan views have diverged, with Democrats increasingly likely to see climate change happening (as indeed it is), while Republicans increasingly see and hear no climate evil. But if climate denial and opposition to action are immovable even in the face of obvious catastrophe, what hope is there for avoiding the apocalypse? Lets be honest with ourselves: Things are looking pretty grim. However, giving up is not an option. Whats the path forward? The answer, pretty clearly, is that scientific persuasion is running into sharply diminishing returns. Very few of the people still denying the reality of climate change or at least opposing doing anything about it will be moved by further accumulation of evidence, or even by a proliferation of new disasters. Any action that does take place will have to do so in the face of intractable right-wing opposition. This means, in turn, that climate action will have to offer immediate benefits to large numbers of voters, because policies that seem to require widespread sacrifice such as policies that rely mainly on carbon taxes would be viable only with the kind of political consensus we clearly arent going to get. What might an effective political strategy look like? Ive been rereading a 2014 speech by eminent political scientist Robert Keohane, who suggested that one way to get past the political impasse on climate might be via an emphasis on huge infrastructural projects that created jobs in other words, a Green New Deal. Such a strategy could give birth to a large climate-industrial complex, which would actually be a good thing in terms of political sustainability. Can such a strategy succeed? I dont know. But it looks like our only chance given the political reality in Australia, the United States and elsewhere namely, that powerful forces on the right are determined to keep us barreling down the road to hell. Both sides in Libya's conflict agreed to a ceasefire from Sunday to end nine months of fighting, following weeks of international diplomacy and calls for a truce by power-brokers Russia and Turkey. The oil-rich North African country has been wracked by bloody turmoil since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising killed long-time dictator Moamer Kadhafi, with multiple foreign powers now involved. The UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli had been under attack since last April from forces loyal to eastern-based strongman Khalifa Haftar, which on January 6 captured the strategic coastal city of Sirte. Late on Saturday, Haftar's forces announced a ceasefire starting at midnight (Sunday 00:00 local time, Saturday 2200 GMT) in line with a joint call by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. GNA head Fayez al-Sarraj, who met Erdogan in Istanbul on Sunday, confirmed the ceasefire had taken effect. The UN mission in Libya welcomed the announcements and called on all parties "to respect the ceasefire" and support efforts to launch an inter-Libyan dialogue. European embassies in Tripoli, in a joint statement, urged Libya's rival parties "to seize this fragile opportunity to address the key political, economic, and security issues underlaying the conflict". The Arab League likewise urged Libya's factions to "commit to stop the fighting, work on alleviating all forms of escalations and engage in good faith aimed at reaching permanent arrangements for a ceasefire". Neighbouring Algeria, at the centre of a flurry of diplomatic activity on Libya, called for a "swift return to the process of national dialogue to reach a political solution". Putin held talks on the telephone Sunday with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and French President Emmanuel Macron, who both voiced support for a planned international conference on Libya to be held in Berlin, the Kremlin said. Since the start of the offensive against Tripoli, more than 280 civilians and about 2,000 fighters have been killed and 146,000 Libyans displaced, according to the UN. - Diplomatic offensive - Sarraj stressed the GNA's "legitimate right ... to respond to any attack or aggression" that may come from the other side, while Haftar's forces warned of a "severe" response to any violation by the "opposing camp". Artillery fire could be heard shortly after midnight in the capital, before quiet settled over the southern Tripoli suburb where pro-GNA forces have been resisting Haftar's offensive. The GNA, however, stressed that "any ceasefire initiative cannot succeed without the withdrawal of the aggressor from where they came", from the country's east and south. Turkey's defence ministry said: "The belligerents have been trying to respect these truces since they came into force... and the situation has been calm apart from one or two isolated incidents." Libya analyst Wolfram Lacher said that the calm on the ground reflected a success for both Turkey and Russia. "The widespread observance of the ceasefire until now is a stunning demonstration of newfound Russian and Turkish influence in Libya," he said. The truce comes after a diplomatic offensive, led by Ankara and Moscow, which have established themselves as key players in Libya. Ankara despatched troops -- in a training capacity, it said -- to the GNA in January. And Russia has been accused of backing pro-Haftar forces, which are supported by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, all regional rivals of Turkey. Erdogan and Putin called for a truce at a meeting last Wednesday in Istanbul, and Turkey later asked Russia to convince Haftar, who had initially vowed to fight on, to respect it. - Fears of a 'second Syria' - Europe and North Africa have also launched a diplomatic offensive to try to prevent Libya, with the increased involvement of international players in its conflict, from turning into a "second Syria". European governments, including former colonial power Italy, fear that Islamist militants and migrant smugglers, already highly active in Libya, will take further advantage of the chaos. The US embassy in Libya, in a statement Saturday, voiced its "serious concern about toxic foreign interference in the conflict". It said "Russian mercenaries" had backed Haftar's Libyan Arab Armed Forces, while "Turkish-supported Syrian fighters" had backed the GNA. "All responsible Libyan parties should end this dangerous escalation and reject the destructive involvement by foreign forces," the embassy said. On Saturday, Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at talks in Moscow threw their weight behind the Berlin conference being organised by UN special envoy Ghassan Salame that could be held in the coming weeks. Putin on Saturday again denied Russia had deployed mercenaries to Libya. Two months ago, Ethos Capital, a private equity firm, announced that it planned to buy the rights to a tract of internet real estate for more than $1 billion. But it wasnt just any piece of digital property. It was dot-org, the cyber neighborhood that is home to big nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations like the United Nations (un.org) and NPR (npr.org), and to little ones like neighborhood clubs. The deal was met with a fierce backlash. Critics argued that a less commercial corner of the internet should not be controlled by a profit-driven private equity firm, as a ... Sir Roger Scruton, one of the countrys most prominent conservative philosophers, has died aged 75 after a six-month fight with cancer. The prolific intellectual author of some 50 books on morals, politics, architecture and aesthetics died on Sunday, with a family statement saying they are hugely proud of him and of all his achievements. In December, he wrote: Coming close to death you begin to know what life means, and what it means is gratitude. The author was knighted for his services to philosophy, teaching and public education in 2016 and received honours from Poland and Hungary for his work supporting dissidents behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. Very sad news. Professor Sir Roger Scruton, the greatest conservative of our age, has died. The country has lost a towering intellect. I have lost a wonderful friend. pic.twitter.com/oEviNCozlO Daniel Hannan (@DanielJHannan) January 12, 2020 Tory MEP Daniel Hannan paid tribute to the greatest conservative of our age, adding: The country has lost a towering intellect. I have lost a wonderful friend. Sir Roger made headlines last year after he was dismissed as a government housing tsar over a row about comments he made in a magazine interview. But the father-of-two received an apology after the New Statesman admitted his views on topics including China and George Soros were not accurately represented on social media to his disadvantage. Sir Roger said the row showed there was a witch hunt against people on the political right which he saw as an attempt to silence the conservative voice. In December he wrote in the Spectator magazine: During this year much was taken from me my reputation, my standing as a public intellectual, my position in the conservative movement, my peace of mind, my health. Falling to the bottom in my own country, I have been raised to the top elsewhere, and looking back over the sequence of events I can only be glad that I have lived long enough to see this happen. Coming close to death you begin to know what life means, and what it means is gratitude. A statement on his website read: It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Sir Roger Scruton, FBA, FRSL. Deeply sorry to learn of the death of Sir Roger Scruton. His work on building more beautifully, submitted recently to my department, will proceed and stand part of his unusually rich legacy. Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) January 12, 2020 Beloved husband of Sophie, adored father to Sam and Lucy and treasured brother of Elizabeth and Andrea, he died peacefully on Sunday 12th January. He was born on 27th February 1944 and had been fighting cancer for the last 6 months. His family are hugely proud of him and of all his achievements. Sir Roger graduated from Cambridge University in 1965 and paid particular attention to aesthetics, architecture and music in his philosophical work. He was appointed to a government body called Building Better, Building Beautiful to advise on improving modern architecture. But he was dismissed from the role last year over a series of comments reported in the New Statesman. He was reported as saying the Chinese were creating robots of their own people, but the magazine later clarified his criticism was of the restrictive regime of the Chinese Communist Party rather than the citizens. Sir Roger also referred to a Soros empire in Hungary a reference to Jewish billionaire George Soros but the magazine did not include the rest of his statement that its not necessarily an empire of Jews; thats such nonsense. Sir Roger also repeated his claim that Islamophobia was a propaganda word invented by the Muslim Brotherhood in order to stop discussion of a major issue. The magazine subsequently apologised for the way it had posted social media links to the article in which the views of Professor Scruton were not accurately represented in the tweets to his disadvantage. Then-housing secretary James Brokenshire apologised to Sir Roger, writing in the Spectator he regretted dismissing the intellectual over what was a clearly partial report of your thoughts. Current Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said in a statement: Sir Roger was one of the foremost public intellectuals of our time: brave, forthright and wise. His support for freedom fighters in Eastern Europe demonstrated his willingness to risk his own safety for his ideals. Even in the final stages of his illness he was contributing new ideas to help transform the way we think about the built environment in this country and to turn the tide on ugly and thoughtless development. There were few subjects that he did not turn his mind to, and his work on the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission, which recently submitted their report to my department, will proceed and stand part of his enormously rich legacy. Irans security forces have deployed in large numbers across the capital, expecting more protests after its Revolutionary Guard admitted to accidentally shooting down a passenger plane at a time of soaring tensions with the United States. Riot police in black uniforms and helmets gathered in Vali-e Asr Square in the city as calls circulated for protests. Revolutionary Guard members patrolled the city on motorbikes and plainclothes security men were also out in force. The plane crash early on Wednesday killed all 176 people on board, mostly Iranians and Iranian-Canadians. After initially blaming a technical failure, authorities finally admitted to accidentally shooting it down in the face of mounting evidence and accusations by western leaders. The plane was shot down as Iran braced for retaliation after firing ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq housing American forces. People gather for a candlelight vigil in Tehran (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP/PA) The ballistic missile attack, which caused no casualties, was a response to the killing of General Qassem Soleimani, Irans top general, in a US airstrike in Baghdad. Iranians have expressed anger over the downing of the plane and the misleading explanations from senior officials in the wake of the tragedy. Hundreds of students gathered at Tehrans Shahid Beheshti University on Sunday to mourn the victims and protest against authorities for concealing the cause of the crash, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported. They later dispersed peacefully. Others, including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, posted all-black photos on their Instagram accounts in mourning. President Donald Trump, who has expressed support for past waves of anti-government demonstrations in Iran, addressed the countrys leaders in a tweet, saying DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. The World is watching. More importantly, the USA is watching, he tweeted. To the leaders of Iran DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. Thousands have already been killed or imprisoned by you, and the World is watching. More importantly, the USA is watching. Turn your internet back on and let reporters roam free! Stop the killing of your great Iranian people! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2020 Iranians took to the streets in November after the government hiked gas prices, holding large protests in several cities. Story continues The government shut down internet access for days, making it difficult to gauge the scale of the protests and the subsequent crackdown. Amnesty International later said more than 300 people were killed. A candlelight ceremony late on Saturday in Tehran turned into a protest, with hundreds of people chanting against the countrys leaders including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and police dispersing them with tear gas. Police briefly detained the British ambassador to Iran, Rob Macaire, who says he went with the intention of attending the vigil and did not know it would turn into a protest. Can confirm I wasnt taking part in any demonstrations! he tweeted. Went to an event advertised as a vigil for victims of #PS752 tragedy. Normal to want to pay respects some of victims were British. I left after 5 mins, when some started chanting. He said he was arrested 30 minutes after leaving the area. The UK said its envoy was detained without grounds or explanation and in flagrant violation of international law. People gathered at Amri Kabir University in Tehran (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP/PA) The Iranian government is at a cross-roads moment. It can continue its march towards pariah status with all the political and economic isolation that entails, or take steps to de-escalate tensions and engage in a diplomatic path forwards, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement. Irans deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi later tweeted that Mr Macaire was arrested as an unknown foreigner in an illegal gathering. Mr Araghchi said when police informed him that a man was arrested who claimed to be the British ambassador he did not believe them. But he said that once he spoke to Mr Macaire by phone he realised it was him, and that the ambassador was freed 15 minutes later. Irans Foreign Ministry later summoned the British ambassador over his illegal and inappropriate presence at the protest, it said on its Telegram channel. He wasn't detained, but arrested as unknown foreigner in an illegal gathering. When police informed me a man's arrested who claims to be UK Amb, I said IMPOSSIBLE! only after my phone conversation w him I identified, out of big surprise, that it's him. 15 min later he was free. pic.twitter.com/VjuZxN1oTN Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) January 12, 2020 Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a member of Irans parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, accused the ambassador of organising protests and called for his expulsion. Dozens of hard-liners later gathered outside the British Embassy, chanting Death to England and calling for the ambassador to be expelled and for the closure of the embassy. Police stood guard outside the facility. Iranian media, meanwhile, focused on the admission of responsibility for the crash, with several newspapers calling for those responsible to apologize and resign. The hardline daily Vatan-e Emrouz bore the front-page headline, A sky full of sadness, while the Hamshahri daily went with Shame, and the IRAN daily said Unforgivable. By Express News Service BELAGAVI: The Opposition Congress is misleading Muslims of the country on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). People must understand that this Act will give citizenship, and not snatch it away, Union minister of state for finance and corporate affairs Anurag Thakur said on Saturday at a BJP outreach programme on the controversial CAA. The Act came into effect on Friday. Detention centres were set up in Assam in 2009 during the Congress government led by then-CM Tarun Gogoi, and not by the BJP government. After this reality was exposed, Rahul Gandhi, who has mastered the art of lying, left the country and is enjoying a holiday, he alleged. Thakur claimed that the CAA was a saviour for the minorities of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Opposition parties want to know what is the urgency in bringing in CAA. Because the people of the country want to give citizenship to Hindus, Sikh, Boudha, Parsi and Christian minorities residing in those countries, which was not done for 72 years. Former PM Dr Manmohan Singh wanted to introduce this bill in 2003, but Sonia Gandhi did not allow it, he alleged. Thakur also alleged that students of JNU which runs on government grants celebrate when Indian soldiers die fighting militants, and want Kashmir to secede from India. Rajya Sabha member Dr Prabhakar Kore said that India has given shelter to lakhs of migrants from neighbouring countries all these years. Now Modi has brought CAA to give them citizenship, he added. The CAA awareness meet was organised by BJP Mahanagar and rural blocks at Sardar High School grounds in Belagavi. While about 15,000 people were expected to attend the meeting, not more than 1,500 supporters turned up, due to a lapse in coordination. It is said that not all is well between the BJP leaders of this district. Though Chikkodi constituency boasts of seven BJP MLAs, they failed to gather numbers, disappointing Thakur. Besides the thin numbers, the stage at the school ground collapsed when Thakur was being greeted by supporters soon after the event ended. Thakur was about to fall but was helped down by some supporters. The President of India Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday extended his greetings to the citizens on the eve of the festivals of Lohri, Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Bhogali Bihu, Uttarayan and Poush. In his message, the President has said, "I offer my greetings and best wishes to all fellow citizens in India and abroad on the occasion of Lohri, Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Bhogali Bihu, Uttarayan and Poush. "India is a land of festivals. The coming festivals, celebrated under different names and forms across the country, are also an occasion to mark our respect for the ceaseless hard work of our farmers. These festivals, symbolising the joy of sharing the new crop with one's family and community, are intertwined in the soul of the country. All communities celebrate these festivals with the spirit of mutual love, affection and fraternity," he added. The President further added that such festivals have an invaluable contribution to the geographical, cultural and emotional unification of the country. "I am confident that these festivals will help further strengthen the spirit of peaceful co-existence and unity, and further enhance the prosperity and happiness of the nation," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 22:10:41|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close DHAKA, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- With millions of devotees from Bangladesh and other countries praying for global peace, prosperity and fraternal harmony, the first phase of second largest annual Muslim congregation after holy Hajj, called "Biswa Ijtema," ended Sunday in Bangladesh. The three-day grand prayer, led by renowned Islamic scholar Hafez Mohammad Zobayer, leader of a faction of Tabligh Jamaat (an Islamic organisation) from Bangladesh, at the congregation on the bank of the Turag river at Tongi, some 25 km north of capital Dhaka, specially sought divine blessings and welfare of all mankind. The second phase of the Biswa Ijtema, which is being held in two phases since 2011 to avoid rush of pilgrims, will begin on the same venue on Jan. 17 and it will conclude with the offering of Akheri Munajat (concluding prayer) on Jan. 19. To ensure safety and security of the devotees and maintain law and order, thousands of different law-enforcing agencies have been deployed in and around the 60-hectare Ijtema ground, the main venue of the congregation. Several control rooms, watch towers and a number of close circuit cameras have been installed to avert any untoward incidents. The exact number of devotees on the last day could not be assessed as tens of thousands of devotees from the capital and the adjoining areas join the concluding prayer. The organizers have arranged loudspeakers several kilometers away from the venue so that devotees could join the grand prayer. Traffic on many city roads and highways has been kept suspended for hours for smooth holding of the congregation. Eight eminent personalities, including former Supreme Court judge J Chelameswar and ex-Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi, have appealed to people to "introspect and audit" the working of the Constitution ahead of the 70th anniversary of the Republic. "Is the Constitution a mere administrative manual which enables the elected governments to claim legitimacy for abuse of power, and allows the citizens to convert liberty into license disregarding rights of others? Is it simply another text penned by ink, or a sacred text written in the blood of innumerable martyrs who transcended the barriers of caste, religion, region, ethnicity and language?" they asked in an open letter. Their appeal has come at a time when there have been protests, some of them violent, against the new citizenship law, which critics say discriminates on the basis of religion and violates the Constitution. Stressing that peaceful reconciliation of conflicting interests, healthy public discourse, and respect for dissenting views are at the heart of democracy, they urged people to "introspect whether truth and non-violence the two values held very dear to the heart of the Father of the Nation continue to inform our actions in the public sphere." Under the title '70 years of Indian Constitution-A Defining Moment', the signatories of the letter said 70 years of the working of the Constitution provided an "opportunity to celebrate our successes, and also to introspect and resolve to overcome our shortcomings". "We appeal to all citizens to utilise this solemn occasion to celebrate our success, reflect on our current concerns, particularly about our plural, secular society, and resolve to fulfil the Constitutional goals envisaged by Dr Ambedkar and our forefathers as summed up in the Preamble," they said. Apart from Quraishi and Chelameswar, the letter has been signed by film personality Sharmila Tagore, former Army Commander Lt Gen Harcharanjit Singh Panag, filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Carnatic musician and creative personality T M Krishna, former chairman of UGC and ICSSR Sukhdeo Thorat and former member of the Planning Commission Syeda Hameed. They said each generation has a "solemn duty to constantly introspect and audit the working of the Constitution". "The 70th anniversary of the Republic is an appropriate moment to celebrate and introspect by peacefully observing the birthday of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose (January 23), foundation day of the Election Commission celebrated as the National Voters Day (January 25), the Republic Day (January 26) and the martyrdom of the Father of the Nation (January 30)," they said. The citizenship law, notified on January 10, grants Indian citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who came to India till December 31, 2014, because of religious persecution in their countries. However, the government and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has defended the law, saying the minority groups from the three countries have no other option but to come to India when they face religious persecution there. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Narendra Modi government will never put the country in an embarrassing position, senior BJP leader Avinash Rai Khanna said on Sunday, and asked party workers to explain the importance of Citizenship Amendment Act to the public. Rai, the BJP national vice president, was in Goa to announce the name of Sadanand Tanavade as the state unit chief. "I would like to assure everyone the Narendra Modi government will not take any decision that would put people of the country in an embarrassing situation," Khanna said. He praised the NDA government for scrapping Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, outlawing triple talaq and getting the CAA passed in Parliament. Asking workers to explain to people the importance of the CAA, he said, "There is a difference between refugees and infiltrators. If someone forcibly comes inside your home to create problems, then he is an infiltrator. If he comes seeking shelter, then he is a refugee." Refugees should be given protection while infiltrators must be dealt with firmly, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nepal is drafting a new policy "to discourage" international NGOs from undertaking programmes with potential to hamper its relations with India and China, officials said on Sunday. (Representational Image) Kathmandu: Nepal is drafting a new policy "to discourage" international NGOs from undertaking programmes with potential to hamper its relations with India and China, officials said on Sunday. While cross-border terrorism and criminal activities continue to be the major causes of concern for India, China has in the past complained about the Tibetans' movement via Nepal. Based on Nepal's foreign policy of keeping balanced relations, the projects that are opposed by either country will not be implemented, according to the draft of the strategy policy which is being prepared by the Social Welfare Council, The Kathmandu Post reported. "Nepal is a land-locked country and has two large countries with large populations in the north and south," according to the draft. The policy will discourage organisations from running programmes that can hamper Nepal's relations with the neighbouring countries, it said. Council officials said the policy is still in the draft stage and some of its provisions are expected to be addressed by a new law on the registration of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). Durga Prasad Bhattarai, an information officer at the council, said the proposed policy is aimed at addressing the concerns of the neighbouring countries regarding the activities of NGOs, particularly in the bordering regions. "The objective of the proposed policy is to reassert that Nepal government is concerned about the strategic mobilisation of international non-governmental organisations, particularly in the bordering regions, in the name of building madrasas and monasteries," Bhattarai was quoted by the Post. According to the council, madrasas in the regions bordering India are receiving funds from countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Rajendra Kumar Poudel, member secretary at the council, admitted that India has raised concerns, through the Home Ministry about the large presence of madrasas in the bordering region. "So we have stepped up the scrutiny of the source of funds and nature of programmes to be run in the madrasas while providing approval for foreign funding. We are in favour of addressing India's concerns, but we have not taken any opinion from the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu," said Poudel. Poudel, however, added it would be wrong to paint all the madrasas with the same brush. "Some madrasas in Morang and Sunsari are doing well in imparting education and many others are also attracting students from across the border who live in a 5km-10km periphery of the border. "We are equally sensitive about the mobilisation non-governmental organisations in the areas bordering China, so as not to have any negative effect on our relations with the northern neighbour," he added. As prosecutors pushed for two teens to be tried as adults for their suspected role in the 2019 killing of a Cumberland County man, his loved ones took to a Tennessee courtroom last week to talk, emotionally, about how his death impacted their lives. Thats according to Tennessee news outlets, which reported on a Friday court hearing set up to determine whether the cases against two of five teens charged in the killing of Kyle Yorlets would be transferred to adult court. That determination was not made last week, and the hearing is expected to resume Monday, according to The Tennessean. Yorlets, a Nashville musician and Carlisle native, was killed last February in Tennessee. The 24-year-old frontman of the band Carverton was shot outside of his Nashville home. Police said his death was the result of the actions of a group of five near-children, the youngest of them only 12-years-old at the time. Police have said that the juveniles were attempting to steal Yorlets vehicle when he was shot on a Thursday afternoon as he stood outside of his home. His slaying prompted a wave of mourning both in Nashville and central Pennsylvania. Last week, that mourning continued, as more than a half dozen of Yorlets friends and family members read impact statements at the hearing, according to media reports. According to Fox17 Nashville, Yorlets girlfriend, Faith Gibson, became emotional while reading her statement. The Tennessean quoted Gibson as saying: For a long time, I dreaded this day; its like reliving my worst nightmare. ... This was a senseless murder of one of the kindest beings." Victim impact statements from Yorlets parents also were read during the hearing, according to the reports. A juvenile court judge eventually will decide whether the teens will be tried as adults. READ MORE: 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 response of Pradhan came a day after the state Cabinet resolved to move the Centre seeking a Socio-Economic Caste Enumeration along with the General Census 2021. Bhubaneswar, Jan 12 (IANS) Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday requested the Odisha government to implement Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota in government jobs and educational institutions. The Union Minister said the government should ensure reservation for the OBCs in government jobs and educational institutions and for Social and Economically Backward Classes (SEBCs) in educational institutions in Odisha. The government is not providing any reservation to OBCs and SEBCs in employment and educational institutions, he added. Citing the 1931 caste census and Articles 15(4) and 16(4) of the Indian Constitution, former Congress leader Srikant Jena also questioned why the Odisha government is not providing reservations as per the recommendations of the Mandal Commission. He demanded reservation of the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and OBC in education and jobs. Congress MP Ranjib Biswal alleged that the decision of the Cabinet is another plan to create divisions among people. "Be it India or Odisha, it is a conspiracy to divide the people. They are trying to destroy the unity," said Biswal. cd/adr 1. Anurag Kashyap Wants To See PM Modi's Political Science Degree & His Father's Birth Certificate Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap is someone who has never shied away from bluntly expressing his opinions on social issues. The man even took to streets to protest and said that all this "scared, egoistic, uneducated" government wants to do is to cling on power. He recently demanded to see Prime Minister Narendra Modi's father's birth certificate. 2. Deepika Padukone Can't Stop Smiling As She Hugs Kids On The Streets, Calls It 'Joys Of Life' While her movie is making headlines for great reviews, it has been declared tax-free in a number of states including Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Deepika who is basking in the success of Chhapaak, recently went out for a dinner. When fans, the street kids, followed her, she was smiling happily. She gave them all a big hug and even posted their pictures on Instagram story. 3. Keanu Reeves Proves He Is A Kind Soul Yet Again, Leaves 'Big Tip' After Ordering An Ice Cream Hailed as the "most wholesome person alive", Keanu Reeves is almost always happy to see his fans and there are several stories to prove the same. Once again proving his kindness, he left a "big tip" after ordering for a double scoop Baskin-Robbins ice cream. 4. Documentary On 10-Year-Old Skateboarder Kamali Moorthy From Tamil Nadu Gets BAFTA Nomination! The British Academy Film Awards 2020 ceremony will be held on Feb 2. It will be competing against documentaries like Learning To Skateboard In A Warzone (If Youre A Girl), which is also a story of Afghan girls learning to read, write and skateboard in Kabul. 5. Batman Actor Burt Ward Was Told To Take Pills To Shrink His Penis As His Bulge Was Too Big For TV cbrimages.com Batman actor Burt Ward, who played the role of Robin in Sixties TV series, recently revealed that he was told to take pills to shrink his penis. Why? Because the makers of the show thought that he had a very large bulge for television unlike Batman actor Adam West who reportedly had Turkish towels in his undershorts. Former Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar on Sunday said had he been in command of the force, he would have sought intelligence and intervened "at any appropriate time" to prevent the situation on the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus from deteriorating. Kumar's remark came amid widespread criticism received by police for its delayed intervention during the January 5 violence in JNU when masked people armed with rods and sticks ran amok on the campus and assaulted students and faculty, and vandalised property, leaving 34 people injured. "The administration kept seeing the situation and that was wrong. Police could have acted even without VC's request," Kumar said. "More importantly, the special branch and the local police, which was aware of how things were happening over the last few days, should have foreseen the events and based on its own reports it could have intervened," he said. Asked what would he have done differently had he been the police commissioner? "I would have pressed my special branch into service and asked it to develop intelligence and at any appropriate time, I would have intervened and prevented the incident from happening and no one could have faulted me for that," he said. Police were criticised last month too when they had barged into Jamia Millia Islamia to look for 'outsiders' allegedly involved in violence and arson during the protest against the amended citizenship law outside the varsity. "In Jamia, they did very well to intervene. (But) they were involved in excesses and that was kind of an overreaction. But it cannot be faulted why they entered. "The Jamia VC is trying to save face with students and staff (by slamming police). Similarly in JNU, even if VC had not invited police and they had definite information, they could have intervened," he said. However, he said, in a law and order situation what actually happens is only known to on-ground officers. "It is easy to analyse based on incomplete information. This is a very peculiar situation that the police intervened in a proactive way in Jamia and they were damned in JNU because they said they were not called in. So the police is damned in any case," he said. Calling the perception that police should go in only on the request of the VC "fallacious", he said if a crime has been committed within the premises of a university there is nothing to stop police. "It is just a matter of protocol and out of courtesy that you seek permission from the VC. If a murderer or terrorist is hiding in a university, you do not need to take anybody's permission," he said. He also said the "goons who came to JNU belonged to a certain party" and perhaps whatever reservations the police had, it was on account of that. Left outfits and the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad blamed each other for the JNU violence. Kumar was the Delhi Police commissioner when the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder had grabbed headlines in 2012. Protests had erupted in the national capital during that time. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A priest has hit out at "drug dealing parasites" following the tragic death of a young father in Belfast. Father Gary Donegan was speaking at the funeral of 22-year-old Deaghlan Cole, who died last week following a battle with drug addiction. Fr Donegan, in his homily preached at Holy Cross Church , said:" Deaghlan, and I say this with full permission of Colette, tragically bore the disease of addiction, and despite the many challenges Deaghlans choices imposed on his parents, they loved him all the more, as only a parent can. "This often led not just to judgements by others about Deaglans life-style, but also on Pauls, and in particular over the last 4 years, Colettes maternal instinct to love her son despite the flaws in his personality that impacted upon their lives and that of their family. "It would have been very easy to have given up on Deaghlan, but today is as much about reflecting upon his mothers love, and that of his family, as it is about the decisions Deaghlan made that caused them to reach deeper into that never ending chasm of love. "Deaghlan made his choices in life. He saw his friend die last week. He cried bitter tears, but his way of dealing with the tragedy after a few days was to go out partying and using drugs again which despite rumour, was the reason for him falling asleep and not waking up." Fr Donegan said Deaghlan lost many friends through the tragedy of addiction and suicide. The pupils of Holy Cross Boy's School, his former school, this week lit 20 candles representing former pupils whose deaths were because of suicide or drugs. He said: "Contemplate that an area of one square mile, in one school, the magnitude of the loss of 20 young men. That is a fifth of the total number of victims lost due to the Conflict in this parish." Fr Donegan said Deaghlan loved to be the "centre of attention" through "his fashion, his permanent shades, his physical fitness, his gleaming smile, his dancing, his singing." The priest issued a warning to Deaghlan's friends. "So I say to you, his friends, you too are also unique and special," he said. "There is nobody else like you, so make your life count. Each one of you is a bright light and nobody wants to see the bright light that you are go out. Look at the hurt and pain in the face of Deaghlans mother and his family." Fr Donegan then hit out at the hypocrisy of drugs dealers in Belfast. He said: "When I first came here 19 years ago this week, I stated that I had come to lead and not to be popular. So in the strongest terms, I make no apologies for calling out the parasites who make their money destroying the beauty of you, our young people. "I have watched these same people hypocritically and unashamedly attend funerals such as this crying their crocodile tears. Be under no illusion, they are responsible for bringing the mayhem and horror to our homes and to our communities, profiting from the misery of the vulnerable." Defense Secretary Mark Esper. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Sunday that he hadnt seen any specific evidence which indicated that Iranian general Qasem Soleimani was planning to attack four U.S. embassies, poking yet another hole in President Trumps imminent threat rationale for assassinating Soleimani. During an appearance on CBSs Face the Nation, Esper acknowledged that he didnt see any intelligence regarding the four-embassy claim Trump made on Friday. When asked by host Margaret Brennan whether or not there was a specific threat against four embassies, Esper first emphasized that Trump had said he believed that it probably and could have been attacks against additional embassies which he defended by saying that he shared the presidents belief. Brennan then pressed the defense secretary on how he didnt seem to be describing a decisive piece of intelligence regarding the potential attacks: SEC. ESPER: Well, the president didnt say there was a tangible- he didnt cite a specific piece of evidence. What he said is he probably he believed, could have been MARGARET BRENNAN: Are you saying there wasnt one? SEC. ESPER: I didnt see one with regard to four embassies. What Im saying is I share the presidents view that probably my expectation was they were going to go after our embassies. After originally only saying that Soleimani posed an imminent threat to the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, President Trump suddenly inflated the number of threatened emabassies during a Fox News interview on Friday. I can reveal that I believe it wouldve been four embassies, Trump announced to the surprise of members of Congress who had been supposedly briefed by the White House on the intelligence. If there was evidence of imminent attacks on four embassies, the administration would have said so at our [Gang of Eight briefing on Wednesday], Democratic Senator Chris Murphy pointed out on Friday. Responding to bipartisan criticism of the administrations detail-light all-Senate briefing on Soleimani last week, Esper offered a very Trump-like assurance on Sunday: For every member that didnt like the brief, there were members who thought it was the greatest brief ever. Sign Up for the Intelligencer Newsletter Daily news about the politics, business, and technology shaping our world. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Terms & Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. New Delhi: Name of candidates for as many as 18 seats were discussed in the Congress Election Committee`s meeting on Saturday, sources said. Sources also stated that the first list of candidates for Delhi elections is expected to be released soon. The next meeting of CEC is scheduled for 14th January. The Congress Central Election Committee meeting for the Delhi assembly elections was held on Saturday. Assembly polls will be held in Delhi on February 8 while counting of votes will take place on February 11.Model Code of Conduct has come into force in Delhi with the announcement of the poll schedule. The Election Commission stated that election notification will be issued on January 14, the last date of nomination of candidates is January 21, scrutiny of nominations will take place on January 22 and the last date of withdrawal of candidature is January 24. In 2015 assembly polls, AAP won 67 of 70 seats while the BJP could win only three. Congress, which was in power for 15 years in Delhi between 1998 to 2013, failed to win any seat in the last assembly polls. Adelaide Strikers defeated Melbourne Renegades by 63 runs in the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL) here on Sunday. Chasing a target of 173 runs, Melbourne Renegades had a very poor start as opener Marcus Harris was bowled off Travis Head's fifth delivery of the first over. The next batsman Sam Harper too failed to leave a mark as he was bowled by Peter Siddle in the next over. Opener Shaun Marsh was then joined by Beau Webster on the field. Both played a fast-paced innings and helped their struggling side. Head broke their 50-run partnership as he bowled Marsh (21). Mohammad Nabi and Tom Cooper scored six and one run respectively before getting out which put Melbourne Renegade under immense pressure. The fall of wicket did not stop as Webster, who missed his half-century by one run, was given LBW off Rashid Khan's delivery. Samit Patel and Daniel Christian were the next batsmen but both of them were removed by Peter Siddle in the 17th over. In the next over, Wildermuth was given LBW and Joe Mennie was run out. Hence, Melbourne Renegades were all out on 110 runs. After opting to bat first, Adelaide Strikers got off to a flying start as they amassed 36 runs in the first three overs with Phil Salt and Jake Weatherald smashing regular boundaries. Jack Wildermuth, who bowled the fourth over, handed Melbourne Renegades with their first breakthrough as he got hold of Salt (18). In the next over, Mohammad Nabi sent Weatherald (27) back to the pavilion. Travis Head and Jonathan Wells then took the field but only managed to form a 24-run partnership before Head (22) was dismissed by Cameron Boyce. It was Matthew Short and Jonathan Wells' partnership which provided Adelaide Strikers with some momentum. The duo formed an 80-run partnership before Short (41) was run out in the final over of the innings. Wells (58) went on to score a half-century but on the next ball, he was dismissed as well. After the completion of 20 over, Adelaide Strikers managed to put up a total of 173 runs. Adelaide Strikers will now take on Brisbane Heat on January 14. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After spending four decades in the construction business, Pleasant Prairie retiree Charlie Blasius figured he needed a new hobby and perhaps a second home. So he built a pigeon coop. Blasius is a pigeon fancier and vice president of the Kenosha Racing Pigeon Club, 4003 13th Ave. The 59-year-old has a collection of 65 homing pigeons, including Van Loon (Belgium) and Verkerk (Netherlands) pedigrees. Homing pigeons race from 80 to 600 miles at speeds of 40 to 60 mph over terrain they have often never seen before. They use magnetic fields, photographic memory and an incredible sense of smell to find their way home. A Chinese buyer recently bid an unprecedented $1.4 million on a prized Belgian pigeon named Armando, considered to be the greatest long-distance racer of all time, according to online news source Pigeon Paradise (PIPA). Blasius recently flew the coop to meet with the Kenosha News and discuss his unique passion. Q: Good morning Charlie. Why pigeon racing? A: Its a hobby. When I can take a bird and breed it and train it and take it out 100 miles from here and it beats me home. ... Man, theres nothing like it! Q: What are most peoples reaction when you tell them you race pigeons? A: They still do that? Thats what everyone says. I mentioned it to a woman who just came here from Britain, and she said Wow! They still do that back home. Queen (Elizabeth II) still races pigeons. In the United States, its a dying sport. Were trying to get as many back as we can. One of the things were looking to do is get (military) veterans involved. Q: Werent pigeons used during the war to deliver messages? A: Yes, they were. They saved thousands of lives. Q: With modern technology and GPS, are you able to track them at all times? A: You could. We take all of the pigeons to the club, and they all get clocked into a main system. You get their (leg) bands in the beginning of January. Theyre required to have bands or you cant race them. Everything goes through the American Racing Pigeon Union. They do have GPS systems you can use, but it would be a lot of money to waste if the bird went down or a hawk got it. Q: You have to worry about hawks too? A: We have problems with hawks and the peregrine falcon. Theres a lot of peregrine falcons around the (Pleasant Prairie) power plant. Theres a lot of eagles over there as well. A lot of people dont recognize them because they dont get their white head until theyre over a year old. Q: How do you go about racing them? Is it round trip or from one point to another? How do you determine a winner? A: Its based on time and distance from point A to point B. I won a 162-mile race this summer. It started from Patch Grove at 7 a.m. and finished at my house in Pleasant Prairie at 11:12 p.m. Q: Do they ever get lost? A: Last year, on the last race, my birds were kind of worn out. A few of them won the 300-mile race the week before. One of the birds ended up in Franklin Park (Ill.) The lady called the pigeon union with my band number. It just so happened she worked with a guy who lived in Kenosha that brought the bird back to me. Q: Whos faster? The males or females? A: When you race the young birds, it really doesnt matter if theyre male or female. When they get older, you can do whats called the widowhood. The male sits on the nest in the daytime, and the female sits on it all night. If you take the male off of the nest, hes going to try and get home as fast as he can to get on that nest again. Q: What would you say you enjoy most about this sport? A: Its relaxing. I can sit in that coop for hours. Its just being out there with them. Its enjoyable. Theyre a pet. Theyre not like a chicken. You can train them. One of my friends had a fantail pigeon that would follow her to the bus stop, and when she got back, the bird would be there waiting for her. You can send messages back and forth. You can do all sorts of stuff. Theyre fun. Q: Do you have a favorite? A: My favorite bird is #39383. Its a blue check cock. I enjoy all of their company. The better you treat the bird, the better the bird likes its home and the better chance you have of the bird coming back and being a good bird for you. Q: You dont have names for them? A: Dont get me started with that. I also do honeybees. I name my bee hives after my grandkids. Ive been doing that for 10 years. I started out with two and worked my way up to 10. I have 12 grandkids. Two of my youngest are helping me out. I ask them, Would you rather have a candy bar or honey? They take honey. They love it. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. It felt inevitable that the year 2020 would be overwhelming. With our neighbours to the south in the throes of an election, Canadians are strapped in for a volatile ride not of our own choosing. This is also the year of simultaneous federal and provincial political party leadership races and an unpredictable minority government with an ambitious agenda to pass through the House of Commons. Instead, Canadians ushered in the New Year together in mourning. Braving the cold and standing at vigils remembering the stories of lives lost on Wednesday; 138 of those on board Ukraine International Flight 752, which claimed the lives of 176 people when it crashed, were en route to Canada. That included 63 fellow citizens who richly contributed to communities across the country. Couples and new families, mothers and daughters, brothers and sisters, life lost. Visiting in celebration of milestone life moments and spending time over the holidays with loved ones, each perished before returning to their lives in Canada. We lost women working to help newcomer families settle in their new homes, and academics exploring cancer research. Elementary students are learning of classmates who wont be returning, and high school students are grappling with news of the events and friends on board. Among the lives lost are students, researchers, and academics contributing to academic communities at the universities of Calgary, Alberta, Manitoba, Windsor, Guelph, Waterloo, Dalhousie, McMaster, UOIT, and Ottawa. Each life a thread in the gorgeous tapestry that is the fabric of our country; here one minute, gone the next. We have opened the new decade to regional instability, and joined an international call for de-escalation with a focus on protecting the lives of Canadians. Government leaders and academic communities worked quickly to share relevant information with Canadian communities and campuses, and rapidly created necessary resources to support those impacted. When the flags at half-mast across the country are raised once more, Canadians will continue to mourn and communities will continue to require support. We have a responsibility to ensure families and members of each of the communities impacted by this tragedy, whether in Edmonton, Halifax, Windsor or Vancouver, are well supported, be it mental health supports or assistance in navigating complex government systems that are not designed for rapid response to this sort of tragedy. Our political leaders have reflected the mourning of the country with grace as new information rapidly surfaced while working to negotiate meaningful Canadian involvement into local investigations. Canadians dont expect political leaders to be perfect or to have immediate answers, but they do expect careful and thoughtful diplomatic action in this turbulent global political era. No individual leader in government can achieve this alone, so it has been encouraging to see continued cabinet sharing of responsibility in the international call for de-escalation, transparency and justice for families. Whiplash in this erratic political climate and the information overload that ensues can be paralyzing. There is no way to know how our colleagues, students, friends and community members are coping. Breathe, meditate, pray and walk in nature if that helps you. Attend a vigil, connect with your loved ones, and give back to your communities in the ways you are able. Its OK to not be OK. I wont presume to know what is holding you together, but whatever that is for you, focus there as needed. As a country, and especially communities of Canadians of Iranian descent, we are in the middle of a deep inhale. Slowly taking in this new reality. Where there is international conflict and instability, there are Canadian communities intimately impacted. No one can forecast what tomorrow will bring. So today, be kind to yourself, be understanding of your colleagues, and be good to your neighbours. Tiffany Gooch is a Toronto-based Liberal strategist and a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Twitter: @goocht is a Toronto-based Liberal strategist and a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Twitter: @goocht Read more about: Bayer and Azitra partner to harness the human skin microbiome as a source for new natural skin care products for sensitive and eczema-prone skin Details Category: More News Published on Sunday, 12 January 2020 11:23 Hits: 3388 Skin microbiome plays a crucial role in maintaining and restoring healthy human skin Azitra targets skin friendly bacteria to solve the challenges of adverse skin conditions and diseases Bayer to develop new natural skin care products based on suited skin microbiome bacteria LEVERKUSEN, Germany & FARMINGTON, CT, USA I January 10, 2020 I Bayer and Azitra Inc., a clinical-stage medical dermatology biotech company, today announced a joint development agreement to collaborate in the identification and characterization of skin microbiome bacteria. The partnership will leverage Azitras proprietary panel of Staphylococcus epidermidis strains to identify potential candidates for the treatment of adverse skin conditions and diseases. Based on the results of the research partnership, Bayer plans to develop selected Staphylococcus epidermidis strains into new natural skin care products under a future License Agreement. Prospective areas of application include medicated skin care products for sensitive, eczema-prone skin as well as therapeutic products for skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis. Recent scientific publications suggest that microorganisms such as bacteria and especially skin-friendly bacteria, commonly referred to as skin microbiome, can significantly contribute to the protection of the skin from hostile invasions. Additional positive effects include supporting the recovery from skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis, acne, and rosacea, and may also accelerate wound healing. The skin microbiome offers a promising platform for the development and commercialization of natural skin care products more and more people are looking for. As Bayer is committed to the development of science-based consumer health products through our own research as well as external partnerships, were delighted to collaborate with Azitra. The company has already demonstrated tolerability of a selected Staphylococcus epidermidis strain in healthy volunteers and is now planning to start the clinical demonstration of efficacy, Heiko Schipper, Member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG and President of Bayer Consumer Health, comments on the new partnership. Bayer, a global leader in innovative and trusted skincare solutions, will actively contribute to the research collaboration by providing suitable topical formulations that are able to maintain Staphylococcus epidermidis viability while showing excellent skin compatibility and sensorial performance. "We are strongly committed to the potential of the microbiome to provide significant benefits for improved skin health and appearance and by working together with Bayer I am confident we can deliver on the promise of this technology," states Richard Andrews, President and CEO of Azitra. Azitras versatile platform technology offers further screening options for beneficial strains appropriate for the treatment of dermatological diseases such as atopic dermatitis, acne or psoriasis. In addition, Bayer will review the use of Azitras genetically modified bacteria in Dermatology and other Consumer Health areas such as Nutritionals and Digestive Health. About Azitra Azitra, Inc. is a clinical-stage medical dermatology company that combines the power of the microbiome with cutting-edge genetic engineering to treat skin disease. The company was founded in 2014 by scientists from Yale University and works with world-leading scientists in dermatology, microbiology, and genetic engineering to advance its pharmaceutical programs to treat cancer therapy associated skin rashes, targeted orphan indications and atopic dermatitis. Learn more at www.azitrainc.com About Bayer Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to benefit people by supporting efforts to overcome the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development, and the Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2018, the Group employed around 117,000 people and had sales of 39.6 billion euros. Capital expenditures amounted to 2.6 billion euros, R&D expenses to 5.2 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com. SOURCE: Bayer New Delhi [India], Jan 12 (ANI): Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who is in the national capital, will meet top leaders of the Congress party including its president Sonia Gandhi on Monday and discuss the issue of Cabinet expansion in the state. "Tomorrow there is a meeting of the like-minded parties for which I have come here. We will meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi. There is a need to expand the Cabinet in the state so that as a Chief Minister I can focus on other important matters as well," Chief Minister Soren told reporters here. According to sources, by January 15 or 16, the whole process for the expansion of Cabinet will be completed. "The final decision has to be taken by Sonia Gandhi. But the Congress should get six ministerial berths. In the last government, Congress had five ministers. This time the Congress has won more seats," said Congress MLA from Jharkhand Irfan Ansari. Ansari further said: "I am a doctor and a loyal soldier of the Congress. I also want to work in the health sector in Jharkhand. It will be good if I am made the Health Minister." Soren was recently sworn in as the 11th Chief Minister of Jharkhand after the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance won a comfortable majority by securing 47 seats in the 81-member House in the Assembly elections held in December last year. (ANI) In the face of mounting evidence, Iran on Saturday acknowledged that it shot down the Ukrainian jetliner by accident, killing all 176 people aboard. The admission by Irans Revolutionary Guard undermined the credibility of information provided by senior officials, who for three days had adamantly dismissed allegations of a missile strike as Western propaganda. In the face of mounting evidence, Iran on Saturday acknowledged that it shot down the Ukrainian jetliner by accident, killing all 176 people aboard. The admission by Irans Revolutionary Guard undermined the credibility of information provided by senior officials, who for three days had adamantly dismissed allegations of a missile strike as Western propaganda. It also raised a host of new questions, such as why Iran did not shut down its international airport or airspace on Wednesday when it was bracing for the US to retaliate for a ballistic missile attack on two military bases housing US troops in Iraq. No one was hurt in that attack, carried out in retaliation for the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in an American airstrike in Baghdad. Iran's acknowledgment alters the narrative around its confrontation with the US in a way that could anger the Iranian public. Iran had promised harsh revenge after Soleimani's death, but instead of killing American soldiers, its forces downed a civilian plane in which most passengers were Iranian. On Saturday night, hundreds gathered at universities in Tehran to protest the government's late acknowledgement of the plane being shot down. They demanded officials involved in the missile attack be removed from their positions and tried. Police broke up the demonstrations. President Donald Trump tweeted messages of support to Iranians who back protests of the government, saying he and his administration are behind them. In the tweets, Trump called on the Iranian government to allow human rights groups to monitor the protests and expressed support for the brave, long-suffering people of Iran. General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Guard's aerospace division, said his unit accepts full responsibility for the shootdown. In an address broadcast by state TV, he said when he learned about the downing of the plane, I wished I was dead. He said he raised the possibility to his superiors that his forces shot down the plane as early as Wednesday morning because the simultaneous occurrence of the launch and crash was suspicious. Hajizadeh said Guard forces ringing the capital had beefed up their air defenses and were at the highest level of readiness, fearing that the US would retaliate. He said he suggested Tehran should close its airspace but no action was taken. He said the airline's pilot and crew had done nothing wrong, but an officer made the bad decision to open fire on the plane after mistaking it for a cruise missile. We were prepared for an all-out conflict, he said. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, expressed his deep sympathy to the families of the victims and called on the armed forces to "pursue probable shortcomings and guilt in the painful incident. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked the US, Britain, Canada and others for information about the crash and their support. He said that undoubtedly helped push Iran to acknowledge its responsibility for the crash. Zelenskiy said the crash investigation should continue and the perpetrators should be brought to justice. The Ukrainian airline criticised Iran's decision to leave its airspace open despite the hostilities. It's absolutely irresponsible, Ukraine International Airlines vice president Ihor Sosnovskiy told reporters. There must be protection around ordinary people. If they are shooting somewhere from somewhere, they are obliged to close the airport." 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 including many Iranians with dual citizenship and 11 Ukrainians, according to officials. Iranians had rallied around their leaders after the killing of Soleimani, who was seen as a national icon for building up armed groups across the region that project Iranian influence and battle the Islamic State group and other perceived enemies. Hundreds of thousands had attended funeral processions across the country in a show of support for the Islamic Republic just weeks after authorities had quashed protests ignited by a hike in gasoline prices. Iran has been in the grip of a severe economic crisis since Trump withdrew the US from the 2015 nuclear deal and imposed crippling sanctions. The shootdown of the plane and the lack of transparency around it, along with the restrained response to the killing of Soleimani, could reignite anger at the country's leadership. President Hassan Rouhani acknowledged Iran's responsibility but blamed the downing of the plane in part on threats and bullying by the United States after the killing of Soleimani. He expressed condolences, calling for a full investigation and the prosecution of those responsible. Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also deflected some of the blame, tweeting that human error at time of crisis caused by US adventurism led to disaster." The jetliner, a Boeing 737, went down on the outskirts of Tehran early Wednesday shortly after taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport. The US and Canada, citing intelligence, said they believed Iran shot down the aircraft with a surface-to-air missile, a conclusion supported by videos verified by The Associated Press. This is the right step for the Iranian government to admit responsibility, and it gives people a step toward closure with this admission," said Payman Parseyan, a prominent Iranian-Canadian in western Canada who lost a number of friends in the crash. I think the investigation would have disclosed it whether they admitted it or not. This will give them an opportunity to save face. As recently as Friday, Ali Abedzadeh, the head of the national aviation department, had told reporters with certainty that a missile had not caused the crash. On Thursday, Cabinet spokesman Ali Rabiei dismissed reports of a missile, saying they rub salt on a painful wound for families of the victims. Iran has invited Ukraine, Canada, the United States and France to take part in the investigation of the crash, in keeping with international norms. The Boeing 737 was built in the United States and the engine was built by a US-French consortium. Ukraine's president said its team of investigators, who are already on the ground in Iran, should continue their work with full access and cooperation. Rouhani spoke Saturday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and said the investigation was progressing rapidly. His website quoted him accusing the United States of driving the situation in the Middle East to a dangerous level and said all should try to return full stability and security to the region. After the call, which was unusual because Canada severed diplomatic relations with Iran in 2012, Trudeau said Iran's acknowledgment was a first step but many more steps must be taken. He demanded a complete investigation and for Iran to take full responsibility for shooting down the plane, including the payment of compensation to the families of the dead. While the dead included 57 Canadians, a total of 138 of the passengers were headed to Canada, many of them international students. The Ukrainian president, who also spoke with Rouhani on Saturday, said his government will also push Iran to compensate victims' families. Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported that the supreme leader on Friday morning had ordered top security officials to review the crash and announce the results. If some individuals, in any position, were aware of the issue but made statements contradicting the reality or hid the truth for any reason, they should be named and tried," said Fars, which is close to the Guard. Others speculated that the security forces may have concealed information from civilian authorities. Concealing the truth from the administration is dreadful," Mohammad Fazeli, a sociology professor in Tehran, wrote on social media. If it had not been concealed, the head of civil aviation and the government spokesmen would not have persistently denied it. Late Saturday, Britain accused Iran of violating international law after its ambassador was arrested and briefly detained during protests in Tehran. Iranian media said ambassador Rob Macaire was arrested outside a university and detained for more than an hour before being released. UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said "the arrest of our ambassador in Tehran without grounds or explanation is a flagrant violation of international law. Love Island's Mike Boateng is said to have left his job as a police officer as he was 'better at chasing girls than criminals' and has his heart set on becoming a celebrity. The 24-year-old is among the new crop of hopefuls looking for love on the ITV2 series when it returns to screens on Sunday. Mike quit his role as a police constable with Greater Manchester Police shortly before the new contestants were announced and, according to The Sun, he is unlikely to ever return to his old job. Job: Love Island's Mike Boateng, 24, is said to have left his job as a police officer as he was 'better at chasing girls than criminals' and has his heart set on becoming a celebrity A former colleague said: 'Mike is a fantastic guy but in many ways he wasn't really cut out to be a policeman. 'He loved to be out, partying, having a good time and chatting up girls. He definitely used the uniform to help chat up the ladies.' The source added that none of Mike's pals are surprised he is taking part in Love Island and they believe he will go far on the show. They said: 'He was always talking about Love Island and what a laugh it looked so no one was that surprised when he was announced. He'll do really well and has a great chance of winning because he is funny, smart and doesn't take himself too seriously.' TV: Mike quit his role as a police constable with Greater Manchester Police shortly before the new contestants were announced Mike's former boss, Greater Manchester Police's Chief Constable Ian Hopkins, is said to have told the soon-to-be reality star he can return to his old job if he behaves himself on the show. 'I was expecting it to be an outright no,' Mike said of whether he would ever be allowed to return to his old job. Chief Constable Hopkins said: 'We've got a good relationship he trusts me enough to go on that platform and present myself well. The general consensus is: 'Don't do anything stupid.' ' Mike added: 'Obviously, this kind of opportunity, anything can happen, but it shows that they trust me to represent myself well enough in that environment for me to then go back. Career: A former colleague said: 'Mike is a fantastic guy but in many ways he wasn't really cut out to be a policeman' 'At the same time, I know that other opportunities come up after the show, so we'll just wait and see.' Mike was a third responder for the Manchester arena bombing in May 2017 - arriving three days after the devastating event - but denied being 'a real life hero'. Mike plans to use his experience in the police in helping rowing couples reconcile when he arrives in the South African villa. He said he will 'be neutral' and 'definitely won't pick sides' in an effort to get along with the other islanders. 'I always do what I feel is right and I always weigh up the options and see what's going on,' he said. They said: 'He was always talking about Love Island and what a laugh it looked so no one was that surprised when he was announced' His brother Samuel was one of Lord Sugar's candidates in the 2016 series of The Apprentice, but Mike denied there being any competition. He boasted: 'There's not really rivalry because I think I'm better than him anyway. He might disagree, but that's up for debate. I think I'll do better than him anyway.' And as he enjoyed his first few days under the Cape Town sun, Mike revealed he isn't a stranger to a holiday romance, and met most of his past girlfriends on trips abroad. He said: 'My love life has not been great. My main issue is that I love long distance relationships. I feel like this is an opportunity for me to find someone who hopefully lives in the UK.' Mike said: 'I know that other opportunities come up after the show, so we'll just wait and see' Mike had to sit down with his 'religious and tradition' mum more than five times before she came around to the idea of him going on the sun-soaked reality show. 'I had more conversations with my mum because she's more religious and traditional. So we sat down more than five times. But in the end, everyone was dead cool with it, my family were chuffed.' When asked if he would consider having sex on television he said he would try his best but couldn't guarantee anything. 'I will just be mindful, especially when it comes to intimacy, as my mum. I have to be respectful to my mum and the way she brought me up, so I'll try my best.' And his fellow islanders can expect a song or two out of the self-described 'showman' as he revealed he can sing and loves to imitate Drake. 'I can sing. I won't give you guys a demo now, but yeah. I feel like Drake is the guy, so anytime I get into that zone, I become Drake,' he said. 'I do a great Drake voice. I think I'm a better dancer than Drake, so I'll probably throw my own moves in there.' Winter Love Island launches on ITV2 on Sunday, January 12. San Marcos, Texas: Michael Bloomberg on Saturday did not rule out spending a billion dollars of his own money on the 2020 presidential race, even if he does not win the Democratic nomination. The presidential aspirant and former New York mayor also said he would mobilise his well-financed political operation to help Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren win in November if either is the party nominee, despite having sharp policy differences with both candidates. Bloomberg's plans would effectively create a shadow campaign operation for the general election, complete with hundreds of organisers in key battleground states and a robust digital operation, ready to be inherited by the party nominee regardless of who that nominee may be. Already, Bloomberg has spent more than $200 million on advertising, putting him on pace to spend by early March about the same as what President Barack Obama's campaign spent on advertising over the course of the entire 2012 general election. If Bloomberg fails to win the nomination, future spending would be redirected toward attacking Trump. Curative petitions of two of the four death row convicts in the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case and the issue of entry of women in the 10-50 age group into Keralas Sabarimala temple are among the key cases the Supreme Court will take up for hearing this week. A Chief Justice of India S A Bobde-led nine-judge bench will on Monday start hearing the petitions related to Sabarimala. The Supreme Court had in November referred pleas seeking a review of its September 2018 order allowing the entry of women of all ages into the ancient Sabarimala temple to a larger bench. In a majority 3-2 verdict, the court had said that gender-based restrictions on the entry of women were not limited to the hilltop shrine in Kerala, but were also prevalent in places of worship belonging to other religions. In November, the top court said the larger bench will re-examine the Sabarimala issue as well as those related to the entry of women into mosques, and the denial of access to fire temples for Parsi women who marry outside the community. It was to also rule on the practice of female genital mutilation among Dawoodi Bohras. In 2018, the Supreme Court allowed women of all ages to pray at the temple. It upheld the right to equality of worship and triggered protests in Kerala, where traditionalists contend that the entry of female worshippers of childbearing age into the sanctum sanctorum in Sabarimala is sacrilege because Lord Ayyappa, the presiding deity, is celibate. On Tuesday, a five-judge bench will hear the curative petitions of the gang-rape convicts ,Vinay Sharma, 26, and Mukesh Kumar, 32, filed in the top court on Thursday. Two other convicts on death row in the case, Akshay Kumar Singh, 31, and Pawan Gupta, 25, have not filed curative petitions. Curative petitions are decided in-chambers by the judges. They are the last legal remedy available to death-row convicts. The curative petitions were filed when a Delhi court last week issued death warrants against the four convicts and set January 22 as the date for their hangings in Delhis Tihar jail. The convicts were given two weeks to file both curative and mercy petitions. The four were among the six, who gang-raped a 23-year-old student in December 2012 before throwing her out of a moving bus in South Delhi. She died on December 29, 2012, at a Singapore hospital. In 2017, the Supreme Court upheld the death sentences in the case. Out of the six convicts, Ram Singh, allegedly committed suicide in Tihar Jail. A juvenile was released from a reformation home after serving a three-year term. In July 2018, the apex court dismissed the review pleas filed by three of the convicts in the case. The Supreme Court would also pronounce its judgment on a petition filed by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) against a Calcutta high court ruling restraining the panel from getting involved in the issue of child trafficking in West Bengal since the state commission had already been apprised of the situation. The Supreme Court will rule on the scope of powers of the NCPCR in dealing with a matter in which a state panel has already initiated an inquiry. A suo motu case initiated by the Supreme Court to curb the increasing child rape incidents is also among the cases listed for hearing this week. China's campaign to isolate Taiwan has backfired spectacularly with voters handing President Tsai Ing-wen a landslide second term -- but authoritarian Beijing is unlikely to abandon its diplomatic cudgel anytime soon, analysts say. Tsai's re-election on Saturday with a record 8.2 million votes, or 57 percent, was a forceful rebuke of Chinese President Xi Jinping's push to heap economic and diplomatic pressure on the self-ruled island. But this attempt to encourage support for the more Beijing-friendly opposition pushed Taiwanese voters instead in droves towards Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which leans towards independence. The result keeps Taiwan on a collision course with its giant neighbour -- which views the island as its own territory and has vowed to one day seize it, by force if necessary. "Beijing will want to quickly put the squeeze on a second Tsai term, poaching allies and reducing its international space and perhaps increasing demonstrations of military might," Jonathan Sullivan, a Taiwan expert at Britain's University of Nottingham, told AFP. "A Tsai victory means that Beijing will likely not just maintain (its) policies but seek to increase the pressure," added Clayton Dube at the University of Southern California. Beijing loathes Tsai because she refuses to abide by their view that Taiwan is part of "one China". It has long warned that any formal declaration of independence would be a red line that could spark an invasion -- a move that could push China into direct conflict with the US, which remains Taiwan's main military ally. - Deliberate ambiguity - While Chinese state media portrays Tsai as an independence advocate -- and many in her DPP party favour a formal declaration -- Tsai holds a deliberately more ambiguous stance. She maintains that Taiwan is already a sovereign nation and argues that only its 23 million inhabitants, not Beijing, should decide the island's future. After she was first elected in 2016, Tsai reached out for cross-strait talks without preconditions. But China responded by cutting off official communication with her government, ramping up military drills and turning the screw on the economy by drastically reducing mainland tourists. It also poached seven of Taiwan's remaining diplomatic allies, leaving just 15 nations that still recognise the island as a legitimate country. Rather than cave, Tsai moulded herself as a defender of liberal democratic values. During her campaign for re-election, she also repeatedly invoked the political unrest in nearby Hong Kong as a warning of what might await Taiwan should Beijing take control. The plan worked -- 1.3 million more people voted for her in 2020 than 2016. Her main rival Han Kuo-yu from the Kuomintang party (KMT), who pushed for warmer ties with China, won just 39 percent of the vote. "If Beijing's goal was to compel unification then they have certainly failed," Bonnie Glaser, from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told AFP. "Polls (in Taiwan) consistently show that support for unification is waning and support for independence is growing, with the majority still supporting the preservation of the status quo," she added. - Peace, dialogue - During her victory speech on Saturday night, Tsai repeated her offer of talks with Beijing. "Peace, parity, democracy and dialogue are the keys to stability," she said, adding Taiwan would "never concede to threats". But the initial response from across the strait suggests an olive branch is unlikely. In a commentary on Sunday, Chinese state news agency Xinhua accused Tsai of using "dirty tactics such as cheating, repression and intimidation", without citing evidence or examples. Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told Xinhua he hoped the international community would "understand and support the just cause of Chinese people to oppose the secessionist activities for 'Taiwan independence' and realise national reunification". Hung Chin-fu, an analyst at Taiwan's National Cheng Kung University, said Beijing would bide its time in responding to Tsai's landslide victory, but a U-turn was unlikely. "I think it's not to Beijing's political advantage to take immediate aggressive actions against Taiwan and it will take some time to wait and see," he said. One way to pressure Tsai might be to secure another quick diplomatic defection. Fabrizio Bozzato, a research fellow at the University of Rome La Sapienza, said the Vatican -- the only place in Europe that still recognises Taiwan over China -- was a vulnerable scalp for Beijing to take. "The Vatican would likely respond positively for the sake of achieving an historic deal with China," he said. "Pope Francis appears to be determined to go down in history as the Pope who opened the door of China." Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's re-election was a forceful rebuke of China's push to heap economic and diplomatic pressure on the self-ruled island China has been poaching Taiwan's remaining diplomatic allies Tsai maintains that Taiwan is already a sovereign nation Beijing loathes Tsai because she refuses to abide by their view that Taiwan is part of 'one China' By IANS NEW DELHI: June 25 1975 to March 21 1977, was a period in India's political history that is looked down upon as the "worst phase" when Indira Gandhi had declared Emergency to stifle democratic rights. Like political leaders, many students too went up in arms against it and needless to say, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) had played a key role then. An SFI unit of the varsity had spearheaded the JNU resistance. Calling any supposedly anti-student policies as "draconian" may have become a fad in JNU in 2020, but in the truest form the JNUSU had fought the real "draconian" state policies back then. Students who fought the Emergency had to face arrests, jail terms, expulsions, and disciplinary actions. The SFI had brought out quite a few leaflets in the name of "The Resistance". In fact, they formed an umbrella body, the Democratic Students Forum, to fight Emergency together. ALSO READ | Delhi police ignored our messages about mob presence in university on January 5: JNUSU One such pamphlet read: "The police action carried out under the Emergency exposes the character of the Indira Gandhi regime today. Who is the Emergency directed at? Is the Students Union right reactionary? Are the nine students falsely charged under D.I.R. right reactionaries? Now the Vice-Chancellor at the behest of the Prime Minister's Secretariat has announced in the latest prospectus that Union membership will henceforth be voluntary. It is in order to cripple the Union and destroy its representative and democratic character that this move has been made under the cover of the Emergency." However, much of its tone, tenor and lexicons still has been carried on till 2020, with the expression of JNU's anti-establishment mindset caught in a time warp. During those tumultuous times, the man who emerged as the face of JNU and later proved to be a national leader was D.P. Tripathi. Tripathi, who very recently lost his battle with cancer, had fought the Emergency, went underground and eventually ended up in jail, along with many other student leaders from different political schools of thoughts. ALSO READ: JNU alumni give protest call against attack on students and faculty One of them was Arun Jaitley, with whom he had a lifelong cordial relationship, in spite of their sharp political divides. Their jail stay during Emergency solidified the friendship. Tripathi was believed to have infamously stopped Indira Gandhi's daughter-in-law Maneka Gandhi, another JNU student at that time, studying German, from attending classes. This was to force her to join the anti-Emergency class boycotts. As Tripathi, the face of JNU's anti-Indira, anti-Emergency fight, died earlier this month, CPI-M chief Sitaram Yechury referred to him as "comrade, college-mate". As JNU students have continued to hit the streets regularly over the Citizenship Amendment Act and hostel fee hikes and as the varsity has seen recent spate fo violence, where the JNUSU President herself is a suspect, many realise the varsity has a long history of dissent, protest and even violence which had forced Indira Gandhi to shut it down temporarily. Rag trade billionaire Philip Day is stepping up investment in his stable of British 'heritage' brands with flash new West End headquarters and a flagship store for his prized Jaeger fashion chain. Day is understood to have snapped up a 30,000 square foot building in Marylebone, West London, that will house office staff for his brands Austin Reed, Jaeger and Viyella. The labels form part of a group of brands owned by Day which also includes Peacocks, Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Country Casuals. The group employs 27,000 staff and has 1,200 shops and concessions. Jaeger owner Philip Day also owns Peacocks, Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Country Casuals But the fashion mogul has identified the brands destined for the new office as a key investment opportunity. Day, 54, who lists his residence as Switzerland and has handed an essential role running the Jaeger chain to his daughter Lauren, is understood to have been opening a Jaeger store every month and wants to double the chain to 30 town centre shops. A spokesman for Day's Edinburgh Woollen Mill group said the brands had 'lost their way' before being rescued from collapse. 'We are on a mission to bring back British heritage brands to the UK high street. We want to restore these proud British brands to their former glory, not only in the UK but internationally too,' the spokesman added. He declined to reveal details of the new operations centre. But sources said it will include the main London store for Jaeger on its ground floor and concessions to show off the latest Austin Reed and Viyella ranges. The new push emerges after The British Retail Consortium said the high street has suffered its worst year for 25 years. Last week's grim news included a raft of dire trading updates from across the sector and culminated with the sudden departure of John Lewis boss Paula Nickolds. But Day, who has been described as 'the new king of the high street', is not alone among mega-rich retail barons snapping up ailing high street chains in the hope that better days may be around the corner. Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley, who described himself as the 'saviour' of Britain's high streets, bought House of Fraser in 2017 and has long stalked its larger rival Debenhams in the hope he can seize the chain on the cheap. Strategy: Jaeger designs will be more visible as Philip Day doubles the number of stores Meanwhile, the founder and executive chairman of online fashion chain Boohoo, Mahmud Kamani, is also waiting in the wings. Kamani's family, which includes son Umar who runs Boohoo's PrettyLittleThing.com site, is reportedly worth 1.2billion. Sources say the rapid growth of the group will mean that figure is highly conservative. Boohoo hoovered up the fallen Karen Millen and Coast brands for just 18million last year. Meanwhile, Day scrapped his dividend from Edinburgh Woollen Mill last year amid speculation he may be lining up more acquisitions. But one senior retail executive said buying up faded chains, while cheap, was not a recipe for success. He added: 'The bet is that the high street is nearing the bottom. That online is going to plateau. If you can buy things on the cheap, renegotiate rents and sort out the suppliers then great, but you need a bit of vision or you might just end up flogging a dead horse.' He added there was always a risk that 'ruthlessly stripping' assets and brands 'could backfire'. Day, who grew up on a council estate in Stockport, spends much of his time in the Middle East and mainland Europe and has a castle in Carlisle. He cut his teeth as managing director of upmarket men's tailoring label Aquascutum in the 1990s and is said to regard his growing stable of upmarket British brands as a return to his roots. He also owns suit brands Berwin & Berwin, Baumler and a clutch of womenswear brands familiar with department store shoppers including Jacques Vert, Dash, Eastex and Windsmoor. Directors at Day's group have previously talked about having as many as 50 shops under the Austin Reed brand, which Day once said had been 'horrifically' mismanaged before he bought it. Any such strategy is understood to be some way off with the group focusing on growing its 49 concession partners and selling online in the short term. It has also launched a made-to-measure service for Austin Reed through 22 partners and signed a deal with premium wool supplier El Escorial, whose other customers include Louis Vuitton and Chanel, to make the 2,500 fitted suits. The spokesman said: 'Rebuilding iconic brands takes time and there are no short cuts. We know that it will be a long journey. We know that it is necessary to take this at a measured but focused pace. We are not in this for short-term wins we see this as a long-term mission that requires strategy and investment. 'We believe these British brands partly lost their way because they became dependent on an unsustainable discount-led marketing strategy. Now the emphasis is on quality.' Sales are booming for alternative meats. Are plant-based burgers just a fad? Here's everything you need to know: Why are meatless burgers so popular? Food scientists believe they've achieved a kind of alchemy, making plants look and taste like meat. Global sales suggest they've largely succeeded. All-plant burgers, nuggets, meatballs, and sausage patties exploded in popularity last year, driven by California-based Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods. Beyond had 2019's most successful IPO and gained a presence in 20,000 U.S. grocery stores plus 53,000 fast-food restaurants such as Dunkin' Donuts and Carl's Jr., while McDonald's is testing a Beyond Burger in Canada. Burger King's Impossible Whopper and White Castle's Impossible Sliders were almost too successful, causing a supply crisis. Overall U.S. restaurant sales of plant-based meat grew by 400 percent last year; combine those with supermarket sales, and consumers spent nearly $1 billion on these products in 2019. Plant-based burgers attract eaters who are health conscious and/or environmentally concerned but aren't willing to give up familiar tastes and textures for quinoa and seitan. Ninety-five percent of Impossible's customers eat meat; in taste tests, half of them can't tell Impossible Burgers from the real thing. What's their secret? "Meat analogues" such as tofu go back 2,000 years, but these are not your father's frozen veggie burgers. The new faux burgers are engineered to imitate the way ground meat sizzles on the grill, bleeds in the middle, and crumbles in your mouth. That's no small feat, considering cooked beef contains 4,000 different molecules, about 100 of which create its smell and umami-rich flavor. Impossible Foods simulates that pinkish color and savory flavor with heme, the iron-carrying molecule in blood and some plant roots. The heme is created by genetically modifying yeast with soy DNA in gigantic tanks. Story continues What else are they made of? The new burgers vary in composition, but are largely made of plant proteins usually soy, but sometimes pea, bean, or wheat and plant fats. These ingredients are cooked in big pressure cookers, which use low heat and compression to replicate the fibrous texture of meat. The first challenge in creating a plant-based burger is to make a tasteless patty, getting rid of so-called off-flavors. (Pea protein is said to taste of urine.) "Once we cracked the code on meat flavor," said Impossible Foods scientist Laura Kliman, "if you change a few of the ratios and ingredients, it's not that hard to get fish or pork or chicken." Impossible Burgers have 21 ingredients mostly soy and potato proteins, plus coconut and sunflower oils. Beyond Burgers have 18 ingredients, a mixture of isolated pea protein, mung bean, and rice proteins. Beetroot juice provides the "bleeding" effect. The thickener methylcellulose, potato starch for texture, and the salt substitute potassium chloride are also used. Beyond Burgers get the marbled look of ground beef from coconut oil and cocoa butter whipped into tiny globules of fat. Is that healthier than meat? Yes and no. Consuming meat is believed to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer, and humans can develop unsafe resistance to antibiotics by eating animals fed those drugs. Commercial beef, pork, and poultry often carry bacteria and viruses from fecal matter and cause illness if not properly cooked or handled. Critics of alternative meat, however, say that companies are exploiting the healthy sound of "plant-based" while providing heavily engineered products. Whole Foods CEO John Mackey, for example, has warned customers that these burgers "are super, highly processed foods." Meatless burgers are cholesterol free and contain about the same calorie count as hamburgers but have more sodium: The Impossible Whopper has 1,240 milligrams of sodium, 260 more than the beef version. Coconut oil gives Beyond and Impossible Burgers saturated fat levels similar to beef, and their proteins are considered less nutritious. Impossible's recipe depends on soy, which can mimic estrogen in the body, but food scientists say it's safe to consume in moderate quantities. Is the meat industry alarmed? Stanford University biochemist Patrick Brown, who founded Impossible Foods/';, says it should be. "We plan to take a double-digit portion of the beef market within five years," he said, "and then we can push that industry, which is fragile and has low margins, into a death spiral." That's unlikely. Americans on average eat three hamburgers a week, and the combined annual revenue of the three largest U.S. meatpacking companies is about $200 billion. Still, the meat industry clearly feels threatened: Lobbyists convinced 12 state legislatures last year to ban products from using words such as "burger" and "meat" if they don't come from animals. But to hedge their bets and to take advantage of the boom, Perdue, Nestle, Kellogg, and meat giant Tyson Foods are developing their own plant-based or hybrid burgers. As Tyson's former CEO Tom Hayes said, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right?" The environmental impact of livestock Environmentalists estimate that eating 4 pounds of beef contributes as much to global warming as flying from New York to London, and the average American eats more than that each month. There are many ways of producing meat, but it's clear that the annual farming and slaughter of 50 billion animals for meat worldwide leaves a massive footprint in terms of land use, crop consumption, emissions, and water pollution. In the past 25 years, an area larger than South America has been razed for cattle grazing, and cows releasing methane from digesting grains and grass mostly through burps causes two-thirds of the livestock sector's greenhouse gas emissions. A landmark report in Science found that avoiding meat and dairy is the "single biggest way" to reduce one's environmental impact. A recent University of Michigan study found that a plant-based burger generates 90 percent less greenhouse gas, requires 46 percent less energy, and has 99 percent less impact on water scarcity than a quarter pound of U.S. beef. CEO Pat Brown says that's Impossible Foods' primary purpose. "We see our mission as the last chance to save the planet from environmental catastrophe," he says. This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, try the magazine for a month here. More stories from theweek.com Bernie Sanders fires back on CNN report saying he told Elizabeth Warren a woman can't be president: 'Ludicrous' The death of rock's master craftsman Bloomberg's campaign spending could possibly 'upend every model of every presidential race in history.' Compass Group PLC (LON:CPG) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in 3 days time. This means that investors who purchase shares on or after the 16th of January will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 24th of February. Compass Group's next dividend payment will be UK0.27 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed UK0.40 to shareholders. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Compass Group has a trailing yield of 2.1% on the current share price of 19.125. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. So we need to investigate whether Compass Group can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow. Check out our latest analysis for Compass Group Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. Compass Group is paying out an acceptable 57% of its profit, a common payout level among most companies. That said, even highly profitable companies sometimes might not generate enough cash to pay the dividend, which is why we should always check if the dividend is covered by cash flow. Dividends consumed 54% of the company's free cash flow last year, which is within a normal range for most dividend-paying organisations. It's positive to see that Compass Group'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. Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends. LSE:CPG Historical Dividend Yield, January 12th 2020 Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing? Companies with consistently growing earnings per share generally make the best dividend stocks, as they usually find it easier to grow dividends per share. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. This is why it's a relief to see Compass Group earnings per share are up 6.6% per annum over the last five years. Decent historical earnings per share growth suggests Compass Group has been effectively growing value for shareholders. However, it's now paying out more than half its earnings as dividends. Therefore it's unlikely that the company will be able to reinvest heavily in its business, which could presage slower growth in the future. Story continues Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. In the past ten years, Compass Group has increased its dividend at approximately 11% a year on average. We're glad to see dividends rising alongside earnings over a number of years, which may be a sign the company intends to share the growth with shareholders. The Bottom Line From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Compass Group? Earnings per share have been growing modestly and Compass Group paid out a bit over half of its earnings and free cash flow last year. In summary, it's hard to get excited about Compass Group from a dividend perspective. Wondering what the future holds for Compass Group? See what the 18 analysts we track are forecasting, with this visualisation of its historical and future estimated earnings and cash flow We wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see, though. Here's a list of interesting dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend. 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. A day after Indian Army chief General Naravane hinted that the Army is ready to integrate Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) with India if the Parliament orders so, Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury taunted him by suggesting to "talk less, work more". In a tweet on Sunday, Chowdhury said that the Parliament had already adopted a unanimous resolution on PoK way back in 1994 and hence the government is free to take action. @ New Army Chief, Parliament already had adopted unanimous resolution on #POK in 1994, Govt is at liberty to take action and may give direction. If you are so inclined to take action on POK, I would suggest you to confabulate with CDS, and @PMOIndia. Talk Less, Work More Adhir Chowdhury (@adhirrcinc) January 12, 2020 READ | CDS Row: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Takes A Veiled Jibe At Govt Over Gen Rawat's Appointment Congress backs COAS On Saturday, after the first Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting of 2020, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that the party has maintained that PoK is a part of India while addressing a press briefing in New Delhi. Agreeing with Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Naravane's PoK remark, he said that the party cannot comment on statements made by COAS. Congress leader Anand Sharma too said that both parliamentary houses have adopted resolutions on PoK. "We never comment on the statements made by the Army Chief. But we have maintained that the PoK is part of India and their cannot be another opinion to it," said Surjewala. Sharma added, "Both LS and RS have adopted resolutions in the past that the POK is part of India". READ | Congress Responds To COAS Naravane's 'Army Will Get PoK If Parliament Says' Statement 'If Parliament says, We'll Get It' Earlier in the day, General Naravane made a huge statement regarding Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) stating that if the Parliament orders for the Army to reintegrate PoK, then the Army will accordingly follow the direction. While addressing the Army's annual news briefing, Naravane stated that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) can be part of India as stated by the political leadership. "There is a parliamentary resolution that entire J&K is part of India. If Parliament wants it, then, that area (PoK) also should belong to us. When we get orders to that effect, we'll take appropriate action," the COAS said. READ | Army Chief Makes Massive PoK Declaration, Says 'If Parliament Says, We'll Get It' READ | Indian Army Chief Naravane Announces That 100 Female Jawans Are Being Trained For The Army KITCHENER, ON, Jan. 12, 2020 /CNW/ - Unifor National President Jerry Dias will update the media Monday morning on the ongoing contract talks between Unifor Local 4304 and Grand River Transit. Dias will meet with the Local's bargaining team that morning as they prepare for a day of bargaining ahead of a strike deadline one minute after midnight that night, and then address the media. WHAT: Update on contract talks with GRT WHO: Jerry Dias , Unifor National President WHERE: Unifor Kitchener Regional Office, 5 Executive Place, Kitchener, Ontario WHEN: Monday, January 13, 2020 10:00 a.m. Unifor and GRT agreed to negotiate throughout the weekend to reach a deal. The union's top priorities for the talks are fair discipline, safety, the use of cameras on the buses and fair compensation. Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy, including 23,000 in road transportation. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future. SOURCE Unifor For further information: Media inquiries call Unifor Communications Representative Stuart Laidlaw at [email protected] or 647-385-4054 (cell), or Unifor Communications Representative Sarah McCue at sara[email protected] or (416) 458-3307. Related Links http://www.unifor.org (Bloomberg) -- David Drummond, the legal chief of Google parent Alphabet Inc. and a company veteran, stepped down following questions about his conduct at the technology giant. Drummond, 56, will leave on Jan. 31, according to a note he sent colleagues on Friday. The company has not named a replacement, an Alphabet spokeswoman said. She confirmed that Drummond did not receive a pay package on exit. He has been selling millions of dollars in company stock during the past year. I believe that its also the right time for me to make way for the next generation of leaders, Drummond wrote in the note, which Alphabet provided to Bloomberg News. Drummond was Googles first lawyer and ran the search giants legal and corporate development arms for years before shifting to parent company Alphabet in 2015. He played a central role in landmark decisions at the company, such as the right-to-be-forgotten dispute in Europe and the exit from China in 2010. Drummond also oversaw key acquisitions, such as Android and YouTube, and helped set up Alphabets prodigious venture capital arms. Last year, Drummond was accused of having had a relationship with a female employee in the legal department. The woman, Jennifer Blakely, later came forward saying Drummond abandoned her and their child and repeatedly violated rules governing workplace relationships. Drummond has said the two went through a difficult breakup and that he never started a relationship with anyone else who was working at Google or Alphabet. Axios reported in September that Drummond married another Google employee. Alphabets board this year began investigating how misconduct matters were handled. The probe included a look into the behavior of Drummond. Accusations of misconduct by other senior Google executives sparked criticism that the company hadnt done enough to reform a culture where powerful men werent penalized for inappropriate relationships or sexual misconduct. Thousands of Google employees worldwide walked off the job to protest in November 2018 after a report that Andy Rubin, a former executive, received a $90 million pay package following allegations of sexual harassment. Rubin has denied the allegations. Story continues Drummonds departure comes after Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai took the top job at Alphabet, succeeding co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Since 2015, Drummond has overseen the companys two investment arms, GV and CapitalG, as well as Jigsaw, a political research division. The spokeswoman said the company has not decided if an executive will oversee those units. Here is Drummonds note sent on Friday: 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 its 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, Id like to thank everyone with whom Ive 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 Googles 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 Googles ambitious mission have been beyond inspiring. Id also like to thank BGN and all of the companys 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, Id 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. (Updates with details of recent stock sales in second paragraph.) To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Bergen in San Francisco at mbergen10@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jillian Ward at jward56@bloomberg.net, Alistair Barr 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. After months of studiously avoiding any negative words about Mr. Sanders, Ms. Warren went on to cite the divisiveness of the 2016 primary race between Mr. Sanders and Hillary Clinton, implying it had helped President Trump. We all saw the impact of the factionalism in 2016, and we cant have a repeat of that, she warned. Democrats need to unite our party and that means pulling in all parts of the Democratic coalition. In a rare question-and-answer session with reporters after his final event of a weekend Iowa swing, Mr. Sanders in response to a question on whether he approved of his campaigns criticism of Ms. Warren denied responsibility for the script, saying he himself had never attacked Ms. Warren. And he blamed the news media for overstating the tension between the two campaigns. I got to tell you, I think this is a little bit of a media blowup, that kind of wants conflict, he said. Elizabeth Warren is a very good friend of mine, Mr. Sanders, of Vermont, said. We have worked together in the Senate for years. Elizabeth Warren and I will continue to work together, we will debate the issues. No one is going to trash Elizabeth Warren, he added. The Sanders campaign did not provide any further information on the script. Pressed again on the topic, Mr. Sanders said: We have hundreds of employees. Elizabeth Warren has hundreds of employees. And people sometimes say things that they shouldnt. You have heard me give many speeches. Have I ever said one negative word about Elizabeth Warren? The exchange on Sunday just two days after a major Iowa poll showed them in first and second place in the state was a rare fraying of a de facto nonaggression pact the two senators have shared since the beginning of the primary race. On the debate stage, they have often formed a progressive tag team of sorts, defending their far-reaching policy proposals against criticism from moderates that they were unrealistic. This was perhaps never clearer than when Ms. Warren, answering a debate question, declared Im with Bernie on the issue of Medicare for all. T housands of carrots and sweet potatoes have been dropped from aircraft over fire-ravaged Australia to help feed displaced wallabies. The marsupial care packages will hopefully provide sustenance to the animals who have escaped the raging wildfires but have nothing to eat. Over the past week a total of around 2,200kg of vegetables have been dropped for wallaby colonies in Capertree and Wolgan valleys, Yengo National Park, the Kangaroo Valley, and around Jenolan, Oxley Wild Rivers and Curracubundi national parks. New South Wales Environment Minister Matt Kean, whose constituency has seen some of the worst blazes, tweeted about the mission. The wallabies have taken to the vegetables / via Reuters He said: "The wallabies typically survive the fire itself, but are then left stranded with limited natural food as the fire takes out the vegetation around their rocky habitat. "The wallabies were already under stress from the ongoing drought, making survival challenging for the wallabies without assistance." Sweet potatoes and carrots being loaded onto a helicopter / via Reuters He added: "When we can, we are also setting up cameras to monitor the uptake of the food and the number and variety of animals there." The World Wildlife Fund estimates that 1.25 billion animals have been killed in the conflagration. Danielle Lenee as Harriet Tubman in "My General Tubman" at Arden Theatre Company. Read more Harriet Tubman is an American icon. But author and activist Lorene Cary believes the almighty status also makes Tubmans life story feel less than human. In her playwriting debut, My General Tubman, Cary hopes to bring out Tubman, the individual, by shedding light on the revered abolitionists life apart from the Underground Railroad. It runs Jan. 16 through March 1 at Arden Theatre and is being directed by James Ijames. Tubman suffered from temporal lobe epilepsy due to a head injury sustained as a child and would often have headaches, seizures, and at times, visions. My General Tubman is in part a mythical exploration of what some of those visions mightve looked like. I couldnt stop thinking about her experiences with that, Cary said. The play is predicated on the idea that, during those times, she is capable of visiting a detention center in Philadelphia to recruit men to help her fight in a raid at West Virginias Harpers Ferry with fellow abolitionist John Brown. The play also touches on the unspooling of her five-year marriage to her first husband, John Tubman who became involved with another woman after Harriet escaped slavery and her budding romance with second husband Nelson Davis. While it follows a nonlinear timeline, set both in the present day and the 19th century, the play is largely based on historical events, like Tubmans involvement in the Civil War raid on South Carolinas Combahee Ferry. In that 1863 operation, she helped to rescue hundreds of slaves and became the only woman to lead a military expedition during the war. READ MORE: Cape May is banding together to build a museum for Harriet Tubman Cary, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, became a literary force in the early 90s with her debut memoir, Black Ice. In 1995, she published her first novel, The Price of a Child, based on an escaped slaves journey to freedom. It illuminates Philadelphias Underground Railroad history along the way. In 1998, Cary founded the organization Art Sanctuary, which promotes black art and literature through lectures, workshops, and performances. She teaches fiction and nonfiction at the University of Pennsylvania and wrote the libretto for the opera The Gospel According to Nana. Initially, Cary said, she didnt want to write any stories about Tubmans life because everybody already knew about her. But that changed about 10 years ago when she visited the Historic Cold Spring Village near Cape May with her family. At that time, [Cold Spring Village] only had one photo the official photo that you see everywhere of [Tubman] and a tiny little caption that said she came to work at the Cape May Hotel in the summers to make money for her winter raids and escapes, Cary remembered. I asked the Cape May Historical Society how many summers she worked or anything else about her time there. She was told, This is all we know right now. Riddled with curiosity about Tubmans connection to the Cape May region, Cary said that she was inspired to weave an aria inspired by Tubman into an opera, unrelated to Tubman, that she had been working on at the time. I had no other facts, Cary said. All I had was my own overwhelming obsession. When the opera didnt materialize, I couldnt let go of that little kernel, so I decided to write a play, she said. Being Harriet Tubman Like the playwright, lead actress Danielle Lenee found a kernel to hang onto as she worked to embody Harriet Tubman onstage in this case, a voice. In early rehearsals, Lenee said, she struggled with finding [Tubmans] spirit. I was trying to figure out how she would have sounded, Lenee said. I didnt want to put on a voice of how we imagined slaves to sound. That wouldnt have been accurate. For guidance, Lenee studied black female actors who embodied confidence and exuded grace like Diahann Carroll, Jenifer Lewis, and Phylicia Rashad. Tubman is in her 40s in the play, and Lenee imagined she would have spoken with the same authority. These women have been in the industry for a long time," Lenee said. So when they speak, its something thats learned through experience and [its] not something that you automatically have ... Those are the qualities that I listened for. Directing My General Tubman Director Ijames found critical and popular success with August Wilsons Gem of the Ocean at Arden last year, earning nine Barrymore Awards for excellence in Philadelphia theater the most of any play including the prize for best director. When he was approached by Arden to direct My General Tubman, he said he agreed because it aligns with one of his notions for what makes for compelling theater: Work that requires an audience to engage with blackness as something "full and complete and not in need of change or development or augmentation in any way. When telling historical black stories, Ijames said, weve moved out of a moment where we feel like we could be cute or coy, or even passive in the way we say things. He wants to tell black stories in a way that makes people grapple with the impact of black figures, he said. He feels its the current generations responsibility "to continue their legacy. READ MORE: 2019 Barrymore Award winners My General Tubman is one of many productions this season based on noteworthy black Americans: Thurgood, a biographical play about Thurgood Marshall, is onstage now (through Feb. 9) at the Walnut Theatres Independence Studio on 3, starring Barrymore Lifetime Achievement Award winner Johnnie Hobbs Jr. as the Supreme Court justice. On Feb. 10, Philadelphia Artists Collective and Theatre in the X are doing a staged reading at the Proscenium Theatre at the Drake of In Splendid Error, a historical drama based on the friendship between Frederick Douglass and John Brown. The Agitators, also about Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony, opens Feb. 28 (through March 22) at Theatre Horizon in Norristown. Bayard Rustin: Inside Ashland, a musical about the civil rights giant Bayard Rustin, makes its world premiere May 13 at Peoples Light in Malvern (through June 7). Why the interest in black historical figures? We feel like we need it now, Cary said. We dont understand our own democracy, our Constitution, the fights we made to make this country what it is. And one of the ways we seek to understand is by putting it into popular culture. READ MORE: Lets ensure that Harriet Tubman gets on the $20 bill sooner rather than later | Jenice Armstrong THEATER My General Tubman Jan. 16-March 1 at Arden Theatre Company, 40 N. Second St. Tickets: $18-$53. Information: 215-922-1122, ardentheatre.org. Moving isnt easy for anyone, and Amy Roloff from Little People, Big World has taken us on her moving journey ever since she first stated she was leaving Roloff Farms. Those whove watched the show for over a decade know Matt and Amy Roloff used to be a happily married couple who took care of the farm together. But now, everythings changed. Matt and Amy divorced years ago, and Amy had a serious decision to make in 2019 regarding her living situation. We know she ultimately decided to sell her half of Roloff Farms to Matt, but the transition hasnt been easy. Shes been candid with her Instagram followers regarding the difficult process. And it seems theres one aspect of Roloff Farms that she appears to miss the most. Amy Roloff had a tough time moving off of Roloff Farms due to sentimental reasons Those who watched Season 14 of LPBW know how difficult it was for Amy to make a decision regarding her living situation. At the time, she was living on Roloff Farms in the large farmhouse while Matt was living in a smaller home on the other side of the property. Since Roloff Farms encompasses so much land, this was a doable setup for awhile. But both Matt and Amy knew it wasnt a long-term, sustainable plan. One of the reasons I stayed in the big house [is] because that was in my best interest going through separation, divorce, and I think I needed time to say that I had a permanency, I had a place, I had something that I could hang on to, grasp, in order to figure out Im officially divorced, Amy told the LPBW cameras. Despite the farm serving as a source of comfort for Amy, she knew she would never be able to take care of the land by herself. For that reason, she had to sell and find a new place. Her new home is much different than the farm Amy Roloff and Matt Roloff appear on NBC News Today show | Peter Kramer/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images Its 2020, and Amy is ready for big changes. Not only is she engaged to her partner of three years, Chris Marek, but after searching for months for the perfect home, she found a place just 15 minutes away from Roloff Farms. The new home boasts five bedrooms, four bathrooms, and is in a quiet neighborhood in Hillsboro, Oregon. Not only that, but she also profited from selling her half of the farm and buying this new place, so she (hopefully) had money to spare in making the new place accessible for her. Amys excited for a fresh start, but she cant seem to get over just how different her new home is. A new house is something both Felix and I are adjusting to, she captioned her Instagram post of her and her dog. Lets face it, the farm will always be the farm, no comparison, but a new house in a new neighborhood will have its own adventure and it will take time to get use to it and 2020 will be another interesting year. This might be the most difficult aspect of her new house Amys discussed her new home plenty with her followers. While shes excited and nervous for new beginnings, her recent Instagram post has us thinking that theres one aspect of her new home thats particularly difficult for her to get used to and its the lack of land. Its been an adventure so far, definitely another BIG change in my life, after 30 years living on 33+ acres, and really not sure how to feel about it all, Amy captioned a post on Jan. 6. It might all hit me later but what I do know, this change was necessary. Itll take time getting use to- living in a neighborhood, being in a new house and making it a home. While Amys new home is 3,767 square feet, thats nothing compared to the huge farmhouse and acres of land she had on the farm. Despite the lack of wide-open space, Amy noted shes glad she finally has some time for herself in January. Purging is the tough part and a good thing at the same time. Chris has been wonderful helping me do projects at the new house too, she added. All the details regarding Amys move will be on the new season of LPBW coming fall 2020, too! Check out Showbiz Cheat Sheet on Facebook! Protesters belonging to the Left parties and the Congress scuffled with the police outside Netaji Indoor Stadium, the venue of Prime Minister Narendra Modis final programme in the state during his two-day visit, minutes before his arrival. Around 11 pm, a group of protesters belonging to the Congress youth wing and various Leftwing student organisations tried to stage a demonstration in front of Netaji Indoor Stadium by showing black flags and placards with Modi Go Back written on them. A rash of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has rocked Kolkata since Saturday when the PM arrived on a two-day visit. However, the police promptly removed them and even detained some of the protesters. The protesters were shouting Modi go back and Shame on Mamata for secret understanding with Modi. State Congress president Somen Mitra and Communist Party of India (Marxist) politburo member Md Salim were seen leading protests at Esplanade, barely a few hundred metres away from the Netaji Indoor Stadium. During the time Modi was at Netaji Indoor Stadium, where he was addressing a gathering on Kolkata Port Trusts 150th anniversary, protesters made several attempts to reach near the venue but were stopped by the police. After Modi left the venue, a group of protesters set fire to an effigy of Modi at Esplanade but the police doused the fire. However, the road blockades that were in place since Saturday night at various points of Esplanade, the heart of Kolkata, were lifted at 1 pm. Several hundred protesters stayed at Esplanade on Saturday night, demonstrating against Modis visit and accusing chief minister Mamata Banerjee of facilitating Modi in spreading BJPs message. Modi left for the airport after the event at Netaji Indoor Stadium. The two soldiers killed when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan were paratroopers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, the defense department announced Sunday. The IED attack took place Saturday in Afghanistan's Kandahar province, bordering Pakistan to the south. Killed in the blast were Staff Sgt. Ian P. McLaughlin, 29, of Newport News, Virginia; and Pfc. Miguel A. Villalon, 21, of Joliet, Illinois, according to a release. Both soldiers were attached to 307th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. "When our Nation called for its best Airborne Combat Engineers to deploy into harm's way, Staff Sgt. McLaughlin and Pfc. Villalon answered without hesitation. They lived their motto, 'Essayons,' and embodied the values of the All American Engineer," Col. Art Sellers, commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, said in a released statement. "Their loved ones are now surrounded by a caring community offering comfort and assistance through this difficult time." McLaughlin, who joined the Army in 2012, was assigned to his current unit in 2016. He served there first as a horizontal construction engineer and then as a squad leader, according to officials with the 82nd Airborne. His awards included the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the Army Commendation Medal with "C" Device, the Army Commendation Medal and the Army Achievement Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters signifying subsequent awards. He was on his first combat deployment. McLaughlin joined the Army in 2012 and after completing Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training, he was assigned to the 68th Engineer Company, 62nd Engineer Battalion at Fort Hood, Texas as a Horizontal Construction Engineer. In 2016, he was assigned to the 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N. C., where he served as a Horizontal Construction Engineer and later as a Squad Leader. This was McLaughlin's first combat deployment; he is survived by a wife and four children, officials said. Villalon, who joined the Army in 2018 and was assigned to his current unit the following year, was also on his first combat deployment. His awards the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal with "C" Device and the Army Achievement Medal. He is survived by his mother and father. "These paratroopers represent the very best of our Nation and our Army," Maj. Gen. James Mingus, 82nd Airborne Division's commander, said in a statement. "Three time volunteers, they went when our Nation called and paid the ultimate sacrifice. They will be honored, mourned, but never forgotten and we are committed to taking care of their families for life." The two soldiers are the first to be killed in action in Afghanistan in 2020. The war is now in its 19th year. Two other soldiers, who have not been identified, were wounded in the same blast. The tragic attack comes as the Taliban and the U.S. are reportedly at a crucial stage in ongoing peace talks. It's not yet clear what the immediate impact of the deadly incident will be on negotiations. -- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck. Bismah Malik By Express News Service Chief of global e-commerce giant Amazon, Jeff Bezos, who is scheduled to attend his firms first Small and Medium Business (SMB) summit Smbhav in New Delhi, is likely to face the ire of 700 lakh retailers, who have planned an agitation ahead of his visit. The retailers, under the umbrella association of Confederation of All Indian Traders (CAIT), have also sought PM Modis intervention in the matter and urged him to take up their issues with the Amazon chief during their likely meeting. Amazon said it is aiming to empower the SMBs and help them explore more opportunities to grow their businesses via the technology platforms. Amazon Smbhav is a first-of-its-kind mega summit in India that focuses on gaining various perspectives from renowned industry experts, policymakers and solution providers on areas most relevant to SMBs in todays ecosystem, the e-tailer said on its website. However, CAIT general secretary Praveen Khandelwal described the upcoming Amazon conclave as pompous, aimed to show fake solidarity with small businessmen and entrepreneurs in India. These SMB summits will not help the businessmen of this country. E-commerce firms have been engaging with SMBs and entrepreneurs from the last five years, but it has been of no help to them. CAIT has come to their rescue and we seek PM Modis intervention for the same, Khandelwal told The Sunday Standard. Amazon already has 5 lakh retailers on their portals. Let them announce what all they have done so far to empower the existing retailers on their platform. What is the quantum of business these retailers are doing annually since the last five years? Were any of them listed as top 20 sellers during the last five years? The answers to these questions will expose Amazon. Its nothing but just eyewash to set right the wrongdoing, said Khandelwal. The traders body said they have already apprised the finance and commerce ministries of the gross violation of FDI norms by e-commerce companies in India by means of predatory pricing, deep discounting and preferential treatment to the retailers, which have led to 50 per cent loss of sales as well as caused massive GST revenue loss to the government. Our duty is to apprise the Prime Minister that the business model of e-commerce firms is destructive to the nation and its people. We are planning to hod a nationwide demonstration against Jeff Bezos visit, which will be held on January 15, he added. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Sunday said he never took anyone's help to get the post and he had joined to do something good. Recalling the day when the 2017 Uttarakhand Assembly poll results were declared, he said he left for Delhi after receiving a call from BJP president Amit Shah and was told that he was being made the chief minister only after he reached the national capital. Rawat was speaking at the Uttarakhand Young Leaders Conclave here. "I want to tell you that I came into to do something good. I never asked for anyone's help to get the chief minister's post," he said. "In 1993, I was asked to contest from the Lansdowne assembly seat but I refused. Then I was appointed as the BJP's organisation secretary. But I became a member of the party only after winning the election from Doiwala in 2002. Before that I was not even a member of the BJP," he said. Rawat said he didn't know that he was being made the chief minister till he reached Delhi to meet Shah after the 2017 Uttarakhand Assembly polls. After the results were declared, he said, he was sitting at home when a friend told him that the BJP chief was calling him. "After that I left for Delhi and there I was told that I was being made the chief minister of Uttarakhand. Amit Shah ji told me that he would finalise things only after speaking to 'sahab'," he said. He added that Shah later asked him to prepare his cabinet. Rawat noted that holding the chief minister's office did not bring him under any kind of pressure or stress. "In fact, I never come under any kind of stress," he said. On bridging the gap between the hills and the plains, the chief minister said his government will soon set up 660 growth centres in the state, out of which 82 have already been set up. People can visit these growth centres to buy local products, he said. Rawat said Uttarakhand has become a prominent destination for shooting films and TV serials. Two hundred movies and TV serials have been shot in the state in the past one-and-half year. Later, Rawat shared his phone number with the students and asked them to call him whenever they felt the need to do so. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An Iraqi journalist and his cameraman have been shot dead in their car by unknown gunmen after reporting on anti-regime demonstrations. Ahmen Abdel Samad, a correspondent for Dilja TV, and cameraman Safaa Ghali were 'assassinated' in the southern city of Basra, the US Embassy in Baghdad confirmed. Just hours before his death on Friday, Mr Samad had posted a video condemning the Iraqi forces for their brutal crackdown on anti-regime protests while permitting those outside the US embassy earlier this month. Footage on Dilja TV's website showed Mr Samad slumped in the passenger seat with a bullet wound to the right side of his head and bullet holes through the car door. Ahmen Abdel Samad, a correspondent for Dilja TV, and cameraman Safaa Ghali were 'assassinated' in the southern city of Basra, the US Embassy in Baghdad confirmed Mourners carry coffins during the funeral for the two assassinated Iraqi journalists in Basra, southern Iraq on Saturday Mr Samad died at the scene while Mr Ghali later died in hospital. The US Embassy said it 'strongly denounced the deplorable and cowardly assassination.' The statement added that it was the Iraqi government's responsibility to uphold 'the right to freedom of expression, protecting journalists, and ensuring that peaceful activists can practice their democratic rights without fear of reprisal.' Hundreds gathered in the streets to mourn the loss of the journalist and cameraman on Saturday amid angry anti-regime demonstrations which have been going on for months. Factions within Iraq's security forces, mostly Iran-backed militia, have been accused of killing some 500 protesters since the unrest started, with another 19,000 wounded. It comes as Iraq's caretaker prime minister, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, asked Washington to set a strategy for American troops withdrawal on Friday. The US State Department bluntly rejected the request, saying the two sides should instead talk about how to 'recommit' to their partnership. 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. Furious demonstrators take to the streets in Iraq over the killing of the journalists amid anti-government demonstrations Mourners carry the coffins of the two slain journalists on Saturday amid growing unrest in Iraq 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 criticised 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. It was amid the protests in Basra that Mr Samad and Mr Ghali were shot in their car. The wedding ceremony of former EFCC Boss, Nuhu Ribadus son, Ismaila brought major political players across the country together irrespective of their Party affinity. The duo of Mallam Garba Shehu, Buharis aide on new media, and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Peoples Democratic Partys presidential candidate during the 2019 general elections, met at the occasion. On sighting Atiku, Garba went down on his knees to greet the former vice-president despite their political differences. Read Also: Atikus Supporters Are After My Life Over 2023 Presidential Ticket PDP BOT Chairman The wedding ceremony held at Al-Nur mosque, Abuja on Saturday, 11th January. Imperial Valley News Center Man Charged With Trafficking Exotic African Cats New York - A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Christopher Casacci, 38, of Amherst, New York, with violating the Lacey Act and the U.S. Animal Welfare Act based on his trafficking of African wild cats in interstate commerce, announced Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark of the Justice Departments Environment and Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy Jr. for the Western District of New York. The indictment charges that Casacci, doing business as Exotic Cubs.com, imported and sold dozens of caracals (Caracal caracal) and servals (Leptailurus serval) in interstate commerce from February to June of 2018. Caracals, also known as the desert lynx, are wild cats native to Africa, and grow to approximately 45 pounds. Servals, also wild cats native to Africa, grow to approximately 40 pounds. Both species are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and their commercial possession and sale is restricted under New York state law. Casacci is also charged with disguising his commercial activity by falsely declaring the animals as domesticated breeds, such as savannah cats and bengal cats, on shipping records. People and businesses dealing in animals are required to comply with humane care standards under the Animal Welfare Act. Casacci failed to do so, and failed to secure the necessary license from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Casacci was charged with violating the Animal Welfare Act for selling animals without a license showing minimum compliance with humane treatment standards. The indictment is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services Office of Law Enforcement, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Ryan Noel, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Bureau of Environmental Crimes Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Patrick Duggan and Assistant United States Attorney Aaron J. Mango. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. They made such threats in case families communicate with Persian foreign media. " According to the reports that @IranInt_En has received,the intelligence services in Iran have warned the families of the Ukrainian Plane Crash victims with Iranian citizenship not to give interviews to the Persian media outside Iran if they want to get the remains of their loved ones US ships and warplanes can use Oman's ports and airport; Both countries sign agreement 6 workers believed to be Indians killed at Oman construction site Sultan of Oman, who ruled country since 1970, dies Govt declares one-day state mourning on Jan 13 following death of Sultan of Oman The new Sultan of Oman: Haitham Bin Tariq Al, cousin of late Qaboos sworn in as new royal ruler The sultan who shielded Oman from the regions turmoil International oi-Vicky Nanjappa Muscat, Jan 12: Oman's Sultan Qaboos, who died on Friday aged 79, transformed the former Arabian Peninsula backwater into a modern state and sought-after mediator while shielding the sultanate from a region in turmoil. The intensely private sultan -- the longest-reigning ruler in the modern Arab world -- left no apparent heir and the royal family was charged with selecting a successor. Instead however they opted for the sultan's own choice, his cousin Haitham bin Tariq, who was named in a sealed letter that Qaboos had prepared in case of a deadlock. Sultan of Oman, who ruled country since 1970, dies Qaboos was born on November 18, 1940, into the centuries-old Al-Said dynasty in the southern provincial capital of Salalah, in an isolated country on the margins of the modern world. J&K cop caught with 2 Hizbul & Lashkar terrorists in Kashmir|OneIndia News Older Omanis recall the capital Muscat had no electricity or running water and the gates of the medieval city were locked at dusk. The young Qaboos was sent abroad for his education to Britain, attending the elite Sandhurst Royal Military Academy from where he graduated in 1962. He went on to join a British infantry battalion in Germany, returning home to bide his time under the close watch of his father, Sultan Said bin Taymur. On July 23, 1970, Qaboos deposed his father in a palace coup, pledging "a new era" for the nation. Oman is strategically located on the Strait of Hormuz -- the narrow seaway through which much of the world's oil supply passes -- and between regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia. Qaboos maintained good ties with both nations, a balancing act that made his capital a must-stop for Western and Arab diplomats as well as military chiefs alike. The sultan's first foreign trip was to Iran, whose shah -- along with the British -- helped him quell the Marxist insurgency he inherited from his father in the restive Dhofar region. Those ties endured through Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution that ushered in a Shiite theocracy. Muscat would serve as the back channel for talks between the United States and Iran in the lead-up to a landmark 2015 nuclear deal. Qaboos also worked to preserve ties with Saudi Arabia and the rest of the wealthy six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council to which Oman belongs, but stuck to his principle of non-interference. In 2015, Oman was the only GCC country not to join a Saudi-led military coalition against Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen. It leveraged this neutrality to mediate the release of multiple foreign hostages captured by Yemen's warring factions. Muscat also maintained close military and economic ties with Britain and the US. Unlike other Arab states, Qaboos did not contest Egypt's 1979 peace treaty with Israel, opening a trade office in Tel Aviv in the mid-1990s -- shuttered in 2000 during a Palestinian uprising. In October 2018, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held surprise talks with Qaboos in Muscat -- a move that raised Palestinian fears of a normalisation of ties. Qaboos faced rare protests at the height of the Arab Spring in 2011 and responded by sacking ministers accused of corruption. But his government left no space for opposition, shuttering the independent Azzaman newspaper and jailing its editor as well as the writer of a critical article. Qaboos assumed power as an unknown and spent his first years cultivating the respect of his countrymen, from the mountainous interior to the coast. "In the early years, he went village to village and he had a weekly radio address -- that was the only way to reach the entire population at the time," said Muscat-based public policy analyst Ahmed al-Mukhaini. Qaboos channelled revenues from fledgling oil exports into infrastructure, taking the country from having just a handful of primary schools and some eight kilometres (six miles) of paved roads to a modern state with well over 1,000 schools and a massive highway network. The sultan also commissioned an opera house for Muscat, its packed calendar a testament to his support for the arts. But Qaboos was no ceremonial monarch. He held every top post, from commander of the armed forces to finance minister. In 1991, he offered a modicum of democracy, creating a Consultative Council -- with elected members -- to complement the State Council -- whose members he appointed. During nearly five decades in power, Qaboos chose never to remarry after a brief union in 1976. In his final years, he was believed to be suffering from colon cancer and rarely appeared in public following medical treatment in Germany in March 2015. When he did, the gaunt, bronzed sultan still cut a refined figure in sumptuous robes and colourful turbans. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, January 12, 2020, 11:10 [IST] Amid the tensions between the US and Iran over the killing of the Chief of Quds Force Qassem Soleimani, reports stated that Instagram and its parent company Facebook are now taking down all the posts supporting Soleimani to comply with the US sanctions as per the law. Taking to Twitter, Iran's government spokesperson Ali Rabiei called Instagram's actions 'undemocratic' and 'unashamed'. In an undemocratic and unashmed action,Instagram has blocked an innocence nations' voice protesting to the assesination ofGeneral #Soleimani,while the real terrorists have been given an open voice.The stick behind the democracy and media freedom is displayed in the nick of time Alirabiei (@Alirabiei_ir) January 6, 2020 Read: Mike Pompeo: Qassem Soleimani wasn't in Baghdad on 'peace mission' Iranian govt calls for nationwide legal action According to reports, just after Instagram started taking down pro-Soleimani posts, the government of Iran staged a protest and called for nationwide legal action against Instagram. In April last year, Instagram had shut down Soleimani's account after the US government designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization. Soleimani was one of the top commanders of IRGC. Read: Ukraine President speaks to Iran counterpart Rouhani about downed jet; reads him riot act Tensions between Iran and the US The long-standing tensions between Iran and the US escalated after the US on January 3, hit Baghdad International Airport, following which deputy commander of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Iran's Quds Commander General Qassem Soleimani were killed. After the killing, Iran threatened the US with "harsh retaliation." Soon, two airstrikes were reported near the US Embassy in Baghdads Green Zone. After the second attack at the Green Zone, Donald Trump threatened to strike 52 Iranian sites in the Islamic Republic if any Americans were harmed. Read: US teenager saved from seizure after fellow gamer calls ambulance from 5,000 miles away Read: Trump justifies Soleimanis killing again, says he was targeting four US embassies Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah labelled America 'the Great Satan' in a speech Sunday, as he vowed revenge for Qassem Soleimani's death and cited The Washington Post's criticism of Donald Trump. The Lebanese secretary-general called the president 'the biggest liar in America's history' a week after saying all US bases, all warships and every single soldier in the region is now a target. The last known images of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani before he was blown up in a US drone strike show him hugging and praying with Nasrallah in Beirut. And Nasrallah said Sunday: 'America, the Great Satan, is responsible for Israel and all its crimes against the Palestinian people' 'America built ISIS to destroy our countries, our cultures, history, and our future. Every ISIS bombing against a mosque or church, it must be called "Made in USA." We must never forget this, that America is our true enemy.' He also said: 'I direct people to look at the @washingtonpost caricature on the missile strike.' It was not clear whether Nasrallah was referring to a specific Washington Post article or cartoon, or its coverage of Donald Trump generally. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah labelled America 'the Great Satan' in a speech Sunday, as he vowed revenge for Qassem Soleimani's death and criticized Donald Trump Last known photos of Soleimani, right, before the U.S. strike, meeting with Hezbollah's secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, left, released by Iranian media Nasrallah added: 'The American leadership said in days after Soleimani's death the world was a safer place. They will discover in blood that they were wrong. 'The Americans should get their army out of our regionand the alternative to them leaving vertically is leaving horizontally [in coffins].' As the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, Soleimani oversaw Tehran's interventions in regional power struggles from Lebanon and Iraq to Syria and Yemen. Hezbollah's influential head said Sunday: 'Every country and people in the region must thank Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis for defeating ISIS, because in their battle they protected the entire region's peoples. Lebanon and other countries.' He added: '@realDonaldTrump is lying that Soleimani was planning attacks on US embassies. This is not true at all, and Trump is the biggest liar in America's history.' Nasrallah called President Trump 'the biggest liar in America's history' in a speech Sunday The comments were Nasrallahs second since Soleimanis killing. Calling the killing an 'ugly American crime' Nasrallah said: 'Soleimani's funeral constituted a second Islamic revolution in Iran, and I think it put the Americans and others who are betting on internal Iranian dissent in great despair.' Hezbollah is the only side not to have disarmed after Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war. The United States has designated it a 'terrorist' group and several of its figures are under sanctions, but the party is also a key player in Lebanese politics. Thousands gathered in front of the gate of the Amirkabir University of Technology near the former US embassy in Tehran over the weekend to protest the government and Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for mistakenly downing a civilian passenger plane. President Trump also issued a stark warning to the leaders of Iran Sunday, tweeting: 'To the leaders of Iran - DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. Thousands have already been killed or imprisoned by you, and the World is watching. 'More importantly, the USA is watching. Turn your internet back on and let reporters roam free! Stop the killing of your great Iranian people!' A supporter of Hezbollah carries a placard during a mass rally to pay tribute to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Lieutenant general and commander of the Quds Force Qasem Soleimani in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon on January 5 Lebanon's Hezbollah supporters attend a funeral ceremony rally in Beirut's suburbs, Lebanon to mourn Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in an air strike at Baghdad airport The plane crash early on Wednesday killed all 176 people on board, mostly Iranians and Iranian-Canadians. Iran's top Guards commander briefed parliament on Sunday, a day after the armed forces said the Ukrainian airliner was shot down in error in an admission that sparked an angry demonstration. After initially blaming a technical failure, authorities finally admitted to accidentally shooting it down in the face of mounting evidence and accusations by western leaders. Egged-ruse.com scored 46 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2.5/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 19 Oct 2014, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. The total number of people who shared the egged-ruse homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. The total number of people who shared the egged-ruse homepage on StumbleUpon. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the egged-ruse homepage on Twitter + the total number of egged-ruse followers (if egged-ruse has a Twitter account). This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the egged-ruse homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if egged-ruse has a Facebook fan page). The total number of people who shared the egged-ruse homepage on Delicious. Basic Information PAGE TITLE - DESCRIPTION . , , . KEYWORDS , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ruse, gradski transport, egged ruse, egged, razpisanie, OTHER KEYWORDS CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. The title 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 description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. Domain and Server DOCTYPE XHTML 1.0 Transitional CHARSET AND LANGUAGE WINDOWS-1251 DETECTED LANGUAGE Bulgarian Bulgarian SERVER Apache (PHP/5.2.17) OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux The language of egged-ruse.com as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Character set and language of the site. Operative System running on the server. Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) Type of server and offered services. Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world. Referring domains for egged-ruse.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 description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. The type of Facebook page. The URL of the found Facebook page. 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. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND Panaji, Jan 12 : Mining ban and inter-state dispute with Karnataka over Mhadei river waters are two big issues confronting the state, according to new Goa Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Sadanand Shet Tanavade. "We will speak to the central leadership and resolve the issues," said Tanavade, a former MLA, here on Sunday. Soon after taking over as the Goa BJP chief, Tanavade sought party workers' support for decisions taken by the party as well as the party government. Mining is banned in Goa since 2018 following a Supreme Court order over irregularities in the state mining lease renewal process. The Goa government as well as the opposition have expressed concern over Karnataka's Kalasa-Banduri water diversion project being built across the Mhadei river. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said it will wreak "ecological devastation" in Goa. But the project was given go-ahead by the Union Ministry for Environment and Forests recently. PM Modi to inaugurate 11 new medical colleges in Tamil Nadu on Jan 12 In pics: PM Modi to inaugurate new campus of Classical Tamil institute in Chennai tomorrow Modi pays tribute to Swami Vivekananda on his birth anniversary at Belur Math India oi-Madhuri Adnal Kolkata, Jan 12: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday paid tribute to Swami Vivekananda on his birth anniversary at the Belur Math, the headquarters of Ramakrishna Mission. Modi, who became the first prime minister to stay overnight at the Math in neighbouring Howrah district, woke up early on Sunday and visited the temple of Swami Vivekananda to pay respect to the spiritual leader, Mission officials said. The thoughts of Sri Ramakrishna emphasise on furthering harmony and compassion. He believed that a great way to serve God is to serve people, especially the poor and downtrodden. At the Belur Math this morning, I paid tributes to Sri Ramakrishna. pic.twitter.com/Es9vPSH80q Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 12, 2020 Swami Vivekananda's birth anniversary is also observed as National Youth Day. The prime minister then visited the main temple building and paid tribute to Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa, they said. September 11, 1893: When Swami Vivekananda introduced Hinduism to the West J&K cop caught with 2 Hizbul & Lashkar terrorists in Kashmir|OneIndia News Modi is scheduled to take part in the morning prayer meeting around 9.30 am at the Math premises, officials said. The prime minister was received by senior monks of the order after he reached Belur Math on Saturday evening, taking the river route from Kolkata. The PM is on a two-day visit to the city. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, January 12, 2020, 10:40 [IST] Vladimir Putin has warned that a full-scale war in the Middle East would be a 'catastrophe for the whole world'. The Russian president said 'large-scale military conflicts' would be a 'catastrophe not only for the region, the Middle East, but for the whole world,' leading to 'new flows of migrants' to Europe and other regions. This would also cause 'huge damage to the global economy,' he said. His remarks came during talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Moscow on Saturday to discuss growing tensions in the Middle East and other issues. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands after their joint news conference following their talks in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday The talks also covered the Syria conflict where a fresh ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey is expected to go into effect after midnight in the last major opposition bastion of Idlib. Putin and Merkel also backed a Libya peace conference in Berlin being organised by UN special envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, which could be held in the coming weeks. Putin called the initiative 'timely' and a 'very good step in the right direction.' The conference must include 'countries that have a real interest in promoting a peace settlement' and decisions must be agreed preliminarily with the Libyan sides, with the involvement of Salame, he said. While Turkey has sent troops to support the UN-backed Tripoli government, Moscow is accused of backing mercenaries supporting Haftar in his fight against the government. German Chancellor Angela Merkel listens to a journalist's question as Russian President Vladimir Putin looks at his watch during their joint news conference following their talks in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their talks in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday Putin reiterated Moscow's denial of this, saying: 'if there are Russians there, they do not represent the interests of the Russian state and do not receive money from it.' In Libya, 'unfortunately large-scale military action is continuing and terrorist activity is growing,' said Putin, who is keen to stress his role as a regional powerbroker. 'All this undermines stability not only in the region itself but has a negative influence on Europe,' he added, citing smuggling of drugs and weapons. He stressed the need to 'restart the political process with the final aim of overcoming the split inside the country and forming single state institutions.' Earlier in the week, the German leader's spokesman described Russia as 'indispensable when it comes to solving political conflicts' due to its status as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to a journalist's question during his and German Chancellor Angela Merkel joint news conference following their talks in the Kremlin in Russia Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel Greer each other prior to the talks in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday Germany and Russia are among the world powers that have been trying to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran after the United States withdrew from the agreement unilaterally in 2018. The prospects of rescuing the nuclear accord could be hurt by Iran's admission Saturday that one of its anti-aircraft missiles hit a Ukrainian airliner this week, killing all 176 people aboard. After her meeting with Putin, Merkel said of the plane catastrophe in Tehran: 'It is good that those who are responsible are known and I believe that everything has to be done now to find a solution with those countries where those who are affected came from.' The German and Russian leaders also discussed the conflict in war-torn Libya. Putin said he supports Germany's proposal for a conference on resolving the Libyan crisis. Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel pose for a photo prior to the talks in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks during her and Russian President Vladimir Putin joint news conference following their talks in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Saturday 'We think Germany's initiative to host an international conference on Libya in Berlin is timely,' he said. 'The Berlin conference needs to ensure attendance of those states that are truly determined to help resolve the Libya crisis so that it could bring about tangible results. What is more important is that its decisions should be negotiated in a preliminary plan with the Libyan parties.' Putin also brushed off recent claims that mercenaries from a Russian company connected to a Putin ally were fighting in Libya on the side of a renegade general. He said that if any Russians are there, they do not represent the government. Merkel and Putin also discussed efforts to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine and prospects for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would ship Russian gas to Germany. U.S. sanctions have obstructed construction of the pipeline. In western Canada, a community comes together to mourn plane crash victims. Fifty-seven of the 176 killed when the Ukrainian jet was shot down over Iran were Canadians and 13 of those were members of Edmontons Iranian community. Al Jazeeras David Mercer reports from Edmonton, where the community has been hit particularly hard. An immense stretch of ecologically valuable woodlands and open space covering four Bay Area counties has been targeted by Gov. Gavin Newsom and state legislators to become the first major property added to the California state park system since the 1940s. The governors $222 billion budget includes $20 million to acquire potential parkland. During his news conference on the budget Friday, Newsom refused to identify the site, warning that it could boost the cost. But legislators confirmed Saturday that the property in question was the N3 Ranch, an 80-square-mile swath of land an hours drive from San Francisco. The ranch, on sale for the first time in 85 years, includes canyons, woodlands, grasslands and meadows in Santa Clara, Alameda, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties. The asking price is $72 million. Blanchard; John This is an extraordinary opportunity to acquire this pristine open space 50 times larger than Golden Gate Park and a few bus stops away from millions of Bay Area residents, said state Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, one of 15 Bay Area legislators who signed a letter Jan. 6 urging Newsom to allocate state funds to acquire the ranch. Its pristine wildlands, important Bay Area watershed and it could provide extraordinary passive recreation opportunities on trails and hills, he said. This is not something in the foothills of the Sierras. This is in our backyard. The idea is to combine the state money with about $30 million raised by the Nature Conservancy, Trust for Public Land and other potential contributors. Todd Renfrew, the broker and principal owner of California Outdoor Properties of Vacaville, told The Chronicle that he has received interest from local and international buyers, including owners of neighboring ranches. Some potential buyers have inquired about possibly subdividing the property, but Renfrew said the owners want to keep the property whole. The land, which includes 200 miles of dirt roads for hiking, running and biking, has been owned by the Vickers and Naftzger families since the early 1930s. It was put up for sale in July by two surviving sisters who live in Southern California and rarely visit the ranch anymore. The property, which is only 15 minutes from downtown Livermore, includes a four-bedroom home, barns, sheds, 14 hunting camps with cabins, skinning sheds and grazing land for up to 3,200 cows. Were impressed by the stewardship of the N3 Ranch for the past eight decades and its unique conservation values, including the size and scope of the property, its sharp-cragged backcountry terrain, and its habitat for species of interest, said Mike Sweeney, executive director of the California branch of the Nature Conservancy. Wed like to see N3 protected. The N3 would be difficult to develop because it is remote and rugged, while building on it would require major changes in zoning. The property also is covered by the 1965 Williamson Act, which allows owners to reduce their annual property taxes in exchange for preserving the land as farmland and open space. The potential property tax hit and the cost of new infrastructure like roads, sewer, electricity and water is why the state and its potential partners believe they can acquire the land for less than the asking price. There is, however, real value in how much unspoiled habitat is on the land, according to everyone involved. The 50,500-acre property stretches from Tracy to Del Valle Reservoir and from Calaveras and San Antonio reservoirs to both the Sunol and Ohlone regional wilderness areas. The Alameda Creek watershed, which supplies water to San Francisco, runs through the property. 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 land includes 4,089-foot Eylar Mountain, skirts the east side of Mission Peak and runs up toward Mount Diablo State Park and Henry Coe State Park. It is habitat for mountain lions, coyote, bobcats, fox, elk, deer and migrating birds. And it is huge, covering 19,935 acres in Santa Clara, 16,880 acres in Alameda, 4,590 acres in Stanislaus, and 9,095 acres in San Joaquin County. Thats bigger than San Francisco and more than twice the size of nearby Mount Diablo State Park. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, said Democratic state Sen. Jerry Hill, who represents San Mateo and Santa Clara counties and also signed the letter. This would protect acres of ranchland and wilderness by creating a new state park. It would pay dividends for generations to come in an area that needs recreational opportunities. California, which created its state park system in 1864, has about 280 parks, more than any other state. They cover 1.5 million acres, including 280 miles of coastline and 625 miles of lake and riverfront. Only Alaska has more land, 3.2 million acres, devoted to state parks. The park system has recently been plagued by budget shortfalls, requiring closures a few years ago. A park the size of N3 hasnt been added to the system in more than 70 years. If we dont acquire this we lose the opportunity, Glazer said. This would be a new state park of extraordinary size and importance. Peter Fimrite is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: pfimrite@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @pfimrite The Greens have ruled out supporting the Government amid increasing election speculation while ministers have openly confirmed there is now a growing chance of a February poll. With general election fever mounting, opposition TDs agreed that the current Dail could not function with the Fine Gael-led minority government running out of support. The Dail arithmetic changed over the weekend as TDs indicated they would not support the embattled coalition Speaking on RTE's The Week in Politics, Green leader Eamon Ryan said neither he or his party had held no talks with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on supporting Fine Gael in the Dail, adding: I don't think we will. He also confirmed his party had already ruled out supporting Health Minister Simon Harris if other opposition TDs tabled a vote of no confidence in him. I think it's [the election] a matter of weeks. All the indicators are it is going to be sooner rather than later," Mr Ryan added. His remarks came after a weekend in which support shifted away from Fine Gael. Independent TD Michael Lowry said he believed an election would be called before any confidence vote and that speculation on his voting position, where he usually supports the coalition, was "immaterial". It also emerged that Independent TD Noel Grealish, who has until recently backed the coalition, would likely abstain in any confidence vote, according to reports. Elsewhere, rebel Fianna Fail TD John McGuinness reiterated to Newstalk that he would vote against the Government in any confidence vote, breaching the Fine Gael confidence and supply deal with his party. All these developments combined to reduce Fine Gael's parliamentary control. 'Strong possibility' of February election Sinn Fein TD Pearse Doherty weighed into the debate, also telling RTE the road has clearly run out for this Government. Mr Doherty called for an end to what he termed the charade and fake war between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail. Voters are angry over issues, such as the health crisis, he said. Earlier, government chief whip Sean Kyne said he believed there was "strong possibility" of a general election in early February. Arts Minister Josepha Madigan said Fine Gael had put the economy back on track in recent years and the next government needed a strong mandate to continue the Brexit negotiations between the EU and Britain She also denied a claim from Fianna Fail that the government is trying to "buy the election" after making funding announcements totaling more than 550m in recent days. Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) is gearing up to host the second edition of its flagship event, Abu Dhabi Sustainable Finance Forum (ADSFF), a media report said. Some of the worlds most prominent finance professionals are expected to convene at the forum and discuss key topics and issues within the realm of sustainable finance and investment, reported state-run news agency Wam. The event is set to take place during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, ADSW, at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre from 09:00 to 14:00 on January 15. ADSFF will also serve as a launchpad for the unveiling of the UAE Sustainable Finance Guidelines and the second round of signatories of the Abu Dhabi Sustainable Finance Declaration. Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State and Chairman of ADGM said: "We are pleased to host our annual Abu Dhabi Sustainable Finance Forum and looks forward to welcoming the eminent speakers and participants. The Forum is an extension of ADGMs ongoing commitment to drive sustainable finance practice and support the UAEs sustainability priorities." The list of prominent speakers includes Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, CEO of Alliances for Global Sustainability and Founder of the Circle of Hope Foundation, Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, Group CFO of ADNOC Group, and Salama Al Ameemi, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Social Contribution (Maan) and many other world leaders. With over 200 delegates in attendance of the inaugural ASDFF 2019, the event served as the firing table for several key announcements. The Abu Dhabi Sustainable Finance Declaration was launched, where the commitment of 25 prominent public and private entities across the UAE was forged in an effort to foster sustainability and support the health of the UAEs economy. In order to maintain the momentum of last years successful launch, this years agenda is highlighted by a series of panel discussions, key addresses, exciting announcements and live ceremonies from leading key players within the financial industry. YouTuber Brittani Boren Leach revealed on Saturday that she buried her three-month-old son in a gown made from her wedding dress following his sudden death over the holidays. 'Oh how I wish this picture was taken today, I would give anything just to hold him this close again,' Leach wrote in the caption of a sweet photo that shows her holding Crew. 'Those of you who were following me before and "knew" Crew, knew he lived in this wrap. It was his favorite place to be. 'We buried him dressed in a gown made from my wedding dress, with a small favorite toy from each of his siblings, and this striped wrap placed snugly over him. I figured, who is better to carry him until I get there, than Jesus,' Leach said. She continued: 'If I could say one thing to you, here it is. Take all the pictures. Forget the laundry. Forget the dishes. It really doesnt matter. Just love your babies. Breathe in their scent. Memorize their smile. And love them really really hard.' The mom vlogger, 29, who has three other sons and a stepdaughter with her husband Jeff, held a funeral for Crew last week. Scroll down for video YouTuber Brittani Boren Leach revealed on Saturday that she buried her three-month-old son, Crew, in a gown made from her wedding dress following his sudden death over the holidays. She shared this photo of her holding Crew 'We buried him dressed in a gown made from my wedding dress, with a small favorite toy from each of his siblings, and this striped wrap placed snugly over him,' Leach said The mom vlogger, 29, who has three other sons and a stepdaughter with her husband Jeff, held a funeral (Crew's coffin) for Crew last week 'We laid our sweet baby boy to rest today, and a part of me went with him. During his memorial, Carter reached over and grabbed my hand. Then Cooper laid his hand on ours and then Sydney laid hers on top. Im so so proud of them. 'We will always feel like we are missing a piece of our family, because we are. And until we get to Heaven, I know hes smiling, laughing and playing at the feet of Jesus,' she wrote in the caption of an Instagram post. 'I just wish he was here instead,' Leach wrote, adding that her family 'laid a tiny blue cape with a C on it over his casket to celebrate our little Hero Crew'. Leach announced the devastating news of little Crew's death on her Instagram page on December 30. At the time, she shared a series of heartbreaking images alongside her tiny son in the hospital. It is not known exactly what caused Crew to become unresponsive but Leach explained he was found not breathing at a relative's house on Christmas Day. She told fans the family had decided to donate his organs, adding: 'The pain is unbearable. I keep thinking that I will wake up from this nightmare, but I dont.' Brittani said: 'We are living a nightmare, and Im dying inside. This cant be real.' She was also forced to hit back at trolls who questioned her intentions in the wake of the tragedy. Leach said: 'Please keep in mind that we can see your comments, questions and conversations with one another. Put yourself in our shoes(which is impossible to do) and ask yourself If youd want to read what youre about to write or say.' Leach shared a series of heartbreaking images alongside her tiny son in hospital leading up to his death in December It is not known exactly what caused Crew to become unresponsive but Leach explained he was found not breathing at a relative's house on Christmas Day The YouTuber reportedly hit back at one follower who asked 'is it real?', replying: 'If you haven't been in my shoes, consider yourself blessed, and go watch TV because this is MY real life.' Thanking those who have already offered support Leach's husband Jeff wrote on Facebook: 'Unfortunately, there are also people out there who do not have pure intentions when they follow or comment on our family. Only they can explain their motivations. 'The last few days have been a nightmare for our family. We love our son with all our heart. We didnt ask for this. We don't expect anything from anyone. We are not prepared for the attention we are receiving.' Leach, who is based in Texas, had first told her 736,000 followers on Instagram that Crew had fallen ill on December 26. Sharing a picture holding his tiny hand she wrote: 'While at a relatives house last night, Crew laid down for a nap and when I went to check on him, he was not breathing.' Her next post showed the YouTube star crying as she tended to the youngster, explaining he was on a ventilator. Leach, who vlogs about being a mother, wrote: 'I cant explain to you what this feels like. This kind of thing only happens to "other" people. Not me. I just want to crawl in bed with my baby and nurse him. 'Please continue to pray. Please. I dont think I can go on without him.' 'I keep thinking that I will wake up from this nightmare, but I don't', Leach wrote Calling the pain 'unbearable' Leach (pictured) said her baby son fell ill on Christmas Day Leach with her husband Jeff, their four sons and her stepdaughter on Christmas Day Leach vlogs about being a mom. She is pictured pregnant with Crew, left, and with her son On December 27 she announced: 'Crew's tiny earthly body is still with us, although I know hes already dancing and playing in Heaven. We have some hard decisions to make over the next 12 hours, that no parent should ever have to make. 'I keep thinking that I will wake up from this nightmare, but I dont.' A heartbreaking image showed Brittani and her husband Jeff with baby Crew. She added: 'Its all just too much. All of it. I know God has a plan for this, but Im really really mad at him right now. 'I cry behind the bathroom door while Jeff holds me, because in the room over everyone else gets to laugh and go on with their lives, and it makes me so angry. 'Running tests on my sons body to see how his organs are functioning before they take them. Pumping breastmilk just to pour it down the drain. Hearing a baby cry. Seeing a baby his age. Shopping Nordstrom for the dress Ill wear to my sons funeral. 'Its all too much. Im sorry to vent, but this is my heart. And I need all the prayers to get through this.' Crew was then given an 'honor walk' Leach said before his organs were donated to 'potentially save 3 to 4 babies lives'. Granger Smith's wife Amber wrote to Leach to say: 'I know your fear and your anger and shock.' The couple lost their three-year-old son River to a drowning accident at the family's Texas home in June 2019. Leach had earlier shared images from wishing followers a Merry Christmas from her 'very loud, crazy, and beautiful blended family'. A touching image showed Crew surrounded by his siblings and parents. A GoFundMe page set up to help the family raised more than $122,000. Doctors and public health experts from San Antonio will make up the bulk of a revitalized statewide task force dedicated to chronic kidney disease. Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott appointed 16 people to the task force, six of whom are from San Antonio. The group is also chaired by another San Antonian, Dr. Francisco Cigarroa, a transplant surgeon affiliated with UT Health San Antonio who previously served as the institutions president and as chancellor of the University of Texas system. Abbott previously appointed Dr. Kumar Sharma, director of the Center for Renal Precision Medicine at UT Health San Antonio, to the task force in December. The chronic kidney disease task force previously existed, but its work lapsed several years ago. It was re-established last year with House Bill 1225, which was sponsored in the Texas Senate by Sen. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio at the heart of burgeoning kidney disease crisis Its mandate is to focus on management, prevention, early detection and diagnosis of the disease, which is often characterized as a silent killer because of its lack of symptoms until later stages. Task force members will also be involved in educating health care professionals. The large proportion of San Antonio members on the task force, appointed Wednesday, is because of the citys high rates of kidney disease, which is mainly caused by diabetes and untreated high blood pressure. We have such a burden, economically and on our health care system, here in San Antonio and on down the South Texas region, said Tiffany Jones-Smith, a task force appointee who heads up the San Antonio-based Texas Kidney Foundation. Were one of the hardest-hit areas in the nation for chronic kidney disease. As a result, the area has a high concentration of kidney specialists and researchers, who make up the bulk of San Antonios task force members. On ExpressNews.com: A scary disease: Children with Type 2 diabetes suffer from advanced complications, study finds They include Anil Mangla, director of public health with the University of the Incarnate Words School of Osteopathic Medicine; Dr. Francis Wright, who has served as surgical director and transplant surgeon at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital since 1994; Dr. Reza Mizani, founder and CEO of South Texas Renal Care Group; Dr. Navid Saigal, president and CEO of Renal Associates; and Dr. Bruce Brockway, medical director of the Kidney Treatment Centers of San Antonio and the Kidney and Blood Pressure Clinic of San Antonio. Mangla, whose research focuses on social factors influence on peoples health, said the rate of kidney failure in Texas is 11.6 cases per 1,000 people, a rate that rises to 13.4 for Bexar County and a staggering 33 in San Antonios City Council District 3, which encompasses much of the South Side. While medical treatment is important, Mangla said, other factors play a huge role in the prevalence of diabetes and accompanying kidney disease in San Antonio, including environmental, socioeconomic and genetic factors. For people in South Texas, screenings need to be conducted early in life, even among teenagers, he said. I want to make sure that people dont go through it because its difficult and it takes its toll for individuals, not just health but mental health as well, said Mangla, who was on dialysis for eight years before receiving a kidney transplant. On ExpressNews.com: New hope for kidney disease patients in San Antonio Mizani, who has practiced as a kidney specialist since 2004, said the type of diabetes he sees in his patients is more aggressive and is striking people at younger ages, resulting in organ damage and other complications. The task force will provide an opportunity to dig into Texas data and examine differences based on region, genetics and access to health care or insurance, he said. Nationally, public health leaders have also recognized the need to alleviate the growing burden of kidney disease on the health care system, including the rising number of patients in need of dialysis or an organ transplant. On average, caring for end-stage renal disease costs about $89,000 per patient per year, said Jones-Smith of the Texas Kidney Foundation. Last year, the Trump administration unveiled a plan to improve care for kidney disease patients nationwide and reduce kidney failure rates 25 percent over the next decade. The plan, which was accompanied by an executive order, included pledges to overhaul the dialysis and organ procurement systems. More and more, legislators, health care providers are realizing this is an illness that you have to pay attention to, Mizani said. Significant focus has been on cancer and cardiovascular disease. Now, were showing that this is something to really talk about and think about. Correction: This article has been updated to reflect that an additional person from San Antonio was previously appointed to the task force. Lauren Caruba covers health care and medicine in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | lcaruba@express-news.net | Twitter: @LaurenCaruba Researchers have devised a straightforward technique for building a laboratory device known as an electroporator -- which applies a jolt of electricity to temporarily open cell walls -- from inexpensive components, including a piezoelectric crystal taken from a butane lighter. The goal would be to make the low-cost device available to high schools, budget-pressed laboratories and other organizations whose research might otherwise be limited by access to conventional lab-grade electroporators. Plans for the device, known as the ElectroPen, are being made available, along with the files necessary for creating a 3D-printed casing "Our goal with the ElectroPen was to make it possible for high schools, budget-conscious laboratories and even those working in remote locations without access to electricity to perform experiments or processes involving electroporation," said M. Saad Bhamla, an assistant professor in Georgia Tech's School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. "This is another example of looking for ways to bypass economic limitations to advance scientific research by putting this capability into the hands of many more scientists and aspiring scientists." In a study to be reported January 9 in the journal PLOS Biology and sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, the researchers detail the method for constructing the ElectroPen, which is capable of generating short bursts of more than 2,000 volts needed for a wide range of laboratory tasks. One of the primary jobs of a cell membrane is to serve as a protective border, sheltering the inner workings of a living cell from the outside environment. But all it takes is a brief jolt of electricity for that membrane to temporarily open and allow foreign molecules to flow in -- a process called electroporation, which has been used for decades in molecular biology labs for tasks ranging from bacterial detection to genetic engineering. advertisement Despite how commonplace the practice has become, the high cost of electroporators and their reliance on a source of electricity has kept the technique mostly within the confines of academic or professional labs. Bhamla and undergraduate student Gaurav Byagathvalli set out to change that, with help from collaborators Soham Sinha, Yan Zhang, Assistant Professor Mark Styczynski and Lambert High School teacher Janet Standeven. "Once we decided to tackle this issue, we began to explore the inner workings of electroporators to understand why they are so bulky and expensive," said Byagathvalli. "Since their conception in the early 1980s, electroporators have not had significant changes in design, sparking the question of whether we could achieve the same output at a fraction of the cost. When we identified a lighter that could produce these high voltages through piezoelectricity, we were excited to uncover new mysteries behind this common tool." In addition to the piezoelectric lighter crystal -- which generates current when pressure is applied to it -- the other parts in the device include copper-plated wire, heat-shrinking wire insulator and aluminum tape. To hold it all together, the researchers designed a 3D-printed casing that also serves as its activator. With all the parts on hand, the device can be assembled in 15 minutes, the researchers reported. While the ElectroPen is not designed to replace a lab-grade electroporator, which costs thousands of dollars and is capable of processing a broad range of cell mixtures, the device is still highly capable of performing tasks when high volumes are not required. The researchers tested several different lighter crystals to find ones that produced a consistent voltage using a spring-based mechanism. To understand more about how the lighters function, the team used a high-speed camera at 1,057 frames-per-second to view their mechanics in slow motion. advertisement "One of the fundamental reasons this device works is that the piezoelectric crystal produces a consistently-high voltage, independent of the amount of force applied by the user," Bhamla said. "Our experiments showed that the hammer in these lighters is able to achieve acceleration of 3,000 Gs, which explains why it is capable of generating such a high burst of voltage." To test its capabilities, the researchers used the device on samples of E. coli to add a chemical that makes the bacterial cells fluorescent under special lights, illuminating the cell parts and making them easier to identify. Similar techniques could be used in a lab or in remote field operations to detect the presence of bacteria or other cells. The team also evaluated whether the device was easy to use, shipping the assembled ElectroPens to students at other universities and high schools. "The research teams were able to successfully obtain the same fluorescence expression, which I think validates how easily these devices can be disseminated and adopted by students across the globe," Bhamla said. To that end, the researchers have made available the plans for how to build the device, along with digital files to be used by a 3D printer to fabricate the casing and actuator. Next steps of the research include testing a broader range of lighters looking for consistent voltages across a wider range, with the goal of creating ElectroPens of varying voltages. This research was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under grant No. 1817334, the Mindlin Foundation under grant No. MF19-1T1P03, the National Institutes of Health under grant No. R01-EB022592. LONDON (AP) British police say it was an error of judgment to include environmental protest group Extinction Rebellion in an official document that listed extremist organizations. The counterterrorism police unit for southeast England included the climate change protesters alongside Islamic extremists and banned neo-Nazi group National Action in a guide to "safeguarding young people and adults from ideological extremism," The Guardian newspaper reported. The guide said that while concern about climate change is not in itself extreme, activists may encourage vulnerable people to perform acts of violence. The Guardian said in its Saturday edition that the document, dated November 2019, was distributed to teachers, police officers and schools but later withdrawn. I would like to make it quite clear that we do not classify Extinction Rebellion as an extremist organization," said Detective Chief Superintendent Kath Barnes, head of Counterterrorism Policing South East. "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." Extinction Rebellion condemned the terrorism slur as a deliberate attempt to silence a legitimate cause. The group has staged protests around the world, often involving peaceful civil disobedience, to call for tougher action to fight global warming. Hundreds of its activists have been arrested in Britain over the past year as the group blocked roads and bridges and disrupted planes, trains and subways. The recent resignation of Eskom chair Jabu Mabuza is the latest symptom of a big power struggle over the utility, according to a report by the Sunday Times. Deputy President David Mabuza has reportedly accused public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan of misleading President Cyril Ramaphosa into believing that there would be no load-shedding until 13 January. Following the implementation of load-shedding in the past week, Jabu Mabuza apologised to the president and resigned from his position as Eskom chairperson. According to the report, several other Eskom board members are preparing to resign following Mabuzas example, including Sindisiwe Mabaso-Koy, who tendered her resignation to Gordhan on Thursday. Gordhan vs Mabuza The situation at Eskom has led Gordhans detractors, including deputy president David Mabuza, to call for political responsibility for Eskom to shift to energy minister Gwede Mantashe. Sources told the Sunday Times that the deputy president is frustrated with Gordhan for blocking the appointment of his allies at state-owned companies. According to the report, Mabuza has been unhappy with Gordhans habit of going over his head to report to Ramaphosa directly on Eskom-related issues. ANC Womens League president Bathabile Dlamini has echoed the deputy presidents perspective, arguing that the government should move Eskom away from Gordhans department of public enterprises and to the department of energy. You cant have the strategy of energy in one department and in another department have Eskom having a different strategy, she said. Ramaphosa has stated that deputy president Mabuza is fully capable of leading the Eskom recovery effort. The deputy president will continue to lead the process to ensure we do reach stability in Eskom through the war room; he is going to continue leading with other ministers. Despite Ramaphosas confidence in the public enterprise minister, anti-Gordhan sentiment has reportedly infiltrated the faction which backs Ramaphosa, with members of the national executive committee appearing frustrated with the ministers lack of results. Gwede Mantashes union ties If energy minister Gwede Mantashe gains oversight of the Eskom recovery effort, this may result in the stagnation of renewable energy projects which may prolong load-shedding at the power utility, according to a recent report by Bloomberg. Increased use of solar and wind energy would reduce South Africas reliance on coal, which is currently used to generate the bulk of electricity used in South Africa. However, the adoption of this technology would spell bad news for around 87,000 coal miners, many of whom are part of the national union which Mantashe led from 1998 to 2006. Mantashe does not believe in privatisation and is a trade unionist at heart, an analyst told Bloomberg. Now read: Eskom chairman Jabu Mabuza resigns Former Bigg Boss contestants Ashmit Patel and Maheck Chahal, who got engaged in 2017, have parted ways. The two actors confirmed the news of their break-up to The Times Of India. Maheck told the newspaper that it was she who ended their five-year-long relationship. I left Ashmit. I had to take that step and walk out, she said. Ashmit, too, admitted that they had called it quits but refused to divulge any further details. Its true that we are no longer together. I would request privacy on this matter, and would not like to comment, he said. According to a source, it has been a few months since Ashmit and Maheck broke up. They got engaged in August 2017, and were planning a destination wedding a year later. However compatibility issues cropped up and so, they decided to push the wedding. Things gradually deteriorated, and a few months ago, they finally parted ways, the insider revealed. Also read | Javed Akhtar on Farhan Akhtar-Shibani Dandekar marriage rumours: You never know, children can be very secretive In August 2017, Ashmit popped the question to Maheck at a restaurant, while they were on a romantic holiday in Spain. In an interview with Bombay Times, Maheck had said that she had not seen Ashmits proposal coming at all. She said, I was so surprised, that I laughed out loud. Since we were not sure which finger - right or left - the ring should be worn on, we paused for a while. He then went down on his knees and the entire restaurant cheered for us. It was a very romantic proposal. Ashmit and Maheck had announced their engagement by sharing pictures of the proposal on Instagram, but the posts have now been deleted. Ashmit, who made his Bollywood debut with Vikram Bhatts Inteha in 2003, has appeared in a number of films including Murder, Dil Diya Hai and Fight Club. He was the second runner-up of Bigg Boss 4. Maheck, meanwhile, was the first runner-up of Bigg Boss 5. She has acted in films such as Nayee Padosan and Wanted. Follow @htshowbiz for more By PTI SRINAGAR: Three "most wanted" Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists were killed on Sunday in an encounter with security forces in the Tral area of Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, police said. The terrorists -- Umer Fayaz Lone alias "Hamad Khan" of Seer village, Faizan Hamid of Mandoora and Adil Bashir Mir alias "Abu Dujana" of Monghama -- were wanted for their complicity in terror crimes, including attacks on security establishments and civilian atrocities, a police spokesman said. He said the trio were affiliated with the proscribed Hizbul Mujahideen terror outfit and were trapped during a cordon-and-search operation jointly launched by police and security forces on a specific intelligence input in the Gujar Basti Gulshanpora area of Tral. As the forces were conducting searches, the militants fired at them, triggering an encounter, resulting in their killing, the spokesman said. According to police records, the spokesman said, Lone had a long history of terror crimes since 2016 and was involved in planning and executing several terror attacks in the area. "He was part of groups responsible for carrying out a series of terror attacks and many other civilian atrocities besides killing of policeman Haleem Kohli of Gutroo Bangdar Tral and killing of civilian Mehraj Din Zarger of Tral," he said, adding he was wanted in 16 cases registered at Tral police station and two cases at Awantipora police station. Similarly, the spokesman said, Adil Bashir Mir and Faizan Hamid had a history of terror crimes and were also involved in carrying out several terror attacks in the area. "They were also part of the group involved in the killing of civilian Mehraj Din Zarger near Tral Bus Stand and were responsible for several other terror crimes. Terror crime cases were registered against both of them including three cases at Tral Police Station. "Incriminating material, arms and ammunition were recovered from the site of the encounter," the spokesman said. Agra (Uttar Pradesh) [India], Jan 12 (ANI): Agra police on Saturday resorted to lathi-charge to disperse protesters of two student outfits at Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar University. The protesters belonging to National Students' Union of India and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) were subjected to baton charge by police while they were returning after submitting a memorandum to City Magistrate in connection with JNU Violence. Police used force to disperse them, fearing a scuffle between the workers of two rival outfits. Sharing details of the incident, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Agra, Saurabh Dixit said, "They were dispersed using minimum force, as police suspected that a scuffle might break between the two parties." He also stated that an FIR has been registered against all the parties involved. "Action has been taken against everyone who was trying to spread violence", the official added. Protests have happened in different universities of the country after the JNU violence which occurred in the national capital on January, 5. (ANI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has called a meeting on Monday to discuss the blast at a chemical factory in Palghar which killed eight people, and whether such hazardous units should be allowed to run, state Industries Minister Subhash Desai said. Desai also said that an inquiry would be conducted into how an under-construction factory building was allowed to carry out testings. "Action would be taken against those found to be at fault," the minister said. He was speaking to reporters on Sunday after visiting the blast site in Boisar area here, located around 100 km from Mumbai, to get first-hand information about the mishap and the damage caused by it. It was also found that permission was for a single- storey structure whereas construction was underway till the third floor, officials said during Desai's visit. Desai said the Vasai office of the state government's Department of Industrial Health and Safety (DISH) will be shifted to Palghar as the area has sprawling industrial estates and manufacturing units. The blast took place on Saturday evening during the testing of some chemicals at the under-construction plant of Ank Pharma in a Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) area of Boisar, killing eight people and injuring seven others, including the unit owner. "The chief minister will discuss the issue of such industries with various department heads and ministers at 'Mantralaya' (secretariat) tomorrow and take a policy decision on whether to allow such hazardous industries to continue operating," Desai said. Meanwhile, Palghar District Collector Kailas Shinde has asked the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health and the MIDC to submit a preliminary report on the blast. Disaster disaster control cell chief Vivekananda Kadam said search operations were called off after the body of a missing girl was recovered from the debris at the blast site. District Guardian Minister Dada Buse also visited the blast site on Sunday for a detailed review of the incident. He earlier rushed to the site on Saturday night after the mishap and said as per preliminary reports, the plant had permission from the authorities concerned to carry out testing of machineries. "However, the district health and safety officials will visit the site today and carry out an inspection. Based on their report, police will take further action," he said. As of now, an accidental death report has been registered, an official at Boisar police station said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Cabinet approves agreement b/w India, Mongolia on coopn in exploration of Outer Space New Delhi, Jan 8 (UNI) The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its approval for an agreement between the Indian Government and Government of Mongolia on cooperation in the exploration and uses of Outer Space for peaceful and civilian purposes. The agreement was signed at New Delhi on September 20, 2019 during the state visit of the President of Mongolia to India, an official statement said on Wednesday. This agreement will enable pursuing the potential interest areas of cooperation such as, space science, technology and applications including remote sensing of the earth; satellite communication and satellite based navigation; Space science and planetary exploration; use of spacecraft and space systems and ground system; and application of space technology. An India flight was forced to return to the airport here after a woman passenger claimed that she had explosives and threatened to blow up the aircraft mid-air but it turned out to be a hoax, officials said on Sunday. No bombs were found following a thorough search of the plane after it made an emergency landing and preliminary investigation suggested that it was just a ploy by the woman, who was in an inebriated state, to return to Kolkata, they said. The incident happened on Saturday night after the Mumbai-bound flight carrying 114 passengers took off at 9.57 pm from the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, they said. A few minutes after it took off from the airport, the woman passenger on board allegedly gave a note to one of the cabin crew, asking it to be delivered to the pilot. The note said there were bombs strapped to her body and she would detonate it any moment, an airport official said. Following this, the pilot informed the air traffic controller (ATC) which directed him to return to the city airport, he said. "The ATC had declared full emergency at that time. As soon as the aircraft landed at the airport, it was taken to the isolation bay at 11:46 pm," he said. The passenger was taken into custody by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). A thorough search of the passenger and the aircraft was carried out but no bombs were found, the official said. The woman, in her mid-20s, has been identified as Mohini Mondol who is a resident of Salt Lake area, said a senior officer of the Bidhannagar City Police. The woman was arrested and the medical examination suggested that she was in an inebriated state, the police officer said. "An investigation has been initiated and we are also talking to her family members to find out why she was going to Mumbai," he said. Preliminary investigation revealed that the woman wanted to return to Kolkata and hence pulled off this ploy, the officer said. An India spokesperson stated that the flight operating from Kolkata to Mumbai made a "mid-air turn back for a precautionary landing after a passenger reported carrying explosives and warned of dire consequences". " India operations coordinated with Kolkata ATC to initiate an immediate landing in Kolkata. Post landing, the aircraft was secured with the assistance of airport security staff and all the protocols were followed by the concerned agencies and the individual in question was detained," the spokesperson added. AirAsia India is cooperating and providing all evidence in the investigation, the spokesperson stated.. All the guests were taken care of and were provided with an alternate arrangement of aircraft to Mumbai again, the spokesperson clarified. "Delays caused due to this are regretted, but we would like to reiterate that we prioritize safety and security of our guests and crew at all times," said the spokesperson. Railway Minister on Sunday referred to the famous 'railgaadi' song of actor Ashok Kumar while stressing the need for support of the private sector to accelerate development of the railways. He dismissed speculations of privatisation of the railway network, but highlighted the need for a public-private partnership funding model for the sector. "Some trains are still chugging (moving slowly) like actor Ashok Kumar's 'railgaadi' song (due to lack of infrastructure)," Goyal told reporters here, referring to the song from Hrishikesh Mukherjee's 1968 film "Aashirwad". The film is remembered for the rap-like "railgaadi' song performed by legendary actor late Ashok Kumar. "We want to end the era of slow moving trains by making way for the fast speed-driven MEMU and electric trains, like the trains being run in suburban Mumbai (with the help of private sector)," he said while advocating for reforms in the railways. Asked about the opposition to private investments, Goyal said, "The common public is not opposing it. You might be noticing the noise elsewhere. In fact, people are welcoming that the railway is entering a new era." He said the railways wants to attract an investment of Rs 50 lakh crore in next 12 years to expand the facilities in passenger and goods trains through modernisation. "This big investment is impossible through the railway and government budgets. So, the way out is to work on a public-private partnership (PPP) model," he said. Due to inadequate investments in railways in the past, the government machinery faced the burden, he said, adding that the demand of ticket-seekers in some trains was more than 150 per cent. Allaying fears of privatisation of the railway network, Goyal said, "The is a treasure of the country and its people. This will continue and reins of the railways will remain with the government." Goyal also announced that a special train will soon operate from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh to Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi, which is famous for the Kashi Vishwanath temple. The train will be run by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, the minister said. Before talking to reporters here, the minister offered prayers at the Mahakaleshwar Temple in neighbouring Ujjain. A huge number of devotees from the country and abroad come tothe temple, which is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Goyal said tenders have been issued recently for the infrastructure development and revival of facilities at five railway stations in the country under the PPP model. He also said that tenders may be issued in the coming days to develop Indore and other railway stations in the country under this model. India Begins Deployment of Advanced Weapons System Along China Border - Army Chief Sputnik News 11:55 11.01.2020 New Delhi (Sputnik): China had expressed concern in 2018 over the planned deployment of advanced weapons systems along the 4,057-kilometre border that it shares with India. The Chinese defence ministry has said India should avoid steps that contradict an agreement reached between the two leaderships to maintain peace and tranquility. Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane, in his maiden press briefing in New Delhi, stated that the country has started deploying advanced weapons systems and improved infrastructure along the border with China. "At one point of time it (advanced weapon system) was more towards the Western front (Pakistan). Now we think both borders are equally important. It is in that context that the rebalance is taking place", Naravane outlined on Saturday in New Delhi. While emphasising the balancing of the threat on the nation's eastern borders, Naravane insists on capacity building like roads, habitat, and storage for ammunition in the East. Taking on a growing military relationship between China and Pakistan, Naravane said that deployment at the world's highest battlefield Siachen is crucial for the Indian Army. "It is strategically important. It is from there where collusion (between Pakistan and China) can happen", Naravane said. General Naravane, who spent years along the China border as chief of the army's eastern command and commander of the Assam Rifles, also said that differences along the loosely demarcated Line of Actual Control with China are being settled locally now. "After the strategic guidelines, small differences are sorted locally and not allowed to escalate", Naravane said while adding that it marked an increase in mutual coordination between the armies. In a major development, Naravane announced that all the issues have been resolved between the two sides to set up a military hotline between India's Director General of Military Operations and Western Theatre Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army to ensure peace along the border and defuse tension emerging standoffs effectively and quickly. Strategic guidelines were issued by the leadership of the two countries after an informal summit between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan in April 2018 to build trust and mutual understanding and enhance predictability in the management of border affairs between the militaries of the two South Asian giants. Over the past few years, India has been developing a decades old airfield near the Chinese border along the Line of Actual Control to support the deployment of advanced weapons system at fast pace. The Indian Air Force and Indian Army conducted a first of its kind war games in October 2019 to test readiness along the border with China. The Indian Army has deployed its M-777 howitzer, BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, and mainstream fighter jets along the Chinese border over the last two years. China expressed concern in 2018 over the planned deployment of advanced weapons system along the 4,057-kilometre border that it shares with India. "To maintain peace and stability along the India-China border is an important consensus reached by the two sides", spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Defence Colonel Wu Qian said in 2018. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 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 China Leon Inspection Holding Limited's (HKG:1586) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity. China Leon Inspection Holding has a price to earnings ratio of 28.40, based on the last twelve months. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 3.5%. See our latest analysis for China Leon Inspection Holding How Do You Calculate A P/E Ratio? The formula for price to earnings is: Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share (in the reporting currency) Earnings per Share (EPS) Or for China Leon Inspection Holding: P/E of 28.40 = HK$1.13 (Note: this is the share price in the reporting currency, namely, CNY ) HK$0.04 (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2019.) Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good? The higher the P/E ratio, the higher the price tag of a business, relative to its trailing earnings. That is not a good or a bad thing per se, but a high P/E does imply buyers are optimistic about the future. Does China Leon Inspection Holding Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry? The P/E ratio essentially measures market expectations of a company. You can see in the image below that the average P/E (8.7) for companies in the energy services industry is a lot lower than China Leon Inspection Holding's P/E. SEHK:1586 Price Estimation Relative to Market, January 12th 2020 Its relatively high P/E ratio indicates that China Leon Inspection Holding shareholders think it will perform better than other companies in its industry classification. The market is optimistic about the future, but that doesn't guarantee future growth. So investors should delve deeper. I like to check if company insiders have been buying or selling. How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios When earnings fall, the 'E' decreases, over time. 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. Story continues China Leon Inspection Holding's earnings per share fell by 33% in the last twelve months. And over the longer term (3 years) earnings per share have decreased 15% annually. This growth rate might warrant a low P/E ratio. Remember: P/E Ratios Don't Consider The Balance Sheet The 'Price' in P/E reflects the market capitalization of the company. That means it doesn't take debt or cash into account. The exact same company would hypothetically deserve a higher P/E ratio if it had a strong balance sheet, than if it had a weak one with lots of debt, because a cashed up company can spend on growth. 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. Is Debt Impacting China Leon Inspection Holding's P/E? Since China Leon Inspection Holding holds net cash of CN4.7m, it can spend on growth, justifying a higher P/E ratio than otherwise. The Bottom Line On China Leon Inspection Holding's P/E Ratio China Leon Inspection Holding's P/E is 28.4 which is above average (10.6) 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! When the market is wrong about a stock, it gives savvy investors an opportunity. People often underestimate remarkable growth -- so investors can make money when fast growth is not fully appreciated. 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. New Delhi: Farhan Akhtar and Shibani Dandekar have been painting the town red since a long time. The couple keeps sharing mushy pictures on their respective Instagram handles, giving us an insight into their adorable relationship. Recently, rumours were abuzz that Farhan and Shibani are planning to get married this year. When Farhans father and lyricist Javed Akhtar was asked to comment on the same, he said that he was completely unaware of it. ''I have just heard it from you. I was with Farhan on his birthday, which was the day before yesterday. He didnt tell me anything about this. But you never know, children can be very secretive,'' Javed told The Times Of India in an interview. He showered praise on Shibani and said, I have met her many times. She is a very sweet girl.'' A Mumbai Mirror report claimed that Farhan and Shibani plan to get married this year. ''The plan is to get married towards the year-end, after the release of Farhans next, Toofan. But they might spring a surprise by tying the knot earlier than that. The final date is yet to be decided but Farhan and Shibani have begun preparations for the big day,'' it quoted a source as saying. Farhan and Shibani on their relationship Farhan and Shibani have been in a relationship for almost two years now. Spilling beans about their relationship and flaunting it on social media, Farhan had recently said, "We've been getting to know each other and I couldn't be happier about it. But with the social media world again, we are constantly being told about the things we should be doing (laughs). But ya, I have never felt so comfortable to share my personal stuff but I don't know, I just feel like somehow with celebrating all this, it just feels very natural to me." When Shibani was recently asked about her relationship with Farhan, she had said, "I think a picture speaks a thousand words. When I post something, it's there for the people to see. I don't think you need to write a caption or say something; it's there in the picture(s). Whatever is there is what you want to take and make from it... I don't think we are going out about to hide anything or announce anything. It is what it is." Farhan and Shibani made their relationship official at Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh's Mumbai wedding reception by making an appearance together. They walked in holding hands and posed for the paps. For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Japan-based Corporation, which was also involved in Aaadhaar implementation programme in India, is looking to tap opportunities in smart solutions space in the country and has set a revenue target of $1 billion in five years from here, according to a company official. Besides, the IT solutions provider is betting big on the cyber security segment in view of ever-rising incidents of cyberthreats. Corporation contributed to the implementation of Aadhaar Programme in India by providing its biometrics identification system and has recently completed the trial of a flying car in Japan. The company at present is laying down submarine cable from Chennai to Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a 2,300-km long under sea project expected to be completed in 2020. "We understand that India is a big market. So far we have somewhere around like USD 400 million worth business in India. Within five years probably we look at $1 billion or something like that revenue target," Corporation president and CEO Takashi Niino said. He further said NEC Corp is working on a number of smart solutions aimed at providing better financial services and delivering upgraded facilities at places like airports, shopping centres, offices and hotels. All these sectors in India are growing, Niino said adding that looking at the practice worldwide these all will sooner or later require smart data solutions. NEC's multimodal authentication solutions is called "Bio-IDiom" that performs biometric authentication based on multiple sources, such as face, iris, fingerprint, palm print, finger vein, voice, and ear acoustic information. The Bio-IDiom is in use at Narita International Airport, Tokyo, Niino said. NEC's AI Analysis for road degradation solution can help in identifying the roads having cracks. This solution is best for civic bodies as the AI technology can automatically calculate the crack percentage and flatness of the road. India is moving towards digitization and smart cities are high on government's agenda and these technologies can be part of new India, he said while inviting the customers and investors to Japan to visit its NEC Future Creation Hub in Tokyo. Niino also informed that NEC has successfully completed a fingerprint identification technology trials with newborn children from as young as 2 to 24 hours old, which was not possible with conventional technologies. "With this innovative technology, biometric identification of a new born is possible. Until now Aadhaar is applicable only for a person from age of 5 and above. "This type of technology can help in identification of child by parents in countries where child stealing is prevalent. We at times hear cases of child being changed at hospitals," the NEC Corporation president said. NEC Corporation has over 98,000 employees and operations in public, enterprise, telecom carrier, system platform and various other sectors in over 168 countries and territories, including India. In India, the NEC Laboratories India Ltd has set up two laboratories at Mumbai and Bengaluru where it carries out research and development work for new technologies. A major part of its work in India includes government projects both central and states besides private clientele. John Williams lines up under the U.S.-59 bridge on weekends for help that will make his life outside a little more bearable, but still fall short of what he feels he really needs. Sunday under the bridge by Minute Maid Park is a series of lines: One group providing meals out of a red pick-up truck; Loaves & Fishes offering breakfast (and Jesus); and a group called Homeless Outreach Providing Essentials that distributes hygiene supplies, clothing and blankets. Williams is grateful for the supplies. The jacket will keep him warm in the weather cold for Houston in the 50-degree range and toilet paper is always an important commodity where the usual bathroom is a Porta Potty. Cosmetics and food its nice, said Williams, 45, as he waited for yet another distribution line to open, dressed in a dark puffer with its tag (size 2XL, price $69.99) still attached. He held a blue paper bag with toothpaste, a toothbrush and a roll of toilet paper wrapped in sparkles. But its housing. Housing, housing, housing, housing. On HoustonChronicle.com: As some Houstonians pay $1K for World Series seat, homeless residents earn $5 an hour to park their cars Margaret Dunn, 42, and Jason McReynolds, 46, know the blankets and clothing they hand out will help but wont solve everything. They founded Homeless Outreach Providing Essentials better known as HOPE for Houston in 2016, a year after they got married. Unlike many other homeless-serving organizations, HOPE is secular and nonpolitical. Theres drug addiction, mental health, the ones who dont have the capacity to get themselves the help McReynolds began. Theres people out of prison with no support and no family so its harder to find help, Dunn finished. One organization cannot do everything. On HoustonChronicle.com: Visual essay: How to survive homelesson the streets of Houston They purchase supplies in bulk (socks are the most popular item). For distribution, HOPE lays items on folding tables. People get in line and pick what they need. HOPE gets by on donations. One board member keeps the clothes. Dunn and McReynolds devote their spare room to hygiene supplies. They bring enough for 150 people and usually have enough. As Sunday morning creeps towards noon, the lines clear out but remnants of the charity remain. One woman who wont speak above a whisper walks around in a leopard-print jacket that still has its Charlotte Russe tag. Discarded plates from the morning feeding litter the parking lot. Locks of hair sit around the stools of Hair Angels, a group that provides free cuts to the homeless. Mike Salinas, 51, said he spent 25 years in prison before becoming homeless. (I knew better but didnt wanna follow the law and Im out here and I aint got nothing but a TDC number.) His family doesnt want anything to do with him. He respects that. He comes out for food and supplies. Its always nice to have a day where he doesnt have to worry about a meal. But what he needs, he said, is more help with his medical issues. More Information To donate to Homeless Outreach Providing Essentials for Houston, visit their website at https://www.hopeforhouston.info/ See More Collapse On HoustonChronicle.com: Im a Texan. Not trash: Austins homeless navigate the battle between the city and Gov. Greg Abbott It costs us to get on the train, and you gotta get on the train to get an appointment, he said. I aint got no money. And they catch you on the train without paying, you get a ticket. Salinas is HIV positive, he said, and has depression. They feed you, give us stuff, but what about your medical? he said. Id rather be in prison than on the streets. At least I know Im safe. I cannot live like this. This is not life. sarah.smith@chron.com Fire managers at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks successfully ignited 245 acres on the Sherman Prescribed Burn in July 2019. NPS photo News Release Date: January 8, 2020 Contact: NewsMedia@nps.gov WASHINGTON - National Park Service (NPS) Deputy Director David Vela today announced that the NPS successfully treated 230,308 acres of public land in Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, helping to reduce wildfire risks in Americas national parks and safeguarding nearby communities, natural resources and infrastructure. Prescribed fire was used to treat nearly 207,000 acres, and an additional 24,000 acres were treated by mechanical and other methods. In support of recently issued Executive and Secretarys Orders calling for an increase in active management, 17,000 acres were treated through active vegetation treatments. A robust vegetation management program improves the resiliency of landscapes to wildfires and preserves public lands for a variety of uses and enjoyment by the public. The accomplishments of our fire and aviation programs are vital to meeting our mission as well as the Secretarys priorities, said National Park Service Deputy Director David Vela. We are proud of the dedication and hard work completed over the past year by the men and women of the aviation, structural and wildland fire programs. In FY 2019, the bureau reached a milestone with over 90% of the 31,339 structures listed in the NPS Wildland Fire Geodatabase now surveyed for threats from wildland fire. Also in 2019, the areas adjacent to more than 6,000 structures were treated and the potential of risk from wildfire was reduced. Research in wildland fire to better inform and fuels management is another high priority for the NPS. In 2019, the following five research projects were funded totaling $157,000: Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, California: Effectiveness of Fuel treatments on Wildfire in a Chaparral Community Valles Caldera National Preserve, New Mexico: Identifying Activity Periods of an Endangered Salamander to Facilitate Fuels Treatments Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee/North Carolina: Changes in Woody Fuel Loading and Ericaceous Shrub Cover from 2003 to 2019 in Great Smoky Mountains NP Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, Alaska: Fire and Ice integrated fire research to inform managers on the short and long term impacts of fire and climate on ice-rich permafrost soils, water resources, vegetation and wildlife habitat Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Glacier national parks, Wyoming and Montana: Drivers of Early Postfire Tree Regeneration and Indicators of Forest Resilience in National Parks of the Northern Rocky Mountains Within the NPS Structural Fire Program, NPS revised and updated all structural fire classes and added a hazardous materials class; this provides bureau structural firefighters with all the multi-faceted training needed for certification. More than 150 NPS employees were trained in structural firefighting, including 41 new firefighters, 26 new driver operators and 92 at firefighter refresher classes. In addition, 34 new park structural fire coordinators were trained during 2019. The program has also developed cancer awareness and prevention procedures and a grant to support structural firefighter gear cleaning for cancer prevention in parks. Aviation continues to be an important multidisciplinary program for the NPS. In 2019, aviation resources supported wildland fire, search and rescue, law enforcement, and natural resources studies, surveys, and research missions. Approximately 11,000 hours of flight time, from 7,400 flights were conducted in 2019. In addition to treatment projects conducted domestically, the DOI and U.S. Forest Service (USFS), which is a part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, continue to support ongoing efforts to combat the wildfires in Australia. At the request of the Australian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council, DOI and the USFS have deployed 150 firefighters thus far, 10 total from the NPS. The loss of life, property and environment are devastating in Australia, said U.S. Secretary David Bernhardt. The United States stands with our partners, and we will continue to support Australia in sending our world class personnel to contain these blazes and help protect Australian communities and wildlife. The U.S., Australia and New Zealand have been exchanging fire assistance for more than 15 years as the Australian and New Zealand personnel filled critical needs during peak wildfire season in the United States. The last time the U.S sent firefighters to Australia was in 2010. Learn more about DOI fire and aviation accomplishments throughout the Department of the Interior. Removing bad content, while important, often only makes space for more of the same. Meanwhile, the human mind seeks to make sense of the world. What the democratic citizens mind needs is a broad set of principles to understand and help it navigate the daily information chaos. Just looking at the US today gives us an example. Those who can consistently see through the robust Trump-era lies are those people from the left and right who had a firm, pre-existing notion of how US democracy functions. The knowledge of the system cant be dislodged, no matter how seductive, outrageous or repetitive the disinformation is. Those with a more tenuous understanding of the fundamental facts of their world are much easier to dupe with disinfo. Loading Imagine the political dimension of the fires delineated clearly from the scientific dimension. Imagine how productive the debate could be if it was isolated from the cultural trappings of the political left and right. Instead, though, what we have is a conflation of fact and reality. While experts like economist Ross Garnaut and the CSIRO laid out the risks of climate change and the timeline years ago, the idea of action has been blurred into yet another political caricature of the right to use against the left. If Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack response to the fires in November was to deride "inner-city raving lunatics", can it be any surprise Prime Minister Scott Morrison initially stayed on holiday in Hawaii as the fires advanced? It speaks volumes about how the climate issue has been converted to a political one. Likewise, people concerned about climate change who invoke the issue as a kind of secular religion extend an almost medieval system of moral judgement on swathes of law-abiding fellow citizens. Climate change is real, yes. That doesnt mean people even good people dont feel they dont have something big to lose from the necessary changes. There are parallels to this conflation of complex reality with myth. During the Great Depression, many in the public struggled to see the bust in the 1930s as an economic phenomenon and not a collective piece of moral payback for the financial excesses of the Roaring 1920s. This is in part because of the desire to make sense of the world is what the brain does. The mind thinks in stories and those on the left and the right have integrated the environmental issue into a larger, often incomplete tale. The problem is: democracies cant function properly if there isnt a shared truth, no matter how broad, among the voting public. And yes, the split in our shared reality didnt happen overnight. It has eroded for years with the help a strident, polarising Murdoch media and talkback radio, much of which is spread widely online. But social medias ability to filter the facts, and experience, has accelerated this trend to a crisis level. This is something being learned the hard way in the US, when life and death decisions are being taken on worldviews that are only half-shared within the nation. "Flowery buns" are displayed at a Spring Festival folk art activity held in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, January 10, 2020. An activity on "flowery buns", a dough food shaped in plants and animals, was held here on Friday to promote the folk art in central part of Shaanxi Province as the Spring Festival draws near. [Xinhua/Liu Xiao] Dang Yaxian, an inheritor of the traditional "flowery buns", shows her work during a Spring Festival folk art activity held in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, January 10, 2020. An activity on "flowery buns", a dough food shaped in plants and animals, was held here on Friday to promote the folk art in central part of Shaanxi Province as the Spring Festival draws near. [Xinhua/Liu Xiao] Children observe the traditional "flowery buns" during a Spring Festival folk art activity held in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, January 10, 2020. An activity on "flowery buns", a dough food shaped in plants and animals, was held here on Friday to promote the folk art in central part of Shaanxi Province as the Spring Festival draws near. [Xinhua/Liu Xiao] Children observe the traditional "flowery buns" during a Spring Festival folk art activity held in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, January 10, 2020. An activity on "flowery buns", a dough food shaped in plants and animals, was held here on Friday to promote the folk art in central part of Shaanxi Province as the Spring Festival draws near. [Xinhua/Liu Xiao] "Flowery buns" are displayed at a Spring Festival folk art activity held in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, January 10, 2020. An activity on "flowery buns", a dough food shaped in plants and animals, was held here on Friday to promote the folk art in central part of Shaanxi Province as the Spring Festival draws near. [Xinhua/Liu Xiao] Children hold the mice-shaped buns during a Spring Festival folk art activity held in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, January 10, 2020. An activity on "flowery buns", a dough food shaped in plants and animals, was held here on Friday to promote the folk art in central part of Shaanxi Province as the Spring Festival draws near. [Xinhua/Liu Xiao] Dang Yaxian (C), an inheritor of the traditional "flowery buns", shows the shaping methods to children during a Spring Festival folk art activity held in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, January 10, 2020. An activity on "flowery buns", a dough food shaped in plants and animals, was held here on Friday to promote the folk art in central part of Shaanxi Province as the Spring Festival draws near. [Xinhua/Liu Xiao] "Flowery buns" are displayed at a Spring Festival folk art activity held in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, January 10, 2020. An activity on "flowery buns", a dough food shaped in plants and animals, was held here on Friday to promote the folk art in central part of Shaanxi Province as the Spring Festival draws near. [Xinhua/Liu Xiao] (Source: Xinhua) CHICAGODNA 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 center 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 center. 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 neighborhood 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 turned 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 neighborhood, officials briefly locked down two schools to prevent students from going outside. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot told reporters at a 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 behavior 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. By Don Babwin and Teresa Crawford Fox News Fox News anchor Chris Wallace pressed White House national security adviser Robert OBrien on Sunday over President Donald Trumps claims on Fox News last week that a senior Iranian official killed by U.S. airstrikes was planning imminent attacks on four U.S.embassies, asking why Congress wasnt told of these threats. During a Fox News interview with Laura Ingraham last Friday, the president asserted that it was necessary to kill former Quds Force commander Qassem Soliemani as he believed there would have been four embassies that would have been attacked. This expanded on his previous claims that Soleimani was actively planning an attack on the embassy in Baghdad, something he later revised to multiple embassies. Interviewing OBrien on Fox News Sunday, Wallace noted that members of Congress pointed out that there wasnt a single mention of imminent threats to U.S. embassies during recent intelligence briefings with the Trump administration on Iran. So why is [the president] saying it on television but the top officials didnt tell members of Congress? Wallace wondered aloud. OBrien, meanwhile, asserted that while hes seen the intelligence on this and that it was very strong, he cant release it to the American public but that they should still trust the administration on this. He further noted that the administration has always said that there were severe threats to American diplomats in the region. So I think what the president said is consistent with what weve been saying since day one, OBrien added. It does seem to be a contradiction, Wallace countered. He is telling Laura Ingraham, our esteemed colleague, but in a 75-minute classified briefing your top national security people never mention this to members of Congress. Why not? I wasnt at the briefing and I dont know how the Q&A went back and forth, depends on the questions were asked or how they were phrased, I dont know, I wasnt there, the national security adviser replied. All I can tell you is weve been clear from the start that there were very significant threats to American facilities in the region and American military officials, officers and men and women and also to U.S. diplomats and I think that is consistent with what the president is saying. Story continues Wallace pushed back some more, asking OBrien if he would agree with Trump that there were specific imminent threats to four American embassies, prompting more equivocation from the senior White House official. It is always difficult to know exactly what the targets are but it certainly is consistent with the intelligence to assume they would have hit embassies in at least four countries, OBrien responded. OBriens remarks largely overlap with those of Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who on Sunday said that while he shares the presidents belief that four embassies faced imminent threats from Soleimani, he didnt see any specific evidence to support those claims. 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. Victoria's disaster watchdog has already begun an inquiry into the state's current bushfire crisis as a national royal commission is considered by the Prime Minister. The Inspector-General for Emergency Management has already started a "significant review" of the current season of Victorian bushfires, Premier Daniel Andrews said, but the independent body - formed after the 2009 Black Saturday fires - will likely need additional resources due to the scale of the fires. Premier Daniel Andrews is briefed by emergency services personnel in Orbost Credit:Chris Hopkins The Premier said he had a conversation with Prime Minister Scott Morrison about the potential for a national bushfires royal commission on Sunday morning. "It may well be that the focus of that (consultation) is how do we get a better nationally coordinated effort," Mr Andrews said. When custody, divorce and child support cases bogged down the courts in Livingston, St. Helena and Tangipahoa parishes, a legislator for the area, state Rep. Sherman Mack, came through with a fix. He sponsored a bill in 2013 to create a family court for the 21st Judicial District, a move applauded as long overdue by judges, lawyers and others looking for a streamlined system. The passage of the bill was a win for Macks district, but it was also a personal win for Mack, whose law firm often juggles dozens of family law cases at a time. Soon after the bill became law, attorney Jeff Oglesbee announced he would run for the new judgeship. Oglesbee had spent 10 years working for Macks small, Albany-based law firm, and Mack supported Oglesbees campaign with his endorsement, his money even food he donated for fundraisers. And once Oglesbee won the new family court seat, Mack practiced in front of him. House speaker's race could hinge on Democratic support as Republicans remain split Last month, state Rep. Sherman Mack became the official House GOP-endorsed candidate for speaker, but the race has only heated up since then, Now Mack, a Republican recently elected to his third term, is the leading candidate for one of the most coveted jobs in state government: speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives. Ahead of a key vote Monday, Mack and some of Louisianas most powerful Republicans are working to deliver him the 53 votes needed to win. But as he tries to secure the leadership post, questions around his law practice and his influence over the 21st Judicial District Court continue to surface. Over the past several years, defendants in four separate cases have accused Oglesbee of being in the tank for Mack. Oglesbee has yet to be booted off any of those cases, but two recusal motions in the past five months indicate that litigants headed to family court and their attorneys fear they cannot receive a fair trial when Mack represents the other side in Oglesbees courtroom. Neither Mack nor Oglesbee returned messages for this story. One of the most recent recusal motions filed against Oglesbee did not reach a hearing on the merits but it may have lit a fire to resolve a custody case that had dragged on for three years. A mother fighting for custody of her children filed a recusal motion in September that cited Oglesbees relationship with Mack, who represented the father in the case. Two months later, the parties reached a custody agreement that largely favored the mother. Oglesbee signed off, making the previously requested recusal moot. The motion to recuse Oglesbee described a well-established phenomenon in the 21st judicial district court that the judge was inclined to rule in favor of anyone Mack represented. This phenomenon is apparently rooted in the fact that Judge Oglesbee and Mr. Mack were law partners prior to Judge Oglesbees election, and that Mr. Mack was very active in Judge Oglesbees campaign, and that Mr. Mack and his relatives heavily and disproportionately contributed money to Judge Oglesbees political campaign, reads the motion from Covington-based attorney Richard Ducote. Ducote, who recently ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the state Supreme Court, has been outspoken about allegations of judicial misconduct and has filed multiple lawsuits to declare secrecy rules that govern judicial misconduct investigations unconstitutional. +2 What was the outcome of your Judiciary Commission complaint? The Louisiana Supreme Court announced September 6 that people who filed complaints about judges, judge respondents and witnesses to Judiciary Campaign finance records show that Mack, his family members and his law partners have accounted for 19% of the judges political contributions. Its perfectly legal in Louisiana, and in fact, common, for lawyers to donate money to judicial campaigns and for state legislators to endorse judicial candidates. The states Code of Civil Procedure also does not prohibit a lawyer from practicing law in front of a judge who used to be a partner of his or vice versa. Such appearances arent unusual. But experts say the combination of Macks role sponsoring the bill to create the family court, the 10 years he spent building a law firm with Oglesbee, and his extensive financial support of Oglesbee without either of them disclosing that history to litigants makes their situation unusual. The potential for bias on Oglesbees part may be too strong, they said Louisianas Code of Judicial Conduct states that judges should recuse themselves from cases when their impartiality might reasonably be questioned. The code also instructs judges to avoid an appearance of impropriety at all times. Sherman Mack retains state Representative District 95 seat in Livingston Parish Incumbent Sherman Mack has retained his position as the state Representative for District 95, with an overwhelming win over challenger Robin P Nathan Songy, who spent three and a half years battling a custody lawsuit in Oglesbees Livingston courtroom while Mack represented his ex-wife, said the judge did not live up to those canons in his case. Songy believes the deck was stacked against him once his ex-wife hired Mack to represent her and his case was allotted to Oglesbee. Songy and his ex-wife have joint custody of their children, and Oglesbee awarded him visitation every other weekend one less weekend per month than he had hoped for. The judge wasnt controlling the case, Songy said. Sherman Mack was controlling the courtroom and the case. Deborah Rhode, the director of the Center on the Legal Profession at Stanford Law School, said judicial ethics codes across the nation are clear that judges should avoid an appearance of conflict. The relationship between Mack and Oglesbee is problematic in that regard, she said. Boy, does this create an appearance, she said. Youre not going to be able to be dispassionate and disinterested when its your former partner. Years of recusal motions When Oglesbee was sworn in as a judge in late 2013, Mack told the crowd in attendance how much he would miss him. Ten years ago, we started the biggest small-town practice in the district, Mack said at the time, according to the Livingston Parish News. The two men continued to see a lot of one another, with Mack representing families in the throes of divorce and custody fights, and Oglesbee settling their disputes. In his first year on the bench, Mack had 62 court appearances scheduled in Oglesbees Tangipahoa division alone, some of them repeat appearances for the same cases. Last year, Mack had 103 court events scheduled before Oglesbee in Tangipahoa, according to the judges court calendars. Livingston Parishs online court system does not make judges calendars readily accessible to the public. Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Jefferson Hughes III denies payoff allegation from ex-Hammond councilman Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Jefferson Hughes III acknowledges that he visited a former Hammond city councilman at his home last week to qu Questions about fairness were raised almost immediately. A year after Oglesbee transitioned from lawyer to judge, an attorney filed a motion to recuse Oglesbee from a divorce case in which Mack was the opposing counsel. The attorney, Mary Heck Barrios, was a potential witness in a malpractice lawsuit filed against Oglesbee, stemming from a separate case in which Oglesbee and Barrios had sparred. Barrios argued in court filings that Oglesbee was biased against her because of her potential to testify against him in the other lawsuit. An amended recusal motion also pointed out how financial contributions from the Mack Law Firm had helped propel Oglesbee to the judgeship. State paid $100K in confidential settlement over civil rights claim against Livingston Parish judge Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Jefferson Hughes III is not the only sitting judge in the state to have landed in legal hot water and then del But District Judge Elizabeth Wolfe whose own misconduct in a malicious prosecution lawsuit led to a confidential $100,000 settlement paid by taxpayers in 2016 denied the recusal motion. A three-judge panel on Louisianas 1st Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Wolfes ruling in a 2-1 decision, saying it was speculative to assume Barrios would be called to testify against Oglesbee. The dissenting judge said Barrios presented sufficient evidence of a conflict to reasonably call into question the impartiality of the court. Barrios would try again a few years later, on behalf of a woman whom she represented in a Tangipahoa custody case. The woman asked in 2014 to be named the domiciliary parent for her children and for her ex-husband to be held in contempt of court after he failed to attend court-ordered counseling and displayed temper issues toward their children. But Oglesbee ruled that the children should split time between their parents homes, with neither parent domiciliary, and he denied a request to hold the ex-husband in contempt despite his failure to attend counseling. When her ex-husband requested to reduce child support payments in 2017 as one of their children became of age, the woman filed a motion to recuse Oglesbee from the long-running case. +4 Six candidates seek to fill two open seats on 21st Judicial District Court The only two open seats on the 21st Judicial District Court have each drawn three candidates for the Nov. 4 primary election, while seven incu The recusal motion pointed out the ties between Mack and Oglesbee and noted that even after Oglesbee took the bench, the likeness and image of Judge Oglesbee continued to be openly used by the Mack Law Firm in media and marketing, implying the continued association of the judge with that law firm. Barrios included photos of Macks website that showed Mack and Oglesbee posing alongside three other attorneys. After a hearing, District Judge Brenda Bedsole Ricks denied the recusal motion, but did not explain her reasoning for doing so. Barrios did not return messages for this story. One lawyer who practices family law in Livingston and Tangipahoa told The Advocate that he cautions potential clients from the outset that they face an uphill battle if theyre up against Mack in Oglesbees courtroom. But he was too fearful of retaliation by Oglesbee to question his impartiality publicly. Its a conversation that Songy said he had repeatedly as he looked for attorneys for his custody case. 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 +14 Records: Louisiana Supreme Court justice was subject of FBI probe and he apologized The U.S. Department of Justice is not in the habit of sticking its nose in backroads Louisiana custody battles. I went to five different attorneys in the Livingston/Hammond area, Songy said. And not one of them would take the case because of what was going on with Sherman Mack and Jeff Oglesbee. Nobody told me But while Songy said he was warned early on about Mack and Oglesbees former partnership, others have been caught by surprise. Among them: Scott Bernard, who has been in a custody dispute since 2016 with his 10-year-old sons maternal grandmother, who is represented by Mack. Bernard did not discover until his case was well underway that there were ties between Mack and Oglesbee. Judge Oglesbee didnt tell me, Sherman Mack didnt tell me, my attorney didnt tell me, nobody told me, Bernard said. At minimum, judges should disclose to litigants when their former law partners appear before them, according to John Strait, a Seattle University School of Law professor who served on the committee that issues ethics advisory opinions for judges in Washington state. The judge has an affirmative obligation to inform the litigants, Strait said. Bernard dug into Mack and Oglesbees history after the judge awarded sole custody of his son to the boys maternal grandmother. He said he asked his attorney, Dede Ferrara, to file a motion to recuse Oglesbee. Bernard later wrote in court documents that Ferrara warned him against it, saying that others have tried and paid the consequence. Ferrara did not return messages for this story. Frustrated with Ferraras reluctance to challenge Oglesbee, Bernard looked for another lawyer. He said he called Norma Beedle, who runs the Fighting for Fathers Rights law firm. She asked him who the judge and opposing counsel were, Bernard said. And then Bernard said her message to him was direct: You cannot win. I cannot confirm that conversation happened, Beedle said, when reached for this story. +5 How Louisiana taxpayers wound up reimbursing Judge Jeff Hughes $100K after investigations When Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Jefferson Hughes III came under federal investigation over his handling of a sordid child custody fight t Bernards case is complicated: He was unable to care for his son while serving a federal prison sentence for bank fraud several years ago. His ex-wife, meanwhile, has a documented history of drug addiction that included overdosing while their son was in their home. With both parents sidelined, Bernards son was often in the care of his maternal grandmother. By the time Bernard left prison and set to turning around his life, Bernards son had grown accustomed to that arrangement. Bernard, however, repeatedly argued to the courts that he deserved a second chance. He pointed to his history of making child support payments, his steady work as a contractor, his spiritual calling as a minister and his effort to build a stable home life with a new wife. Still, Oglesbee in 2017 granted the grandmother sole custody of the boy, which came as a devastating blow to Bernard. He appealed. Judicial discipline up close: Joan Benge speaks out about being thrown off the bench The Louisiana Supreme Court has described its power to remove the states elected judges as an awesome responsibility that it wields not si If my case wouldve been in Baton Rouge or anywhere other than Livingston Parish, I wouldve had custody of my son years ago, Bernard said. The 1st Circuit Court of Appeal sought to find a middle ground. A three-judge panel ruled last year that Bernard should not lose all custody rights, especially in light of the strides he has made. But the court also recognized that the boy was thriving in his grandmothers care. The 1st Circuit determined that joint custody, with the grandmother as the domiciliary custodian, was in the boys best interest. The ruling asked Oglesbee to set a visitation schedule. Oglesbee signed a judgment in August that gave Bernard visitation three weekends a month. Bernard feels hes still getting shafted. +3 DA: Judge recused herself due to relationship with Assumption chief deputy; judge disputes claim District Attorney Ricky Babin has told about 20 Assumption Parish criminal defendants that the judge overseeing their cases has disclosed a p Its like I lost three years with my son when I went to prison, but I recovered from that mistake and now Im fighting and fighting, and Im spending thousands of dollars to see him for six days a month and it kills me, Bernard said. If I wouldve known about Sherman Mack before I filed for custody I wouldve hired him myself. If Id have hired Sherman Mack, you know as well as I do I would have my son and full custody now. After Oglesbee set the visitation schedule, Bernard now representing himself sought to recuse the judge from his case. A recusal motion he filed in October references the well-established anomaly in the 21st Judicial District Court in which Oglesbee is presumptively prejudiced and predisposed to rule in favor of Mack and leans on a recent 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals decision about judicial bias. In that 2019 case, the appeals court ruled that the threshold for a judges recusal should be that there is a risk or probability of bias, not proof of actual bias. The court noted how difficult recusal motions can be for all parties involved the attorney filing and fearing retaliation; the judge recusing himself and admitting an inability to be impartial; and potentially a judicial colleague ruling against a fellow judge. +6 DA's office drops recusal motions against Judge Lori Landry in Iberia Parish; DA, judge hug NEW IBERIA After filing hundreds of recusal motions against 16th Judicial District Judge Lori Landry, District Attorney Bo Duhe stood beside It is difficult, to say the least, and most lawyers simply will not try if the burden of proof is set so high, often at the expense of their clients, the decision reads. Attorneys for the grandmother fought back against Bernards recusal motion, with court filings that described it as limited to speculation and hearsay. The filings also said Mack and Oglesbee were never law partners rather, that Oglesbee was an employee of Macks law firm, without an ownership interest. Ad hoc Judge William Burris dismissed the motion to recuse in late November, ruling that it was filed too late, given that a judgment in the custody case had already been rendered. Gray area Louisianas own Code of Judicial Conduct is partially to blame for concerns about when judges should recuse themselves, said Stephen Gillers, a New York University law professor who specializes in legal and judicial ethics. +5 Amid blowback over secrecy, Louisiana Supreme Court changes confidentiality rules Under fire over a cloak of secrecy that envelops misconduct investigations against state judges, the Louisiana Supreme Court on Friday announc He noted that most states have extensive guidance within their own codes on when judges should recuse themselves from cases, often including American Bar Association examples. Louisianas code, on the other hand, contains a single sentence. A judge should disqualify himself or herself in a proceeding in which the judge's impartiality might reasonably be questioned and shall disqualify himself or herself in a proceeding in which disqualification is required by law or applicable Supreme Court rule, the code says. For Gillers, the question of whether Oglesbee should bow out of cases handled by Mack would depend upon the depth of their friendship, which he said would be a more important factor than their past work together and the political support. Your Louisiana Supreme Court should revisit the issue of judicial recusal and expand the language of the code, he said. That sentence is very spare and provides very little guidance to judges with regard to when they may or must recuse. Why the Louisiana Supreme Court has done this is anybodys guess. Kansas City Wants To Eliminate Traffic Deaths Even As Other Cities Struggle To Reach That Goal The Kansas City Council this week will discuss an ambitious proposal to eliminate all traffic deaths by 2030. The measure, dubbed Vision Zero, was introduced following the death of a well-known Kansas City cyclist late last year. Reader warning . . . This pitch from KCUR is just a plan for more bike lanes that haven't proven to keep anybody safe. Any council member who votes for it, hasn't really read it: 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 A nationally-awarded fintech lender has predicted another strong year of growth for the alternative finance sector, highlighting several specific trends that point to its continued success. To date, Prospa has lent $1.2bn across the Australian market to around 20,000 small business customers. In 2019, the fintech brought several tier one, big four Australian banks into its debt funding structure. That was a real moment of maturity for the industry, seeing the institutional banks are now prepared to put hundreds of millions of dollars into this type of product category, said co-founder and co-CEO Beau Bertoli. However, the development was not only exciting for Prospa, but has industry-wide implications. According to Bertoli, Theres a lot more momentum exiting 2019 than there was exiting the year before. A lot more parties are talking about alternate finance products, fintech, working capital solutions and so forth, given the work weve done, along with other lenders in the space, media agencies and advocates for this sector." Head of partnerships Alex Brgudac expects Prospa and the fintech sector as a whole to continue to become more mainstream. The last two years we were recognised through the MFAA as fintech lender of the year and the category didnt even exist before that," he said. Weve only been around a short time, but were having an impact and the industry recognises that. Our team is really proud of the fact were stacking up against organisations thatve been around for a century or more, and flourishing. I just see it growing from there. The increasing acceptance of and reliance on alternative finance will cause offshoot developments that carry even further into the market, according to the Prospa execs. The big trends for 2020 are going to be around product choice. There are a lot more products coming to market now, which is another sign of the maturing of the industry accepting that small business owners dont have one use case and need multiple products to support their businesses," said Bertoli. This makes it easy for a finance broker profiling a customers needs, being able to offer a solution that has more than one product. Directly related is the consolidation already evidenced in the industry and expected to carry into the coming year. Were seeing some of the larger aggregator groups starting to come together and more takeovers happening, said Bertoli. I think in the product spectrum as well, therell be more consolidation from the product manufacturers starting to happen. We havent seen much acquisition activity in the product side but, we should start to see companies coming together to try to get more scale. Haiti - Politic : Jovenel Moise will not abuse decrees, says Chancellor Edmond Monday, the 50th legislature will end without the 51st legislature taking over as stipulated in the Constitution, failing to have been able to hold elections. The departure of all deputies from the lower house and 1/3 of the senators rendering the parliament dysfunctional. Apprehending this situation for several weeks, the community is worried about the coming months, while Haiti will find itself without a legitimate Government, without budget and without Parliament, the Head of State will be alone in command and will govern by decree without any counter power to limit his actions... Conscious of these concerns, Chancellor Bocchit Edmond throughout the week tried to reassure international partners, while he was on tour in Mexico, Washington and New York explaining to his interlocutors "As there will be no Parliament and that the State must continue to function, there will be necessary decisions like the budget, the electoral law among others, decrees are needed to adopt them..." Thursday, Invited to the UN Security Council Chancellor Edmond reassured the members of the Council of the will of President Jovenel Moise "[...] to ensure the continuity of the State without abusing decrees and to put democratic institutions back into operation..." Friday at the State Department, Edmond met with Michael Kozack, the Assistant Secretary of State for Hemispheric Affairs to whom he gave the assurance that President Moise "[...] will take all measures as quickly as possible to make democratic institutions work..." Beyond these declarations which are intended to be diplomatically reassuring, only after January 13 will tell us what it will really be. To be continued... PI/ HaitiLibre Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below. R.M. writes: My father bought a house in Stockport, Greater Manchester, in 1971. Several years ago, a tenant tried to seize ownership by claiming squatter's rights. He persuaded Shelter to back him and provide legal representation. He produced fake energy bills and a fake story to support his case. The case failed when it was found that he earned above the limit for the legal aid he was claiming. Shelter helps poor people who are homeless, but it represented someone we believe to be a fraudster and is now demanding 24,000 in legal costs from my father. Cold front: The charity responded to questions with veiled threats Shelter is one of Britain's best known charities, raising about 60million a year to support its work. But I was surprised to find that its work extends to helping anyone seize a house from its owner. Dealing with Shelter has not been easy. It refused to go further than saying that what you told me was not accurate. But it added that it would only seek costs 'where a court has made a clear finding in favour of one of our clients'. Fine, I replied, just let me have a copy of the court's findings that support the tenant. The response from Shelter spokesman Keji Olutimayin was a refusal and a veiled threat that 'the allegations are untrue and defamatory'. But what was untrue? Was there no tenant, no court case, no help from Shelter, no demand for legal costs? Was Shelter really threatening to sue me if I published your letter about your father's experience? Olutimayin's boss Alice Klein intervened. All Keji really meant, she said, was that it would be false to describe the tenant as a fraudster. This was a step forward, so I asked Klein to explain the evidence which the tenant backed by Shelter had used to claim squatter's rights. He had produced print-outs of bills appearing to show that he paid for gas and electricity at the property. But at least one of those payments involved a company that was not even formed at the date shown on the bill. And to claim squatter's rights, he needed to show that he had been in uncontested occupation of the property for at least 12 years. Yet I scoured public records in Stockport and found clear evidence that he was living elsewhere. Two other tenants, who really had lived in the property, backed this up. During a crucial period, Stockport Council confirmed that the real tenant was receiving the single occupant's discount, with no trace of the squatter. The council even told Shelter seven years ago that its records of people at the address go back to 1994, with no trace of him. What did Alice think of this? And could she let me have a copy of the court findings in favour of the tenant? Her response was to demand that in anything I wrote, neither she nor her threatening colleague Olutimayin should be identified. Was I planning this? If so, 'then my director will want to speak to your editor as a matter of urgency'. I replied that I could hardly stop her. In fact, I would be happy to speak to her director myself. I had been trying from the beginning to get a statement from Shelter bosses Polly Neate or Helen Baker, without success. The issue of costs is confusing. Your father had no solicitor and appears to have believed that he was signing an agreement to end the tenant's case. But it included a vague reference to his liability for costs at an undetermined point in the future. It is this that Shelter relies on now, despite the failure of the tenant's claim. I repeatedly asked Shelter to tell me its policy on giving legal support to seize property, and I asked how many such cases it had financed. It refused to comment. But at the time of the case, Shelter's head of legal services did say that providing legal help to squatters 'is squarely within our charitable objectives'. He explained: 'We are not an accommodation provider, nor are we a soup kitchen or provider of immediate food and clothing.' Shelter advises, supports and represents the homeless and badly housed, and campaigns to change Government policy, he added. We're watching you! The Financial Conduct Authority has issued a warning against an unauthorised investment firm exposed in The Mail on Sunday last October. The firm calls itself Investment Bridge and Investment Chronicle, and has been marketing high-risk loan bonds said to yield 15 per cent interest. It is not connected to the well known Investors Chronicle magazine. I reported that the bonds were to come through a separate company, My Property Stream. Its owner John Gow claimed that Investment Bridge was an outside marketing firm he hired to drum up business. He refused to give any details of the firm unless I guaranteed that he and his company would not be named in my report. The FCA warning advises investors to check its online Financial Services Register of properly authorised and regulated firms and individuals. However, last month the watchdog removed more than 25,000 advisers from its register of currently approved individuals. A check against any of these names now says regulatory approval no longer required. This is because the FCA has shifted responsibility for vetting advisers away from itself and on to the firms that employ them. This reduces the regulators workload, but will make it harder for consumers to check advisers before doing business with them. It will also make it easier to impersonate advisers. Your father has told me that when he gave Shelter evidence from the council that the so-called squatter had lied about the length of time he lived in the property, Shelter's advice was that if he paid his costs, it would drop the case. He says he signed up to this without realising this meant paying Shelter's costs too. He told me: 'I feel completely conned.' Shelter has given me a final statement from its director of services, Alison Mohammed. She says your father can dispute the costs, but explained: 'We are obliged by the Legal Aid Agency to ask the court to award costs so that public money is not wasted.' I have not named the tenant who brought the claim because he has disappeared and it seems unfair to do so without getting his comments. But Mohammed may still be in contact with him. She told me he completely denies any fraud, and points out that no court has supported what she describes as your father's 'false allegations'. I replied that no court has rejected them either, but Shelter refused to comment further. As to costs, the bargaining goes on and is likely to end in court. Your father has made offers that have been turned down. And I believe Shelter has cut its demand to 16,000. The case continues. If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq al Said on taking over as the new sultan of Oman, saying New Delhi looks forward to working with him to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries. "I heartily congratulate HM Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq al Said on taking over as Sultan of Oman. I am confident that under his leadership, Oman will continue to progress and prosper and contribute to global peace," Modi tweeted. I heartily congratulate HM Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq al Said on taking over as Sultan of Oman. I am confident that under his leadership, Oman will continue to progress and prosper and contribute to global peace. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 12, 2020 READ | WATCH: PM Modi Attends Morning Prayers At Belur Math, Pays Tribute To Swami Vivekananda Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said (65), was sworn in as the next sultan. He succeeds the late Sultan Qaboos as ruler of Oman. Qaboos had died last week. The prime minister noted that India has millennia old relations with Oman. "We look forward to working hand in hand with HM Sayyid Haitham to further strengthen our strategic partnership," he said. India has millennia old relations with Oman. We look forward to working hand in hand with HM Sayyid Haitham to further strengthen our strategic partnership. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 12, 2020 READ | Iran's FM Visits Oman, Meets Sultan READ | PM Modi Attacks Mamata Banerjee On Home Turf, Says She Is 'stalling' The Centre's Schemes A man killed by a falling tree while battling a blaze in the state's alpine region was a 40-year veteran firefighter. Bill Slade, 60, was fighting fires with Parks Victoria at Omeo when he died on Saturday. The married father of two from Wonthaggi has been remembered as one of the longest serving, most experienced and fittest firefighters. 'This is a significant loss for the Forest Fire Management Victoria family and the community as a whole,' FFMV boss Chris Hardman said Sunday morning. Mr Slade was on a taskforce working at the fire's edge. Bill Slade, 60, was fighting fires with Parks Victoria at Omeo when he died on Saturday The veteran firefighter had 40 years' experience and was a married father-of-two (regional Victorian town of Omeo pictured) 'Although we do have enormous experience in identifying hazardous trees, sometimes these tree failures can't be predicted,' Mr Hardman said. 'It would have been a traumatic experience for everybody on that taskforce.' Mr Slade had worked on major fire incidents in the past including the Ash Wednesday bushfires. His 40 years service was recognised in a presentation in November. The death takes the death toll from the bushfire season to 27, with 20 confirmed deaths in New South Wales, three in South Australia and four in Victoria. Mr Slade's death follows the death of fellow FFMV firefighter Mat Kavanagh, 43, who died on duty when his vehicle crashed on the Goulburn Valley Highway on January 3. Mr Slade had worked on major fire incidents in the past including the Ash Wednesday bushfires Mr Hardman said despite the deaths firefighters would continue to be deployed. 'We have to be out there ... it's a long time before the risks around these fires are over,' he said. They'll be out in the field until late February or March, or possibly beyond. 'I think we need to be really clear unless we get really significant rains ... 100-150mm of rain we're going to be in this for the long haul,' he said. Emergency Management Victoria Commissioner Andrew Crisp said 'benign conditions' are forecast in coming days, including thunderstorms expected to bring rain. Victoria Police and Worksafe are investigating Mr Slade's death. Currently, there is an Advice Warning for Omeo as there are numerous bushfires burning east of Omeo that are not yet under control, according to Vic Emergency. Pictured: East Gippsland While an emergency warning remains in place for a fire near Mount Hotham, the state of disaster declared for the regions has ended. Milder conditions are forecast for the next week to 10 days, meaning attention can turn to getting the upper hand on the more than 20 fires still burning. Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville said relieving exhausted emergency services workers was also a priority. 'People are very fatigued, that is the case with communities but also the case with our emergency service personnel, they are very exhausted and we need to be able to rotate in and out people,' she told reporters on Saturday. 'We have got a chance to do that whilst we are also still doing a lot of the planning, a lot of the work that we can do to try and minimise the future impact of these fires.' More than 1.3 million hectares have been razed since November 21, while 286 homes and 400 other buildings have been damaged. The state BJP claimed that the party's 'largest awareness campaign' in support of the CAA had found a place in Limca Book of Records and World Record of India Ahmedabad: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday unveiled over 5.5 lakh postcards written by Ahmedabad residents to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, thanking him for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The postcards were stacked on the dais as Shah addressed a gathering of BJP workers who formed letters 'CAA' in front of him. The state BJP claimed that the party's "largest awareness campaign" in support of the CAA had found a place in Limca Book of Records and World Record of India. "It is not just words but a letter of thanks written from the heart. Our public outreach programme is a reply to the lies being spread against the CAA," Shah said addressing BJP workers from his former Assembly constituency Naranpura. The BJP had promised to enact the CAA in its manifesto, he said, asking why the Congress did not oppose it then. Targeting Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, Shah said, "Congress has a government in Rajasthan. The Congress party in that state had promised that Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan would be given citizenship.Why do you oppose it when we fulfill the promise made by you?" the Union home minister asked. "In 2006 and 2009, Ashok Gehlot wrote a letter for the same. We covered Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, Christians, all of them under the Act, you had only mentioned Hindus and Sikhs," Shah claimed. Saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, by bringing in the CAA, granted "human rights to lakhs of people", he asked why the Opposition was against it. He challenged "Rahul Baba" (Congress leader Rahul Gandhi), Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal to show if any provision of the CAA took away the citizenship of Indian Muslims. "There is no such provision. Lakhs and crores of people have come to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh to save their religion, their self-respect, to save themselves. Where else will they go?" he asked. "From the first prime minister of the country Jawaharlal Nehru to the first home minister, first president of the country, and Mahatma Gandhi himself had said that whoever comes to India from Pakistan will be granted citizenship. Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains coming from Pakistan have nowhere else to go," he said. 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. Prime Minister Narendra Modi with monks outside Sri Ramakrishna temple at Belur Math in Howrah district on Sunday. PTI photo Kolkata: Strongly defending the new citizenship law, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday the dispute that has arisen over it has made the world aware of persecution of religious minorities in Pakistan. He, however, deplored that a section of the youth is being misguided over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which is aimed at giving and not taking away anybody's citizenship rights. CAA is not about taking away citizenship, it is about giving citizenship. Today, on National Youth Day, I would like to tell this to the youngsters of India, West Bengal, North East that this is not an overnight law for giving citizenship. We must all know that any person of any religion from any country of the world who believes in India and its Constitution can apply for Indian citizenship through due process. There's no problem in that, he told a gathering at Belur Math, the headquarters of the Ramkrishna Mission. Modi said even Mahatma Gandhi had favoured Indian citizenship to those fleeing religious persecution and that his government has only delivered on the wishes of freedom fighters. Referring to anti-CAA protests in the North-East, Modi vowed to protect the distinct identity and culture of the people of the region, and asserted the new law will not hurt their interests. We've only done what Mahatma Gandhi had said decades ago. Should we send these refugees back to die? Are they our responsibility or not? Should we make them our citizens or not? he said, evoking thunderous applause from the gathering. Modi said some people with political interests are deliberately spreading rumours about the new citizenship law, despite complete clarity over the CAA. Our initiative to amend the citizenship act has created a dispute. It is the result of our initiative that Pakistan will now have to answer why they have been persecuting minorities for the last 70 years. Human rights have been demolished in Pakistan, he said. Seeking to assuage the concerns of the people of the North-East, Modi called the region our pride. Their culture, traditions and demography remains untouched by this amended law, he said. He said the citizenship law was only changed a little for those who were ill-treated in Pakisan after Partition. They were having a bitter time living there. Women were in danger of losing their pride, he said. Young people have understood the whole thing but those who want to indulge in politics over it will not, he said. Modi said five years ago, there was disappointment among the youth of the country, but the situation has changed now. Not just India, the entire world has a lot of expectations from the youth of the country. The youth are not afraid of challenges....they challenge the challenges, he said at the Belur Math. Modi, an ardent devotee of Vivekananda, spent the night at the Math. He has a long association with the Ramakrishna Mission order founded by Vivekananda in 1897. Inspired by the teachings of Vivekananda, Modi had arrived at the Mission Ashram in Gujarat's Rajkot and expressed desire to join the order. Swami Atmasthananda, who later went on to become the 15th president of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission, then headed the Rajkot branch and had advised him that sanyas was not for him and that he should work among people. During those days, Modi used to regularly meet Atmasthananda and sought his spiritual guidance. Although Modi went back after spending some time there his the relationship with Swami Atmasthananda and the Ramkrishna Mission continued. Whenever Modi used to visit Kolkata, even during his days as Gujarat chief minister, he would travel to the Math. In 2013, during his Kolkata visit, he had gone to Belur and sought the blessings from Atmasthananda. He had in 2015 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. On Sunday, the prime minister paid tributes to Swami Vivekananda on his birth anniversary, which is celebrated as National Youth Day, and spent some time in the spiritual leader's room in quietude. Philippine authorities warned Sunday a volcano near the capital Manila could erupt imminently, hours after it sent a massive column of ash skyward that grounded flights and coated towns across the region in fine dust. Thousands of people living near Taal volcano, a popular tourist attraction set in the centre of a picturesque lake, were evacuated from their homes as it spewed ash, rumbled with earthquakes and lightning exploded above its crest. A "hazardous explosive eruption is possible within hours to days", the nation's seismological agency warned, adding that the ash could pose a risk to aircraft. Aviation officials ordered a suspension of flights in to and out of the capital's Ninoy Aquino International Airport, after the ash cloud was reported to have reached 50,000 feet (15,000 metres). Government seismologists recorded magma moving towards the crater of Taal, one of the country's most active volcanoes located 65 kilometres (40 miles) south of Manila. Taal's last eruption was in 1977, he added. A kilometre-high column of ash was visible and several volcanic tremors were felt within the vicinity of the volcano, which is popular among tourists for its scenic view. The local disaster office said it had evacuated over 2,000 residents living on the volcanic island, which lies inside a bigger lake formed by previous volcanic activity. Solidum said officials will also order the evacuation of people living on another island nearby if the situation worsens. "Ash has already reached Manila... it is dangerous to people if they inhale it," he told AFP. Earthquakes and volcanic activity are not uncommon in the Philippines due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide deep below the Earth's surface. In January 2018, Mount Mayon displaced tens of thousands of people after spewing millions of tonnes of ash, rocks, and lava in the central Bicol region. Government seismologists recorded magma moving towards the crater of Taal, one of the Philippines' most active volcanoes Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday expressed dismay at the incident in which a manager of a private firm was murdered after being robbed in Noida on January 7, and said that criminals are fearless in Uttar Pradesh. "Gaurav Chandel who worked as a Manager was murdered by criminals in Noida. The government's approach till now is lackadaisical in the murder which was committed after looting the victim. If criminals are so fearless in Noida, it's not hard to imagine what must be the conditions elsewhere in Uttar Pradesh," tweeted Priyanka Gandhi. Gaurav Chandel, a resident of Greater Noida, was murdered on January 7 after being robbed by some unidentified persons while he was returning home. His body was found on Tuesday morning near Sector-123 at his home. The victim worked at a private firm in Gurugram. Ankur Aggarwal, SP City had said, "The victim was a resident of Gaur City Four teams have been formed and the police are going through the available CCTV footage. The investigation is underway in the case. We will make arrests soon. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Leaders at St. Joseph School in Mandan hope that starting a Montessori program to offer a more hands-on approach to education will boost student enrollment, just as it did for Christ the King School across town. For decades, we just havent really seen an influx in our school, said the Rev. Josh Waltz of St. Joseph Catholic Church, which is connected with the school. The school started a Montessori program last fall for its youngest children, ages 3-6, and it plans to expand the effort to cover all grades next school year. It also will add an adolescent program covering traditional junior high grades 7-9. Christ the King began offering a Montessori-based education about four years ago amid a dwindling number of students, and school officials told The Bismarck Tribune last year that the program is so popular that they now have a waiting list with 100 names on it. Through Montessori, teachers serve as guides to students, who have more autonomy than in a traditional classroom setting to determine what and how they study. Much of it is hands-on. Waltz said he visited whats known as the Childrens House at Christ the King several years ago to observe the schools youngest children in a Montessori setting. I was so captivated by this environment in which the children were learning, he said. I am 100% sold that it is the way to educate a child. He was struck, in particular, by the life skills the kids learned as they went about their academics. For example, at one point, the students were using a chain of beads to learn how to count. One boy took the chain and hid it. He eventually fessed up to what hed done when the other children realized it was missing and asked who had it last. He said, I thought it would be funny, Waltz recalled. They were like, Its not funny, wheres the bead chain?' And he went and showed them where he hid it, and they hung it back up. It was a lesson in discipline that didnt require any intervention from a teacher. Students at St. Joseph will be grouped not just with others in their grade but with classmates in surrounding grades. Thats done intentionally as a way for younger students to learn from older ones, and for older students to take the younger ones under their wings. Students will spend larger blocks of time focused on single subjects during the school day, rather than hit each subject every day. Within the course of a week, theyll have spent time on every subject. Thats how they master something, St. Joseph Principal David Fleischacker said. They need that time. Focusing on subjects over longer blocks of time helps students become serious problem solvers when they get older because they get how the perseverance leads somewhere, he said. St. Joseph and Christ the King are sometimes viewed as rivals, but leaders at both schools see the Montessori approach as a partnership, Waltz said. For example, neither Catholic school in Mandan teaches junior high-age students, but St. Joseph plans to offer Montessori instruction for grades 7-9, with the idea that sixth graders from either school could filter into that program and later move on to St. Marys Central High School in Bismarck. Many students who start out in Catholic school in Mandan switch to public school after they finish sixth grade, according to St. Joseph officials. St. Joseph is accepting registrations now for the upcoming school year, and its teachers are undergoing training in Montessori to gear up for the fall. The Montessori approach to education was developed by Maria Montessori, an Italian educator, in the early 1900s. It is used throughout the world. Angela Flores, the schools daycare director, is in her eighth week of an 18-month program that combines online instruction and practical in-class experience to work with the schools youngest students in Childrens House. During a recent tour of a room, she pointed out numerous stations set up for the kids -- places where they can pull out maps to learn geography, practice using zippers and belt buckles, and use bins set up with soap and water. "They wash their own dishes, she said, as a young boy took hold of a scrub brush to clean his lunch tray. The rooms head guide, Alex Nearing, said she tries to cater to individual students interests. She noticed that some children liked to take apart things they shouldnt, so she now has stations designed for them to use keys and locks, as well as screws and fasteners. The biggest change from a traditional classroom setting, she has noticed, has to do with the development of her young students personalities. Theyre at their fullest, she said. Reach Amy R. Sisk at 701-250-8252 or amy.sisk@bismarcktribune.com. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 2 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. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 10:11:40|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Flamengo are close to signing Lille midfielder Thiago Maia as the Rio de Janeiro giants continue to bolster their squad for the 2020 season, according to media reports. The 22-year-old was not a part of Lille's match day squad in their 2-0 victory over Amiens in the Coupe de la Ligue on Wednesday (Jan. 8), prompting speculation in the French and Brazilian press about his possible departure. On Saturday, Brazil's Uol news portal said that negotiations between Lille and Flamengo were in their final stages. Maia has made 58 Ligue 1 appearances for the club since his 2017 move from Santos. A member of the Brazil team that won gold at the Rio 2016 Olympics, Maia would be Flamengo's fourth signing of the new year, if the deal is confirmed. The reigning Brazilian Serie A champions have already announced the arrivals of winger Michael, forward Pedro Rocha and defender Gustavo Henrique this month. Is New Mexicos only Level 1 Trauma Center a bad place to seek treatment? Or is it simply being penalized because it cares for the sickest patients in the state? Those are the questions emerging as the University of New Mexico Hospital braces for the release of the latest round of hospital rankings. UNMH has a one-star rating, the lowest score possible. By contrast, Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe, the states oldest hospital, will receive a coveted five-star rating, the highest. UNMH officials are downplaying the significance of the rankings. Quite frankly, if you dont do risky things, and you dont take care of complex patients, you will do really well on this scoring system, Dr. Michael Richards, the vice chancellor for clinical affairs at UNM, told regents last month. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, for several years has ranked thousands of hospitals across the country, awarding hospitals one to five stars. The rankings have been controversial. Hospital administrators and industry associations have at times tried to block the release of the ratings, arguing there are shortfalls in the scoring system. The CMS is preparing to release its 2020 ratings. Arturo Delgado, a spokesman for Christus St. Vincent, said CMS officials have told the medical center that it achieved the five-star rating for 2020. He said medical center administrators have been told the rankings will be published soon, but they havent been given a specific date. He said this year marks the first time the hospital has achieved the five-star rating. It had four stars in 2019. Mark Rudi, a UNMH spokesman, didnt say if the hospital knows what star rating it will receive in 2020. But UNMH officials during a regents committee last month discussed the possibility that it will be tagged with the same lowly rating for another year. Our most significant outlier is our mortality measure, Kate Becker, the CEO of UNM Hospitals, said during the meeting. In an interview, Richards said the hospital is in favor of giving patients as much information as possible so they can make their own decisions about where to seek care. But he said the hospital sees flaws in how the CMS ranks them compared to other hospitals. At the end of the day, we really appreciate the need to try to create a way for consumers of health care to identify hospitals that are delivering good quality (health care) and make good choices, Richards said. But theres clearly some concerns about whether the current methodology is working. Even if we support the concept, the methodology doesnt appear to be working well. The CMS calculates ratings based on seven measures: mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience, effectiveness of care, timeliness of care and efficient use of medical imaging, according to Medicares website. Across the country, slightly more than 6% of the 4,573 hospitals that were ranked scored either a single star or five stars in 2019. About 27% of hospitals were given three stars and 23% got a four-star rating, according to the website. Richards said that UNMH, in part because it is the states only Level 1 Trauma Center, is likely to have a lower rating than other hospitals because doctors there treat complex and difficult patients who are transferred to UNMH from surrounding hospitals. In addition to the complexity of some cases, the fact that much of New Mexico is rural and has a relatively small population compared to other states means that just a few bad outcomes can skew UNMHs rankings for the worse, he said. One of our roles in the community is to take those really highly complex patients because were an academic medical center. So the patients that are at the greatest risk come to us, Richards said. The ratings systems do make an attempt to adjust for those risk factors, but we dont believe that they completely adjust for the risk factors. The Journal reviewed 2019 CMS star ratings for other Level 1 trauma centers in the region. Banner University Medical Center-Tucson, Arizona, and University Medical Center of El Paso, were two-star hospitals, University Medical Center of Lubbock, Texas, had three stars, UCHealth Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs earned four stars and Flagstaff Medical Center in Arizona was a five-star hospital, according to the CMS website. In Albuquerque, Lovelace Medical Center has a four-star rating, Presbyterian Hospital has two stars, and the Veterans Affairs Hospital isnt rated. Richards said UNMH will work to improve its ratings. I will say there are some (hospitals) that figured out how to do well on the test. And were going to make sure we do well on the test, Richards said. We actually want to make sure going forward we do as well as we can. There may be some areas where we had some slippage. Jeff Dye, the president and CEO of the New Mexico Hospital Association, which represents most of the nearly 50 hospitals in the state, agrees that UNMH will have a tough time scoring well on the CMS ranking system. The star rankings are not intensity adjusted, he said. The complexity and the types of patients that UNM has certainly are a challenge. So, yeah, I certainly would agree with them. The CMS released its first hospital rankings in 2016, against the urging of the American Hospital Association and others. While it may be well intentioned, the CMS star ratings program is confusing for patients and families and raises far more questions than answers, Nancy Foster, the American Hospital Associations vice president for quality and patient safety policy, said in a prepared statement. These ratings have been broadly criticized by quality experts and Congress as being inaccurate and misleading to consumers. We continue to urge CMS to suspend the publishing of star ratings until improvements have been made to their methodology and have been vetted and are ready for implementation. Officials with CMS declined to comment. The CMS website says the ratings are aimed at giving patients information to help them make medical care decisions. In an emergency, you should go to the nearest hospital, the website says. When you are able to plan ahead, the Hospital Compare overall hospital rating can provide a starting point for comparing a hospital to others locally and nationwide. Dye cautioned that the rankings should be just a piece of all the considerations in selecting a hospital. Some who think there should just be a standard metric and a standard score that can be an answer to understanding health care, I think thats a dream and not very practical. Many aspects of health care dont facilitate or support real detailed comparison, Dye said. There are just so many complexities about the human condition and different levels and complications related to patient care. It makes it really difficult, unfortunately, for the public. Heights residents Gary and Maureen Hall began grabbing beers at the Black Labrador soon after the pub opened its doors about three decades ago. The place was a big draw for Gary, he recalled, because it was one of the few Houston spots at the time selling Guinness on draft. So when the recently closed pub announced it would hold a two-day estate sale to clean house, the Halls blocked off part of Friday morning to become some of the first in line. They left with artwork and a few chess pieces ($5 each) that once stood on the life-size board next to the patio out front. The sale gave the Halls and other longtime patrons a chance to savor the Black Labrador one last time and offered a bittersweet reminder of the ambiance that made it a Montrose mainstay for 33 years. You come in here for the atmosphere, the people, Gary Hall said. You come in here and you feel like family. And that to me was more important than anything. Even in estate sale mode, the pub maintained the antique and rustic charm that attracted so many of its customers. Cracked paint still coated the ceiling and walls, and there were the same wooden chairs and tables only this time with price tags. Stacks of plates and rows of pub glasses, on sale for $2 each, covered the table surfaces. The estate sale came almost a month after the pubs Dec. 15 closure. The property, on Montrose Boulevard next to the Freed-Montrose Library which is relocating is owned by the nearby University of St. Thomas. The university has yet to announce plans for the property. At the sale, customers chose from a wide range of products: dining menus ($5), napkin holders ($10), a wooden clock without hands ($10), spill mats ($5), a red telephone booth out front ($1,750) and an assortment of tables, chairs and umbrellas. Signs in all-caps throughout the pub instructed patrons, NOTHING BEHIND BAR IS FOR SALE and Chairs $15.00 each BUY THEM ALL! Estate sale guests Lynn and Marcel Mason said they began visiting the Black Labrador about 25 years ago and have remained steady if infrequent guests ever since. Marcel said he would miss the array of British and Irish beers, and Lynn said she would miss the pubs central location, where she could meet her girlfriends who lived throughout the city. Both said they would miss the food. Our favorite dish here: We always come for the mussels, Lynn Mason said. They have the best mussels of anywhere weve traveled in the world. In its first review of the Black Labrador, published Jan. 1, 1987, the Chronicle opined that while the pub operates as a full-service restaurant, that doesnt mean the place has forsaken its pub heritage. This place aspires to becoming a neighborhood hangout, the review reads. The menu, though not authentic for a pub, just offers something extra. Another article, published two years later, revealed the pub had quickly accomplished its goal, calling it a gathering place for the Montrose museum crowd, students, theater and concertgoers, priests from the St. Thomas staff, young families from the neighborhood and travelers who are nostalgic for their favorite English pub. For Gary Hall, the feel of the pub, not the quality of the grub, was paramount. If the food is at least edible, if they treat me like family, I can come in and I feel comfortable, and all my worries outside are gone, he said. I just get a Guinness and shepherds pie and Im a happy guy. jasper.scherer@chron.com Two army helicopters will arrive on South Australia's Kangaroo Island on Monday to ship in vital supplies to remote parts of the fire-ravaged island. Fires continue to burn across the island which has already lost 210,000 hectares inside a 500km fire perimeter. The Australian Defence Force on Sunday confirmed plans to expand its presence to help with the clean-up and recovery. Two army helicopters will arrive on South Australia's Kangaroo Island on Monday to ship in vital supplies to remote parts of the fire-ravaged island. A Chinook is seen delivering supplies to Mallacoota in Victoria A water purification system is generating 400,000 litres of water and there will be a further 12,000 litres of drinking water for locals. Chief of joint operations Lieutenant General Greg Bilton said two heavy-lift Chinook helicopters will arrive on the island on Monday. 'They will operate for a couple of days to provide additional reach to enable us to provide supplies in the remoter parts of the island, principally delivering fodder and other supplies.' Travel restrictions have been lifted, but Country Fire Service incident controller Ian Tanner said non-essential travel should be avoided. 'If you do need to come here to support relatives and friends, then it's OK to come,' he said. 'But if you don't need to come to Kangaroo Island at this point in time, then please give us a bit longer to get this sorted.' Fires continue to burn across the island which has already lost 210,000 hectares inside a 500km fire perimeter The SA CFS said warmer weather and unfavourable conditions could lead to fire outbreaks and flare-ups on Monday. 'The CFS advises everyone on Kangaroo Island to be vigilant tomorrow as there may be an escalation in fire activity,' it said. 'Please monitor your local environment and be aware that fire conditions will be constantly changing throughout the day.' We are strictly apolitical body: Ramakrishna Mission distances itself from Modis remarks on CAA India oi-Madhuri Adnal Belur (WB), Jan 12: The Ramakrishna Math and Mission on Sunday distanced itself from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, contending that it was a strictly apolitical body which did not respond to "ephemeral" calls. The prime minister, during his address from Belur Math - the headquarters of Ramakrishna Mission - had said that the new law would not take away anybody's citizenship. Modi also said that a section of the youth was being misguided about the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). The link between PM Modi and Ramakrishna Mission, explained Addressing a press meet here, Swami Suvirananda, the Ramakrishna Math and Mission general secretary, said, "The organisation will not comment on the prime minister's speech on CAA. We are a strictly apolitical body. We have come here after leaving our homes to answer eternal calls. We do not respond to ephemeral calls." He said the mission believed in inclusivity. PM Modi in West Bengal: renames Kolkata Port Trust after Shyama Prasad Mukherjee | OneIndia News "We are an inclusive organization, which has monks from Hindu, Islam and Christian communities. We live like brothers of the same parents. "To us, Narendra Modi is the leader of India and Mamata Banerjee the leader of West Bengal," Swami Suvirananda added. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, January 12, 2020, 15:29 [IST] It was President Dwight Eisenhower who said, People want peace so much that one of these days government had better get out of their way and let them have it. Neither the American nor Iranian people want a war. We want peace. The way to achieve it is a return to diplomacy. The Trump administration should immediately reinstate the Iran nuclear deal, a diplomatic breakthrough with Iran that Trump has rashly treated like a failure. A return to diplomacy with Iran would have other benefits, too. It could help end the civil war in Yemen, which has pulled in neighboring Saudi Arabia, which relies on arms supplied by the U.S. and supports the government against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The conflict has destabilized the region. A diplomatic approach to Iran could help limit the involvement of Iran and the U.S. in the Yemeni civil war, which has left over 20 million Yemenis in desperate need of food. Years of fighting have destroyed food production and distribution. Children in Yemen are in agony, wasting away from malnutrition. Lack of food for small children causes lasting physical and mental damage or death. We must seek an end to Yemens war and its peoples hunger. But by arming the Saudis, Trump has prolonged the conflict and put Yemen on the brink of famine. U.S. military aid to the Saudis must cease. As David Miliband, president of the International Rescue Committee, says we should be shepherding warring parties to peace not fueling the conflict. While diplomacy would pave the way toward peace, more is needed in Yemen. There must also be funding for food aid to the starving Yemenis. The U.N. World Food Program and other relief agencies are the lifeline for Yemen. Our food assistance has saved many children, women and men from the brink. But theyre not safe yet. Support for Yemen must continue, said Laurent Bukera, who leads the World Food Program in Yemen. Yemen needs peace a lasting peace that will allow the country to rebuild. We need to step up the food aid to prevent reductions in programs like nutrition for Yemeni infants and school feeding. WFP says these programs are urgent for Yemens children as this is the generation that Yemen will rely on to rebuild when the devastating conflict comes to an end. It is essential that they are able to realize their full potential. The Middle East needs food instead of bombs. America could help by increasing its support for the Food for Peace program started by Eisenhower. Small children are starving to death in Yemen as the war continues, and yet the United States has not pressed for peace. The U.S. must be a peacemaker and get the warring sides to the negotiating table. The first step is to get a nationwide ceasefire in Yemen to ensure food aid for everyone in need. We are calling for unlimited access by aid organizations to all parts of the country so that all children can receive the support they so desperately need, pleads Tamer Kirolos, director of Save the Children in Yemen. Following a ceasefire, America must work to achieve a lasting peace treaty in Yemen. For that to happen, the U.S. must bring back diplomacy to prevent war with Iran and end current hostilities in the Middle East. Only then will the millions now at risk of starvation have a brighter future. Lambers is an author who partnered with the U.N. World Food Program and Catholic Relief Services on the book Ending World Hunger. Heightened Push for Full Probe, Justice Follow Iran's Admission on Jet Shootdown By VOA News January 11, 2020 The aerospace commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on state television Saturday that he took "full responsibility" for the mistaken shootdown of a Ukrainian jetliner this week and that he wished he "were dead" when he learned about the fate of the aircraft. "That night we had the readiness for all-out war," Amir Ali Hajizadeh said. The admission Saturday sparked anti-government protests in Tehran, with some demonstrators calling for the resignation of their country's leaders, according to the semiofficial Fars news agency, which is affiliated with IRGC. VOA's Persian news service reported protests also spread to other areas of Iran, including the country's third-largest city of Isfahan. Protests were also reported by Reuters and the BBC. After news of the protests began to surface, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted (using Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's Twitter handle in the tweet): The voice of the Iranian people is clear. They are fed up with the regime's lies, corruption, ineptitude, and brutality of the IRGC under @khamenei_ir's kleptocracy. We stand with the Iranian people who deserve a better future. pic.twitter.com/tBOjv9XsIG Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) January 11, 2020 U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook told VOA News on Saturday, "There are once again massive protests in Iran against the regime and we stand with the brave Iranian people 100%. Protesters are chanting about the shameful actions of the IRGC and are ripping down posters of [Quds Force commander Qassem] Soleimani put up by the regime. They are saying Soleimani was a murderer and so is Khameini. The protesters are right!" Earlier Saturday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had called for a full admission of guilt for the downing of the plane on the outskirts of Tehran that killed all 176 people on board. Zelenskiy said he also wanted "a full and open investigation, bringing those responsible to justice, the return of the bodies of the dead, the payment of compensation, official apologies through diplomatic channels." Zelenskiy said later that Iran has provided enough "photos, videos and other materials" from the crash "to see that the investigation will be carried out objectively and promptly." Ukrainian experts in Iran have received "full cooperation" from Iran and have been given access to the crash site and the plane's data recorders, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said. He said Ukraine's team has "access to the recordings of conversations between the dispatchers of the flight control center at the airport in Tehran and our pilots." Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday that Iran must be held accountable. Sixty-three Canadians died in the crash. "What Iran has admitted to is very serious. Shooting down a civilian aircraft is horrific. Iran must take full responsibility," Trudeau said at a news conference in Ottawa. "Canada will not rest until we get the accountability, justice and closure that the families deserve." Three days after Iran mistakenly shot down the Ukrainian jetliner, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Twitter that Iran "deeply regrets this disastrous mistake." Rouhani added: Armed Forces' internal investigation has concluded that regrettably missiles fired due to human error caused the horrific crash of the Ukrainian plane & death of 176 innocent people. Investigations continue to identify & prosecute this great tragedy & unforgivable mistake. #PS752 Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) January 11, 2020 Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif posted on Twitter Saturday: "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." Thumbs up for telling the truth. That matters in a world where lies have become the norm. hope (@setiris) January 11, 2020 The Ukrainian International Airlines flight was mistaken for a "hostile target" as it made a turn toward a "sensitive military center" of the Revolutionary Guard, according to a military statement carried on state media. "In such a condition, because of human error and in an unintentional way, the flight was hit." The downing of the UIA jetliner, a Boeing 737, happened 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 Soleimani. Iran had initially denied that it was responsible for the downing of the jet. However, U.S. and Canadian intelligence said they believed Iran had shot down the aircraft. U.S. President Donald Trump attacked Democratic lawmakers on Twitter Saturday, questioning their response to the U.S. killing of the Iranian commander. "Where have the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats gone when they have spent the last 3 days defending the life of Qassem Soleimani, one of the worst terrorists in history" who "was also looking to do big future damage!" Now the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats, are asking @senatemajldr Mitch McConnell to do the job that they were unable to do. They proved NOTHING but my total innocence in the House, despite the most unfair & biased hearings in the history of Congress. Now they demand fairness! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2020 Trump's knock on Democrats came as he and senior members of his administration faced persistent questions from Democrats about his decision to order the killing of Soleimani. Like the Democrats, lawmakers from Trump's own Republican Party also are applying increasing pressure on Trump and his senior advisers to disclose more information about the intelligence they had indicating Soleimani was planning imminent attacks on American personnel in the region. Trump administration officials continued to offer a series of explanations Friday to justify the killing, including a claim that Iranian militants had planned attacks on four U.S. embassies. The claim conflicts with intelligence assessments from other top Trump administration officials. Payman Parseyan, a prominent Iranian Canadian, told the Associated Press: "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." The flight was en route to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, a connection stop for many Iranian Canadians and Iranian students studying in Canada. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said India is in talks with Mongolia and Russia for importing coking coal to reduce dependence on few countries for supplies of the commodity. The minister said the Centre is looking to import coking coal, a raw material for making steel, at a reasonable price as the country has set a target to produce 300 million tonne of the metal by 2030-31. "India has been importing coal from Australia, which is good, but high-quality coking coal is also available in Mongolia. We are looking to bring that coal at a reasonable price. We are in talks with the Mongolian government," Pradhan said at a programme here on Saturday evening. In 2016, a delegation comprising senior officials of the Steel Ministry and state-run Steel Authority of India (SAIL) went to Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar for securing a deal with the east Asian country for importing of coking coal. The initial plan was to bring the fuel through Chinese ports but it could not be materialised, sources said, adding that the Centre is trying to bring coal through Russia's Vostochny Port which is known for handling the commodity. Pradhan, who holds the portfolios of Steel Ministry and Petroleum and Natural Gas, said, "We have also initiated talks on behalf of the Indian government with the Russian authorities and signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation for undertaking coking coal ventures." Around 85 per cent of the India's coking coal demand is met through imports. "The talks are being taken forward by public sector companies in India, including Coal India and SAIL," the minister added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Khalistani terror suspect arrested by the Bengaluru police has been handed over to Punjab Police on Sunday. The suspect Jarnail Singh was residing as a paying guest in Sampigehalli, Bengaluru for the last four months and was working in a software company. Punjab Police had received a tip-off about Jarnail Singh's presence in Bengaluru which was shared with the Bengaluru Police's Central Crime Branch. After investigation on Saturday, CCB arrested Singh from his PG and handed over to the team of Punjab Police. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Storm Brendan is set to batter the island of Ireland on Monday, with several weather warnings having been issued. Picture Colm O'Reilly 09-01-2020 Strong gales of up to 80mph are set to sweep parts of the east coast of Northern Ireland on Monday. The Met Office has warned coastal routes and communities could be particularly affected by Storm Brendan as large waves batter seafronts. Yellow weather warnings are in place for Northern Ireland, much of the western half of the UK and the north east of Scotland from 10am until midnight. Frank Saunders of the Met Office said the UK and Ireland will turn increasingly windy throughout the day as the storm, named by Irish forecaster Met Eireann, sweeps in. He said: Its going to be windy across the western half of the UK, with gusts reaching 60-70mph along Irish Sea coastlines, the west of Scotland and perhaps some English Channel coasts maybe even 80mph in a few exposed places. The Met Office also warned heavy rain could add poor visibility to what will already be difficult travelling conditions. It will be a dry start in the morning but a band of heavy rain will push eastwards through the day, they added. Cloud will thicken from the west throughout the morning, heralding the approaching southerly gale, which may turn severe. The maximum temperature will be 9C. Mr Saunders added the severe conditions could cause travel disruption, and those in affected areas are advised to take extra care when driving on exposed routes such as bridges or high open roads. Looking further ahead to the rest of next week, he said: It looks like its going to stay very unsettled with the potential for further disruptive weather in places. On Saturday, strong winds and heavy rain battered parts of Scotland, causing road closures and rail disruption. The main A1 road from the English border up to the Edinburgh area was closed to high-sided vehicles for several hours. In the Republic of Ireland, Met Eireann has issued an orange wind warning for 11 counties. It comes into effect at 7am as the storm is expected to sweep across the island. The warning for Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo will be in place to midnight, while the warning for Wexford, Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Waterford lifts at 3pm. The forecaster said there was a significant risk of coastal flooding. Elsewhere in the Irish Republic, a yellow wind warning has been issued for Dublin, Carlow, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Louth, Wicklow, Offaly, Westmeath, Meath, Cavan, Monaghan, Roscommon and Tipperary. New Delhi: In a major setback to Hizbul Mujahideen, its top commander Hammad Khan was on Sunday (January 12) killed during an encounter by security forces in Tral area of Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama. Along with Khan, one more terrorist has been killed by the forces. According to sources, one more terrorist is believed to be hiding in the area. Sources said that Hammad had taken on the role of Hizbul commander after the death of Sabzar Ahmad Bhat in 2017. Bhat, 27, was neutralised by the Indian Army during an encounter operation in Tral in May 2017. Following his death, clashes had broken out in several parts of the then state, including Anantnag, Budgam, Ganderbal and Pulwama, that had left several people injured. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Gulshanpora area of Tral in the south Kashmir today morning after receiving specific inputs about the presence of a few suspected terrorists in a residential building. Police said that the forces were conducting search when the terrorists, holed up inside a building, opened fire at them, resulting in a gunbattle between both sides. The development comes a day after three terrorists affiliated to Hizbul-Mujahideen were arrested by the security forces at Aanpoo Anantnag in south Kashmir. A cache of arms and ammunition were also recovered from their possession. Live TV According to sources, a top Hizbul commander is among the two arrested. Notably, DSP Devinder Singh was also detained along with the terrorists in a major counter-terrorism operation in the Valley. The three terrorists and the DCP were travelling in the same car when the arrests were made. The security officials also discovered two AK-47s, two pistols and some hand grenades from their possession. According to information received, one of the arrested terrorists, identified as Naveed Khan alias Syed Naveed was handling Hizbul Mujahideen operations in south and central Kashmir for the last few months. The police suspect Naveed to be behind several attacks and crimes in south Kashmir. Police sources said Naveed, hailing from Nazneenpora area, has also been involved in the killing of non-local civilians and setting an apple-laden truck on fire following the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. Another terrorist, who was arrested yesterday, has been identified as Rafi Ahmad. Former royal press secretary Dickie Arbiter said the meeting is unprecedented He said Harry will be aware of Queen's displeasure following the announcement Queen, William, Charles and Harry will discuss plans at Sandringham on Monday Former royal press secretary Dickie Arbiter has said the historic Sandringham summit will be 'heated' Former royal press secretary Dickie Arbiter has said the historic Sandringham summit will be 'heated' but the Queen will ensure family members keep their cool. ADVERTISEMENT The royal expert claimed the 'pragmatic' Queen will be understanding of problems people have, but the head of state will ensure her family do not lose their tempers on Monday. Mr Arbiter added how Prince Harry will be aware of his grandmother's displeasure after he and Meghan announced their intention to step down as senior royals on Wednesday. And the landmark meeting at Sandringham between the head of state, two heirs and sixth in line, has been described as 'unprecedented' by Mr Arbiter. For the divorce of Charles and Diana in 1996, the Queen wrote to each individually and told them they had to talk to start proceedings, according to Mr Arbiter writing in The Sun on Sunday. The royal expert claimed the 'pragmatic' Queen will be understanding of problems people have For the divorce of Charles (pictured) and Diana in 1996, the Queen wrote to each individually and told them they had to talk to start proceedings William will be present at the Sandringham summit on Monday He added how even the abdication of Edward VIII following his intention to marry Wallis Simpson was at Government and Church level. 'Many have called this an abdication and in one sense it is. Harry and Meghan expect to still have a handle on royal duty but also to lead a public life', Mr Abiter wrote. The former Queen's spokesman said having the documents drawn up in advance 'does not surprise' him since the Queen has made it clear she wants the arrangements finalised within days. Mr Arbiter added how Prince Harry will be aware of his grandmother's displeasure after he and Meghan announced their intention to step down as senior royals on Wednesday Her Majesty reportedly instructed officials to come up with a blueprint that could potentially apply to younger generations of the Royal Family. Click here to resize this module It comes as a source revealed that 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'. ADVERTISEMENT There is speculation that the Prince could leave the UK to rejoin his wife and son in Canada by next week. It is thought that he has not yet seen his grandmother in the flesh at her Sandringham estate since he arrived back from a six-week Christmas break. Airports Council International forecasts that Vietnam will have the fastest air passenger growth in the world in the period of 2018-2040 with an average annual growth rate of 6.2%. Vietnam's aviation industry continued to experience healthy double-digit growth in 2019 amid issues at some key airports, according to Viet Dragon Securities Company (VDSC). Overall air traffic volume was up 12% year-on-year and reached approximately 116 million passengers. Although the growth rate of international passenger traffic continued to outpace domestic passenger growth, the gap between the two has contracted. Domestic passenger volume growth rate was estimated at 11% year-on-year, picking up strongly from a 6% expansion in 2018. This was likely driven by new supply from brand-new carrier Bamboo Airways, following years when the domestic market was not prioritized by established operators such as Vietjet Air, Vietnam Airlines and Jestar Pacific. On the contrary, international passenger volume growth showed a moderate deceleration, rising only 14% year-on-year in 2019 vs 21% year-on-year in 2018. Though this growth rate was in line with the growth of the foreign inbound tourist arrivals by air of 15% year-on-year for 2019, VDSC attributed this slowdown to the estimated sluggish international passenger volume rise of only 5% year-on-year at Tan Son Nhat Airport, which accounts for over 40% of Vietnams international air passengers. Its runways and passenger terminals are experiencing serious overload issues. In the meantime, other major terminals such as Noi Bai, Cam Ranh and Da Nang all maintained double-digit growth in terms of international passenger volume at 14%, 25%, 23% respectively. Looking forward, VDSC expected a positive outlook on the industrys long-term prospects. Airports Council International forecasts that Vietnam will have the fastest air passenger growth in the world in the period of 2018-2040 with an average annual growth rate of 6.2%. In fact, the market is likely to benefit from many favorable factors such as rising of the affluent middle class and the high penetration of low-cost carriers, making air travel more affordable. Additionally, the government's efforts to promote tourism together with the expansion of international routes by domestic carriers are expected to further enhance the growth of passenger traffic. On the downside, infrastructure constraints, especially at major airports airfield, could hinder growth. The capacity of the current infrastructure has not kept pace with the industrys growth. This has led to some aviation terminals operating beyond their designed capacity. More importantly, the availability of landing/take-off (LTO) slots is a shortfall as there are no remaining LTO slots during peak hours at Tan Son Nhat and Noi Bai airports. Furthermore, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) forecasts the available aprons at Noi Bai Airport may run out in the near future and those at Tan Son Nhat are used up in the period up to 2022. In addition, the runways at these two airports have been degraded after years of not having seen major rehabilitation. The maintenance has been increasingly vital to ensure safe flights. However, as these runways are state assets, Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), as a non-SOE, could not carry out the maintenance with its own money. Whats worse, the state budget has not allocated money for maintenance expenditures. By now, these runways are still not fixed. The Ministry of Transport and ACV have submitted several proposals to the government to alleviate this management mechanism issue, making way to do maintenance as soon as possible. In case ACV gets the nod from the Government, the renovations would take place in the low season of the year. Expected timeline would be from August December 2020. As there would be runway closure at these two biggest airports at that time, the overall growth rate of the number of flights as well as passenger traffic volume should see a modest deceleration in the second half of 2020. Hanoitimes Aviation sector brings most intl tourists to Vietnam Airplanes remained the primary means of transport to carry international visitors to Vietnam, with 80% of the total 18 million foreign travelers to the country in 2019 arriving by air. 6.6k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that Iran could have attacked US embassies, which is completely different Trumps made-up threat against embassies. Esper said on CNNs State of the Union, What the president said with regard to the four embassies is what I believe as well. He said he believed that they probably, that they could have been targeting the embassies in the region. I believe that as well as did other national security team members that is why I deployed thousands of additional paratroopers to the region to reinforce our embassy in Baghdad and to reinforce other locations throughout the region. When Jake Tapper asked if there was intelligence that Iran was going to attack four US embassies, Esper answered, I am not going to discuss intelligence here on the show. Video: On CNN, Mark Esper makes it absolutely clear that the Trump administration is making it up as they go when they claim Soleimani posed an imminent threat to 4 different US embassies pic.twitter.com/Cm16XkOrlo Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 12, 2020 Sec. Espers admitting that the administration launched a military strike against Iran based on what the Iranians could do, not intelligence suggesting what they will do. Belief was substituted for facts. There is no evidence that Iran was going to attack four US embassies. Trump and his national security team made it up to justify what they wanted to do without congressional authorization. Trump is a fact-free president who could bumble the nation into a new Middle East war because of his feelings. One hundred seventy-six innocent people are already dead due to Trumps feelings, and if given a second term the body count could be exponentially higher. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 06:52:26|Editor: ZX Video Player Close HAVANA, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Saturday strongly rejected the U.S. extension of ban on charter flights between the United States and Cuban destinations except Havana. "Cuba rejects new ban on charter flights imposed by the United States. The escalation of sanctions violates the human rights of Cubans and of Americans," the president tweeted. On Friday, the U.S. government announced the suspension of all public charter flights to Cuba, except those to Havana's Jose Marti International Airport. This new sanction, which affects nine airports on the island, is an extension of last year's ban on U.S. commercial flights to all Cuban destinations except Havana. Public charter flight operators will have a 60-day wind-down period to discontinue all affected flights, according to the U.S. statement. The prohibition on charter flights adds to a set of sanctions implemented by Washington against Havana since U.S. President Donald Trump took office, seeking to stifle the island's economy, especially the tourism sector. In 2006, the State Supreme Court ruled that New York State was allocating about $2 billion less to New York City schools than was needed to provide the sound basic education required by the states Constitution. Despite an increase in funding since then, the settlement, in a case brought by the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, has never been fully funded. City officials and education experts say the state now owes the city more than $1.1 billion in this fiscal year alone. The city allocated an additional $125 million to those high-poverty schools annually, beginning this year, but hundreds of the schools remain underfunded. At the same time, many city schools with wealthier students receive more than their share under the Fair Student Funding formula the city adopted in the 2007-8 school year, while nearly 300 high-poverty schools had shortfalls of more than $500,000 each, according to the budget office. The mayor and the governor, the City Council and the Legislature could address these inequities if they had the courage to do so. But P.T.A. funding also provides an opportunity to do so in a smaller way. One idea is to take a portion of P.T.A. funding above a certain amount from each New York City school and direct it toward a common, citywide fund that helps high-need schools. Though that might sound radical, its already in action elsewhere. In Portland, Ore., one-third of funds above $10,000 raised by parents in a P.T.A.-like system are distributed to high-need schools through a fair-funding formula. Over $1.2 million was distributed in the last school year, according to Jonathan Garcia, the president of the Fund for Portland Public Schools, a nonprofit organization that now oversees the program. People are bought in, Mr. Garcia said. Nobody bats an eye. Things unfolded differently in California in recent years, where the sharing of P.T.A. funds between Malibu and more economically diverse Santa Monica helped fuel a kind of secession movement among Malibu parents. David Bloomfield, a professor of education law at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center, said that in New York, a city with vast wealth but also grinding poverty, P.T.A.s could make a difference. There should be a wealth tax, he said of such a plan. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (L) meets with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York on January 9th (Photo: VNA) The Vietnamese official chaired a working luncheon of the UN Security Council with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and had bilateral meetings with the UN Secretary-General, Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UN Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Foreign Minister of Nicaragua Denis Moncada, Foreign Minister of Timor Leste Dionisio Babo Soares, Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Sergiy Kyslytsya, and former President of Ireland Mary Robinson. The meetings took place on the sidelines of an open debate of the UN Security Council chaired by Vietnam. At these events, officials of the UN and countries valued Vietnams international stature as it is concurrently serving as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and ASEAN Chair in 2020. They said the open debate organised by Vietnam was successful with the participation of many UN member states. They also highly regarded the debates focus on the UN Charter, which is highly topical at present and meet countries attention amidst complex developments in the world situation. At the working session between the UN Security Council and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, participants discussed the cooperation between the council and the UN Secretariat, along with some issues of common concern. Deputy PM Minh affirmed that the maintenance of contact and close coordination between the Security Council and the Secretariat has helped the council be updated with information in a timely and comprehensive manner, thus devising effective measures to ease tensions, prevent conflicts, peacefully resolve disputes, and better contribute to the maintenance of regional and global peace and security. At the bilateral meeting with Minh, Secretary-General Guterres applauded the Vietnam-UN cooperation, as well as the countrys development achievements and commitments to realising the Sustainable Development Goals. He said Vietnam holds a special standing and is an important factor contributing to peace and stability in the ASEAN region. He affirmed his support for the settlement of disputes in the East Sea by peaceful means and in line with international law. Deputy PM Minh appreciated the UNs cooperation and assistance for Vietnams development, underlining the wish to enhance ties in the time ahead. He asked the UN and the Secretary-General to continue paying attention to the East Sea situation to help promote the peaceful settlement of disputes. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (L) and UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner (Photo: VNA) At the meeting with UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner, Minh thanked the UNDP for its support for Vietnam over the last 40 years, proposing it provide more counselling for the country, especially in economic restructuring, climate change response, realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals, and sustainable use and management of the Mekong Rivers water resources. Congratulating Vietnam on its recent attainments, Steiner said the country is a model in economic development, and the UNDP is ready to give support and policy advice during the new development stage of Vietnam. Meanwhile, Executive Director of UN Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka hailed the significant outcomes Vietnam has obtained in promoting gender equality, particularly womens economic empowerment. She affirmed that UN Women will keep working closely with and helping Vietnam to organise important events marking the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action on gender equality, as well as others on women, peace and security. For his part, Deputy PM Minh asked UN Women to continue support Vietnam to promote the themes on women, peace and security within the UN framework, and to boost gender equality and womens empowerment in the coming time. At another meeting, Foreign Minister of Nicaragua Denis Moncada expressed his belief that the Southeast Asian nation will successfully serve as both a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and ASEAN Chair. The Nicaraguan and Vietnamese officials agreed to step up political dialogue in an appropriate point of time and consider the negotiation on a trade and investment framework agreement to create a legal framework for bilateral cooperation. Minh also took this occasion to convey Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trongs invitation to visit Vietnam to Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (R) and Foreign Minister of Timor Leste Dionisio Babo Soares (Photo: VNA) Talking to Deputy PM Minh, Foreign Minister of Timor Leste Dionisio Babo Soares congratulated Vietnam and highly valued its growing international role. He voiced his countrys wish to become a member of ASEAN and increase bilateral collaboration with Vietnam, noting the readiness to support activities of Vietnamese businesses, including Viettel, in Timor Leste. Minh asked Timor Leste to soon ratify the trade agreement between the two countries so as to create a legal basis for boosting trade connections. The two sides also agreed to strengthen cooperation and share their stances at regional and international forums, including the UN. Meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Sergiy Kyslytsya, Deputy PM Minh offered heartfelt condolences to the Ukrainian Government and people, and the families of the victims in the serious plane incident in Iran on January 8th. The officials discussed measures to advance their countries cooperation, including organising delegation exchanges at all level, holding annual political consultations, and foster economic and trade links which are developing well. The Ukrainian side expressed the hope to coordinate with Vietnam at multilateral forums, particularly the UN, and enhance ties with ASEAN, saying the country wishes to join the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia. At another event, former President of Ireland Mary Robinson, who chairs of the Elders a group of senior global leaders at the UN, spoke highly of Vietnams priorities at the UN Security Council such as climate change, security, and protection of women and children in conflicts. She stressed the importance of multilateralism and learned about Vietnams priorities during its ASEAN Chairmanship Year. Robinson and Minh also exchanged views on global and regional matters of common concern like the Middle East issue and the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula./. More than a thousand people attended a rally in Hong Kong on Sunday to urge people and governments abroad to support the city's pro-democracy movement and oppose China's ruling Communist Party. Representatives of allied activist groups from Canada, Europe and Taiwan made remarks and led the attendees in chants of "Fight for freedom! Stand with Hong Kong!" Speakers also celebrated the results of Saturday's presidential election in Taiwan that saw the Democratic Progressive Party's Tsai Ing-wen voted to a second term in a landslide. Months of anti-government protests in Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous Chinese territory, have driven home to many in Taiwan the contrast between their democratically governed island and authoritarian mainland China. A former British colony, Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997. Under the framework of "one country, two systems," the city enjoys greater democratic rights than those on the mainland, but protesters say those freedoms have been steadily eroding under Chinese President Xi Jinping. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) FOOD and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 7.6 per cent between October 2020 and October 2021, the Central Statistical Office (CSO) reported yesterday. In a memorandum on the Index of Retail Prices (RPI) published for general information yesterday, attributed to the acting director of statistics, Andre Blanchard, the CSO noted that the All Items Index of Retail Prices increased by 3.9 per cent between October 2020 and last October. Hillsong raises over $1 million for Australian bushfires relief efforts Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Best known for their worship songs sung around the globe, Hillsong Church is spearheading a relief effort for the bushfires that have besieged the nation and has announced they have raised over $1 million. The blazes, which began last fall, has resulted in the death of 25 people and destroyed thousands of homes, the church noted on their website Friday in an update about their relief efforts; it is estimated that approximately 12 million hectacres have burned thus far. "The outpouring of love, care and concern and generosity from people from all walks of life both here and overseas, has been staggering and humbling," Hillsong Church explained. "As a church community we have come together over the past few weeks and extended generosity to those suffering and the emergency service workers who are giving up their holidays to work tirelessly to protect homes, land and families in the path of the fires." The church raised funds at a men's event in November to send to the Salvation Army and volunteer fire brigades and has through various ministries dispatched aid and teams. Hillsong senior pastor Brian Houston reported on his Instagram page Thursday that the church had raised $1,003,988.52 for the Global Bushfires, firefighters, food banks and others assisting on the ground. "Please continue to pray for our nation, our leaders, firefighters and communities affected and for rain that will end the drought in our scorched land," the church said. The bushfires have captured the attention of the world as reports have emerged showing the devastating impact the blazes have had on residents who have had to flee to the beaches for safety, and on animals unique to Australia, such as koala bears and kangaroos. Without using any special camera lenses, photos have been snapped in recent weeks showing red skies and smoke-filled atmospheres in Australian cities. The fires have most adversely affected the nation's eastern coast, especially in the states of New South Wales and Victoria. Recent reports indicate that a pair of fires merged this week, creating a "megafire," three times the size of any documented blaze in California. NASA released Thursday an animated video showing how the smoke from the bushfires reached the lower stratosphere and had traveled across the Pacific Ocean, reaching Chile. Hillsong Church is a charismatic Christian megachurch and Christian denomination originating from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was originally established in 1983 and was called Hills Christian Life Centre, in Baulkham Hills, New South Wales. The church now has locations all over the world, including in Europe and North America. Theres an old story apocryphal, as the best stories always seem to be that Richard Nixon asked Chinese premier Zhou Enlai what he thought about the French Revolution, and Zhou said, Its too soon to tell. At first blush, the mini-crisis between Iran and the United States appears to have ended well for the U.S., but it may be too soon to tell. On the positive side of the ledger, Trumps action rid the world of an effective terror master. Qassem Soleimani, head of the Quds (Jerusalem) force, was instrumental in creating Hezbollah, which has been responsible for attacks around the globe and has specifically targeted the United States and Israel. Hezbollah was behind the 1983 bombings of the U.S. embassy and Marine barracks in Beirut, as well as the embassy annex the following year. They kidnapped CIA station chief William Buckley and tortured him to death. In 1985, Hezbollah hijacked a TWA airliner and killed a U.S. Navy diver, dropping his body onto the airport tarmac. The Quds force also supports Sunni terrorists like Hamas and al-Qaida (though it fought ISIS) and has carried out multiple terror attacks against Israel. During the Iraq War, Soleimani was credited with developing the IEDs that took the lives of at least 600 Americans. U.S. General David Petraeus recounted a message he once received from the terror leader: Gen. Petraeus, you should know that I, Qassem Soleimani, control the policy for Iran with respect to Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza and Afghanistan. He didnt mention Yemen, as that war came a bit later, but Iran was behind the Houthis as well. Most devastating, in terms of body count, has been Soleimanis participation in the Syrian civil war on behalf of Bashar al-Assad. That bloodbath has taken the lives of more than 500,000 Syrians and displaced more than 11 million more (6 million internally and 5.6 million external refugees). Soleimanis death is likely to be a short-term setback for Irans imperial ambitions. Also on the positive side of the ledger is the fact that Iran was reduced to lying to the Iranian people about its retaliation. Rather than risk killing Americans and thereby inviting further conflict, Iran chose to fire (misfire?) missiles at a couple of Iraqi bases while claiming on state media that 80 Americans had died. That was about as clear a climbdown as you get in an international crisis. On the negative side of the ledger, Iran has now withdrawn from abiding by the limitations of the nuclear agreement, and whatever the flaws of that pact (I strenuously opposed it), it was still better to have Iran in compliance than not. Nor would it be crazy for Iran to conclude, after this humiliation at Americas hands, that nuclear weapons are more desirable than ever. Further, if our goal was to weaken internal support for the Iranian regime, we may not have succeeded. A month ago, Irans cities were rocked by mass protests over the governments decision to raise gasoline prices by 300 percent. Up to 600 protesters were killed and as many as 7,000 arrested. Now, we have triggered a nationalistic reflex, and the streets are thronged by mourners for the martyr Soleimani. It was not necessarily in our interest to have alienated Iraqis to the point where a resolution was passed in parliament demanding the withdrawal of all U.S. forces. While its true that the Kurds and Sunnis did not participate in that nonbinding vote, it is nevertheless some measure of the animosity weve engendered. Nor was the situation improved by presidential tweets threatening severe sanctions on Iraq. It would be Irans fondest wish for America to leave or even better be chased out of Iraq. If we know anything about the clerics in Tehran, its that they nurse long grudges, and they are happy to take revenge on innocent civilians as well as military targets. In 1988, the U.S. destroyed half of the Iranian navy in Operation Praying Mantis. Eight years later, Hezbollah detonated a bomb at Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, which housed American Marines. Twenty were killed and nearly 500 wounded. After Israel assassinated an Iranian nuclear scientist, Irans retaliation took the form of targeting Israeli tourists in Bulgaria, and Israeli diplomats in Georgia, India and Thailand. Frequently, Iran disclaims responsibility, as it did regarding the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. For good or ill, it is unlikely that this chapter is closed. Mona Charen is a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Iran's justice orders military court to conduct immediate probe into plane crash Iran Press TV Saturday, 11 January 2020 9:35 AM Iran's judiciary has ordered an immediate probe into the unintentional downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane which crashed near the capital Tehran earlier this week. Judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi issued an order on Saturday, calling on the military court to gather all the related data and documents from Iran's General Staff of the Armed Forces, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and the country's Civil Aviation Organization. Raisi also called for testimonies from the officials who were implicated and informed on the matter. Iran's Prosecutor General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri ordered Tehran's military court to conduct a swift investigation into the incident. On Saturday, Iran's General Staff of the Armed Forces put out a statement saying the Ukrainian plane was shot down "unintentionally" due to "human error" and that those guilty would be brought to military justice. The statement added that "by pursuing fundamental reforms in operational processes at the armed forces' level, we will make it impossible to repeat such errors." The incident happened as Iran had "raised the sensitivity" of its air defenses due to increased hostile American aerial activity which came after "threats by the criminal American president and military commanders" to hit Iranian targets, the statement read. All 176 crew members and passengers, 147 of whom were Iranians, died in the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) crash which came a few minutes after take-off from Tehran to Kiev on Wednesday. International response Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday called on Iran to "bring the guilty to the courts" and make the "payment of compensation" and return the remains. Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also called for "transparency, and justice for the families and loved ones of the victims," many of whom were Iranian nationals. The chairman of the Russian parliament's foreign affairs committee, Konstantin Kosachev, expressed hope that "lessons will be learned" from the incident and that needed "action is taken by all parties". "If decryption of the black boxes and the work of the investigation do not prove that the Iranian army did this intentionally, and there are no logical reasons for this, the incident must be closed," he said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The SARL National Convention The SARL 95 National Convention, which includes the Unlocking Amateur Radio Technology Symposium, the Annual General Meeting and the SARL 95 Dinner Dance, will be held over the weekend of 3 to 5 April at the Wanderer's Club facilities in Johannesburg. The Sandton and Hammies ARCs are hosting the event. Kandahar/IBNS: At least two US soldiers were killed in an IED explosion in Afghanistan's Kandahar province, media reports said on Sunday. In their statement, Resolute Support said: "Two U.S. service members were killed and two U.S. service members were wounded in action today when their vehicle was struck by an IED in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan as part of NATO's Resolute Support Mission." "In accordance with U.S. Department of Defense policy, the names of the service members killed in action will be withheld until 24 hours after notification of next of kin is complete," read another statement. According to a report published by Khaama Press, 20 US soldiers were killed in the year 2019. Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in West Bengal for his two-day visit, on Sunday paid tribute to Swami Vivekananda on his birth anniversary at the Belur Math in Howrah, the headquarters of Ramakrishna Mission. He is the first prime minister to stay overnight at the Math in neighbouring. He woke up early on Sunday and visited the temple of Swami Vivekananda to pay respect to the spiritual leader, Mission officials said. Swami Vivekanandas birth anniversary is also observed as the National Youth Day. The prime minister then visited the main temple building and paid tribute to Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa, they said. "My best wishes to you all on Swami Vivekananda's birth anniversary... I'm grateful to the Math's president and the seers for letting me stay with them last night. Belur Math is no less than a pilgrimage, but for me it is always like a homecoming," PM Modi said. PM Modi also took part in the morning prayer meeting around 9.30 am at the Math premises, officials said. The prime minister was received by senior monks of the order after he reached Belur Math on Saturday evening, taking the river route from Kolkata. This is prime ministers second visit to the Math after becoming prime minister. The last time I came here, I had taken the blessings of Swami Atmasthanandaji. Today he is not physically present with us. But his work, his path, will always guide us in the form of Ramakrishna Mission, PM Modi said while addressing youth. On May 10, 2015, a "deeply emotional" Modi had spent a few morning hours at the Math, praying and meditation. Later in the day, PM Modi will also participate in the sesquicentenary celebrations of the Kolkata Port Trust. The prime minister and the chief minister will share dais at the programme at Netaji Indoor Stadium on Sunday. West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar will also be present. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Military-tungsten-alloy.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 Jul 2013, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the military-tungsten-alloy homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if military-tungsten-alloy has a Facebook fan page). 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KEYWORDS tungsten alloy, military tungsten alloy, tungsten heavy alloy OTHER KEYWORDS tungsten, alloy, tungsten alloy, military, military tungsten, military tungsten alloy, bullet The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. 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 title found in the head section of the homepage. Domain and Server DOCTYPE XHTML 1.0 Transitional CHARSET AND LANGUAGE UTF-8 DETECTED LANGUAGE English English SERVER Microsoft-IIS/6.0 (ASP.NET) OPERATIVE SYSTEM Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2003 Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) Operative System running on the server. The language of military-tungsten-alloy.com as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Type of server and offered services. 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Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND Gardai had to urge homeowners to ensure that no cash is kept in their homes, that all windows and doors are locked and lights are left on after four homes in Co Leitrim were broken into on the first weekend of this month. Ballinamore welcomed seven new asylum seeking families to The Rock Quarter development. 14 adults and 13 children moved into the newly furnished apartments, with more expected to follow in the new year. The High Court injunction stopping any interference with works at the Rock development was enforced permanently by the judge this month. The county enjoyed a massive boost of funding in December with 500,000 from Failte Ireland for Carrick-on-Shannon to develop as a destination town. Sport and physical activities in the county were granted 75,000, and Ballinamore Community Hall CLG (The Island Theatre) got 15,000 while Aughavas Community Centre benefited to the tune of 4,000 from the Dormant Accounts Fund. Breffni Players, Carrick-on-Shannon celebrated 75 years of drama this year. Chairperson, Edwina McNulty presented member Jim Gorman with an award for 60 years of lighting for the theatre group Leitrim also got good news when the road allocation budget for 2020 was announced as over 7.9million, almost twice the amount that was allocated for 2019. Drumanilra Farm Foods from Boyle confirmed plans to open "Ireland's first ever organic, drive-through, fast food from the farm" destination in the former KFC building in Carrick-on-Shannon in Summer 2020. There was sadness at the news that Cumiskeys sweet shop in Ballinamore was closing down. The Cumiskey family have been involved in business for over 100 years in the town. Adrian Leddy stepped away from the regional Irish Farmers Association after 45 years of service. He is pictured with his late father, Hugh Leddy, during the 50th celebrations of the IFA Christmas came early to Drumshanbo with the news of new jobs for the region at The Food Hub. The purchase of a former IDA factory in Drumshanbo will pave the way for the creation of more than 50 new jobs as part of the first phase of the Leitrim Food Enterprise Zone project. Minister Eoghan Murphy officially opened Ballinamore and Drumshanbo fire stations. More than 600,000 in funding was allocated by his department for both fire stations. After months of delay, Fine Gael announced their second candidate for the general election in Sligo- Leitrim as Cllr Thomas Walsh, but this was overshadowed by the news that former TD John Perry will return in hope of being elected as an independent. The head of MI5 has said he has no reason to think Britains intelligence-sharing relationship with the United States will be damaged if the Chinese tech giant Huawei is given access to the UKs 5G network. The Government has come under intense pressure from the US administration not to allow Huawei a role in building 5G network amid fears that granting a Chinese firm access to the communications network could be a security risk. However, in an interview with the Financial Times, MI5 director general Sir Andrew Parker expressed confidence that Britains intelligence gathering would not suffer if it did decide to go ahead. Sir Andrew Parker said the UK-US partnership is very close and trusted (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Asked specifically, if he thought the UK would lose out on its intelligence relationships, he said: Ive no reason today to think that. Sir Andrew said the US-UK intelligence partnership was very close and trusted, adding: It is, of course, of great importance to us. And, I dare say, to the US too, though thats for them to say. It is a two-way street. His comments came as it was reported that a US delegation from National Security Agency and the National Economic Council was due in London on Monday in a last-ditch lobbying drive to persuade the British officials not to give Huawei a role. Prior to the general election, Boris Johnson was reported to be moving towards a decision to allow the firm to provide non-contentious elements of the system, but a final decision was shelved until after polling day. However at last months Nato leaders meeting in London, in the midst of the election campaign, the Prime Minister came under direct pressure from President Donald Trump who said Huawei was a security danger. Mr Johnson responded by saying he would not do anything that would prejudice our vital national security interests or the UKs ability to co-operate with other members of the Five Eyes security partnership, including the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Many Tory MPs have also expressed deep concern at the prospect that Huawei could be given a role. But at the same time, ministers have come under pressure from the Chinese government which has warned of the commercial consequences if it is barred. Security sources said that the Myanmar army has been carrying out operations since January 29 against all the Indian insurgent groups. Indicating that they would be surrendering their arms soon to the security forces, security sources said that they would be part of the ongoing peace-process. Guwahati: In a major breakthrough on insurgency front, about 40 cadres of anti-talk faction of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), including its chairman B. Saoraigwra, have come back to India on Saturday night from Myanmar to join the ongoing peace-process with government of India. Informing that outfit had approached the government of India expressing their willingness to give up their armed-struggle, security sources said that safe passage was facilitated to all the NDFB cadres by the Indian army to cross over to India from international border in Manipur. Security sources said, The NDFB chairman, B. Saoraigwra, and his family members along with his security personnel crossed the international border at Tamu (in Manipur), while NDFB-S (self-styled) general secretary B. Ferrenga, council members and other cadres entered India through the Longwa international border (in Nagaland). Claiming that some more cadres would be coming to join the peace-process in next few weeks, security sources however refused to divulge their whereabouts. They have been kept at safe location under strict security cover, said security sources coordinating the process in the ministry of home affairs. Security sources said that the Myanmar army has been carrying out operations since January 29 against all the Indian insurgent groups. Pointing out that they were also facing acute shortage of fund, security sources said that NDFB cadres have come out with their arms and ammunitions. Indicating that they would be surrendering their arms soon to the security forces, security sources said that they would be part of the ongoing peace-process. Security sources however clarified that the most wanted NDFB leader G Bidai was not the part of the group. The NDFB faction, led by G Bidai was responsible for the massacre of over 80 Adivasis (tea tribe community) in northern Assam in December 2014. Following the bloodbath, most of its leaders fled to Myanmar and Bhutan as the security forces launched a massive operation against the outfit. The most wanted G Bidai, is said to have been holed up, along with a few cadres, in Bhutan bordering Western Assam. He escaped several close encounters with Indian army. A Texas man who courageously shot an active gunman who killed two people at a church last month is expected to received the state's highest civilian honor. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott revealed that he will present Jack Wilson, 71, with the Medal of Courage on Monday. 'I will present the Governor's Medal of Courage to the man who stopped a gunman in a deadly shooting at a church in North Texas. It is the highest award given to civilians by the Governor,' Abbot wrote on Twitter. Wilson, a former reserve deputy sheriff and the head of the church's security team, became a hero after stopping a gunman Keith Thomas Kinnunen at the West Freeway Church of Christ in Fort Worth, on December 29. Jack Wilson (pictured) will received the Medal of Courage, Texas' highest civilian honor, on Monday for shooting an active gunmen at a church Texas Gov. Greg Abbott revealed he will present the honor to Wilson, saying the man 'stopped a gunman in a deadly shooting at a church in North Texas' Wilson said that he and the others in his team were suspicious of Kinnunen when he first arrived at the church because he was wearing a long coat, a fake beard, glasses and wig. When Kinnunen drew his gun - a shotgun he had been hiding beneath his coat - the security guards drew theirs. Kinnunen was able to fatally wound Richard White, 67, and Anton 'Tony' Wallace, 64, before Wilson took him out with a single shot to the head. Wilson then marched over to his body and stood over it, kicking his gun away to ensure he would not get up to try to start firing again in the off-chance he had survived. Wilson took Kinnunen out in just six seconds. While the shots were being fired, people ducked under church pews as a church leader tried to calm people down Pictured: Keith Thomas Kinnunen, the man who shot two people during an attack at West Freeway Church of Christ last month In an interview with Fox on Monday, Wilson described how the entire incident unfolded in just six seconds. He later said he did not feel as though he had taken another life because Kinnunen was 'evil' and not human. 'I was standing to Richard's right about 6ft. He shot Richard and shot Tony Wallace, at that point I didn't have a clear shot. 'I finally got it about a second later. I took the shot, the shooter went down. I went over to cover, pulled the shotgun away from his body. Then other people in the church who are part of the security team came forward in case he tried to get up, which he did not,' he said. Wilson said he and other members of the security team were suspicious of him from when he first arrived at the church, dressed strangely and having never been there before. Richard White, 67, (left) and Anton 'Tony' Wallace, 64, (right) were killed by Kinnunen on December 29 'He had on a fake beard and a fake wig and was wearing a long coat. From where I was standing I could see his right hand at all times, but could not see his left hand. 'From the moment he walked in the door we had eyes on him. Physical eyes and cameras. 'Apparently with the shotgun he had which was a short barrel, a legal firearm, he had it evidently in his pocket, and underneath his armpit. I know he discharged two rounds, possibly a third, as he was going down - after he shot Richard and Tony - he went and started towards the front of the sanctuary and that's when I was able to engage,' he said. White was able to fire one shot before he was taken down, but it hit the wall. Kinnunen (pictured) was allegedly wearing a long coat, a fake beard, glasses and wig when he arrived at the church 'This type of scenario hopefully never happens. 'You train but hope you never have to go to that extreme. But if you do, your training will kick in,' he said. Wilson said he had to pause for a second to get a clear shot after Kinnunen started firing as 'chaos' erupted and parishioners ran for their lives. 'There were people in front of me between the shooter and myself. I had to just wait a second. The whole thing was less than six seconds from start to finish,' he said. He added there was 'no verbal communication whatsoever' between him and the shooter, and that he was 'bleeding profusely' from his head afterwards. 'The only movement was body twitching which happens when someone is in that condition about to die. 'I only fired one round which was a headshot,' he said. He told NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt separately that he did not feel as though he'd taken a human life. 'I dont feel like I killed a human, I killed an evil and thats how Im coping with the situation,' he said. Wilson: 'I dont feel like I killed a human, I killed an evil and thats how Im coping with the situation' Wilson, a father, grandfather and local politician, said on Facebook afterwards that he felt blessed to have been able to protect the congregation. 'I just want to thank all who have sent their prayers and comments on the events of today. 'The events at West Freeway Church of Christ put me in a position that I would hope no one would have to be in, but evil exist and I had to take out an active shooter in church. Wilson, 70, is running for County Commissioner. He said he was 'blessed with the ability' to protect the other parishioners 'Im thankful to GOD that I have been blessed with the ability and desire to serve him in the role of head of security at the church. 'I am very sad in the loss of two dear friends and brothers in CHRIST, but evil does exist in this world and I and other members are not going to allow evil to succeed. 'Please pray for all the members and their families in this time. Thank you for your prayers and understanding.' Kinnunen was 'relatively transient', but had some connections in the area. His sister said Kinnunen, 43, had been denied money by the West Freeway Church of Christ after receiving food from the ministry on several occasions before the attack. His ex-wives described the gunman as mentally ill and violent, with one noting: 'Keith is a violent, paranoid person with a long line of assault and batteries with and without firearms. He is a religious fanatic, says he's battling a demon ... He is not nice to anyone.' Taiwan's Tsai Ing-wen Announces Victory in Presidential Vote Sputnik News 16:11 11.01.2020(updated 17:32 11.01.2020) On Saturday, citizens of the Republic of China headed to the polls to cast their votes for a new president and vice president of Taiwan. Tsai Ing-wen has declared that has she won a second term as president of the Republic of China, commonly known as Taiwan. "Taiwan is showing the world how much we cherish our free democratic way of life and how much we cherish our nation", Tsai told reporters, while announcing her victory. According to Bloomberg News, citing local reports, with 99.4% of the polls counted, Tsai Ing-wen has gained around 57.2% of the vote. Her main opponent Han Kuo-yu of the Kuomintang party (KMT) came in second place with approximately 38.6% of the vote. Taiwan's first female president also said that Beijing must "abandon threats of force" against the republic. "Today I want to once again remind the Beijing authorities that peace, parity, democracy and dialogue are the keys to stability", the newly-elected president said. "I want the Beijing authorities to know that democratic Taiwan and our democratically elected government will never concede to threats" "I hope that Beijing will show its goodwill", Tsai added. Tsai Ing-wen is Taiwan's incumbent president and belongs to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). She won the presidential race back in 2016 and was eligible for re-election this year. The political status of Taiwan remains controversial, as although the Republic of China adopted the "One China" policy in 1979, acknowledging its status as an inseparable part of China, Tsai has publicly spoken out against it. While she continues to support economic trade links between Taiwan and mainland China, Tsai has also expressed solidarity with the recent protests in Hong Kong. Taiwan has never declared formal independence from China but has maintained independent trade links with the United States. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Britains ambassador to Tehran has been summoned to explain his illegal and inappropriate presence at an anti-government protest, the Iranian foreign ministry has said. Rob Macaire was called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs following his arrest on Saturday at a rally where demonstrators condemned the downing of a Ukrainian airliner by Iranian forces. The ambassador has insisted he had been attending a vigil for the victims of the fatal plane crash when protests broke out, at which point he left. The summoning threatens to further escalate the diplomatic row between London and Tehran after foreign secretary Dominic Raab denounced Mr Macaires detention as a flagrant violation of international law. Boris Johnson and German chancellor Angela Merkel condemned the arrest of Mr Macaire, a spokesman from the prime ministers office said in a statement issued after the two leaders spoke on Sunday. Dozens of Iranian hardliners have gathered outside the British embassy, chanting death to England while burning a Union Jack and calling for the ambassador to be expelled. 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 Macaire tweeted on Sunday morning: Can confirm I wasnt taking part in any demonstrations! Went to an event advertised as a vigil for victims of #PS752 tragedy. Normal to want to pay respects some of victims were British. I left after 5 mins, when some started chanting. He added: Detained half an hour after leaving the area. Arresting diplomats is of course illegal, in all countries. The semi-official Tasnim news agency said he was one of a number of people arrested outside the Amir Kabir University on suspicion of organising, provoking and directing radical actions. Officials stand near the wreckage of a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 near Tehran after a crash that killed 176 (Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs later said on its Telegram channel that he had been summoned over his illegal and inappropriate presence at the protests. Iranian authorities are on standby for further demonstrations after the Revolutionary Guard admitted accidentally shooting down the Ukrainian jet shortly after take-off, killing all 176 people on board, including four Britons. Earlier deputy foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said police had been unaware Mr Macaire was a diplomat and had arrested him as an unknown foreigner. He said Mr Macaire was released within 15 minutes once he was able to speak to him on the telephone and confirm he was the ambassador. Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been detained in Iran since April 2016, said Mr Macaires arrest is a really bad sign for us. He told Sky News Sophy Ridge on Sunday show: The arrest of the ambassador and the attempt to try and turn that into this is a foreign plot, its the British organising the protest which is what Iranian Press TV has put out, its a really bad sign for us. Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe is serving a five-year sentence over allegations, which she vehemently denies, of plotting to overthrow the Tehran government. In an article for The Sunday Telegraph, written before Mr Macaires arrest, Mr Raab urged Iran to come in from the cold and resolve its differences with the west peacefully. He said the diplomatic door has been left ajar for the regime in Tehran to end the isolation choking its economy. Mr Raab said Britain and its European allies still hope to revive the Iran nuclear deal, despite US president Donald Trumps insistence that it is dead. However, he said the Iranians must end their pursuit of nuclear weapons, drop their support for terrorism, and release the foreign nationals held as pawns in its nefarious diplomatic game. The downing of Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 came just hours after Iran launched a series of ballistic missile strikes on US bases in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of its top commander, General Qassem Soleimani, by an American drone. The missiles failed to cause any casualties and Mr Trump indicated he would respond by tightening sanctions rather than with further military action. Additional reporting by Press Association What a difference a year can make. At this time last year, the marijuana industry was fully expected to see its rapid sales growth result in recurring profitability within a year's time. Further, ongoing state-level legalizations in the U.S., coupled with the launch of derivative pot products in Canada, were believed to be a means of improving cannabis stock margins. However, all of these forecasts proved too aggressive, with the North American cannabis industry suffering from a combination of supply issues and high tax rates, both of which encouraged illicit producers. Not only did these struggles throw out any hopes of near-term profitability for most brand-name pot stocks in the industry, but it also disrupted merger and acquisition activity within the cannabis space. A number of deals that looked like slam-dunk winners when announced have become a source of unrest for shareholders. Cresco Labs' buyout of Origin House was filled with promise One such cannabis stock merger that began with a ton of promise, but seemed to limp to the finish line, was that of vertically integrated multistate operator Cresco Labs (OTC:CRLBF) and Origin House (OTC:ORHOF). On April 1, 2019, Cresco Labs shocked Wall Street by announcing an all-stock acquisition of Origin House, a company that primarily earned its living as a cannabis distributor in California. The deal, which would result in Origin House shareholders netting 0.8428 shares of Cresco for every share of Origin House they owned, was the largest U.S. pot stock acquisition announced at the time. Based on Cresco's respective share price at the announcement of the deal, the price tag looked to be worth around $840 million. As noted, what made Cresco's purchase of Origin House so unique is that Cresco wasn't looking to simply buy retail licenses, grow farms, and processing sites. Rather, it found that the best way to grow sales and infiltrate the largest marijuana market in the world (California) was to acquire one of the very few companies to hold a cannabis distribution license in the Golden State. Buying Origin House allows Cresco Labs to get its products into approximately 575 California dispensaries, representing about 65% of all legal retail locations in the state. Additionally, this buyout makes Cresco Labs privy to Origin's relatively consistent distribution revenue tied to its more than one dozen third-party brands. Not to mention, Cresco gains access to Origin House's 92,000-square-foot indoor cultivation facility in California, which will further aid in the company's efforts to entrench its footprint in the Golden State's cannabis market. It was a great deal on paper that quickly lost its pizzazz as time wore on. This now-closed deal has been a disappointment all around This past week, on Wednesday, Jan. 8, Cresco announced that its deal to acquire Origin House was finally complete, more than nine months after it was initially announced. However, the terms of the now-complete merger aren't the same as they were when first divulged in April. In mid-November, Cresco and Origin House amended their original agreement, which the duo attributed to dynamic market conditions. Instead of Origin House shareholders receiving 0.8428 shares of Cresco Labs for every Origin House share they owned, they'd instead receive 0.7031 shares of Cresco Labs. This means the 66.5 million shares of Cresco used to acquire Origin House this past week (along with a substantial decline in Cresco's stock) more than halved the value of the deal when first announced. The amendment also required Origin House to issue more than 9.7 million shares of its common stock to raise $30.5 million. This request was the real eye-opener that not everything was hunky dory with the impending combination. Without access to traditional forms of financing, U.S., pot stocks have genuinely struggled to fund their operations. Cresco, among other capital-raising means, has executed sale-leaseback agreements with Innovative Industrial Properties for two Illinois properties, and required Origin House to raise capital by issuing its common stock. Remember, even though the combination means an immediate boost in sales for Cresco and quick access to Californian dispensaries, it also involves taking on Origin House's expenses and, for the time being, its operating losses. Origin House lost $47.2 million Canadian from operations through the first nine months of 2019, representing a 139% widening in operating losses from the same period in 2018. Here's what needs to happen for this deal to pay dividends Even though the deal is finally done, there's been little for Cresco Labs or Origin House shareholders to cheer about. But this combination could begin to pay dividends, assuming some regulatory changes are made in California. For one, the new Cresco needs to see California's jurisdictions step up their licensing of dispensaries. As an example, in November, the Los Angeles City Council requested a redo on the assignment of 100 marijuana dispensary licenses. The Council suggested that some of the applicants may have gained an unfair advantage by accessing the online licensing application early. The city of Los Angeles is home to about 4 million people, and many of these folks have very few legal dispensary options at the moment. California is also going to need to (pardon the pun) weed out its black-market presence. Not only are more dispensaries needed, but the state needs to do something about its exorbitant tax rate on legal cannabis. By working with law enforcement to drive out illicit producers, consumers will be shifted into legal channels. Banking reform is also sorely needed at the national level. U.S. cannabis stocks have minimal access to basic banking services, which is why Cresco Labs had to turn to sale-leaseback agreements and requested Origin House to raise capital. The "new" Cresco would be on much better footing if access to capital were easier for pot stocks. Clearly, there are still a lot of questions to answer about this combination. Hopefully shareholders will know more by the end of the year. A teenage boy is fighting for his life after he was stabbed in the chest in an east London street. Police say a 15-year-old boy had been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm after the attack in Tower Hamlets. Officers were called at 3.30am on Sunday by paramedics after reports of a stabbing on Upper North Street, a five minute walk north of Canary Wharf station. They found the teenage boy, whose exact age is not known, with a stab injury to his chest. He was rushed to hospital where he remains in a critical condition. A spokesman for the Met Police said: "Police were called by London Ambulance Service at 3.30am on Sunday to Upper North Street following reports of a stabbing. "Officers attended and found a teenage boy suffering from a stab injury to his chest. "He has been taken to an east London hospital, where his condition is being treated as life-threatening. "A 15-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of GBH and taken into custody. "Officers remain at the scene and enquiries into the circumstances continue." Robert Downey Jr may be appearing in Scarlett Johansson-led "Black Widow" as Tony Stark aka Iron Man but the Hollywood superstar insists that his Marvel journey has ended once and for all. Downey Jr amassed fame and fan-following after his appearance as Iron Man in 10 Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies. He ended his stint with 2019's "Avengers: Endgame", though he will be coming back for one last time for "Black Widow", which is set in the past. In an interview with Extra TV, where he appeared alongside his producer-wife Susan Downey, the 54-year-old actor was asked whether he will be donning the suit of armour in a future Marvel movie. "Anything could happen... As far as I'm concerned, I hung up my guns and I'm good to let it go. I also think that Marvel is on this journey now, they're trying a bunch of other stuff and you know, I'm excited for them to see how all that goes," Downey Jr said. The actor will next appear in "Dolittle", which is set to release on January 17. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) First Minister Arlene Foster with deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill at Parliament Buildings, Stormont on Saturday afternoon. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. There were moments when it looked and felt like a parallel political universe: so much smiling, civility and congratulations you could be forgiven for forgetting that the Assembly hasn't actually met for three years and that for most of that time the DUP and Sinn Fein sniped and snarled at each other on an almost daily basis. Indeed, the only discordant note (a note that came as a surprise to no one, of course) was from Jim Allister. And even he managed to laugh a couple of times. Read More It wasn't a given that the five parties would join the new Executive and it was only a few minutes before the session began that the UUP confirmed it would take a ministry. That wasn't really a big surprise because, as I noted in the Belfast Telegraph a couple of days ago, Opposition would be a very difficult challenge for a party with only 10 MLAs, seven of whom have only had a few months experience in a functioning Assembly. It was also interesting to note that the DUP and Sinn Fein had already cut a deal to replace Robin Newton as Speaker (who had previously announced he was standing down) and it probably took some people by surprise when the DUP's Peter Weir nominated, in fairly warm terms, Alex Maskey to the role. And in fairness to Maskey he presided over a very speedy process of appointing the three deputy Speakers, First and deputy First Ministers, two junior ministers and the eight other ministers. Some of us expected to be hanging around until 5pm or later, yet everything was done and dusted by 3.30pm. And what of the new ministerial team? There were no surprises in the reappointment of Arlene Foster and Michelle O'Neill. There have been rumblings in the undergrowth that Foster could be damaged when the RHI report is published- expected fairly soon- but she will, as is normal practice, have seen the references the report will make to her, so her reappointment suggests that neither she nor her party anticipate any difficulties. I suppose the biggest surprise of the day- in that nobody predicted it- was Robin Swann's appointment as Health Minister. It's the biggest department, with the biggest budget and the biggest mountain of problems; and is often regarded as the poisoned chalice of politics. Enoch Powell, a former Health Minister, described the role as "often the graveyard of political careers." It was actually quite brave of the UUP to take it (and let's not forget that last week there were divisions within the UUP about whether they should take an Executive position at all), although at that point the only other post left was Agriculture. But for a party in need of profile, Health makes more sense- even with all the risks involved. Two other surprises: Diane Dodds, who only became an MLA a couple of weeks ago, is now Economy minister; while Deidre Hargey, replacing Mairtin O Muilleoir in South Belfast just after Christmas, is responsible for Communities. It's worth noting that Foster has surrounded herself with people who have been politically close and loyal to her during what has been a very difficult three years- Peter Weir (Education), Edwin Poots (Agriculture/Environment) and Diane Dodds. Again, a signal that she feels safe. While it wasn't a given, either, that Alliance would go back into the Executive, Naomi Long is now Justice Minister. She has been a councillor, MLA, MP, MEP, party leader and now minister, which is, I think, a record of some sort in UK politics. The only jobs left are First Minister or Prime Minister. That said, Justice is a tough job and she'll need more than her usual feistiness to get her through difficult and unpopular decisions. Of the eight ministers only three, Conor Murphy (Finance), Peter Weir and Edwin Poots have served in the Executive before and all three emerged with their reputations enhanced--which isn't always the case with former ministers. The five new ministers, Long, Swann, Dodds, Nichola Mallon (Infrastructure) and Hargey are all experienced politicians, yet it will be interesting to see how they rise to what is usually the greatest challenge of any political career. What will also be interesting to see is how they work together in what will be a very critical exercise in proving that this rebooted Executive won't repeat the same squabbling and silo mentality of its predecessors. Today was a good day in the Assembly. But every day won't be as good and the smiling, civility and congratulations won't always be front and centre. The most important thing now is that there is a huge opportunity for this new Executive to collectively make everyday life better for so many people in so many ways, as well as instilling some much-needed confidence into Northern Ireland. Let's hope the opportunity isn't squandered. 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. By SA Commercial Prop News Portside site in Cape Towns central business district. The R1,6 billion landmark co-development office project planned by FirstRand and Old Mutual for the Portside site in Cape Towns central business district could prompt other corporates to follow suit and invest their capital in upgrading or constructing new buildings within the demarcated urban development zones (UDZs) in South Africa. That is the view of the Portside dealmakers Colin Young and Michael Anderson, executive directors and co-founders of Nine Cubed Capital, which proposed and brokered the sectional title co-development of what will be Cape Towns tallest building. It will be the provincial headquarters for the three divisions of FirstRand First National Bank (FNB), Rand Merchant Bank and Wesbank. Co-owners Old Mutual will offer an additional 25 000m in the lower portion of the tower for leasing to corporate office tenants. Young and Anderson say the South African governments UDZ tax incentive was introduced to encourage office and residential development projects within carefully selected UDZ areas of major cities. The UDZ tax incentive scheme offers real benefits to those corporates wanting to invest in inner cities , notably to own and occupy their own buildings, they say. The challenge is that those corporates considering investments, for instance, to consolidate space, need to move quickly if they are to benefit. Construction needs to be completed before the UDZ tax incentive expires at the end of March 2014. Young and Anderson first learned in January 2010 that the First Rand Group was considering a consolidation of satellite offices in the Western Cape metropole, and was reviewing various development proposals. This was shortly after they had founded Nine Cubed Capital, as a private equity property investment business offering corporate finance and property investment expertise. The Nine Cubed Capital proposal highlighted the multi-faceted financial benefits of the development, underpinned by the UDZ tax allowance as well as the appeal of the site as a key new CBD financial district location, says Stephan Claassen, provincial head of FNB. The final investment case was extremely compelling and eventually accepted by the FirstRand board. Young and Anderson say the deal took many months to finalise, given the complexities of a sectional title co-development scheme and to ensure that the interests of both Old Mutual and FirstRand were covered. Fortunately, both parties embraced the vision and the detailed legal co-development agreements were finally signed in June 2011. Once the deal had been concluded, the existing FirstRand and Old Mutual development teams were successfully integrated and the final Portside development design and costings completed. Cape Town City plan approval processes are underway. When completed, the 32-storey office building, designed by dhk in conjunction with Louis Karol Architects, will help entrench the surrounding node as Cape Towns newest financial district. The unique design will give Old Mutual and FirstRand their own separate business addresses within the building. Derick Henstra of dhk Architects says the gateway location of the site presented a unique intellectual and design challenge. It encompasses an entire city block of 6 642m, with a bulk utilisation of 60 000 m, and is bounded by Bree and Mechau Streets, Buitengracht, and Hans Strijdom Avenue. The conceptualisation took account of FirstRand and Old Mutuals business requirements and the vision of a new multi-tenanted dual-entranced tall office tower. It was critically important to ensure the building integrated with the pedestrian street activity, complied with all tall building heritage, traffic, wind, structural, environmental and green building considerations, as well as contributing to the pedestrian and retail revitalisation of the area. A day after Jammu and Kashmir DSP Devinder Singh was arrested along with two terrorists of Pakistan-based terror group Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Jammu and Kashmir Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar on Sunday (January 12) said that Singh will be dealt as a "terrorist". Addressing a press conference, IGP J&K Police Vijay Kumar said DSP Singh was arrested on Srinagar-Jammu highway with two terrorists - Naveed Babu and Altaf - after receiving a tip-off that some terrorists were going towards Srinagar-Jammu highway. "Yesterday during an operation in Sophian, one Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) was arrested along with two wanted Hizbul Mujahideen militants, while they were travelling together in a vehicle on National Highway," he added. Sources said that the police later raided DSP Singh's residence and has recovered five grenades and three AK-47 rifles. Live TV According to IGP Vijay Kumar, Singh, who is a very senior officer, will be interrogated by all security agencies including Intelligence Bureau and Research and Analysis Wing and he will be treated just like other arrested terrorists. "We have taken serious note of the police officer who was arrested with two top terrorists in Anantnag. We are interrogating him," Vijay Kumar said. IGP Singh also told the media that raids are been carried out in different parts of Kashmir Valley after the arrest of these terrorists and security forces have managed to locate the hideouts of several other terrorists. Notably, DSP Singh was awarded the President's Medal for his role in anti-terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir. India's neighbor Pakistan has now come down to barbaric action. Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) on the Line of Control in the Gulpur sector of Poonch district on Friday entered Indian territory and beheaded a porter who worked with the army and mutilated his body. This is the first time that BAT has committed such brutality with a common citizen. In this attack, two porters were killed and 3 others were injured. In this regard, Chief of Army Staff MM Naravane said that professional forces never resort to barbaric acts. We will deal with this situation in a military manner. National Youth Day 2020: These people made Indore number 1 for fourth time in row According to a senior police official, Porter (28) Mohammad Aslam, who was killed in the bat attack, is missing his head and the body is also mutilated. However, a day earlier, the army said that Pakistan had fired mortar on a contingent of porter near the border, in which Mohammad Aslam resident Kasali and (23) Altaf Hussain resident Gulpur Sector were killed. Three others were also injured. Odisha: This traffic policeman is recognised by pigeons and other birds, named as Birdman cop After getting the injured admitted to the district hospital, the bodies of Aslam and Altaf, who were died in the attack, were handed over to the family for the last rites after necessary formal action. The condition of injured Porter Mohammad Salim, Mohammad Shaukat, and Nawaz Ahmed is said to be stable. Meanwhile, in a press conference in Delhi when Chief of Army Staff Narwane was asked about the incident, he only said that the Indian Army conducts itself on the LoC in the most professional and ethical manner. Professional armies never resort to barbaric acts. Congress has strongly targeted the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, condemning the incident. Scout-guide student succumbed to severe cold, admitted in hospital Driving north along busy Tonnelle Avenue through North Bergen, heading into Fairview and leaving Hudson County, then turning left through the Ridgefield Circle, you enter what appears to be an industrial area. Nestled among trees below and to your right, you might miss a quaint little church: English Neighborhood Reformed Church. Take a detour sometime and drive onto the property, which is bounded by the congregations multi-acre cemetery, and youll feel like youve stepped back in time. To 1793, to be exact. Thats when what must be one of the oldest churches in the area was built in Ridgefield after it started in nearby Leonia in 1768 and was destroyed by the British Army. It took its name from the area as it was called back then: The English Neighborhood. George Washington retreated with the Continental Army through there from New York City in 1776. But this church is more than its history. It has a growing, vibrant faith community led by a dynamic pastor, Arlene Romaine. My first goal was to get the church back in front of the community, she said. Currently completing her Master of Divinity from New Brunswick Theological Seminary, which is sponsored by the Reformed Church, Romaine expects to graduate in 2022. Her church has 50 registered members and 35 or more attend Sunday service regularly. The churchs endowment and active cemetery, which still sells plots, enable it to continue. Romaines mission is to do a lot of outreach and get the churchs name out there so people know about it and are attracted to join. The church has hosted History Day, offered tours and sponsored coffee houses. It supports community causes to help veterans, first responders and River Mission Homeless in Hackensack. It practices ecumenism by sharing with other faith traditions and is involved with the Ridgefield Clergy Association. It participates in the Ridgefield Health Fair and local parades. Jennifer Mannion, 70, has been the church secretary for the last six years and has served as an elder for two. She calls the pastor vibrant, outgoing and compassionate and credits her for the churchs resurgence. Raised Episcopalian, Mannion took the job and then decided to join the church. Romaine, meanwhile, worked as a hairdresser for two decades and then was called to teach Sunday school. She and her husband, Ron, are musicians and were hired to play at the church picnic one year. Five years ago, the congregation was without a minister and she was one of their occasional preachers. They liked me and I liked them, Romaine said, and she was asked to become full-time. There are some historic tidbits worth noting: At one time, the 80-foot steeple was the largest structure along the vast Meadowlands and had been restored in 1938 after it was struck by lightning years earlier. The cemetery was enlarged in 1818 after three-quarters of an acre were purchased for a mere $225. During the Civil War, the congregation was active in the underground railroad. Runaway slaves were hidden under the bridge over Overpeck Creek by day,'' the churchs "Brief History'' notes. "They were given food, clothes, and other necessities to help them move to the next safe haven by night.'' While Romaine values the churchs past, she is more determined to form a genuine community of faith who join us on the journey. That gives it a future. We can touch a lot of peoples lives and create a new generation of disciples, she said. That will build on the churchs illustrious history. The Rev. Alexander Santora is the pastor of Our Lady of Grace and St. Joseph, 400 Willow Ave., Hoboken, 07030, FAX: 201-659-5833; Email: padrealex@yahoo.com; Twitter: @padrehoboken. If you go ... English Neighborhood Reformed Church is located at 1040 Edgewater Ave., Ridgefield, NJ 07657. Sunday service is at 11 a.m. Bible study is Sunday and Monday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. For information, call 201-943-1231. Puducherry Chief Minister and senior Congress leader V Narayanasamy on Sunday condemned the withdrawal of the "Z plus" security cover of DMK president MK Stalin by the Centre. "The withdrawal of Z plus security cover to the DMK leader by the Narendra Modi government at the Centre is a clear political vendetta, exposing Stalin to security threats," he wrote on Twitter, while strongly condemning the step taken by the Centre. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is an ally of the ruling Congress in Puducherry. The party has three members in the territorial Assembly and it provides outside support to the Congress government here. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The wreckage from a fatal helicopter crash was removed from a Cumberland County neighborhood early Saturday night. The remnants of the helicopter were packed on the back of a flatbed to be transported to an unknown location in Delaware. The helicopter crashed in the yard of a home in Silver Spring Township Thursday night, killing the two New York men aboard. It will take several hours for it to be moved, haulers said. When it arrives, investigators will begin the next part of the investigation to determine what caused the crash. The smell of jet fuel still lingers in the air at the intersection of Surrey Lane and Irongate Court in Silver Spring Township. One Civil Air Patrol member said theres a chance that environmental crews may return to the development to replace the topsoil where the fuel penetrated it. Tim Monville, a senior air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, said Saturday the removal is the next step in the ongoing investigation. It doesnt mean were near the end of the investigation. It just means that were at a point where we cant do anymore the way it rests (here)," he said. Theres some access points for flight controls, movable rods, that we just cant see and we need either cutting equipment or we need to remove panels, or we just cant see it because of the way its resting," he said. The rest of that mechanical investigation is best done in a controlled setting, Monville said. No new information was made available on the pilot, 58-year-old Mark Croce of Orchard Park, N.Y., recent maintenance history of the aircraft, the 2019 Robinson R66 Turbine helicopter, or any preliminary suggestions about the cause of the crash. The passenger, 63-year-old Michael Capriotto, also of Orchard Park, N.Y., also died in the crash. Croce had a current pilots license, which was issued on July 23, 2019, according to a Federal Aviation Administration document. Croce and Capriotto were heading from Washington, D.C. back to Buffalo, N.Y., where they were described as prominent businessmen. Nobody in the Silver Spring Township neighborhood was injured in the crash, officials said. 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. RTHK: Iran police disperse student air crash protesters Iranian police dispersed students chanting "radical" slogans during a Saturday gathering in Tehran to honour the 176 people killed when an airliner was mistakenly shot down, Fars news agency reported. AFP news agency correspondents said hundreds of students had gathered early in the evening at Amir Kabir University, in downtown Tehran, to pay respects to those killed in the air disaster. The tribute later turned into an angry demonstration. The students chanted slogans denouncing "liars" and demanded the resignation and prosecution of those responsible for downing the plane and allegedly covering up the accidental action. Iran said on Saturday that the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 was "unintentionally" shot down on Wednesday shortly after taking off from Tehran's main airport. All 176 people on board died, mostly Iranians and Canadians, many of whom were students. Fars, which is close to conservatives, said the protesting students chanted "destructive" and "radical" slogans. The news agency said some of the students tore down posters of Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian general killed on January 3 in a US drone strike on Baghdad. Fars published pictures of demonstrators gathered around a ring of candles during the tribute and a picture of a torn poster bearing the image of a smiling Soleimani. It said that police "dispersed" them as they left the university and blocked streets, causing a traffic jam. In an extremely unusual move, state television mentioned the protest, reporting that the students shouted "anti-regime" slogans. A video purportedly of the protest circulated online on Saturday evening showing police firing tear gas at protesters and a man getting up after apparently being hit in the leg by a projectile. It was not possible to verify the location of the video, or when it was filmed. Iran's acknowledgement on Saturday that the plane had been shot down in error came after officials had for days categorically denied Western claims that it had been struck by a missile. The aerospace commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards accepted full responsibility. But Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said the missile operator acted independently, shooting down the Boeing 737 after mistaking it for a "cruise missile". (AFP) This story has been published on: 2020-01-12. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Advertisement It's the chi-chi enclave of North London that became synonymous with a particularly hedonistic breed of drug-taking, bed-hopping celebrity. More than two decades after Primrose Hill earned its notoriety, its original hellraisers led by Jude Law and Sadie Frost have long moved on to tamer pastures as middle-age conformity takes its hold. But a new generation of hot young talents has moved into the neighbourhood, and with their personal and professional lives so closely intertwined, this leafy corner of NW3 has become the centre of the fashionable universe once more. The new Primrose Hill set: A 'luvvie-go-round' of partners, exes and co-stars live in London's NW3 postcode. This intertwined group of celebrities include Daisy Lowe, Matt Smith, Lily James, Douglas Booth and Claire Foy Sophie Cookson met her 30-year-old heart-throb Stephen Campbell Moore during the filming of Road Joan in 2017. This was just a few months before he and actress Claire Foy announced that their four-year marriage was over Last week, The Mail on Sunday revealed the romance between Sophie Cookson the privately educated actress currently starring in the BBC drama The Trial Of Christine Keeler and Stephen Campbell Moore, the ex of The Crown star Claire Foy. Yet the couples relationship is just one component of an extensive luvvie-go-round of partners, exes and co-stars all based in the chic postcode. Among them is Ms Cooksons close friend Lily James, who sprang to fame as Lady Rose in Downton Abbey. Just a few weeks ago rumours were circulating through the showbiz world that her boyfriend of five years, Matt Smith, was now involved with Ms Foy, his co-star in The Crown. Smith was also once in a relationship with model Daisy Lowe whose mother Pearl Lowe was a pivotal figure in the original Primrose Hill set, having a fling with Jude Law while her partner, Supergrass drummer Danny Goffey, slept with Sadie Frost. Rumours have circulated that Matt Smith is involved with Claire Foy after recently splitting from long-term girlfriend Lily James Then theres the heartthrob star of Bodyguard, Richard Madden, who dated Jenna Coleman who in turn is now living with Tom Hughes, who played Prince Albert to her Queen Victoria on TV. But not everyone involved in this starry social circle is necessarily the best of friends with all the others. Ms Coleman, for example, is said not to be on speaking terms with Ophelia Lovibond, Hughess ex. Smitten: Jenna Coleman and Tom Hughes, both 32, play Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert in the ITV series and have been dating in real life since the period drama began in 2016. She has previously been in a relationship with the Bodyguard's Richard Madden While the new, largely clean-living generation shun the wild parties of their predecessors, they still frequent the same pubs that were so popular in the Cool Britannia era including The Flask in Highgate, The Engineer in Primrose Hill, and The Spaniards Inn and The Bull And Last, both near Hampstead Heath. But there is one crucial difference from the previous generation, which also included the likes of Kate Moss, Patsy Kensit and Ewan McGregor. Imogen Poots and James Norton met in a play in 2017. The MacMafia actor has worked with Richard Madden, Ellie Bamber, Lily James and Sophie Cookson While the original Primrose Hill set owned sprawling properties such as Supernova Heights, the 5.3 million mansion Noel Gallagher sold to David Walliams in 2005 the areas superheated property market means that todays generation live in smaller houses or even flats. Here, The Mail on Sunday guides you through the intricate links between the young stars. An Iranian lights candles for the victims of Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 during a gathering in front of the Amirkabir University in the capital Tehran, on Jan. 11, 2020. (AFP via Getty Images) US Says It Stands in Solidarity With Iranian Protesters, Condemns Arrest of British Ambassador The United States has expressed its support for Iranian protesters and condemned the arrest of the UK Ambassador Rob Macaire, who was briefly detained during mass protests in Tehran on Jan. 11. President Donald Trump on Saturday said he stands in solidarity with the thousands of Iranian protesters who took to the streets over the weekend after the Islamic Republic admitted it had accidentally shot down a Ukraine-bound airliner, killing all 176 people on board. The president took to Twitter to share an impassioned message which was written in both Farsi and English. To the brave, long-suffering people of Iran: Ive stood with you since the beginning of my Presidency, and my Administration will continue to stand with you. We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage, he wrote. In a second tweet shortly after, Trump urged Tehran to allow human rights groups to monitor and report facts from the ground on the ongoing protests by the Iranian people. There can not be another massacre of peaceful protesters, nor an internet shutdown. The world is watching, he added. The government of Iran must allow human rights groups to monitor and report facts from the ground on the ongoing protests by the Iranian people. There can not be another massacre of peaceful protesters, nor an internet shutdown. The world is watching. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2020 Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also tweeted his support alongside a video of what appeared to be protesters in Iran. The voice of the Iranian people is clear. They are fed up with the regimes lies, corruption, ineptitude, and brutality of the IRGC under @khamenei_irs kleptocracy. We stand with the Iranian people who deserve a better future, he wrote. Also on Saturday, the United States urged Iran to issue an apology for briefly detaining the British ambassador to Tehran, Rob Macaire, who was accused of inciting protests against the government at Amirkabir University. The Iranian regime arrested the British ambassador to Iran. This violates the Vienna Convention, which the regime has a notorious history of violating. We call on the regime to formally apologize to the UK for violating his rights and to respect the rights of all diplomats, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus tweeted. Meanwhile, Britains Foreign Office denounced the arrest as a flagrant violation of international law. The arrest of our Ambassador in Tehran without grounds or explanation is a flagrant violation of international law, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement. The Iranian government is at a cross-roads moment. It can continue its march towards pariah status with all the political and economic isolation that entails, or take steps to de-escalate tensions and engage in a diplomatic path forwards, Raab added. It is not clear who he was arrested by, however he is said to be safe and well in the British embassy after being released a few hours later Tasnim news agency reports. Macaire will be summoned on Monday for further explanations, they added. Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Tehran on Saturday with renewed strength after Irans Revolutionary Guard acknowledged that it accidentally shot down the Ukrainian jetliner bound for Kiev early Wednesday, killing at least 130 Iranian citizens and the foreign nationals on board. Iranians students demonstrate following a tribute for the victims of Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 in front of the Amirkabir University in the capital Tehran, on Jan. 11, 2020. (ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images) Iranians light candles for the victims of Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 during a gathering in front of the Amirkabir University in the capital Tehran, on Jan. 11, 2020. (AFP via Getty Images) Protesters could be heard openly chanting slogans against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, independent Lebanon-based outlet Al Markazia reported. Others called for Khamenei to resign, chanting Death to liars, Down with the dictator, and Our enemy is right here, theyre lying when they say its the U.S., according to local independent journalists in social media posts seen by The Epoch Times. Protests continue in Tehran. Protesters are chanting many of the same slogans from #IranProtests of November 2019 Theyre chanting: The regime told us our enemy is the US. But actually, our enemy is right here [in reference to the regime itself]. pic.twitter.com/OjoMw2PMI2 Masih Alinejad (@AlinejadMasih) January 11, 2020 The devastating plane crash came just hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on two military bases housing U.S.-led Coalition troops in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in an American airstrike in Baghdads international Green Zone. Iran initially denied any responsibility, dismissing mounting evidence cited by international governments that its forces were responsible for the loss of civilian life. It later admitted to human error, with General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Guards aerospace division, saying that his unit accepts full responsibility for the shootdown. In an address broadcast by Irans state TV, Hajizadeh said he takes full responsibility for the crash and will obey whatever decision is taken. When I found out what had happened, I wanted to die. I said, I would rather die rather than be a witness to such an incident, he added. MOSCOW -- Russia's demographic turbulence, which stretched the length of the last century, is continuing into the third decade of this one. The government's statistics agency, Rosstat, released figures in December showing a natural population decline of 259,600 in the first 10 months of 2019. The predicted decline for the whole year: more than 300,000, a loss three times greater than the year before. It marks the third straight year of decline -- Russia lost about 19,000 people in 2017 and nearly 100,000 in 2018. In-migration was enough to overcome the 2017 natural population loss, but the 2019 figures mark the second straight year of overall population decline. The sobering figures marked the end of nearly a decade of increases following the catastrophic demographic losses of the 1990s, a downward spiral that was only reversed in 2009. But experts have not been surprised by the numbers, which they say are echoes of demographic trends of previous generations. "First, this is about the relatively large generation that was born during the [post-World War II] period of rising birthrates reaching old age," says Alla Ivanova, head of the Department of Health at the Institute of Sociopolitical Research, part of the Russian Academy of Sciences. "Of course, this affects the increase in the death rate." "And birthrates are declining, primarily, because the relatively small generation of women born in the 1990s has reached reproductive age," Ivanova adds. "It is well-known that that period saw a very significant decrease in births." In other words: Fewer babies then, fewer babies now. Ivanova tells RFE/RL the current trend seems likely to continue for the foreseeable future. "For the next 10 years we will most likely live in a period of depopulation -- that is, a contraction of the population driven by natural decrease," she explains. "But the overall population might actually increase if migration can compensate for the natural decrease." 'Thin Generation' President Vladimir Putin, who made ensuring natural population growth a top priority when he started his current term in 2018, lamented the phenomenon in his annual press conference on December 19, saying that Russia was "haunted" by the 1990s birthrate collapse. "Every 20 years, a thin generation of those born in these years enters adulthood, the childbearing age, but by definition, there are few of them, both men and women," Putin said. The president then outlined "a system of measures" the government had implemented to support families with children, including a 450,000-ruble ($7,350) mortgage credit to families with three children. "I know this is not enough," he added. "We need to broadly increase living standards as a whole, to achieve growth in wages and people's real incomes. The general sentiment, family planning, and broader planning horizons will depend on the economy." Former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, now an outspoken critic of Putin who lives in the United States, is skeptical of such pronouncements, accusing the Russian government of short-sightedness and of prioritizing political goals over demographic issues. "The main thing that has disenchanted me [in 2019] is the authorities' complacency about everything," Kasyanov tells RFE/RL. "The authorities do not want to change anything.... They all admit that we have big problems but no one can do anything about them because Putin cannot bring himself to change either domestic or foreign policy." Kasyanov says he believes the inevitable demographic trough that Russia is experiencing is exacerbated by a general public mood of despondency about the future. "[People] aren't thinking about or planning their lives five or 10 years in advance like they did in the early 2000s, when birthrates started rising again," he says. "Today we have returned to 1998, when there was a crisis situation and people could only think about their lives day-to-day -- what should they do tomorrow? Their planning horizon is no more than one year." The government has also launched a plan to attract up to 10 million Russian-speaking migrants by 2025 as part of its National Projects program. But the results of that initiative so far have been inconclusive. Sociologist Ivanova says migration will have to be a crucial component of the government's response as the labor pool contracts, but she adds that the obstacles are formidable. "It is clear that considering our living standards and the development of the economy, highly qualified migrants are not rushing here in large numbers," she says. "But there are other methods that are being used, but not sufficiently." For example, she says, the government could do more to attract young people to study in Russia and create incentives for them to remain in the country after they graduate. "Such students gradually become integrated into the national, language, and cultural milieu where they study," she says, and that this makes it easier for them to acculturate for the long term. "The policy of student migration is actively encouraged by specialists, but there hasn't been much response so far," she says. Alcohol, Abortions To Blame? Economist Aleksei Ulyanov, a member of the government's advisory panel on demographics and family policy, tells RFE/RL that Russia "is on the brink of extinction." He says the three main problems contributing to the demographic crisis, beyond the echoes of past demographic events, are abortion and the consumption of alcohol and tobacco. He is calling for direct or indirect restrictions on all three. As most of the country "is turning into a desert, the government is allocating money -- despite the budgetary crisis -- for abortions," he says. Ivanova, however, warns against searching for magic cures. Reducing alcohol consumption, for instance, is a laudable goal but it entails changing the culture, not merely raising taxes or imposing bans. "We have already stepped on the rake a few times and there is no sense in doing it again," she says. According to the World Health Organization, alcohol consumption, while still a problem in Russia, fell 43 percent between 2003 and 2016, a result it attributed primarily to government policies adopted after 2000. Likewise, restricting access to abortions leads to numerous negative consequences, including "rising maternal mortality rate, underground abortions, increased criminality, and problems with women's health -- including reproductive health and sterility," Ivanova says. "Consulting, providing social, psychological, and economic help that is the path toward gradually reducing the number of abortions," she concludes. "The number of abortions in this country is going down -- substantially. And we will continue along that path." "But I repeat -- we simply don't need sharp policy changes and radical methods," Ivanova says. "Radical methods have never brought anything positive." At the end of December, Rosstat issued three possible demographic prognoses for the period to 2036. According to the optimistic prediction, which foresees successes improving birthrates and life expectancy as well as increasing migration, has the population rising to 150.13 million people by 2036. The conservative estimate puts the population at 143 million by 2036. The pessimistic version, which projects continued declining natural population declines and a failure of the migration policy, puts the population at 134.28 million by 2036. United Nations forecasts for Russia are even a bit more dire. The "optimistic" variant puts Russia's population at 147.3 million in 2050. The conservative estimate is 135.8 million, while the pessimistic prediction foresees a population of 124.6 million by the middle of this century. The UN projected that pessimistic prediction even further, saying it is possible Russia's population could be just 83.7 million by 2100. Written by Robert Coalson based on reporting by Lilya Palveleva of RFE/RL's Russian Service. Mikhail Sokolov and Maksim Blant of RFE/RL's Russian Service also contributed to this report Sen. Elizabeth Warren told reporters Sunday she was "disappointed" to hear about a volunteer script from fellow 2020 candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders' campaign that criticizes her as a candidate of the elite. Why it matters: The two progressive candidates have had a non-aggression pact throughout the 2020 campaign, but that could be changing with 22 days left until the Iowa caucuses. Context: Politico reported Saturday that talking points distributed by the Sanders campaign argue Warren is "bringing no new bases into the Democratic Party," and that "people who support her are highly-educated, more affluent people who are going to show up and vote Democratic no matter what." Warren responded to the script on Sunday, stating that she's known Sanders for a long time and "[hopes] Bernie reconsiders and turns his campaign in a different direction." She also warned about the "factionalism" of the 2016 campaign, stressing the need for a "positive message" that could unite a broad coalition of Democratic voters to defeat President Trump. Sanders later responded: "We have hundreds of employees, Elizabeth Warren has hundreds of employees and people sometimes say things that they shouldnt." "I have never said a negative word about Elizabeth Warren who is a friend of mine. We have differences on issues, that's what campaigning is about. But no one is gonna be attacking Elizabeth," Sanders added, according to NBC News' Gary Grumbach. The Politico report notes that the Sanders campaign declined to comment, but did not challenge the authenticity of the script. Between the lines: Sanders has rarely attacked other Democratic candidates throughout the campaign, but that's started to change recently as he's emerged as a frontrunner in a number of the early voting states. Sanders has been particularly aggressive toward former Vice President Joe Biden and his foreign policy record especially his vote in favor of the Iraq War. "Its just a lot of baggage that Joe takes into a campaign," Sanders said in an interview. The script reported by Politico also took swings at Biden and Pete Buttigieg, claiming that "no one is really excited" about the former vice president and that Buttigieg lacks support among key voting groups, including African Americans and young people. Go deeper: Poll: Sanders surges in early states as Warren falters Today we are going to look at Shougang Concord Century Holdings Limited (HKG:103) to see whether it might be an attractive investment prospect. Specifically, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), since that will give us an insight into how efficiently the business can generate profits from the capital it requires. Firstly, we'll go over how we calculate ROCE. Next, we'll compare it to others in its industry. And finally, we'll look at how its current liabilities are impacting its ROCE. Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What is it? ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. In general, businesses with a higher ROCE are usually better quality. Ultimately, it is a useful but imperfect metric. Renowned investment researcher Michael Mauboussin has suggested that a high ROCE can indicate that 'one dollar invested in the company generates value of more than one dollar'. How Do You Calculate Return On Capital Employed? Analysts use this formula to calculate return on capital employed: Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) (Total Assets - Current Liabilities) Or for Shougang Concord Century Holdings: 0.083 = HK$133m (HK$3.3b - HK$1.7b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2019.) So, Shougang Concord Century Holdings has an ROCE of 8.3%. See our latest analysis for Shougang Concord Century Holdings Does Shougang Concord Century Holdings Have A Good ROCE? ROCE can be useful when making comparisons, such as between similar companies. It appears that Shougang Concord Century Holdings's ROCE is fairly close to the Metals and Mining industry average of 7.8%. Separate from how Shougang Concord Century Holdings stacks up against its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms is mediocre; relative to the returns on government bonds. Readers may find more attractive investment prospects elsewhere. Story continues Shougang Concord Century Holdings has an ROCE of 8.3%, but it didn't have an ROCE 3 years ago, since it was unprofitable. That implies the business has been improving. The image below shows how Shougang Concord Century Holdings's ROCE compares to its industry, and you can click it to see more detail on its past growth. SEHK:103 Past Revenue and Net Income, January 12th 2020 It is important to remember that ROCE shows past performance, and is not necessarily predictive. ROCE can be deceptive for cyclical businesses, as returns can look incredible in boom times, and terribly low in downturns. ROCE is only a point-in-time measure. We note Shougang Concord Century Holdings could be considered a cyclical business. You can check if Shougang Concord Century Holdings has cyclical profits by looking at this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow. How Shougang Concord Century Holdings's Current Liabilities Impact Its ROCE Current liabilities are short term bills and invoices that need to be paid in 12 months or less. The ROCE equation subtracts current liabilities from capital employed, so a company with a lot of current liabilities appears to have less capital employed, and a higher ROCE than otherwise. To counter this, investors can check if a company has high current liabilities relative to total assets. Shougang Concord Century Holdings has total assets of HK$3.3b and current liabilities of HK$1.7b. As a result, its current liabilities are equal to approximately 51% of its total assets. Shougang Concord Century Holdings has a fairly high level of current liabilities, meaningfully impacting its ROCE. The Bottom Line On Shougang Concord Century Holdings's ROCE Despite this, the company also has a uninspiring ROCE, which is not an ideal combination in this analysis. You might be able to find a better investment than Shougang Concord Century Holdings. If you want a selection of possible winners, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a P/E below 20 (but have proven they can grow earnings). I will like Shougang Concord Century Holdings better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying. 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. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment About 19 years ago I was a part-time, work-from-home mom with a 10-month-old and a 4-year-old. I literally heard a boom when American Airlines flight 77 slammed into the side of the Pentagon three miles from my home, taking the lives of 184 innocents, as three more planes took the lives of many others in New York and Pennsylvania that day. Even more traumatic, my husband and I spent the evening comforting the pregnant wife of Navy CDR Patrick Dunn as she awaited news of her dead husbands fate. American citizens unified in our horror and outrage against evil men for their murderous actions but we also were furious with U.S. intelligence for their failure to disrupt the plot. Last week our intelligence community proved that they took to heart our demand to never forget. Unfortunately, many Democrats seem to have developed amnesia over the past week. Following the airstrike that killed Iranian commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Irans retaliatory airstrikes at U.S. bases in Iraq and even the downing of a passenger plane full of innocent people, some Democrats seem to think President Trump is wrong to use a strong hand against Iran. So lets review: The United States has a long and complicated history with Iran. They became our lethal enemy in 1979 when they stormed our embassy and took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days, releasing them only after the inauguration of President Ronald Reagan. Christopher Bedford reminds us in The Federalist, Iran needed to learn a hard, swift lesson. For four decades, it has ratcheted global temperatures up and down with a close eye on Americas reaction. Kidnapping, terror, extortion, sabotage, and blockades have all been used since the Islamic Republics inception in 1979. Even more on point both the left and the right agree that Qassem Soleimani was an evil man responsible for the death of over 600 Americans and countless others in the Middle East. As the leader of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, a group that the United States labeled a Foreign Terrorist Organization, he spread death and destruction throughout the region. Most recently two violent attacks were carried out under his direction the December 27 attack that killed an American and wounded U.S. and Iraqi troops and the New Years Eve attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. But even more importantly, the reason Soleimani was on Iraqi soil that eventually became his deathbed, was to lead an active plot to kill more American citizens. Reuters wrote in a deeply reported piece, Before the attacks, the U.S. intelligence community had reason to believe that Soleimani was involved in late stage planning to strike Americans in multiple countries, including Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, U.S. officials told Reuters Friday on condition of anonymity. One senior U.S. official said Soleimani had supplied advanced weaponry to Kataib Hezbollah. The Obama Administrations era of appeasement, topped off with an approximate $150 billion windfall from lifted sanctions, didnt convince Iran to behave. Instead, we supplied Iran with cash to spread around to Hezbollah and other extremists. When will we learn that simply ignoring or appeasing evil doesnt make it go away? Certainly, there needs to be a thoughtful response to threats we cant police the world but in this case President Trump made the right call. Trump has consistently worked to draw down our engagement in the Middle East, even provoking criticism from his own party. However, Sept. 11 taught us that allowing evil to thrive and plots against Americans to go unanswered means death to America. The notion that minding our own business will keep us safe ignores the reality that evil exists and preys on the naive, innocent and weak. I join with Concerned Women for America supporters all over this nation who reiterate the message from Sept. 11 to our President, intelligence community and military leaders, Never Forget. Imphal (Manipur) [India], Jan 12 (ANI): Three cadres of proscribed groups were apprehended by security forces in the state in three separate operations on Thursday. "Troops of Assam Rifles along with Manipur Police in 3 separate operations apprehended 3 cadres of proscribed groups on January 9," Eastern Command, Indian Army said in a tweet. The apprehended cadres have been handed over to the Police for further investigation. (ANI) - Mudavadi and Wetang'ula decried being sidelined by organisers of the BBI meeting at Bukhungu stadium - Mudavadi said the conference has ill motives among them intimidating leaders of the Western region - Over 12 MPs from Western last week said they will not attend the meeting terming it as ODM affair - Section of leaders from Kericho have warned the BBI team against holding a consultative meeting in the devolved unit Former Vice President Musalia Mudavadi and Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang'ula have joined the league of leaders from Western Kenya who have threatened to snub a meeting to discuss the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report to be assembled in Kakamega. TUKO.co.ke has gathered that the meeting is set to be convened at Bukhungu grounds on Saturday, January 18, and has been organised by Governor Wycliffe Oparanya and Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) boss Francis Atwoli. READ ALSO: Iran clarifies boiling tension with US will not affect Kenya Mudavadi and Wetang'ula decried being sidelined by organisers of the BBI meeting. Photo: Moses Wetang'ula. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Baringo dancing kids join boarding school in Nyahururu Mudavadi and Wetang'ula have decried not being consulted by the organisers and sponsors of the meeting as political heavyweights of Western region. "They need to consult local leaders before making such an arrangement. If you take a look into history, there is no community that has given others solid political support like the Mulembe (Luhyas). It is very ironical that when we used to work together, we were good people but now that we have different views, we have become bad people," Wetang'ula fired a slavo at Raila Odinga led ODM Party. READ ALSO: Former Senator Muthama asks Uhuru to retire honourably in 2022 Mudavadi said the conference has ill motives among them intimidating leaders of Western region. Photo: Musalia Mudavadi. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Willis Raburu discloses he still cries, grieves over daughter's loss and is not ashamed of it On his part, Mudavadi, who doubles up as Amani National Congress (ANC) leader, the BBI consultative meeting has ill motives among them intimidating him and Wetang'ula as senior politicians in the region. "If you are trying to intimidate anyone in this country, then I am not for you. It is ridiculous that some governors who support the BBI think they are speaking and thinking on the behalf of their electorate. These were the politics of the old days. We can not risk going back to that kind of a political environment," said Mudavadi. READ ALSO: Moses Kuria aachiliwa huru Section of leaders at Bomas of Kenya during launch of BBI report. Photo: State House. Source: Facebook The pair have said they are likely to convene a parallel meeting on the same day at Mumias Sugar Factory to find out possible ways of reviving the ailing company. The remarks come hardly a week after a team of 12 MPs from Western slammed the meeting terming it as a Raila Odinga and ODM affair. Over 12 MPs from Western said they will not attend the meeting. Photo: Roberto Muyela/Tuko.co.ke. Source: Original Led by Nambale MP Sakwa Bunyasi, the lawmakers alleged the Bukhungu conference will be used by Atwoli and ODM to impose people they deem fit to be voted in elective positions during 2022 General Election. On Friday, January 10, Raila led a BBI consultative meeting in Kisii where calls for a quick referendum took centre stage. Section of leaders from Kericho county, which is believed to be one of DP Ruto's political strongholds, has warned the BBI team gainst assembling in the devolved unit for such a meeting. 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. Kenyans' reactions to Miguna Miguna's denial of entry into his homeland | Tuko TV. Source: TUKO.co.ke If President Donald Trump has a plan to deal with Iran, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich would like to hear it. The New Mexico Democrat called on the administration to outline a coherent plan to Congress and the public before matters get even worse after the presidents remarks Wednesday following Irans missile attack against bases in Iraq that hosted U.S. and coalition troops. The president indicated a possible deescalation of tensions with Iran with the missile strikes not involving casualties. Trump said he was open to negotiations with the Iranian leadership on a number of issues, including the development of nuclear weapons. He called for economic sanctions, but no further military strikes. But Heinrich did not find the remarks reassuring. I remain deeply concerned that the President has been woefully unable to articulate a strategy for dealing with Iran that de-escalates what is currently a quite dangerous path, the senator said. The White Houses reckless approach to foreign policy has made Irans behavior dramatically more unpredictable and has placed a target on the back of Americans throughout the region. New Mexico Republican Party Chairman Steve Pearce praised the presidents remarks. The fact that Iran appears to be standing down after the strike shows that Iran understands our military might and potential future consequences, the former congressman said. The President has allowed Iran to save face by not responding to the latest missile attack. They have the good judgment not to hit any Americans. Its good to see our Western allies, like Britain and Italy standing strong with us and now on military standby. President Trump today demonstrated great leadership and a sound understanding of the Middle East region. It is evident he is working to de-escalate rising tensions, while staying tough when it comes to Iran trying to become a nuclear power. But Emile Nakhleh, director of the Global and National Security Policy Institute at UNM and a former CIA officer, told the Journal he was concerned about the lack of a strategic plan. TORRES SMALL ON WAR POWERS VOTE: U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small joined her New Mexico Democratic colleagues in voting for the House war powers resolution on Thursday. I continue to appreciate the Presidents public statements outlining a potential for continued deescalation with Iran, she said. Torres Small said the vote sets us on a course for constitutionally required collaboration between the president and Congress, so we can face continued tensions with Iran. The consequences of a prolonged military conflict are a responsibility we must bear together. The resolution would not prevent the military from acting in Americas self-defense, but would require congressional approval for further prolonged military action against Iran, her office said. The resolution would also not impact other counter-terror activities in the Middle East that were authorized through the 2001 or 2002 Authorization of Use of Military Force. SENATORS SPUR SPY MUSEUM CHANGES: The International Spy Museum is making changes requested by Heinrich and Senate colleagues Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who felt the museum misrepresented of the CIAs torture program, sanitized depictions of how techniques were applied and suggested that torture is effective in stopping terrorist attacks. The senators requested a more accurate depiction. The museum responded in a letter to the senators that it was in the process of making changes to the exhibit. We are pleased that the museum has confirmed it is moving forward with changes to its interrogation exhibit, to include reference to the Senate Intelligence Committees Study of the CIAs Detention and Interrogation Program. We also welcome the invitation to visit with museum leadership, historians, and curators to ensure that the changes being implemented reflect the truth about the brutality and ineffectiveness of torture, Heinrich, Wyden and Feinstein said in a letter. Scott Turner: sturner@abqjournal.com According to Nguyen Phuong Dong, deputy director of the HCM City Industry and Trade Department, many industrial production enterprises are shifting their investments to neighboring provinces instead of to HCM City. Binh Dien Fertilizer JSC, for example, has invested in Binh Duong province, while Kova Paint has relocated investment to Dong Nai. Tran Hoang Ngan, a member of the governments Economic Advisory Council and head of the HCM City Development Research Institute, said the 2011-2015 period was the time when the manufacturing and processing industries witnessed the highest investment value in provinces. The number of enterprises relocating their investments to neighboring provinces has been on the rise in recent years. This was a major reason which led to the 1.12 percent decrease in the proportion of industrial production in the citys economy in 2018 in comparison with 2016. HCM Citys Mayor Nguyen Thanh Phong said the city is not as attractive as before to industrial producers and other provinces/cities are luring investors, especially with clean land. The city lacks the land to lease for industrial production, which has pushed the land rent in the city up. As a result, enterprises face difficulties in expanding their production bases and increasing production capacity. The city lacks the land to lease for industrial production, which has pushed the land rent in the city up. As a result, enterprises face difficulties in expanding their production bases and increasing production capacity. Challenges for micro enterprises Phong said though the industrial production scale in the city has been expanding and product quality has improved, the competitive capacity of local enterprises remains modest. HCM Citys export turnover has been growing by 8.6 percent per annum, but the export value is mostly created by the foreign invested economic sector (55.7 percent). Meanwhile, state-owned economic sector just makes up 11.3 percent and non-state sector 33 percent. Phong pointed out that local enterprises are mostly micro ones. There are 380,000 enterprises in the city, but only 700 enterprises have registered capital of VND1 trillion or higher, while 2 percent have the capital of VND100 billion and higher. Very small enterprises account for 88 percent and the remaining are small and medium sized. Which way to follow? Ngan commented that it is no longer reasonable to prioritize the four major industries of mechanical engineering, electronics/information technology, rubber/plastics, and food and foodstuffs. In order to obtain 7 percent growth rate in upcoming years, HCM City needs to develop new industries to adapt to the 4.0 industry revolution. Its necessary to focus on developing infrastructure for IZs, and supporting high-tech zones, forming new IZs with priority on high technology application, Ngan said. Thanh Lich Vietnam manufacturing, processing industry drives economic growth The manufacturing and processing industry drove economic growth in 2019 with production volume increasing 11.29 per cent over the previous year. Any communication on the timeline and investigation progress is the responsibility of Iran's AAIB authorities. Flight recorders of the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) plane shot down by the Iranian military near Tehran will be decoded in Ukraine. "Accident @Boeing #737 UR-PSR @fly_uia on 08/01/20 / @BEA_Aero confirms it will attend the CVR & FDR technical work that will be done in #Ukraine / Any communication on the timeline & investigation progress is the responsibility of Iran's AAIB authorities," Civil Aviation Safety Investigation Authority wrote on Twitter on January 11, 2020. Read alsoPS752 downing: New video purportedly shows moment of missile launch 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. On January 11, Iran admitted that it had accidentally shot down a Ukrainian jetliner that it mistook for a threat during hostilities with the U.S., marking a dramatic reversal after insisting that the deadly crash was caused by mechanical failure. Gettyimagesbank South Korea's exports to Iran dropped nearly 90 percent from a year earlier in the first 11 months of last year, the fastest rate among the top 20 export countries, data showed Sunday. In the January-November period, Seoul's shipments to the Middle East country came to US$259 million, down 88.6 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to the data from the state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA). The amount still marked the 14th largest, but the rate the drop was by far the highest among the 20 largest export countries to Iran. China continued to top the list despite a 38.8 percent on-year decline in its exports to Iran, while Germany took the sixth spot after a 49.1 percent drop in its shipments to Iran. Why did President Donald Trump order the drone strike that killed one of Irans top generals? His administration says there was an imminent threat against Americans, but it has failed to convince many Democrats that the strike was necessary. A fact-finding committee of the Congress on the JNU violence on Sunday alleged that Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar was the "mastermind" behind it and sought his immediate dismissal and criminal investigation against him. Calling the January 5 violence by masked men "state-sponsored", panel member Sushmita Dev said it recommended that Kumar be dismissed immediately and all appointments in faculty should be probed and an independent inquiry should take place. The Congress had appointed the four-member fact-finding committee to carry out a detailed inquiry into the violence at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). "A criminal investigation must be initiated against the VC, the company that provides security service and members of the faculty who conspired with the attackers to unleash the violence at Sabarmati hostel, Periyar hostel and other places. The security company's contract must be immediately terminated," the Mahila Congress chief said. Calling Kumar the "mastermind" behind the incident, Dev said since his appointment in 2016, he meticulously "infiltrated" the university with people in the faculty who did not merit their positions and promoted only those who would be compliant to him and had their inclination to right-wing ideology. He operates through these members of faculty to orchestrate chaos on campus. The crisis on the campus is a culmination of his mis-governance and autocracy. He deliberately imposed his decision on the university students and teachers without due process and then refused to engage with the duly elected student and teacher representatives which led to the deadlock, she added. "It is clear that the attack on JNU campus was state-sponsored. There is absolutely no doubt about it. The important question is what did the administration and Delhi police do to stop the attack," Dev said. The other recommendations of the committee included an independent judicial inquiry into the events of January 5 that led to violence on the campus of Jawaharlal Nehru University. "?Fix accountability of the Commissioner of Delhi Police and other police officials because of police failure to act on the emergency calls by the students and faculty members and in light of the overwhelming prima facie evidence that they facilitated the criminal elements on campus," the committee said. She also demanded a complete rollback of the JNU hostel fee hike. "Immediate rollback of the fee hike as implemented by the university authorities and recognition of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) as an elected body so that proper consultation can take place between the administration and the students on the fee and other issues," she added. She said there is every reason to believe that the mob that attacked the students and teachers on campus were from the right-wing factions. "There is sufficient evidence to show that the people who were attacked on 5th January at Sabarmati hostel and at the Sabarmati-T junction just outside the hostel were people who did not belong to the right-wing politics on campus. The attackers in fact did not touch the students and faculty who were right-wingers at the Sabarmati hostel area," she added. "The mob that entered the hostel even targeted people of a certain religion and spared those who were well known ABVP activists," she said. "I have no doubt that the violence is pre-planned, pre-mediated, criminal conspiracy," she told reporters. "The quality of the investigation is questionable where till now a case for attempt to murder has not been filed despite serious head injuries suffered by students and faculty. As per the students, the forensic team came about 40 hours later to the hostel that was attacked," she said. The other members of the fact-finding committee are Hibi Eden, MP and former NSUI president; Syed Naseer Hussain, MP and former president of JNU NSUI; and Amrita Dhawan, a former NSUI president and ex-DUSU president. On January 5 night, masked people armed with rods and sticks stormed the JNU campus and assaulted students and faculty members, and vandalised property, leaving several people injured. Leftist outfits and the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) blamed each other for the violence. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Donald Trump tweeted in both English and Farsi on Saturday, expressing his administrations support for the Iranian protesters who took to the streets after Tehran admitted that it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, killing all 176 people aboard. To the brave, long-suffering people of Iran: Ive stood with you since the beginning of my Presidency, and my Administration will continue to stand with you. We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage, Trump tweeted. The president went on to call on Tehran to allow human rights groups to monitor and report facts from the ground. That second tweet also went out in both Farsi and English. Advertisement The government of Iran must allow human rights groups to monitor and report facts from the ground on the ongoing protests by the Iranian people. There can not be another massacre of peaceful protesters, nor an internet shutdown. The world is watching. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2020 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement . . . Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2020 Advertisement Advertisement The president sent his tweets after a day of protests on the streets of Tehran and other cities across the country as it became clear that the tragedy was quickly descending to a full-blown political crisis for the Iranian government. Tehran is now being forced to face possibly the biggest crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution, notes the Guardian. The protesters chanted strong denunciations of Iranian leaders, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Death to the dictator, some of the protesters shouted. Many Iranians on the plane were students and protesters gathered in campuses across Iran. At one vigil, crowds chanted down, down, Khamenei. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials gave citizens even more reason to distrust the government, suggesting that Tehran would never have admitted responsibility if investigators had not found evidence of a missile strike. Advertisement Even as it admitted its guilt, Iran kept trying to bend the truth. At first, military officials had said the plane took an unexpected turn toward a military base. But the Ukrainians disputed that and an Iranian commander acknowledged it was not accurate. The plane was flying in its normal direction without any error and everybody was doing their job correctly, said Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh. If there was a mistake, it was made by one of our members. Advertisement Advertisement The voice of the Iranian people is clear. They are fed up with the regimes lies, corruption, ineptitude, and brutality of the IRGC under @khamenei_ir's kleptocracy. We stand with the Iranian people who deserve a better future. pic.twitter.com/tBOjv9XsIG Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) January 11, 2020 Advertisement Advertisement Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also took to Twitter Saturday to express support for the protests. The voice of the Iranian people is clear, Pompeo wrote. They are fed up with the regimes lies, corruption, ineptitude and brutality. The tweets from the Trump administration reflected how the downing of the Ukrainian jet had suddenly shifted the focus away from the killing of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Photos posted on social media showed some torn photos of Soleimani, reports the New York Times. That illustrates how the national unity that was evident after Soleimanis killing appears to have vanished. It is a very sensitive time for the establishment. They face a serious credibility problem. Not only did they conceal the truth, they also mismanaged the situation, a senior former official told Reuters. TAIPEI, Taiwan Populism was supposed to be the winning formula. With the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (D.P.P.) steadily campaigning on growing anxiety over threats to Taiwans national identity, the Kuomintang, a party that favors close ties to China, risked being consigned to playing permanent opposition. Populism seemed to offer it a way out. It was populist promises, after all, that had helped Han Kuo-yu, of the Kuomintang, triumph in local elections in late 2018. Yet the same playbook failed him and his party miserably in the general elections this weekend. Not only was Mr. Han unable to woo new voters; he couldnt even hold on to many traditional Kuomintang sympathizers. President Tsai Ing-wen was re-elected with 57.1 percent of the popular vote; the D.P.P. won 61 of the 113 seats in the national Legislature. The D.P.P.s victory is partly the result, as many analysts had predicted, of its successful efforts to drag the election back onto the conventional battleground of sovereignty and identity. Ms. Tsai invoked often the protests in Hong Kong to remind voters of the threat that China poses. When President Trump ordered the killing of known terrorist Qassem Soleimani, you would have expected the reaction to be one of quiet gratitude and somber relief. After all, Soleimani was one of the worlds most sinister killers, identified as a terrorist by the Obama Administration, not some right wing thought group. Historically, we would have had a brief period of restraint from political rhetoric about an operation undertaken by the United States military. The reaction from the left was none of that. Many, including the front-runner for the Democratic nomination for president, Joe Biden, essentially declared that the world would be a better place with Soleimani illegally sneaking into Baghdad. Bidens reaction appeared to be a cold political calculation about how he can best shelter himself from those on the even farther left of his party. They have been attacking his role in the Middle East, and his support for the Iraqi War in particular. Hes getting flak from other quarters over his full-throated defense of the 2015 Obama nuclear deal, which has had disastrous results from Yemen to Syria to Afghanistan and even Iraq. Bernie Sanders likened the killing of a man with the blood of hundreds of Americans and thousands of his own people on his hands to Vladimir Putin killing Russian dissidents. Elizabeth Warren, never one to give up the competition for the nuttiest theory, postulated that this was a Wag the Dog moment for President Trump, allowing him to refocus attention from his impeachment. The reaction of the rest of the Democratic field and their allies in the House and the media was very telling. For virtually all of them, the use of military force is off the table when dealing with terrorists. Others, like Congresswoman Omar, believe that not only should no military action be taken against these thugs, but even sanctions should be precluded. Omar says they starve the innocent people of Iran. All of this raises serious concerns about the mindset of the opposition party. Former Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Sen. Joe Lieberman had this to say, It may be that todays Democratic Party simply doesnt believe in the use of force against Americas enemies in the world. I dont believe that is true, but episodes like this one may lead many Americans to wonder. No doubt, it will. The attacks from the left on President Trumps decision sounded more sympathetic to Soleimani than to our president. It reminded me of the words Ronald Reagans ambassador to the United Nations, Jeanne Kirkpatrick. More than 35 years ago she challenged those who blame America first. As she repeatedly intoned, but they always blame America first. Some things dont change much. Theres certainly a legitimate debate to be had over any military undertaking by our commander-in-chief. Thats been true since the founding of the republic. But we didnt hear much real conversation last week. Instead it was a plethora of political talking points and public relations gimmicks like the non-binding resolution of Speaker Pelosi. The rhetoric was far different from what we heard when we toppled Muammar al-Gaddafi or killed Osama bin Laden. Previous red lines were ignored by Iran without consequence. This time the crossing of the line was met with strategic force. It was measured, even restrained given the history of Soleimani and the recent Irani attacks on our embassy. The list of potential negative consequences from eliminating one of Americas sworn enemies is long, but have yet to come to fruition. Concerns that World War III was underway have largely evaporated in the few days since Soleimani was killed. Nobody wants a war with Iran. All of us want to be safe and secure. Whether or not a broader military conflict develops remains to be seen. The situation in Iran still has the potential to go in unforeseen directions. In the meantime, the Democratic presidential candidates run a serious risk of seeing their doomsday scenarios revealed as yet another wolf-crying episode and one that exposes their increasing willingness to play the politics of appeasement with terrorists. CHARLIE GEROW is the CEO of Quantum Communications and a Republican strategist. He and Democrat Mark Singel appear each Sunday morning at 8:30 on CBS-21s Face the Sate. Prior to Iran's missile attacks on U.S. bases inside Iraq, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said, "We are not seeking war with Iran, but we are prepared to finish one." Esper said the U.S. prefers a "diplomatic" solution to the escalation of tensions in the region. Yes, that would be ideal, but a diplomatic solution would require Iran to reverse course, no longer fund and practice terrorism, stop developing a nuclear weapon and cease its repeated threats to destroy Israel. Never at a loss to make political hay out of a serious foreign conflict with American troops in danger, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi criticized the president in a mixed message: "We must ensure the safety of our service members, including ending needless provocations from the Administration and demanding that Iran cease its violence. America and the world cannot afford war." Pelosi said nothing about the endless provocations by Iran, the world's number one sponsor of terrorism. In an appearance at the White House, President Trump said: "As long as I am President of the United States, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon." He called for a greater involvement by NATO in the Middle East without spelling out what that would look like. And he promised more "punishing" economic sanctions on Iran, whose economy is already teetering on the brink. That the president did not announce or threaten new military operations against Iran was significant and offers Tehran an opportunity to de-escalate the conflict. I have written this before, but it bears repeating. Iran's theocratic leadership believes war is the path to revealing the "12th Imam," their version of the Christian second coming. The Mullahs of Iran are true believers who it appears are willing, even eager, to die for their cause, or more accurately have others die in their place. Here is the formula the "no more war" crowd doesn't get or refuses to accept. Iran and its proxies kill U.S. troops, along with Iranian and foreign civilians and we are supposed to take it. If America responds to Iran, as President Trump has done (unlike Obama and Clinton), we are the enemy of peace and guilty of "escalating" the conflict. War is never a one-way street, unless one side pre-emptively surrenders. Victory must be our goal and should be defined. Perhaps feckless European nations, Saudi Arabia and other countries will see clearly now that we have been at war with these fanatics at least since 1979 when Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran and held 52 people hostage for 444 days until the inauguration of Ronald Reagan when the hostages were released. Maybe the Iranians feared Reagan would do then what Trump has done now, which is to punch back when attacked. Yes, Iran must not be allowed to create nuclear weapons. Most in the West and Israel believe that. The question is how to stop them. There are multiple ways, short of armed conflict. There will not be an invasion of Iran, but cyberattacks, computer viruses, targeting missile sites and increased sanctions are all options. So is supporting those inside Iran who hate their government and wish to replace it. Perhaps Iran's retaliatory attack was about "saving face" for the Iranian regime. Since no Americans were killed, and President Trump has said that is a red line for him, this could be the end of the latest conflict. It will most assuredly not be the end of this war. But no one should be under any illusion that what the U.S. and the West does short of surrender will affect the stated goals of the fanatics, who are in it to win it. The ultimate question is, are we? Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Tsai Ing-Wen waves after addressing supporters following her re-election as President of Taiwan in Taipei, Taiwan, on Jan. 11, 2020. (Carl Court/Getty Images) Taiwan Election Results a Repudiation of China, Experts Say Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wens landslide victory over her main opponent, Han Kuo-yu of the Kuomingtang (KMT) party, who favors friendlier ties with Beijing, sent a clear message that the Chinese regimes intimidation efforts have not worked, experts say. There was no doubt that the election results signified a repudiation of China, and a repudiation of the idea of unification, June Teufel Dreyer, a political science professor at the University of Miami and a senior fellow of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, told The Epoch Times. Tsai won reelection in the three-way race on Jan. 11, scoring a record 8.17 million votesor about 57 percent of the popularthe highest tally since the self-ruled island began its first direct presidential election in 1996. Her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) also dominated with 61 of the 113 legislative seats. The election result was a dramatic turnaround for Tsai, who last year had struggled in her approval ratings. Tsais popularity saw a sharp rise after she took a hard stance on Beijing while supporting pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. Although the democratic island maintains de-facto independence from the mainland with its own policy, economic system, and military, the Chinese regime considers Taiwan a part of its territory. It has sought to merge with the island under the one country, two systems formula, the framework that currently governs Hong Kong and Macau. This election only confirmed in spades that the idea [one country, two systems] has no market in Taiwan, Richard Bush, director of the Center for East Asia Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, told The Epoch Times affiliate NTD following an election-watching event in Washington. Confetti falls as Tsai Ing-wen (C) stands with Vice President-elect William Lai (C-L) and Vice-President, Chen Chien-jen (C-R), as she celebrates after addressing supporters following her reelection as President of Taiwan in Taipei, Taiwan, on Jan. 11, 2020. (Carl Court/Getty Images) Hope for Democracy Derek Mitchell, president of the National Democratic Institute and a former U.S. ambassador to Burma, called the election results a referendum on China. It also exemplified the idea of the silent majority, whose views may only be realized through democratic votes, according to Mitchell. When people say: in China the people support their government, they all support the CCP [Chinese Communist Party]. The answer ishow do you know? he said at the same event. We see what the silent majority says when theyre allowed to speak, he continued. Hong Kong anti-government protesters attend a rally in support of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen outside the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan, on Jan. 11, 2020. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters) By reference to the recent Hong Kong district elections, where pro-democracy candidates also won a sweeping victory, Mitchell noted that theres a pattern of increasing engagement from the younger generation. That is the hope of democracy going forward, not the older folks who have the same old mindsets in the same old ways, but new energy for democracy, he said. No Complacency The Chinese regime is probably not surprised about the election outcome that they have also been following closely, but they may not have expected there would be such a wide margin, Bonnie Glaser, director of the China Power Project at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said at the event. Supporters of Taiwans presidential election candidate, Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen cheer for Tsais victory in Taipei, Taiwan, on Jan. 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying) Despite the resounding victory, experts warned that Taiwan should not become complacent. This is not done. Nothing is over. Taiwan still has to keep its edge and recognize that the authoritarian powers and those who dont like democracy are playing a long game, Mitchell said. Glaser said in the years ahead one may see a ratcheting up of diplomatic, military and economic pressure [by Beijing] on Taiwan. Theres an enormous amount that Taiwan needs to do to strengthen deterrence, she added. Beijings Limits In terms of the islands economy, Bush said that he did not expect the mainland to pose serious threats to Taiwans companies, as Beijing sees local business leaders as a political resource and a constituency within Taiwan for promoting their own goals. Instead, Taiwans economy depends more on whats happening in the world economy, but also what happens in U.S. policy on a variety of issues, he said. Given the slowing Chinese economy, continuing Hong Kong protests, and U.S.-China tensions, Glaser said an imminent military attack on Taiwan remains unlikely. [The] bottom line is that military advantage is just simply not a sufficient reason, or even decisive superiority is not a sufficient reason for Beijing to take such risks, Glaser said. [Chinese leader] Xi Jinping has a lot on his plate, she added. So the Wolfe Tones are No1 in the UK iTunes charts with Come out ye Black and Tans in the wake of the aborted commemoration of the Royal Irish Constabulary due to happen at Dublin Castle on Friday. And what a PR disaster for the Government that turned out to be. Indeed, for a Government as concerned with PR as this one - it is mildly surprising how many PR gaffes they seem to incur - perhaps they should reconsider that specialist communications unit they were hoping to launch last year? Oops! Perhaps not. And I think you would be hard-pressed to disagree that deferring, or even cancelling the RIC commemoration, was the right thing to do. It had become incredibly divisive and inflammatory. Certainly the RIC and the Black and Tans - who it should be pointed out were not one and the same, but nonetheless were closely associated with each other (the 'Tans' were sent here by the British government to augment the RIC) - continue to be viewed with intense dislike in this country, to this day. But there's a debate that needs to be had here, because there's a paradox at the heart of all this that those who most passionately want a united Ireland are probably those who will push the likelihood of one further away. I've said it before - I'm ambivalent enough about the four green fields. If pushed, I would say that, on balance, a united Ireland is a nice idea but I would only want one if it could be achieved at no great cost to myself or my family - or indeed the society we live in here in the 26 counties. And I suspect that few enough of us would want a united Ireland where there is a return to violence on this island. Would any of us sign up to a united Ireland that meant loyalist paramilitaries (they haven't gone away either you know) brought a campaign of terrorism to the streets of Belfast, or indeed Dublin? I have no problem with a united Ireland that is peaceful and prosperous, but one that sees a recurrence of 'The Troubles' - albeit in a different way - is not something I'd relish. And if we don't want that and if we are - as is very likely - moving towards a united Ireland then don't we need to reassure in some way our fellow Protestant, unionist, loyalist citizens north of the border that they aren't viewed as 'other' here? That they are accepted and indeed welcome? Do we not need to move beyond sectarianism here in the south, too, and accept that there are many who live on this island, who are from different backgrounds but are also Irish? And if this island is united - they will be citizens of this State with a right to our consideration and respect. We are all about protecting minorities here these days - unionists will become exactly that. The Government has said that the expert advisory group, on the decade of commemoration planned by the State, advised there should be a commemoration of the RIC, which is why one was organised. Historian Professor Diarmaid Ferriter from that group, has said the Government is using them as a 'mudguard' for cover on this issue - he said they never advised a State commemoration - but what was in their mind was more an academic one. However, I'm quoting the group when I say what they said was "consideration should be given to the organisation of specific initiatives to commemorate the RIC and acknowledge their place in history". So it seems to me there's more than the Government running for cover on this issue and what was 'in the mind' of the group seems academic to me if that was their advice. But it is clear that everyone is running away from this idea now because the commemoration plan is hugely unpopular here. And it seems that most of us in the south still view the unionist perspective with as much, if not more, distaste as northern nationalists do - when push comes to shove. Perhaps, because we've had the luxury of not having to live cheek by jowl with unionism up until now, here in the Republic. There is a question of whether or not we should be commemorating any of the elements of our violent and war-torn past. This Republic was born out of bloodshed, revisiting that time and celebrating only one aspect of it - however well that sits with most of us - will be seen as triumphalism by some. One hundred years - it would appear is not so long that those wounds are fully healed and stirring up sectarianism and nationalist sentiment in the south where it had largely died - is the opening of Pandora's box. I, too, did not like the idea of a commemoration of the RIC. I was raised in a household that referred to our family background as 'anti-treaty'. But I recognise that we cannot progress to a peaceful, united Ireland without letting go of those kinds of sentiments. Ironically, it is people like me who are less invested in a united Ireland - and therefore less likely to protest about RIC commemorations, who are more likely to facilitate that happening. @ciarakellydoc DUBAIProtests erupted across Iran for a second day on Sunday, putting pressure on the countrys leadership after the military admitted it had mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian airliner at a time when Tehran was fearing U.S. airstrikes. They are lying that our enemy is America, our enemy is right here, a group of protesters outside a university in Tehran chanted, according to video clips posted on Twitter. Posts showed other demonstrators outside a second university and a group of protesters marching to Tehrans Azadi (Freedom) Square. The videos also showed protests in other cities. Some state-affiliated media carried reports of the university protests, after Saturdays demonstrations sparked by Irans announcement that its military had mistakenly brought down the Ukrainian plane on Wednesday, killing all 176 aboard. Tehran residents told Reuters police were out in force in the capital city on Sunday. Public anger boiled up following days of denials by the Iranian military. Riot police fired teargas on Saturday at thousands of protesters in the capital, where many chanted Death to the dictator, directing their anger at the Islamic regimes Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Apologise and Resign, Irans moderate Etemad daily wrote in a banner headline on Sunday, saying the peoples demand is for those responsible for mishandling the plane crisis to resign. The latest upsurge in anger adds to the public pressure directed at Irans leaders, who are struggling to keep the crippled economy afloat under stringent U.S. sanctions. It launched the bloodiest crackdown in the 40-year history of the Islamic Republic in November after protests against a hike in fuel prices turned political. About 1,500 people were killed in less than two weeks of unrest, three interior ministry officials told Reuters, though international rights groups put the figure much lower. Irans leaders rejected the figure. U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter Sunday: To the leaders of IranDO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. Thousands have already been killed or imprisoned by you, and the World is watching. Irans Enemies Want to Take Revenge The Ukraine International Airlines plane was shot down minutes after taking off from Tehran on Wednesday. Many on board were Iranians with dual citizenship, while 57 were holders of Canadian passports. The downing of the plane came at a time when Iranian forces were on alert for U.S. reprisals following tit-for-tat strikes. A U.S. drone strike in Iraq on Jan. 3 killed prominent Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, responsible for building up Irans network of regional proxy armies in Iraq and beyond. Tehran responded with missile strikes on U.S. targets in Iraq. No U.S. soldiers were killed in the retaliatory attack, but in the tense hours after that, the Ukrainian Boeing 737 was cleared to take off from Tehran airport and brought down by a missile fired allegedly by mistake. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Tokyo, Japan, on Dec. 20, 2019. (Charly Triballeau/Pool via Reuters) Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the shooting down of the plane was a disastrous mistake and apologized. A top Revolutionary Guards commander added to public fury when he said he had told the authorities on the same day as the crash that an Iranian missile had struck the plane. The Guards top commander, Hossein Salami said, We are more upset than anyone over the incident, state media reported. Another commander said Iran did not intend to conceal the cause of the downed plane. But others said Irans enemies, a term usually used to refer to Washington and its allies, were exploiting the incident. Irans enemies want to take revenge on the Guards for a military mistake, said Ali Shirazi, Khameneis representative to the Quds Force, the overseas Guards unit that Soleimani headed, state media reported. March Towards Pariah Status Iranian officials sought to portray the plane disaster as a second blow to a nation mourning after Soleimanis death. His funeral prompted huge public gatherings, which the authorities described as a show of national unity. But the displays of emotion have been swiftly overshadowed and protesters on Saturday tore up pictures of the slain general. While both Tehran and Washington have backed off from intensifying their conflict, the leader of Lebanons heavily armed Hezbollah group called on Sunday for Tehrans allies to begin working to avenge Soleimanis killing. Retaliation would happen in the coming days, weeks and months, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech. Iran-allied Hezbollah is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States. The killing of Soleimani dramatically escalated tensions between Tehran and Washington, following months of hostilities since Trump withdrew from a nuclear pact between Iran and world powers in 2018 and then toughened up sanctions. Britain said its ambassador in Iran was briefly detained on Saturday, which Iranian media said was because he was inciting protests. The envoy said he attended a vigil for plane victims. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab condemned the arrest and said Iran can continue its march towards pariah status or take steps to de-escalate tensions with diplomacy. By Parisa Hafezi By IANS NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Sunday took a jibe at new army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane's statement about the Pakistan occupied Kashmir. The Congress leader advised him to "talk less and work more". "@ New Army Chief, Parliament already had adopted unanimous resolution on #POK in 1994, Govt is at liberty to take action and may give direction. If you are so inclined to take action on POK, I would suggest you to confabulate with CDS, andA@PMOIndia. Talk Less, Work More," Chowdhury tweeted. General Naravane in his recent interview had indicated that the Indian Army is ready to integrate Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) with India, if Parliament orders so. Chowdhury had sparked a controversy when he told Parliament that it could not abrogate Article 370 related to erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir because the matter was pending in the United Nations. Now this tweet of his seems to be giving an opportunity to the Bharatiya Janata Party to question Congress' stand over PoK. Andi Case became the CEO of Clarkson PLC (LON:CKN) in 2008. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. This method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO. See our latest analysis for Clarkson How Does Andi Case's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies? According to our data, Clarkson PLC has a market capitalization of UK885m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth UK2.8m over the year to December 2018. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at UK550k. We note that more than half of the total compensation is not the salary; and performance requirements may apply to this non-salary portion. When we examined a selection of companies with market caps ranging from UK306m to UK1.2b, we found the median CEO total compensation was UK881k. Thus we can conclude that Andi Case receives more in total compensation than the median of a group of companies in the same market, and of similar size to Clarkson PLC. However, this doesn't necessarily mean the pay is too high. A closer look at the performance of the underlying business will give us a better idea about whether the pay is particularly generous. The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at Clarkson has changed from year to year. LSE:CKN CEO Compensation, January 11th 2020 Is Clarkson PLC Growing? Clarkson PLC has reduced its earnings per share by an average of 4.5% a year, over the last three years (measured with a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 10% over last year. Sadly for shareholders, earnings per share are actually down, over three years. And while it's good to see some good revenue growth recently, the growth isn't really fast enough for me to put aside my concerns around earnings. These factors suggest that the business performance wouldn't really justify a high pay packet for the CEO. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts. Story continues Has Clarkson PLC Been A Good Investment? Boasting a total shareholder return of 43% over three years, Clarkson PLC has done well by shareholders. 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. In Summary... We compared total CEO remuneration at Clarkson PLC with the amount paid at companies with a similar market capitalization. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group. We think many shareholders would be underwhelmed with the business growth over the last three years. On the other hand, returns have been good, so the company is doing something right. Given this situation we doubt shareholders are particularly concerned about the CEO compensation. CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting to check if the CEO is buying or selling Clarkson (free visualization of insider trades). If you want to buy a stock that is better than Clarkson, 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. Strongly defending the new citizenship law, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday the dispute that has arisen over it has made the world aware of persecution of religious minorities in Pakistan. He, however, deplored that a section of the youth is being "misguided" over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which is aimed at giving and not taking away anybody's citizenship rights. "CAA is not about taking away citizenship, it is about giving citizenship. Today, on National Youth Day, I would like to tell this to the youngsters of India, West Bengal, North East that this is not an overnight law for giving citizenship. "We must all know that any person of any religion from any country of the world who believes in India and its Constitution can apply for Indian citizenship through due process. There's no problem in that," he told a gathering at Belur Math, the headquarters of Ramkrishna Mission. Modi said even Mahatma Gandhi had favoured Indian citizenship to those fleeing religious persecution and that his government has only delivered on the wishes of the freedom fighters. Referring to anti-CAA protests in the North-East, Modi vowed to protect the distinct identity and culture of the people of the region, and asserted the new law will not hurt their interests. "We've only done what Mahatma Gandhi had said decades ago. Should we send these refugees back to die? Are they our responsibility or not? Should we make them our citizens or not?" he said, evoking a thunderous applause by the gathering. Modi said some people with political interests are deliberately spreading rumours about the new citizenship law, despite "complete clarity" over the CAA. "Our initiative to amend the citizenship act has created a dispute. It is the result of our initiative that Pakistan will now have to answer why they have been persecuting minorities for the last 70 years. Human rights have been demolished in Pakistan," he said. Seeking to assuage the concerns of the people of the North-East, Modi called the region "our pride". "Their culture, traditions and demography remains untouched by this amended law," he said. He said the citizenship law was only "changed a little" for those who were ill-treated in Pakisan after Partition. "They were having a bitter time living there. Women were in danger of losing their pride," he said. "Young people have understood the whole thing but those who want to indulge in politics over it will not," he said. Modi said five years ago, there was disappointment among the youth of the country, but the situation has changed now. "Not just India, the entire world has a lot of expectations from the youth of the country. The youth are not afraid of challenges....they challenge the challenges," he said at the Belur Math, the abode of Swami Vivekananda for several years until his death in 1902, aged 39 years. Modi, an ardent devotee of Vivekananda, spent the night at the Math. He has a long association with the Ramkrishna Mission order founded by Vivekananda in 1897. Inspired by the teachings of Vivekananda, Modi had arrived at the Mission Ashram in Gujarat's Rajkot and expressed desire to join the order. Swami Atmasthananda, who later went on to become the 15th president of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission, then headed the Rajkot branch and had advised him that sanyas was not for him and that he should work among people. During those days, Modi used to regularly meet Atmasthananda and sought his spiritual guidance. Although Modi went back after spending some time there his the relationship with Swami Atmasthananda and the Ramkrishna Mission continued. Whenever Modi used to visit Kolkata, even during his days as Gujarat chief minister, he would travel to the Math. In 2013, during his Kolkata visit, he had gone to Belur and sought the blessings from Atmasthananda. He had in 2015 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". On Sunday, the prime minister paid tributes to Swami Vivekananda on his birth anniversary, which is celebrated as the National Youth Day, and spent some time in the spiritual leader's room in quietude. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are keenly looking up to the future with the hope of taking up some royal roles. Meetings are said to be progressing well, with the UK and Canadian governments consulted. The couple have said they plan to step back as senior royals and split their time between the UK and North America. Meghan has returned to Canada to join her son Archie amid the ongoing talks. The family spent Christmas there, before returning to the UK on Tuesday after a six-week break from royal duties. The Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge have asked senior staff to work with the Sussex household and government to find a solution within days, according to BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell. Speaking about the duke and duchess, a source told PA news agency: They, like everyone, are hopeful this can all be worked out, sooner rather than later. It is in everyones interest for this to be figured out, and figured out quickly, but not at the expense of the outcome. Meanwhile, the couples official Instagram account returned to publicising their appearances. Pictures were posted showing the couple during a private visit on Tuesday to a community kitchen in north Kensington, west London, which cooked meals for families displaced by the Grenfell Tower fire and contributed to a recipe book backed by Meghan. In their statement on Wednesday, the duke and duchess also said they would be adopting a revised media approach, engaging with grassroots media organisations and using their Instagram account, which has more than 10 million followers, to personally share moments in their lives directly with members of the public. The Royal Family was said to be hurt at the couples announcement about their plans to step back as senior royals. Palace sources have told BBC royal correspondent Jonny Dymond that Prince Harry and Meghan did not consult any other royal about making their personal statement. There had been talks within the Royal Family about the Sussexes future but they were at an early stage, he said. In their announcement on Wednesday evening, Prince Harry and Meghan revealed they intend to step back as senior members of the Royal Family, and work to become financially independent. They plan to split their time between the UK and North America, while continuing to honour our duty to the Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages. The decision came after many months of reflection and internal discussions, they added. Despite the couples decision, Harry will remain sixth in line to the throne. Former royal press secretary Dickie Arbiter said attempting to be half in and half out of the Royal Family had been tried before 30 years ago by the Earl and Countess of Wessex and it didnt work. The pair both experienced difficulties pursuing careers in the private sector and are now full-time working royals. Youre either a royal or youre not a royal you cant have one leg in one camp and another leg in another camp, Mr Arbiter said, adding that Prince Harry had a number of senior roles which could not be done in a half-hearted way. US President Donald Trump told Fox News he thought the announcement from Harry and Meghan was sad. He said: I dont want to get into the whole thing, I just have such respect for the Queen, it shouldnt be happening to her. Last October, Prince Harry and Meghan publicly revealed their struggles under the media spotlight. After returning to the UK after their six-week break in Canada on Tuesday, Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, visited Canadas High Commission in London to thank the country for hosting them and said the warmth and hospitality they had received was unbelievable. Former actress Meghan, who is American, lived and worked in Toronto during her time starring in the popular US drama Suits, and she has several Canadian friends. The pair were already preparing to launch their own Sussex Royal charity, which they set up after splitting from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridges foundation in June last year. It was revealed in December the couple had made an application to trademark their Sussex Royal brand across a string of items including books, calendars, clothing, charitable fundraising, education and social care services. ---CitinewsRoom Like this, you must have always seen water and snow rain, but today we are going to tell you something that you will be surprised to hear. Have you ever seen the rains of fish from the sky? Probably not, but there is also a place in the world where fish are rained every year. This strange phenomenon is happening here for the last 100 years. Neighbor calls police after listening to woman's screaming The name of this country is Honduras, which is located near Mexico. Fish have been raining here not from 2 or 3 years, but for more than 100 years. Sometimes it happens once a year or sometimes twice. This peculiar event occurs at the end of spring or early summer. The distance from Honduras to the Atlantic Sea is just 200 kilometers. Scientists tell the reason for the rain of the fish to the Atlantic Sea, but people living here believe something else. They consider it a miracle of God. When a 1-year-old taught a lesson to those who throw garbage on the road The people of Honduras argue that the economic condition of the people here was very bad in the 19th century, due to which people were dying of hunger. All this was not seen from a Spanish priest living there. So he prayed continuously for 3 days and 3 nights and asked God to show miracles for the poor people here and make arrangements for its food. It is said that due to the prayer of the pastor, there was darkness in Honduras and after that, there was a rain of fish from the sky. Since then, this miracle is happening here every year. Temple of three-eyed Ganpati, people send letters here Hitachi Vantara, and Hitachi Consulting have joined forces to form one company to create what they say is a new digital infrastructure and solutions powerhouse. According to Hitachi, the new company - branded as Hitachi Vantara - aims to become the worlds preferred digital innovation partner by unlocking the good in data that benefits customers, raises the quality of people's lives and builds a sustainable society. And Hitachi says Hitachi Vantara will specifically bring a competitive edge to the digital domains that matter most the data centre, data operations and enterprise digital transformation. The new Hitachi Vantara combines the best consulting-led digital solutions and vertical industry expertise of Hitachi Consulting with Hitachi Vantaras IT domain expertise. Going forward, the integrated company will help customers develop practical, scalable digital strategies and solutions that transform operational processes, improve customer experiences and create new business models to drive innovation and growth, Hitachi said. Toshiaki Tokunaga, a 30-year Hitachi veteran who has successfully transformed several Hitachi businesses, will serve in the dual role of chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Hitachi Vantara. The companys two business units - Digital Infrastructure and Digital Solutions - will be led by presidents Brian Householder and Brad Surak, respectively. A barrage of data and technology is disrupting enterprises and industries the world over, said Tokunaga. Through the integration of Hitachi Consulting, the new Hitachi Vantara will be uniquely equipped with the capabilities our customers need to guide them on their digital journeys. Were going to be the company that helps customers navigate from whats now to whats next. According to Hitachi, organisations worldwide are being challenged to derive insights and competitive advantage from the vast amounts of data being generated by their people, processes and machines - and industries are simultaneously being disrupted by quickly evolving technologies and architectures, such as AI and IoT. SANTA CRUZ(BCN) A 26-year-old man was injured early Saturday after exchanging gunfire with another person during a confrontation in Santa Cruz, police said. At 2:34 a.m., officers responded to the reports of the shooting in the 100 block of West Cliff Drive near Depot Park. Officers performed life-saving measures until the firefighters and medical responders arrived. The man was taken to a hospital and was in stable condition, police said. Investigators said the suspect had confronted the victim as he walked on the sidewalk on West Cliff Drive. During the confrontation, both fired guns and the victim was injured. It's not known whether the victim knew the suspect, or what prompted the confrontation, police said. Santa Cruz police said that anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact their investigations unit at (831) 420-5820. 420-5844 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. Kabul, Jan 12 : Two US service members were killed and two other US service members wounded in an explosion in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province, the coalition forces confirmed. "Two US service members were killed and two US service members were wounded in action today when their vehicle struck an IED in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan," the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission forces said in a statement on Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported. Taliban militants have been using home-made improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to make roadside bombs and landmines for targeting security forces. The service members were conducting operations as part of Resolute Support mission, the brief statement added. The statement did not provide details only saying "in accordance with US Department of Defence policy, the names of the service members killed in action will be withheld until 24 hours after notification of next of kin is complete." Taliban militants have claimed responsibility for the attack. Zabiullah Mujahid, a purported Taliban spokesman, wrote on Twitter that insurgents conducted a roadside bombing against foreign forces near an airbase on the outskirts of provincial capital Kandahar city. Security situation has been improving in Kandahar, the former stronghold of Taliban, over the past months, as security forces have conducted search and cordon operations across the province. But the militants attack government interests in the province from time to time. Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha on Sunday said enactment of the "unconstitutional and unnecessary" new citizenship Act was a ploy by the Centre to "divert attention" of people from its "failure" to prevent the economic slowdown. Addressing a gathering during the course of his "Gandhi Shanti Yatra" here, the former BJP leader quoted former chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian saying that India was facing a "great slowdown with its economy headed for intensive care unit (ICU)". "All sections of the society are disenchanted with the functioning of the government. Those in the government are great experts at diverting attention. "So, this unconstitutional, unnecessary Act is meant to divert the attention of the youth, farmers, women, so they get involved in opposing this and do not think about their daily difficulties," Sinha said. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which was notified on January 10, grants Indian citizenship to non- Muslim minorities migrated to India Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh till December 31, 2014, following their persecution over their faith. Massive protests were witnessed against the CAA, mainly by the student community, since its passage by Parliament in December last year. Opposition parties has been dubbing the CAA an "anti-Muslim" legislation, a charge being debunked by the government. Sinha said, "The Act was brought in because the economic condition of the country is at present in a great danger". The former finance minister was in Surat as part of his 3,000-km yatra, which began from Mumbai on January 9, for various demands including repealing the CAA; constituting judicial inquiry into instances of "state-sponsored violence" such as the attack on JNU students, and seeking the government's assurance in Parliament that nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise will not be carried out. "The biggest catch of the Act, which is why this can't be implemented, despite being notified by the Central government, is that it talks about giving citizenship to persons who have suffered religious persecution or fear of religious persecution," Sinha told reporters. "..Where is the evidence of religious persecution? It is in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, but not in India. Will India get proof of this from neighbouring countries?" he asked. "How will a child prove if their parents or grandparents who migrated here from neighbouring countries are dead? This Act cannot be truly implemented because it is unconstitutional, with an artificial cut-off date, is based on religion, and is impractical," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) (Newser) Tsai Ing-wen was reelected Taiwan's president by a landslide Saturday in a victory that signaled strong support for her tough stance against China among voters determined to defend their democratic way of life. Tsai, from the Democratic Progressive Party, soundly defeated Nationalist Party candidate Han Kuo-yu, receiving 57.2% of the vote to Han's 38.6%. She wasted no time in warning China that "Taiwan and our democratically elected government will never concede to threats," reports the AP. Taiwan's voters have shown that when our sovereignty and democracy are threatened, the Taiwan people will shout our determination even more loudly. In a setback for Beijing, Tsai managed to win in areas that traditionally have gone to the China-friendly Nationalists in central and southern Taiwan. Her party also retained its majority in the 113-seat Legislative Yuan, though the vote was closer there. story continues below Tsai said the results of the election, with turnout estimated at 74%, proved that Taiwanese are committed to defending their democracy and way of life. Given China's efforts to isolate Taiwan during Tsai's first term, her victory will likely bring on still more deadlock and pressure from Beijing. Xinhua issued a brief report saying she had won reelection as leader of the Taiwan region," language in keeping with Beijing's refusal to recognize Taiwan as independent and its leader as a head of state. In the past two years, Beijing has cut off all formal ties with Tsai's government, restricted visits by Chinese tourists, excluded Taiwan's representatives from international gatherings, and lured away the island's dwindling diplomatic allies. In recent months, Beijing has held military exercises across the Taiwan Strait, sailed both of its aircraft carriers through the waterway dividing Taiwan from the mainland, and flown air patrols around the island. (Read more Taiwan stories.) Investing.com - The United States announced new sanctions on Iran Friday, as expected, in response to Irans missile attacks earlier in the week. The sanctions will focus on metals and mining producers, construction and other areas of the economy. Action will be taken against eight senior Iranian regine officials who have advanced the regimes destabilizing objectives, as as well as the largest steel, aluminum, copper, and iron manufacturers in Iran, who collectively generate billions of dollars annually, the U.S. Treasury said in a statement. President Donald Trump is also signing a new executive order that targets sources of revenue used by Iran to support its nuclear program. The United States is targeting senior Iranian officials for their involvement and complicity in Tuesdays ballistic missile strikes, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in the statement. We are also designating Irans largest metals manufacturers, and imposing sanctions on new sector s of the Iranian economy including construction, manufacturing, and mining. Related Articles Bloomberg to tell states to restore felon voting rights, stop purging rolls Explainer: What is McConnell's proposed impeachment trial format? Buttigieg pledges $1 trillion in infrastructure spending if elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe departed from Tokyo on Saturday to visit three Middle Eastern countries, amid mounting tensions between the United States and Iran. Abe will visit Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Oman to seek their understanding of his government's decision to send Maritime Self-Defense Force personnel to the Middle East to gather information in the region. Femi Falana, senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), says the use of aircraft in the presidential fleet by members of President Muhammadu Buhari is illegal. The foremost human rights lawyer said Buhari must stop the use of aircraft in the presidential fleet by his family members for private events because it has no backing of the law. This comes after Hanan Buhari, flew in a presidential jet to a private event in Bauchi on Thursday. The development sparked outrage among many Nigerians, including the opposition Peoples Democratic Party(PDP). However, Buharis spokesperson, Garba Shehu, in a statement, said the first family have a right to use the presidential aircraft. Read Also: Buharis Wife, Children Have Right To Use Presidential Jet: Presidency The normal practice in existence for a long time is that the presidential air fleet is available to the president and the first family and four others. These four are the vice-president, the senate president the speaker and any other person authorised by the president, he said. Falana, in a statement on Sunday, said; there is no such practice, and that the official policy of the federal government does not authorise the children of the President to use the presidential jets to attend to private social functions. In fact, there is no precedent whatsoever for such privatisation of the presidency of Nigeria. The so called normal practice of using the aircraft in the presidential fleet by members of the first family to attend to private engagements is not backed by any extant law or official policy, he added. In view of the foregoing, we call on President Buhari to stop the members of his family from using any of the aircraft in the presidential fleet with a view to cutting down on waste. A country that is said to be the headquarters of the greatest number of poverty stricken people in the world cannot afford to waste billions of Naira on the use of presidential aircraft and hiring of commercial jets by state governors that are owing workers several months of unpaid salaries. North London Collegiate School has been educating girls in the British capital since the days of Queen Victoria. These days, it's looking further afield -- to Singapore. And, as chance would have it, the timing seems impeccable. The private school is seeing a rush of interest in its new outpost from anxious expats in Hong Kong, who are sizing up options for their children given the running protests in the former British colony. One international school in the city-state said applications from Hong Kong have increased by about one-quarter. Singapore has plenty of advantages for expats. The city-state's political stability, high education standards, green spaces, low crime and efficient infrastructure make it appealing for those considering a change of scenery. "Singapore has a sound reputation internationally in terms of livability," said Jason Tan, an associate professor at Nanyang Technological University's National Institute of Education. "With the current situation in Hong Kong, families are looking to move elsewhere." Months-long pro-democracy protests that show no sign of ending have disrupted the Asian financial center, crippling its economy and seriously hurting the retail and hospitality sectors. Goldman Sachs estimated in October that as much as $4 billion may have flowed to Singapore due to the turmoil, while real estate brokers from Canada to Australia say they're seeing a surge in interest from people looking to relocate. Since August, when the violence intensified, school placement consultancy ITS Educational Services Ltd. in Hong Kong has received four inquiries a week on average about schools in Singapore. Parents are "worried about their children traveling to school and how safe it is to be traveling on public transport," director Anne Murphy said. Murphy, who is based in Hong Kong, was invited by four financial companies to conduct talks on Singapore's international schools because employees have been offered the option of relocating. While she wasn't able to disclose the name the firms, she said the talks focused on the choices of international schools available, admissions process and waiting lists. Each was attended by around 12 to 20 parents, most either lawyers, traders or fund managers. The majority were expats, including American, Indian, British and French nationals. "Even those without Singapore visas were accepted through our help," Murphy said, adding ITS often recommended schools that could sponsor a student with a guardian visa. Students need to be formally accepted by a school before they can apply and obtain a student visa. They need not necessarily be accompanied by a working adult. But under Singapore immigration laws, parents accompanying a child studying in the city-state can obtain a visa or what's called a long term visit pass, which is valid for up to two years. The visa can be applied for by either the mother or grandmother of the child. According to the Ministry of Manpower's website, the guardian isn't allowed to work during their first year in Singapore. That's to encourage them to spend more time helping their child adjust to Singapore's education system. Murphy said that parents she's worked with were keen on schools that also help to apply for a student pass. This is less of a hassle and means families can move to Singapore quicker, she said. ITS assisted one family get their six-year-old child, who had a Hong Kong passport, accepted into two schools via this method. "The parents chose a school that had an immediate place for January and the student pass was issued within six weeks after the offer from the school," she said. A six-day shutdown of schools in November, prompted by fresh levels of violence, is another reason parents are casting their eyes abroad. They're angry their children were unable to travel to school, despite living nearby. Especially when school fees have burnt a small hole in their pockets. Stamford American School Hong Kong charges about HK$178,000 ($22,850) a year for students up to grade five. That jumps to almost HK$200,000 for grades six to nine. Hong Kong International School charges around HK$216,000 for younger students and up to HK$245,950 for children in grades six to 12. These costs are "quite extravagant and significant if your child is unable to attend school," Murphy said. 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. During the November shut down, the Singapore American School received inquiries from families wanting to enroll their children as soon as possible, according to director of admissions Treena Casey. Others were inquiring about getting their children in the door from August, the start of the new school year. But the move isn't always smooth, or cheap. Most of Singapore's international schools have long waiting lists and prices rival Hong Kong. At the Singapore American School, students who are non-U.S. citizens cost as much as S$54,800 ($40,620) a year depending on the grade. The Canadian International School in Singapore charges up to S$40,900. Casey said the school had witnessed a 25% jump in applications from Hong Kong but couldn't say how many would be joining in the new year. "We've tried to accommodate where we can. We have an extensive wait list," she said. The French School of Singapore has seven new students starting this month, according to communications and events director Sebastien Barnard. That's more than the school would normally expect, although it's not considered "a particularly large migration for us," he said. The Canadian International School's head of communications and marketing, Michelle Sharp, said there's been an increase in both inquiries and applications, but couldn't share figures. Spaces are extremely limited for a January start, with wait lists at most grade levels. North London Collegiate School in England is opening its branch in August. It started accepting enrollments in October and to date, about 12% of inquiries have come from Hong Kong, said Vandana Rao, director of community relations. "It's important to find schools that are the right fit and affordability is a factor," Tan said. The high costs in Singapore "could deter Hong Kong parents from relocating." 10 to 15 people per 100,000 residents take their own lives each year. The average is highest amongst pensioners. Psychologist Franz D'Onghia of the Luxembourg League for Mental Health explained the reasons for the statistic and how to help prevent it. A number of risk factors can affect the mental health of the elderly. Illnesses, isolation, loss of family and friends, as well as the loss of autonomy. Many older people lose the ability to drive or even take care of themselves, which sees their mental health plummet. Age can also affect a number of mental illnesses which are difficult to diagnose, such as depression. D'Onghia explained that classic symptoms of depression, such as difficulty sleeping, or loss of appetite and energy, are common among older people, which means depression can often go undiagnosed in the elderly. Important signs to look out for are changes in behaviour and daily routine. D'Onghia recommended following up on such signs, or "ruptures", for example when a person stops going out or taking calls. Preventative measures could take the form of helping the elderly to prepare for loss of autonomy, helping them find alternative methods of transport such as special bus services, or helping them integrate in retirement homes or communities. Anyone with concerns for older people close to them should speak to their GP for guidance. The RBS centre also has resources, as well as municipalities' social offices. For acute cases, an anonymous report can be made to SOS Detresse on 45 45 45. Gurugram: Four days after the body of a 35-year-old Ghaziabad resident was recovered from a drain in DLF Phase-1, the police on Saturday arrested two of the victims acquaintances for their alleged involvement in the murder. According to the police, the post-mortem examination suggested that the man was strangulated to death with the help of a bedsheet which he had wrapped around his body to protect himself from cold. The duo allegedly killed him after a heated argument over drinking, the police said. The arrested men were identified as Ajay, 19, and Sonu, 24, both are natives of Sonipat. The police said that Ajay is a farmer while Sonu, who worked as a receptionist at a hotel, is currently unemployed. They were arrested from Sector 42. A case was registered against the accused under sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code at Sushant Lok police station on Saturday. The duo was produced before a court on Sunday and sent to police remand. The police had identified the victim as Arshad who was a resident of Sahibabad in Ghaziabad. In the police complaint, his wife had alleged that around 2pm on January 7, her husband left the house for Gohana in Sonipat with his friends. He had allegedly borrowed a friends Audi for the drive. She had further alleged that her brother-in-law talked to her husband on phone in the evening who told him that Sonu and Ajay were forcing him to drink liquor and not allowing him to return home. Jagbir Singh, station house officer (SHO), Sushant Lok police station, said, During interrogation, Sonu and Ajay said that they were drinking with Arshad. When he said that he has to leave for home, they got into an argument with him. Later, when he began travelling back in the car, the men stopped him on his way, forced him to drink more alcohol and strangulated him to death with the bedsheet he was covering himself with. The police said that the accused then dumped the victims body in the drain and fled the spot. The police on Saturday booked five men in the case and said they are interrogating the arrested men to locate the others. Several hours after admission of the commander of the Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Force Amir Ali Hajizadeh, thousands of youths, particularly students, flooded into the streets of Tehran, Hamedan, Isfahan, Yazd, Rasht, Shiraz, Sanandaj, and several other cities to protest four days of lies by authorities. In many districts, youths were chanting the slogan, Death to the liars, a reference to regime officials who initially rejected claims of having shot down the airplane. On the other hand, demonstrators soon addressed the supreme leader Ali Khamenei, as the non-elected leader who bears all responsibilities for current disasters and crises of the country. For instance, at Sharif University, Tehran, protesters were chanting, Commander in chief, resign! and Khamenei have some shame, let go of power! Death to the dictator [Ali Khamenei], was also a common slogan in different cities across Iran. The demonstration is taking place while the regimes officials claimed all the people are mourning for the death of the former IRGC Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike at the turn of the year. However, protesters slogans against Soleimani and his leader [Ali Khamenei] that portrayed them as murderers displayed Iranians sympathy for the regimes authorities. Protesters were chanting, Soleimani is a murderer, so is his leader (Ali Khamenei), and tore down Soleimani portraits installed in different parts of cities after his death. Saturday evening [January 11], hundreds of people in Tehran initially rallied in front of Amir Kabir University in Hafez street. They gathered in response to the IRGC commanders belated declaration of the cause of an airplane crash that resulted in the death of 176 of innocent passengers. In this respect, the mourning celebration immediately turned into political protests against the rulers, which reminded authorities that the society is in volatile conditions. Crowds were chanting, 1,500 of our people were killed in November. Thus, Protesters demonstrated that they have not forgotten the regimes brutal suppression of nationwide protests that took place last November. While the Iranian media outlets are in full service for authorities, given the expansion of protests, they couldnt conceal the news. A large crowd has gathered at the crossroads of Taleghani and Hafez towards Enghelab Square, and their number is increasing every moment, the official IRNA news agency reported on January 11. However, young demonstrators showed their anger against the state-run broadcasting organization that never reflect the real voice of the people and accounted as the regimes apparatus for propaganda against dissidents and peoples genuine desires. January 12 Tehran, #Iran Allameh Tabatabai University Students chanting: State TV/radio are a disgrace! in reference to the regimes use of state outlets to broadcast fake news & pro-regime propaganda.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/Vh4GpWDnAo Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) January 12, 2020 The protests rapidly extended to various cities across the country. Significantly, demonstrators chanted common slogans against authorities and their horrible policies have were mired Iran into unprecedented catastrophic conditions in all sectors. Security forces responded to peaceful protests by firing tear gas and violent attacks on barehanded people. However, the violence raised anger and attracted the sympathy and solidarity of other segments of the society to demonstrators and caused the expansion of the peoples protests. Footage shows that the demonstrations are ongoing. The continuation of protests has proven the deep rift between the ordinary people and rulers who always answered rightful grievances by brutality. It also displays that the regime has no capacity to behave with society like a normal state. Particularly, Khamenei has lost his right-hand, Qassem Soleimani, in both suppression inside Iran and aggression abroad. Also, the regime deals with numerous problems in different sectors such as politic, economic, social, etc. Tristen Rouse is a photo editor at the Columbia Missourian and contributor to its photo blog, The Method. He previously worked at the Missourian as a statehouse photojournalist. He can be reached via email at tjrggf@mail.missouri.edu. Follow this search Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today Protesters chant slogans while holding up posters during a demonstration in front of the British Embassy in Tehran (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP) Iranian demonstrators defied a heavy police presence to protest against their countrys days of denials that it shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane carrying 176 people. Videos posted online showed protesters shouting anti-government slogans and moving through rail stations and pavements in Tehran, many near Azadi, or Freedom, Square after an earlier call for people to demonstrate there. Other videos suggested similar protests were taking place in other Iranian cities. Protesters often wore hoods and covered their faces. Some online videos purported to show police firing tear gas sporadically, although there was no immediate wholesale crackdown on demonstrators. Meanwhile, in an emotional speech before parliament, the head of the Revolutionary Guard apologised for the shootdown and insisted it was a tragic mistake. I swear to almighty God that I wished I was on that plane and had crashed with them and burned but had not witnessed this tragic incident, said Gen Hossein Salami. I have never been this embarrassed in my entire life. Never. Riot police in black uniforms and helmets earlier massed in Vali-e Asr Square, at Tehran University and other landmarks. Revolutionary Guard members patrolled the city on motorbikes, and plainclothes security men were also out in force. Expand Close Protesters chant slogans and hold up posters of General Qassem Soleimani during a demonstration in front of the British Embassy in Tehran (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Protesters chant slogans and hold up posters of General Qassem Soleimani during a demonstration in front of the British Embassy in Tehran (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP) The plane crash early on Wednesday killed everyone on board, mostly Iranians and Iranian-Canadians. After initially pointing to a technical failure and insisting the armed forces were not to blame, authorities on Saturday admitted to accidentally shooting it down in the face of mounting evidence and accusations by Western leaders. Iran downed the flight as it braced for possible American retaliation after firing ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq housing US forces. The missile attack, which caused no casualties, was a response to the killing of General Qassem Soleimani, Irans top general, in a US air strike in Baghdad. But no retaliation came. Iranians have expressed anger over the downing of the plane and the misleading explanations from senior officials in the wake of the tragedy. They are also mourning the dead, which included many young people who were studying abroad. Even talking about it makes my heart beat faster and makes me sad, said Zahra Razeghi, a Tehran resident. I feel ashamed when I think about their families. Expand Close Dozens gathered outside the embassy (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Dozens gathered outside the embassy (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP) Earlier on Sunday, hundreds of students gathered at Tehrans Shahid Beheshti University to mourn the victims and protest against authorities for concealing the cause of the crash, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported. Bahareh Arvin, a reformist member of the Tehran City Council, said on social media she was resigning in protest against the governments lies and corruption. With the current mechanism, there is no hope of reform, she said. Some Iranian artists, including famed director Masoud Kimiai, withdrew from an upcoming international film festival. US president Donald Trump, who has expressed support for past waves of anti-government demonstrations in Iran, addressed the countrys leaders in a tweet, saying DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. The World is watching. More importantly, the USA is watching, he tweeted. Iranians took to the streets in November after the government hiked petrol prices, holding large protests in several cities. The government shut down internet access for days, making it difficult to gauge the scale of the protests and the subsequent crackdown. Amnesty International later said more than 300 people were killed. A candlelight ceremony late on Saturday in Tehran turned into a protest, with hundreds of people chanting against the countrys leaders including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and police dispersing them with tear gas. Protests were also held in the city of Isfahan and elsewhere. Police briefly detained the British ambassador to Iran, Rob Macaire, who said he went to the vigil without knowing it would turn into a protest. Thanks for the many goodwill messages. Can confirm I wasnt taking part in any demonstrations! Went to an event advertised as a vigil for victims of #PS752 tragedy. Normal to want to pay respects- some of victims were British. I left after 5 mins, when some started chanting. Rob Macaire (@RobMacaire) January 12, 2020 Can confirm I wasnt taking part in any demonstrations! he tweeted. Went to an event advertised as a vigil for victims of #PS752 tragedy. Normal to want to pay respects some of victims were British. I left after 5 mins, when some started chanting. He said he was arrested 30 minutes after leaving the area. Britain said its envoy was detained without grounds or explanation and in flagrant violation of international law. Irans deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi later tweeted that Mr Macaire was arrested as an unknown foreigner in an illegal gathering. Mr Araghchi said when police informed him that a man was arrested who claimed to be the British ambassador, he did not believe them. But he said that once he spoke to Mr Macaire by phone, he realised it was him, and that the ambassador was freed 15 minutes later. He wasn't detained, but arrested as unknown foreigner in an illegal gathering. When police informed me a man's arrested who claims to be UK Amb, I said IMPOSSIBLE! only after my phone conversation w him I identified, out of big surprise, that it's him. 15 min later he was free. pic.twitter.com/VjuZxN1oTN Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) January 12, 2020 Irans Foreign Ministry later summoned the British ambassador over his illegal and inappropriate presence at the protest, it said on its Telegram channel. Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a member of Irans parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, accused the ambassador of organising protests and called for his expulsion. Dozens of hard-liners later gathered outside the British Embassy, chanting Death to England. They also called for the ambassador to be expelled and the embassy to be closed. Iranian media, meanwhile, focused on the admission of responsibility for the crash, with several newspapers calling for those responsible to apologise and resign. The hard-line daily Vatan-e Emrouz bore the front-page headline A sky full of sadness, while the Hamshahri daily went with Shame, and the IRAN daily said Unforgivable. Suspected Port Harcourt serial killer, Gracious David West has reportedly identified 7 of the 19 victims he allegedly killed before his arrest. LIB reports a statement presented in court during his trial on Friday by IPO Sergeant Ogbomudia Timi Engbokuru, stated that the suspect confirmed the visit to the mortuary where he identified his alleged victims. Read Also: Apata Memorial School Suspends Teacher For Demanding Sex From Student It was also gathered that the statement West admitted to, were made at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad Office, Police Headquarters and Elekahia Police Station. The infamous suspected serial killer who was taken into custody on September 19, later took the Police to all the hotels rooms where the crimes were perpetuated on September 20. Information Nigeria recalls the bodies of his alleged victims were found with a white cloth wrapped around their necks and waist. The trial before Justice Adolphus Enebeli and Justice Mark Chukwu is expected to continue later. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry just made a shocking announcement. On Wednesday, January 8th, the couple announced that they would be stepping down from their royal duties and will now try to gain their financial independence away from the royal family. This news came at a complete shock to many fans and was also reportedly a shock to Queen Elizabeth II as well. If reports are to be believed, Prince William and Prince Charles were also taken by surprise. Now that Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry will no longer be senior members of the royal family, many people are wondering what exactly this means for the young couple. Will they now have to lose their title of Duke and Duchess of Sussex? Here is what we know about what the future holds for Prince Harry, whose official title is The Duke of Sussexs official title is His Royal Highness Henry Charles Albert David, Duke of Sussex, and Duchess Meghan. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry shocked the world with their announcement On Wednesday, the world was stunned when they read a statement on the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs Instagram account. They began the statement by saying: After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chose 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. The statement went on to say that they will still be giving their full support to the queen and their patronages, as well as the CommonWealth. The duke and duchess also said that they would be living in the U.K. and in North America. They did not specify where in North America they would be moving to, but it is widely speculated that Prince Harry, Markle, and their son Archie will be living in Canada because it is part of the CommonWealth. It is also where they stayed for the last six weeks while they were on sabbatical. How will Prince Harry and Meghan Markle make a living? Before the Duke and Duchess of Sussex decided to step down from being senior members of the royal family, they received money from the Sovereign Grant to performing their royal duties. While they were receiving this money, they were not allowed to take another job outside of their royal work. By stepping down, they will now be able to work at any job that they want to. So far, they have not specifically stated what they plan to do as far as a new career goes. However, Markle had a few different careers going for her when she met Prince Harry. Some people think that she may decide to continue to pursue her acting career or her fashion career. She may also choose to make an entirely new career move. By choosing to step down, Markle is now free to work at any career that she wants. Also, according to NPR, Prince Charles receives millions of pounds a year for being the Duke of Cornwall. He reportedly gave both Prince Harry and Prince William a large cut of his profits every year. It is unclear if Prince Charles will continue to give Prince Harry the money from now on. But even if he doesnt, we assume that Prince Harry and Markle have a healthy nest egg saved up, so they should be financially stable for quite a while. Will Prince Harry and Meghan Markle get to keep their titles if they are no longer senior members of the royal family? Meghan Markle and Prince Harry | Jeremy Selwyn WPA Pool/Getty Images For right now, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan still have their royal titles intact. However, according to Page Six, a source that is familiar with royal protocol has stated that Prince Harry and Markle could choose to change that. It is clear that they are on a different and unique path, the source said. And they are very much thinking about what the future looks like for them. That could include being based in Canada or the possibility of walking away from their HRH titles, although hopefully it will not come to that. Because Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry have stated that they still intend to support the queen and the CommonWealth, many people believe that they will not be losing their royal titles. Instead, they will just simply be living outside of the U.K. for a majority of the time, but will still be lending their support to the royal family whenever it is needed. That said, prior to their announcement, a report from the Sun alluded to the possibility of walking away from their [His and Her Royal Highness] titles. Whats more, when Baby Archie was born, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle opted against giving him a title: Instead of Prince Archie, he is Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. Back in 2017, Prince Harry mentioned leaving his princely life. He told The Daily Mail he longed for an ordinary life and had previously considered dropping his title. I felt I wanted out but then decided to stay in and work out a role for myself, he said at the time. There are still several details that need to be worked out though. The royal family was reportedly blindsided by Prince Harry and Duchess Meghans news. The palace released a statement of their own that stated: 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. RICHMOND (BCN) The Richmond City Council is poised to decide Tuesday night whether to approve a proposed ordinance that would phase out storage of coal and petroleum coke at a waterfront terminal facility. The ordinance would have a profound effect on one Richmond business, Levin Richmond Terminal on the Santa Fe Channel east of Point Richmond and south of the "Iron Triangle" neighborhood. The terminal stores coal shipped from Utah mines before export to Japan. Levin also stores petroleum coke, a byproduct of oil refining, from the Phillips 66 refinery in Rodeo before it is shipped. The proposed law, borne from complaints from the public about increased coal dust in the air in parts of Richmond, would only govern storage of coal in Richmond. It would not have any effect on transportation of coal through the city by rail. Levin's waterfront site could transition to storing other materials, according to a Richmond city staff report. At Tuesday night's council meeting, no public comment will be taken - that all came at the council's Dec. 3 meeting, where dozens of speakers addressed the council. Most were either Levin employees or their union leaders who feared Levin's 62 jobs would be lost because of the ordinance, or community activists, health professionals or other residents concerned about high asthma rates in Richmond, and coal dust's possible role in that. The City Council abruptly ended that Dec. 3 meeting at midnight, after 5 hours, as the council was about to deliberate on the coal dust ordinance. Tuesday's Richmond City Council meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Community Services Building, 440 Civic Center Plaza. 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. Law enforcement agencies are treating the protesting students as they are not the Indians; they are the Pakistanis. by Ali Sukhanver writing from Islamabad In the world of the wise, the act of living in a state of oblivion is called, living in fools paradise. The fools paradise is getting more and more populated with the people who are misguided rather detracted by different misunderstandings. Among the long queue of such distracted ones is Mr. Narendra Modi too. In every speech he claims that he is the most popular leader in India and his political party the BJP rules over the hearts of the people of India. He claims that no one in India has got guts to defeat the BJP in the coming years. His mouth-peace media persons also keep on the same string all the time but on-ground realities altogether otherwise. The performance chart of the recent elections of the Jharkhand State Assembly must be an eye-opener to the BJP which were held in five phases from 30th Nov 2019 to 20th Dec 2019. According to the results announced by the election authorities BJP got 25 seats; in 2014 elections this number was 37. Astonishingly the regional political parties secured a far better rather far stronger position in these elections. This situation indicates that the BJP is losing an over-all support from the general public. The reasons behind this political defeat could be many but the most important one is the extremism expressed by the BJP at different occasions. The Man behind Modi - RSS Project The other reasons include Revocation of articles 370 and 35 A in the states of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and implementation of the amended Citizenship Act 2019. All these actions have generated very deep-rooted hatred against the Modi government. Recent results of the Jharkhand Assembly reflect this hatred very honestly. This poor political mandate in fact shows public discontentment against incumbent BJP governments radical policies. Certainly BJPs advisers need a serious review of their policy objectives to minimize this hatred against the Modi government. Mr. Modi must try to realize that every battle could not be won with the help of media-warriors. He must look at the increasing protest against the amended Citizenship Law which is getting intensified day by day. The Modi government has banned public gatherings in several areas of the country including Indias most populous state Uttar Pradesh. Internet access has also been disrupted in many parts of the country including the capital New Delhi. On 19th December 2019, the Time reported that during a protest procession several prominent protesters were also detained, including historian Ramachandra Guha. He was among more than 200 peaceful protesters detained in the southern city of Bengaluru a day before. Students of different colleges and universities are also expressing their intense reaction on the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019. Law enforcement agencies are treating the protesting students as they are not the Indians; they are the Pakistanis. In Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia University, the law enforcement agencies tried to snub the protesters in the most violent manner by firing different poisonous tear gasses were on them. Media reports say that many students are seriously injured and many missing. More than35 students of Jamia Millia Islamia University and more than a dozen from Aligarh Muslim University have been arrested; reports say. But in spite of all this brutality, the supporters of Modi sarkar are harping on the same string that India is heading towards a new era of peace and prosperity under the leadership of Mr. Modi. At the same time, there are some very positive social indicators too going side by side with negativity projected by the Modi government in the Indian society. One of these positive indicators is that the Indian public has started realizing that extremism promoted by a handful of people is disfiguring the true face of shining India. They have started feeling that the extremist approach of BJP is pushing India towards a very unfortunate disintegration. It is the result of this realization that various NGOs consisting of people representing different religions philosophies have also joined hands with the Muslims in the protest against the actions of the Modi government. The streets and roads of different cities are resonating with the slogans Hindu Muslim Sikh Isai, aapas mein hain bhai bhai (Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, we are all brothers). Let us see how Mr. Modi counters this new revolutionary move leading to religious harmony and social unity. Chattogram, Dhaka to battle to stay alive for BBPL final Chattogram Challengers will take on Dhaka Platoon in the Eliminator game of the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BBPL) with an aim to keep them alive for the final of the tournament. A defeat would eliminate the team from the final race straightway. Considering this factor, Dhaka Platoon's target is also the same like Chattogram. The crucial game will be held at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium today and starts at 1.30 PM. For Chattogram, to play the Eliminator is some sort of disappointing matter as they were at the top of the point table for most part of the tournament. However, two defeats in the last four matches pushed them to third position in the point table and therefore they need to play the Eliminator game instead of the first Qualifier. However, a victory wouldn't ensure the team's final in direct way rather they have to play the loser of the first Qualifier to make them available for the final. "Since we are in the knock-out stage, we have no other options but to win the game. We have two games at hands and those are important, so we have to win those two to make us available for final," Chattogram Challengers wicket-keeper batsman Nurul Hasan Sohan said here on Sunday. Sohan said their main focus would be to play as a team and beat Dhaka Platoon in the next match. "We had played as a team and won many matches in this tournament. If we consider the final, then we have to win three matches in a row. But primarily our focus would be to win our next game against Dhaka Platoon. If we can give our 100 percent, we know we can win it," he pointed out. Terming Dhaka as the strong outfit, Sohan said, they are determined to execute their plan well on the ground. "Dhaka is a strong team. But in T20 cricket those who would execute their plan well on the ground, they would win the game. So our target is to implement our plan well." Dhaka's captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza got injured on his hand while fielding against Khulna Tigers in the last match. Even though he needed 14 stitches between his left thumb and index finger, Mashrafe said he would play the game. While Mashrafe's determination is set to motivate his team further, Sohan said their local players are upbeat to continue their good work in the tournament. "We are playing as a team. The local players did their job superbly. What we need to do is to continue in this vein." In game at day at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium the toss has turned out to be vital as the team bats latter, gets the advantage. Knowing this trend, Sohan said irrespective of the toss, their main target is to play well in the first power-play. The use of a presidential jet by President Muhammadu Buharis daughter, Aisha, has continued to generate controversy since Thursday. PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported how Ms Buhari flew in the jet to Bauchi on a study tour of Bauchi Emirate as part of her fieldwork for her ongoing Masters programme in Photography at a UK university. Many Nigerians including the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba, have criticised the president for flouting his own touted policy on cutting cost of governance, by allowing his daughter to fly the jet. The presidency through a spokesperson, Garba Shehu, has defended the action, saying Aisha, like any other member of the presidents immediate family, is entitled to the use of the presidential jet. The major opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), disagreed saying the presidency was arrogant in its defense of the indefensible annexation of our national assets and resources for illegal private use. What the law says: Checks by PREMIUM TIMES including confirmations by lawyers indicate that the Nigerian constitution makes no clear rule on such use of the presidential jet. For the daughter of the president to use presidential jet on a private tour is an abuse. But as I have said, Im not aware of any law regulating it, rights lawyer Jiti Ogunye said. He, however, noted that as an appurtenance of the Office of the President, there are provisions of Nigerias criminal law that criminalizes the use of the seal of the president or governor for anyone other than those elected into the offices. However, there should be protocols for such purpose. For example, will it be permissible for children of the president to be moving around with the presidential limousines or cars? That will not be permissible due to security implications and for the dignity of that office. You must be aware that even the presidential jet has the seal of the president on it. So does it mean the daughter should be using a facility dedicated to the president without the president on board? Mr Ogunye said. For senior lawyer Femi Falana, the so-called normal practice mentioned by Mr Adesina of using the aircraft in the presidential fleet for members of the first family to attend to private engagements is not backed by any extant law or official policy. Even the use of the aircraft in the presidential fleet by the Senate President, House Speaker and Chief Justice of Nigeria has not been approved by the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission which is the statutory body empowered by the Constitution and the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission Act to determine the remuneration and allowances of all political office holders in Nigeria, Mr Falana argued. Femi Falana (SAN) The senior advocate explained that a country that is said to be the headquarters of the greatest number of poverty-stricken people in the world cannot afford to waste billions of Naira on the use of presidential aircraft and hiring of commercial jets by state governors that are owing workers several months of unpaid salaries. He argued that no official policy authorises the children of the president to use the presidential jets to attend to private social functions. In fact, there is no precedent whatsoever for such privatisation of the presidency of Nigeria. Having publicly declared that his administration would maintain a compact and reliable aircraft for the safe airlift of the President, the Vice President and other government officials that go on special missions President Buhari is estopped from allowing members of the first family to use the jets for their private affairs, he said. Another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mike Ozekhome, argued that by virtue of the name given to the jet, it is strictly for official duties and not frivolities. Now tell me, what official function is the presidents daughter using the jet for. I dont know if the girl captured with the jet is now an official working with government without the notice of Nigerians. Shes not a staff and this is simply an abuse of office to be cruising with the countrys official jet, he said. For Chidi Odinkalu, a lawyer and former Chairman of Nigerias National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Buhari administration has been acting outside the lines of integrity. Chidi Anselm Odinkalu writes about judicial capture in Nigeria. For an administration that sold itself on a ticket of integrity, these guys are acting entitled to the point of criminality, Mr Odinkalu said, adding that the government should apologise to Nigerians for the action. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-13 02:47:05|Editor: yan Video Player Close BEIRUT, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Sunday that there will be a series of operations against the U.S. forces in the region in retaliation to U.S. assassination of Iranian and Iraqi commanders earlier this month, local TV channel Al Manar reported. Nasrallah made the remarks in a televised speech marking one week of memorial for the death of Qassem Soleimani, head of the Iranian Quds Force, and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Nasrallah said that the United States has no other choice but to withdraw from the region either voluntarily or send back its army members in coffins to their homeland. Nasrallah also denied allegations by U.S. President Donald Trump about Soleimani having plans to attack U.S. embassies. Nasrallah praised Iran for its courage to attack U.S. military forces in Iraq. Iran launched dozens of missiles on Wednesday, hitting two Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops, following the U.S. killing of Soleimani. The robotics team at the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts in San Francisco said thieves broke into their newly built shed for the second time Saturday, stealing thousands of dollars in tools and equipment and leaving the team without a workspace. Its the second time in less than three weeks that the teams shed which the students built on their own has been broken into, totaling about $11,000 in losses. Thieves stole several laptops, saws, a drill press and handheld power tools, the team said on its GoFundMe page. It happened at a critical time for the SOTA Cyberdragons Team 5700, which has only seven weeks left to assemble its robots before competitions begin. All these robots, they have to be done, said Ari Kishinevsky, 17, a member of the robotics team. We literally cannot work on them after that deadline passes. Were just really trying to figure out where to work. Weve decided the shed is not usable anymore because its been broken into too much. Thieves previously broke into the shed on Dec. 24, just weeks after the team finished construction of the 10-by-16-foot unit in the schools courtyard. After the initial theft, they safeguarded the shed with locks. But on Saturday, thieves struck again, this time tearing down a wall to gain access to the shed, the team said. While their tools can be found at hardware stores and replaced, The problem is that it takes time, money and effort to replace those tools that we could be putting towards the competition and building the robots, said Ernesto Fox, who does mechanical engineering for the team. We cant find more time to build the robot. The group members built the space to store equipment, hold meetings and have access to a private work area beyond school hours, especially on weekends, when they do most of their work. The teams members do not have access to the school on weekends, Fox said. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Thats a really big part of when we build, he said. If we cant access the tools or the robot, then its kind of difficult, which was the inspiration for the shed in the first place. The San Francisco Unified School District could not be reached for comment Sunday. In the meantime, the students planned to meet at a team members house Sunday to continue their work. The team surpassed its initial $11,000 fundraising goal Sunday afternoon and said any additional donations would be used to find a new secure and safe workspace. San Francisco police said they are investigating the burglaries. Anyone with information about the crimes is encouraged to call 415-575-4444 or text a tip to 847411, beginning the text with SFPD. Tatiana Sanchez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tatiana.sanchez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TatianaYSanchez. Some of Australias most extreme Christian-right parties have withdrawn from politics, claiming the election of Prime Minister Scott Morrison had rendered them redundant. This week the Victorian-based Rise Up Australia leader said the political party was deregistered after the May election because Mr Morrisons Christian values mirrored many of its own. Prime Minister Scott Morrison at Horizon Church on Easter Sunday in 2019. Credit:AAP Controversial Rise Up leader Danny Nalliah - who once claimed the Black Saturday bushfires were the consequence of Victoria decriminalising abortion - said Rise Up was formed almost a decade ago because of a vacuum in Christian-conservative politics, which had now been filled. There is no need for us to continue because Scott Morrison was elected, the evangelist pastor said. Even as Progressives double down on their claim that Trump was somehow responsible for the Iranians shooting down a passenger plane, Iranian protesters are rising up against their government because Trump has told the truth and is actively supporting them. In mid-2009, shortly after President Obama took office, Iran had its own presidential election. Voters believed (reasonably) that the election was rigged and started protesting. For months, hundreds of thousands of people were on the streets in protest. Over nine months, the government arrested at least 10,000 people and killed over 100. Never once did Obama give the protesters a single word of support. Obamas silence was deadly. The famous Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky explained in The Case For Democracy: The Power Of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny And Terror that, for people living in a totalitarian dictatorship, reality is a very fragile thing. As in Orwells 1984, tyrannies force people to deny reality. Even as they starve, they are told that they are not hungry. Thats why it was so important when Ronald Reagan called the Soviet Union an Evil Empire. While the Western media sneered, the dissidents got a reality check that enabled them to keep fighting. As Sharanky explained: In any place where dissent is banned, society fractures into three groups. One group is composed of those who remain committed to the prevailing order because they agree with it the true believers. Another group is made up of those who are willing to defy the prevailing order despite the risk of punishment the dissidents. For members of these two groups, there will be little or no gap between their private thoughts and public statements. Unlike true believers and dissidents, members of the third group do not say what they think. This group is comprised of people who no longer believe in the prevailing ideology, but who are afraid to accept the risks associated with dissent. They are the doublethinkers. [snip] Doublethinkers live in constant tension from the gap between their thoughts and words. They always avoid saying what is not permitted but also try to avoid saying what they do not believe. But fear societies generally do not leave their doublethinkers such a luxury. They demand from their cogs constant expressions of loyalty. In kindergartens, schools, universities, workplaces, religious institutions, public meetings, and elsewhere, doublethinkers must parrot the ideology of the regime and hide their true beliefs. This constant self-censorship can be such an inseparable part of a doublethinkers existence that it becomes so habitual that the tension between thoughts and words is almost no longer felt. Indeed, only when doublethinkers are free are they fully aware of the extent of their previous self-imposed intellectual servitude. (pp. 43-46.) The only salvation for doublethinkers, said Sharansky, was truth, especially truth from political leaders who understood that only lies and violence prop up tyrannies: Fortunately, there were a few leaders in the West who could look beyond the facade of Soviet power to see the fundamental weakness of a state that denied its citizens freedom. Western policies of accommodation, regardless of their intent, were effectively propping up the Soviets tiring arms. Had that accommodation contined, the USSR might have survived for decades longer. By adopting a policy of confrontation instead [as Reagan did], an enervated Soviet regime was further burdened. Amalris analysis of Soviet weakness [Andrei Amalriks 1969 dissident treatise explaining the fatal cost to a dictatorship of having to physically and psychologically control[] millions of its own subjects] was correct because he understood the inherent instability of totalitarian rule. (p. 11.) President Trump has cut through the lies. He has said that Qassem Suleimani was not a respected, austere, elder statesman. He said what Iranians already knew, which was that Soleimani was a mass murderer. From the minute he targeted Suleimani, Trump has spoken the unvarnished truth, and has done so in undiplomatic language: Iran is a dictatorship that spreads terror throughout the world and that practices this terror on its own people. When Trump invited the Mullahs to lay down their arms, he was telling the people of Iran that he will support them as they fight for liberty. American Progressives reject this message. They call Trump a warmonger and blame him for the Ukrainian crash. But the Iranians know better and again are taking to the streets. The videos below show that, while the Iranian protesters' numbers are small, they are growing -- and all are showing remarkable courage given the Mullah's propensity to kill. Moreover, Trump, unlike Obama, is telling the Iranian people, in English and in Farsi, that he supports them and that he will show them a way out of doublethink and into Truth: #IranProtests What a spectacular turn of events, Islamic Republic. Crowds chant, "Our enemy is right here, they are lying that it's America."#UkranianPlaneCrash pic.twitter.com/11ZBtddTNk Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) January 11, 2020 Another round of #IranProtests ; in front of Tehran polytechnic university; Death to the Islamic republic, down with @Khamenei_fa pic.twitter.com/9XUvLmZfbU Ali Hamedani (@BBCHamedani) January 11, 2020 Now the Iranian people are saying in the street: Khamenei is a murderer and the Islamic Republic must go. This is the real voice of the Iranian people.#IranProtests #IranPlaneCrash pic.twitter.com/qJqfQ1Ua5n Mohammad Mozafari (@mohmd_mozafari) January 11, 2020 Meanwhile, the Democrats have had a different message: Tweets by Democrat presidential candidates supporting Iranian protesters today: Joe Biden: ZERO Elizabeth Warren: ZERO Bernie Sanders: ZERO Tulsi Gabbard: ZERO Mike Bloomberg: ZERO Amy Klobuchar: ZERO Cory Booker: ZERO Pete Buttigieg: ZERO Why is that? thebradfordfile (@thebradfordfile) January 12, 2020 We are at a pivot point in the history of the Middle East. The beleaguered Iranian people need all the truth and moral support they can get. A passenger on a United Airlines partner flight is accused of assaulting a flight attendant on a plane before charging at responding officers when the plane landed in Newark, New Jersey, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Six officers suffered non-life-threatening injuries during the incident, Port Authority spokesman Scott Ladd told NJ.com. Officials had responded to a report of an assault on a flight attendant on a flight that arrived from Washington. When the plane stopped and the door was opened, 28-year-old Matthew Dingley, of New York, charged at Port Authority officers. Some of them fell down the planes stairs, leading to injuries, according to Ladd. Six officers and the flight attendant were hospitalized, the official said. A passenger on the plane said Dingley tried to enter the cockpit. This guy was in a full sprint, right up to the cockpit, hits the cockpit, starts banging on it, passenger Mike Egbert told NBC New York. When a flight attendant tried to stop him, he attacked her, Egbert said, describing her as a hero for trying to stop him. Egbert added that a passenger on the plane appeared to have some law enforcement training and was allegedly able to subdue Dingley. Egbert described the incident further: He picks up a police officer, throws the police officerhis back. If he did actually get into that cockpit lord knows what would have happened. A United spokesperson said the incident unfolded on a United Express partner airline, CommutAir. CommutAir flight 4965, operating as United Express from Washington Dulles to Newark, landed without incident and was met by local law enforcement due to a disruptive passenger. Our primary concern is always to ensure the safety of all customers and crew and we are cooperating with authorities. We express our gratitude for the quick reaction of our passengers and crew who responded during this incident, the spokesperson told Fox News. As reported by NJ.com, the suspect was placed in the Essex County Correctional Facility after he was charged with aggravated assault, criminal trespassing, resisting arrest, and interfering with transportation. According to the NBC report, Dingley was arrested in 2016 for leading police on a chase in North Carolina. In 2017, he was found guilty of DWI in New York. Its not clear if he has an attorney. Other details about the incident were not provided. The alleged assault took place Jan. 9. From The Epoch Times Well, that was a bit embarrassing, last week, as people queued up to explain the word commemoration to Charlie Flanagan. If Leo Varadkar, as leader of Fine Gael, still wants to commemorate the RIC, fair play to him. If he feels a need to show some love to the Black and Tans, General Sir John Maxwell, Queen Victoria or Oliver Cromwell, that's just fine with me. As long as I don't have to attend the ceremony, or pay for it. Let Fine Gael pay for its own stunts. Mr Varadkar, however, is also Taoiseach. And he has certain duties. One of which is to preside over a commemoration of the creation of this State. Mr Varadkar seems to have a problem with the concept of commemoration. In the period 1916-1923, there was an armed uprising and a War of Independence - which was not surprising, given the cruel, incompetent and uncaring governance of Ireland through the 19th Century and into the 20th. And a brief, savage Civil War. It's natural, a hundred years on, that the State should commemorate the events that led to its creation. We are commemorating the decision to create a separate State, and the people who achieved that. We're not celebrating the British politicians who opposed it, nor their soldiers (who included both my grandfathers, deeply respected, for what that's worth), nor the Irish police they used to subvert the independence movement. We should acknowledge all these people's actions, and respect decisions made in good faith, and the sense of duty those people felt. But a commemoration of the founding of the State is about the people and the acts that founded it. Today, we see a United Kingdom dominated by English nationalism; we look at how the current English nationalist government recently treated the Scots - as a nuisance, not as partners. And how they treated the DUP and the people they represent - as paddies and pawns, not as fellow unionists. And we remember the consistency of the contempt with which English nationalists treated the people of this country, all the way from the Famine to Brexit. With the centenary of the birth of the State, we're not flag-waving, finding heroes to cheer or villains to blame. We're celebrating a good decision and the people who made it. Fine Gael, for its own reasons, decided we should commemorate the centenary by having some sort of emotional catharsis. As Charlie Flanagan put it: "I didn't want families of RIC members who have waited, you know, up to and including 100 years to have their ancestors and family members honoured." It's all, he said, about "reconciliation". This is nonsense. There was a fork in the road and a conflict of opinion on which path to take. Fine Gael proposes that we "honour" everyone, whatever their role, join hands and dance in a circle. Everyone was equally right. No, they weren't. Today, for instance, everyone isn't equally right about the housing crisis. Many see a broken market, an accommodation emergency. Conservative politicians, though, demand we keep repeating failed free market policies, because they're ideologically pure. Decisions mattered in 1916 and onward, as they matter now. And everyone wasn't right. Mr Varadkar struck a pose last week - a speciality of his. He's mature, the rest of us are wild people. He told us we should "be mature enough as a State to acknowledge all aspects of our past". Well, look at how Mr Varadkar's Fine Gael treats its own past. The party was born of three strains, in 1933 - the old Sinn Fein strain (which revered 1916), and the Redmondite strain (which wanted the rebels shot), and a fascist strain, led by General Eoin O'Duffy. O'Duffy wasn't a closet fascist, he was proud of it. As Europe headed towards devastating war, and the obliteration of Jews, O'Duffy organised an Irish fascist outfit to mimic Mussolini and Hitler, complete with uniforms and fascist salutes. The new Fine Gael party chose O'Duffy the fascist as its leader. Today, the Fine Gael website has a display of its party leaders from the 1930s to today. The party also made a video of its history. From both of these, O'Duffy and his fascist forces have been quietly excised. In history, Fine Gael came together from disparate forces, at a dangerous time, led by a fascist. In legend, a mature party bravely held the pass against the barbarians. Fine Gael has long since abandoned fascism, it is today a Christian Democrat, right-wing party, with a socially liberal strain, stemming from the Garret FitzGerald era. But, while posturing as a mature party, it is possessed by image, so it must suppress aspects of its own past. When it came to a commemoration of real political choices, with real consequences, Mr Varadkar baulked. He thought it would be more mature to get us to hold hands and reassure everyone that no one in their family ever made a bad choice. Four years ago I had a book published, which looked at the rank and file rebels of 1916. As Mr Varadkar blundered through his latest screw-up, I was thinking of three of them - first, Vincent Poole, of the Citizen Army. Vincent was an obstreperous little man, fond of a jar, with a quick temper. He worked in the Dublin sewers. He'd been in the British army and when it came to defending the rebel positions in O'Connell Street he was deadly with a rifle. Captured, he was initially sentenced to death, and had a bit of a rough time. He fought in the War of Independence. When it was all over, and some were using IRA contacts to make lucrative careers, Vincent's only option was going back to work in the Dublin sewers, at 1 a week. Joe Good and John O'Connor were Londoners, of Irish descent. O'Connor's cockney accent was so strong he became known as "Blimey" O'Connor. The two young men were electricians - firm friends who came over to do their bit. And they were in the thick of the fighting, as the British artillery destroyed the centre of Dublin and slaughtered the civilians living in the crowded inner city tenements. Having repeatedly put their lives on the line for what they believed was the welfare of the people of this country, Good and O'Connor went separate ways on the Treaty. Joe supported the Treaty, Blimey opposed it. Again, they made their decisions based on what each thought best for the people of the country. Blimey spent 23 days on hunger strike. Joe came close to being murdered when he was captured by anti-Treaty forces; he was saved because he was recognised as a 1916 man. After the Civil War, the two electricians lived and worked in Ireland for the rest of their lives. And they remained firm friends until 1962, when Blimey was on holiday in Co Kerry and he got word that Joe died. He drove immediately to Dublin, to ensure Joe got a military funeral. When we commemorate the founding of the State, these people and their varied comrades are those we are celebrating. Flawed people, fallible, heroic, human. There are people who say that Mr Varadkar used the RIC ploy as a distraction, and they may be right. With an election pending, there are those who think he was hoping to bind tighter the Fine Gael base, and they may be right. It's unfortunate that the commemoration of people such as Vincent Poole, Joe Good and John "Blimey" O'Connor is in his hands. Speaking forcefully through the ballot box, Oklahomans launched this new approach to the health crisis caused by addiction. Through SQ 780, they opted to choose treatment over prison. Its companion, SQ 781 provides that funding for community-based, substance abuse treatment would come from re-directing averted felony prison costs. At least that was the plan. We are over three years out and the question is: Where is that money? The funding for community rehabilitative services to address mental health and substance abuse is to be budgeted and expended by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services. OMES got busy after the end of the first fiscal year after passage of SQ 781 and made an effort to calculate the savings from freeing up felony prison beds. By all accounts, this effort was a failure. The OMES calculation of more than $137 million in savings was wildly overstated. OMES was able to determine how much it costs to process and house drug possession felons but inflated how many felons were averted. The result was that there was no budgeting and funding, as the law required, to address what SQ 781 called the root causes of crime. Going back to the drawing board meant delay and confusion. When utilities around the country have wanted to build fossil-fuel plants, defeat energy-efficiency proposals or slow the growth of rooftop solar power, they have often turned for support to a surprisingly reliable ally: a local chapter of the NAACP. In 2014, the top officials of the NAACPs Florida division threw their organizations weight behind an effort to stymie the spread of solar panels on residential rooftops and cut energy efficiency standards at the behest of the energy industry. The groups Illinois chapter joined a similar industry effort in 2017. And in January 2018, the NAACPs top executive in California signed a letter opposing a government program that encourages the use of renewable energy. Most Americans know the NAACP as a storied civil rights organization that has fought for equal access to public facilities, fairness in housing and equality in education. But on energy policy, many of its chapters have for years advanced the interests of energy companies that are big donors to their programs. Often this advocacy has come at the expense of the black neighborhoods, which are more likely to have polluting power plants and are less able to adapt to climate change. The activities of the NAACP chapters, which operate with significant autonomy, have so unnerved the groups national office that it published a report titled the Top 10 Manipulation Tactics of the Fossil Fuel Industry in April. It is also sending its staffers to state and local chapters to persuade them to fight for policies that reduce pollution and improve public health even at the risk of losing donations from utilities and fossil fuel companies. From New Orleans to San Diego, consumer and environmental groups have criticized power companies for using their largesse in minority communities to get church pastors, nonprofit groups and organizations like the NAACP to back industry objectives. The utilities have essentially asked communities of color to be props for them, said William Funderburk Jr., an environmental lawyer and former board member of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. It appears utilities are turning back the clock a hundred years. From 2013 to 2017, 10 of the countrys largest utilities made about $1 billion in donations. Those contributions often went to groups representing minority communities, and many of the recipients promoted the interests of utilities in front of government regulators, according to the Energy Policy Institute, an environmental group. The NAACP has a long record on environmental issues, including fighting to reduce the health threats posed by lead paint and asbestos. But its national office has been slower to stake a clear position on climate change and the pollution caused by power plants. It established a group dedicated to environmental justice only a decade ago. Derrick Johnson, the NAACP president, said the group has established a department dedicated to that work, , with 11 full-time staff members and three consultants. We care about the education of our children, Johnson said. But if the children are in unhealthy environments, we know that it impedes their learning. As solar panels and other renewable energy sources tumbled in price in recent years, making them attractive alternatives to coal and natural gas in power plants, electric utilities in Florida began pressing regulators and lawmakers to limit their growth. Rooftop solar in particular posed a threat to the utilities. When the electric grid was designed, engineers did not foresee that consumers would generate their own power and even sell it to the utilities. That could reduce revenue for the companies. Florida Power & Light, Duke Energy and other utilities argued that as more affluent homeowners installed solar panels and reduced their reliance on the electric grid, lower-income residents would be forced to pay higher rates to maintain power lines. Many energy experts have disputed that argument, saying energy-efficiency programs and increasingly affordable solar panels can reduce electricity costs for low-income households. But utilities have successfully made their case around the country, often with the help of the NAACP and other nonprofit groups that are advocates for communities of color. In Florida, utilities found a ready partner for a time in Adora Nweze, president of the NAACPs state conference. She and her staff repeated industry talking points in newspaper opinion articles, written comments to state regulators and testimony in public hearings. Utilities often sought the groups support around the time that the state conference was in the middle of raising money for programs and its annual gathering, held in September, Nweze said. Invoices obtained by the New York Times show that Florida Power & Light gave the NAACP at least $225,000 from 2013 to 2017 and that Duke Energy gave $25,000. Florida Power & Lights annual donations doubled in 2014, just as the utility was pressing state regulators to restrict rooftop solar power and weaken the states energy efficiency goals. Florida utilities have some of the countrys least ambitious energy-efficiency goals. Florida Power & Light declined to answer questions about its work with the NAACPs state conference and other civil rights organizations. The utility said its primary focus had been to keep electricity rates as low as possible. We are proud of our long-standing relationship with the NAACP and of our ability to constructively work together on issues that benefit customers, said Alys Daly, a company spokeswoman. In an interview, Nweze said she had signed on because of the utilities financial support to her group, and because she believed what executives had told her about solar panels and energy efficiency. I felt that if we wanted the money, we had to do it, she said. The shortcoming on my part was that I didnt have the necessary knowledge to know that it was a problem. Nweze, 77, said she decided about two years ago that her advocacy for the utilities was wrong. That was when the NAACPs national office worked with her conference on a report about the effect that climate change and pollution have on low-income families. The report concluded that seven power plants had a disproportionate effect on people of color. Jacqueline Patterson played an important role in Nwezes conversion. Once focused on becoming a teacher, Patterson, 51, became interested in environmental issues while in Jamaica as a Peace Corps volunteer, in New Orleans as a relief worker after Hurricane Katrina and in sub-Saharan Africa as an official of a nonprofit group that works on health issues. She often found that local residents were not involved in the discussions when officials debated and decided environmental and energy policy white men frequently had the final say. What struck me after all of that was the number of rooms I went into where I was the only person of color, Patterson said. Too often, were just completely not there. As Patterson began recognizing the need for more African Americans in the climate change debate, so did the NAACP. The organization began digging deeper, creating an environmental justice program and appointing Patterson to lead it. Under her leadership, the group began connecting the dots between climate change and the effect of disasters like Katrina on African American communities. The group also took a closer look at how rising sea levels and more intense storms might affect low-income, minority neighborhoods. And it started examining how air pollution from power plants affected nearby residents, many of them black. One of her priorities, Patterson said, is to educate state conferences and chapters. A milestone was the 2017 report with its Florida conference, which got the state organization to reverse its position on solar panels, energy efficiency and other clean-energy programs. I looked at it differently than I do now, Nweze said. The more you look at the issue, you realize this isnt really working. But the national NAACP message has not found backing in every state. In California, the NAACP conference has more consistently taken positions that align with those of the states largest utilities. Alice Huffman, the president of that state conference, has signed letters opposing government-run electricity providers known as Community Choice Aggregation, which allow customers to choose solar power and wind with lower rates while leaving billing and transmission in the hands of investor-owned utilities. Huffman and the heads of other nonprofit organizations joined the utilities in sending a letter to state regulators contending that those programs could shift more of the grids cost to those who could least afford it. Californias three investor-owned utilities have donated about $180,000 to the NAACPs state conference and its local chapters in the last five years, the companies said. Huffman and her conference did not respond to requests for comment. Funderburk, the environmental lawyer, said the utility donations pressured nonprofit organizations to support the industry in ways undisclosed to members and the public. The only way to get real equity is to make things much more transparent, he said. Ivan Penn is a New York Times writer. With little fanfare, Canada made history at a recent United Nations conference in Geneva by having a refugee as part of its official delegation. While Mustafa Alios role as a state delegate had gone largely unnoticed, it marked a historic moment for the international community to for the first time have a refugee at the table among world leaders and diplomats who made high-level global policy decisions that dictate the fate of millions of displaced migrants seeking resettlement. It was transformative and had never happened before. It might have been a pedestrian act to have a refugee sitting next to a minister as an adviser, but its unprecedented to have a refugee sitting there as a national delegate, said Professor James Milner, policy director of the Local Engagement Refugee Research Network based at Carleton University, who attended the Geneva conference. It is not just the right thing to do to include refugees in the process who knows the issues and challenges of resettlement better than refugees themselves? Alio, who sought asylum in Canada in 2012 after war broke out in Syria, was seated next to Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino and Leslie Norton, the Canadian Ambassador to the UN, at the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva hosted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in December. Although the 35-year-old Toronto resident had previously attended many international refugee conferences as an observer, being granted equal status with global policy decision-makers as an official Canadian delegate took it to a whole new level and left him feeling scared. It was frightening, Alio said, because he had no knowledge of UN protocol or how to behave and speak around heads of state and foreign government officials a totally different experience than he had previously as an observer. It was a new thing for me and its surreal to be a refugee in these meetings where significant policies were planned. Its a huge responsibility to be representing other refugees. I didnt want to be a token. I didnt want to say something that I did not believe in to butter somebody up, said Alio, who was granted asylum in 2014 and became a permanent resident in Canada in 2018. I tried to be critical in a constructive way. I was happy to hear later that other delegations saw the value of my participation and I hope other states will follow and get their refugees involved in these conversations. A university business graduate from the Syrian port city of Latakia, Alio and two friends founded the Refugee Career Jumpstart Project in Toronto in 2015 after Canada opened its doors to tens of thousands of Syrian refugees. He quit his job as a financial adviser to devote himself to the non-profit group that helps refugees find jobs. It makes a world of difference to have somebody with that experience of living in limbo to help other refugees because we understand where they are coming from and they dont feel ideas are pushed on them by others based on some pre-thoughts of what they need and want. A doctor cant prescribe treatment if they dont consult with the patient, said Alio. Refugees want to be listened to. You need to talk to them and build trust and include them when designing and developing these policies and programs Refugees have the drive, passion and experience to be creative. Their involvement legitimizes the process. The UNHCR started engaging refugees in the 1990s through refugee camp committees by consulting them on local daily operations, but Milner said policy decisions have always been made top-down at the state level without the participation of refugees. However, the war in Syria led to the exodus of a new wave of educated, articulate and connected refugees who assumed an active role as agents of change in the face of the growing erosion of refugee rights imposed by the international community. Refugee-led groups started to organize to get their voices heard leading up to the UN General Assembly meeting in 2016 when UN members adopted the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants vowing to better protect displaced people. The 2018 Global Refugee Compact subsequently made dozens of references to refugee participation underlining the role of refugees in designing policies and programs. Mark Yarnell, senior advocate and UN liaison for Washington-based Refugees International, said his organization has been advocating for refugee participation in global policies for four decades so the people whose lives are directly impacted by the decisions of world leaders can have a say at the table about their rights, such as the freedom to work and move around. Yarnell said having a refugee on an official delegation is a significant milestone though the representation of refugees at the Geneva forum was still dismal; only 70, or 2 per cent, of the 3,000 people who attended the forum were refugees or former refugees. In a recent report, Refugees International identified logistical and financial barriers for refugees to participate in international policy debates as well as the pushback by some states that fear refugee inclusion signals an openness to welcoming asylum seekers across their own borders. The inclusion of Alio on Canadas official delegation is a small step but an important one in the right direction, Yarnell said, adding there is still a long way to go. Read more about: KYIV, Ukraine Irans stunning admission that its forces errantly downed a Ukrainian jetliner reversing three days of denial did little to quell growing fury inside the country and beyond Saturday as the deadly tragedy turned into a volatile political crisis for Tehrans leaders and overshadowed their struggle with the United States. Ukrainian officials in the capital, Kyiv, criticized Irans conduct, suggesting the Iranians would not have admitted responsibility if investigators from Ukraine had not found evidence of a missile strike in the wreckage of the crash, which killed all 176 people on board. Protests erupted in Tehran and other Iranian cities as dumbfounded citizens found a new reason to mistrust Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Irans supreme leader, and other officials. Protest videos even showed some shouting Khamenei is a murderer! and anti-riot police tear-gassing violent demonstrators. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, in his first reaction to Irans announcement, said his country would insist on a full admission of guilt by Tehran. The Ukrainians further accused Iran of having recklessly permitted commercial flights during a security emergency and of having violated universally accepted procedures for a post-crash investigation. Bulldozers heaped debris from the plane into piles on the ground. Everything was done absolutely inappropriately, said Oleksiy Danilov, the Ukrainian official overseeing the crash inquiry. Within Iran, citizens vented anger toward their government in the first hours after the admission, and President Hassan Rouhani called the error an unforgivable mistake. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, whose forces were responsible, said he had wished death upon himself because of the blunder. Hajizadeh said the plane had been misidentified as a cruise missile and was shot down with a short-range missile that exploded near the plane. Iranians who only a few days earlier were united in outraged grief over the U.S. killing of Revolutionary Guard Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani were now once again out en masse protesting their government. Death to liars! and Death to the dictator! shouted Iranians gathered in squares in Tehran, videos shared on social media showed. The criticism of Iran over the crash now threatens to eclipse whatever international sympathy Iran had garnered in its escalating confrontation with the Trump administration, which has faced widespread criticism over stoking confrontation with Irans leaders. The plane went down after having departed Tehrans airport Wednesday morning only hours after Iranian military forces had fired a barrage of missiles at bases in Iraq housing American troops in retaliation for the killing of Soleimani by a U.S. military drone in Baghdad on Jan. 3. Anton Troianovski, Andrew E. Kramer and Farnaz Fassihi are New York Times writers. The suspects in the fatal shooting of Huntsville toddler Livia Robinson will not face the death penalty if they are convicted of capital murder, the prosecutor has declared. That means if the three suspects are convicted of the capital crime, they would automatically be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The suspects are Martin Evenes, Brittany Kingston and Dominique Russell. Madison County Assistant District Attorney Tim Douthit declared he wont seek the death penalty in the case during a court hearing for Evenes on Thursday. Defense lawyer Larry Marsili, who represents Evenes along with attorney Chad Morgan, said they are pleased the death penalty is off the table. ... getting the death penalty out of consideration is always a goal of the defense team, Marsili said in a statement. Now, the focus can be set exclusively on defending the actions alleged in the indictment, which we fully intend to do. Alabama law says the death penalty can be sought for the intentional killing of a child. But, Douthit said, theres no evidence that any of the suspects intended to kill 3-year-old Livia. Livia Robinson, known affectionately as "Sweet Livie," was just 3 years old when she was killed in a drive-by shooting on Huntsville's Murray Road on Wednesday, March 7, 2018. (Photo courtesy of family) Police have said Livia, a 3-year-old known affectionately as Sweet Livie, wasnt the target of the March 7, 2018 shooting. The bullet was intended for a woman who was involved in an ongoing dispute with Evenes and Kingston, an investigator testified at a court hearing in 2018. The shooting happened at Livias 615 Murray Road home. She was in the living room that evening when Evenes fired a gun from a passing car, Huntsville police Investigator Frank Rosler told a judge at a preliminary hearing soon after Livias death. Russell drove the car and brought the gun, testimony revealed, while Kingston rode in the back seat. As perverse as it sounds, the terrible murder they tried to commit was not the same as the heinous murder they actually committed, Douthit said in a statement to AL.com. What occurred in this nightmarish case is beyond the pale. We are cognizant of that, and we intend to fully prosecute it. Livias mother MeMe McComb said shes still struggling to accept that her daughter is never coming back. Thats the horrible reality of it all, McComb said in a statement to AL.com. They have kids to talk to and see. I no longer have a child that I loved more than myself. She said the case cant be taken lightly and the suspects shouldnt receive plea deals, meaning theyd have to serve life without parole if convicted. They took my oxygen, she said. How do you go on breathing when your oxygen is cut off? Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Sunday voiced support for Army chief General M M Naravane's statement that the military can take control of Pakistan- occupied Kashmir if it gets orders from political authority. Athawale said PoK housed camps of terror outfits targeting India and military action was required to uproot them. "As far as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is concerned, many years ago there was a parliamentary resolution on it that entire J-K is part of India. If Parliament wants that area should also belong to us and if we get orders to that effect, then definitely we will take action on it," the Army Chief had said in a press conference on Saturday. In a statement issued on Sunday, the Union minister for social justice and empowerment said, "I support Army chief Manoj Naravane's statement that the army is ready for military action in POK if ordered by the Central government." He said the country had absolute confidence in the capabilities of its armed forces. A resolution by Parliament in February 1994 stated that Pakistan must vacate the areas of Jammu and Kashmir, which it has occupied through aggression. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Australia's debit card system, eftpos, has announced it is tripling employee donations to approved bushfire charities this month in response to the devastating bushfires and the efforts of communities, firefighters and volunteers. eftpos and its employees have a long history of giving to Australians in need and many of us want to contribute to the bushfire rebuilding effort, the head of eftpos Charity Committee and Chief Delivery Officer, Paul Jennings, said. eftpos has announced that while it has a standing policy of matching employee donations to approved charities up to $3,000 per person per year, this month it will double its contribution for bushfire charities up to $1,500 per employee. The company says that in practical terms, that means that if an employee donates $100 to a bushfire charity, eftpos will donate a further $200, totalling $300. eftpo says its charity committee is now looking at other practical ways to assist bushfire impacted areas, as well as giving staff more opportunities to volunteer their time and effort. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday continued her calls for witnesses in President Trumps impeachment trial after conceding to send articles of impeachment to the Senate in the coming weeks without Majority Leader Mitch McConnells commitment to hear new testimony. Pelosi, D-Calif., has withheld sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate after the House voted to impeach President Trump on Dec. 18, requesting assurances from McConnell that he would agree to have witnesses in the Senate trial. 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 has rejected Democrats requests for witness testimony and announced last week he has enough votes from his 53-member Republican majority to start a trial despite the weeks-long standoff over how the trial will be conducted and when the articles would be transmitted to the Senate. All we are doing here is saying we are going to get started in exactly the same way 100 senators agreed to 20 years ago, McConnell said. What was good enough for President [Bill] Clinton is good enough for President Trump. The Republican leader has consistently said he wants to use the same rules that governed the 1999 Senate impeachment trial of Clinton, a Democrat who was impeached by the House for lying about a sexual affair with a White House intern and acquitted after a five-week trial. In that trial, Democrats and Republicans were deeply divided over whether to allow witnesses and deferred until later in the process the question of calling additional witnesses. Despite his current stance, McConnell had advocated for a request by Republican House impeachment managers to have witnesses testify in the case against Clinton. Story continues House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. (Photo: Michael Brochstein/Echoes Wire/Barcroft Media via Getty Images) One of the main concerns around the question of witnesses in 1999 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. It isnt the same thing, Pelosi told George Stephanopoulos on ABCs Sunday morning program This Week, adding that there were at least six reasons why the 1999 precedent could not be applied to Trumps impeachment trial. The biggest one is that the witnesses were all deposed. Those witnesses that eventually came were all deposed. The president has not allowed the witnesses to be deposed for the House or for the Senate yet, Pelosi said. The main obstacle for Democrats 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. Pelosi said McConnell, whos promised a quick acquittal, will be accountable to the American people for blocking witnesses in the Senate trial. Bolton said last week he would testify if subpoenaed, but Trump signaled in an interview Friday with Fox News that he would block such a testimony, invoking executive privilege, if Bolton and others are issued subpoenas. Stephanopoulos asked Pelosi if there were alternatives to circumventing Trumps witness blockade, citing critics such as Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who called out gaps in the House impeachment process and a failure to enforce subpoenas through court. That isnt even true, the speaker said. We are in court on the witnesses. It could take a very long time. Well, you pulled back the subpoena on John Bolton, Stephanopoulos interjected. But on the other witnesses, we have been in court. And we havent eliminated the possibility of ever subpoenaing and going forward with Bolton, Pelosi responded. But the fact is is that the president of the United States again, quite different from President Clinton, President Clinton allowed witnesses to come forward President Trump has prevented that from happening. When Stephanopoulos asked why Democrats didnt wait for the courts to rule, Pelosi said she was confident in their case. How long do the courts take? We have confidence in our case that this is impeachable, and the president is impeached for life, regardless of any gamesmanship on the part of Mitch McConnell, she said. Were confident in the impeachment, and we think thats enough testimony to remove him from office. Trump on Sunday lamented the impact impeachment will have on his legacy. Why should I have the stigma of Impeachment attached to my name when I did NOTHING wrong? the president tweeted. A totally partisan Hoax, never happened before. House Republicans voted 195-0, with three Dems voting with the Republicans. Very unfair to tens of millions of voters! Pelosi said Democrats would decide in a closed-door caucus meeting on Tuesday morning when to hold the vote on the resolution to name impeachment managers, who would then deliver the articles of impeachment to the Senate. Senate rules dictate that a trial must start as soon as the House sends over articles of impeachment. When asked if she had any second thoughts about holding on to them for three weeks, Pelosi said, No, no, no. We feel that its a positive result in terms of additional emails and unredacted information that has come forward, that Bolton has said that he would testify if subpoenaed by the Senate, other information that has come forward, she said. And more importantly, raising the profile of the fact that we need to have witnesses and documentation, and if we dont, that is a cover-up. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: Yusaku Maezawa needs no introduction. At least not anymore, ever since he decided to give $9 million to 1000 random Twitter followers as part of a social experiment. I won't be surprised if you too started following this Japanese billionaire on Twitter, after he made that lucrative deal. Well, if you're following him then you will know about his latest tweet about him finding a life partner. In case you didn't know, then this news is for you. Maezawa's $9 million experiment was probably to see whether money can buy happiness or not. Looks like, his latest tweet is to see if "love you to the moon and back" is for real. How else do you justify his bizarre proposal? Reuters While most people are still waiting for their crush to reply to their DMs, or waiting to get swiped right, this Japanese billionaire is looking for a life partner who will join him in his journey to the moon and become what he calls the "first woman" to travel to the moon. 44-year-old Maezawa, who is the founder of Japan's largest online clothing brand Zozotown, took to Twitter and wrote, "[WANTED!!!] Why not be the 'first woman' to travel to the moon? #MZ_looking_for_love". He also listed down the eligibility criteria and deadlines for application. [WANTED!!!] Why not be the 'first woman' to travel to the moon?#MZ_looking_for_love https://t.co/R5VEMXwggl pic.twitter.com/mK6fIJDeiv Yusaku Maezawa (MZ) (@yousuck2020) January 12, 2020 Apparently, this is a "serious one-on-one planned matchmaking event!" and he's looking for single women aged over 20, bright personality and always positive, interested in going into space and able to participate in the preparation for it, wants to enjoy life to the fullest (just like him) and be someone who wishes for world peace. The last date for application is January 17 and the final results will be declared (after a couple of stages of screening) at the end of March. So ladies, do you think you can become "Full Moon Lovers" with Yusaku Maezawa and travel to the moon with him? If yes, then this is your time to shine. Sorry boys, the offer's not for y'all. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 09:44:38|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close NINGBO, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Located in northern Ningbo of east China's Zhejiang Province and the southern bank of Hangzhou Bay, a coastal area has witnessed spectacular growth in the automotive industry in recent years. Ningbo Hangzhou Bay New Zone, deemed as a strategic hub for various cutting-edge manufacturing sectors, saw an output of automotive firms based there exceeding 100 billion yuan (about 14.44 billion U.S. dollars) in 2018, up 13 percent year on year, according to the area's administrative committee. Over several years of development, the automotive industry has become a major driving force for the area's economic growth and intelligent transformation, with an industrial cluster composed of five assembly lines and over 100 auto parts manufacturers. While contributing to the robust growth, automotive firms are stepping up efforts to expand their presence in the new zone. The most recent case in point is the announcement by China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group and German carmaker Mercedes-Benz of creating a joint venture for the Smart brand in the area. Meanwhile, Geely Auto Group, a subsidiary of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, has recently decided to relocate its headquarters to the area. Yang Xueliang, vice president of Geely Auto Group, attributed such moves to the area's commitment to accommodating advanced manufacturing enterprises, particularly auto parts companies with worldwide competitiveness. "The new zone has released a development plan on the automotive industry, which aims at encouraging the settlement of more technological innovation-oriented auto parts firms and lays a solid foundation for our development," Yang said. According to the plan, the new zone has vowed to assemble more than 40 of the world's top 100 auto parts firms and increase the output of the automotive industry to 400 billion yuan and vehicle production to 2 million units by 2025. Holding high hopes for the new zone's pursuit of technological innovation and intelligent manufacturing, SAIC Volkswagen has built a factory there with a production network based on Industry 4.0, while Geely has established an R&D center as an essential part of its global R&D network. Also, the new zone keeps optimizing its business environment to provide automotive firms with hospitality and opportunities. "Authorities of both the Ningbo municipal government and Hangzhou Bay New Zone have established a good environment for investment with high administrative efficiency and excellent services," Yang said, adding such an environment is a crucial reason for Geely's dedication to expanding its business in the area. Cai Shijie, vice deputy of the administrative committee of the new zone, told Xinhua that the area had established a mechanism and command center to regulate the services for automotive companies. The command center has been in operation for 10 years. "We rely on offering a hospitable environment and abiding by investment agreements to attract more automotive enterprises," Cai said. Considering automotive firms' growing appetite for talents while striving for technological upgrading and intelligent transformation, Cai said more efforts would be made in the future to develop the new zone into a global talent hub for auto manufacturing. Looking ahead, Yang envisioned the new zone to be a world-leading industrial center for automotive development, manufacturing and marketing like Detroit in the U.S. and Germany's Stuttgart. "This might take some time, but the odds are very high in light of the current development pace and all the efforts that are being made," Yang added. In a shocking incident, sources informed Republic TV that Pakistan Army is targeting and killing civilians along the Line of Control in Rajouri and Poonch districts. Sources informed that on January 11, a group of five local residents of Poonch had gone ahead of the LoC, after which they were captured and attacked by Pak army. As per sources, the Pakistan Army beheaded one of them, killed one and injured three others. At meeting, Mamata Banerjee tells PM Modi "we're against CAA, NPR & NRC"; claims assurance Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) is suspected to have decapitated and attacked the residents. This is the first time that any civilian has been beheaded by the BAT, which comprises Pakistani Army regulars and terrorists, though similar incidents involving security personnel have taken place in the past, news agency PTI said quoting officials from Army. The body of Mohammad Aslam, 28, was mutilated and his head was missing, a senior police officer said. A defence spokesman had earlier said that Aslam and Altaf Hussain, 23, both residents of Kassalian village in Gulpur sector, were killed and three others were injured after being hit by a mortar shell when Pakistani Army targeted a group of porters who were carrying logistics for the troops in a forward area close the LoC on Friday. However, officials said on Saturday that the head of one of the porters was missing and is believed to have been taken away by the BAT. "The body of Aslam was headless when handed over to the police for completion of legal formalities. The bodies of both the porters were handed over to their families and their last rites were conducted in their village on Friday evening," said the police officer, asking not to be named. He said the injured porters -- Mohamamd Saleem, 24, Mohammad Showka, 28, and Nawaz Ahmad, 35 -- are being treated at a hospital and their condition is "stable". Pakistan violates ceasefire along LoC in Degwar sector of J&K's Poonch district COAS on Pak's barbarity During the annual news briefing by the COAS, when he was asked about the Pakistan Army's act to behead and kill jawans across the LoC, he said that the Indian army is a professional military force. he emphasized that the Indian army abides by international norms and regulations. "We do not resort to such barbaric activity," he said. "We will deal appropriately with such situations in a military manner," General Naravane said when asked about the incident at a press conference in Delhi ahead of Army Day. He said the Indian Army conducts itself in the most professional and ethical manner including on the LoC. "Professional armies never resort to barbaric acts," he said. Fully prepared to respond to any act of Indian aggression: Pak Army Earlier on Saturday, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Manoj Mukund Naravane made a huge declaration regarding Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). The statement spooked Pak and the Director-General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said that Pakistan is fully prepared to respond to any "act of Indian aggression." Taking to Twitter, it claimed that military action across LOC is ''rhetoric" used by COAS for Indians. The statement was retweeted by a spokesperson of Pakistan Armed Forces Major General Asif Ghafoor. Pakistan rattled; tweets after COAS Naravane's 'Will get PoK if Parliament says' remark A 10-year-old girl was killed by an elephant in Odishas Keonjhar district on Friday night, taking the number of deaths in the raging conflict between humans and animals to a record high in the state. Odisha forest and wildlife officials said the girl in Hariharpur village under Patna forest range of Keonjhar was trampled to death on Friday evening by a tusker while she was playing outside her home. With her death, the total number of human casualties from April last year till date has reached an all-time high of 93 deaths after 92 people were killed by tuskers in 2018-19. Official data shows November 2019 was a particularly bad month for humans living in elephant corridors when 17 people were killed in the state. In August, 15 were killed and 14 in April. The districts of Dhenkanal and Angul proved to be the most dangerous for humans as each reported 19 deaths followed by Sundargarh and Mayurbhanj that accounted for 11 deaths each. There have also been a staggering 162 cases of man-elephant conflict in which 92 people were injured. Since April 2014, more than 500 people have been killed by elephants in the state. At the same time, 57 elephants have also been killed from poaching, road and train accidents and electrocution as unplanned development and encroachments have led to the loss of habitat in the same period. Odishas chief wildlife warden HS Upadhyay admitted the situation has turned critical in the state in the last few years due to deterioration of elephant habitats. The elephants are under a lot of pressure as their movements paths crisscross through railway tracks, highways and electric lines. We are trying to improve their habitats so that the conflict is reduced, said Upadhyay. We are sending some of our senior officials to West Bengal, which has been successful in bringing down the incidents of human-elephant conflicts. We are using elephant trackers, solar fencing and solar lights to chase away the elephants from human habitations, but have not been entirely successful, he added. But on the ground, activists allege, there has been little proof of the effort as more and more humans are getting killed by elephants. They also say that the rising human-elephant conflict would soon wipe away the animals stock in the state. Man-elephant conflict would quickly go down if elephant corridors are officially identified allowing the pachyderms easy access, leading wildlife conservationist Biswajit Mohanty said. Mohanty pointed out that 14 elephant corridors were officially identified by the Odisha government in January 2010 covering over 870 sq km covering 420.8km and including three inter-state corridors with West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. These corridors are not yet notified under Environment (Protection) Act 1986 since 9 years as Ecologically Sensitive Zones (ESZ) under pressure from mining lobby, Mohanty said. Mohanty said the state governments failure in officially notifying the South Odisha Elephant Reserve (4216 sq km) and Baitarani Elephant Reserve (10,516 sq km) has lead to the rise in human-elephant conflict. Mohanty said underpasses on state and national highways and railway lines passing through forests would also have allowed the elephants safe passage. Since the underpasses are yet to become a reality, the elephants are straying into human habitations. In villages, the patience for elephants is fast disappearing as angry villagers are running pillar to post for compensation for crop loss or ex-gratia for the death of people. So villagers are resorting to retaliation that is worsening the man-elephant conflict, he added. Recently, the state forest and environment minister Bikram Arukh told the assembly that more than 32,000 acres of crop area have been damaged in the conflict in the last three years. Wildlife conservationist Belinda Wright of Wildlife Protection Society of India said a holistic approach was the need of the hour to reduce the man-elephant conflict. We have brilliant elephant behavioural scientists and if the government does a brainstorming session with them some solution can be found. There is no doubt that the habitats of elephants have been disturbed. One has to be fair to people as well as elephants while resolving the man-elephant conflict, said Wright. Another conservationist Aditya Panda pointed out that any of the measures adopted by the wildlife department such as elephant trackers, using chilli bombs, solar fencing or trenches would not work. Elephants are the smartest animals and they invariably find a way out to dodge. The department needs to focus on improving the quality of elephant habitats and ensure contiguous habitats giving the long-ranging animals easy access. Thats the only solution, said Panda. Chief wildlife warden Upadhyay admitted that most of the human casualties have happened during evenings and nights and the elephant trackers employed by the department have not been very successful. One particular method would not work to reduce the conflict. So we are trying various methods. We have tied up with Indian Institute of Science to tag marauding elephants with radio collars that would help us track their movement easily and take necessary action to drive them out of human habitations, Upadhyay said. We have started a pilot scheme called Gaja Bandhu (friends of elephants) in Athagarh and Dhenkanal forest divisions, two of the most critical areas where local volunteers would ensure safety and security of pachyderms, he said. The chief warden said the local Van Suraksha Samitis would engage a local as Gaja Bandhu, who would keep a 24-hour tab on the movement of the elephants in his locality to allow them safe passage. We have also decided to install CCTV cameras, speed breakers, rumblers at selected elephant movement zones in designated corridors. As many as 65 such sensitive spots have been identified, he added. Democrats are shuddering at a new poll showing that Bernie Sanders is soaring over Iowa. According to the Des Moines Register: U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders leads the Democratic field three weeks ahead of Caucus Day in Iowa narrowly overtaking his closest competitors, who remain locked in a tight contest just behind him. A new Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows 20% of likely Democratic caucusgoers name Sanders as their first choice for president. After a surge of enthusiasm that pushed Pete Buttigieg to the top of the field in November, the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor has faded, falling 9 percentage points to land behind both Sanders and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Warren is at 17%; Buttigieg, 16%; and former Vice President Joe Biden, 15%. After all that hard slogging over the last 12 months, from Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, Julian Castro and the rest of the Democrat clown car to win the state, it looks like Bernie of all people, is going to walk away with it. Which is bad news for Democrats. Bernie's the one they don't like very much - he's the real thing as socialists go, with no real alliance to the deep state as we see in the Obama establishment. They tried to stop him in 2016 during his long bid to take the nomination from their standard-bearer, Hillary Clinton, something that was found out in the Wikileaks leaks done by Russian hackers of then-party-chairman John Podesta's emails. The Russians have always liked themselves some Bernie. Yet with all but a few Democratic candidates essentially imitating Bernie Sanders, who has driven his party leftward, for voters, it's a matter of 'why go for the pale imitation.' Mise well get the real thing. The lefty voters who pay no attention to economics or the prospect of running out of other people's money or socialism's long record of failure, would of course find Bernie attractive. And with Bernie the only one who stands for something among Democrats, he's naturally going to be the one voters go for as all of his rivals slip and slide based basically on authencity issues. Harris, Biden, Buttigieg, Warren, etc, all have histories of made-up and exaggerated pasts in various ways, some worse than others. These votes likely think they won't stick with socialism the way Bernie would. It's definitely a problem for Democrats, what with all the fakery that's taking its favorites down. The Democratic establishment's top seed, Joe Biden, is leading in all overall polls. But in Iowa, where voter have seen a lot of him, he's in a miserable fourth place. Retail politics has been strong in that state, and the more voters saw of Biden, the less they liked him. Remember that Iowa farmer that Biden challenged to pushups when the man asked Biden an inconvenient question about his son's business dealings? Biden didn't do his cause any favors with that bilious response. Mean and nasty doesn't go over well with most voters. The message from Iowa now is that the more voters see of Biden, the further he will slide in he polls. He may get away with it by keeping a caution-yellow-tape distance from voters from hereon out as the primaries progress. But how on earth is he going to take on Trump. There's actually a real possibility that Democrats might just follow Iowa's example and embrace Bernie, too, which even worse for the Democratic establishment, means Bernie gets the nomination. They're all having their moment in the sun, of course. But Bernie is at the heart of the Democratic party's direction right now, the guy with the steady ideology, the steady support that doesn't break, and the steady gainer of ground as other Democrat flame out. Here's the biggest problem. As Bernie surges, Democrats in the down-ballot positions are starting to worry they're going to lose their own seats. Here's what Politico has about it: A slate of endangered House Democrats is coalescing behind Joe Biden for president as the Iowa caucuses approach a surge of support triggered by fears that Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren at the top of the ticket would cost them their seats. There's nothing like a scared Democrat worried about losing his seat. This Bernie surge should lead to some Democrat-on-Democrat fireworks, so the rest of us should get out the popcorn. The requested page is currently unavailable on this server. Back to [RTHK News Homepage] Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a two-day visit to Kolkata, on Sunday (January 12) addressed the youth on the occasion of National Youth Day. The Prime Minister in his speech said that coming to the Belur Math in the city was not less than a pilgrimage for him. He also expressed gratitude to the Math president and the West Bengal government for allowing his stay here. Here are the excerpts from his speech at Belur Math: Wishing the youth on National Youth Day. Visiting the Belur Math is like a homecoming for me. It is no less than a pilgrimage for me. I am thankful to the president of the Math for allowing me to stay here. And I would also like to thank the govt for accepting my request and letting me stay here. The last time I came here, I had taken the blessings of Swami Atmasthanandaji. Today he is not physically present with us. But his work, his path, will always guide us in the form of Ramakrishna Mission. We must always remember Swami Vivekanandaji's iconic saying 'give me 100 energetic youth and I shall transform India'. Our energy, and passion to do something, is necessary for change. The youth have taken India forward in five years. Today's youth is inspired by Swami Vivekananda's teachings. They have the capability to empower the world. Today, they have stood against corruption. The entire world has expectations from the youth of the country. Their energy will form the basis of change in the 21st century. Five years ago, there was a disappointment among the youth of the country; but the situation has changed now. Youth are still misinformed about CAA. It is our responsibility to make the youth understand. I want to clarify that we did not bring this law overnight. I repeat again, Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 is not to revoke anyone's citizenship, but it is to give citizenship. After independence, Mahatma Gandhi and other big leaders of the time all believed that India should give citizenship to persecuted religious minorities of Pakistan. Our government has fulfilled Mahatma Gandhi's wish by bringing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act You understood this very clearly. But those playing political games purposely refuse to understand. People are being misled over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The opposition has been spreading misinformation among youth on CAA. Political players aren't ready to understand facts. CAA only for persecuted minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. It won't cancel anyone's citizenship. Youth are rising against religious persecution in Pakistan. The Prime Minister is also likely to mediate at the temple of Swami Vivekananda today, on the birth anniversary of the monk. According to reports, the youth conference will kickstart at 9:30 am at Belur Math, after which PM Modi will travel on a ferry on waterways on the river Hooghly and will reach Netaji Indoor Stadium at 11:00 am. He will inaugurate the sesquicentenary celebrations of 150th year of Kolkata Port Trust. In a short while from now, PM @narendramodi will address youngsters at the Belur Math. pic.twitter.com/ooM6X643M2 PMO India (@PMOIndia) January 12, 2020 PM Modi is also expected to participate in the 'brahmaarti' and spent time with the seers before going to Netaji Indoor stadium. Visuals: PM Modi pays tribute to Swami Ramakrishna Paramhamsa in Belur Math. He later met saints and seers at the math. West Bengal: Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays tribute to Swami Ramakrishna Paramhamsa in Belur Math,Howrah pic.twitter.com/gIekuXB8yG ANI (@ANI) January 12, 2020 West Bengal: Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Belur Math(headquarters of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission) in Howrah. PM Modi arrived in Kolkata yesterday on a two-day visit pic.twitter.com/zE7BBVq2jo ANI (@ANI) January 12, 2020 #WATCH West Bengal: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets saints and seers at Belur Math,Howrah pic.twitter.com/V8rGenECS5 ANI (@ANI) January 12, 2020 PM Modi will also inaugurate an upgraded ship repair facility of Cochin-Kolkata unit at Netaji Subhas dry dock. He will return to Delhi after the programme. Live TV The Prime Minister spent Saturday night in the international guest house ar Belur Math, which was turned into a fortress with SPG and state police personnel swarming over the area. He was served 'prasad' comprising five fried dishes, luchi, rice pudding, sweets and fruits after he arrived there riding a launch on the river Ganges. This is Modi's second visit to Belur Math after becoming Prime Minister and first, after taking office in his second term. PM @narendramodi is at the Belur Math, where he is interacting with respected Saints and seers. pic.twitter.com/mj7hFKHYmE PMO India (@PMOIndia) January 11, 2020 At Belur Math, PM Modi was received by Swami Suviranandaji, general secretary of Ramakrishna Mission and other senior monks. He toured the math in a battery-operated vehicle and paid respect to RKM president Maharaj Swami Smaranandaji. The PM also visited the main temple and paid respect to Ramakrishna Paramhansa and offered his prayers. A commercial bus driver, popularly known as Danfo has crushed a motorcycle rider (Okada) to death along Eko Bridge, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria. He was knocked down by a yellow commercial bus while driving his bike against oncoming traffic, while the bus driver absconded after the accident. Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde has, on behalf of the State Government, expressed sympathy to the family of the okada rider over the loss. The Commissioner expressed disappointment that the bus driver escaped immediate arrest but gave assurance that the culprit would be apprehended by the police and brought to justice. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Less than a week into 2020, President Donald Trump's desire to look tough pushed the US and Iran to the brink of war and placed US service members in danger, top experts and former US officials say. Early on January 3 Iraqi time, Trump ordered the drone strike that killed Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, widely considered the second most important figure in Iran after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. As Business Insider reports, the Soleimani strike raised fears of a new war in the Middle East and was the most stunning use of a decapitation strike of a senior foreign military leader by the US military since World War II. It sparked the only direct attack on US forces or allies that Iran has openly claimed since the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979. "For Trump, everything is political even this profoundly dangerous escalation," Ned Price, a former National Security Council official under the Obama administration, told Insider. It's an election year and Trump, a former reality TV star who's perpetually conscious of his public image, has already sought to use the deadly strike to raise money for his 2020 reelection campaign via Facebook ads, emails, and text messages. "ANOTHER dead terrorist," the subject line of one such email to supporters said, per ABC News. "This operation wasn't a strategic or even a tactical maneuver; it was in large part a political act disguised as a military operation," Price said. "That's why it's not at all surprising that the Trump campaign has fundraised off the strike." Echoing this perception, Hussein Ibish, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, told Insider, "Trump is a unique president insofar as he only does politics, and never policy ... He strikes me as someone who makes decisions based entirely on how he thinks something is going to look to his base on a 12-hour news cycle, if not less. So it's all, always politics, to the exclusion of policy altogether." Less than 24 hours after Soleimani was killed, Trump was touting the drone strike at an "Evangelicals for Trump" rally in Florida. "Qassem Soleimani has been killed and his bloody rampage is now forever gone," Trump said to an audience at a Miami megachurch. Former Secretary of State John Kerry has apparently not been impressed with Trump's handling of this, telling CNN on Friday that Trump has been "reckless" and "impulsive." Kerry added that Trump "likes to think it makes him look tough," but said his approach to Iran has actually shut the door to any chance at diplomacy. After a week of tensions and threats following the strike, the US and Iran backed off from entering a wider conflict. "To the people and leaders of Iran: 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," Trump said in a speech on Thursday. "The United States is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it." Experts say Trump's asserted desire to avoid war is genuine. "Trump has made clear his interest in reducing the US military footprint in the Middle East. Thus, despite the attack on Soleimani, he likely would prefer to avoid escalation that led to a general war between the United States and Iran," Michael Horowitz, professor of political science and the interim director of Perry World House at the University of Pennsylvania, told Insider. Horowitz added, "Similarly, Iran's leaders, while wanting to look tough in responding to the American attack on Soleimani, likely want to avoid a general war that would threaten the future of their regime, given American military power." But, even after this week's deescalation, the parameters that nearly pushed the two countries over the edge are still in place. They may not be at war, but this historic standoff is far from over. And though he moved away from conflict, Trump was still boasting about the Soleimani strike at a 2020 campaign rally on Thursday night. Trump and his advisers have said that the strike was meant to thwart an "imminent" threat, but have offered few details and inconsistent explanations as to what that means. The wishy-washy response has raised many questions about the overall rationale behind pulling the trigger on a senior foreign military leader, particularly given it prompted a retaliatory missile attack from Iran at US and coalition forces. There were no US casualties, but it was an unsettling moment for the region and the wider world. Rep. Justin Amash, a former Republican who became an independent in July, excoriated the administration over its conflicting messages on the strike in a tweet on Friday. "When President Trump lies or embellishes on a topic this sensitive, and administration officials then parrot his claims to avoid drawing his ire, the situation becomes extremely dangerous for our troops and the American people," Amash said. The series of events leading up to the strike can be traced back to a late December rocket attack from an Iran-backed Shia militia, Kataib Hezbollah, that killed an American contractor and injured several US service members in Kirkuk, Iraq. Trump responded by ordering airstrikes against the militia, killing dozens. The airstrikes prompted a violent protest at the US Embassy in Baghdad. The optics of this were seemingly the last straw for Trump, who has made it clear he did not want to see an incident similar to the fatal attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012. The president did not want to look weak by not offering a response, officials told The Washington Post, and was partly motivated by lingering consternation over negative coverage of his decision to not hit back at Iran when it downed a US drone in June. "At the core of this strike was Trump's desire to appear tough, especially as the attack against the US Embassy in Baghdad had elicited comparisons to Benghazi," Price said. Similarly, Ibish said, "This decision had a great deal to do with the images of the US Embassy in Baghdad being besieged by supporters of Kataib Hezbollah, set on fire and so forth ... Trump wanted to be absolutely sure that no one could accuse him of having a 'Benghazi' of his own. So he chose a rather extreme reaction. This is entirely about domestic politics and how things look on TV to Trump's base and other Americans given the various muscle memory echoes it provokes," Ibish added 'The cost to the US is potentially very high' During his 2016 campaign, Trump bashed the foreign policy decisions of previous administrations, lambasting his predecessors for getting the US bogged down in lengthy, costly conflicts in the Middle East. He promised things would be different with him in the White House and has continued to make such pledges. "Fighting between various groups that has been going on for hundreds of years. USA should never have been in Middle East," Trump said in a series of tweets in October. "The stupid endless wars, for us, are ending!" Roughly three months later, Trump gave the order for a drone strike that took out Iran's most important military leader. The US considered Soleimani to be a terrorist and the group he led, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps' elite and secretive Quds force, to be a terrorist organization. Soleimani, widely described as one of the most charismatic figures in the region, built a network of Shia militias that have caused problems for the US for years. He's linked to the deaths of least 608 US service members in Iraq. There is widespread consensus among Iran watchers that Soleimani was a malign actor who posed a consistent threat. But many have also said that Trump did not think through the consequences of taking out a senior military leader of another country, and that he could've established deterrence or a red line without taking such an extreme action. "Deterrence is restored," Ibish said, but added that the "the cost to the US is potentially very high." Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a powerful Iraqi militia leader and close ally of Iran, was killed alongside Soleimani in the January 3 strike. Ibish said their deaths "will be tactically extremely effective" for the US, but the "strategic value" of their killings "is very much in doubt." "I would be a lot less skeptical if I believed the president and even the administration in general had anything like a clear strategy, or even a well-defined goal, regarding Iran policy," Ibish added. "I have no confidence the president and the administration have a clear sense of what they're going to do next. And that makes me very nervous." Meanwhile, Price also said that Trump's approach to Iran more generally is linked to his desire to undermine former President Barack Obama particularly via dismantling the Iran nuclear deal. "What set off this cycle of escalation was Trump's decision against the advice of his national security team to abandon the Iran deal," Price said. "He did so not because it made us any safer, far from it. He did so because he desperately wanted to be able to trash another legacy achievement of his predecessor notwithstanding the costs to our national security." Samarra: A volley of rockets slammed into an Iraqi airbase north of Baghdad where US forces have been based, wounding four local troops, the Iraqi military said on Sunday. Its statement said eight Katyusha-type rockets landed on Al-Balad airbase, wounding two Iraqi officers and two airmen. Al-Balad is the main airbase for Iraq's F-16s, which it bought from the US to upgrade its air capacities. The base had held a small US Air Force contingent as well as American contractors, but a majority had been evacuated following tensions between the US and Iran over the past two weeks, military sources told AFP. "About 90 percent of the US advisers, and employees of Sallyport and Lockheed Martin who are specialised in aircraft maintenance, have withdrawn to Taji and Erbil after threats," one of the sources said. "There are no more than 15 US soldiers and a single plane at al-Balad," the source added. Military bases hosting US troops have been subject to volleys of rocket and mortar attacks in recent months that have mostly wounded Iraqi forces, but also killed one American contractor last month. That death set off a series of dramatic developments, with the US carrying out strikes against a pro-Iran paramilitary group in Iraq as well as a convoy carrying top Iranian and Iraqi commanders outside Baghdad airport. Pro-Iran factions in Iraq have vowed revenge for those raids, even as Iran said it had already responded in "proportion" by striking another western airbase where US soldiers are located. Rocket attacks against Baghdad's high-security Green Zone, where the US and other embassies are based alongside international troops, are still taking place. The sprawling Ain al-Asad airbase in western Iraq and a base in Arbil were targeted by Iran earlier this week. Both house American and other foreign troops deployed as part of a US-led coalition. The world leaders had condemned the Iranian missile strikes. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who earlier on Wednesday addressed a gathering of Iranians chanting "Death to America", said Iran's attacks were a "slap on the face" of the US and that American troops should leave the region. The strikes were in retaliation for the US drone strike that killed Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani, the country's most powerful commander, in Baghdad last week. On Sunday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said it did not aim to kill US troops when it fired a wave of missiles last week at Iraqi bases hosting American forces. "Our aim was not really to kill enemy soldiers. That was not important," the Guards' commander, Hossein Salami, told parliament, referring to last Wednesday's missile operation launched to avenge the killing of a top Iranian general. In a meeting held last week, office bearers of various Parsi groups decided that a new trust, Global council of Zoroastrians Trust, will be formed to facilitate funding from community members living abroad for upkeep of agiaries and for educating and alleviating poverty among fellow Parsi-Zoroastrian and Irani members. The development comes after a deal, wherein a Hong Kong-based couple had expressed willingness to provide funds to revive the Parsee General Hospital (PGH) at Cumballa Hill, was called off last year. Yazdi Desai, chairperson of Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) the caretaker of Parsi properties in the city, said two representatives from five countries, including North America, Singapore and Canada, would be on the board of the new trust. To facilitate funding from other countries, we will have Indian members manage funds, because as per the rules it cannot be completely managed by people who are not citizens of the country, said Desai. Desai said a charter on the same was prepared at a Global Working Group (GWG) meeting held on Tuesday, and added the trust would be formed in another three months. Currently, due to the declining population of the community, there are various pockets in the country where only a few members of the community are alive. These funds will be utilised to maintain those places as well. The project will bring together the people of the community for a good cause. In addition, it will also ensure that some of the agiaries, which have few people visiting them, have funds for their upkeep. If there are community members who are willing to fund, it is a step in the right direction, said Ramiyar Karanjia, principal, Dadar Athornan Institute, a Zoroastrian seminary in Mumbai. However, a section of the community has opposed the decision to form the new trust, saying it would liquidate Parsi properties in the city. Baghdad: Four members of Iraq's military have been wounded in a rocket attack targeting an air base just north of Baghdad where American trainers are present, Iraqi security officials said. The attack by at least six rockets came just days after Iran fired ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq that house US forces, causing no casualties. Recent heightened tensions between the US and Iran were sparked last month when a rocket attack killed an American contractor at a base in Iraq. The US has blamed that attack and others on Iran-backed militias. F-16 fighter aircraft are maintained at the Balad airbase north of Baghdad. Credit:AP The latest attack, on Sunday (Iraq time) wounded an Iraqi air force officer and three enlisted men, Iraqi security officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. A fatal stabbing took place near 17th and Sansom on Jan. 11. Read more A man in his 30s died after being stabbed once in the neck Saturday in Center City, police say. The attack happened after an altercation around 6:15 p.m. outside a restaurant at 17th and Sansom Streets, near Rittenhouse Square. The block is home to Lukes Lobster, Head Start Shoes, the womens clothing store Shop Sixty Five, and Liberti Church. The injured man was rushed to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where he died. Police say an arrest has been made and the weapon recovered, but details have not been released. The letter Pitman proposed Thursday offered no evidence of cost savings or service improvement for the move. He did provide schematics, photos and descriptions of two old buildings owned by Montana Rescue Mission. For his part, Commissioner John Ostlund opposed sending a letter telling the Mental Health Center board to move the HUB. Ostlund pointed out that making such decisions is the reason why there is a health center board that includes representation from each county in the region. Jones and Pitman have put the Mental Health Center on notice that they may stop funding it from the public safety mental health levy voters approved in 2010. Before that election, voters were told that the money would support programs like the HUB and the Community Crisis Center. The present annual budget provides about $179,000 from that levy to keep the HUB open 9-5 weekdays. A state grant of about $200,000 provides the remainder of the HUB budget, according to Mettler. Gen Naravane said that the Indian Army is aware of the fact that there is threat from both China and Pakistan. New Delhi: Army Chief Gen. M.M. Naravane said on Saturday that if ordered the Indian Army will take appropriate action to reclaim Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). He said that the Army is re-balancing its deployment along the western and northern borders to deal with any kind of threat that might emerge from Pakistan or China. Gen. Naravane said that Siachen is the closest point for collusion between China and Pakistan and therefore it is important to keep that area in our possession. The Army Chief said that counter-insurgency is the short term threat but long term threat will always be conventional war and that is what we are preparing for. Gen. Naravane said that despite provocation by the Pakistan Army and its Border Action Team at Line of Control (LOC), the Indian Army will never resort to any barbaric activity and will uphold international norms. Pakistans Border Action Team is suspected to have decapitated a porter, who was among two civilians killed along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district on Friday, and taken away the head. As far as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is concerned, many years ago there was a parliamentary resolution on it that entire erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir is part of India. If Parliament wants that the area should also belong to us and if we get orders to that effect, then definitely we will take action on it, the Army Chief said. He said that the Army has to balance its deployment to cater to threat both from the west and the north. For dealing with the northern frontier we are going in for more capacity building, which include creating road to the forward areas, creating capacity in terms of habitat, storage for ammunition, moving some of our more advanced weapon system towards the eastern side, said Gen. Naravane. He said that with this the Army will be able to meet threat from any direction and it is prepared for the challenge. Gen Naravane said that the Indian Army is aware of the fact that there is threat from both China and Pakistan. In case of simultaneous threat from both directions. There will always be a primary front and a secondary front. Wherever our primary front is, bulk of our forces and resources will be concentrated to deal with that threat. On the other front, we will adopt more deterrent posture so that we are not found wanting on either of them, said the Army Chief. He said that this is why we have a dual task formation and these formation are ready to move from west to east and east to west to cater to the emergent threat. 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. On Oct. 22, 1944, the faithful throughout New England gathered for their translation into heaven. Beginning in 1831, William Miller, a farmer and Bible interpreter from Low Hampton, New York, had determined that Jesus would return imminently. Millers calculations were based on esoteric interpretations of the prophetic books in the Bible, especially Revelation, at the end of the New Testament, and the book of Daniel in the Hebrew Bible. Counting from the reign of Artaxerxes, Miller decided that the Second Coming would be some time between March 21, 1843, and March 21, 1844 what he called the Jewish year 5604. On March 22, disappointment set in. Some of the followers, known as Millerites (contemporaries estimated as many as 50,000 at the height of the Millerite fervor), fell away. Miller reviewed his calculations and came up with a new date, October 22, when Christ would return. Some Millerites sold their farms and settled their debts in anticipation of their imminent departure from this Earth. Some scaled mountains and climbed trees to be among the first to ascend. Others reportedly gathered in cemeteries, wearing white muslin robes a circumstance hotly denied by Adventists today. When Tuesday, October 22, passed without incident, something Adventists call the Great Disappointment set in. I waited all Tuesday and dear Jesus did not come, Henry Emmons, a Millerite, recalled. I waited all the forenoon of Wednesday, and was well in body as I ever was, but after 12 oclock I began to feel faint, and before dark I needed someone to help me up to my chamber, as my natural strength was leaving me very fast, and I lay prostrate for 2 days without any pain sick with disappointment. I wonder if todays Trump supporters are beginning to feel something akin to the Great Disappointment. In 2016, 81% of white evangelicals cast their lot with Donald Trump. Evangelical leaders hailed Trump as something akin to a messiah. He would deliver evangelicals from their supposed persecution. He would establish a commission on radical Islam and secure the nations borders at Mexicos expense, no less. He would balance the federal budget fairly quickly, release his tax returns and bring health care to everyone, far less expensively than Obamacare. He would make America great again. When doubters pointed to Trumps multiple extramarital affairs and marriages, his episodic to nonexistent church attendance, his shady business dealings and his passing acquaintance with the truth (apparently, hes now surpassed 15,000 false or misleading statements since inauguration day), these evangelical leaders shrugged off those concerns. They even concocted a biblical parallel. Just as Cyrus, the Persian king, allowed the ancient Israelites to return to Jerusalem, so too the Almighty is using Trump, another morally flawed leader, to work out divine purposes. But I wonder if these rationalizations are the contemporary equivalent of fiddling with the dates for the return of Jesus. Sooner or later, in the midst of the most vulgar and corrupt presidency in American history Ulysses Grant, Warren Harding and Richard Nixon are contenders for the latter adjective, but not the former evangelicals and other Trump supporters will surely have to acknowledge their own Great Disappointment. What happened to health care for all? Why are American taxpayers, and not Mexico, paying billions of dollars for a border wall? Where are those promised tax returns? Does integrity and truth in the White House count for nothing? Do Americans really want Rudy Giuliani conducting American foreign policy? (And why, by the way, is Giuliani not being prosecuted for violating the Logan Act, which forbids private citizens from meddling in foreign affairs? Short answer: William Barr.) Alas, and sadly, theres not much evidence that Trump supporters, including white evangelicals, are jumping ship. If the Great Disappointment has set in, theyre not acknowledging it. The one arguable exception to this is Christianity Today, the flagship magazine of evangelicalism, which published an editorial just before Christmas calling for Trumps ouster. Media sources that is except for Fox News and the rest of the downstream media pounced on this as a significant development. Maybe Trump supporters today, like the Millerites of the 19th century, are engaged in what scholars call cognitive dissonance: They cling to their convictions even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. The outcome of the 2020 presidential election, not to mention democracy, the separation of powers and the future of the republic itself, may hinge on whether or not these voters are willing to acknowledge their own Great Disappointment. Randall Balmer, a resident of Santa Fe, is the John Phillips Professor in Religion at Dartmouth College and the author of God in the White House: How Faith Shaped the Presidency from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush. Inside Aldi SBS, 8.30pm While this is a British documentary focused on how the cut-price supermarket chain Aldi launched Germany's first successful invasion of the United Kingdom, the history and lessons have plenty of application in Australia, where Aldi has become a weirdly ubiquitous retail presence with its discount appeal and unpredictable stock. Inside Aldi. The tone is jaunty and the inquiry often personal if you want to consider what an "Aldi superfan" would be like, here's your chance to find out. Of more interest is the corporate history, with Aldi actually two interconnected companies each founded and grown in the years after World War II by Karl and Theodor Albrecht, returned POWs who went from filling shelves at their mother's grocery shop in bombed-out Essen to being amongst the richest people in the world. Aldi a contraction of Albrecht and discount now has over 10,000 stores in 20 countries, but the continuing focus on low prices was instilled by the late siblings. According to the state-run Anadolu agency, Fayez al-Sarraj, head of the Government of National Accord (GNA), is expected to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul, Xinhua news agency reported. Istanbul, Jan 12 (IANS) The head of the UN-recognised government in Libya will pay a visit to Turkey on Sunday, local media reported on Saturday evening. The North African country has been torn by a raging civil war between the GNA based in the capital Tripoli and the Libyan National Army and its allies based in the east. Following a meeting in Istanbul on Wednesday, Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin called on all parties in Libya for the establishment of an immediate cease-fire as of January 12. Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Saturday said Ankara expects Moscow to convince Khalifa Haftar, commander of Libyan National Army, to comply with the cease-fire. Cavusoglu added that Ankara has done its part by persuading the GNA for the truce. Ankara and the GNA had signed a security and military cooperation agreements as well as a controversial maritime boundary memorandum at the end of November. Last week, Erdogan said that Turkey is "gradually" sending troops to Libya in line with the deal. rt/ Within less than ten days, the world witnessed the hollowness of Ali Khamenei's government, and now few would not acknowledge the duplicitous lies and charlatans of the regime. Today, no one believes in the regime in Tehran, which claims to be a legitimate Islamic government. In fact, according to an old Persian proverb, "whoever lies is the enemy of god." Khamenei is not only the enemy of god, but also the enemy of his people and the whole of humanity in the region and many other parts of the world. One may not find many places not affected by the hostility of the Iranian terrorist regime. The shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger plane, which killed 176 people, including 71 men, 81 women, and 15 children was a crime against humanity. From day one, the Iranian regime denied any missile attack on the passenger plane that killed so many innocent people. Later, they blamed the crash on mechanical failures. Fortunately, in the era of technology, such lies have short lives, and no one will be able to hide the truth for a long time. No one, even the Iranian regime and its murderous authorities, can deny the lost lives of innocent people, many of them at young ages, holding millions of dreams. In this respect, the mullahs' foreign minister, Javad Zarif, who is known for his lies, called the explosion incident Western-style propaganda. Likewise, other government news agencies declared the cause of the accident a technical failure. Ilna News Agency, on Jan. 8, 2020 wrote: "Boeing 737 passenger plane belonging to Ukrainian Airlines crashed after taking off from Imam Khomeini airport." Instead of telling the truth to the people of Iran and the world, they refuse to admit that a missile hit the passenger plane, and it was brought down. To admit to such barbarism and stupidity would have been a grave embarrassment for the regime of Iran. After making all kinds of attempts to hide the real cause of the crash, a few days later, the mullahs' notorious regime confessed that a missile indeed hit the plane. Khamenei, as the leader of this government, claimed that he was unaware of the cause of the crash. However, in his previous speeches, he had made it clear that everything happening in the country is always checked with him before being implemented. Iranian president Hassan Rouhani blamed the United States for creating an atmosphere of anxiety and intimidation. According to him, all military personnel were on alert, therefore shooting down a passenger plane was justified. However, the question for Hassan Rouhani is that if the armed forces were on alert, why was the plane allowed to fly a matter that is against the aviation protocols? Many international observers have questioned the necessity of such a defense system is too close to a passenger airport. On March 3, 2016, in an interview, Sardar Hajizadeh, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards' Aerospace Force, talked about the regime's air defense system and said a low-ranking officer controls the system. As soon as he is ordered, he fires the missiles. The regime's high defense authorities blamed the firing of the missile on a single defensive unit. In fact, the blame falls on Ali Khamenei as the commander-in-chief, along with President Hassan Rouhani and all the other higher-ups. Now the regime has to face the reality of its own atrocities. This regime must be held accountable. This is not just an innocent incident; many lives have perished in vain, and the world must not opt for silence and indifference. This incident exemplifies the situation of a regime in complete disarray that will do anything, including shooting down a passenger plane, to continue its illegitimate grasp on power. This is the same regime that has been directly involved in the killing and displacement of millions of people in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. The world should be aware of Iran's lies and false claims. The first question that Iran's criminal authorities and Khamenei himself should answer is why, despite knowing about the missile attack on the passenger plane from the very beginning, the incident was disguised and hidden from the Iranian people and the international community. In this regard, the prime minister of Canada also issued a statement, emphasizing that "Iran has admitted that it has struck Ukrainian plane, flight 752. Our focus will be on auditing, transparency, and justice for victims' families. We continue to work with our allies around the world to ensure a comprehensive investigation, and we expect the Iranian authorities to cooperate fully. Ms. Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, also declared that this incident is another major crime that the Iranian people neither forgive nor forget. One of Hollywood's most well-loved couples put on a dapper display on Saturday as they suited up for a special screening of The gentleman ahead of its US release. Matthew McConaughey, 50, and wife Camila Alves, 37, looked effortlessly chic as they attended the New York screening of his newest film at the Alamo Drafthouse, Brooklyn. Wearing an oversized large-check suit and gold-rimmed glasses the model accompanied her husband to watch his character try to 'cash out of a marijuana empire' in the Guy Richie movie. The well-loved Hollywood couple: Matthew McConaughey, 50, and wife Camila Alves, 37, looked effortlessly chic as they attended the New York screening of The Gentlemen Oscar winning actor McConaughey stars alongside Jeremy Strong, Colin Farrell and more in The Gentlemen. The high-octane movie, written and directed by Guy Ritchie, premieres January 24 in the US, and was released in the UK on January 1. Rated 71% on Rotten Tomato - the STXfilm - also features Hugh Grant, Michelle Dockery, Henry Golding, and Charlie Hunnam. McConaughey and wife of seven years Alves are often spotted supporting each other at Hollywood red carpet events. Oversized everything: Alves wore an oversized large-check suit with flares, that she paired with oversized gold-rimmed sunglasses and a plimsoll The Gentleman: McConaughey wears an overcoat on brown pants, a roll neck top and a patchwork cap Alves has also starred in movies such as Snow Dogs and The Confidant alongside her modelling career. On Saturday the Brazillian beauty stepped in a relaxed yet formal boxy blazer and flared pant with a bold oversized check design. The couple was married in 2012, sharing sons Levi, 11, Livingston, seven, and daughter Vida, 10. Dapper duo: The pair's outfits, although mismatched, worked well together, gelling with the vibe of the film Matthew revealed that when proposing to his now wife he was unsure whether Camila was going to accept his proposal, in an interview with Esquire. He recalled: 'I remember hitting the knee, looking into her eyes. I remember her face. I remember this smile coming up from her feet. 'I remember her having to catch her breath. And she didn't say yes right away. And then the whole family was going, "Jeezus, she's gonna say no.'' ' Although she ultimately did say yes to his romantic gesture, the Dallas Buyers Club star's hectic schedule meant that it was almost impossible to set a wedding date White and blue: The pair share three children who live in Austin, Texas Camila put up with it for four months before she took matters into her own hands and presented the hunk with an invitation to their nuptials. The couple now live happily with their children in Austin, Texas, and Matthew believes his career wouldn't be half as successful as it is now without the support of his family. McConaughey originally met Brazillian Camila at Hollywood hotspot Hyde back in 2006, and she became a US citizen in 2015. But as the rents in many neighborhoods in New York started to increase, artists around the city had to make sacrifices. After a tour with the punk band the Slits in 2010, and a three-month solo tour in Europe in 2012, Ms. Coleman started to run up debt. By 2013, she began working multiple jobs, including at Equinox and at the nightclub Output. She received housing assistance from the nonprofit organization MusiCares. By the time Output closed its doors in January 2019, Ms. Coleman was working as an assistant in the clubs office. Now in her early 50s, she wasnt eager to go back to working late shifts at a different club, so she decided to apply for office management roles, but wasnt getting responses. Clearly Im out of date, she thought. Ms. Coleman considered going back to school to finish her bachelors degree, but she was wary about taking out loans and was unsure of how she could schedule classes around work. She started collecting unemployment benefits in March, and was applying for health care several months later at the Labor Department when she came across a flier for the Grace Institute. The nonprofit institute provides low-income women with job skills, counseling, placement services and continuing education. She wrestled with the decision to seek more assistance, saying she had felt judged in the past for having the nerve to try to do what I want artistically and for not following a more traditional career path. It took me a lot to learn how to ask for help, to be honest, she said. In August, she enrolled in Graces Administrative Professional Program. Ms. Coleman learned Microsoft programs, but more important, she said, she found a supportive space. Being in an environment where it was O.K. to ask for help and also let other people know was really great, she said. As part of the program, Ms. Coleman also completed an internship at ASA College. The Community Service Society, one of the seven organizations supported by The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund, used $127 for a monthly MetroCard to help with Ms. Colemans commute to Grace in Lower Manhattan and to her internship at ASA Colleges Midtown Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn locations from her apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Former New York City Mayor that will have later primaries. The from their royal duties Bloomberg said he knows that being followed by the tabloids can be "annoying." But, on the other hand, he said "Harry is part of the royal family." "He's taken advantage of being part of the royal family, that's how he got raised, that's how he went to school, and seems to me has some kind of obligation," Bloomberg said. "Is it a lifelong obligation? Probably not, you have a right to change your job. But I think he does owe the British public for their support of him, and in the end, got to do what's right for himself, for his wife and their family." Worldwide effort to save Australia's animals amid devastating wildfires Kerry pushes back on Trump over Iran deal: "The president's tweet is a lie" Tim Kaine says Congress "stepping up to the plate" on new AUMF Eight eminent personalities, including former Supreme Court judge J Chelameswar and ex-Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi, have appealed to people to 'introspect and audit' the working of the Constitution ahead of the 70th anniversary of the Republic. New Delhi: Eight eminent personalities, including former Supreme Court judge J Chelameswar and ex-Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi, have appealed to people to "introspect and audit" the working of the Constitution ahead of the 70th anniversary of the Republic. "Is the Constitution a mere administrative manual which enables the elected governments to claim legitimacy for abuse of power, and allows the citizens to convert liberty into license disregarding rights of others? Is it simply another text penned by ink, or a sacred text written in the blood of innumerable martyrs who transcended the barriers of caste, religion, region, ethnicity and language?" they asked in an open letter. Their appeal has come at a time when there have been protests, some of them violent, against the new citizenship law, which critics say discriminates on the basis of religion and violates the Constitution. Stressing that peaceful reconciliation of conflicting interests, healthy public discourse, and respect for dissenting views are at the heart of democracy, they urged people to "introspect whether truth and non-violence the two values held very dear to the heart of the Father of the Nation continue to inform our actions in the public sphere." Under the title '70 years of Indian Constitution-A Defining Moment', the signatories of the letter said 70 years of the working of the Constitution provided an "opportunity to celebrate our successes, and also to introspect and resolve to overcome our shortcomings". "We appeal to all citizens to utilise this solemn occasion to celebrate our success, reflect on our current concerns, particularly about our plural, secular society, and resolve to fulfil the Constitutional goals envisaged by Dr Ambedkar and our forefathers as summed up in the Preamble," they said. Apart from Quraishi and Chelameswar, the letter has been signed by film personality Sharmila Tagore, former Indian Army Commander Lt General Harcharanjit Singh Panag, filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Carnatic musician and creative personality TM Krishna, former chairman of UGC and ICSSR Sukhdeo Thorat and former member of the Planning Commission Syeda Hameed. They said each generation has a "solemn duty to constantly introspect and audit the working of the Constitution". "The 70th anniversary of the Republic is an appropriate moment to celebrate and introspect by peacefully observing the birthday of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose (23 January), foundation day of the Election Commission celebrated as the National Voters Day (25 January), the Republic Day (26 January) and the martyrdom of the Father of the Nation (30 January)," they said. The citizenship law, notified on 10 January, grants Indian citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who came to India till 31 December, 2014, because of religious persecution in their countries. However, the government and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has defended the law, saying the minority groups from the three countries have no other option but to come to India when they face religious persecution there. I had a high school friend who knew how to get what she wanted. When things did not go according to plan, she would whine and complain relentlessly until the object of her petulance surrendered. Her favorite saying was "The squeaky wheel gets the grease." In other words, the more you complain, the more likely you are to get what you want. Liberals today have replaced the squeaky wheel with a deafening, never-ending rant about all things related to Donald Trump. They lie in wait for any action or comment he makes and then, with little to no regard for real facts or details, race to see who can come up with the most offensive and outrageous commentary. There is no question about what they want: Trump's removal. When Democrats are not bellyaching about removing him from office, they whine about the president's fitness for the job by calling him a liar and even questioning his mental health. This past Sunday, lefty congresswoman Maxine Waters cited both slanderous accusations in an interview with ABC News. Waters called Trump "a liar" and told host Kasie Hunt there were issues dealing with the president's mental health, noting psychiatrists have previously diagnosed him from afar. The left erupts and spews forth criticism of the president's foreign policy decision-making, the latest being his directive to take out Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. An article by Fox News's Brian Flood features notorious lefties, such as CNN's Max Boot and former Obama intelligence leader Ben Rhodes, condemning the president's decisive military action. Flood titles this diatribe by lefties in the news against the assassination of Soleimani as "Hair on Fire" an apt depiction for sure. The left shrieks about Trump's propensity for Twitter, a tool he expertly utilizes to defend himself and convey accomplishments that rarely see the light of day. They wail about his apparent anti-Semitism, when he is the biggest supporter of Israel who has ever sat in the Oval Office. They complain endlessly about the Trump children, accusing them of profiting off their dad, even when the real profiteers appear to be the children of leftist politicians. Think Chelsea Clinton. Whine, squeal, complain, pick your verb the Democrats relentlessly employ them all. They are truly the squeaky wheels. This November, let us just make sure they do not get the grease. By PTI NEW DELHI: BSP President Mayawati on Monday said her party will not attend the Congress-led opposition meeting to discuss a strategy on protests over the CAA and NRC, saying it will "demoralise" her party workers. In a series of tweets, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said her party is against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) but attending the meeting will demoralise BSP workers in Rajasthan, where the Congress has caused defections in her party. "As is well known that despite the BSP support to the Congress-led Rajasthan government from outside, it has been for the second time that BSP MLAs have been made to join their party which is completely wrong," Mayawati said in a tweet in Hindi. "Under such circumstances, the BSP attending the opposition meeting today under the leadership of the Congress will be demoralising for party workers in Rajasthan. Therefore, the BSP will not attend this meeting," she said. However, she made it clear that the BSP is against the CAA and NRC "As it is, the BSP is against CAA/ NRC etc. It is an appeal to the central government again that it should withdraw this divisive and unconstitutional law. Also, It is very unfortunate to politicize students in JNU and other educational institutions" she added. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will also skip Monday's meeting, senior party leader Sanjay Singh said. ALSO READ | Australia may list Koalas as 'endangered' after population suffers in bushfire Singh said the AAP had no information about the meeting and so, there was no point in attending it. Sources, however, claimed that the AAP is not attending the meeting in view of the upcoming assembly polls in Delhi. The AAP had opposed the contentious law in Parliament and even participated in a meeting of opposition parties held last month. The Shiv Sena on Monday claimed it was "not aware" of the opposition parties meeting. "We are not aware of such a meeting. We have not been invited for it. So, we have not taken any decision on it so far," Shiv Sena's Group Leader in Lok Sabha Vinayak Raut told the media. In Mumbai, top Sena leaders chose to remain mum on the sensitive issue and said only the Shiv Sena Lok Sabha Party chief would decide and speak on the matter. The Shiv Sena is ruling Maharashtra in alliance with Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress since November 28. This is another instance in recent weeks that the Sena has adopted a divergent stance on certain issues which created ripples in the tri-party alliance. However, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has repeatedly made it clear that the state government will not allow injustice to any section of society if the CAA/NRC/NPR is implemented. The state Congress has held several agitations on the CAA/NRC/NPR and for the first time, NCP President Sharad Pawar will lead a rally to oppose these laws on January 24 in Mumbai. Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress has already announced its decision to stay away from the meet. On December 17 last year, when the Opposition parties had approached President Ram Nath Kovind seeking his intervention on the issue of violence in central universities against the amended Citizenship law, the BSP had not joined them. A parliamentary delegation of the BSP, however, had met Kovind on December 18 to discuss the issue. Trinamool chief and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on January 9 said she would not attend the meeting called by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. ALSO READ | Insurmountable woes will ensue for us, PwDs write against NRC, CAA Accusing the Congress and the Left of playing dirty politics Mamata said in Kolkata that 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. ALSO READ | CAA wont affect Indian Muslims: BJP MP Subramanian Swamy According to Congress sources, Mamatas decision to pull out of the opposition meeting scheduled in Parliament annexe was more because of the Left parties, keeping in mind the state politics. While other opposition parties are expected to attend, there were 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 outreach 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. (With ENS and IANS Inputs) At the headquarters of the Peoples Public Security Guard High Command, the PM spoke highly of efforts by the whole Peoples Public Security force last year, which ensured absolute safety for senior leaders, important agencies of the Party and State, major political events, and foreign delegations to Vietnam. Particularly, they coordinated with relevant sides to ensure safety for the summit between the US and the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea and the Vesak Day celebrations. He stressed that there are a number of big events and anniversaries in 2020 such as the Partys 90th founding anniversary, the 75th National Day and Party congresses at all levels. This is also the year when Vietnam holds the ASEAN chairmanship and the non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council. PM Phuc pointed out the fact that hostile forces are promoting their peaceful evolution strategy with the aim of eradicating the Partys leadership and the socialist regime in Vietnam. Additionally, challenges posed by the fourth industrial revolution and non-traditional security challenges have been causing direct threats to peace and stability of countries, including Vietnam. PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the meeting. (Photo: NDO/Tran Hai) Therefore, tasks the public security force has to fulfil are very heavy, requiring it to firmly safeguard national security, ensure social order and safety, and create a peaceful and stable environment as well as favourable conditions for national development, he noted. He asked the guard force to thoroughly grasp and effectively implement the Party and States guidelines and policies on national security safeguarding, unceasingly improve its combat capacity, and further ensure absolute safety for Party and State leaders, important agencies, foreign delegations and major events of the nation. Besides, the PM also requested them to coordinate closely with other forces to have a good grasp of the situation to propose timely counselling to the Party, State and MoPS leaders; reform and promote the quality of its performance, especially applying achievements of the fourth industrial revolution in security guarding activities; improve the training of officers and soldiers; and stay active in all circumstances, thereby helping to ensure political stability and national security and serve national development in the new context. Kyiv, Ukraine Iran's stunning admission that its forces errantly downed a Ukrainian jetliner reversing three days of denial did little to quell growing fury inside the country and beyond on Saturday as the deadly tragedy turned into a volatile political crisis for Tehran's leaders and overshadowed their struggle with the United States. Ukrainian officials criticized Iran's conduct, suggesting that the Iranians would not have admitted responsibility if investigators from Ukraine had not found evidence of a missile strike in the wreckage of the crash, which killed all 176 people aboard. Protests erupted in Tehran and other Iranian cities as dumbfounded citizens found a new reason to mistrust Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, and other officials. Protest videos even showed some shouting "Khamenei is a murderer!" and anti-riot police tear-gassing violent demonstrators. Both Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani of Iran said they did not learn the true cause of the plane crash until an internal military investigation had been completed on Friday. But that assertion raised new questions about how the two top leaders in the hierarchy Khamenei is the commander-in-chief could not have known. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine, in his first reaction to Iran's announcement, said his country would "insist on a full admission of guilt" by Tehran. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, home to many of those aboard the destroyed jetliner, demanded a "full and complete investigation" and said "Iran must take full responsibility." Both spoke by phone with Rouhani. Contradictions and miscues complicated Iran's message even as it took responsibility for the disaster. Iran's military, in its initial admission early Saturday, said the flight's crew had taken a sharp, unexpected turn that brought it near a sensitive military base an assertion that was immediately disputed by the Ukrainians. Hours later, an Iranian commander who accepted full responsibility for the disaster agreed that the Ukrainians were right. "The plane was flying in its normal direction without any error and everybody was doing their job correctly," said the commander, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, who leads the airspace unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guard a powerful, hard-line military force. "If there was a mistake, it was made by one of our members." The Ukrainians further accused Iran of having recklessly permitted commercial flights during a security emergency and of having violated universally accepted procedures for a post-crash investigation. Bulldozers had heaped debris from the plane into piles on the ground. "Everything was done absolutely inappropriately," Oleksiy Danilov, the Ukrainian security official overseeing the crash inquiry, said in an interview with The New York Times, referring to how Iranian authorities had handled the site of the crash. Within Iran, as citizens vented anger toward their government, officials offered a mix of contrition and an insistence that Iran was not solely to blame. Rouhani called the error an "unforgivable mistake." Hajizadeh, whose forces were responsible, said he had wished death upon himself because of the blunder. Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, wrote in an apology posted on Twitter: "Human error at time of crisis caused by US adventurism led to disaster." But the official expressions of remorse did nothing to mollify angry Iranians who only a few days earlier were united in outraged grief over the American killing of a storied Revolutionary Guard leader, Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Now they were once again out en masse protesting their government. Some protest images posted on Iranian social media even showed torn photos of Soleimani. "Death to liars!" and "Death to the dictator!" shouted Iranians gathered in squares in the capital Tehran, videos shared on social media showed. "You have no shame!" shouted several young men, and the crowd joined in a chorus. Many protesters carried candles and placed flowers at the gates of the universities and other public places in Tehran. Conservatives and supporters of the government accused the authorities of having intentionally misled the public about what had brought down the plane. Its passengers included many young Iranians on their way to Canada for graduate study. The criticism of Iran over the crash of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, a Boeing 737-800, now threatens to eclipse whatever international sympathy Iran has garnered in its escalating confrontation with the Trump administration, which has faced widespread criticism over stoking a violent confrontation with Iran's leaders. In Washington, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, an outspoken Iran critic who was among the first U.S. officials to accuse the country of shooting down the Ukrainian jetliner, posted a message on Twitter that clearly alluded to the outrage in Iran on Saturday. "The voice of the Iranian people is clear," Pompeo wrote. "They are fed up with the regime's lies, corruption, ineptitude and brutality." The plane went down in fiery destruction just a few minutes after having departed Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport Wednesday morning, only hours after Iranian military forces had fired a barrage of missiles at bases in Iraq housing American troops in retaliation for the killing of Soleimani by a U.S. military drone in Baghdad on Jan. 3. Iran's aerial defense forces, worried about possible American reprisals for the missile attack, were on alert even though commercial aviation in Iran was allowed to proceed normally. For three days after the crash, Iranian officials not only denied their military forces were responsible but blamed what they called the aircraft's mechanical problems and said suggestions of Iranian culpability were U.S. propaganda. Satellite surveillance and video clips of the plane strongly suggested Iran's own air defense missile system blasted the plane out of the sky. The Iranians reversed themselves early Saturday. The newly critical language by Ukrainian officials in the aftermath of Iran's admission stood in sharp contrast to more cautious statements in recent days. It partly reflected the frustrations in a country that had been thrust in the middle of the conflict between the United States and Iran. Danilov, the Ukrainian security official, said Iran had been forced into conceding its military had brought down the jet because the evidence of a missile strike had become overwhelmingly clear to international investigators. He said Ukrainian experts on the ground in Iran had gathered such evidence since their arrival on Thursday despite apparent Iranian efforts to complicate the investigation, including by sweeping debris into piles rather than carefully documenting it. "When a catastrophe happens, everything is supposed to stay in its place," he said. "Every element is described, every element is photographed, every element is fixed in terms of its location and coordinates. To our great regret, this was not done." Zelenskiy's office posted on Facebook photos of plane wreckage and a Canadian man's passport showing small piercings consistent with the hypothesis that shrapnel from a surface-to-air missile hit the plane. "We expect Iran to assure its readiness for a full and open investigation, to bring those responsible to justice, to return the bodies of the victims, to pay compensation, and to make official apologies through diplomatic channels," Zelenskiy said in a post on his Facebook page. "We hope that the investigation will continue without artificial delays and obstacles." Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Rouhani, in a statement cited by the Fars News Agency, offered condolences to the victims' families and said that "the terrible catastrophe should be thoroughly investigated." The Iranian expressions of remorse were met with frustration by Ukrainian aviation officials who had been struggling since the crash to get meaningful information from Iran about what had actually happened. "Even in the statement of Iran there is a hint that our crew was acting independently, or that it could have acted differently," said the airline director, Yevhenii Dykhne. The crew received no warning before leaving Tehran, Ukrainian officials said. The plane took off as Ukrainian flights from Iran had dozens of times before, and followed the same departure routes as other airliners leaving that morning, Ihor Sosnovsky, the vice president for flight operations, told journalists. "There was no deviation from any routes that some are hinting at," he said. The crew maintained normal radio contact with the tower in Tehran, he said, and followed a standard departure procedure for the airport. After having reached an elevation of 6,000 feet, they were instructed to make a slight northerly turn. In the last communication, he said, one of the pilots read back this instruction from the tower, saying "turn and climb." Addressing criticism that the airline should not have sent a plane to Iran at all, in light of tensions in the region, the airline officials said it was Iran's responsibility to close airspace if it had intended to fire missiles. Danilov said Iran had no choice but to admit to shooting down the plane because the facts had become apparent to Ukrainian experts on the ground and to the international community. The "cherry on top" in Ukraine's probe, he said, came on Friday evening Iran time, when Ukrainian investigators found fragments of the top part of the airplane cabin that had been pierced by what appeared to be the shrapnel of a missile warhead. "As we saw it, Iran had to face the reality that there's no way they'll get out of this," Danilov said. In the hours immediately after the crash, Danilov said, Iran was resistant to letting Ukraine conduct its own investigation. He said the possibility that international aviation authorities might shut down passenger flights to Tehran also placed enormous pressure on Iran. "They said: 'Sorry, this was a technical error, either due to the pilots or the technical condition of the airplane.' We said: 'Let us have a look.' They said: 'We won't let you,'" Danilov said. "It took rather concerted efforts of our diplomats and our consul working there in order to make sure everything went well for our specialists." Zelenskiy spoke by phone to President Emmanuel Macron of France, and both agreed that French specialists would help decode the plane's black box flight recorders. Hajizadeh, the Iranian official who accepted responsibility for the missile strike, said the plane had been misidentified as a cruise missile and was shot down with a short-range missile that exploded near the plane. Asked why Iranian airspace was not shut to commercial air traffic while Iran's defense forces were on alert for attacks, Hajizadeh had no clear answer. "I wish I was dead," Hajizadeh was quoted as saying by local news outlets. "I accept all responsibility for this incident." Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-13 03:52:08|Editor: ZD Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump, who was impeached by the Democrat-led House for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress last month, traded barbs with Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday over the impeachment. Trump, in a series of tweets, denied any wrongdoings, touted the GOP unity in the impeachment votes, and lashed out at Pelosi and other Democrats. "This phony Impeachment Hoax should not even be allowed to proceed. Did NOTHING wrong. Just a partisan vote. Zero Republicans. Never happened before!" Trump wrote. The House's top Democrat Pelosi has been holding onto the articles of impeachment, forcing a trial in the Senate to delay, in hopes that Republicans would agree to allowing certain witnesses to provide testimony. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has said he wants to the trial begin first before dealing with potential witnesses, has garnered enough votes to move forward with it without a need to respond to Democrats' proposals. Pelosi, who has announced a plan releasing the articles of impeachment to the Senate, defended her tactic in an interview with ABC News on Sunday. "We feel that it has produced a very positive result," Pelosi said. "We wanted the public to see the need for witnesses." The California Democrat also warned the Senate, where Republicans have a narrow majority, against dismissing the impeachment case. "The president is impeached for life, regardless of any gamesmanship on the part of Mitch McConnell," she said. "There is nothing the Senate can do to ever erase that." In an anonymous complaint last summer, a whistleblower raised concerns about the White House's interactions with Ukraine, triggering a 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. 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. The timeline for the Senate trial mostly depends on the House's actions next week. Senators could be sworn in as soon as Thursday for the impeachment trial, according to CNN, citing Senate aides. But the trial, with arguments on the floor, probably won't begin until days after that. Iran has summoned the UK ambassador as hardline militia members mass outside the British embassy in Tehran. The British ambassador to Iran earlier denied taking part in anti-government demonstrations after he was held by Iranian authorities during protests over a fatal plane crash. Iranian authorities detained Rob Macaire on Saturday on suspicion of organising, provoking and directing radical actions, but an Iranian news agency later said he had been summoned over his attendance at an "anti-government rally". It comes as members of Iran's Basij militia, which is affiliated with Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard, gathered outside the UK embassy in Tehran demanding it be closed, according to Iranian state media. Video footage shows a large group assembled around a small truck with speakers erected on its roof, many of whom are holding placards written in Farsi and pictures of assassinated General Qassem Soleimani. Meanwhile, riot police and plainclothes officers have moved into Tehran's Vali e Asr Square in large numbers amid calls for further anti-government protests. That prompted US president Donald Trump to tweet: "To the leaders of Iran - DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. Thousands have already been killed or imprisoned by you, and the World is watching. More importantly, the USA is watching. Turn your internet back on and let reporters roam free! Stop the killing of your great Iranian people!" On Saturday, riot police fired tear gas at thousands of Iranians who had taken to the streets to direct their anger at Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, hours after the country's Revolutionary Guard admitted shooting down a Ukrainian passenger plane near the capital. Mr Macaire said he visited the scene to take part in a vigil for the 176 victims who died when Iran brought down Ukrainian International Airlines flight PS752 on Wednesday with a missile it said was fired in error. Mr Macaire tweeted in Farsi and in English: "Thanks for the many goodwill messages. Can confirm I wasn't taking part in any demonstrations! Went to an event advertised as a vigil for victims of #PS752 tragedy. Story continues "Normal to want to pay respects - some of victims were British. I left after 5 mins, when some started chanting. "Detained half an hour after leaving the area. Arresting diplomats is of course illegal, in all countries." The largest share of the 176 people aboard the flight who died were Iranians, many with dual citizenship, 57 were Canadian and four were British. Iran has issued visas to a team of Canadian officials to visit the crash site and they are expected to begin their work there on Tuesday, according to Canadian foreign minister Francois-Philippe Champagne. Later on Sunday, deputy foreign minister of Iran Seyed Abbas Araghchi responded, also on Twitter. He said: "He wasn't detained, but arrested as unknown foreigner in an illegal gathering. When police informed me a man's arrested who claims to be UK Amb, I said IMPOSSIBLE! only after my phone conversation w him I identified, out of big surprise, that it's him. 15 min later he was free." Earlier, a large black banner was unveiled in Vali e Asr Square bearing names of those who died in the crash. Overnight, Iranian protesters and newspapers piled pressure on the country's leadership. Iran's moderate Etemad newspaper wrote in a banner headline on Sunday "Apologise and resign", adding the "people's demand" was that all those responsible for mishandling the plane crisis should quit. Ayatollah Khamenei, the highest authority in the country, expressed "deep sympathy" to the victims of the plane crash on Saturday but did not apologise, leaving that to other senior officials. Some officials laid the blame partly at the door of the US, after it heightened US-Iran tensions by assassinating one of Gen Soleimani, one of Iran's top military leaders. Supreme Leader Khamenei later called for increased cooperation between countries in the Middle East to reduce tensions in the region, and blamed the problems on the US. His official website stated: "The situation in the region is inappropriate because of the United States and its friends, and the only way to deal with it is to rely on inter-regional cooperation." The US had previously withdrawn from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers and then re-imposed sanctions that have gradually crippled the Iranian economy. Britain, France and Germany have all said they remain committed to the deal, and called on Iran to stick to its terms and refrain from further violence. In a statement released by the office of French President Emmanuel Macron, the leaders of the three countries said: "We urge Iran to reverse all measures inconsistent with the agreement and return to full compliance. "We call on Iran to refrain from further violent action or proliferation, and we remain ready to engage with Iran on this agenda in order to preserve the stability of the region." A commander in the Revolutionary Guard said an air defence operator had mistaken the Ukrainian passenger jet for a cruise missile after Iran retaliated for the airstrike on Gen Soleimani by hitting US bases in the region. While the commander apologised, he added to public anger by saying he told the authorities on the day of the crash a missile hit the plane - three days before the military admitted they had shot it down. Secretary of Iran's top national security body, Ali Shamkhani, responded on Sunday saying Iran had no intention to conceal the cause of the crash as "its nature and technical characteristics ... make it virtually impossible to conceal". Criticism of the authorities in Iran is not unheard of, but it tends to stay within narrow limits. The latest protests come weeks after Iran faced the country's bloodiest unrest since the 1979 Islamic revolution, with dozens said to have been killed. Saturday's demonstrations were not limited to Tehran, with major cities such as Shiraz, Isfahan, Hamedan and Orumiyeh seeing similar action on the streets. A first-term lawmaker whose father was Malta's president has been chosen to be the country's prime minister. The count on Sunday showed Robert Abela received nearly 58% of votes cast by members of the governing Labour Party eligible to choose the new leader. Abela, 42, will replace Joseph Muscat, who is stepping down midway through his second term as prime minister amid demands for accountability over the 2017 murder of an anti-corruption journalist. Muscat tweeted his congratulations, saying, ``Proud to be handing over to him (hash)Malta PM office on Monday,`` when Abela will be sworn in. Abela was scheduled to address the party Sunday afternoon. Labour has a comfortable majority in Parliament. Before being chosen as Labour leader, Abela said he would work to restore Malta's reputation for rule of law. European Union lawmakers had criticized the member nation's judiciary and police. A close aide to Muscat was questioned in connection with journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder, denied wrongdoing and was released while still under investigation. A Maltese hotelier, who denies involvement, has been accused of complicity in the killing. Three other men, accused of triggering the car bomb, are under arrest. Muscat had beaten Abela's father in the race for the party leadership in 2008. George Abela was later appointed president, serving from 2009 until 2014. Search Keywords: Short link: This holiday season, I wish to share with your readers how Muslims view Jesus (peace be upon him). Jesus is endearingly mentioned as Jesus, son of Mary in the Quran numerous times. Muslims believe in his Virgin birth and hold him and his holy mother Mary in high esteem. We always say peace be upon him each time we utter his name. When the angels said, O Mary, God gives thee glad tidings of a word from Him; his name shall be the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, honored in this world and in the next, and of those who are granted nearness to God; (Quran: 3:46) Mary has such a special place in Islam that an entire chapter (chapter 19-Maryam) in the Quran is dedicated to her. From references in the Quran, we learn about her birth, her chastity, the circumstances of Jesuss birth, her piety and her unwavering faith. It is no surprise that Maryam is a highly favored name for girls among Muslims. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in central Pennsylvania wishes our friends and neighbors a happy Christmas, We wish to share that even though Muslims do not consider Jesus and his mother divine; they have a special place in our hearts. Perhaps in these polarized times we can remember the community values of compassion and social justice that Jesus taught. Ayesha S Ahmad, Hummelstown For contemporary Indian artist Jitish Kallat, who has traversed a range of mediums in his artistic practice, it is always the idea that has driven the form and material of the artwork. Kallat, who is returning to Bombay with a solo exhibition after five years, said while he does not prefer a particular medium, his choices are defined by his "initial impulse". The show -- "Terranium Nuncius" at Mumbai's Famous Studios that opened on Friday, features two of his major works -- a new photographic and sound based installation titled "Covering Letter" (Terranum Nuncius), and a mixed media painting on linen called "Ellipsis". The latter is his largest painting to date. "As an artist my mediumistic choices are defined by the initial impulse and I do not privilege one over the other, making both the pixel and the pencil equally potent within the studio. "It is always the idea that has driven the form and material," Kallat told PTI in an email interview. As a result, his over two decade-long artistic career has seen it all -- from paintings, and large-scale sculptures, to photographs, installations, and videos. So, while a work like "Hue Saturation" (2012) becomes a video, "Public Notice 3" (2010) is made of 70,000 light bulbs on the stairs of a museum, and descending rain drops etch an image of the cosmos in the Rain Study (2017) drawings. "Terranium Nuncius", which is the second installment in his 'Covering Letter' series, showcases the artist's persistent interest in the epistolary mode. While the first work in the series, created in 2012, and showcased at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney and the Venice Biennale, re-cited a historic letter from Gandhi to Hitler on a curtain of mist, the latest installation "foregrounds a message that goes from us, a planet, to an unknown other, an interstellar alien". He draws from the two phonographic Golden Records that were hoisted onto the legendary Voyager 1 and 2 space probes launched by NASA in 1977. "Adjusting the focal length and distance at which one views the world, in time or in space, alters the manner in which we interpret the now and immediate. As an artist and as an observer of reality this element runs through much of my work," Kallat, who curated the Kochi-Muziris Biennale in 2014, said. As part of the artwork, the gallery, which is permeated with the sound of greetings to the universe in 55 languages, houses a large round table with over a hundred backlit 3-D photographic transparencies placed on it. To create them, Kallat has referenced the images decoded by Ron Barry, a US-based software engineer, who had converted the sound clips on the Golden Records into images, as if they were accessed by an extra-terrestrial who would have to follow a similar procedure to view the images. These images ranged from scientific and cosmological diagrams, representations of our genetic make-up and anatomy, as well as other life forms, and architecture, often annotated with measurements. "This is a presentation of 'our' world to an unknown other. At a time when we find ourselves in a deeply divided world, Kallat foregrounds these sounds and images for a collective meditation on ourselves as united residents of a single planet, where the 'other' is an unknown 'intergalactic alien'," Nature Morte, one of the galleries representing Kallat, said in a statement. The artist, however, clarified that his interest in these space probes, and the contents of the Golden Record did not stem from a technological and scientific perspective, but more from a "philosophical and symbolic dimension of what they represent". "The probes point to a deep human need to expand and explore the distant and the inconceivable, while the contents of the Golden Record reveals the fundamental human need to communicate. The contents of the record convey evidence of our presence on this planet to an unknown, space-faring alien other. "The two Voyagers and the Golden Record will most likely outlast us as a species and our planet, as well as our entire solar system. They remind us of our collective mortality and our collective journey on a tiny planet in an obscure corner of an ever expanding universe," Kallat said. In 'Ellipsis', Kallat uses the "vocabulary of paint" to have a go at "forms that point to some of the mysterious aspects of our reality and let them emerge through pigment and abstraction". "I think at the heart of 'Ellipsis' is this impulse to find forms and imagery that go beyond my own perception. I paint and then I watch what I've painted," he said. The 45-year-old artist took two years to paint the 60 feet abstract work, the ideas behind which, he said, have been long standing inquiries but directed through a "deeply probing painterly process". "I returned back to painting after a gap of close to five years in 2017. While working on specific canvases in 2018, parallelly I began making marks and gestures on various other canvases. These fragments began to grow slowly, gather momentum and materialise as form, converging as clusters of speculative abstractions. "Over the past several months these images slowly began to coalesce into a single painting titled 'Ellipsis'. I followed the impulses as they emerged from the canvases, letting a mark or a stain direct the course of the next gesture... evocations of the bodily, the botanical, the sub-oceanic and the intergalactic all intermingle and exchange energies," he said. While the exhibition in Mumbai is set to continue till January 22, "Covering Letter" (Terranum Nuncius) will later travel to the Frist Art Museum, Nashville (US) for Kallat's first solo show there. (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 Sebastian Partogi (The Jakarta Post) Ubud, Bali Sun, January 12, 2020 Scottish author Irvine Welsh is back with his latest novel called Dead Mens Trousers, reuniting readers with the cast of characters from his landmark 1993 novel Trainspotting. The fictional character Mark Renton is finally a success now, as Welshs publisher's website describes it. Becoming an international jet-setter, he now makes significant money managing DJs, the online synopsis states, describing the good fortunes that have seemingly affected the character, who in the previous Trainspotting novel series seemed to just wander aimlessly through his life, along with his pals Frank Begbie, Sick Boy and Spud all drug addicts. The Congress on Sunday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government for their "silence" on Pakistan's BAT decapitating an Indian porter, and asked when will they get ten heads for one as promised by the prime minister earlier. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted, "Why is the Modi government silent on Pakistan's barbarism? Pakistani forces have decapitated an Indian porter, and martyred two soldiers. And prime minister and home minister are silent. The media is also silent." "Are stories of martyrdom of Indians at the hands of Pakistan printed keeping the nature of government in power? When will there will a retort to Pakistan's cowardly acts? When will we see ten heads for one," he asked. Pakistan's Border Action Team is suspected to have decapitated a porter, who was among two civilians killed along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district on Friday, and taken away the head, officials had said. This is the first time that any civilian has been beheaded by the BAT, which comprises Pakistani army regulars and terrorists, though similar incidents involving security personnel have taken place in the past, they said. The body of Mohammad Aslam (28) was badly mutilated and his head was missing, a senior police officer had said. (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 Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan, North Sumatra Sun, January 12, 2020 18:36 730 48be62e941b44f04afae568c321d85a0 1 National whale,North-Sumatra,stranded Free A 20-ton humpback whale has died after becoming stranded on the coast of Asahan regency, North Sumatra, on Saturday afternoon. The whale became stranded in shallow waters near Silo Baru village, Silau Laut district, Asahan regency. Silo Baru village head Ahmad Sofyan said on Sunday that the whale's carcass was still around 1.5 kilometers off the coast of Silo Baru. He said a team from the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) was planning to inspect the carcass before submerging it in the sea. Sofyan said the whale was first found stranded by fishermen around 500 meters off the coast of Silo Baru on Wednesday. The fishermen managed to guide the whale back to the open sea. Two days later, on Friday, the fishermen found the same whale had become stranded once again. Sofyan said it had become stranded during low tide and that the BKSDA team had pushed the whale out to sea the next day. "Unfortunately, the whale was limp by the time it got to the open sea. After being checked, it turned out the whale had died," Sofyan told The Jakarta Post. He added that it was the first time a dead whale had been found on the Asahan coast. Asahan Fishery and Maritime Affairs Agency head Tomy said the agency would investigate the cause of the whale's death. "We will find out the whale's cause of death by conducting laboratory tests," he said. (kmt) The Australian sharemarket is expected to fall when it opens on Monday after ending last week at fresh record highs. A messy evening for US stocks on Friday after Australian markets closed suggests most gains will be lost as the week begins. The local bourse is expected to open lower Credit:James Alcock But the ASX has already rallied 3.9 per cent in the first two weeks of the year, AMP Capital's chief economist Shane Oliver says. "There's not a lot in it," Mr Oliver told AAP. "You've got to bear in mind that through the week our market rose 2.9 per cent." Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. By PTI NEW DELHI: A fact-finding committee of the Congress on the JNU violence on Sunday alleged that Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar was the "mastermind" behind it and sought his immediate dismissal and criminal investigation against him. Calling the January 5 violence by masked men "state-sponsored", panel member Sushmita Dev said it recommended that Kumar be dismissed immediately and all appointments in faculty should be probed and an independent inquiry should take place. The Congress had appointed the four-member fact-finding committee to carry out a detailed inquiry into the violence at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). "A criminal investigation must be initiated against the VC, the company that provides security service and members of the faculty who conspired with the attackers to unleash the violence at Sabarmati hostel, Periyar hostel and other places. The security company's contract must be immediately terminated," the Mahila Congress chief said. Calling Kumar the "mastermind" behind the incident, Dev said since his appointment in 2016, he meticulously "infiltrated" the university with people in the faculty who did not merit their positions and promoted only those who would be compliant to him and had their inclination to right-wing ideology. He operates through these members of faculty to orchestrate chaos on campus. The crisis on the campus is a culmination of his mis-governance and autocracy. He deliberately imposed his decision on the university students and teachers without due process and then refused to engage with the duly elected student and teacher representatives which led to the deadlock, she added. "It is clear that the attack on JNU campus was state-sponsored. There is absolutely no doubt about it. The important question is what did the administration and Delhi police do to stop the attack," Dev said. The other recommendations of the committee included an independent judicial inquiry into the events of January 5 that led to violence on the campus of Jawaharlal Nehru University. "Fix accountability of the Commissioner of Delhi Police and other police officials because of police failure to act on the emergency calls by the students and faculty members and in light of the overwhelming prima facie evidence that they facilitated the criminal elements on campus," the committee said. She also demanded a complete rollback of the JNU hostel fee hike. "Immediate rollback of the fee hike as implemented by the university authorities and recognition of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) as an elected body so that proper consultation can take place between the administration and the students on the fee and other issues," she added. She said there is every reason to believe that the mob that attacked the students and teachers on campus were from the right-wing factions. "There is sufficient evidence to show that the people who were attacked on 5th January at Sabarmati hostel and at the Sabarmati-T junction just outside the hostel were people who did not belong to the right-wing politics on campus. The attackers in fact did not touch the students and faculty who were right-wingers at the Sabarmati hostel area," she added. "The mob that entered the hostel even targeted people of a certain religion and spared those who were well-known ABVP activists," she said. "I have no doubt that the violence is pre-planned, pre-mediated, criminal conspiracy," she told reporters. "The quality of the investigation is questionable where till now a case for attempt to murder has not been filed despite serious head injuries suffered by students and faculty. As per the students, the forensic team came about 40 hours later to the hostel that was attacked," she said. The other members of the fact-finding committee are Hibi Eden, MP and former NSUI president; Syed Naseer Hussain, MP and former president of JNU NSUI; and Amrita Dhawan, a former NSUI president and ex-DUSU president. On January 5 night, masked people armed with rods and sticks stormed the JNU campus and assaulted students and faculty members, and vandalised property, leaving several people injured. Leftist outfits and the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) blamed each other for the violence. Georges Duboeuf, who has died aged 86, was a French wine merchant known as "le roi" (and sometimes even as "le pape") "du Beaujolais" and was credited with turning Beaujolais Nouveau, a drink once handed out for nothing on village streets, into a major money-spinner. In the 1970s, Duboeuf, who had set up his own production company, Les Vins Georges Duboeuf, in 1964, was looking for a new idea to steal a march on his rivals. He noticed how villages in Beaujolais had taken to celebrating each new harvest by sploshing raw wine into the goblets of vineyard workers and passers-by. The wine was dreadful, but the merriment of the occasion made up for its shortcomings, and the practice spread to the streets of Lyon and even to Paris, where from the 1950s there was an annual race among restaurateurs to get their hands on the first bottles. Intrigued by the razzmatazz, Duboeuf wondered whether the wine, originally released each year on November 15 (now on the third Thursday of November), might have a wider market. Over the next few years, under the marketing slogan "Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive" (originally a hand-scrawled sign seen in a Lyon bistro window), he set to work to spread the atmosphere of revelry and anticipation around the world. Throughout the 1980s, he held Beaujolais Nouveau festivals which were attended by celebrities, including Michelin-starred restaurateurs, and his enthusiastic promotion of the wine led to its annual release date becoming known across the world as Beaujolais Nouveau Day. By the peak of the boom in the late 1980s, Duboeuf was selling more than 250,000 cases a year, with restaurateurs around the world competing to be the first to take delivery. The British record of two hours from release to uncorking was claimed by the Savoy Hotel in London, which had a case dropped in by the Red Devils of the Parachute Regiment. The Beaujolais region has long been regarded as Burgundy's poor relation. Duboeuf, however, put it on the wine connoisseur's map, and on the back of the Nouveau phenomenon built a business empire that came to dominate wine production in the region. Georges Duboeuf was born on April 14, 1933 in Creches, near the village of Chaintre, in Pouilly-Fuisse, an appellation in Burgundy which specialised in Chardonnay and where his family owned a few acres of vines. Georges showed enterprise from an early age, delivering wines to restaurants on his bicycle. By the end of the 1950s, his Pouilly-Fuisse had developed a following not only in his native Burgundy but also in Paris. But Duboeuf's customers soon began demanding something more: "Chefs like Paul Blanc and Paul Bocuse told me: 'Your Pouilly-Fuisse is terrific, but we want red wines'," he recalled. So he went to the nearby Beaujolais region and began recruiting producers, eventually founding Les Vins Georges Duboeuf and expanding his own wine production, purchasing grapes from selected vineyards and putting his own name prominently on every bottle he made, using colourful, eye-catching flower labels on his bottles as early as the 1970s. The Beaujolais Nouveau mania faltered from the 1990s, but in recent years it has come back into fashion in many parts of the world, notably in Japan. Georges Duboeuf, who died on January 4, married Rolande, the daughter of a fellow wine salesman, in the early 1960s. She survives him with their daughter, Fabienne, and their son, Franck, who has run the family business since 2018. Telegraph Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has ruined cars worth more than 460,000 since he took over at the club. The 49-year-old has managed to damage a 30,000 Mini Cooper, an 80,000 black Mercedes GLE, a 200,000 silver Bentley GTX700, and a 150,000 Range Rover, as reported by The Sun. A source told the newspaper: 'Pep is brilliant at many things but driving doesn't appear to be one of them. Guardiola poses with his car during the car handover of Audi on August 23, 2014 in Neuburg an der Donau, in Germany The 49-year-old has managed to damage a 30,000 Mini Cooper, an 80,000 black Mercedes GLE, a 200,000 silver Bentley GTX700, and a 150,000 Range Rover The Sky Blues boss even managed to put petrol in his diesel Range Rover (stock image pictured) 'He's struggled with the roads in Manchester and had a couple of bumps.' The Sky Blues boss has also previously been pictured showing off his green credentials by heading to training in a Nissan Leaf. Lu Martin and Pol Ballus, who penned Pep's City: The Making of a Superteam, wrote about his driving: 'Today he's behind the wheel of his black Mercedes. Pep Guardiola getting into his 30,000 Mini Cooper. He has managed to damage a number of cars since moving to the area Lu Martin and Pol Ballus, who penned Pep's City: The Making of a Superteam, wrote about his poor driving 'He has a reputation from his Barcelona days of being a hapless driver and this is his fourth car he has owned since coming to Manchester. 'His wing mirrors don't survive for long and he's also managed to fill a diesel Range Rover with petrol and mangle a silver Bentley.' City face a trip to the midlands today as they battle Aston Villa in the late kick-off. Former directors at bust Government contractor Carillion face a 'judgment day' over the implosion of the firm two years ago this week. The National Audit Office is set to publish the result of its investigation into Whitehall's handling of around 420 public sector contracts with Carillion, including multi-million pound tenders to build and manage hospitals, roads, prisons and schools. The spending watchdog's report, due imminently, is expected to shed light on the Government's handling of the collapse on January 15, 2018, and how the firm's public sector contracts were awarded. The National Audit Office is set to publish the result of its investigation into Whitehall's handling of around 420 public sector contracts with Carillion Red flags were raised over Carillion's finances in July 2017, when it issued the first of three profit warnings. But it announced 1.9billion of new Government work after that warning, including two joint-venture deals for the HS2 high-speed rail link worth 1.3billion. One focus of the investigation has been Carillion's heavily loss-making PFI contracts to build two new hospitals in Liverpool and the West Midlands, which stalled when the firm failed with 7billion of liabilities. Frank Field, the former MP who co-chaired the 2018 investigation into Carillion by two select committees of MPs, said it is a 'tragedy' the hospitals remain unfinished and that the NAO report marks the beginning of 'judgment day for Carillion bosses'. He added: 'This will be the start of the process of bringing justice against the Carillion bosses who presided over such a catastrophe, when they were the only people who appear to have benefited by lining their own pockets.' The former bosses including chief executive Richard Howson and finance chiefs Richard Adam and Zafar Khan could face a ban from acting as company directors under a separate investigation by the Insolvency Service. Gail Cartmail, assistant general secretary of the Unite union, said: 'Given the extraordinary damage caused by the collapse of Carillion, it is jaw-dropping there have been no criminal prosecutions.' All over the world, more and more young people are becoming involved in political activities. In many cases, higher education is related to, or even at the center of, their activism. The protest movement in Hong Kong was one of the top news stories of 2019. Many of those leading the anti-government protests were young people. Some demonstrators sought shelter from police in university buildings. More recently, demonstrations began spreading across India after an attack on protesters at a university in New Delhi. Some college-age activists have even turned against higher education. This week, students in Chile restarted protests against what they call an unfair university admissions system. And a few years ago, protests against the high cost of study programs hit nearly every university in South Africa. Noella Richard says students in many places have become more politically active in recent years because they are tired of waiting for their voices to be heard. Richard is Youth Global Program Manager for the United Nations Development Programme. She argues that, generally speaking, educated young adults in almost every country see the world in similar ways. They are highly informed about major international issues, like climate change, and want peace -- both in their home country and worldwide. She says they also want to change conditions that have led to problems in the past. But young people do not see those in power working towards those goals, or representing them in the way they want to be represented, Richard says. So they have chosen to take action and produce change in different ways. That doesnt mean that its necessarily violent. That doesnt mean, necessarily, that it is radical, although also, being radical is not necessarily a bad thing. But its just exploring new forums, she told VOA. In Yemen, a not-for-profit group has worked with young people to fight drug abuse and avoid extremist groups. In Kosovo, a youth-led organization has been developing an employment training program. And in Pakistan, another group has young businessmen working together to prevent religious extremists from taking control of their businesses. In the United States, college students have shown their interest in politics in a more traditional way: voting in elections. Last September, Tufts Universitys Institute for Democracy and Higher Education published its latest National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement. The study explores the voting records and data for about 10 million American college students. It found that the number of students who voted in U.S. elections more than doubled between 2014 and 2018. Adam Gismondi is Director of Impact at the Institute. He says that college student involvement in political activities dates back hundreds of years. In U.S. politics, there have been periods of heavy student involvement, such as in the 1960s, and low involvement, as in the late 1990s. During the 2018 congressional elections, the overall percentage of Americans voting reached its highest level in over 100 years. Some political observers have linked this with the rise of President Donald Trump as a political figure, with many people wanting to vote for or against him. But Gismondi argues that is not necessarily the case. Theres a lot of conversations around national politics, and theres been attention paid to the Trump administration and some of the policies as a result of his election, Gismondi said. But I will say theres some pretty significant data out there that shows that a lot of the activism that were seeing is issue-based. Its not necessarily party-based. Many of the biggest issues of the day are ones that college-educated Americans have strong opinions on, says Gismondi. These include gun control, immigration reform and the rising costs of healthcare and higher education. But another reason political activism among young people has risen is U.S. colleges and universities themselves, says Clarissa Unger. She is Director of Civic Engagement for Young Invincibles, a non-profit group that supports youth political involvement. Unger suggests that many schools have made efforts to increase student political involvement. They take steps to ensure students stay informed about issues. Some provide resources that inform students how to register to vote and offer voting centers on school grounds. Unger and Gismondi agree that, as a result, many students are not just becoming involved in national political campaigns. They are also voting and sometimes even competing locally as candidates for elected positions. And, Unger notes, leaders who ignore the interests of the younger generation risk losing their power. At the end of the day, young people want authentic leaders, she said. They dont want to hear politicians saying what they think they want to hear. They want to be heard, and they want authentic leaders who are taking them seriously, taking their concerns seriously. Noella Richard adds it is important that political involvement not just be limited to the college-educated. There are many poor and uneducated young people around the world who do not just deserve an equal voice, she says. They possess valuable knowledge, skills and opinions -- all things leaders must consider when making any decisions about the future. Im Dorothy Gundy. And Im Pete Musto. Pete Musto reported this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. Quiz - Political Involvement Increasing Among College Students Worldwide Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story radical adj. having extreme political or social views that are not shared by most people forum(s) n. a place or opportunity for discussing a subject impact n. a powerful or major influence or effect figure n. a person who has a specified status or who is regarded in a specified way significant adj. large enough to be noticed or have an effect civic adj. relating to citizenship or being a citizen engagement n. the act or state of being involved with something resource(s) n. a place or thing that provides something useful authentic adj. real and honest deserve v. used to say that someone or something should or should not have or be given something Adam Schiff said Sunday that Donald Trump is 'fudging' the intelligence that led to his directive for a drone strike that took out Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. The House Intelligence Committee chairman insisted in an interview with CBS News that Trump, in an interview with Fox News on Friday, distorted the intelligence that spiraled a rise in tensions between D.C. and Tehran last week. 'When you hear the president out there on Fox, he is fudging the intelligence and when you hear the Secretary say, well, that wasn't what the intelligence said, but that's my personal belief, he is fudging,' Schiff said in reference to Defense Department Secretary Mark Esper. 'When Secretary Pompeo was on your show last week and made the claim that the intelligence analysis was that taking Soleimani out would improve our security and not and leaving them in would make us less safe, that is also fudging,' the Democratic representative from California continued in an interview on Face the Nation Sunday morning. 'That's not an intelligence conclusion. That is Pompeo's personal opinion.' Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff said Sunday that Trump was 'fudging' the intelligence that the president says led him to direct the drone strike that took out Iranian General Qassem Soleimani 'I can reveal that I believe it probably would've been four embassies,' Trump told Fox News Friday in reference to targets Soleimani was planning to attack within days before he was killed Schiff also claimed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (left) and Department of Defense Secretary Mark Esper (right) are 'fudging' what they claim the intelligence justifies Schiff is a member of the Gang of Eight, a bipartisan group of lawmakers who are usually briefed on intelligence matters. He has lamented that they were not notified before Trump directed a drone strike that took out Soleimani earlier this month. Lawmakers were briefed by Esper, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, CIA Director Gina Haspel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley briefed lawmakers on the attack and intelligence that they say justified taking out Soleimani. Schiff said Esper was 'just plain wrong' in his assessment that Iran posed a threat to multiple American embassies. Esper, Pompeo and Trump all affirmed this week that they believed Soleimani was helping plan attacks on four U.S. embassies in the Middle Eastern region before he was killed. During an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham Friday, Trump said 'I can reveal that I believe it probably would've been four embassies,' in reference to perceivably 'imminent' attacks that he, along with Pompeo and Esper, say could have been carried out within 'days.' Soleimani was killed earlier this month when Trump ordered a drone strike on an airport in Baghdad, Iraq. He claimed there was intelligence that Soleimani was orchestrating more attacks targeting America and Americans within 'days' When CBS host Margaret Brennan asked Schiff if the Trump administration was 'lying' about Iran. 'Well, you know, you could certainly put it that way,' he accused. 'But frankly, I think what they are doing is they are overstating and exaggerating what the intelligence shows. And when you're talking about justifying acts that might bring us into warfare with Iran, that's a dangerous thing to do.' Trump ordered the attack that took out Soleimani after a raid on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq was raided on New Years Eve by protesters who back pro-Iran Shia militia. Iran retaliated against the U.S. for killing Soleimani by firing almost two dozen missiles at two different bases in Iraq where American troops are stationed. No U.S. troops were killed or injured in the attacks. Hyderabad: Around the beginning of the New Year, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) deployed its new, swanky website. The user interface was improved, and the overall look of the website was well-received. However, weather enthusiasts and researchers are unimpressed. They say the new website does not offer a lot of data that was freely available in the older one. This, they say, will handicap the budding meteorologist community. According to lists created by a few independent meteorologists, the new website does not offer many services, including access to high resolution sector, division and full disk images of satellite, maps of cloud temperature and the upper troposphere and so on. Navdeep Dahiya, a B.Sc student from Chandigarh University, was among the first to raise the objection on Twitter. He said meteorology was an under-explored subject in India, and IMDs latest move would not be helpful for students interested in the subject. He argued for transparency of government data since it is procured using public money. Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Mr Dahiya said, I must make it clear that even the old website was not ideal. But the new website is even worse. There are many forecasting products with regard to satellite and radar data that is no longer available to us. Santosh Subramanian, a weather enthusiast from Kolkata, said, The point of having government data should be ease of accessibility to everyone. The general public should be able to see all of it. He illustrated with an example: The new website does not offer data on upper cloud top temperatures. This data helps meteorologists predict hailstorms. Now, no independent researcher can send out hail storm warnings if they depend solely on IMD data. Meanwhile, Madhavan Rajeevan, secretary, ministry of earth sciences, on Twitter replied to Mr Dahiyas tweet, saying that more products would soon be added to the new website. However, he admitted that not all products available in the old website would be made available in the new one since they are meant only for trained forecasters. Mr Rajeevan could not be reached for a comment on the issue. Rajani Poola, a Hyderabad-based climate-research enthusiast who frequently puts out forecasts on his Twitter account, said the new situation will certainly be a handicap to people like him. He said enthusiasts could still use other websites, some of which are free-to-use. However, most of these websites are not Indian. IMD has a lot of weather models that are customised for our country. These models are no longer available for us. So any forecasts we make may not be as accurate as before, Mr Poola said. Mr Dahiya has noted another problem with using foreign data. The maps used in these websites are different from those of the IMD. They dont show PoK (Pakistan occupied Kashmir) in India, and there might be trouble if we publicise them, he said. The enthusiast community believes IMDs move could be to deflect or avoid criticism. Mr Rajani said, A lot of bloggers have used IMD data to criticise IMD! I dont think IMD liked that. This could be one reason. Also, many bloggers do not credit IMD when they use its data. The community thinks this might be another reason. Mr Rajani said the matter was not entirely black-and-white. There are certain people in the community who think IMD is right. This, they think, will curb misuse of data and inaccurate forecasts. Personally, I would be more disturbed if IMD sold its data to people in a subscription-based model. If that happens, it would be very disturbing, the climate-research enthusiast said. After the criticism it came under, IMD added all radar image products that were available in the older website. Also, second temperature observations, extreme weather and climate data were later added to the website as well. Readers are being urged to avoid a 'scam' advert doing the rounds on professional networking website LinkedIn promising annual returns of up to 35 per cent. The advert is from London-based company UK Bonds, which claims to be the 'UK's leading provider in secure investments'. Its website ukbonds.org.uk says the products it offers are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and approved by the City regulator. An advert by UK Bonds is promising annual returns of up to 35 per cent It then uses the logos of the London Stock Exchange, the FSCS and two media groups to give its offerings further credence. Returns from the bonds, it says, are 'guaranteed' and '100 per cent secure'. It then provides details of bond offerings with leading financial brands, including BNP Paribas, Co-operative Bank, Fundsmith and HSBC. It says fixed one-year returns of between 10 and 12 per cent are available on these. Justin Modray, of Candid Financial Advice, saw the advert on LinkedIn a few days ago and immediately smelt a financial rat. He says: 'There were no company details on the website other than an address and telephone number. I imagine there are a lot more websites like this that seek to take advantage of vulnerable people.' On Friday, investigations by Personal Finance confirmed that the company is not authorised by regulator the Financial Conduct Authority. Also, one of the companies promoted by UK Bonds said the product was 'not legitimate' and 'had nothing to do with them'. Personal Finance repeatedly rang the number given on the website, only to be met with a wall of silence. Furthermore, the picture of the company's headquarters on its website bears no resemblance to the building at the given address. Have you received a promotion for a bond that seems too good to be true? Email jeff.prestridge@mailonsunday.co.uk South Carolina has nearly $2 billion more to spend than a year ago, setting up battles in the Statehouse on who should get the tax windfall. When lawmakers start the second year of a two-year session on Tuesday, they also will tackle how to fix the state's struggling K-12 school system and whether to sell the state-owned power utility Santee Cooper. Proposals to ban almost all abortions and overhaul the board of the state's largest college also highlight what's expected to be a lively session. States $1.8 billion question South Carolinas legislators this year face a prospect never seen before deciding what to do with an additional $1.8 billion in additional money, which will push the spending plan for state taxes past $10 billion for the first time. The states revenue forecasters say continued economic growth, coupled with money that came in above expectations over the last two years, translate to $1 billion for one-time expenses, such as long-deferred maintenance on state buildings, and more than $800 million for recurring costs, such as salary increases. Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey said Thursday this should be the year legislators finally tackle an overhaul of the states tax code. I dont want to do some gimmicky $50 rebate just so you can make a campaign commercial about it, said the Edgefield Republican, referring to how $67 million was spent in this years budget. I want to make some significant changes." But hes not at all optimistic that will happen. Oh, were going to spend all of the money. We just will, Massey said. Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, an Orangeburg Democrat, said its way past time to boost the pay of state employees who keep the wheels rolling. House Majority Leader Todd Rutherford, D-Columbia, said legislators dont need to talk about tax breaks while there are so many needs across the state, including widening interstates, building schools and improving safety at state prisons. Fixing the education system S.C. lawmakers will again attempt to fulfill promises made last year to transform an education system thats fallen to the bottom rungs nationally and is hemorrhaging teachers. Two things seem to be near-guarantees for 2020 a second year of substantial hikes in teacher salaries and expanding state-paid, full-day 4-year-old kindergarten statewide. Both are focal points of McMasters budget recommendations and are backed by legislative leaders in both chambers. While they agree a pay boost is needed to stem a teacher shortage crisis, theres disagreement on the amount and how it will be distributed. McMaster and House leaders want to give every teacher a $3,000 pay boost, costing $211 million, toward what House Speaker Jay Lucas calls the second year of a five-step plan to get teachers pay to the national average. Senate Education Chairman Greg Hembree proposes a bigger boost, at $225 million total, but he wants to let districts decide, within certain parameters, how to divvy it up to best meet their classroom needs. Senators pledge to immediately take up a pared-down version of a bill the House passed last year which makes changes to teacher preparation, student testing and accountability. Two key additions inserted by a Senate panel, which mostly struck whole sections, would provide earlier summer programs for children struggling to read and tack on five paid work days to teachers school year, as an answer to complaints they lack unencumbered time to plan. Santee Cooper's future A long-awaited report from the S.C. Department of Administration about the potential ramifications of selling state-owned utility Santee Cooper is expected to hit lawmakers' desks possibly within a matter of weeks. As Massey put it: "When that report gets issued, it's going to suck all the oxygen out of the room for a period of time." Sign up for updates! Get the latest political news from The Post and Courier in your inbox. Email Sign Up! The report will lay out the bids from private utilities to either purchase or manage Moncks Corner-based Santee Cooper and consider the economic impact on the state of each offer, as well as examine options for reforming the utility if the state decides not to sell it. Some lawmakers, particularly conservatives, have been champing at the bit to privatize the agency for years an effort that got new life after Santee Cooper played a key role as the minority partner in the failed, multibillion dollar V.C. Summer nuclear project. McMaster has been a top proponent for selling the utility, while some lawmakers in Santee Cooper territory have been far more wary of the prospect. Fetal heartbeat bill still around No matter what issues take top billing each legislative session, abortion finds its way into the discussion and becomes a topic of significant debate at the Statehouse. Last year, the state House passed a bill that would ban abortion in South Carolina after a fetal heartbeat has been detected. The measure could effectively ban abortions since a heartbeat can be detected as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. Last fall, a version of whats commonly called the fetal heartbeat bill passed out of the state Senates Medical Affairs Committee, pushing the bill to the Senate floor for a possible showdown this session. The possibility of the bill getting through the Senate and eventually to McMasters desk the Republican governor has indicated hed sign the measure seemingly hit a barrier when Massey told reporters last week he doubted the fetal heartbeat bill could garner enough support in the Senate. Despite Masseys prediction, supporters on either side of the abortion issue have indicated they are going continue their efforts, especially considering this is an election year for both the House and Senate. USC board facing changes A lot of powerful people at the Statehouse are unhappy with the University of South Carolina board, including leaders in the House and Senate. The Legislatures exasperation comes from the troubled presidential search that tested the patience of supporters and critics of the boards final choice, former West Point Superintendent Bob Caslen. Separate bills in the House and Senate would cut the number of USC trustees, now numbering 20, nearly in half after removing all the current board members. The states largest college would have its smallest board under either of the proposals. A House subcommittee moved forward its USC board-trimming bill nearly a week before the session starts Tuesday. A Senate panel thats meeting on the second day of the session is expected to follow suit. Meanwhile, seven trustees are up for reelection later this year. But, in a sign of frustration, four incumbents are facing challengers. S.C. judges and sheriffs Revelations of corruption exposed by The Post and Courier prompted new calls for more accountability for South Carolinas sheriffs and other proposals that would amount to the most sweeping changes to the states judicial system in two decades. Sen. Tom Davis, a Beaufort Republican, filed legislation in December that would bolster the required training among South Carolinas more than 300 magistrates, many of whom are not lawyers. It would also add a layer of scrutiny to their appointments, which Davis and others have decried as a process rife with politics. Unlike any other state, South Carolina allows state senators to hand-pick magistrates with almost no oversight. Davis proposal would eliminate that practice, requiring each magistrate appointment also receive sign-off from House representatives in each delegation. Among another group of powerful county officials, South Carolina sheriffs, misconduct also has piled up. At least 14 of the states sheriffs have been accused of breaking laws in the past decade, including several in recent weeks. A proposal from John Crangle, the state's former Common Cause director, aims to rein in those habits by bolstering whistleblower protections and requiring a semi-regular inspection of each sheriffs office by the state inspector general. Washington [US], Jan 12 (ANI): The United States has expelled over a dozen Saudi servicemen who were training at various US military bases following the deadly December shooting at a Naval Air Station in Pensacola Florida, sources told CNN. A Royal Saudi Air Force personnel second lieutenant Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani opened fire at an air station killing three people. Sources informed that the Saudi officers those expelled aren't accused of being a part of Alshamrani's plan, but have been linked to other extremist movements. Additionally, a group has been accused of possessing child pornography, according to CNN. Spokespeople for the FBI and Justice Department declined CNN's request for comment. The Pentagon has temporarily suspended the operational training for Saudi military students in the United States. Saudis have received training at the Pensacola site since the 1970s. As of early December, there were 852 Saudis in the US for Pentagon-sponsored training related to security cooperation, representing 16 percent of the 5,181 students from 153 countries in these programs, the Defense Department spokesman Chris Garver said. (ANI) Japan Sends Two Patrol Aircraft to Middle East for Maritime Surveillance - Reports Sputnik News 10:59 11.01.2020 TOKYO (Sputnik) - According to the NHK broadcaster, the aircraft will collect and report intelligence that will help ensure safe maritime passage to commercial vessels with ties to Japan. Two Lockheed P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force have headed to the Middle East for a prolonged mission of information-gathering on safe commercial maritime passage, Japanese media reported on Saturday. The patrol area will cover the Gulf of Oman, the northern part of the Arabian Sea, and the Gulf of Aden, while omitting the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz according to the broadcaster, it is in order not to damage Japan's historically friendly relations with Iran. The mission will reportedly be based in the African nation of Djibouti and also cover anti-piracy patrolling near Somalia. The P-3C aircraft departed from the Naha Air Base of Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa in a ceremony attended by Defense Minister Taro Kono. The mission is expected to last for approximately a year and is allocated 4.7 billion yen (around $43 million) in Japan's 2020 budget. A destroyer will join the aircraft later in February, as per Kono's order on Friday. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 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. T he leader of Hezbollah has said that Iran's missile attacks on two bases in Iraq housing US forces was only the start of the retaliation for America's killing a top Iranian general in a drone strike. Hassan Nasrallah described Iran's ballistic missile response as a "slap" to Washington, one that sent a message. The limited strikes caused no casualties and appeared to be mainly a show of force. The leader of the Lebanese militant group, which is closely aligned with Iran, said the strikes were the "first step down a long path" that will ensure US troops withdraw from the region. Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters via a screen during a funeral ceremony rally to mourn Qassem Soleimani / Reuters "The Americans must remove their bases, soldiers and officers and ships from our region. The alternative ... to leaving vertically is leaving horizontally. This is a decisive and firm decision," he said. "We are speaking about the start of a phase, about a new battle, about a new era in the region," he added. His 90-minute televised speech marked one week since the killing of Iran's General Qasem Soleimani. Hassan Nasrallah praised Soleimani for his steadfast support for Hezbollah. Iran's Revolutionary Guard has provided training for Hezbollah, which fought in the war in Syria alongside Iran-backed militias that Soleimani directed. He said that the world is a different place after Soleimani's death, and not a safer place as some US officials have declared. Four members of Iraq's military have been wounded by a rocket attack targeting Balad Air Base, an air base just north of Baghdad / AP Iran had promised to respond forcefully to Soleimani's killing. But after the ballistic missile strikes, Iran's foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted that the country had "concluded proportionate measures in self-defence". The Hezbollah leader also praised Iran's leadership for admitting to accidentally shooting down a Ukranian passenger plane on the night it launched the missile attacks. He called the acknowledgement "transparency that is unparalleled in the world". Qasem Soleimani's death briefly galvanised public support for the government in Iran / Reuters The plane crash early on Wednesday killed all 176 people on board, mostly Iranians and Iranian-Canadians. Iran had initially pointed to a technical failure and insisted the armed forces were not to blame. Maharashtra government will bear the expenses of all those who are injured in the fire incident that took place in a chemical factory in Palghar district's Boisar area yesterday evening. At least five people died while six sustained injuries in the fire incident. "Chief Minister has announced ex-gratia of Rs 5 Lakh each to the next of the kin of the deceased. The state government will bear the expenses of all the injured," said Kailash Shinde, Palghar District Magistrate. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday announced Rs 5 lakh financial assistance to the kin of the deceased. "Rs 5 lakh financial assistance will be given to the kin of the deceased due to fire at the chemical factory in Boisar in Palghar district this evening," Maharashtra Chief Minister Office had said. Maharashtra Chief Minister Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari also conveyed deepest condolences to the bereaved families. . (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 12) Vice President Leni Robredo said Sunday that she is willing to attend a congressional hearing on illegal drugs which would center on the report she released last week based on data she gathered during her brief stint as co-chair of an anti-drugs body. Robredo said on her radio program that she would very much like to be invited to a hearing, responding to House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetanos plan to call her to a non-confrontational hearing on illegal drugs. Pinakagusto ko na maimbita sana ako para magkaroon ako ng official platform para maihayag ang aking report. Kasi kung maimbita ako sa Kamara o maimbita ako sa Senado, mas magkakaroon ako ng pagkakataon na ilahad, she said. [Translation: I would really like to be invited so I would have an official platform to talk about my report. If I get invited to the House or the Senate, I would have more opportunities to share it.] She added that she would not mind if the hearing would turn out to be confrontational. Kahit naman may confrontation, kung ako 'yung may dala-dala ng katotohanan, wala ako dapat ikatakot, she said. [Translation: Even if there would be a confrontation, if Im the one who has the truth, I have nothing to be afraid of.] She also hit back at critics of her report, saying that they clearly have not read it. She stressed that she only used official data in her report, opting to exclude unofficial sources in anticipation of the deluge of criticism she will receive after releasing it. Cayetano along with scores of government officials, including law enforcement officials, have decried Robredos report, dismissing it as unfair and politicized. The Vice President, who President Rodrigo Duterte appointed to co-chair the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs despite his distrust in her as she leads the opposition, denied this. Robredo flunked the Duterte administration in its flagship campaign against illegal drugs, giving it a score of one over 100 as it supposedly only managed to seize just one percent of the total supply of drugs in the country. She based her analysis on data from law enforcement agencies. The Vice President served as ICAD co-chair for just 18 days before Duterte fired her for coordinating with foreign agencies. Mumbai: Actress Amrita Dhanoa, who is said to be the former girlfriend of evicted "Bigg Boss 13" contestant Arhaan Khan, has been arrested for her involvement in a sex racket that was busted in Mumbai. For the uninitiated, Amrita recently came into the spotlight when she accused Arhaan of duping her of Rs 5 lakh. She also claimed that he was cheating her while they were in a relationship. Unconfirmed sources state they were in a relationship from 2006 to 2010. There are several reports claiming that Amrita and a model named Richa Singh were supplying female sex workers to clients. Not much is known about Amrita's Bollywood career either, except that her page on imdb.com credits her as featuring in films titled "Unlimited Nasha", "Parveen Bobby" and "The World Of Fashion". The case that has brought her in the limelight was carried out under the supervision of Joint Commissioner of Police Vinayak Choubey. A Mumbai Police squad lead by Balu Deshmukh raided a four-star hotel at Grant Road. It came to light that a pimp named Sameer, in an online sex racket, was supplying female escorts through web portals and online sites. Two girls were rescued by the team. The hotel confirmed the report. "We are writing this to inform that there was a police raid conducted in our hotel last night dated where they had allegedly laid a trap by sending two men to book rooms. Later it was portrayed that these guest had invited call girls in their room where they were caught. During the investigation, we have given full co operation to the police department," read a statement by the hotel management, through which they requested anonymity. "We would like to highlight that the manage mentor the staff were nowhere involved in this act. The police had laid a trap by sending the guest directly at the hotel reception to book the room," read the statement. A clubber has revealed he escaped the clutches of the world's worst rapist Reynhard Sinaga after growing suspicious because the serial offender was sober at 4am. Michael Crompton, 26, had lost his friends on a night out in Manchester and went into a takeaway to ask if anyone had a phone charger he could borrow. Sinaga invited Mr Crompton to his one-bedroom flat to use his charger, but he became suspicious when the pervert twice offered him drinks despite being totally sober himself. Michael Crompton (right), 26, had lost his friends on a night out in Manchester and went into a takeaway to ask if anyone had a phone charger he could borrow. Sinaga invited Mr Crompton to his one-bedroom flat to use his charger, but he became suspicious and left shortly after Mr Crompton, of Whitefield, Greater Manchester, told The Sun: 'I thought he was a bit weird when he approached me. 'He seemed really sober for a guy in a takeaway at 4am offering strangers to go to his flat. The two went to his flat where Sinaga offered his potential victim a drink, which he turned down. Moment later Sinaga offered him a shot, which Mr Crompton also turned down. 'I said 'No' and then he told me that I could stay the night if I wanted to. It was at that point that I decided I needed to get the hell out of there. Last week, PhD student Sinaga, 36, was jailed for life with a minimum of 30 years for sexually abusing 195 men. Sinaga hunted for drunk young men around nightclubs near his flat in Manchester (above) Sinaga, 36, preyed on the young men - most of them heterosexual - and police set up a specialist help line after admitting the true figure may be higher. And now detectives in Manchester, where Sinaga drugged and filmed himself abusing his victims, say they have already been contacted by 30 more men who fear they were also raped. Duncan Craig, who runs rape support group Survivors Manchester, told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire show: 'The police incident room had around 30 calls yesterday'. Sinaga incapacitated victims with the date rape drug GHB before filming his attacks. Last night Home Secretary Priti Patel ordered a review into whether tougher controls are needed for the Class C drug widely used recreationally among the gay community. Sinaga, who mostly targeted heterosexual students in Manchester, was convicted of 159 attacks, including 136 rapes, eight attempted rapes and 15 indecent assaults against 48 victims. Four trials were held over 18 months. Footage was found of him assaulting up to 195 different men, 70 of whom have not been traced. 'He would almost certainly be the most prolific sex offender to have gone through the British courts and quite possibly any court in the world,' said Ian Rushton, North West deputy chief crown prosecutor. Montana House on Princess Street in Manchester city centre where Sinaga operated as a serial rapist The videos of the attacks Sinaga was charged with are believed to date from 2015 to 2017 and Sinaga arrived in Britain in 2007. A source said: 'What he did in the intervening years is unknown and it is possible there are many more victims.' As the authorities faced questions about how Sinaga was able to get away with his crimes for so long: Manchester University and police set up support helplines; Detectives appealed for other victims to come forward; It emerged that two men targeted by Sinaga attempted suicide; Jurors were offered counselling after having to watch videos of Sinaga's rapes. The shocking case can finally be reported after the lifting of court reporting restrictions. Indonesian-born Sinaga was already serving a minimum of 20 years after being found guilty at trials in July 2018 and May 2019. Trials in October and December saw further convictions. Sinaga (pictured above) posed as a Good Samaritan and would offer his victims a place to stay Fifth Nightclub on Princess Street in Manchester city centre, and formerly known as 5th Avenue. One victim had been waiting outside the club when Sinaga approached him He posed as a 'good Samaritan' to men who had become separated from their friends on nights out in central Manchester. The slightly-built sex attacker, who described himself in court as an effeminate gay man, would strike up conversation and invite them to his nearby flat. His victims ranged from 18 to 36 but the average age was 21, Manchester Crown Court was told. Most were students and some were still at school, including the sixth former whose escape from his vile clutches led to Sinaga being arrested. Passing sentence, Judge Suzanne Goddard QC said Sinaga was a dangerous offender who had committed evil crimes. She added: 'I'm not aware of any other case of sexual offending on this scale and magnitude. This was a campaign of rape which, in my judgement, justifies the highest of sentences. Sinaga (above) would prey on victims aged 18-36 'One of your victims described you as a monster. The scale and enormity of your offending establishes that is an accurate description.' She called Sinaga a 'highly dangerous, cunning and deceitful individual who will never be safe to release' also pointing out that he could have killed or seriously injured his victims by spiking their drinks. She said she would have imposed a whole life term a UK first for a case not involving murder but for the fact that Sinaga did not torture his victims. The Crown Prosecution Service said the investigation was the largest rape case it had ever handled. Mr Rushton said: 'His extreme sense of sexual entitlement almost defies belief and he would no doubt still be adding to his staggering tally had he not been caught. He used victims as objects purely for his own gratification.' Sinaga, who came to Manchester as a student funded by his wealthy Indonesian family, boasted to friends about using 'black magic potion' and 'secret poison' to have sex with straight men. He denied all the offences, claiming his victims had agreed to play dead during sex in a 50 Shades of Grey fantasy. Sinaga had two degrees from Manchester University and was taking a PhD in geography at Leeds University at the time of his arrest in June 2017. Although raised a Catholic, he attended a liberal Anglican church close to his flat. The court heard that Sinaga's victims had suffered 'deep and lasting psychological harm'. Two of the men attempted suicide, while others told how the trauma of what happened had ruined their lives and forced them to take to drink. Nazir Afzal, a former North West chief crown prosecutor, said law enforcement agencies were being 'overly reactive'. He added: 'They wait for brave victims to come forward. They don't look for patterns, join the dots or assume the worst. 'It's better that we presume that predators exist in every environment and go looking for them.' Greater Manchester Police urged other potential victims of Sinaga or anyone requiring support to come forward. 'He's still my baby': Mother of world's worst rapist Reynhard Sinaga reveals she desperately tried to get him to return from the UK to his devout family in Indonesia before he carried out sex attacks on 195 men Police have linked Reynhard Sinaga to more than 190 potential victims in total - 70 of whom they have not yet been able to identify The mother of prolific rapist Reynhard Sinaga has said she desperately urged him to return to his devout Christian family in Indonesia. Sinaga, 36, is believed to have attacked at least 195 men and was convicted of drugging 48 of them and filming himself sexually violating them while they were unconscious in his Manchester flat. The gay Christian student was jailed for 60 years and must serve a minimum of 30 years in custody before he can be considered for parole. Sinaga's mother, Normawati, from Depok, a city within the Jakarta metropolitan area in Indonesia, still struggles to believe her son was capable of such evil crimes, in an interview with The Sunday Times. 'We are a good Christian family who do not believe in homosexuality. He is my baby,' she said. Sinaga's mother, Normawati (left), from Depok, a city within the Jakarta metropolitan area in Indonesia, still struggles to believe her son, Reynhard Sinaga, was capable of such evil crimes. Also pictured is his father, Saibun Normawati told how her son, a former Leeds University postgraduate student and eldest of four, was a 'gentle boy' who had a passion for reading. She described how her son had a privileged upbringing, funded by the family's company of palm oil plantation and refinery, and would accompany her to church every Sunday morning. 'He didn't really go out much. He was more interested in studying,' she said. Normawati revealed how her son could play the piano 'pretty well' and added: 'He was a quiet boy. He didn't really enjoy performing in the church. But I made him do it.' Sinaga hunted for drunk young men around nightclubs near his flat in Manchester (above) Sinaga arrived in the UK on a student visa in 2007 financed by his parents and remained in the country on those terms for the next 10 years. He chose to live close to the gay village and the Canal Street area of Manchester where attitudes to homosexuality were very different than in his home nation of Indonesia. Sinaga is said to have had a small, close-knit group of friends who believed him to be friendly and good-natured. He graduated from the University of Manchester in 2009 with an MSc degree in Planning and again in 2011 with an MA degree in Sociology. No concerns of a sexual nature, or of any other matters, were ever raised with the university, confirmed officials. A map of Manchester city centre shows where Sinaga's flat (in red) is located along with the nightclubs Factory and Fifth Avenue, which many of the complainants had earlier been to From 2012 he commuted monthly to the University of Leeds as part of his studies for a PhD. Sinaga attended regular supervision meetings to help with his thesis entitled 'Sexuality and everyday transnationalism. South Asian gay and bisexual men in Manchester'. His mother repeatedly begged her son to return home to help run the family business because her husband was growing old. Yet Sinaga, who aimed of becoming a lecturer, refused his mother's pleas and said he 'felt comfortable living in Manchester'. Despite Sinaga not saying so, one factor is likely to have been Indonesia's attitude to homosexuality. In 2014 the northern province of Aceh passed a law to punish anyone having gay sex with 100 lashes. The university said he did not appear to spend much time in the city, other than for the monthly supervision sessions, and did not take an active part in research groups or societies. Her son was finally caught in June 2017 when an 18-year-old victim, who he had met outside Factory nightclub, had regained consciousness during his attack. A large part of Sinaga's offending took place in the bedroom but some did take place in the living room. The final victim was raped in the bathroom before he woke up during the ordeal Spirit bottles at Sinaga's flat are pictured. He is thought to have drugged the men when giving them a drink from his selection of alcohol The six-foot tall, 13-stone teenager, told the court how he woke up with his trousers around his ankles with Sinaga molesting him. He battered the rapist, beating him so badly he suffered a bleed on the brain and had to be taken to hospital. Initially the victim was mistakenly arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm, but Sinaga left an iPhone 4 in his back pocket which contained sickening videos of him raping drugged men. Greater Manchester Police called Normawati to tell her that her son had been arrested for a 'serious crime' and was in hospital. Upon visiting her son in hospital she described seeing bruises covering his face, neck and parts of his body. Normawati expressed her anger at the time of seeing her son in such a state despite an Indonesian diplomat telling her that Sinaga was accused of rape. 'Imagine a small Indonesian man being beaten up by a big, tall westerner,' she said. 'I wondered if the other person had made up the story.' She said her son was 'not the type of boy' who liked to fight and was never involved in fights as a child. Ortagus said that Iran is still the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism. The Trump administration is going to diplomatically and economically isolate the Iranian regime until they "behave like a normal nation," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said Saturday. After previously denying responsibility for the tragedy, Iranian officials acknowledged that they had accidentally shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane which crashed earlier this week. All 176 people aboard the plane were killed, Fox News wrote. The aircraft, which was heading to Kyiv, was hit just hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on two military bases housing U.S. and coalition troops in Iraq. Those attacks were in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in an American airstrike in Baghdad. Read alsoAnger in Iran after Tehran admits it accidentally shot down Ukrainian plane (Photo, video) Appearing on "Fox & Friends: Weekend" with hosts Dean Cain, Pete Hegseth, and Lisa Boothe, Ortagus said it's important to remember that Iran had denied their culpability "very ferociously in Russian media as well." "So, there has been a lot of disinformation going on," she said, noting that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had called Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif a "propagandist of the highest order." Ortagus told the "Friends: Weekend" co-hosts that Iran is still the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism. She said while everything the administration is dealing with as it relates to Iran is bigger than the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), President Trump hopes the countries who remain signatories will heed his call to withdraw from the "fundamentally flawed deal." "This administration has made our position known over the past year and a half that we think that the JCPOA did not contain Iranian adventurism throughout the Middle East," she said. In a news conference on Friday, Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announced newly implemented economic sanctions on Iran in a continuation of their "maximum pressure campaign." "Many people are asking us: what is our strategy post the Qassem Soleimani killing and post the ballistic missile attack on the United States," Ortagus stated. "This is our strategy." "We are diplomatically and economically isolating the regime in Iran until they behave like a normal nation. And now, thanks to our colleagues at the Department of Defense, we have seen military deterrence restored as well," she said. In a case that has stirred debate about free speech on college campuses, an adjunct professor at a Massachusetts college was fired on Thursday after posting on Facebook what he described as a joke suggesting that Iran pick sites in the United States to bomb. The professor, Asheen Phansey, wrote on his personal Facebook page on January 5 that Irans supreme leader should tweet a list of 52 sites of beloved American cultural heritage that he would bomb, suggesting the Mall of America in Minnesota and a Kardashian residence as targets, Judy Rakowsky, a spokeswoman for Phansey, said Saturday. The post was a response to President Donald Trumps comments that he would target Iranian cultural sites if Iran retaliated against the United States for killing one of its top generals. The Pentagon later ruled out striking Iranian cultural sites because of the laws of armed conflict. Phansey deleted his post, but not before it was captured in a screen-grab and circulated on social media with the schools phone number. Why does @Babson College have an America-hating terrorist supporter on their payroll. Ask them! said one widely shared tweet. Phansey received a masters degree in business administration in 2008 from Babson College, a private business school in Wellesley, Massachusetts, near Boston, that has a student population of about 3,000. He became an adjunct professor at the school that year, according to his LinkedIn profile. Babson soon learned of Phanseys remarks and suspended him. Babson said in statement Wednesday that it condemned any type of threatening words and actions condoning violence. This particular post from a staff member on his personal Facebook page clearly does not represent the values and culture of Babson College, it said. After his suspension, Phansey said in a statement that he regretted his bad 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, adding that he was opposed to violence. I am sorry that my sloppy humor was read as a threat. The next day, the school announced it had fired Phansey. Based on the results of the investigation, the staff member is no longer a Babson College employee, the school said. In a subsequent statement, Phansey said he was disappointed and saddened by the decision to fire him just because people willfully misinterpreted a joke I made to friends on Facebook. 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, he said. 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. Babson declined to comment Saturday. Phanseys lawyer, Jeffrey Pyle, said on Saturday that the colleges actions sent a chilling message to academics and staff members at schools everywhere. Its a terribly tragic situation for a comment, that was obviously a joke, to have resulted in everything thats occurred, he said. Pyle said the pretext for Phanseys firing is that he violated a social media policy that prohibits threats of violence and that it could not have been reasonably read as a threat. I say that it was a pretext because they fired him in order to stop the criticism on social media, Pyle said. Some of the uproar about Phanseys post was also racially intolerant, Pyle said. I saw a number of messages saying Asheen should be deported as well as prosecuted and fired. Asheen was born in the United States, he is of South Asian origin, he said, adding that some assumed his client was Iranian or from the Middle East. I think that makes it doubly unfortunate that Babson couldnt defend him when some of the vitriol thrown his way was of that nature. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which defends the rights of students and faculty members at colleges and universities, said in a statement Saturday that Phanseys post was obvious rhetorical hyperbole. Babsons process-free termination 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 said. In recent years, colleges and universities have grappled with where to draw the line on free speech. The University of Wisconsin adopted a three-strikes policy in which any student found to have disrupted the free expressions of others would be expelled after a third infraction. Indiana University Bloomington faced a different problem last fall after a professors viewpoints were described as racist, sexist and homophobic, but the administration said it could not fire him because of the First Amendment. Derrick Bryson Taylor c.2020 The New York Times Company A truck loaded with Coopers Light beer has overturned on a motorway in Sydney's west, with motorists warned to avoid the area. Emergency workers were called to the M7 at Cecil Hills about 2.30am on Monday after the semi-trailer crashed and rolled. Police said the driver suffered a head injury and was taken to hospital for treatment and mandatory tests. A truck loaded with Coopers Light beer has overturned on a motorway in Sydney's west The M7 is closed northbound and the speed limit for southbound motorists has been reduced to 40km/h. 'Emergency services and motorway crews are working to clear the scene; however, due to the nature of the crash, the motorway is expected to be closed northbound for some time,' police said in a statement on Monday. The Transport Management Centre says drivers should expect delays, and those travelling north are being advised to avoid the area altogether. Unfunded state mandates have long been a complaint of local governments. With the state property tax cap squeezing budgets, required expenses passed down from Albany have forced cuts in valued local services because they are the only discretionary measures left to balance a budget. Despite the validity of these calls for state mandate relief, Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration has frequently snapped back at any suggestion that the state isn't doing enough to ease the burden on local governments. And at the top of their exhibit list has been the state's efforts to limit mandatory Medicaid spending by county governments. When this editorial board suggested in 2017 that the governor's proposals lacked serious unfunded mandate relief, his director of state operations fired off a letter to the editor chastising us: "The governor has provided significant mandate relief for our states counties, towns, villages and cities over the past six years. This includes ... capping the cost of Medicaid growth, saving local governments $3.2 billion into 2018." But three years later, that "relief" is now being framed as the biggest culprit for the state's $6.1 billion budget deficit. Cuomo's State of the State speech last week hinted that a big part of plugging that hole could be a move to shift a huge chunk of Medicaid spending back to the counties. There's no question that Medicaid spending increases have been a driver of the state's fiscal woes. And shifting more of those costs back to county governments would be the easiest way for state legislators and the governor to address the problem. It would also be the most irresponsible way. Despite the cap on Medicaid spending increases on county governments, the portion the counties still pick up represents by far the largest unfunded mandate on their books. And it's the largest in the nation, too. In Cayuga County, Medicaid accounts for more than 10 percent of the total budget, which translates into a tax burden of nearly $200 per person, according to an analysis by the Empire Center for Public Policy's health care analyst Bill Hammond. Requiring a significant increase in that unfunded mandate would force palpable local tax increases or service cuts or some combination of both. The best approach to this problem, but also the one that requires the hardest work and the most politically challenging decisions, is to revamp the state's Medicaid policies in order to make the program more efficient. We hope Albany is up for the challenge. The Citizen editorial board includes publisher Michelle Bowers, executive editor Jeremy Boyer and managing editor Mike Dowd. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 VALLETTA, Malta - A first-term lawmaker whose father was Maltas president has been chosen to be the countrys prime minister, replacing Joseph Muscat after weeks of protests demanding accountability in the investigation of the car bomb slaying of an anti-corruption journalist who targeted his government. The count on Sunday showed Robert Abela received nearly 58% of votes cast a day earlier by members of the governing Labour Party eligible to choose the new leader. But although many Maltese had pushed for Muscats resignation, after the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017, the changing of the office guard might not bring much policy change. Although Abela, a 42-year-old specialist in labour and industrial law, did pledge ahead of the party vote on Saturday to help repair Maltas reputation, in many ways he is considered a protege of Muscat. The Labour Party, which commands a comfortable majority in Parliament, appeared to choose a leader who would follow much in Muscats path. Stepping down midway though his second term as premier, Muscat tweeted his congratulations, saying, Proud to be handing over to him #Malta PM office on Monday, when Abela will be sworn in. Before being chosen as Labour leader, Abela, said he would work to restore Maltas reputation for rule of law. European Union lawmakers had criticized the member nations judiciary and police. A close aide to Muscat was questioned in connection with journalist Daphne Caruana Galizias killing, denied wrongdoing and was released while still under investigation. A Maltese hotelier, who denies involvement, has been accused of complicity in the killing. Three other men, accused of triggering the car bomb, are under arrest. Muscat had beaten Abelas father in the race for the party leadership in 2008. George Abela was later appointed president, serving from 2009 until 2014. The Philippines was on alert Monday for the "explosive eruption" of a volcano south of Manila, which officials said could be imminent after a massive column of ash forced a halt to flights at the capital's main airport. Taal volcano, a popular tourist attraction set in the centre of a picturesque lake, spewed ash, rumbled with earthquakes and exploded with lightning above its crest. Thousands of people living nearby were evacuated from their homes, but other locals weighed whether or not to flee the area. A "hazardous explosive eruption is possible within hours to days", the nation's seismological agency warned. "I'm afraid that it might erupt... but I'll leave it to fate. I just have to pray," Eduardo Carino, who works in a hotel near the volcano, told AFP. After the ash cloud reached 50,000 feet (15,000 metres) into the atmosphere, aviation officials ordered a suspension of flights to and from the capital's Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). Authorities initially halted operations at NAIA for a few hours, but later on Sunday announced that flights would be suspended "until further notice". The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) cited a threat to aircraft from "ballistic fragments." Transport secretary Arthur Tugade had instructed aviation officials to "do whatever is necessary in the interest of public safety", said a joint statement from air and transport authorities. - 'Dangerous to inhale' - Government seismologists recorded magma moving towards the crater of Taal, one of the country's most active volcanoes located 65 kilometres (40 miles) south of Manila. Taal's last eruption was in 1977, Phivolcs chief Renato Solidum told AFP. Several tremors were felt within the vicinity of the volcano, seismologists said. The local disaster office said it had evacuated more than 2,000 residents living on the volcanic island, which lies inside a bigger lake formed by previous volcanic activity. Solidum said officials will also order the evacuation of people living on another island nearby if the situation worsens. "Ash has already reached Manila... it is dangerous to people if they inhale it," he told AFP. Apart from the ash, some particles up to 6.4 centimetres (2.5 inches) in diameter, larger than a golf ball, had reportedly fallen in areas around the lake, Phivolcs said early Monday. By that time 52 volcanic earthquakes had occurred, it said. "Such intense seismic activity probably signifies continuous magma intrusion beneath the Taal edifice, which may lead to further eruptive activity," Phivolcs said. Social media users posted images of cars and porches coated in fine, dark-coloured grit and commented on where to buy dust masks. Earthquakes and volcanic activity are not uncommon in the Philippines due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide deep below the Earth's surface. Two years ago, Mount Mayon displaced tens of thousands of people after spewing millions of tonnes of ash, rocks and lava in the central Bicol region. The most powerful explosion in recent years was the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, about 100 kilometres northwest of Manila, which killed more than 800 people. It spewed out an ash cloud that travelled thousands of kilometres in a matter of days and was blamed for damaging nearly two dozen aircraft. Taal volcano, which spewed ash and rumbled with earthquakes, is a popular tourist attraction set in the centre of a picturesque lake in the Philippines Ash from Taal volcano reached Manila, where local officials (L) talked to homeless people and distributed face masks for protection Map locating the Taal volcano in the Philippines where thousands of people have been evaculated after authorities said Sunday it could erupt imminently. Prince William has said he can no longer put his arm around Prince Harry as the royal family prepare to meet for crisis talks following his shock announcement earlier this week. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were said to have hurt senior royals with their plans to become financially independent and split their time between the UK and North America. According to The Sunday Times, Prince William said he feels sorrow that he and his brother are now separate entities. Ive put my arm around my brother all our lives and I cant do that any more; were separate entities, the newspaper quoted him as saying. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex caused consternation with their shock announcement last week. (AP) Im sad about that. All we can do, and all I can do, is try and support them and hope that the time comes when were all singing from the same page. I want everyone to play on the team. It comes as the Queen is set to host crisis talks with senior royals and the Duke of Sussex on Monday in a bid to find a solution to Meghan and Harrys future roles. The head of state will be joined at her private Norfolk estate of Sandringham by the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge for the crunch meeting where the next steps will be decided. The Duke of Cambridge reportedly said he wants "everyone to play on the team". (PA) READ MORE FROM YAHOO NEWS UK: It will be the first time the four will have met since the issue engulfed the royal family, and it is thought Charles will be travelling from Birkhall in Scotland, William from his Kensington Palace apartment and Harry from Frogmore Cottage near Windsor Castle. Before them will be a range of options, and it is likely the royals will try to come to some agreement before the meeting ends to stop the immediate crisis causing lasting damage to the monarchy. On Thursday, the Queen, Charles and William gave orders for their households to work with the Sussexes team to quickly find a workable solution to their desire to change the direction of their royal lives, but still support the Queen. Story continues A royal source said: The family will gather on Monday at Sandringham to talk things through, attended by Her Majesty, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex. Following a series of meetings and consultations across the last few days, there are a range of possibilities for the family to review which take into account the thinking the Sussexes outlined earlier in the week. As we have said previously, making a change to the working life and role in the monarchy for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex requires complex and thoughtful discussions. Next steps will be agreed at the meeting, the request for this to be resolved at pace is still her Majestys wish the aim remains days not weeks. There is genuine agreement and understanding that any decision will take time to be implemented. Rescue workers at the scene of the crash near Tehran (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP) The Ukrainian government is offering about 6,200 in financial compensation to the families of its citizens who died in the plane crash in Iran. All 176 people on board the Ukrainian Airlines Kyiv-bound plane were killed, including 11 Ukrainians. Iranian officials have admitted responsibility for mistakenly shooting down the Boeing 737 shortly after it took off from Tehran. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address on Saturday that his government will also push Iran to provide separate compensation to the victims families. Expand Close President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses the nation following the downing of a Ukrainian plane in Iran (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses the nation following the downing of a Ukrainian plane in Iran (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office/AP) He said he had just spoken by phone to Iranian president Hassan Rouhani, who had promised those responsible for firing on the jet will be prosecuted. Mr Zelenskiy also said Iran had vowed to quickly identify and return victims remains to their home countries. He thanked the US, Britain, Canada and others for information about the crash, saying that support undoubtedly helped push Iran to acknowledge its responsibility for the crash. Davinder Singhs arrest along with rebels rattles Indian security apparatus and raises questions about his activities. A senior police officer has been arrested in Indian-administered Kashmir and accused of aiding rebels after he was found driving two rebels towards Jammu city, the regions chief of police told reporters. Deputy Superintendent of Police Davinder Singh, a long-serving officer in the disputed region, was arrested after police intercepted a fast-moving car in southern Kashmir on Saturday night, police chief Vijay Kumar said. Kumar called the arrests a big operation and named one of those Singh was arrested with as Naveed Mushtaq Baba, calling him a top commander of Kashmirs largest rebel group, Hizbul Mujahideen. We have registered a case against [Singh] under the arms, explosives and unlawful activities acts, Kumar said. It is a sensitive case and we dont want any loopholes. He added that Singh would be treated as a rebel and jointly interrogated by all the intelligence agencies. More important, was Davinder Singh a covert operative of the central Intelligence agencies? Was he involved in Pulwama type operations? Will there now be a rearguard action by Doval & his team to protect Davinder Singh? https://t.co/uQkO3WGeVi Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) January 12, 2020 Mushtaq, who was arrested with Singh, was also a member of the Jammu and Kashmir police until 2017, two senior police officers told Reuters on Sunday. 191102184856242 Police officers said they believe Mushtaq was involved in the killing of 11 apple traders, drivers and labourers last year. Reuters news agency said it was unable to contact Singh, Mushtaq or their representatives for comment. Hizbul Mujahideen has not publicly commented and could not be reached. Who is Davinder Singh? It was not immediately clear how or why Singh came to be travelling with the suspected rebels. The case has rattled the Indian security apparatus that administers the tense region, where rebels have waged an armed campaign for decades demanding independence or a merger with neighbouring Pakistan, which administers a part of Kashmir. Singh has long served in the polices Special Operations Group, a dreaded counterinsurgency unit that has been accused by Kashmiris and human rights groups of summary executions, torture and rape to holding suspects as well as civilians for ransom. Indian media reports said Afzal Guru hanged in 2013 for planning a 2001 attack on the Indian parliament had claimed that Singh had asked him to accompany one of the attackers to New Delhi and arrange his stay there. Singh was once injured in a police operation and was given the Indian presidents gallantry award in 2019. He was most recently working at the anti-hijacking unit at Srinagars airport, one of the most fortified and heavily guarded airports in India. Last week, he was among the officers who received New Delhi-based foreign envoys of 15 countries who came to visit the region, which is under a communications and security lockdown. Not the first time While it is unusual for a serving police officer to be accused of involvement in Indian-administered Kashmirs 30-year rebellion, it is not the first time Indian officers have been implicated in rebel activities in one of the most militarised zones in the world. 191104054956887 In 2012, Indian police arrested two intelligence officials and two low-ranking police officers for ties with the rebels in the region. In 2006, three Indian soldiers and two police officers were detained for alleged links with a rebel group. The police force removed the two officers from service, without revealing if they were charged with any crime, while the army has remained quiet about the status and fate of the detained soldiers. In 1992, two policemen and a paramilitary soldier were arrested for allegedly helping rebels bomb Srinagars police headquarters in an attack that killed one officer and injured several others. The tensions Kashmiri police face in their work have existed since the late 1940s, when India and Pakistan won independence from the British empire and began fighting over rival claims to the Muslim-majority region. Many Kashmiris on the Indian side see local police as tools of an Indian government bent on suppressing a widespread public demand for the regions independence or a merger with neighbouring Pakistan. When the latest armed rebellion erupted in 1989, police initially fought against it. Within a few years, as rebels began targeting their families, many abandoned the task and stayed at their posts and barracks. Some also began sympathising with and supporting the rebel demands as the campaign morphed into a fully fledged rebellion backed by massive public support. Dozens even joined the rebel ranks, rising to become rebel commanders. Indian police officers take cover during clashes with Kashmiri demonstrators during a protest against killing of Zakir Rashid Bhat last year [File: Danish Ismail/Reuters] Tense region In a separate incident, three members of the Hizbul Mujahideen group, including their top commander, Hamad Khan, were killed in a gun battle in Kashmir on Sunday, Kumar said. 200110053943042 On specific information about presence of militants in the village, we cordoned off the area and asked them to surrender. They refused and fired on troops, leading to a gun battle in which they were killed, said Kumar, adding that the incident took place in southern Kashmirs Tral area. About 70,000 people have been killed in the uprising and the ensuing Indian crackdown since 1989. The Himalayan region, claimed by both India and Pakistan, has been in turmoil since New Delhi in August stripped the Muslim-majority territory of its long-held autonomy and statehood. Arguing that special provisions for the region had hindered its development and fuelled separatism, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis government separated the former state of Jammu and Kashmir into two federally-controlled territories at the end of October. Chicago, Jan 12 : More than 1,000 flights were cancelled as a winter storm hit the Chicago area with heavy winds and rain. On Saturday morning, the city's O'Hare International Airport cancelled over 950 flights, while the Midway International Airport cancelled about 60, reports Xinhua news agency. A Winter Weather Advisory was issued for northern Illinois and the Chicago area early Saturday morning, and would be in effect until 3 p.m. on Sunday. Freezing rain started to hit the Chicago area overnight into Saturday morning, and was expected to transition to snow. A Flood Watch is also in effect for some counties. The Chicago Department of Emergency Management said it was prepared, with 1,800 trucks and other equipment state-wide on standby to treat roads or respond to flooding situations. Meanwhile in the state of Louisiana, an elderly couple were killed after a powerful storm destroyed their home, according to the police. The storm moved the couple's home from its foundation to some 200 feet away. Three dogs at the residence were unaccounted for, the police added. Severe storms carrying high winds of at least 60 miles per hour swept through southern US states of Texas, Louisiana and Alabama, resulting in casualties and causing power outages and property damage overnight, downing trees, power lines and even gas ports. 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." Modi, who is in a two-day visit to Kolkata is likely to share stage with Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee at sesquicentenary celebrations of the Kolkata Port Trust at Netaji Indoor Stadium on Sunday "Centre has merely amended a small portion of the existing Citizenship Amendment Act. The amendment will help us give citizenship, it does not mean that citizenship will be taken away from anyone," Prime Minister Narendra Modi explained at the Belur Math in Kolkata on Sunday at a time when West Bengal has been witnessing widespread protests against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act. Hundreds of protesters holding black flags demonstrated outside Kolkata airport gate number one crossing at the prime minister's arrival on Saturday. The police had put up a barricade to prevent them from crossing over to the airport side. Rallies were taken out in several parts of North and South Kolkata, Howrah, and North 24-Parganas district to protest the prime minister's visit to the state. Modi reportedly stayed at Belur Math on Saturday ahead of the Sunday morning address. He began his day attending a prayer meet at Belur Math to mark the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, the founder of Ramakrishna Mission. Modi and chief minister Mamata Banerjee are likely to share stage at the 150th celebrations of the Kolkata Port Trust at Netaji Indoor Stadium on Sunday. Special moments from the Belur Math. pic.twitter.com/XcgQ6gAt4A Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 11, 2020 Swami Vivekananda lives in the hearts and minds of crores of Indians, especially the dynamic youth of India for whom he has a grand vision. Today, on Vivekananda Jayanti and National Youth Day I am at the Belur Math, including the room where Swami Ji meditated. pic.twitter.com/UeWQkUk94C Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 12, 2020 Addressing the event at Belur Math on Sunday morning, Modi said, "There has been a minor amendment to the existing Citizenship Amendment Act. India will give citizenship under that amendment. No existing citizenships will be taken away. Who will get this citizenship? Those belonging to religious minority groups in countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. After Independence, Mahatma Gandhiji and other big leaders of the time, all believed that India should give citizenship to persecuted religious minorities of Pakistan. Isn't this our responsibility to save those persecuted people or not?" "Did you understand what I explained? Did the children present here understand?" asked Modi. When the crowd chanted yes, Modi said, "What you understood so soon, Opposition in this country is unwilling to understand." "Despite so much clarity on the issue," the prime minister said, "Opposition is using political opportunism to spread lies around CAA. Will you stand by Modi's side in this decision?" The crowd chanted yes. "Political parties are not ready to understand the citizenship act... Despite such clarity, some people are spreading rumours about CAA. But I am happy that the youths of today helping others to get rid of the misconceptions. It's because of this (citizenship) law that people here have become aware of the kind of persecution the Hindus in Pakistan face. Pakistan is now answerable to us," Modi said. He, however, deplored that a section of the youth is being "misguided" over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which is aimed at giving and not taking away anybody's citizenship rights. "Today, on National Youth Day, I would like to tell this to the youngsters of India, West Bengal, North East that this is not an overnight law for giving citizenship. "We must all know that any person of any religion from any country of the world who believes in India and its Constitution can apply for Indian citizenship through due process. There's no problem in that," he told a gathering at Belur Math, the headquarters of Ramkrishna Mission. Modi said even Mahatma Gandhi had favoured Indian citizenship to those fleeing religious persecution and that his government has only delivered on the wishes of the freedom fighters. "We've only done what Mahatma Gandhi had said decades ago. Should we send these refugees back to die? Are they our responsibility or not? Should we make them our citizens or not?" he said, evoking a thunderous applause by the gathering. Modi said some people with political interests are deliberately spreading rumours about the new citizenship law, despite "complete clarity" over the CAA. "Our initiative to amend the citizenship act has created a dispute. It is the result of our initiative that Pakistan will now have to answer why they have been persecuting minorities for the last 70 years. Human rights have been demolished in Pakistan," he said. He said the citizenship law was only "changed a little" for those who were ill-treated in Pakisan after Partition. "They were having a bitter time living there. Women were in danger of losing their pride," he said. "Young people have understood the whole thing but those who want to indulge in politics over it will not," he said. Modi said five years ago, there was disappointment among the youth of the country, but the situation has changed now. "Not just India, the entire world has a lot of expectations from the youth of the country. The youth are not afraid of challenges....they challenge the challenges," he said at the Belur Math, the abode of Swami Vivekananda for several years until his death in 1902, aged 39 years. Seeking to assuage the concerns of the people of the North-East, Modi called the region "our pride". "Their culture, traditions and demography remains untouched by this amended law," he said. Referring to anti-CAA protests in the North-East, Modi vowed to protect the distinct identity and culture of the people of the region, and asserted the new law will not hurt their interests. Student organisations of the Congress and Left, Muslim organisations, and university students including those from Jadavpur and Presidency, hit the streets in protest. Modi met Mamata later on Saturday evening, but the meeting was reportedly a short one as Mamata soon left for a anti-CAA rally soon after. Mamata and Modi are also likely to share the stage during a programme in Kolkata today. "As far as we know, she (Banerjee) will attend a programme of the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) on 12 January, where the prime minister would also be present," a senior TMC leader told PTI. The significant political development comes a day after Mamata had said in the state Assembly that she will boycott an opposition meeting called by Congress president Sonia Gandhi on 13 January over the JNU violence, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and other "anti-people" policies of the Centre. Ever since the BJP emerged the main contender of the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal following the Lok Sabha poll results, Modi and Mamata have not shared the dais at any government programme. The chief minister had gone to New Delhi in September last year and met Modi in a "courtesy call" visit. The new citizenship law has emerged as the latest flashpoint in the state, with the TMC opposing the contentious legislation tooth and nail, and the BJP pressing for its implementation. With inputs from agencies We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Purpose of law is to divide Indians on religious lines, says Sonia Gandhi. Congress president Sonia Gandhi with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during CWC meeting in New Delhi on Saturday. (Photo: Asian Age) New Delhi: Terming the Citizenship (Amendment) Act as a discriminatory and divisive law, the Congress on Saturday demanded that the CAA be withdrawn and the process of NPR be stopped. The party also demanded that a high-powered commission be constituted to inquire into incidents connected with the anti-CAA protests. The Opposition party also threw its weight behind the agitating students of various universities across the country even as its interim president Sonia Gandhi decried police excesses in many parts of UP and varsities like JNU, Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University. At a special session of the Congress Working Committee the partys highest decision making body Mrs Gandhi said: As the students protest gains momentum, it is clear that the government is digging in its heels. Not a day passes without the home minister, and on some days the Prime Minister himself, making provocative statements. The CAA is a discriminatory and divisive law. The sinister purpose of the law is clear to every patriotic, tolerant and secular Indian: it is to divide the Indian people on religious lines, she said. Mrs Gandhi further said that she was inspired by the struggle of the students who have taken to the streets and saluted their courage even as she condemned the use of brute force by the police. We are appalled by police excesses and use of brute force in many towns of Uttar Pradesh, in Jamia Millia, in the JNU, BHU, Allahabad Uni-versity, Delhi University, Gujarat University, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. We, therefore, demand that a comprehensive high-powered commission should be constituted to inquire into the incidents connected with the anti-CAA protests and justice to the affected persons, she added. Shortly after Mrs Gandhis speech, the CWC passed a resolution that every worker of the party would work alongside Indias youth and the students in their endeavor to defend the Constitution. The BJP government has used its brute majority to impose its divisive and discriminatory agenda in an insensitive manner. CWC cautions the government that its pursuit of divisive agenda with the sole objective of polarisation may give short-term political dividends but will create deep fissures in the society undermining national unity and social stability, the resolution said. The resolution also sought the lifting of curbs and restoration of civil liberties in Jammu and Kashmir. The CWC also discussed the report submitted by a Congress fact-finding committee, which was sent to JNU. Sources said that report found the vice-chancellors role suspicious in dealing with the situation. It also raised questions on the functioning of Internet services while violence was unleashed on students in the campus. Interestingly, Rahul Gandhi, the partys former president, did not attend the CWC meeting though rumours of his imminent return at the helm of the party are rife. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, The former Congress president Rahul Gandhi is currently travelling and would be available from tomorrow morning. When questioned about West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee declining to attend the January 13 Opposition meet, senior leader Anand Sharma said the CWC did not discuss the role of any other party. He said that the fight to is defend the system of learning and independent thinking in college campuses. This is no one political leaders or political partys fight and I sincerely hope that political leaders would see it as such. Iran's Revolutionary Guards had on Wednesday had launched 22 ballistic missiles at two US targets in Iraq (Photo Credit: VideoGrab ) New Delhi: A volley of rockets hit an airbase in Iraq hosting US troops on Sunday injuring four Iraqi soldiers. The missile attack targeted the Al-Balad airbase in north of Baghdad that also hosts American soldiers. The Iraqi military confirmed the reports saying eight Katyusha-type rockets landed on Al-Balad airbase, wounding two Iraqi officers and two airmen. A majority of US airmen stationed at the Al-Balad airbase north of Baghdad had already left, the military sources said, following tensions between the US and Iran over the last two weeks. Military bases hosting US troops have been subject to volleys of rocket and mortar attacks in recent months that have mostly wounded Iraqi forces, but also killed one American contractor last month. That death set off a series of dramatic developments, with the US carrying out strikes against a pro-Iran paramilitary group in Iraq as well as a convoy carrying top Iranian and Iraqi commanders outside Baghdad airport. Al-Balad is the main airbase for Iraq's F-16s, which it bought from the US to upgrade its air capacities. The base had held a small US Air Force contingent as well as American contractors, but a majority had been evacuated. "About 90 per cent of the US advisers, and employees of Sallyport and Lockheed Martin who are specialised in aircraft maintenance, have withdrawn to Taji and Erbil after threats," one of the sources said. "There are no more than 15 US soldiers and a single plane at al-Balad," the source added. Iran's Revolutionary Guards had on Wednesday had launched 22 ballistic missiles at two US targets in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of Quds Force leader Qasem Soleimani. However, US President Donald Trump had confirmed there were no casualties from attack. He had also said that "Iran appears to be standing down" after that attack. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday it did not aim to kill US troops when it fired a wave of missiles last week at Iraqi bases hosting American forces. "Our aim was not really to kill enemy soldiers. That was not important," the Guards' commander, Hossein Salami, told parliament, referring to last Wednesday's missile operation launched to avenge the killing of a top Iranian general. Rocket attacks against Baghdad's high-security Green Zone, where the US and other embassies are based alongside international troops, are still taking place. Meanwhile, riot police were deployed in parts of Tehran after tear gas was used to clear the streets of protesters. Dozens of people have taken to the streets after government admitted it had mistakenly shot down a passenger jet killing all 176 people on board. Social media was flooded with images of demonstrators taking to the streets in the capital and other cities. On the other hand, pro-regime protesters gathered outside the UK embassy calling for its closure after the British ambassador to Iran was briefly detained on Saturday evening after leaving the site of a demonstration. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Haiti - Earthquake 2010 : Message from the Embassy of Germany This Sunday, January 12, as part of the 10th anniversary of the January 12, 2010 earthquake, the German Embassy in Haiti, delivered a message. Message from the German Embassy in Haiti : "The German Embassy would like to express its deepest sympathies and its closeness to the entire Haitian people. The physical damage and mental suffering... "On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the devastating earthquake of January 12, 2010, the Embassy of Germany wishes to express its deepest sympathies and its proximity to the entire Haitian people who, in all its components, have been the victim,neear or far, of this unforgiving natural disaster. The physical damage and moral suffering caused by this earthquake still leaves scars, which for some people will probably last a lifetime. One of the things that caught the attention of Embassy colleagues, who were there at the time, was this impressive movement of solidarity among Haitians that was observed immediately after the disaster. Before aid from outside arrived, the Haitians, with the means at hand, took care of themselves, illustrating this popular belief 'Pwoblem nou youn se pou nou tout'. Numerous were the articles written in national and international newspapers and the images, relayed in loop, which emphasized the resilience of the Haitian people, their faith, against all hope, in better tomorrows and their capacity not to fall arms in the circumstances where many would have abandoned everything. As we commemorate the memory of the missing and pay tribute to the victims of January 12, 2010, the German Embassy expresses the wish that this spirit of solidarity and resilience continue to prevail in all spheres of activity of the Haitian Nation and that they ultimately lead to a better future for the entire population." HL/ HaitiLibre Imperial Valley News Center Indian National Pleads Guilty to Owning, Funding, and Operating India-Based Call Centers That Scammed U.S. Victims Houston, Texas - An Indian national pleaded guilty Thursday in the Southern District of Texas for his role in operating and funding India-based call centers whose callers, and U.S.-based conspirators, defrauded U.S. victims out of millions of dollars between 2013 and 2016. Hitesh Madhubhai Patel, also known as Hitesh Hinglaj, 43, of Ahmedabad, India, 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. Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick of the Southern District of Texas, Acting Executive Associate Director Alysa D. Erichs of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Inspector General J. Russell George of the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) and Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) made the announcement Thursday. "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 Benczkowski. "This important resolution would not have occurred without the assistance of our Singaporean colleagues, to whom we extend our deep appreciation." According to admissions that he made as part of his plea, Patel and his co-conspirators perpetrated a complex scheme in which employees from call centers in Ahmedabad, India, impersonated officials from the IRS and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and engaged in other telephone call scams designed to defraud victims throughout the United States. U.S. 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. Upon payment, the call centers would immediately turn to a network of runners based in the United States to liquidate and launder the fraudulently obtained funds. In his plea, Patel admitted to operating and funding several India-based call centers from which the fraud schemes were perpetrated, including the call center HGLOBAL. Patel corresponded by email and WhatsApp messaging frequently with his co-defendants to exchange credit card numbers, telephone scam scripts, deposit slips, payment information, call center operations information and instructions, and bank account information. The scripts included IRS impersonation, USCIS impersonation, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) impersonation, Australian Tax Office (ATO) impersonation, payday loan fraud, U.S. Government grant fraud, and debt collection fraud. Patel also received monthly income and expense reports to his personal email from the call centers, 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 centers. Another co-defendant stated that Patel was arrested in India in 2016, but then paid a bribe and was released. Additionally, Patel admitted that a reasonably foreseeable loss of more than $25 million but less than $65 million was attributable to him, based on the governments evidence against him. Patel was prosecuted in the United States after being extradited from Singapore in April 2019 to face charges in this large-scale telefraud and money laundering scheme. Singapore authorities apprehended Patel at the request of the United States pursuant to a provisional arrest warrant in September 2018, after Patel flew there from India. U.S. District Judge David Hittner of the Southern District of Texas accepted the plea today and set sentencing for April 3, 2020. At that time, Patel faces up to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud conspiracy and five years for the general conspiracy. Both counts also carry the possibility of a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. A total of 24 domestic defendants associated with this transnational criminal scheme have previously been convicted and sentenced to terms of imprisonment of up to 20 years in the Southern District of Texas, District of Arizona and Northern District of Georgia. The defendants were also ordered to pay millions of dollars in victim restitution and money judgments and to forfeit seized assets. Some defendants were ordered to be deported based on their illegal immigration status, with another defendant having his U.S. citizenship revoked due to a separate conviction for immigration fraud. Charges remain pending for other India-based defendants. They are presumed innocent unless and until convicted through due process of law. HSI, DHS-OIG and TIGTA conducted the investigation. The Department of Justices Office of International Affairs and HSI Singapore provided significant support in securing and coordinating Patels arrest and extradition, working in concert with their counterparts at the Singapore Attorney Generals-Chambers and the Singapore Police Force. Trial Attorney Mona Sahaf of the Criminal Divisions Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section, Amanda Wick of the Criminal Divisions Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark McIntyre and Craig Feazel of the Southern District of Texas are prosecuting the case. A Department of Justice website has been established to provide information about the case to victims and the public. Anyone who believes they may be a victim of fraud or identity theft in relation to this investigation or other telefraud scam phone calls may contact the FTC via this website. President Trump claimed on Friday that Saudi Arabia has already deposited $1billion in the bank so that the United States would continue to station troops in the desert kingdom. Saudi Arabia is paying us for [our troops], Trump told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. We have a very good relationship with Saudi Arabia. I said, "listen, youre a very rich country. You want more troops? Im going to send them to you, but youve got to pay us." 'Theyre paying us. Theyve already deposited $1 billion in the bank. Trump claims Saudi Arabia has already deposited one billion dollars in the bank in exchange for US troops being sent. He then goes on to talk about South Korea paying $500 million for US troops defending them against North Korea. pic.twitter.com/Ocoo3D9Q8G Acyn (@Acyn) January 11, 2020 President Trump on Friday claimed that Saudi Arabia has 'deposited $1billion in the bank' to have American soldiers stationed there House Rep. Justin Amash, the Michigan congressman who left the Republican Party after he came out in opposition to Trump, slammed the president on Saturday in response to his comments on Fox News. He sells troops, the independent Amash tweeted It is unclear what payment Trump was referring to. DailyMail.com has reached out to the White House for comment. Calls to the Pentagon went unanswered on Sunday. House Rep. Justin Amash, the Michigan congressman who left the Republican Party after he came out in opposition to Trump, slammed the president on Saturday in response to his comments on Fox News. He sells troops, the independent Amash tweeted. Trump told Ingraham on Friday that countries hosting American bases are paying the U.S. treasury, though these claims are not verified. We are going to help them, but these rich countries have to pay for it, Trump said. South Korea gave us $500 million I said, You gotta help us along. We have 32,000 soldiers in South Korea protecting you from North Korea. Youve gotta pay. Amash has accused Trump of reneging on his campaign pledge to get American soldiers out of the Middle East. Last week, Trump ordered the killing of Qassem Soleimani, a top Iranian general who died in a U.S. drone attack in Baghdad. Iran responded with ballistic missiles at an Iraqi air base housing U.S. soldiers. There were no injuries. In response to the escalating tensions with Iran, the Trump administration has deployed thousands of additional soldiers to the region. There are people who support the president, who believe things he says, but its pretty clear hes not bringing home the troops, Amash told NBC News back in October. In October, Saudi Arabias king and crown prince approved the deployment of additional U.S. troops and equipment, after an attack the previous month on the kingdoms oil facilities. U.S. Marine Corps General Kenneth McKenzie (center) pays a visit to a Saudi base in July 2019 Hes just moving them to other parts of the Middle East. Amash added: Hes moving troops back into Iraq, hes moving other troops into Saudi Arabia and using our forces almost as mercenaries, paid mercenaries who are going to come in, as long as Saudi Arabia pays us some money, its good to go. In October, Saudi Arabias king and crown prince approved the deployment of additional U.S. troops and equipment, after an attack the previous month on the kingdoms oil facilities. The United States announced a deployment of about 3,000 troops to the Gulf state, including fighter squadrons, an air expeditionary wing and air defense personnel, amid heightened tensions with Saudis arch-rival Iran. Trump said the Saudis had agreed to pay for the deployment. Earlier this month, the U.S. sent nearly 3,000 additional troops to the Middle East from the 82nd Airborne Division as a precaution amid rising threats to American forces in the region. The U.S. has already dispatched about 14,000 additional troops to the Middle East since May. 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. Indian police baton-charged protesters Sunday to stop them reaching Prime Minister Narendra Modi's car as nationwide protests against a bitterly disputed citizenship law entered a second month. Tens of thousands staged protests through the night in the eastern city of Kolkata to denounce Modi's weekend visit to the capital of West Bengal state, whose local rulers have strongly opposed the legislation. Police said they were forced to act after protesters tried to storm past barricades to stop Modi's vehicle outside a stadium, where the leader again defended the law and insisted the demonstrators were "misguided". Nearly 2,000 protesters gathered outside chanting "Fascist Modi, Go Back" before the showdown between demonstrators and police. More than 100 protesters were detained, a police official said. Protesters have burned effigies of the prime minister during his visit and brandished black flags -- considered an insulting gesture in Indian society. "The government can't suppress our voice. We are not afraid. We are determined to fight for our rights," Samit Nandi, one of the protesters, told AFP. "We will continue our protests until Modi leaves our city." West Bengal has become a political battlefield between Modi's right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and regional powerhouse Mamata Banerjee, whose Trinamool Congress party leads the state. Banerjee is among state leaders nationwide who have said they will not implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, which excludes Muslims from a list of ethnic minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who are allowed to seek Indian nationality. Opponents say the government has created a religious test for citizenship in the secular country. Many among India's 200 million Muslims fear the law is a precursor to a national register of citizens that could leave them stateless in the country of 1.3 billion. Many poor Indians do not have documents to prove their nationality. "CAA is not about taking away citizenship, it is about giving citizenship," Modi told supporters. He has accused political opponents of "misleading" and "inciting" people against his government. Widespread demonstrations have rocked the Hindu-majority nation since the law was approved by parliament last month. At least 27 people, mostly Muslims, have been killed with police accused of using disproportionate force in several states. Home Minister Amit Shah, the government number two, also held a rally in Jabalpur on Sunday to build support for the law and several hundred supporters of the measure marched in New Delhi. But in a new sign of international unease over the law, a third Bangladesh minister cancelled a visit to Delhi in apparent protest. Deputy foreign minister Shahriar Alam was to have attended a diplomatic syposium in the Indian capital this week. Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen and Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan called off separate visits in December. The government has denied any link to the new law, however. The United Nations and a US government religious freedom commission have also expressed concern. Search Keywords: Short link: VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ascent Industries Corp. (CSE: ASNT) (Ascent or the Company) is providing this default status report pursuant to National Policy 12-203 - Cease Trade Orders for Continuous Disclosure Defaults ("NP 12-203") and applicable policy of the British Columbia Securities Commission which applies to companies, such as Ascent, that are the subject of CCAA proceedings. On May 16, 2019, the Company announced that its audited annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2018, including the related management discussion & analysis, and accompanying CEO and CFO certifications (collectively, the "Annual Filings") were not filed by the required filing deadline of April 30, 2019. As of the date hereof, the Company has not filed: (i) its interim financial statements for the three month period ended March 31, 2019 and related management discussion & analysis and accompanying CEO and CFO certifications; (ii) its interim financial statements for the three month period ended June 30, 2019 and related management discussion & analysis and accompanying CEO and CFO certifications; and (iii) its interim financial statements for the three month period ended September 30, 2019 and related management discussion & analysis and accompanying CEO and CFO certifications (collectively, the Interim Filings) prior to the filing deadlines prescribed under National Instrument 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations (NI 51-102). As previously reported, Ascent is currently involved in proceedings under the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (the CCAA Proceeding). Ascent is required to file bi-weekly default status reports in accordance with NP 12-203 until such time that the CCAA proceeding is concluded or until the defaults in filing the Annual Filings and Interim Filings are remedied. The Company reports that there have been no material changes to the information contained in its last bi-weekly default status report dated December 20, 2019. Furthermore, there is no other material information concerning the affairs of the Company that has not been generally disclosed. The Company confirms that, since its last bi-weekly default status report dated December 20, 2019, there have been no failures by it in fulfilling its stated intentions with respect to satisfying the provisions of the alternative information guidelines under NP 12-203. The Company intends to file the Annual Filings and Interim Filings as soon as possible. About Ascent Industries Corp. The Company's operations currently include facilities in the United States. In the United States, the Company holds licenses in Oregon (for processing and for distribution of cannabis to any licensed entity in the state) and in Nevada (for cultivation and for production, processing and wholesale distribution of cannabis). 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. In this news release, forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the anticipated timing of the completion and filing of the Annual Filings and the Interim Filings. 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 Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the attack on students at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI). "These people (BJP) who have now come to power are claiming that they were big heroes during emergencies and so on, but they are not showing the same respect to the students, that they (BJP) felt they deserve themselves at the time of emergency," Tharoor told ANI here. Taking potshots at the police action during Jamia and JNU protests he said,"Jamia and JNU have both been sites of very shameful misbehaviour." "In Jamia, by the police themselves, who burst into the hostels and library, and seriously injured and even killed a couple of students, while in JNU, we saw the police standing idle nearby when thugs and goons entered the campus and attacked the students," he said. Objecting to the manner in which the students had been dealt with, Tharoor said, "It's just not the question of supporting the protest, in supporting their protest also objecting to the manner in which they have been dealt with. Dissent is very precious in our country, especially in university campuses." Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and Congress State President Subhash Chopra joined the protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act and Register of Citizens, outside Jamia Millia Islamia. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Los Angeles, Jan 12 : Actress Ellen Pompeo has briefly addressed her co-star Justin Chambers' exit from their long-running show "Grey's Anatomy". Responding to a tweet about the news, which proclaimed that "#GreysAnatomy is about to feel one of its biggest losses yet", the actress, 50, shared that she couldn't agree more. "Truer words have never been spoken," Pompeo wrote of her fellow original cast member, including a broken heart emoji. ABC confirmed to people.com on Friday that Chambers had left the show after 16 seasons. "There's no good time to say goodbye to a show and character that's defined so much of my life for the past 15 years," Chambers said. "For some time now, however, I have hoped to diversify my acting roles and career choices. And, as I turn 50 and am blessed with my remarkable, supportive wife and five wonderful children, now is that time." Chambers added: "As I move on from 'Grey's Anatomy', I want to thank the ABC family, Shonda Rimes, original cast members Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens, and the rest of the amazing cast and crew, both past and present, and, of course, the fans for an extraordinary ride." His last episode aired on November 14. He was absent from the mid-season finale and it was explained that he was taking care of his ailing mother. Chinese ambassador to India Sun Weidong on Sunday said the relations between the neighbouring countries have entered a "sound stage", and he hoped that the elephant and the dragon can dance together. Speaking at the Chinese New Year celebrations here, Weidong said the two countries will work together to enhance mutual understanding and friendship. The envoy said that peaceful co-existence is needed for economic development and cooperation. Noting that Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore had a profound impact on China, he said that it is possible for both the countries to go beyond the bilateral scope with a positive and open attitude. "The elephant and the dragon can dance together," Weidong said. He said that China is committed to peaceful development and opposes unilateralism and hegemonies. The diplomat said China and India can join hands to contribute to the process of multi-polarity and safeguard the interests of developing countries. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Published on 2020/01/12 | Source The latest of Korea's endless food fads is for super-spicy food, especially among the young who enjoy the thrill of burn and sweat that it brings. Advertisement "Ghost Pepper" instant noodles containing Bhut Jolokia peppers, originally made by Shinsegae Food only for sale in Malaysia, is being imported back to Korea and sold for a relatively hefty W15,000 per pack on the Internet (US$1=W1,170). Bhut Jolokia is so potent that it is used in India to manufacture tear gas. Another assault on the palate is "One Chip Challenge" tortilla chips from the U.S. using Carolina Reaper peppers. Last month, a Korean YouTube clip went viral when a man ate a half-palm-sized piece and tried to refrain from drinking water for five minutes, only to be rushed to hospital. "One Chip Challenge" tortilla chips too can be bought on the Internet here for W30,000 to W40,000 a bag. Young Koreans are mesmerized. Kicking off the masochistic fascination, with its strangely cleansing aftermath, was the popularity of mundane Sichuan peppers over the last couple of years, and it spiraled from there. One adventurous theory suggests that recessions somehow generate a preference for spicy food. Just after the Asian financial crisis in late 1997, sales of spicy Shin Ramyeon soared 20 percent, while a craze for spicy chicken feet started at a hole-in-the-wall bar in Seoul's Gangnam area frequented by salarymen after work. Then during the global financial crisis in 2008, spicy instant noodle sales began to increase again after slowing down, while sales of Samyang's chicken flavored noodle, which is even spicier than Shin Ramyeon, became popular during the economic slump in 2012 triggered by the eurozone fiscal crisis. And last year when the youth unemployment rate soared to some 20 percent, young Koreans became entranced by Sichuan peppers. Correlation is not causation, but some experts are inclined to take the trends seriously. Kwak Keum-joo at Seoul National University said, "Spicy food causes painful sensations and may help people feel pain from other sources less. You could say it's a kind of stress-relief remedy for a generation suffering from an acute shortage of jobs". Park Bo-hyun (28), who is looking for work, said, "I've been feeling a lot of stress while searching for jobs and I found myself craving Sichuan food. I ate it more than three times a week and I felt my stress level going down each time". Jang Choon-gon at Sungkyunkwan University said, "Our body perceives spicy taste as a form of pain, which releases endorphins and dopamine to numb the pain and makes us feel better. It's just one substance of many that can have the effect of exciting the brain and reducing stress". Todd Lasance married fiancee Jordan Wilcox in the Hunter Valley on Saturday. The former Home and Away actor, 34, and his longtime partner said 'I do' in front of family and friends during an intimate ceremony at Wallalong House. Blushing bride Jordan looked sensational in a fishtail wedding dress with lace detail. Congrats! Todd Lasance (L) married fiancee Jordan Wilcox (R) in the Hunter Valley on Saturday Todd looked suave in a smart-casual beige suit, with white shirt and no tie. After the ceremony, the couple were welcomed into a vast marquee, which was lit up with fairy-lights, by all of their guests, who were cheering loudly. Todd and Jordan were joined by daughter Charlie Rose, three, throughout the day. The former Home and Away actor, 34, and his longtime partner said 'I do' in front of family and friends during an intimate ceremony at Wallalong House Party time! After the ceremony, the couple were welcomed into a vast marquee, which was lit up with fairy-lights, by all of their guests, who were cheering loudly It appeared their little girl was one of the bridesmaids, and later stood with her parents for both the first dance, and cutting of the cake. The marquee was lined with immaculately laid oak tables and chairs, with plenty of space to the side for dancing, and tucking into desserts. 'One of the best nights ever,' wrote one guest to Instagram, sharing a video of the loved-up newlyweds enjoying a slow dance and kiss. Family! Todd and Jordan were joined by daughter Charlie Rose, three, throughout the day Jordan took to Instagram to commemorate the big day on her own page. 'We did it,' she wrote, sharing a picture of their hands wearing the wedding rings. The couple announced their engagement in January 2019. Wow! Blushing bride Jordan looked sensational in a fishtail wedding dress with lace detail 'I am officially the luckiest man on this planet. Yesterday I asked the woman of my dreams to be my wife,' wrote Todd to Instagram. 'I still don't know how I was lucky enough to find someone so loving, selfless, gentle, compassionate, inspiring, funny, and the most incredible mother to our little girl I could ever have dreamed of. It was perfect. She is perfect.' Todd, who is now based in America, met Jordan, who is from Georgia, in 2015. The actor is best known for playing Aden Jefferies on Home and Away from 2005 to 2010, as well as his role as Julian in The Vampire Diaries in 2016. 'We did it': Jordan commemorated the day with this Instagram Story picture Bridal party! Earlier in the day, one of Jordan's bridesmaids shared this picture of their dresses The son of Maltas former president has been chosen to be the countrys prime minister. The count on Sunday showed Robert Abela received nearly 58 per cent of votes cast by members of the governing Labour Party eligible to choose their new leader. Mr Abela, 42, will replace Joseph Muscat, who is stepping down midway through his second term amid demands for accountability over the 2017 murder of an anti-corruption journalist. The date of the premier-designates swearing-in has not been announced. A close aide to Mr Muscat was questioned in connection with journalist Daphne Caruana Galizias murder, denied wrongdoing and was released while still under investigation. The 20 worst countries for press freedom Show all 20 1 /20 The 20 worst countries for press freedom The 20 worst countries for press freedom 20. Tajikistan Due to government pressure worsened by an economic crisis, most independent news outlets have closed, many journalists have fled the country and those who remain self-censor. Tajikistan has dropped 12 places in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index since 2018. The 20 worst countries for press freedom 19. Libya Due to the instability of recent years, journalists are at great risk when working in Libya. One journalist has been killed so far this year in the country. Libya remains in the same place as 2018 in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index. The 20 worst countries for press freedom 18. Egypt President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has further damaged press freedom in Egypt. The government often bans media outlets and has blocked over 500 websites. There are currently 25 journalists in jail in Egypt making it one of the worst countries for imprisoning journalists in the world. Egypt has dropped two places in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index since 2018. The 20 worst countries for press freedom 17. Somalia Three journalists were killed in Somalia in 2018 while a further three survived or eluded attempts on their life. Journalists also risk torture or the closure of their media outlets at the hands of the government. Despite this, Somalia has risen four places in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index since 2018. The 20 worst countries for press freedom 16. Equatorial Guinea The media in Equatorial Guinea is closely controlled by the government. Coverage of the Arab Spring, fighting in Mali and Syria and the fall of Burkina Faso's president was completely banned. Despite this, Equatorial Guinea has risen six places in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index since 2018. The 20 worst countries for press freedom 15. Azerbaijan Independent journalists are often detained and later jailed if they do not submit to beating, blackmail or bribes. The government also blocks access to independent media websites. Azerbaijan has dropped three places in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index since 2018. The 20 worst countries for press freedom 14. Bahrain Journalists, particularly photographers, are often jailed, sometimes for life. In detention, journalists have been mistreated and even stripped of their citizenship. It is difficult for foreign journalists to access the country. Bahrain has dropped one place in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index since 2018. The 20 worst countries for press freedom 13. Yemen The ongoing war in Yemen makes working there risky for journalists. The Houthi rebels are holding at least 16 journalists and Al-Qaeda holds one. Yemen has dropped one place in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index since 2018. The 20 worst countries for press freedom 12. Cuba The Cuban government has maintained control over the media since the now-deceased Fidel Castro came to power in 1959. Privately-owned media is prohibited by the constitution. Improved access to the internet and the election of Miguel Diaz-Canel as president in 2018 are thought to spell hope for the future of press freedom in the country. Cuba has risen three places in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index since 2018. The 20 worst countries for press freedom 11. Iran Iran has been one of the world's most oppressive countries for journalists ever since the revolution of 1979. Journalists are often handed lengthy jail sentences in unfair trials. Iran has dropped six places in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index since 2018. The 20 worst countries for press freedom 10. Laos The government of Laos exercises complete control over the media. Use of the internet is heavily regulated by the state and less than 10% of the population are online. Since 2016, foreign news outlets have only been able to set up offices in the country on the condition that they submit all content for censorship by the ruling Lao Revolutionary people's party. Laos has dropped one place in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index since 2018. The 20 worst countries for press freedom 9. Saudi Arabia Independent media are not permitted in Saudi Arabia. Saudi journalists working abroad are kept under close surveillance as demonstrated by the murder of New York Times reporter Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey in October 2018. Critical journalists are often jailed on arbitrary terms and likely subject to torture. Saudi Arabia has dropped three places in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index since 2018. The 20 worst countries for press freedom 8.Djibouti No private media operate in Djibouti. The government uses state media solely for propaganda purposes. La Voix de Djibouti, the only independent media outlet dedicated to the country, operates from Belgium, but it is blocked online in Djibouti. The country remains in the same place as 2018 in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index. The 20 worst countries for press freedom 7. Syria Due to the ongoing civil war, working as a journalist in Syria is extremely dangerous. At least ten journalists were killed in 2018, three of whom were victims of murder. All parties involved in the conflict are hostile to journalists. Despite this, Syria has risen three places in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index since 2018. The 20 worst countries for press freedom 6. Sudan Journalists bore the brunt of the regime's crackdown on protests that have been ongoing since December 2018 with over 100 in jail at the time of Omar al-Bashir's overthrow. The situation for journalists has not improved since the military coup in April as the new rulers quickly moved to shut down the offices of Al Jazeera and banned its staff from working in the country. Sudan has dropped one place in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index since 2018. The 20 worst countries for press freedom 5. Vietnam All major outlets are tightly regulated by the government. Independent journalists are persecuted and jailed under laws outlawing "activities aimed at overthrowing the government, anti-state propaganda and abusing the rights to freedom and democracy to threaten the interests of the state." Vietnam has dropped one place in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index since 2018. The 20 worst countries for press freedom 4. China While state owned media are allowed in China, they are closely controlled by the government and the most widely circulated new source in China is entirely state owned. The internet is tightly regulated. Over 60 journalists are currently detained and held in poor conditions, two recently died from cancers that were left untreated after their capture. China has dropped one place in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index since 2018. The 20 worst countries for press freedom 3. Eritrea Independent media is not permitted in Eritrea. Reporters without Borders believe that there are at least 11 journalists in jail here but the government will not confirm this nor will it allow the suspected prisoners any access to their families or lawyers. Despite this, Eritrea has risen one place in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index since 2018. The 20 worst countries for press freedom 2. North Korea Kim Jong Un's regime exercise near total control over all media and communications. More foreign media have been allowed access the country in recent years albeit under extremely strict conditions set by the government. Despite this, North Korea has risen one place in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index since 2018. The 20 worst countries for press freedom 1. Turkmenistan All media in Turkmenistan are controlled by the government. The few internet users can only access a strictly censored web. Journalists are harassed, arrested and tortured. Authorities have recently taken to removing satellite dishes around the cities, ostensibly to make the cities prettier but in reality to cut off citizen's potential to access uncontrolled news coverage. Turkmenistan has dropped two places in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index since 2018. A Maltese hotelier, who denies involvement, has been accused of complicity in the killing. Three other men, accused of triggering the car bomb, are under arrest. Before being chosen as Labour leader, Mr Abela said he would work to restore Maltas reputation for rule of law. European Union lawmakers had criticised the member nations judiciary and police. Mr Muscat had beaten Mr Abelas father in the race for the party leadership in 2008. George Abela was later appointed president, serving from 2009 until 2014. His son, a former lawyer, was first elected as a member of the Maltese parliament in 2017 after running in the sixth district for his first time. Associated Press Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Quito, Ecuador Sun, January 12, 2020 17:02 730 48be62e941b44f04afae568c321d6bae 2 Environment ecuador,Galapagos,tortoise,animals,conservation Free Job done, prolific Galapagos giant tortoise Diego is being released back into the wild after being credited by authorities with almost single-handedly saving his species from extinction. The 100-year-old tortoise, who was recruited along with 14 other adults for a captive breeding program, will be returned to his native island of Espanola in March, the Galapagos National Parks service (PNG) said Friday. "About 1,800 tortoises have been returned to Espanola and now with natural reproduction we have approximately 2,000 tortoises," Jorge Carrion, the park's director, told AFP. "This shows that they are able to grow, they are able to reproduce, they are able to develop," said Carrion. Diego's contribution to the program on Santa Cruz Island was particularly noteworthy, with park rangers believing him responsible for being the patriarch of at least 40 percent of the 2,000-tortoise population. Around 50 years ago, there were only two males and 12 females of Diego's species alive on Espanola, and they were too spread out to reproduce. Diego was brought in from California's San Diego Zoo to join the breeding program which was set up in the mid-1960s to save his species, Chelonoidis hoodensis. The PNG believes he was taken from the Galapagos in the first half of the 20th century by a scientific expedition. Read also: Giant tortoise thought extinct is found on Galapagos Now, Diego is returning to his original home "almost eight decades after being extracted," the park service said, adding that he had lived at the San Diego Zoo for several decades. "He's contributed a large percentage to the lineage that we are returning to Espanola," said Carrion. "There's a feeling of happiness to have the possibility of returning that tortoise to his natural state." Diego weighs about 80 kilograms, is nearly 90 centimeters long and 1.5 meters (five feet) tall, if he really stretches his legs and neck. Before being returned to Espanola, tortoises must go through a quarantine period to avoid carrying seeds from plants that are not native to the island. Ecuador's Galapagos Islands, located in the Pacific Ocean, were made famous by Charles Darwin's studies of their breathtaking biodiversity. The story of Diego's prowess contrasts sharply with the sad tale of Lonesome George, a different type of Galapagos giant tortoise, who had refused for years to breed in captivity. Hopes for his species, Chelonoidis abingdoni, faded when Lonesome George passed away in 2012 at more than 100 years old. Topics : ecuador Galapagos tortoise animals conservation House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday that senators will pay a price if they block new witnesses from testifying in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. She said Americans expect a fair trial. Pelosi, D-Calif., said the House plans to vote this week to transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate for the historic trial on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress over Trump's actions toward Ukraine. It will be only the third impeachment trial in American history. Its about a fair trial, Pelosi told ABC's 'This Week." "They take an oath to have a fair trial and we think that should be with witnesses and documents." She warned: "Do that or pay a price. Right before Pelosi was set to appear for the interview, Trump tweeted against Pelosi, calling her a derisive nickname, Crazy Nancy.'' Asked about Trump's tweet, Pelosi, "Every knock from him is a boost. The Democratic-run House is set to vote this week to send the articles of impeachment to the Republican-controlled Senate after Pelosi ended a more than three-week delay. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is seeking a speedy trial to acquit the president. McConnell is reluctant to call more witnesses and has proposed a process similar to the last impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton in 1999 that would start the proceedings and then vote later on hearing new testimony. Pelosi said senators need to consider new witnesses, including former national security adviser John Bolton's announcement he would be willing to testify. Democrats are trying to put pressure on senators, particularly those up for reelection in 2020, to consider new testimony. She defended her decision to delay sending the articles of impeachment against the president saying is produced new potential evidence and turned public attention on the upcoming trial. The House voted more than three weeks ago to impeach Trump on charges that he abused his power by pressuring the president of Ukraine to investigate Democrats, specifically Trump political rival Joe Biden. Trump was also charged with obstruction of Congress for trying to block the House investigation. (Picture Credits: AP) Syrian refugees burn nappies for heat in Lebanon, while others in Jordan seek winter aid items to brave the cold. In Lebanons Bekaa Valley, another cold winter has set in and that means trouble for the Syrians seeking refuge there. Syrian refugee families living in informal tent settlements in Bar Elias are struggling to keep warm. Most tents have stoves used for both heating and cooking, but refugees cannot afford to buy wood or diesel fuel. Instead, they burn toxic rubbish. There are people desperate for help. We have thousands of Syrian and Lebanese families living on less than $6 per month, said Sarah Farou, a UNHCR civilian coordinator in eastern Lebanon. Every winter the United Nations offers cash assistance to the most vulnerable refugees and Lebanese families. Each receives a one-off cash amount of about $370. But a shortage of funding means fewer families are receiving support every year. There is never 100 percent sufficiency, there is always something missing for most people, said Saleh Mustafa, a Syrian living in one of the camps in Bar Elias. Some people cant buy [wood], they go and get plastic to burn in their homes. In a nearby diaper factory, refugee workers take home faulty nappies as compensation for their working hours. They burn the nappies to heat their homes. The damaged ones, women take them and they benefit from them. They take them to their homes, they can [burn] them to make bread, they can put them in with the wood, said a Lebanese woman who manages the factorys 30 employees. Lala Hamdan Khamis, a refugee from eastern Syria, said she purchases bags of defective diapers for 5,000 Lebanese lira ($2.50). It is cheaper than wood and keeps her children warm, she said. More than three-quarters of Syrian refugees in Lebanon live under the poverty line. Nine out of 10 families are indebted. And as Lebanon grapples with its worst economic crisis in decades, refugees living in the tiny Mediterranean country are more vulnerable than ever this year. Refugees in Jordan In Jordan, Syrian refugees collected winter aid items to keep them warm during the cold season. It included heaters and blankets to help them overcome the harsh cold. Volunteers from the Jordanian Red Crescent Society handed out winter supplies including heaters and blankets to help families face the frigid weather. After receiving her aid, Syrian refugee Onoud al-Jassim sat in her near-empty tent in a camp for refugees in Shahab city. The situation is very hard, always rain and cold, and our situation is very bad, she said. The Jordanian Red Crescents aid distribution effort is part of the Warm Winter Campaign funded by the Qatari Red Crescent and Qatari Airways. The aid also includes food parcels. The campaign targets Syrians living in countries neighbouring Syria and operates in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq, according to the head of the Qatar Red Crescent delegation, Nehal Henfy. Families also collected aid at the headquarters of the Jordanian Red Crescent in Amman on Saturday. Some 230 Syrian refugee families and vulnerable Jordanians received aid in the Jordanian capital. Among them was Mohammed al-Jasser, who fled the Hama countryside in Syria in 2012. We need foodstuffs, we need heating items and we need medical care. We suffer from harsh winters. We dont have anything, we are powerless, al-Jasser said. Winter temperatures in the Jordanian desert can plummet to below zero degrees Celsius at night in January and February. Jordan has provided refuge to an estimated 1.3 million Syrians, including some 670,000 people officially registered with the UN as refugees. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Iranian demonstrators defied a heavy police presence Sunday night to protest their countrys days of denials that it shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane carrying 176 people, the latest unrest to roil the capital amid soaring tensions with the United States. Videos posted online showed protesters assailing the government and moving through subway stations and sidewalks, many around Azadi, or Freedom, Square. Other videos suggested similar protests were taking place in other Iranian cities. Some online videos purported to show police firing tear gas, though there was no immediate wholesale crackdown on demonstrators. Meanwhile, in an emotional speech before parliament, the head of the Revolutionary Guard apologized for downing the jetliner and insisted it was a tragic mistake. I swear to almighty God that I wished I was on that plane and had crashed with them and burned but had not witnessed this tragic incident, said Gen. Hossein Salami. Riot police earlier massed in Vali-e Asr Square, at Tehran University and other landmarks. Revolutionary Guard members patrolled the city, and plainclothes security men were also out in force. People looked down as they walked briskly past police, hoping not to draw attention to themselves. President Trump addressed the countrys leaders in a tweet, saying DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. The plane crash early Wednesday killed everyone on board, mostly Iranians and Iranian-Canadians. After initially pointing to a technical failure and insisting the armed forces were not to blame, authorities on Saturday admitted accidentally shooting it down in the face of mounting evidence and accusations by Western leaders. 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. Iran downed the flight as it braced for possible American retaliation after firing ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq housing U.S. forces. The missile attack, which caused no casualties, was a response to the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Irans top general, in a U.S. air strike in Baghdad. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which is closely aligned with Iran, said Sunday that Irans missile attacks on the two bases in Iraq housing U.S. forces was only the start of the retaliation for Soleimanis killing. In Washington on Sunday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper explicitly said on CBS Face the Nation that he had seen no hard evidence that four American embassies had been under possible threat when Trump authorized the targeting of Irans top commander, raising questions about the scale of the threat described by Trump last week. Joseph Krauss and Jon Gambrell are Associated Press writers. Published on 2020/01/12 | Source The number of deaths due to work-related accidents dropped sharply last year. Advertisement Labor Minister Lee Jae-kap told reporters Wednesday that some 855 people died from work-related accidents in 2019, down 116 on-year and the lowest since relevant data was first compiled in 1999. The figure does not include deaths from diseases. Deaths from industrial disasters fell below 1,000 for the first time in 2014 and are steadily declining. But the rate of deaths in industrial accidents per 1 million workers in Korea was estimated at 0.45-0.46 last year, still higher than the OECD average of 0.3. Both sides in Libya's conflict agreed to a ceasefire that started early Sunday following weeks of international diplomacy and calls for a truce by power-brokers Russia and Turkey. The oil-rich North African country has been wracked by bloody turmoil since a NATO-backed uprising killed long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Since April last year, the Tripoli-based, UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) has been under attack from forces loyal to eastern-based strongman Khalifa Haftar, which days ago advanced to take the strategic coastal city of Sirte. Late Saturday Haftar forces announced a ceasefire starting at the stroke of midnight (Sunday 00:00 local time, Saturday 2200 GMT) in line with a joint call by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Early Sunday the head of the GNA, Fayez al-Sarraj, also announced an agreement to the ceasefire, saying it had taken effect at the start of Sunday. Sarraj stressed the GNA's "legitimate right ... to respond to any attack or aggression" that may come from the other side -- just as Haftar forces had warned of a "severe" response to any violation by the "opposing camp". Artillery fire could be heard shortly after midnight from the centre of the capital, before quiet settled over the southern Tripoli suburb where pro-GNA forces have been resisting Haftar's offensive launched April 4, 2019. Erdogan and Putin had called for a ceasefire at a meeting on Wednesday in Istanbul, and Turkey on Saturday asked Russia to convince Haftar, who had initially vowed to fight on, to respect it. Ankara deployed military support to the GNA in January, while Russia has been accused of supporting pro-Haftar forces, which are also backed by the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. Europe and North Africa have launched a diplomatic offensive to try to prevent Libya, with the increased involvement of international players in its conflict, from turning into a "second Syria". European governments are concerned that Islamist militants and migrant smugglers, already highly active in Libya, will take further advantage of the chaos. On Saturday Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met in Moscow and called for international efforts to address the crisis in Libya. Merkel, making her first visit to Russia since 2018, said she hoped "the Turkish-Russian efforts will be successful," calling a ceasefire a first step in a peace process. Putin and Merkel both backed a Libya peace conference in Berlin being organised by UN special envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, which could be held in the coming weeks. Both Russia and Turkey have emerged as key players in Libya. While Turkey has sent defence equipment and troops to support the UN-backed Tripoli government, Moscow is accused of backing mercenaries supporting Haftar. Putin on Saturday reiterated Moscow's denial of this, saying: "if there are Russians there, they do not represent the interests of the Russian state and do not receive money from it. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The new year is a time for resolutions. And Ashley Greene appears to be honoring hers, with the 32-year-old beauty seen leaving a hot yoga session in Sherman Oaks, CA on Saturday. The Twilight actress made the most of her gorgeous gams in a pair of clingy gray leggings. A new leaf: Ashley Greene appears to be honoring her new year's resolutions, with the 32-year-old beauty seen leaving a hot yoga session in Sherman Oaks, CA on Saturday Ashley paired the flattering garment with a top that bore the words, 'MAY YOU BE HAPPY ALWAYS'. Her straight brunette tresses were worn tied back in a low-maintenance high pony tail. The star, who plays former Fox News personality Abby Huntsman in Bombshell, went makeup free for the sweat session. Legs for daze: The Twilight actress made the most of her gorgeous gams in a pair of clingy gray leggings Statement: Ashley paired the flattering garment with a top that bore the words, 'MAY YOU BE HAPPY ALWAYS' The outing followed a laid-back holiday in which she spent time with her TV announcer husband Paul Khoury. The pair shared a sweet photo with Santa ahead of Christmas, which was captioned: 'Happy Holidays from our family to yours.' Ashley and Paul were engaged in December of 2016 and went on to marry in a lovely San Jose, California ceremony in July 2018. No makeup no worries: The star, who plays former Fox News personality Abby Huntsman in Bombshell, went makeup free for the sweat session Amid the ongoing protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) at New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, a unique scene was witnessed at the protest site as people from different religions were seen attending a 'Yagna'. Besides 'Yagna', some people from Sikh community were spotted at Shaheen Bagh doing 'Shabd Kirtan' along with Muslims and Hindus. The protesters said that they are doing 'Yagna' and 'Shabd Kirtan' to send a message that the anti-CAA protest at Shaheen Bagh is not only about Muslims and people from other religions are also against the new legislation. Many people were seen attending these religious functions at Shaheen Bagh. Thousands of protesters, mainly women, have been agitating in Shaheen Bagh against the CAA and proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC) for the last 27 days. Delhi Police has put barricades in place to keep the stir in control. Meanwhile, a protest was also held in Sarita Vihar on Sunday demanding the removal of police barricades on Shaheen Bagh roads which connects Delhi to Noida. Delhi Police urged the protesters to maintain calm and said that they are in talks with protesters and the issue will soon be resolved. "Traffic jams and disruption to public services get caused due to protest. We requested the public not to do protests on the main road which they have agreed to. Our responsibility is to ensure peace is maintained and law and order prevail," DCP South East Chinmoy Biswal told ANI. In a related development, the Delhi High Court on Friday (January 8) rejected a plea seeking removal of police barricades in Shaheen Bagh area. A would-be terrorist who plotted with his brother to blow up an Etihad plane has had his visa revoked by the Australian government. Khaled Khayat and Mahmoud Khayat were jailed for 40 years and 36 years respectively this year after being found guilty of conspiring to preparing or planning a terrorist act. The plot to bring down the Etihad Airways flight in July 2017 was abandoned when their luggage was found to be overweight at Sydney Airport. Would-be terrorist Mahmoud Khayat (pictured), who plotted with his brother to blow up an Etihad plane, has had his visa revoked by the Australian government If they had been successful, at least 400 people would have died in what would have been Australia's worst terrorist attack. Mahmoud - who has two children and whose wife is Australian - will be deported to Lebanon immediately after his 36-year sentence, the Herald Sun reported. His sentence, which was backdated to July 2017, carries a parole period of 27 years. The deportation has been enforced under strengthened laws under Section 501 of the Citizenship Act governing the Department of Immigration's power to revoke residency permits. Included in those powers is the right to take away residency for non-citizens sentenced to jail terms of 12 months or more. 'The government strengthened these laws to keep Australians safe and we will be safer without this individual in our country,' Home Affairs minister Peter Dutton said. Khaled Khayat (picture centre) proposed that he himself would arrange to take the bomb and was sentenced to 40 years behind bars It is believed Mahmoud applied for residency for the first time in Australia in 2005 and was sponsored by his wife. The 2017 plot involved Mahmoud and Khaled's older brother Tarek Khayat - who fought for ISIS in Syria - and also would have involved carrying out a poisonous gas attack. Justice Christine Adamson handed down the sentences in the NSW Supreme Court last month. Khaled Khayat is pictured. If he and his brother had been successful, at least 400 people would have died in what would have been Australia's worst terrorist attack Their motivation was said to have included supporting violent jihad and they were accused of doing many preparatory acts during the seven-month conspiracy. When the original plan failed, Khaled Khayat proposed he himself would arrange to take the bomb. 'The controller told him not to do that because he had to stay for the continuation of the work here and had to find someone else,' prosecutor Lincoln Crowley QC told the trial. The second plot involved poisonous gas which the older brother was going to make at his home following instructions given by the controller. When Khaled Khayat was arrested police found a piece of paper in his wallet that had Arabic words, numbers and symbols written on it. The paper was examined by a forensic chemist and Arabic interpreters, who determined that one side of the paper included the correct chemical equation for poisonous gas, while the other side had further details relating to the gas. The second plot involved poisonous gas which the older brother was going to make at his home following instructions given by the controller. In his three-day police interview, Khaled Khayat spoke of walking into the airport with the concealed bomb (stock image) In his three-day police interview, Khaled Khayat spoke of walking into the airport with the concealed bomb. He said when he saw children at the airport he thought 'Don't do it, don't be stupid, don't do it' and removed the bomb from the baggage. But his barrister, Richard Pontella, told the jury that contrary to what his client told police, he never took the bomb to the airport and was actually trying to prevent a terrorist attack. Undated photo of deputy superintendent of police Davinder Singh who was arrested along with two Hizb-ul Mujahideen militants in Kashmir Valley on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020. (PTI Photo) Srinagar: A police officer who was arrested Saturday in the company of two Hizb-ul Mujahideen militants in southern Kulgam district of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) is being treated as a militant and will be asked questions in particular about his contacts with Muhammad Afzal Guru, the militant who was hanged for his role in the attack on Indias Parliament in 2001. Police said they arrested top Hizb commander Syed Naveed Mushtaq (alias Naveed Babu alias Babar Azam) and his associate Asif Ahmed Rather after they intercepted a car on the highway between Srinagar and Jammu. Travelling with them in the Hyundai i20 was Davinder Singh, a deputy superintendent in the Anti-Hijacking Squad posted at the Srinagar International Airport. Police recovered five hand-grenades from the arrested militants, and subsequently found an AK-47 rifle and two pistols at Davinder Singhs house in the high-security Shivpora area of Srinagar. Inspector-general of police (Kashmir range) Vijay Kumar, confirming Davinder Singhs arrest at a press conference here on Sunday, said the officer would be treated like any other militant and would in particular be questioned about a claim by Parliament attack case convict Muhammad Afzal Guru that he (the police officer) had asked Guru to take a co-accused to Delhi. Guru, a resident of Doabgah suburb of Sopore town, was hanged in Delhis Tihar jail on February 9, 2013. Vijay Kumar said that another person, a lawyer by profession but an over-ground worker for militants, has also been caught. Police sources identified the lawyer as Irfan Shaffi Mir of Shopian district. Davinder Singh is a decorated police officer who served valiantly and productively in the Special Operations Group (SOG), the counterinsurgency arm of the J&K police, for many years, earning a Presidents Medial for bravery. Acknowledging this, IGP Vijay Kumar said, This police officer has worked in many anti-militancy operations but the way he was captured yesterdayIt is a heinous crime. That is why we are treating him like other militants. He added, We have arrested him formally and brought him on remand. The interrogation is going on and action will be taken based on its outcome. Singh and the two militants were taken to an undisclosed destination immediately after their car was intercepted on the Mir Bazaar to Wanpoh stretch of the Srinagar-Jammu highway on Saturday morning. Police sources said preliminary investigations have revealed that the three men were on their way to Delhi when they were caught. Singh had been absent from duty Saturday and had applied for four days leave beginning Sunday, sources said. They also said the police had been tracking Naveed Babu's movements and traced his location when he made a phone call to his brother. After the interrogation of the officer and the militants, police carried out multiple raids in Srinagar and South Kashmir. While an AK-47 rifle and two pistols were recovered from the polices officers Srinagar residence, another AK rifle and a pistol were found at a militant hideout in South Kashmir on the basis of Naveed Babu's confession. Police said Naveed Babu, a former Special Police Officer who decamped with more than one assault rifle from Budgam district in central Kashmir in 2017, was wanted for his involvement in the killing of 11 civilians in various incidents in South Kashmir where he was very active for some time. Naveed Babu, police said, joined Hizb in 2017. They claimed that his arrest is a big achievement for counterinsurgency operations. The IGP said Naveed Babu was also involved in the killing of policemen, arson of apple orchards and threatening farmers and other people following the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. There were as many as 17 FIRs registered against him. He was HMs commander in Shopian district and the most wanted militant for us. He is HMs second in command after its chief Riyaz Naikoo, the officer said, adding that he (Naveed Babu) was involved in a series of post-August 5, 2019 attacks on non-local workers, truck drivers and apple merchants with the aim of driving non-locals out of the Kashmir Valley. Replying to questions, IGP Vijay Kumar said Singh was being interrogated by the J&K police, its CID wing, the Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). He said, Since the issue is sensitive, that is why we dont want any loopholes in this. Guru had in a letter to his lawyer claimed that Singh had asked him to take Muhammad, a co-accused in the Parliament attack case, to Delhi and arrange his stay there. Asked about the Afzar Guru claim, Kumar said, Theres nothing in my records but what you are saying will also be asked (to) him during the interrogation. A journalist told the IGP that Singh had in an interview to him some years back admitted that he had tortured Guru and that in order to save himself from more torture he (Guru) was asked to do one last work in Delhi. The Valleys police chief evaded a direct answer to this but reiterated that Singh would be interrogated about Gurus claim as well. A seven-year-old girl has died after she and her brother were swept out of their father's arms and into the ocean on a day when monster surf reached 35 feet. Jeremy Stiles, 47, was on the shore holding the little girl and his four-year-old son in the Falcon Cove, Oregon area at approximately 12.38pm on Saturday when they got caught up in rough waters combined with high tide, also known as king tide. The children's mother called 911 and when a police officer arrived, the dad was struggling to get out of the ocean while his daughter was seen further out in the water. The juveniles have not been publicly identified. Jeremy Stiles and his children (not pictured) were swept into the ocean Saturday in Oregon He was on the shore holding the seven-year-old girl and his four-year-old son in the Falcon Cove area at approximately 12.38pm on Saturday when they got caught up JUST IN - A man & two children were swept away by high waves on the #OregonCoast. 2 rescued, 1 child still missing. Crews with @USCGPacificNW are searching now at Falcon Cove, south of Cannon beach. Heres video of conditions today at Depot Bay : David Northcraft #fox12 #OrWx pic.twitter.com/pU8l5aMlN9 Bonnie Silkman KPTV (@BonnieSilkman) January 11, 2020 The Manzanita Police Department officer was able to retrieve the young girl and brought her to shore south of Arch Cape, Oregon State Police said. Videos from some of the reported hundreds of people who gathered on Cannon Beach Saturday afternoon showed the massive waves crashing into the shore. The forecast said waves would be about 10 feet Saturday, putting the surf height around 30 feet. But a KPTV reporter said swells of 35 feet were seen. Authorities advised locals to stay away from jetties, logs and rocks on the beach which could be lifted up by waves as they experienced some of the worst conditions of the winter. Both the father and daughter were unconscious at the scene, near the county line of Clatsop County and Tillamook County and they were transported by Medix Ambulance to Providence Seaside Hospital. Cannon Beach Fire Department and Cannon Beach Police Department assisted the search for the little boy but the United States Coast Guard had to send helicopters, declaring it too difficult to be carried out by boat. Despite the search, captured on video by KPTV, had to be suspended at sunset and the little boy was not located. The children's mother called 911 and when a police officer arrived, Stiles was struggling to get out of the ocean and his daughter was seen further out in the water. The father and daughter made it to shore but the US Coast Guard couldn't find the boy via helicopter (pictured right) Both the father and daughter were unconscious at the scene, south of Arch Cape, and they were transported to Providence Seaside Hospital. The girl later died 'Weve exhausted our resources,' regional Coast Guard spokesman, Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier, said. 'Were obviously hoping for the best, but at this point its very challenging.' Police said the girl was pronounced deceased at PSH. Stiles, of Portland, was still in hospital Sunday and his condition was unknown but he is expected to survive, KGW reported. Weather advisories have warned locals not to turn their backs to the ocean. A high surf warning was in place until 8pm Saturday for North Oregon Coast, Central Oregon Coast, and South Washington Coast. 'Destructive waves may wash over beaches, jetties, and other structures unexpectedly,' the National Weather Service warned. 'People can be swept off rocks and jetties and drown while observing the high surf.' Manzanita Police Department requested no media interviews on Sunday. Davinder Singh, who is posted at the Srinagar Airport, was caught along with the top commander of the LeT Naveed Babu and Altaf of Hizbul Mujahideen Deputy Superintendent of Jammu and Kashmir Police Davinder Singh, who was caught with two militants from the Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Taiba in south Kashmir on Saturday, was booked by the police on Sunday. An FIR was filed against Singh and the other accused under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and the Explosive substances act, The Times Of India reported. Officials said Singh is accused of having ferried militants from Shopian, possibly out of the Valley. Singh, who was awarded the prestigious President's Police Medal for Meritorious Service on 15 August, shot into the limelight after a letter written by Afzal Guru in 2013 claimed the officer had asked him to accompany a Parliament attack accused to Delhi and arrange his stay there. Singh, who is posted at the Srinagar airport, was caught along with the top commander of the LeT Naveed Babu and Altaf of Hizbul Mujahideen, officials told PTI. Police were chasing a vehicle carrying the two militants when it was stopped at a barricade at Mir Bazar in Kulgam. Singh was driving the vehicle, officials said. Two AK rifles were seized from the car, they added. A search was conducted at Singh's residence and the police allegedly seized two pistols and one AK rifle, the officials said. According to a NDTV report, Babu is accused of being involved in the killing of 11 non-local workers, including truck drivers and labourers, in south Kashmir in October and November. The report also stated that the police was tracking Babu's movements and traced his location after he made a phone call to his brother. With inputs from PTI For example, even when Steyer is not in South Carolina, a team of 82 staffers among the largest there of all the campaigns fans out across the state. Last October, at a tailgate for Allen Universitys homecoming, Steyers campaign was one of three with a significant presence, distributing free T-shirts and stickers. About 90 percent of his organizers are African American, and more than half of them are South Carolina natives, organizing within 10 miles of where they were born, the campaign said. Iran's accidental downing of a passenger plane that killed 176 people was an "awful mistake," a US official said Saturday. "This was a terrible tragedy," the senior administration official said, adding that "ultimately, Iran made an awful mistake." The comments come after Iran reversed course and admitted that the Ukrainian plane, which slammed into a field shortly after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport on Wednesday, had been downed by a surface-to-air missile. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) On Sunday, the Congress party's official twitter page attacked PM Modi saying that his 'arrogance and ego' had reached such levels that he was not willing to even listen to the citizens of his country. Along with the tweet, the page also tweeted a photo which called BJP- 'Bhartiya Anti-Janata Party' stating that while the country was burning, PM was busy campaigning. The photo also alleged that during the span of a few months in which the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) was passed and nationwide protests erupted, around 31 people were killed, while thousands were injured, arrested and detained. Read: PM Modi launches Twitter campaign to clear myths surrounding CAA, #IndiaSupportsCAA trends The arrogance & ego of the Prime Minister has reached levels where he is refusing to hear what the citizens are telling him. While the country burns, the PM is busy campaigning. pic.twitter.com/1klioXRXos Congress (@INCIndia) January 12, 2020 Read: Anti-CAA Protests: 'Free Kashmir' poster now spotted in Chennai Opposition united over CAA After the Parliament passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill on December 11, nationwide protest began opposing the Act. It took a massive turn after Delhi Police allegedly used brutal force against the Jamia Millia Islamia students protesting the Act on December 15. As the nationwide anger grew on the issue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that those protesting should read the Act as it had nothing in it against any religion. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also launched a massive public awareness campaign and an outreach program on CAA which is ongoing from January 1 to January 15 to spread awareness about the amended Act. The CAA seeks to grant citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, Jains and Parsis who had arrived in India by December 31, 2014, from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh to escape religious persecution. Opposition parties say the law is against India's Constitution as it makes religion a ground for citizenship. The Opposition mainly comprising of Left parties have called for several rallies and strikes demanding a roll-back of the Act. Read: Shah says, CAA doesn't discriminate, reiterates govt's commitment for national interests Read: BJP to launch massive awareness campaign on social media to dispel rumours about CAA & NRC BILLINGS, Mont. - A small airplane crashed near Billings, and there were no signs of life in the wreckage, Yellowstone County officials said Sunday. The Cessna 182 crashed around 6 p.m. Saturday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The wreckage was found Sunday morning between Billings and Roundup, Sheriff Mike Linder told The Billings Gazette. Linder said his office was still trying to determine how many people were on board. The FAA said the airplane had four occupants. A Cessna 182 is a single-engine airplane, usually with four seats. It appeared the airplane hit a guy-wire on a 200-foot (61-meter) antenna tower on a mountain, went off the edge and tumbled down the side of the mountain, Linder said. A Montana Highway Patrol drone was going to be used to document part of the crash site. Coroner Cliff Mahoney, Deputy Coroner Rich Hoffman and state medical examiner Dr. Robert Kurtzman also responded to the crash site, the newspaper reported. The laser will complement Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system - AFP The Israeli military will soon begin testing a new laser weapon to shoot down incoming missiles and drones, the Israeli ministry of defence has announced. Israels government said it had made a breakthrough in the futuristic technology and is expecting to begin demonstrating its use later this year. We are entering a new age of energy warfare in the air, land and sea, the ministry said. Throughout the year 2020 we will conduct a demo of our capabilities. While the technology has proved enormously costly to develop, Israel hopes that once it is functional it will be a cheaper alternative to expensive interceptor missiles. Israels advanced Iron Dome missile defence system costs about $80,000 (61,211) for each missile it fires to intercept an incoming rocket. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) believes the new laser will cost as little as $1 per shot once functioning. The laser weapon also has the advantage of never running out of ammunition as long as it has a steady supply of electricity, according to the Times of Israel. Israeli defence planners have long feared they could run out of Iron Dome missiles if forced to fight an extended conflict on two fronts. One limitation of the laser weapon is that its effectiveness diminishes on cloudy days or when there are other forms of atmospheric interference. We can only shoot down with a laser what we can see, said Brigadier General Yaniv Rotem. The ministry said the laser was meant to complement the Iron Dome system but would not replace it. Israel is working on three different systems for the laser weapon. One would be a stationary system meant to protect cities from rockets fired by Hamas or Hizbollah, while a second would be a smaller, mobile system to protect troops in the field. The third would be mounted on an aircraft and intended to shoot down high-flying missiles that are above cloud level and therefore beyond the reach of ground-based laser systems. As thousands gathered in Baghdad to mourn Iranian general, Qassem Soleimani, a Reuters report revealed new details of the plan to kill Americans allegedly orchestrated by the man. the plan that prompted the U.S. air strike that killed him. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING: "Imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel, but we caught him in the act." Two militia commanders and two security sources have told Reuters of a meeting in Baghdad in October between Soleimani and several Iraqi paramilitary leaders, all allied to Iran. Among them was Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis - also killed in Thursday's (January 2) strike. At the time headlines were dominated by the massive anti-government protests in Iraq, in which hundreds died. Protests sparked in part by outrage over Iran's influence in Iraqi politics and its security forces. So, Soleimani instructed the militias -- all longtime enemies of the States -- to increase the number of attacks and frequency on U.S. targets. The sources say the goal was to provoke a powerful military response that would redirect the protesters' anger against the Americans. Iran has long denied involvement in attacks on U.S. target but, according to the sources, Muhandis's group was picked to lead the operation. Some attacks had already begun. A U.S. military source says forensic analysis of the attackers' advanced weapons then linked it back to Iran. 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #2 Posted on 12 January 2020 by John Hartz Story of the Week... Editorial of the Week... Toon of the Week... Video of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... Study Confirms Climate Models are Getting Future Warming Projections Right An animation of a GISS (Goddard Institute for Space Studies) climate model simulation made for the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report, showing five-year averaged surface air temperature anomalies in degrees Celsius from 1880 to 2100. The temperature anomaly is a measure of how much warmer or colder it is at a particular place and time than the long-term mean temperature, defined as the average temperature over the 30-year base period from 1951 to 1980. Blue areas represent cool areas and yellow and red areas represent warmer areas. The number in the upper right corner represents the global mean anomaly. Credit:NASAs Goddard Institute for Space Studies Theres an old saying that the proof is in the pudding, meaning that you can only truly gauge the quality of something once its been put to a test. Such is the case with climate models: mathematical computer simulations of the various factors that interact to affect Earths climate, such as our atmosphere, ocean, ice, land surface and the Sun. For decades, people have legitimately wondered how well climate models perform in predicting future climate conditions. Based on solid physics and the best understanding of the Earth system available, they skillfully reproduce observed data. Nevertheless, they have a wide response to increasing carbon dioxide levels, and many uncertainties remain in the details. The hallmark of good science, however, is the ability to make testable predictions, and climate models have been making predictions since the 1970s. How reliable have they been? Now a new evaluation of global climate models used to project Earths future global average surface temperatures over the past half-century answers that question: most of the models have been quite accurate. Study Confirms Climate Models are Getting Future Warming Projections Right by Alan Buis, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA's Global Climate Change, Jan 9, 2020 Click here to access the entire article as posed on NASA's Global Climate Change website. Editorial of the Week... How to Stop Freaking Out and Tackle Climate Change Heres a five-step plan to deal with the stress and become part of the solution. Evan Cohen You are scrolling through the news and see yet another story about climate change. Australia is on fire. Indonesia is drowning. At the same time, Donald Trump is trying to make it easier to build new fossil-fuel projects. As you read, your chest tightens and a sense of dread washes over you, radiating out from your heart. You feel anxious, afraid and intensely guilty. Just this morning, you drove a gasoline-powered car to work. You ate beef for lunch. You booked a flight, turned on the heat, forgot your reusable grocery bags at home. This is your fault. As an environmental writer, Im often asked for guidance on coping with climate change. I have thoughts. Even better, I have a five-point plan to manage the psychological toll of living with climate change and to become part of the solution. How to Stop Freaking Out and Tackle Climate Change, Opinion by Emma Marris, New York Time, Jan 10, 2020 Click here to access the entire Opinion Piece as posted on the New York Times website. Toon of the Week... Hat tip to the Stop Climate Science Denial Facebook page. Video of the Week... Scientists predict climate change will displace more than 180 million people by 2100 a crisis of "climate migration" the world isn't ready for, says disaster recovery lawyer and Louisiana native Colette Pichon Battle. In this passionate, lyrical talk, she urges us to radically restructure the economic and social systems that are driving climate migration and caused it in the first place and shares how we can cultivate collective resilience, better prepare before disaster strikes and advance human rights for all. Climate change will displace millions. Here's how we prepare by Colette Pichon Battle, TED, You Tube Video, Dec 2019 Coming Soon on SkS... I had an intense conversation at work today (Claire Cohen-Norris) (Claire Cohen-Norris) How climate change influenced Australias unprecedented fires (Dana) (Dana) Skeptical Science New Research for Week #2, 2020 (Doug Bostrom) (Doug Bostrom) Waking up to climate change | Australia's Bushfires (Climate Adam) (Climate Adam) What psychotherapy can do for the climate and biodiversity crises (Caroline Hickman) (Caroline Hickman) 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #3 (John Hartz) (John Hartz) 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #3 (John Hartz) Climate Feedback Claim Reviews... Climate change is one factor affecting how fires in Australia burn, regardless of whether arsonists or lightning started them CLAIM: "the bushfires [in Australia] were caused by arsonists and a series of lightning strikes, not 'climate change'" SOURCE: Australian Authorities: Arsonists to Blame for Bushfires NOT Climate Change by Sean Adl-Tabatabai, News Punch, Breitbart, Jan 5, 2020 VERDICT: KEY TAKE AWAY: The important contribution of climate change to fires is not in starting fires (although increases in lightning are possible) but in making fuels drier. The current fires in Australia are not so extreme because fires were sparked, but because 2019 was the hottest and driest year on record, with dry and windy weather patterns in place as the fires burned. The source of ignition for each fire is not relevant to understanding whether climate change contributed to their extent and intensity. Climate change is one factor affecting how fires in Australia burn, regardless of whether arsonists or lightning started them, Edited by Emanuel Vincent, Climate Feedback, Jan 8, 2020 Poster of the Week... Hat tip to the Stop Climate Science Denial Facebook page. SkS Week in Review... David Kris (pictured), a former Obama-era Justice Department official, was appointed to oversee changes to the FBI's surveillance application process on Friday President Donald Trump has blasted a secretive federal court in Washington, DC for appointing David Kris, a former Obama-era Justice Department official, to oversee changes to the FBI's surveillance application process. In a Sunday afternoon tweet, Trump claimed that Kris is 'highly controversial'. 'You can't make this up!' the president wrote. 'David Kris, a highly controversial former DOJ official, was just appointed by the FISA Court to oversee reforms to the FBI's surveillance procedures. Zero credibility. The Swamp.' Trump made the remarks after Republican and House Intelligence Committee ranking member, Devin Nunes, blasted FISA, also known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) for making a 'ridiculous choice'. 'The FBI lied to the FISC, and to help make sure that doesnt happen again, the FISC chose an FBI apologist who denied and defended those lies. The FISC is setting its own credibility on fire,' Nunes told Fox News. 'Of all the people in the swamp ... this is the guy that you come up with?' Nunes asked. 'The guy that was accusing me of federal crimes? The guy that was defending the dirty cops at the FBI? ... The court must be trying to abolish itself. There is long-term damage.' Nunes was referring to a 2018 memo that was criticized by Kris but later vindicated by DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz who substantiated Nunes' claims that revealed improper use of surveillance by the FBI and the Justice Department in the Russia investigation. In March 2018, Kris accused Nunes of trying to 'deceive the American people in precisely the same way that it falsely accused the FBI of deceiving the FISA Court'. At the time, Kris said that 'the Nunes memo was dishonest', according to Lawfare. 'And if it is allowed to stand, we risk significant collateral damage to essential elements of our democracy.' In a Sunday afternoon tweet, Trump (pictured in Ohio) claimed that Kris is 'highly controversial' 'You can't make this up!,' the president wrote. 'David Kris, a highly controversial former DOJ official, was just appointed by the FISA Court to oversee reforms to the FBI's surveillance procedures. Zero credibility. The Swamp' In the past, Kris, who worked for the DOJ from 2009 to 2011, publicly criticized the George W. Bush administration's legal justifications for warrantless wiretapping. Kris served as the associated deputy attorney general under Bush from 2000 to 2003. According to Law.com, Kris was selected among five candidates and appointed by the FISA Court to over see the FBI's implementation of reforms in the wake of Horowitz's scathing report last year. His appointment from the FISA Court comes just weeks after it was revealed that the FBI committed serious errors in wiretapping a former Trump campaign aide have spurred bipartisan calls for change to the government's surveillance powers. Anger over the errors cited in the December report of the Russia investigation has produced rare consensus from Democrats and Republicans who otherwise have had sharply different interpretations of the report's findings. The inspector general said the FBI was justified in investigating ties between the campaign and Russia, but criticized how the investigation was conducted. The report cited flaws and omissions in the government's warrant applications under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, documenting problems with a surveillance program that Democrats and civil libertarians have long maintained is opaque, intrusive and operates with minimal oversight. They've now been joined by Republicans who are irate that FBI officials did not supply key information to judges when they applied to eavesdrop on former Trump aide Carter Page. Trump made the remarks after Republican and House Intelligence Committee ranking member, Devin Nunes (right), blasted FISA, also known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) for making a 'ridiculous choice' According to Law.com, Kris was selected among five candidates and appointed by the FISA Court to over see the FBI's implementation of reforms in the wake of DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz's (pictured in December 2019) scathing report last year 'I'm still trying to get my arms around the proposition that a whole bunch of conservative Republicans who've logged years blocking bipartisan FISA reforms are now somehow privacy hawks,' said Sen Ron Wyden, D-Ore. Horowitz, who has recommended changes, said his office will conduct an audit of how the FBI applies for warrants from the FISA. FBI Director Christopher Wray said the bureau is making its own changes to ensure more accuracy and completeness in warrant applications. That includes tightening up layers of review and record-keeping. 'I think we're entrusted with very significant power and authority. The FISA statute provides the FBI with absolutely indispensable tools that keep 325 million Americans safe everyday,' Wray said. 'But with that significant power and authority comes a responsibility to be scrupulously accurate and careful, and I think that's what the FBI does best.' The 1978 law authorizes the FBI to monitor the communications of people on US soil they suspect of being agents of a foreign power, such as potential terrorists or spies. Unlike criminal wiretaps, the FBI need not have probable cause that a crime was committed to obtain a warrant. In Page's case, officials suspected that he was being targeted for Russian government recruitment though he was never accused by the FBI of wrongdoing. Last year, the House Intelligence Committee gave the public an unprecedented peek into the secret process as it released dueling memos about the Page warrant, part of the partisan dispute over special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. Most of the surveillance applications do not result in criminal charges. When they do, there's no presumed right for a defendant to see the document themselves. Judges can order prosecutors to share FISA information with defendants if they deem it necessary for challenging a search's legality, but courts consistently have said disclosing the material could expose intelligence secrets. 'The absolute lack of any potential for adversarial testing at any point in the process creates an environment where sloppiness and corner-cutting is so much more likely,' said Elizabeth Goitein, who co-directs the Brennan Center for Justice's Liberty and National Security Program. Another criticism of the surveillance court has been that it's seen as a virtual rubber-stamp for government requests, with almost all applications approved. Justice Department documents show the government filed 1,081 applications requesting electronic surveillance under FISA in 2018. One was withdrawn and only one other was rejected in full. The requests to wiretap Page, originally made in the fall of 2016 and then renewed three times after that, included what the inspector general said were 17 flaws and omissions. In one egregious example, a former FBI lawyer doctored an email by claiming that Page was not a source for another US intelligence agency, when in fact he was a source for an extended period. According to Horowitz, the FBI failed to update the court as it learned new information that could have undercut some of the original assertions it made about Page. In another instance, agents did not disclose that questions had been raised about the reliability of a source whose reporting had been relied on in obtaining the warrant, nor that a Trump campaign aide had denied to an informant that anyone in the campaign was coordinating with Russia. Those omissions are problematic, though not necessarily surprising, Goitein said. 'Investigators become wedded to their theories of the case and invested in the success of their investigations,' she said. Horowitz's report cited flaws and omissions in the government's warrant applications under FISA. According to Horowitz, the FBI failed to update the court as it learned new information that could have undercut some of the original assertions it made about Carter Page (pictured) - Actress Dakore Akande and her husband, Olumide, have shut down divorce rumour - The actress recently shared a video of herself and her family having a fun time on social media - In the post, the actress gushed about her husband, calling him the best support system - Olumide replied to the post and asked people not to believe what they read and hear Popular actress Dakore Akanda and her husband, Olumide Akande, have shut down divorce rumour on social media. The couple shared a joint post on Instagram to shut down the claims made on social media. In recent reports making rounds online, it was reported that the couple's marriage crashed. According to Kemi Ashefon, reliable sources had claimed that their marriage collapsed due to some financial issues. The sources had even claimed that Dakore moved out of her home and she was now dating someone in the movie industry. However, in response to the claims, the couple has shut down the claims. PAY ATTENTION: Read best news on Nigeria's #1 news app Dakore shared a video of her children playing while her husband watched the display in their bedroom on her Instagram page. In her caption, she noted that her husband is the best support system and even wished him a happy tenth anniversary. She added that people realise that hating is not working they start telling lies. Her husband replied to the post with a comment of his own. PAY ATTENTION: Do you have news to share? Contact Legit.ng instantly Olumide corrected people about the timeline of their marriage, saying it is 10 years not 9 or 11 years. He noted that it has been 10 beautiful, sweet, challenging and wonderful years. The actress' husband further advised people not to believe everything they hear or read. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that some Nigerians had shared their thoughts on celebrity divorces as celebrity marriage becomes a cause for concern among fans. It has been noticed that quite a number of celebrity marriages seem to crash and some of their fans on social media gave reasons why this happens to celebrities. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better Top 3 Nigerian Political Divorces: Breakups That Affect Everyone - on Legit TV Source: Legit.ng In recent years, Smith has become a regular delegate at Indias premiere literature festivals. In the canon of detective fiction, the name of private investigator Mma Ramotswe is a peculiar fit. To begin with, she is far removed from an abstruse life of the West and makes a home in a bucolic Gaborone in Botswana. Neither are her mysteries extraordinary no homicides or high-profile heist, instead wayward daughters, missing husbands, philandering partners, and curious conmen form her cases. Her modus operandi is not essentially forensic nor does she delves herself in each case with acute objectivity of an erudite detective, and yet Mma Ramotswe is one of the most loved fictional detectives to have captivated the imaginations of readers far and wide for more than 20 years now. In the universe created by British writer Alexander McCall Smith in his beloved book series The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, the witty, warm, cunning, resourceful, intuitive, and empathetic Mma Ramotswe is conventionally an unconventional heroine. And a lot of it has to do with the puppeteer of her life Smith himself whose writing takes him far away from the genre that it is often classified under. I am turning the crime genre on its head and using it to write about society, people and place. Right from Agatha Christie, conventional crime novels are almost always concerned with homicide and the investigation of crime is led by someone who may or may not be a member of the police force, but thats not really in my books, says Smith whose heroine is often dealing with life-problems of people in her humble society. Over the years, Mma Ramotswe has taken her loyal readers on a safari of human nature, and with Smiths latest book of the series, To the Land of Long Lost Friends, the Botswanas finest detective is all set to lend her skills to help a family acquaintance whose daughter is involved with a charismatic preacher. With To the Land of Long Lost Friends being the twentieth in the series, the prolific writer, who has written more than 40 childrens books, is reminded of the time when he wrote the first in 1998. I worked at the University of Botswana for a year when I was on a sabbatical from my job in Scotland, and thats when I first got interested in the country. This led me to write what I thought was going to be a short story about Botswana and it became a full-length novel, and then it became 20 novels. It just goes to show how long it can be in the beginning when you are planning to write a short story but in fact, you are writing a very long series, reveals Smith for whom the books are his love-letter to the southern African country. In recent years, Smith has become a regular delegate at Indias premiere literature festivals. However, the 71-year-old novelist reveals that he shares an older and deeper connection with the sub-continent as one of the most loved Indian writers has influenced his writing tradition. One of my major influences, especially in writing the Botswana books was R. K. Narayan. He was absolutely a brilliant writer and I think he should have won a Nobel Prize for Literature. His Malgudi novels are lovely, says Smith. Marked by simplicity and subtle humour, Narayans ability to magnify all the worldly lessons of life in the daily humdrum of a small rustic town impressed Smith, which further went to echo in the latters Botswana books. He created life out of small things and I love doing that in my books. People having an argument about a teacup can say everything about life its all about the small things. In a very small space, you can say a lot about what it is to be human, you dont have to spread it on pages, says Smith. Hence, one can now discern that Mma Macutsies obsession with her lace handkerchief is not just a fascinating hook but also an extension of her ideas about life. That handkerchief is very symbolic of her idea of beauty and the possibilities that one might transcend the grubbiness of every day, so that little handkerchief is a big symbolic robe, confirms Smith who also counts Jane Austen, W. H Auden and the 20th Century Jane Austen Barbara Pym as his other influences. Smith, who is also an Emeritus Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh, has other book series 44 Scotland Street to his name, and is currently penning down the second of The Department of Sensitive Crimes series which is set in Sweden. Further, several of his short stories have taken him to Australia, New Zealand and the far corners of the Commonwealth. As a British writer, Smith accepts that he has to assume additional responsibility to not misappropriate the carefully preserved culture which often gets exoticized under the European lens. I have never thought of concealing the fact that the Botswana novels are very positive and are written in admiration of a country. Its a big responsibility to write about your own society or someone elses society. You have to be very careful that you dont misunderstand things and that you dont do injustice to situations, he affirms before concluding that there should free expression and exchange of ideas nonetheless. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 12 By Elnur Baghishov - Trend: Iranian government will pay $100-$150 million compensation for the downed Ukrainian plane, said deputy chairman of the Central Insurance Organization of the Iran Gulamali Jahangiri, Trend reports citing ISNA. According to him, compensation will be paid on the basis of an agreement between Iran and Ukraine. If the plane crashed, insurance companies would have to pay compensation. Due to the fact that the plane was shot down, in this case the situation is different. "The new Boeing 737-800 model costs $100 million. However, a plane shot down in Iran has been used for three years," he said. The deputy chairman added that approximately $ 70 million will be paid for damage to the plane. "The luggage cost of each passenger, based on estimates by international insurance organizations, is estimated at $1,000-$1,500," he said. Jahangiri noted that this numeral should be determined by the insurance organization of Ukraine. According to him, passengers and crew insurance is approximately $24 million. The Ukrainian International Airlines Boeing 737-800 crashed in Tehran province on Jan. 8, killing all 176 people on board. Iran's Armed Forces General Staff issued a statement on Jan. 11 saying that the aircraft was shot down by the Iranian Air Defense System. Rain fell throughout Saturday, causing some problems on roads in Metro Detroit. The expected afternoon freezing rain did not develop, but some icing occurred later in the evening in the northern part of the county, as temperatures fell and winds picked up. The temperatures were to fall on Sunday morning into the 20s. In Oakland County, Holly was one area seeing a wintry mix, with Accuweather.com reporting at midnight that it would be heavy at times. In the Clarkston area, nearly 1,000 customers lost power at about 9:30 p.m., according to the DTE Energy Outage Map. Check out the National Weather Service and Accuweather.com for the latest. FROM EARLIER: The unusual warmth gave way to freezing temperatures today and the heavy rains arrived to bring some flooding. These were the concerns throughout Michigan and Metro Detroit on Saturday morning, Jan. 11, as the day started overnight with high temperatures in the 50s. First came the heavy fogging on Friday evening, then the rain, ice, winds and more rain, all expected to cause trouble. A flood warning was issued at 10:20 a.m. Saturday for Oakland County as heavy morning rains brought the potential for flooding. Genesee, Lapeer, and Livingston counties were included. Already, at 7:21 a.m., DTE Energy reported an outage of 1,068 homes and businesses in the Royal Oak area, caused by wind damage. That should be repaired quickly, though, as the initial estimate is for a fix by noon. And with crews ready and additional ones coming from outside the area, DTE Energy said they are ready to get to work. There is still some time to prepare before this rain changes over, the Michigan State Police tweeted at 8 a.m. Saturday. Please be extra careful today and as we start to see more freezing rain it will be best to stay home. Follow us here through the weekend as we get through this winter storm together. What to expect At 7:30 a.m., the National Weather Service posted its update: Latest precipitation forecast totals for today through late tonight. Ice storm warning and flood watch continue, Macomb and St Clair counties are under a winter weather advisory. Flint and Saginaw are in the zone predicted to get the most ice .5 to .75 inches and that zone will include the northwest portion of Oakland County, including Holly. All of Oakland County is in the zone predicted to get some icing. From the southeast portion, such as Novi and Walled Lake, up to the northeast portion, including Lake Orion to Pontiac to Oakland Township, the prediction is for .1 to .15 inches of ice, the National Weather Service reported. Oakland County joins Lapeer, Genesee, and Livington counties along with counties northward in falling under an ice storm warning. The National weather Service says that winds gusting near 40 mph will enhance the icing, especially along the Saginaw Valley and into the Thumb. These winds could also then add to the power outages, possibly leading to substantial damage, the NWS says. The key for people to watch for is the falling temperatures, as the rain will turn to ice as we hit the freezing mark, which will occur in the morning further north. The timing will be everything when it comes to the icing and its impact on driving and electricity. Dangerous travel conditions are likely due to ice, sleet, and snow-covered roads, the NWS warns. Power outages and tree damage are likely due to the combination of high wind and heavy icing. Macomb County does not have an ice storm warning; however, it it under a winter weather advisory. It could see .1 inches or so of icing, too. Flooding But before the icing, the heavy rains are adding water to rivers and streams, and this coupled with later rains could lead to damaging floods later on. Multiple rounds of heavy rain, the NWS said we can expect. Additional rainfall of 1 to 3 inches today and tonight for a storm total ranging fro 2 to 4 inches, potentially leading to widespread and significant flooding. The highest rainfall will be along and sought of I-69, but the entire region will see periods of heavy rain, including this evening. The flood watch expires at 4 a.m. Sunday. While Downriver should not see the icing, it will see about 2.5 inches of rain. Oakland County could see 2.75 to 3 inches of rain. Preparing The Michigan State Police have encouraged people to be ready, especially for the loss of power and driving. Keeping Michiganders safe during severe weather is one of my top priorities, said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in a statement. My office, along with state departments, will be closely monitoring weather conditions as they develop and proactively coordinating with emergency managers to support local response efforts as appropriate. We are also encouraging Michiganders to be safe and take precautions during these extreme weather conditions that are being predicted this weekend. DTE Energy is also preparing, having its repair crews ready and requesting help from outside the area. In addition to our crews on standby across the state in preparation for tomorrows storms, over 200 line workers are coming in from KY, OH, and IN to assist in storm damage response, DTE Energy tweeted on Friday night. The utility reminds people to call 800.477.4747 to report outages and downed lines or to visit dteenergy.com/reportout. You can also check on the status of outages at the DTE Energy Outage Map https://outage.dteenergy.com/map or on its app. The potential of first icing and then flooding have officials ready in emergency management. Both flooding and freezing rain have the ability to be life-threatening, said Capt. Emmitt McGowan, deputy state director of Homeland Security and commander of the MSP/EMHSD. Michigan residents should take steps to prepare now. Keeping supplies like a flashlight, a portable radio and a working cell phone with a backup power source on-hand can help keep you and your family safe during an emergency. Here are a list of suggestions from the Michigan State Police: During a power outage Do not touch downed power lines or objects in contact with downed lines. Report electrical hazards to police and the utility company. Use battery powered lanterns, if possible, rather than candles to light homes without electrical power. Avoid actions that can result in dangerous levels of carbon monoxide: Do not use a grill indoors. Do not use an non-vented gas or kerosene heater. Do not use a generator inside a home or garage. Keep these devices outdoors, away from doors, windows and vents that could allow carbon monoxide to come indoors. Do not use an oven or stove to heat your home. Use extreme caution when driving, especially if traffic signals are out. To stay safe during a winter storm Stay indoors if possible. If you must go outside, wear protective gear, such as hats, mittens, gloves, scarf and a warm coat. Watch for signs of frostbite, which include loss of feeling or pale appearance of fingers, toes or face. Watch for signs of hypothermia, which include uncontrollable shivering, memory loss, drowsiness and exhaustion. Check on family, friends and neighbors who are at risk and may need additional assistance. Watch pets closely and keep them indoors when possible. Animals can suffer from hypothermia, frostbite and other cold weather injuries. Minimize travel. If travel is necessary, keep a full tank of gas and an emergency preparedness kit in your vehicle. Put warm clothing, such as gloves, blankets and hats, in your kit in case you become stranded. Safe winter driving tips Check the weather before leaving for a destination. If the weather forecast looks dangerous, reschedule or postpone the driving trip, if possible. DO NOT crowd snowplows. Give snowplow drivers plenty of room to clear snow from the roads. Keep tires at the vehicle manufacturers recommended pressure and routinely check tire pressure during cold weather. Make sure the windshield solvent reservoir is full and check the condition of all wiper blades and replace when necessary. Wash your vehicle for better visibility to other drivers. Remove ice and snow from all lights, windows and license plate before driving. Preparing for a flood Create an emergency preparedness kit with a 72-hour supply of water, including three gallons per person. Include extra water if you have pets. Put important documents and valuables in a water-proof container on the top floor of your home. Create an inventory of your household items and take photos of the interior and exterior of your home. Double-check sump pumps to ensure they are working properly. If possible, have a battery backup system. Make sure your neighborhood storm drains are clear of debris. Clogged storm drains contribute to flooded roadways. Driving in a flood Do not attempt to drive through a flooded road. The depth of water is not always obvious. Just 6 inches of moving water can knock you down and 2 feet of water can sweep your vehicle away. Do not drive around a barricade. Barricades are there for your protection. Turn around and go the other way. Do not try to take short cuts, they may be blocked. Stick to designated routes. Be especially cautious driving at night when it is harder to recognize flood dangers. Michigan weather is unpredictable any time of year, but especially during the winter months. If you are stranded in a winter storm, do not leave your vehicle. Stay with the vehicle and wait for help. Motorists are encouraged to check travel conditions and weather reports before driving at www.michigan.gov/roadconditions. Major road closures can be found at www.michigan.gov/drive. The MSP/EMHSD asks that you tune into local news and/or view these websites rather than calling your local MSP post or 911 for travel conditions. For more information on how to prepare before, during and after an emergency or disaster, visit www.michigan.gov/miready or follow MSP/EMHSD on Twitter at @MichEMHS. - No progress has been made on the Gujarat government's plan to build the world's second tallest statue of Gautam Buddha in Sabarkantha district and to develop the place into an international Buddhism destination, a member of a Buddhist organisation claimed here on Sunday. The government had proposed to develop Dev Ni Mori in Sabarkantha district into an "international Buddhist destination" with "the second tallest statue of Buddha (108 metre) in the world after the Spring Temple statue in China (153 metre). The prposed statue will be more in height than the Thailand-based Sitting Buddha statue (92 metre). The estimated cost of the project is around Rs 1200 crore. "The state government has proposed a very big project at 'Dev Ni Mori', but has not yet sanctioned any fund, which has stalled the project. We are also struggling for it and trying to make it possible as early as possible," said Bhante Prasheel Ratna Gautam, president of Sanghakaya Foundation, a non-profit Buddhist organisation. He was speaking on the sidelines of the 4th International Buddhist Conference on Peace and Solidarity, which was inaugurated on Sunday, being organised at the Gujarat University here. 129 Buddhist monks from different parts of the country and abroad, apart from common people, are participating in the three-day conference. "We don't think the government has any issue regarding funds. The government has not said no to the project, but it is not taking it forward either," Gautam said. The state archaeological department had carried out excavation at Dev Ni Mori near Shamlaji, an important Hindu pilgrimage destination, during 1960-1963. During excavation, remains of a Buddhist monastery dated 3rd-4th century AD were found. A casket was found, which as per its inscription, contained relics of Gautam Budhha. The 1700-year-old casket is currently kept at the MS University of Baroda in Vadodara. Gautam said Sanghakaya Foundation had also proposed to construct a 80-120 metre tall statue of Lord Buddha for which land was identified at Aluva village in Gandhinagar district. "The collector of Gandhinagar district had identified the land at Aluva village in Gandhinagar on the banks of the Sabarmati river. We propose to build a 80-120 metre tall statue of Gautam Buddha there," he said. The Foundation also gifted a five-foot statue of Gautam Buddha to the Gujarat University and signed an MoU to promote Buddhist studies, Gautam added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 1. Momo Craves Sukuti Momo 38-07 69th St., Woodside; 718-255-1714 Kathmandu-born Mingma Sherpa specializes in what can be best described as fusion momo at the restaurant she opened in 2018. Taco momo festooned with guacamole, tomato, and black beans is a tribute to the Mexican food trucks that line nearby Roosevelt Avenue, and tandoori momo served on a skewer nod to Nepals neighbor India. Theyre both as tasty as they are inventive, but the most crave-able variety happens to be one of the most traditional, the sukuti momo. Golden fried beef-filled crescents are tossed with soy sauce, chiles, and ginger and topped with meaty nubs of buff jerky the air-dried buffalo called sukuti along with fresh cilantro, tomatoes, and onions. The resulting buff-on-beef combo with its savory, slightly sweet flavor may may call to mind Indian-Chinese cuisine, but according to Mingma, its Nepali all the way. 2. Lhasa Fast Foods Sha Momo 37-50 74th St., Jackson Heights; 646-256-3805 Despite the name, theres nothing fast about the momo at chef-owner Sang Jien Bens legendary hidden Tibetan restaurant in Jackson Heights. Once you spot the sign located in the vestibule, trek to the back where youll be rewarded with the heady aroma of sha momo, juicy beef dumplings filled and steamed fresh to order. Seasoned with Sichuan peppercorn, celery, ginger, and garlic and served in a bamboo steamer, the round pleated dumplings call to mind xiao long bao, or Chinese soup dumplings, and are almost as juicy but sturdier of wrapper. Like XLB, they take well to the black vinegar on the table, but the aggressive chile sauce also has its fans. These cult momo have not only made the humble place a dumpling destination, but can also be found on the menu of a spiffier Elmhurst outpost called Llasa Fresh Food. 3. Phayuls Fried Beef Momo Phayul 1, 37-65 74th St., second fl., Jackson Heights; 718-424-1869; Phayul 2, 37-59 74th St. (entrance on 37th Rd.), Jackson Heights; 718-433-9696 Photo: Melissa Hom Chef-owner Chime Tendhas Phayul is surely the only Tibetan restaurant in New York with two locations directly across the street from each other. The original lies up a narrow staircase, and like several other of the neighborhoods momo parlors has the ramshackle aura of a hidden establishment complete with open kitchen. The newer location is decidedly fancier, featuring flocked wallpaper, a chandelier with blue-and-red lights, and round gilt plaques of Buddhist religious imagery. Both serve truly amazing fried beef momo. Frying transforms the pleated round packages into golden-brown delights whose crackly mantle encloses a juicy, piping-hot core filled with beef seasoned with Sichuan peppercorn, ginger, and red onion. They are excellent on their own and even better with a bit of black vinegar and either of the two hot sauces: one a chile paste of the sort commonly seen at Chinese restaurants, the other an orange-hued Tibetan sauce known as sepen that gets its zing from a mixture of chile, ginger, garlic, and onion. 4. Woodside Cafes Momo in Pink Cream Sauce 64-23 Broadway, Woodside; 347-642-3445 Photo: Melissa Hom Back when Woodside Cafe opened in 2010, the awning promised Italian food in addition to Indian, Nepali, and American fare. The menu even offered pitch-perfect pasta puttanesca. Today, its almost all Nepali, but thankfully New York Citys only momo with an Italian accent essentially momo alla vodka remain. Chef-owner Purushotam Khadgi hails from Kathmandu, Nepals capital, but he worked for a decade at Sotto Cinque on Manhattans Uppers East Side, hence his signature momo in pink cream sauce which draw their culinary DNA from the classic pasta dish. Since many South Asians dont partake of alcohol, Khadgi leaves out the vodka, but the dumplings are lovely nonetheless. For an added kick, ask for some fiery house hot sauce. 5. Momochais Beef Jhol Momo 57-16 Woodside Ave., Woodside; 347-730-6089 If its hot, then its soup momo, says Subash Lama when asked about the room-temperature, sesame-scented broth that bathes the jhol momo at this small restaurant situated well outside of the momo ground zero of Jackson Heights in Woodside. Every other restaurant that makes jhol momo, or dumplings in broth, serves them in a piping-hot spicy soup, but Lamas sister, Januka Maskey, decided to prepare the dish the way they do in the summertime in Nepal. The result is a wonderful contrast, piping-hot beef dumplings in cool sauce made of sesame, ground soybean, and cilantro that tastes more Middle Eastern than Himalayan. The meat in the thin-skinned crescent-shaped momo is ground fresh daily, resulting in an almost fluffy texture. 6. Nepali Bhancha Ghars Goat Jhol Momo 74-15 Roosevelt Ave., Jackson Heights; 718-806-1409 The jhol momo dumplings in a head-clearing chicken-and-tomato soup seasoned with garlic and green chile is a revelation at this restaurant whose name means Nepali eating house. Most people get beef, but the sleeper hit is the goat. The musky meat is wrapped in a sturdy green wrapper that gets its color from spinach and stands up well to the soup. 7. Lungta Asian Bistros Beef C Momo 75-16 Broadway, Elmhurst; 917-745-1777 C stands for chile at this Elmhurst spot named for the wind horse, a common figure on Tibetan prayer flags. Order the C momo and youll be presented with eight crescent-shaped dumplings glazed in sweet-and-spicy chile sauce atop a sizzling bed of onion and cabbage. The blazing-hot platter lets off almost as much steam as a horse climbing the chilly peaks of the Himalayas. Take in the show while the orange-red dumplings cool. If you happen to look up while eating them youll notice the ceiling, which bears a golden wheel of dharma, is the same color as the C momos, an auspicious and tasty coincidence indeed. 8. Prince Ama Himalayan Halal Kitchens Emchi Momo 37-56 74th St., Jackson Heights; 718-406-9036 When is a momo not quite a momo? When its an emchi momo, a fluffy steamed bun filled with ground beef, seasoned with soy sauce and black pepper. This novelty is served in a set of four along with fiery radish pickle, an equally incendiary hot sauce, a small bowl of beef broth, and a side salad from a hidden kitchen in the back of Prince Kabab & Chinese Restaurant. Walk past the steam tables to find a red-and-gold seating area decorated with large photos of life in Tibet. As at many Tibetan restaurants, theres an altar high above the cash register featuring a photo of the Dalai Lama; caught mid-bite, he still manages a smile. When asked the meaning of emchi, the woman behind the counter said it means American. Perhaps the American part of this set meal is the side salad. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused the Opposition of playing political games over the amended Citizenship law and said Pakistan will now have to answer why it committed atrocities on minorities. Modi also asserted that the amended law is aimed at giving citizenship and not revoking it. "I repeat again, Citizenship act is not to revoke anyone's citizenship, but it is to give citizenship. After independence, Mahatma Gandhi ji and other big leaders of the time all believed that India should give citizenship to persecuted religious minorities of Pakistan," he said while addressing people at Belur Math. "You understood this very clearly. But those playing political games purposely refuse to understand. People are being misled over the CAA," he added. Attacking Pakistan for committing atrocities on minorities, Modi said: "India's youth is raising voice against atrocities being committed on minorities in Pakistan. Had this issue not been raised, the world would not have known about this. This is the result of our initiative that Pakistan will now have to answer why it committed atrocities on minorities over last 70 years." The Prime Minister said that the Centre has made provisions to protect the identity, demography, and culture of the North-East. "North-East is our pride. CAA will not have any adverse effect on their demography, identity and culture. The Central government has made provisions for this," he said. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who 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.) 2020 ELECTIONS / Full text of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen's acceptance speech ROC Central News Agency 01/11/2020 11:06 PM Friends from the domestic and international media, thank you for your patience. To begin, I would like to thank everyone who voted today. Regardless of how you voted, by taking part in this election you have put democratic values into practice. With each presidential election, Taiwan is showing the world how much we cherish our free, democratic way of life, and how much we cherish our nation: the Republic of China (Taiwan). I would also like to offer my respect to Mayor Han and Chairman Soong for completing this democratic journey with me. I will take your constructive criticism with me into my next term. I am confident that although our parties may have different views, we will have many opportunities to cooperate in the future. Today, the Taiwanese people voted to keep the Democratic Progressive Party in office and maintain our majority in the legislature. This result signifies that our administration and legislators have been moving in the right direction over the past four years. I want to thank each and every person who voted for the Tsai-Lai ticket, as well as everyone who supported our DPP candidates. Thank you for choosing democratic and progressive values, and for choosing the path of reform and unity. I promise that I will not stop reflecting and improving after winning this election. We have made progress over the past four years, but we also have our shortcomings. Now that the Taiwanese people have given us four more years, we will do more and be better, to make up for areas where we fell short or have not yet finished our work. Going forward, we will keep making this country better, with more complete care across society, more comprehensive infrastructure, a more competitive economy, and a more internationalized employment and education environment. We will constantly remind ourselves that our administration must be clean, competent, and efficient. We must continue to push for reforms, we must continue to foster equal regional development, and we must continue to reduce the income gap. Of course, we will also continue to work to keep our country safe and defend our sovereignty. My administration and I will work even harder during my second term to build on our achievements over the past four years. This election has received unprecedented international attention. There are many international media here today, and I want to take this opportunity to thank all of our friends in the international community on behalf of the Taiwanese people for valuing and supporting Taiwan's democracy. This election has shown that the Taiwanese people hope the international community will witness our commitment to democratic values and will respect our national identity. We also hope that Taiwan will be given a fair opportunity to participate in international affairs. The Republic of China (Taiwan) is an indispensable member of the international community. We are willing to work together with all countries to take on shared responsibility, take part in shared prosperity, and help maintain regional peace and stability. All countries should consider Taiwan a partner, not an issue. The results of this election carry an added significance, because they have shown that when our sovereignty and democracy are threatened, the Taiwanese people will shout our determination even more loudly back. Over the past three years, our administration has been firm on our bottom line on Taiwan's sovereignty, but we have also been willing to maintain healthy exchanges with China. In the face of China's diplomatic pressure and military threats, we have maintained a non-provocative, non-adventurist attitude that has prevented serious conflict from breaking out in the Taiwan Strait. However, through their increasing pressure and proposal of a "one country, two systems" model for Taiwan, China has hoped to force us to accept conditions that are entirely unacceptable. In the face of China's intention to unilaterally change the cross-strait status quo, Taiwan has had no choice but to continue strengthening our democratic defense mechanisms, and establish national defense capabilities that can ensure security in the Taiwan Strait. I want to emphasize that my commitment to peaceful, stable cross-strait relations remains unchanged. But both sides of the Taiwan Strait have a responsibility to ensure peaceful and stable cross-strait relations. Today, I want to once again call upon the Beijing authorities to remind them that peace, parity, democracy, and dialogue are the key to positive cross-strait interactions and long-term stable development. These four words are also the only path to bringing together and benefitting both our two peoples. "Peace" means that China must abandon threats of force against Taiwan. "Parity" means that neither side of the Taiwan Strait should deny the fact of the other's existence. "Democracy" means that the future of Taiwan must be decided by our country's 23 million people. "Dialogue" means that we must be able to sit down and discuss the future development of cross-strait relations. I also hope that the Beijing authorities understand that democratic Taiwan, and our democratically-elected government, will not concede to threats and intimidation. Positive cross-strait interactions founded in mutual respect are the best way to serve our peoples. The results of this election have made that answer crystal clear. Finally, I want to remind everyone that now that the elections are over, any conflicts that arose during the campaign process should end as well. I ask that none of my supporters attempt to provoke our opponents. We need to embrace each other and unite under the banner of democracy if we want to overcome the challenges facing our country. I would like to thank all of the people who have worked side by side with me over the past four years, particularly those standing beside me today. We now have an even greater responsibility, and there is even more work for us ahead. Beginning tomorrow, we will continue to work hard each day. We will not let down those who cast their vote for us today. Thank you very much. (Full text provided by the Democratic Progressive Party) NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address If that sounds more like ride-hailing, that is exactly the idea. We want to give them an opportunity to be able to retain and add customers, to be innovative and nimble, said Jarvis Murray, an administrator with the city Transportation Department. For decades, taxis in Los Angeles have operated under a franchise system. Unlike New York City, where cabdrivers operate with a limited number of expensive medallions that are bought and sold on the open market, Los Angeles issues contracts to nine independently operated cab companies. The same nine operators have held those contracts since 1990. It was almost a disincentive to change, Mr. Murray said. So the city is forcing the issue, hoping to spur innovation by doing away with its franchise system. Instead, it will issue permits. It will also lift the cap on the number of taxis and taxi companies to whatever the market will bear. Right now, Los Angeles limits the number of cabs to 2,364 vehicles a pittance compared to the citys 100,000-plus Ubers and Lyfts. By comparison, New York City has 13,587 taxis, and has capped the number of ride-hail registrations at roughly 80,000. Press officers for Uber and Lyft declined to provide information on the number of drivers who operate in Los Angeles, but both described the market as important. Los Angeles is unusual in that many taxis are summoned by passengers calling a dispatcher, not by waving one down. So the shift to a centralized dispatch alone is significant. Revising the franchise system is a dramatic change, said Anne Brown, who compared taxi and ride hail services in the city in 2018, when she was a researcher with the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-13 03:03:05|Editor: zh Video Player Close An actress performs "Flower Fairy", a piece of Peking Opera, during a Spring Festival gala in Houston, Texas, the United States, on Jan. 11, 2020. A grand Spring Festival gala was staged in Houston, the fourth largest city of the United States, Saturday night for local Chinese and Americans to join the Lunar New Year celebrations. (Xinhua/Liu Liwei) HOUSTON, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- A grand Spring Festival gala was staged in Houston, the fourth largest city of the United States, Saturday night for local Chinese and Americans to join the Lunar New Year celebrations. Performed by local artists and art lovers, the gala featured dancing, Peking Opera, traditional Chinese music and popular Chinese and American songs. More than 1,000 people watched the "2020 Embracing Spring" evening show, the largest of its kind in Houston. After joining the show for the first time last year, American vocal performer Dorceal Duckens was excited to return to this year's stage. Singing two songs, Duckens said he had a wonderful experience with Chinese artists and audience. "It's such a fabulous experience to be with the Chinese people. It's very kind of them to even want me to come back. I was excited when I got the call," he told Xinhua, sending New Year wishes to the Chinese community. Director of the show Jiajin Ji said the show has a special aim, carrying forward the traditional Chinese culture. "We chose some performances on purpose. Chinese instrument, traditional costumes, Peking Opera and ancient Chinese poems were all selected elements in this show to represent our splendid culture," he said. The show was organized by the Houston Chinese Civic Center, in cooperation with Chinese Consulate General in Houston and Chinese communities across Houston. Chinese Consul General in Houston Cai Wei and some politicians sent their greetings to Chinese communities for the upcoming Chinese New Year. The Year of the Rat will begin on Jan. 25. Britain's worst mother Karen Matthews has been spotted without her engagement ring after claims she split from her fiance when she discovered he is a paedophile. Matthews, 44, got engaged to Paul Saunders, 57, just six weeks after they met after falling 'head over heels in love'. But Matthews is believed to have ended their relationship after finding out her new lover is a convicted child abuser who groomed a vulnerable teenager while working as a driver for special needs children. She reportedly told a friend she was looking to return her 39.95 Princess Diana lookalike ring. And when she stepped out near her new home in the south of England yesterday, it was nowhere to be seen. Karen Matthews, 44, was seen near her new home in the south of England yesterday (left) without her engagement ring after reports she split from fiance Paul Saunders, 57, (mugshot right) after finding out he is a convicted paedophile A friend of the mother-of-seven previously told The Mirror that the blue silver oval blue Cubic Zirconia cluster ring is in the box and ready to go back. She was furious when she found out about Saunder's offending and even more enraged her ring 'was't the real thing', claims the paper. When she stepped out near her new home in the south of England yesterday, the engagement ring was nowhere to be seen Saunders was jailed for five years in January 2010 for his abuse of a vulnerable young girl aged between 15 and 17 who said after his conviction at Oxford Crown Court: 'He makes me sick. He should die. I hate him'. He targeted the 'vulnerable' girl and made indecent images of her, the court heard as he was jailed for five years placed on the sex offenders' register for life. The 57-year-old was arrested at Matthews home last week by Thames Valley Police because living with his fiancee was a breach of is bail conditions. The handyman from Reading, Berkshire, was released under investigation. A witness told The Sun: 'They are still together in her house.' Despite the claims the pair have now split, there were also reports Matthews is planning to sell the rights to her wedding to a glossy magazine. She was also planning on asking her evil murderer best friend Bernadette McNeilly to be her bridesmaid, reports The Star. McNeilly was part of the gang that tortured and set fire to Suzanne Capper 16, and made her listen to recordings of her imitating the murderous horror film doll Chucky. Matthews is pictured out and about without her Princess Diana lookalike engagement ring yesterday (January 11) Matthews bought her own Princess Diana lookalike ring in the sale for 39.95 (left file image). Princess Diana wearing her engagement ring with a 12-carat oval blue Ceylon sapphire (right) Matthews and her ex-boyfriend's uncle Michael Donovan were jailed in 2008 for the plot to stage Shannon's kidnapping and claim the 50,000 reward for 'finding' her. She made a series of tearful TV appeals for help in finding her daughter as West Yorkshire Police launched one of the force's largest ever searches. Matthews staged the kidnap of her daughter, Shannon, pictured, in order to cash in on a 50,000 reward for her safe return Shannon was eventually found by detectives in Donovan's flat, around a mile from her home in Dewsbury, 24 days after she disappeared. Prosecutors said the schoolgirl was drugged and probably kept captive on a leash during her incarceration. Police described Matthews as 'pure evil' after she was found guilty of kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice. Her then-boyfriend, Craig Meehan, was not involved in the kidnapping plot. However, he was separately convicted of possessing 49 indecent images of children on a home computer. She and Donovan were both sentenced to eight years in prison in January 2009 and released in 2012 after serving half their sentences. Shannon was raised by a new family under a new identity and is now an adult. Ravi Shankar By Two divisive nodes of society have determined the nature of conflict in nation-states: religion and ideology. Differences in both are historically settled only through violence. Countless Jews and Hindus were massacred by hostile rulers. Millions of dissenters have been murdered, jailed or disempowered by vengeful governments. Crores of people of opposing faithsas opposed to different faithshave been persecuted, shamed and assaulted by mobs with state protection. However, the destiny of ideology is to meet mortal dust. The once all-powerful Communism and fierce Fascism failed in Russia, Spain, Italy and France. In China, ideology is driven by the very market force wealth that Marx hated. The future of religion is constant reform: take Martin Luther Kings Protestant breakaway, Raja Ram Mohun Roys anti-Sati campaign, Periyars and Narayana Gurus race and caste defiance. Only democracy, however flawed, thrives. And it thrives precisely because of its faultsthe angry naivete of rebels, the implacable fist of the state, the fateful decisions of leaders, the whims of economists and the rhetoric of aggression. The price we pay for democracy is the blood of the young. It is wise to heed their voices because they resound in the hearts and minds of adults. Governments work in inexplicable ways. The goon attack on JNU had a macabre twist at the end. The Delhi Police, supposedly known for its professionalism, booked student leader Aishe Ghoshwho was shown on incessant TV loops lying on the ground, face and head smothered in bloodin a previous case, which had nothing to do with the assault. Not one masked marauder was arrested in spite of some persons claiming the credit. The explanation that the Left incited the violence by beating up its own leader is a stretch. The message is chilling: dissent and you will face the fury of the mob and the state. Assault, and you will get protection. The knee-jerk response of governments strong and weak is to punish the objector. But how many students and teachers can they jail? How many film icons can they imprison? How many journalists can they attack? How many writers can be murdered? Some visuals become symbols of history: the faceless man braving the tanks in Tiananmen Square, the sword-bearing rioter in Gujarat and the burning activist in the Mandal agitation. Now, social media power and TV could make the image of bloodied Aishe the face of the CAA protest. It is Youth vs Government. Youth has exuberance, middle-age caution and old age brings reflection. And exuberance can be contagious. Neither Narendra Modi nor Amit Shah, the two pillars of government, are indecisive compromisers. They act swiftly and forcefully according to their beliefs in what is best for India whether on Kashmir, triple talaq or ejecting illegal immigrants. They dont talk. They act. Modi today is more than just a leader: Modi is a movement. It is clear that the CAA agitation has gone beyond the merits of the legislation, but when a protest becomes a movement, a new bend appears in the river of change. And democracy is choppy waters. (The author can be contacted at ravi@newindianexpress.com) US President Donald Trump on Saturday said that the United States is 'closely following' the protests in Tehran that are held after the revelation of Iranian military's 'unintentional' downing of a Ukrainian plane last week, adding that humans rights groups should be allowed to 'report facts from ground' amid the ongoing situation. "To the brave, long-suffering people of Iran: I have stood with you since the beginning of my Presidency, and my Administration will continue to stand with you. We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage," Trump wrote on Twitter. "The government of Iran must allow human rights groups to monitor and report facts from the ground on the ongoing protests by the Iranian people. There can not be another massacre of peaceful protesters, nor an internet shutdown. The is watching," the President added. Anti-government protesters took to the streets of Iran on Saturday after Tehran admitted that it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing 176 people on board. Thousands gathered outside the gates of Amir Kabir University, near the former US embassy in Tehran, to denounce the plane crash that the government blamed on human error and "US adventurism." Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 crashed on Wednesday after takeoff from Tehran's airport. The crash came hours after Iran fired missiles at Iraqi military bases housing US troops in retaliation for a drone strike at Baghdad airport that killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani. In a video posted on social media, protesters chanted for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to step down and for those responsible for downing the plane to be prosecuted. "Death to the dictator," some chanted. In one video, demonstrators chanted, "Khamenei have shame. Leave the country." Iran had previously denied the US claims that the country had struck down the plane accidentally. Iranian authorities are in possession of the two flight data recorders, also known as black boxes, which Ukrainian investigators got access to on Friday. However, they have yet to start examining the information but have said it included communications between the pilot and Tehran flight control. The plane crash has further heightened international pressure on Iran after months of friction with the US and tit-for-tat attacks. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Much of the world is increasingly considering whether it should follow suit. In the United States, the rush is on in statehouses and Congress to do away not with daylight saving time but to nix standard time, if anyone can agree on such a thing. Making Daylight Saving Time permanent is O.K. with me! President Trump tweeted last March. And on the other side of the Atlantic, the European Parliament voted last year to do away with all of the clock jiggering. Portuguese motorcycle rider Paulo Goncalves died after a crash in the seventh stage of the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, organizers said. The 40-year-old Hero Motorsports entrant, taking part in his 13th Dakar Rally since making his debut in 2006, fell after 276km of the special stage from the capital Riyadh to Wadi Al Dawasir. "The organizers received an alert at 10:08 and dispatched a medical helicopter that reached the biker at 10:16 and found him unconscious after going into cardiac arrest," organizers said in a statement. "Following resuscitation efforts in situ, the competitor was taken by helicopter to Layla Hospital, where he was sadly pronounced dead. "The entire Dakar caravan would like to extend its sincere condolences to his friends and family." Goncalves was the first competitor to die in the grueling endurance event since Polish motorcycle rider Michal Hernik in Argentina in 2015. The Portuguese finished in the top 10 at the Dakar Rally four times and was runner-up in 2015 to Spaniard Marc Coma, who is competing this year as co-driver to double Formula One champion Fernando Alonso. Goncalves suffered mechanical problems on Friday, having to change his bike's engine to stay in the race, and dropped to 46th overall after the sixth stage. "The target now is to do my best, because the result at the end ... there is no way to get a good result. Instead Ill try to do good stages every day possible and that's what I'm looking for," Goncalves said then. The experienced Portuguese had competed in the Dakar on three continents, from its origins in Africa to South America and this year's debut in the Middle East. The 2013 cross country rallies world champion was representing the Indian Hero Motorsports team, along with his brother-in-law Joaquim Rodrigues, after five years racing with Honda. Goncalves crashed out on the fifth stage in Peru last year. Rodrigues broke his back in a Dakar crash two years ago but returned after extensive surgery and was 27th after stage six. Story continues Sunday's 546km stage, the longest of the event, was ultimately won by Argentina's KTM rider Kevin Benavides who stopped to help Goncalves but had the lost time reinstated. American Ricky Brabec extended his overall lead in the category. Australian Toby Price, the defending motorcycle champion, also had lost time reinstated after assisting Goncalves and ended the day in fourth position, 28 minutes off the lead. Spaniard Carlos Sainz, a two-times Dakar winner driving a Mini buggy, took his third stage win of the event in the cars category to extend his lead over Toyota's reigning champion Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar to 10 minutes. Mini have now won six of the seven stages. Related Video: Click here to See Video >> You Might Also Like BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 12 By Elnur Baghishov - Trend: British Ambassador to Iran Rob Macaire has been summoned to Iranian Foreign Ministry as he is accused by Iran of participation in an illegal rally in Tehran, Trend reports on Jan.12 citing Iranian Foreign Ministry. Reportedly, Iran expressed an official protest to the ambassador and the British government. Iranian side noted that the participation of the British ambassador in illegal actions is incompatible with his post as a political representative of his country. It is also contrary to the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and the British government should comment on this incident, said the ministry. British ambassador was detained on Jan.11 on charges of participation in an illegal protest in connection with the Ukrainian passenger plane crash, which was shot down by the Iranian armed forces near the city of Parand, Tehran province. Earlier, the UK ambassador wrote on his Twitter page that he wasnt taking part in the rally. Thanks for the many goodwill messages. Can confirm I wasnt taking part in any demonstrations! Went to an event advertised as a vigil for victims of #PS752 tragedy. Normal to want to pay respects- some of victims were British. I left after 5 mins, when some started chanting, he wrote. Following the brief detention of Macaire, Uk Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: The arrest of our Ambassador in Tehran without grounds or explanation is a flagrant violation of international law. The Iranian government is at a cross-roads moment. It can continue its march towards pariah status with all the political and economic isolation that entails, or take steps to deescalate tensions and engage in a diplomatic path forwards. Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi is in Zimbabwe on a three-day business visit in a nation where Chinese companies and government have invested huge sums of money in various sectors. Wang Yi, who arrived in the country Saturday, is expected to hold bilateral talks with top Zimbabwean government officials and directors of quasi-government firms in which the Chinese have business interests. According to the state-controlled Sunday Mail newspaper, Wang Yi was dispatched on a business mission by Chinese President Xi Jingping to strengthen relations between China, Zimbabwe and other African countries. The Chinese government has invested billions of dollars in Africa in various sectors, including agriculture, mining and manufacturing. Wang Yi recently visited Egpyt, Djibouti, Eritrea and Rwanda, where the Chinese government has facilitated the opening of several projects. Critics in Zimbabwe say the so-called mega deals signed by China and Zimbabwes late former president Robert Mugabe and President Emmerson Mnangagwa, are not benefiting local people. Independent economic commentator Rejoice Ngwenya said, China is using its strong financial muscle to buy friendship in Africa. China does this by pouring a lot of money in African countries on infrastructural projects. For example in Zimbabwe China has done this by pouring millions of dollars in building a new parliament. Whats problematic is that most projects that are implemented by Chinese companies in Africa, including Zimbabwe, appear to be successful while those that are handled by governments are a complete disaster due to rampant corruption on the African continent especially among African leaders and their colleagues. He says most projects that are implemented by Chinese companies in Africa, including Zimbabwe, appear to be successful while those that are handled by governments are a complete disaster due to rampant corruption on the African continent especially among African leaders and their colleagues. But Bulilima West Zanu PF Member of Parliament, Dingumuzi Phuthi, says the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministers visit to Zimbabwe is an indication that President Emmerson Mnangagwas government is trustworthy in terms of ease of doing business. It is a very commendable gesture that has been done by China that the president Xi Jingping has decided to send such a high profile to come (to Zimbabwe) and one, to follow up on the mega deals that Zimbabwe and China embarked on, secondly, to strengthen diplomatic relations between these countries, number three, strengthen the trade between and related issues between Zimbabwe and China and number four, we know very well that it is important that any country that has embarked on a robust engagement thrust as ourselves, to see that engagement being reciprocal, it is a very good sign that this reciprocity is bearing a testimonial that indeed Zimbabwe and China have been together and are still together. The Chinese have invested US$1,1 billion in the Hwange power expansion project, US$100 million in building a new parliament in Harare and an estimated US$153 million in refurbishing the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport and poured in millions of dollars in the diamond mining industry in Zimbabwe. Fred Dustin at work, surrounded by his passions the maze and its denizens. Circa 2015. Robert Neff Collection By Robert Neff Fred Dustin had two great passions his maze and cats and was fortunate enough to be surrounded by them daily. He built Kimnyong Maze on Jeju Island and the cats soon followed. Some were abandoned waifs, others were gifts and a few wandered in on their own all were welcomed and became permanent fixtures of the maze. Dustin and I often talked about cats while sitting in front of his wood-burning stove and snacking on popcorn. He was an animated talker and I only managed to get in my own cat anecdotes when he took a sip of his grape juice. Naturally, my anecdotes were historical. Pyoli (Star) enjoys lounging at the ice cream kiosk. Generally friendly but, when not feeling well, will occasionally swipe at an offending finger or hand. Courtesy of Kim Young-nam and Jeju Kimnyong Maze Park In the late 18th century, Westerners in Korea found it very difficult to procure cats. John Sill, the American Minister to Korea in the mid-1890s, obtained two small kittens from an American missionary. The small grey kitten was called Griselda and the little black one was White Foot because her four feet were all white. In a letter home, Sill's wife informed her family: "Cats are quite necessary members of a family here, for rats and mice are plentiful and bold, and traps do not amount to much after they have been used a few times." Sill's successor, Horace N. Allen, "secured a foreign cat from one of our [U.S. Navy] ships" and, according to him, "established a fine breed of cats that soon rid our own house and the house of our friends from the plague of rats." Leo is one of the cats that suddenly wandered in on his own. He is very friendly with the maze's guests and prefers to greet them at the parking lot. Courtesy of Kim Young-nam and Jeju Kimnyong Maze Park Allen was known for his gruffness but cats especially kittens and in the beginning seemed to have had a special place in his heart and he often described their exploits in his letters to his sons. In June 1901 he wrote: "We brought with us a couple of the nicest little kittens you ever saw, but one of them came to grief yesterday by getting stuck to a lot of fly paper on my desk. The boys [Korean servants] washed her in kerosene and got it off, but it has made the kitten sick and she won't eat. She just sits on my lap all the time and looks languidly at my fingers working the type-writer. The kerosene won't come off well enough to let the poor thing lick herself. I feel very sorry for the poor kitten." Orangi doing his best tiger impression while crossing the footbridge of the maze. Courtesy of Kim Young-nam and Jeju Kimnyong Maze Park As the days passed, the kitten grew stronger and more rambunctious. Typing letters became somewhat trying as the kitten would swipe at the keys, causing several errors in the letters. Allen's wife, Fanny, declared him an "indulgent parent" that allowed the kitten to do whatever she wanted. In the beginning, these foreign cats lived charmed lives. Living in the legations and homes of the missionaries, the cats were protected their only enemies were the dogs and magpies. According to Allen: "[The magpies] seem to dislike cats as do the Koreans and will attack a cat on sight. It used to be amusing to see a young and venturesome foreign cat try to stalk a magpie, to the evident delight of the latter who would surely lead the cat on until in good position away from the house, when the bird would turn and before the cat knew what had happened, fur would be flying and he himself would be dashing for safety under the house. One such encounter was usually enough to teach a cat caution." Sarangi (Love), the most popular and friendliest feline denizen of the maze. Courtesy of Kim Young-nam and Jeju Kimnyong Maze Park Sarangi showing off the heart-shaped-spot that, along with her sweet disposition, inspired her name. Courtesy of Kim Young-nam and Jeju Kimnyong Maze Park But as the foreign cats' population increased, their popularity decreased. They soon found their foreign patrons were as dangerous, if not more so, than their Korean hosts. Horace Allen, no longer the "indulgent parent" and angered by the large number of abandoned cats that had taken refuge in the deserted house near the legation, put out meat poisoned with strychnine. Even his pet cats ran afoul of Allen's temper. A large black one-eyed cat that had only months earlier been praised for its mousing ability soon fell into disfavor when she began knocking tiles off the roof in the middle of the night as she searched for nesting birds. Allen, dressed in his night cap and pajamas, indicated his displeasure by heaving a piece of brick at her but missed. He was determined to get rid of her as he explained in a letter to his sons: "I have sent her to the country for her health today, as otherwise I should have to give her a dose of medicine as she has become a nuisance. Charlie [Allen's Chinese cook] won't hear to my killing a black cat lest I bring bad luck to the house." Fortunately for the cats of Kimnyong Maze, Dustin never grew exasperated with them. The cats, regardless of where they came from, were well treated, provided with food, medication and love. Dustin died on May 5, 2018 he would have been 90 years old today but, even in death, he is still surrounded by his great passions the maze and cats. May he rest in peace and never be forgotten. Yeppeuni (Pretty) grooming herself. There is an old divination that claims a guest will come if a cat wipes its face. Judging from this picture, the maze was fairly busy on this day. Courtesy of Kim Young-nam and Jeju Kimnyong Maze Park Nabi, the matriarch of the maze and Dustin's favorite. Many of the maze's denizens are related to her. Courtesy of Kim Young-nam and Jeju Kimnyong Maze Park Opposition leader in the Assam Assembly Debabrata Saikia on Saturday asked Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to quit the BJP along with his MLAs and form an alternate government in the state with support from the Congress. Saikia, the senior Congress leader, said the new government will be "anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act" and "anti-BJP". A day after the Union home ministry issued a gazette notification that the CAA will come into force from January 10, Saikia said if Sonowal along with his MLAs quits the BJP, his party will support them to ensure that a new government is formed with Sonowal as the chief minister. "In view of the current situation in Assam, Sonowal should leave the BJP and come out with just 30 of his MLAs as Independents. We will support him to form a new anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act and anti-BJP government in Assam. He will be made the Chief Minister again," Saikia told reporters. "BJP and its alliance partner Asom Gana Parishad have failed to keep their poll promises. Many of the ministers and MLAs who had joined BJP from All Assam Students Union had promised to implement the Assam Accord." "Let them revolt against the central BJP for their unwillingness to implement the Accord and come out of the BJP and we will support them to form an alternative government," Saikia suggested. Asked if Sonowal will continue to be the chief minister in the alternative government, the Congress leader said: "We have no opposition to it." "Sonowal is facing the wrath of the people for supporting the CAA. The MLAs and ministers who love Assam must quit the BJP and stand with the people of Assam. That is why I am making this proposal," Saikia said. After the Rajya Sabha passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill on December 11 last year, massive protests erupted in Assam and have continued across the state with people demanding that the Act be repealed. The people of Assam have termed the CAA as anti-secular and a threat to their existence, language and culture as it will grant citizenship to refugees from neighbouring Bangladesh who have settled in the state. PTI ESB RHL It wasnt easy for Vanessa Ungvarsky to develop a line of non-toxic and eco-friendly nail polishes. The Easton woman mixed thousands of combinations from 300 ingredients, including natural clays and responsibly-sourced micas. You wont find her one-of-a-kind blends in supermarkets or chain stores. But you will find them on fashion models during Miami Swim Week. Her polishes were mixed specifically to match the swimwear. She also provided nail polish to the America On Wheels Museum in Allentown to match the hues of cars. If youre looking for her Taylor Made Polish, you need to visit select salons in the Lehigh Valley or her new retail space at 60 N. Fourth St. in Easton. The Houston, Texas, native developed her formula through a rigorous process known only to her. I wanted to get away from polish that was junk," said the owner of Taylor Made Cosmetics. It came down to whats good and whats not. I found companies that were downright dishonest and customers not sure whats in a bottle or not. The business was recently relocated from 437 Northampton St. A soft opening is planned from noon to 7 p.m. Jan. 16 at the new site with a champagne toast and polish making for those who register online. Only 10% to 20% of her business comes from retail sales. Thirty to 40% comes from private parties and studio classes. Another 30% to 40% comes from vast clients and wholesale orders. In her new, larger space shell host more make-your-own polish classes and host bridal showers, bachelorette parties and other events. I tell people we do parties for anyone from age 4 to 94, Ungvarsky said. Non-toxic and eco-friendly Ungvarsky wasnt always focused on custom made, non-toxic and eco-friendly nail polishes. In her younger years, she wore acrylic nails, enjoyed fast food and didnt pay much attention to her cosmetics ingredients, she said. By 2011, Ungvarsky was a mother to three sons in search of a healthier lifestyle for her family and wanted to leave the pharmaceutical industry to achieve a better work-life balance. She began Taylor Made Polish in October 2016 after switching to organic foods, joining a CSA Farms workshare program, and changing all her hair and skincare products. When she removed her acrylic nails, she saw the damage left behind. She nursed her nails back to health with her first product -- a homemade, organic cuticle oil. She was determined to find polish that was clean, safe and organic. If she couldnt find what she wanted in the market, she would make it herself, she said. She started at home and later at the former LV Beauty Loft, a co-rented salon space at 401 Northampton St. Ungvarsky mixed and matched hundreds of ingredients and bottled them up to create polishes free from chemicals and fillers. They were never tested on animals, she said. Owner Vanessa Ungvarsky of Easton crafts thousands of combinations from hundreds of pigments. Thriving business When she promoted her nail polish through marketing and word of mouth, online orders began to pile up. She never said no to an order no matter how challenging it sounded. She matched hues to bridesmaids dresses. She custom monogrammed labels for various bottles. She followed seasons and trends, often matching New York Fashion Week with metallics, bold colors and designs. I told my customers, Think of an idea, we can do it, Ungvarsky said. Eventually, she began furnishing salons such as Nail Play in Allentown and Charlies Lashes in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, with thousands of nail polish bottles. Guests walked away with bags of Ungvarskys polishes at a Maryland fashion show. No idea was out of bounds. When A1 Towing proposed handing out nail polish to women waiting to get their cars towed, Ungvarsky jumped at the opportunity. I couldnt have predicted the turns the business would take, starting with the make your own concept and then growing our wholesale and retail products, Ungvarsky said. Listening to the clients requests, being flexible and dedicated to finding solutions for them allowed us to organically grow with the market. The brand in 2017 expanded to included lipsticks and lip glosses, as well as lip scrubs, organic body care and a mens line. Ungvarsky said her polishes typically last anywhere from five to 10 days and dont need a base coat unless there are ridges in the nails. A top coat is optional, she said. Shes not worried about customers stealing her trade secrets during a class. Ungvarsky said its nearly impossible to keep up with all her investments, sourcing and ingredients. A whole lot of work goes into this, she said. You may know how to make your own pizza, but youre still going to call up Ginos and order a pizza. Ungvarsky wants to maintain her business roots in Easton, where her family loves the downtown farmers market and volunteers with the Easton Main Street Initiative. Some of her product labels and the Her Clean Beauty product logo include the eight-point star from the Easton Flag. Taylor Made is named for the grandparents who raised her, Carroll and Pearl Taylor. Their photos hang in Ungvarskys studio. The family name links back to Ann Taylor, an original settler in Easton and wife of George Taylor, a signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Where to buy it Taylor Made nail polishes range in price from $8-$12. Lipsticks and lip glosses range from $14-$24. Gift sets range from $24-$80. All are available at the store, on the website or at her Amazon store. Nail polish-making classes start at $20 and last an hour while lipstick creations are $30 and take 15 minutes to complete. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Jammu and Kashmir People's Forum on Sunday organised a public rally here in support of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act with speakers accusing the opposition parties of misleading the public in the country for their "political gains". Many senior leaders of the BJP including two former deputy chief ministers -- Nirmal Singh and Kavinder Gupta -- and former director general of police S P Vaid also attended the pro-CAA rally at Parade area in the city. "We are all participating in this rally as common citizens...everyone here is supportive of the Centre's action to grant citizenship to the oppressed minorities fleeing Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan," senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh told reporters. He alleged that "anti-nationals" are behind the violence in the country over the Act. "Indian Muslims are pro-nationalist like any other citizen of the country but Pakistan, Congress and communists launched a falsehood campaign to mislead the Muslims." "The CAA is not against taking away the citizenship of any Indian citizen but is meant to give citizenship to the minorities who are oppressed and are facing Jihadi terrorism in the three neighbouring Islamic countries," he said. Another senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Kavinder Gupta also accused opposition parties of misleading the students of the universities on the CAA pointing out that there is a need for aggressive campaigning in the country to educate the people about the reality of the Act. Among others who joined thousands of participants include senior BJP leader and mayor of Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) Chander Mohan Gupta, his deputy Purnima Sharma, former ministers and legislators. A sizable number of women also attended the public meeting, carrying placards and chanting slogans in support of the Act. "Some people and political parties are provoking and misleading public against the CAA for their political gains...the country was divided due to the wrong policies of the Congress and it happened on the basis of religion," president of the Jammu and Kashmir People's Forum Ramesh Sabharwal said in his address. Senior BJP leader and president of Jammu High Court Bar Association Abhinav Sharma, addressing the public rally, said the CAA has been amended six times in the past and every time minorities have been given citizenship but nobody ever protested. "Those who are opposing the CAA are doing it under a political conspiracy," he claimed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Saeid Zareian/picture alliance via Getty With the accidental destruction of a Ukraine International Airlines passenger jet by an Iranian SA-15 missile near Tehran on Wednesday, fears of an imminent escalation of hostilities between the United States and Iran have largely subsided. Irans initial military response to the Jan. 3 targeted killing of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, a leading military strategist and commander of Irans elite Quds Force, was as limited and restrained as the targeted killing was bold and unexpected. On Jan. 8, Iranian forces fired 16 ballistic missiles at two American-run military bases in Iraq, resulting in no deaths and limited damage. Iran telegraphed the missile launch, suggesting to experts on that countrys foreign and defense policies that Tehran wished to de-escalate tensions with the United States, at least in the short run. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif described the strikes as a proportionate measure, taken in self-defense. And so they were. President Donald Trump, in his remarks after the missile attack, seemed to indicate a similar desire to cool things down. Nonetheless, the odds are better than good that we will see more military action than negotiation between the two nations in the not-too-distant future. But the consensus view among military analysts is that the fighting to come is not likely to take the form of conventional military operations on land, sea, and air. Rather, the violence will almost certainly remain episodic, limited in scope, asymmetrical, and carried out on the ground largely by proxy and special forces rather than regular troops. How the U.S. and Iran Got Locked in a Toxic Dance of Death In other words, the 40-year twilight war between the two rival powers in the Middle East is likely to continue along the same lines as it has in the past. To understand why, one need only look at the Ayatollah Ali Khameneis grand strategy, and the remarkable success it has enjoyed since 9/11. Just what is grand strategy? Renowned British military historian B.H. Liddell-Hart defined it in the 1930s as the process by which policymakers coordinate and direct all resources of a nation toward the attainment of the political object. Irans chief political object has been consistent since the Islamic Revolution of 1979: It seeks to become the dominant cultural and political power in a Middle East free from the baneful influences of Western culture, secularism, and the Great Satan, i.e., the United States. Story continues The hardliners in Tehran see themselves as the guardians of the one true faith of Shiite Islam and believe they have a sacred obligation to rid the entire region of infidels so the True Faithand those who espouse and defend itmay flourish. Statements by Irans leaders about their overarching objectives exhibit a somewhat paranoid worldview, as is often the case with authoritarian and theocratic regimes. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards, the military force of about 125,000 that bears responsibility for defending the faith at home and executing Irans military responsibility for expeditionary operations abroad, issued this remarkable description of their mission not long ago: Imperialism and global Zionism, with the help of governments and their henchmen, are everyday involved in plots against the spread and penetration of the Islamic revolution among the hearts of the people of Iran and the world... Therefore we can and must shoulder the global message of Islam. We have no recourse except the mobilization of all the faithful forces of the Islamic revolution and must, with the mobilization of forces in every region, strike fear into the hearts of our enemies so that the idea of invasion and destruction of our Islamic revolution will exit their minds. If our revolution does not have an internationalist and aggressive approach, the enemies of Islam will again enslave us culturally and politically. To achieve its regional strategic objectives, Iran has made some highly unusual strategic choices. First off, it has eschewed conventional alliances with other nation states. It has opted to forego construction of an expensive conventional military force to deal with perceived threats from its chief adversariesthe United States and its allies in the Middle East, particularly Israel and Saudi Arabia. Instead, it has invested heavily in a formidable ballistic missile program, which serves as both sword and shield for the nation. It also has developed a sophisticated, cutting-edge cyber warfare capability to disrupt its adversaries economies and infrastructures, and harass its critics. Irans most important vehicle for forwarding its regional objectives, though, and its most controversial, is a carefully cultivated network of as many as 200,000 militant foreign fighters that share its commitment to spreading the message and spirit of the Islamic Revolution, and ridding the region of Western influence. Unlike the deterrent value of ballistic missiles and the non-kinetic options afforded by cyber warfare, writes Afshon Ostovar, a widely published expert on Iran defense and security policy at the Naval Postgraduate School in California, militant clients are the only tool Iran has for extending its strategic footprint and directly countering its adversaries through armed force. For that reason, they have become the centerpiece of Iranian grand strategy, and an investment Tehran is not likely to abandon. Iran has used this weapon effectively again and again since the 1980s to achieve its ends against the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. In October 1983, Iranian-trained and -supported Hezbollah fighters blew up the Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 241 Marines. President Ronald Reagan opted to withdraw U.S. peacekeeping forces from the Lebanese Civil War rather than escalate the conflict there, or attack Iran. His failure to strike back is widely believed to have emboldened Iran to expand its support for anti-Western forces and projects in the region. Iran and America have pursued directly conflicting objectives and strategies in the Middle East ever since, narrowly evading full-blown war on several occasions. Over the last 10 years, the client militia network has become larger, better led, and much more effective in terms of forwarding Tehrans political and military ends. Brian Katz of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington writes that these groups view Tehran and each other as battlefield partners, ideological allies and separate flanks in a common regional front. Moreover, in many cases, but especially with Hezbollah in Lebanon and with a cluster of Shiite groups in Iraq, the militias have become key players in national politics, and their leaders function, in effect, as political cadres who do Tehrans bidding. Major General Soleimani made his considerable reputation by orchestrating the campaigns of these foreign militia clients in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Iraq. He has also been widely credited with helping the Assad regime in Syriaanother American enemyall but destroy rebel resistance as well. The Quds Force that he led, an elite part of the Revolutionary Guards that serves as a kind of cross between the American CIA and the Special Forces, has supported and trained fighters for the Taliban and al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but on a relatively small scale. The work of the Quds Force under Soleimani has only further enhanced Irans reputation as one of the worlds foremost practitioners of irregular, or hybrid, warfare, in which conventional military operations take a back seat to proxy war, cyber operations, and political struggle. It is clearly in Iraq that Irans militia clients have been most successful. According to a 2019 study by the prestigious British think tank the Institute for International Strategic Studies (IISS), within a few months of the American invasion of Iraq in 2003 the Quds Force was putting in place a subtle and effective hybrid warfare campaign aimed at frustrating Americas designs for building a pro-Western, democratic Iraq. By 2011, according to the IISS study, Irans influence over Baghdads political, security, and media architecture was significant Soleimani played an increasingly open role in Iraqs political process, resolving disputes among the Iranian [supported] militias, as well as seeking the election of Nouri al-Maliki as prime minister, who was considered [by Quds] to be sufficiently compliant that he would neither challenge Chia militia influence nor aggressively oppose Irans activities in Iraq. In Iraq, Quds Force operatives gained invaluable experience both training and fighting with Arab militias against the Americans. Those militias were able to inflict damage on American targets without prompting a direct response against Iran. Indeed, it has to be said, but seldom is: Iran has enjoyed far more strategic success in the Middle East since the beginning of the Global War on Terror than the United States, and those gains have come at a considerably lower cost in blood and money than what the American people have borne for their troubles. As the IISS Report concludes, Of all the players of the wars in Iraq and Syria, Iran has arguably come out of these campaigns better placed than any other, with the possible exception of Russia. Of course, Iran has incurred significant costs for pursuing its geopolitical objectives with militant clients who often use terror as a weapon. Fears that Tehran wants to spread its revolutionary ideology have led its immediate neighbors to treat it as a pariah. Widespread international fear that Iran might use nuclear weapons as a shield for aggression led to a 2015 agreement restricting Tehrans nuclear development program, but after President Trump pulled out of the deal in 2018, it fell apart. Its status as a state that sponsors terrorism has led to the imposition of a host of stringent international economic sanctions that have prompted domestic unrest and discontent. But the domestic strain and stress that have resulted from the sanctions do not appear to endanger the survival of the current regime, and there are no signs at all that Iran is seeking to wind down the political and military operations of its many client militias. It seems that a worthy objective of Americas strategy in the days ahead would be to find ways to check their influence by convincing Tehran that it will pay a higher price in the future for supporting such operations than it has in the past. More broadly, the United States needs to improve its hybrid warfare capabilities, and the sooner the better. The twilight war is likely to be with us for a long, long time. 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. A Czech national flag hangs next to a Chinese national flag splattered with a black substance in Prague on March 26, 2016. (MICHAL CIZEK/AFP via Getty Images) Czech Billionaire Covertly Funded PR Campaign to Improve Image of the Chinese Regime: Czech Media PRAGUE, Czech RepublicCzech credit company Home Credit, which is owned by local billionaire Petr Kellner, funded a public relations campaign to improve the image of the Chinese regime in the country, according to documents leaked to Czech daily Aktualne.cz. The report, published on Dec. 10, 2019, was based on invoices from PR agency C&B Reputation Management, which was hired by Home Credit. The PR agency was tasked with influencing media, public debate, and politicians. In addition to promoting positive messages about China, the PR campaign also attacked critics of the Chinese regime. Aktualne.cz also found out that the PR agencys campaign, paid by billionaire Petr Kellners Home Credit, also focused on politicians. In September 2019, a conference was organized by a member of the ODS Party, where Prague lawmakers criticized the citys mayor for canceling a sister city agreement with Beijing. Home Credits Chinese company logo. (Screenshot) On Dec. 14, 2019, Home Credit published a press release in response to the Aktualne.cz article. The company denied the allegations, insisting its activities were business, not political. Home Credit, with full responsibility, declares that it has never hired or inquired in the Czech Republic about any lobbying or communication PR services aimed at promoting the interests of any foreign country, the press release said. Home Credit is owned by Kellners investment firm PPF, which entered the Chinese credit market in 2007. According to business publication Ekonom, PPF earned more than 2 billion euros (about $2.2 billion) in China in 2017. Some Czech politicians and experts believe PPF came under political pressure from the Chinese regime to promote its interests in the Czech Republic. In October 2019, PPF signed a purchase agreement to buy Central European Media Enterprises (CME), which owns TV NOVA, one of the largest television stations in the Czech Republic in addition to TV stations in Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. It has a reach of 45 million viewers. In light of the information published by Aktualne.cz, the purchase of TV NOVA raises the question of whether Kellner and his PPF will influence broadcasting in favor of the Chinese regime. This contract, costing about $2.1 billion, must be approved by the shareholders of CME, the European Commission, and national regulators in some of the countries where CME operates. Influencing Public Discussion According to documents published by Aktualne.cz, during the period from April to August 2019, C&B itemized a total of almost 2,000 hours of work. The itemized list of services rendered included PPF clandestinely organizing the establishment the Sinoskop Institute for Contemporary China through Home Credit, a think tank that promoted opinions downplaying the Chinese regimes human rights violations. The institute was officially established in June 2019 by sinologist Vit Vojta, who has also worked as an interpreter for Czech politicians and presidents traveling to China, including current Czech President Milos Zeman. Through the work for Sinoskop, Vojta appeared as an independent China expert in the Czech mass media, giving interviews and writing commentary. The PR agency invoiced Home Credit for the activities of Vojta and other Czech commentators on China issues. How much Home Credit paid to PR agency remains unclear. The documents published by Aktualne.cz contain the number of hours worked, but not the hourly rate. Financial Incentives PPF operates in five Chinese provinces. In 2012, the company entered the Chinese finance sector. Czech billionaire Kellner amassed his wealth by acquiring property during the fall of the communist regime in the former Czechoslovakia in 1989 and in the 1990s during the countrys early years. Today, Petr Kellner is the richest Czech and, according to Forbes, is the 73rd richest man in the world, worth $15.5 billion. Some believe PPFs business interests in the country propelled the company to promote a positive image for the Chinese regime. Home Credit can lose its license in the PRC [Peoples Republic of China] at any time, wrote Czech MP Jan Lipavsky in an email to the Epoch Times. After 2014, the Czech Republic started to move away from the promotion of human rights towards more economic and political exchanges with China. For example, the country is part of the 17 + 1 platform, Beijings project for increasing business and trade between China and 17 eastern European countries. Home Credit itself is a facilitator of closer ties between the Chinese regime and the Czech Republic. In Apr. 2016, Jiri Smejc, CEO and minority shareholder of Home Credit, said at a Prague business forum: PPF, Home Credit and we are proud that we were at the birth of an initiative that, I think, led to the revival of CzechChinese relations. During an October 2018 panel, titled Can Chinas Increasing Activities Be a Threat to the Czech Republic? Charles University sinologist Martin Hala said: It is good to pay attention to what PPF is doing in China. PPF is one of the main drivers of political change in the Czech Republic. The decision to change policy towards China was clearly made by politicians influenced by PPF, or by China. But Home Credits head of public relations Milan Tomanek denied allegations that PPF did influence Czech politics to benefit itself. Its not true. It sounds like several people who are repeating this lie over and over again, he said in a November 2019 email to The Epoch Times. The Czech Republic has recently increased vigilance over the Chinese regimes growing influence. In a 2018 report, Czechs chief intelligence agency said it considered Chinas influence as one of the countrys greatest security threats. Rouhani : Persons who caused Ukraine plane crash will be sued IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, Jan 11, IRNA -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani expressed regret over the human error which caused the tragic crash of Ukraine Airlines plane and said those who committed such an unpardonable mistake will be sued and investigated. The Iranian nation and the families of the victims will be informed of the results of the probes, the president said in a statement posted on its official website on Saturday morning. A Ukraine Airlines aircraft crashed in southern Tehran on Wednesday morning (Jan 8). All 176 people aboard including nine crew members lost their lives. "In an atmosphere of threats and intimidation by the aggressive American regime against the Iranian nation after the martyrdom of General Qasem Soleimani, and in order to defend ourselves against possible attacks by the American Army, the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran were on full alert, unfortunately leading to this terrible catastrophe which claimed lives of dozens of innocent people because of human error and an erroneous shooting," the statement noted. "My thoughts and prayers go to all the mourning families. I offer my sincerest condolences," the President said stressing that the tragic event is not an issue that cannot be put aside easily. The full text of the president's statement is as follows: In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful We are all from Allah and to Him we shall return (Holy Quran) Noble people of Iran With the utmost regret and sorrow, hours ago I was informed of the outcome of the General Staff of the Armed Forces' investigation into the Ukrainian passenger plane crash. In the atmosphere of threats and intimidation by the aggressive American regime against the Iranian nation after the martyrdom of General Qasem Soleimani, and in order to defend ourselves against possible attacks by the American Army, the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran were on full alert, which unfortunately led to this terrible catastrophe taking the lives of dozens of innocent people because of human error and mistaken shooting The Islamic Republic of Iran is deeply sorry by this disastrous mistake, and I extend my deepest condolences to the families of the victims of this tragic incident on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran and instruct all related organs to take all necessary measures to compensate and sympathize with the bereaved families. I also express my deep condolences and sympathy of the Iranian government to the nations, governments, and families of non-Iranian victims. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be in full consular cooperation to identify and return the bodies of victims to their families. This painful accident is not something that can be easily overlooked. Further investigation is needed to identify all the causes and roots of this tragedy and prosecute the perpetrators of this unforgivable mistake and inform the honorable people of Iran and the families of the victims about it. It is also necessary to adopt the required arrangements and measures to address the weaknesses of the country's defense systems to make sure such a disaster is never repeated. Again, I extend my condolences to the families of the victims of this painful accident, praying for those who lost their lives and wishing their bereaved families patience and rewards. 1483**1424 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Veteran actor Ian McKellen has shared his diary entries from the time he worked on Peter Jackson's fan favourite "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, giving a closer look to the fans at the making of the film series. Based on JRR Tolkein's books, the movie franchise spawned into "The Fellowship of the Ring" (2001), "The Two Towers" (2002) and "The Return of the King" (2003), and a trilogy of prequels based on the author's children book "The Hobbit". McKellen, who played Gandalf the Grey in the films, tweeted a link to his journal entries on Friday from over two decades ago. "20 years ago, I arrived New Zealand to begin filming 'The Lord of the Rings'. I joined the cast on January 10, 2000. During that time, I kept a journal, which today would be called a blog. Perhaps you'll enjoy reading about those heady times," the 80-year-old actor wrote. McKellen's journals date back to the time of his casting in August of 1999 and continue on through his travels to New Zealand - where the films were shot - pre-production, filming, and premieres of all the films in the 'LOTR' trilogy. "While filming 'The Lord of the Rings', I began recording my impressions in The Grey Book named for Gandalf the Grey, the wizard who leads the Fellowship of The Ring in its fight against Sauron, the Lord of the Rings. "This was one of the earliest blogs, launched before the term came into widespread use. Originally posted like a blog, with the newest entries at top, in 2010 the entries on this page were rearranged into chronological order from 20 August 1999 to 14 December 2001. After 2001, I began an additional volume of entries called The White Book," McKellen wrote. The veteran stage-film actor covers a range of topics like trying on the Gandalf costume and beard for the first time, working with his cast mates and his scheduling conflicts with the X-Men franchise -- he also played another popular character, mutant Magneto/ Eric Lensherr. Fans and followers can read his diary entries on McKellen.com. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-13 05:13:13|Editor: yan Video Player Close DUBAI, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan received a phone call from French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday. "I received a phone call from French President Emmanuel Macron during which we discussed enhancing cooperation as well as important regional and international developments," he said on his official Twitter account. "We have a shared interest in strengthening security and stability in the region," added Sheikh Mohammed, who is also deputy supreme commander of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces. Earlier on Saturday, the crown prince had talks over the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two leaders discussed latest developments and the importance of maintaining regional security and resolving issues though dialogue. Iran: Ukrainian plane brought down 'due to human error' Iran Press TV Saturday, 11 January 2020 4:10 AM Iran says a Ukrainian plane which crashed outside Tehran this week had flown close to a sensitive military site and been brought down due to human error "at a time of crisis caused by US adventurism." In a statement Saturday, the general staff of the armed forces touched on the tense situation in the hours after Iran's missile attack on US bases in Iraq, saying Tehran was on the highest level of alert "in response to threats by the criminal American president and military commanders" to hit a large number of Iranian targets. "In the hours after the missile strikes, flights by the warplanes of the terrorist American forces around the country increased, and some reports of aerial targets heading toward strategic centers of the country were received by defense units while a number of targets appeared on some radar screens which raised the sensitivity of the air defense networks. "Under such sensitive and critical conditions, the Ukrainian Airlines flight 752 took off from the Imam Khomeini airport and while rotating, it was placed completely in the position of approaching a sensitive military center in the altitude and trajectory of an enemy target. "In these circumstances, the plane was unintentionally hit due to human error, which unfortunately resulted in the martyrdom of a number of our dear compatriots and the death of a number of foreign nationals," it said. All 176 people on the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight died in the crash this week just after take-off from Tehran on a flight to Kiev. "The Islamic Republic of Iran deeply regrets this disastrous mistake," President Hassan Rouhani wrote on Twitter. "My thoughts and prayers go to all the mourning families. I offer my sincerest condolences." Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif offered Iran's "profound regrets, apologies and condolences to our people, to the families of all victims, and to other affected nations." "A sad day. Preliminary conclusions of internal investigation by Armed Forces: Human error at time of crisis caused by US adventurism led to disaster," he tweeted. The general staff of the armed forces said those responsible for shooting down the passenger jet would "immediately" be brought before military justice. It assured that "by pursuing fundamental reforms in operational processes at the armed forces' level, we will make it impossible to repeat such errors." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The culture of reflexive conspiracy-theorising that pervades the Islamic Republic can sometimes catch out its own officials. Responding to reports that the Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 was shot down by an Iranian missile, the head of Iran's civil aviation organisation protested that this was out of question, because his country's air-defence systems were too sophisticated to make such a mistake. It turned out, of course, they were not too sophisticated. Tehran later back-pedalled and admitted it had shot down the plane by mistake, leading to the death of 176 people. Officials said it had been mistaken for a cruise missile. Representative image Government policy think tank NITI Aayogs proposed draft scheme to link new or existing private medical colleges with district public hospital under public private partnership (PPP), to address the shortage of doctors is out. The think tank will be conducting a stakeholders' meet on January 21 for further consultations. "The said Concession Agreement has been developed based on the international best practices, and similar PPP arrangements that are operative in the States of Gujarat and Karnataka. Under this envisioned model, the Concessionaire shall design, build, finance, operate and maintain the medical college and also upgrade, operate and maintain the associated District Hospital with a minimum annual student intake of 150 MBBS seats," NITI Aayog said in the draft posted on its website. The Aayog has said that the proposed plan is to bring private capital to setup medical colleges and privatise operations, and management of the associated district hospital is to address shortage of qualified doctors. India has around 9.2 lakh doctors in active service, with one doctor for every 1,457 people as per the country's current population estimate of 1.35 billion. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends one doctors for every 1,000 people. "It is practically not possible for the Central or state the government to bridge the gaps in the medical education with their limited resources and finances. This necessitates formulating a PPP model by combining the strengths of public and private sectors. Accordingly, a scheme to link new and/or existing Private Medical Colleges with functional District Hospitals through PPP would augment medical seats and also rationalise the costs of medical education," NITI Aayog said. The scheme can be extended to 734 district hospitals across India. Scheme highlights The draft concessionaire agreement suggests that a private entity registered under the Companies Act, 2013, would get the contract and implements the scheme. The concession period is for 60 years. The proposed concessionaire agreement hands over land and all assets of the district hospital to the concessionaire for the period. There is a provision for an extension at the end of 60 years. The draft suggests that an existing district hospital selected for the PPP-treatment should have at least 750 beds or the number of beds prescribed by the Medical Council of India (MCI). Further, all in-patient beds are to be categorised into regulated beds and market beds. Out of 750 beds, at least 20 percent of the beds shall be for free patients and for which the treatment shall be provided free of cost. Currently, all beds in general wards of district hospitals are free. The remaining are highly subsidised. The private partner will have to pay the government a share of it gross revenue. The concessionaire has to pay from seven years after the Commercial Operations Date, a share in the Gross Revenue (Revenue Share) as 1 percent for the Gross Revenue in the relevant year. This will increase by 1 percent for every one-year period thereafter, during the concession period, subject to a limit of 20 percent of the gross revenue of such year. To be sure, this proposal is part of governments gradual shift from healthcare provider to buyer of healthcare services -- especially tertiary care, where healthcare will be provided by the private sector. However, there are some exceptions like All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and other public hospitals. Viability of PPP Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), a healthcare NGO, did a deep dive into the draft Concessionaire Agreement and found several inconsistencies. JSA suggests that the experiments with PPPs have failed in most instances. "In India, we are unable to locate any experience in Karnataka that it could be based on. The closest one - in Raichur - was a dismal failure on which internal government assessments are available. This proposal is very similar to the Gujarat Adani Institute of Medical Sciences model in Bhuj, Gujarat. This model had a high government investment and the Adanis also brought in a Rs 100-crore investment- but after 10 years, it still has a cumulative deficit - which the government may or may not be covering, JSA said. And this is after it has been charging Rs 3 lakh per medical student and Rs 8 lakhs for an NRI student. Moreover, for Adani, which has a Rs 24,000 crore investment in that district of Gujarat, this was well within its CSR obligations. Even when within Gujarat the scheme was sought to be expanded to six districts (Tapi, Dahod, Panchamahals, Banaskantha, Bharuch and Amreli) there have been no takers for this," JSA added. It also cites examples of worlds biggest experiment in health PPPs in England (Private Finance Initiative) is brought to an abrupt end by the government there due to mounting negative impacts on the public purse and wide scale failure to deliver value for money. "The cost of Swedens PPP hospital has doubled in cost to the government and is now known as the most expensive hospital in the world and the PPP hospital in Lesotho was estimated to have cost half the nations health budget in 2014 and in 2017, the cost doubled the affordability threshold agreed by the government and World Bank," JSA adds. Some concerns Along with the viability of PPPs and converting public healthcare to profit private entities, there are concerns about what is going to happen to government's reservation policy in admissions and jobs, if these hospitals are privatised. Also, district hospitals are the nodal centre of primary healthcare delivery. There was no mention about what will happen to this status once district hospital is privatised. These are all valid concerns that the government has to clear. Tehran, Jan 12 (IANS) Iran's Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned new US sanctions on some Iranian industrial companies and Iranian officials. On Friday, the United States imposed more sanctions on Iran in retaliation for its missile attack on US forces in Iraq. The sanctions targeted Iran's manufacturing, mining and textile sectors as well as senior Iranian officials who Washington said were involved in the January 8 attack on US military bases in Iraq, Xinhua news agency reported/ A nonprofit will host a series of workshops aimed at helping mass shooting survivors and parents of victims heal from their traumas. The first workshop, Triumph Over Tragedy, is scheduled for March. Laura Hutfless, board member of the Onsite Foundation, described the workshop as a six-day healing retreat with top-of-the-line trauma therapists and clinicians. It will take place at the Onsite Campus in Cumberland Furnace, Tennessee, an hour outside of Nashville. Its a really beautiful, peaceful place, which is a perfect center for healing and community, Hutfless said. Sixty survivors will be accepted to participate in the first workshop. The main criteria for applicants are they must be a survivor of a mass shooting, be a year out from the shooting event and be over 18 years of age, Hutfless said. Additional admission criteria are: --At least 15 days of sobriety before the program begins --No smoking while on campus --Prescriptions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the clinician staff --No current suicidal plan or attempt past attempts/plans must be at least six months ago --No self-harm --No homicidal ideation plans or attempts Although survivors of the Midland and Odessa shootings are not eligible for the first workshop, because it occurred five months ago, Hutfless encouraged survivors to apply to be considered for future workshops. We will be doing more workshops, she said. If we see theres a need, we can roll out more over the course of a year, and if theyve applied, then theyll be the first to be in line for those workshops. The therapy each participant receives will be decided on a case-by-case basis, Hutfless said. Crystal Miller, a survivor of the Columbine shooting and chair of the Onsite Foundations Survivor Advisory Council, said the program is specialized to each individual. We recognize that trauma is so diversely different in every single persons life and in their journey, she said. Each program is specifically curated and designed to meet each survivor exactly where they are. Miller said the program was inspired by Austin Eubanks, a friend and also a survivor of the Columbine shooting. Eubanks died from drug addiction eight months ago. His dream and his vision was to see a safe refuge where survivors could go to work through their trauma and their emotional pain, Miller said. The Onsite Foundation will be hosting a workshop in April titled Life After Loss for parents who have lost children to mass shootings, gun violence, suicide, illness or other tragedies. Hutfless said they will also be hosting a workshop in the fall for first responders and veterans. The costs of attending the workshops, including room and board, food and costs associated with receiving therapy, are covered by the Onsite Foundation. Attendees are responsible for airfare to Nashville; the Onsite Foundation will transport them from the airport. Miller said an essential component of the workshops is the fostering of community among survivors of mass shootings. I think so often, it feels like to a survivor like they are completely alone -- isolated, nobody understands, nobody can relate, she said. Unfortunately, the group of survivors who can relate is ever growing as shootings have become so common place. Applications for Triumph Over Tragedy opened Jan. 6 and will close Feb. 6. More information about the program and how to apply can be found at theonsitefoundation.org. Donald Trump supporter found himself out of words when asked to enlist the presidents achievements. The teenage boy was one amongst the thousands who attended the rally in Ohio which marks Trumps first rally in 2020. The presidential election in the US is scheduled to take place on November 3 this year. 'Trump 2020' While covering the rally, a reporter from international media asked the teen, who was wearing a cap which said Trump 2020 to name something that he believes the current US president has done well. The question left the trump fan startled as he struggled to answer. After adding a lot of um and ah he finally said that he wasnt really sure. He further added that he just supports Trump. Watch the video here: What is something that you believe the president has done well? pic.twitter.com/UlFeaOtTVR Vic Berger IV (@VicBergerIV) January 10, 2020 Video Credits: Twitter/Vic Berger IV Read: Trump Suggests Acronym 'NATOME' For NATO Deployments In The Middle East Read: Sultan Qaboos Brought Peace, Prosperity To His Country And Was Friend To All: Trump The video took the internet by storm with many users questioning his support for the president. What you can expect when you pay people to come to your rallies pic.twitter.com/zQ7hNsG5ux RustNeverSleeps (@catdana2) January 10, 2020 I I I am here for my $10. overit (@Stephaniefishm4) January 10, 2020 This is what we are up against. Uninformed Americans keeping our country hostage. We have to take our country back from these fools. PatsyDryden (@Patta47cake) January 10, 2020 That calls for a never before seen gif! pic.twitter.com/LVRHih3LTI Lotsofur 2.0 (@RealTwitish) January 10, 2020 Meanwhile, President Trump expressed his heartfelt condolences on January 11 after hearing the demise of Sultan Qaboos of Oman and called him a great friend of America who worked for peace in the Middle East. Joining other world leaders in remembering the ruler, Trump said that Sultan Qaboos was the longest-serving ruler in the Middle East who brought harmony and prosperity to his country and was a friend to all. Trump said that the leader's impeccable efforts to engage in dialogue and achieve peace in the region showed the US the importance of listening to all viewpoints. He said that Sultan Qaboos was a loyal partner and true friend of the US who worked with nine different American Presidents. Read: Trump Warns Iran Against 'massacre' As Protests Erupt Over Jetliner Downing Read: Donald Trump Slams Evangelical Magazine For Branding Him Morally Unfit WASHINGTON Defense Secretary Mark Esper explicitly said Sunday that he had seen no hard evidence that four American embassies had been under possible threat when President Donald Trump authorized the targeting of Irans top commander, raising questions about the scale of the threat described by Trump last week. As the administration struggled with its justification for the drone strike that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Esper and other officials tried to refocus attention on voices of dissent in Iran. Esper said street protests in Tehran show the Iranian people are hungry for a more accountable government after leaders denied, then admitted shooting down a Ukrainian passenger plane. The plane was downed shortly after Iran launches strikes against US bases in Iraq in retaliation for Soleimanis killing. You can see the Iranian people are standing up and asserting their rights, their aspirations for a better government a different regime, Esper said. He appeared on two Sunday news shows while national security adviser, Robert OBrien, was interviewed on three others pressing the White Houses campaign to bring maximum pressure on Tehran to change its behavior. OBrien suggested the United States sees this moment as an opportunity to further intensify pressure on Irans leaders, with whom the U.S. has been at odds for four decades. Irans leaders already are under enormous strain from economic sanctions that have virtually strangled Irans main source of income oil exports. Trump himself is under great pressure as he faces an expected impeachment trial in the Senate. Many in Congress also are upset over his handling of Iran, complaining that the administration did not consult them in advance of the Jan. 3 strike that killed Irans most powerful general, nor adequately brief members afterward. Trump complicated the debate by asserting on Fox News that he had to strike quickly because intelligence showed Iran could have attacked four American embassies. Both Esper and OBrien said they agreed that Iran might have hit more than just the U.S. Embassy in the Iraqi capital. But Esper, when asked whether there was a specific piece of evidence, replied: I didnt see one with regard to four embassies. And in response to a question about whether Trump was embellishing the threat, Esper said, I dont believe so. After the U.S. killed Soleimani in Baghdad, it appeared the backlash in Iran and elsewhere had helped Tehran by shifting the focus away from its internal problems. The strike also seemed to divert attention away from domestic unrest in Iraq over government corruption, and it intensified efforts by Iraqi politicians to expel American and other foreign forces. But the shootdown of the Ukrainian plane on the night of the Soleimani strike, killing all 176 people aboard, opened a new avenue of pressure for the Trump administration. `I think the regime is having a very bad week, OBrien said. This was a regime thats reeling from maximum pressure, theyre reeling from their incompetence in this situation and the people of Iran are just fed up with it, he said, adding that regime change is not U.S. policy. The people of Iran are going to hopefully have the ability at some point to elect their own government and to be governed by the leaders they choose, OBrien said. In Tehran, Irans security forces deployed in large numbers on Sunday. Demonstrators defied the heavy police presence to protest their countrys days of denials that it shot down the Ukrainian plane. Videos posted online showed protesters shouting anti-government slogans and moving through subway stations and sidewalks. Earlier Sunday, Trump tweeted his support for the Iranian protesters. To the leaders of Iran DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS, Trump wrote on Twitter Sunday morning. Thousands have already been killed or imprisoned by you, and the World is watching. More importantly, the USA is watching. Turn your internet back on and let reporters roam free! Stop the killing of your great Iranian people! Esper said Iran deserves credit for taking responsibility for the shootdown. My hunch is it was an accident, he said, adding that although Iranian government officials initially blamed American propaganda, they ultimately did the right thing by admitting it. He said they need to allow a full investigation. The Ukrainian plane crash early Wednesday killed all 176 people on board, mostly Iranians and Iranian-Canadians. After initially pointing to a technical failure and insisting the armed forces were not to blame, Iranian authorities on Saturday admitted to accidentally shooting it down with its air defenses. That acknowledgement came in the face of mounting accusations by Western leaders. Iran downed the Ukrainian flight as Tehran braced for retaliation after firing ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq housing U.S. forces. The ballistic missile attack, which caused no casualties, was a response to the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Irans top general, in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad. Iranians have expressed anger over the downing of the Ukrainian flight and the misleading explanations from senior officials in the immediate aftermath. Later the government took the blame for the shootdown, saying it was caused by human error. Reviewing the dramatic sequence of events that preceded the downing of the Ukrainian jetliner Wednesday, Esper justified the U.S. killing of Soleimani as an act of self defense, and he said the U.S. foresees no more Iranian military attacks in retaliation for that. Even so, the leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which is closely aligned with Iran, said Sunday that Irans missile attacks on two bases in Iraq housing U.S. forces last week were only the start of the retaliation. Hassan Nasrallah described Irans military response, which caused no casualties, as a slap at the U.S. He called it the first step down a long path that will ensure U.S. troops withdraw from the region. Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he was concerned that Iran has lots of ways that they can take action against us, both overt and covert, and I dont think theyre done trying to seek revenge. Esper spoke hopefully of getting the NATO alliance more involved in Iraq to help train Iraqi security forces. He said this could allow him to reduce the number of American troops in Iraq, currently numbering more than 5,200, but he did not say any reduction was in the works yet. Esper also said the administrations offer to negotiate a new nuclear deal with Iran without precondition still stands. Trumps decision to pull the United States out of an international nuclear deal with Iran in 2018 is cited by his critics as the trigger for escalating tensions that led to the killing of Soleimani. Esper said Irans paramilitary Quds Force still presents a threat across the Mideast, but the specific attacks he said were being planned by Soleimani, have been disrupted. Esper was pressed to comment on Trumps statement in a Fox News interview that the president believed Soleimani had been plotting to attack four U.S. embassies. Esper said he shared the belief that Soleimani was planning attacks on multiple U.S. facilities, but Esper did not say these included four embassies. While seeking to defend Trumps remarks as representing the presidents personal belief, not an assertion of a specific piece of hard intelligence that four embassies had been targeted, Esper indicated there was no such piece of evidence. I didnt see one with regard to four embassies, Esper said. What Im saying is I share the presidents view that probably my expectation was they were going to go after our embassies. The embassies are the most prominent display of American presence in a country. OBrien seemed to agree with Trump on that point. Its always difficult even with the exquisite intelligence that we have to know exactly what the targets are, but its certainly consistent with the intelligence to assume that they would have hit embassies in at least four countries, OBrien said. Esper appeared on CBS Face the Nation and CNNs )State of the Union. OBrien appeared on ABCs This Week, Fox News Sunday and NBCs Meet the Press. Coon was on Fox. BUCHANAN Will the people that have a flag in their hand raise the flag up? asked New Freedom Farm founder Lois Fritz. Inside the newly renovated meeting room, 22 people raised the small American flags Fritz had given to them before her presentation started. If you look around, there are 22 flags standing up, she said. Today, 22 veterans will have taken their lives. 22 veterans a day in our country. At a grand opening lunch Jan. 4 that celebrated completed renovations to the three-year-old nonprofits welcome center, Fritz was explaining why she and her husband Mitchell moved from New Jersey in pursuit of a dream that combined a therapy program for veterans with a rescue program for horses. Today, if one veteran is saved, it makes a difference in the world, she said. The small agricultural building that holds Fritzs office had no plumbing or heat when refurbishing work began in October 2018. David Lalush, a contractor and Botetourt County parks maintenance employee, came to me and said he would do all the construction work for free, Fritz said. Out of 52 weekends, 48 of them, Becky and Dave were here from sun up to sundown. Saturday and Sunday, Friday and Monday, Lalush said with a humorous twinkle. Dave took personal time, his own time, to hurry it up and get the project done, Fritz said. David and Becky Lalush are Gold Star parents. Their son, U.S. Marine Sgt. Michael Lalush, was killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq in 2003. The Lord Botetourt High School graduate was the first Western Virginia casualty in that war. Helping out New Freedom Farm has been therapeutic for the couple. I love being around the veterans, Becky Lalush said. I love just seeing what can happen here, and the support, how everybody just comes together. Its just so good for everybody. New Freedom Farm gives people something to belong to, said Mitchell Fritz, Lois husband, whom she frequently, jokingly refers to as Mr. Budget, as he often makes it a point to remind her about costs. The idea for New Freedom Farm grew out of Lois Fritzs own experiences. A horse helped me, she said. After her service in the U.S. Navy ended, she went to work as a forensic nurse, investigating deaths for the prosecutors office in Warren County, New Jersey. Thats where I learned a lot about trauma. Some of the trauma she tried to learn to live with was very personal. My former boyfriend was a Marine, and he took his life, she told the audience. He did it 100%clean and sober. Her husband said that she struggled to deal with those traumas, including self-medicating with alcohol. People who see combat and see dead bodies and rescue people from car crashes, she did all the things that those people do to cope, he said. A therapist recommended she try doing something she always wanted to do, so she signed up for horseback riding lessons. The first touch of the horse was when she was 40. By 2015, when they decided to move from New Jersey to Botetourt County, they were boarding five horses, four of which were rescues. New Freedom Farm has 20 equine residents, including donkeys and wild mustangs. The nonprofits signature program involves pairing veterans with wild mustangs to gentle and train, but interacting with the animals is not a requirement. Those seeking solace are welcome to just come visit. There is no admission charge, Mitchell Fritz said. A funny, gregarious speaker, Lois Fritz has translated that charisma to social media, where shes built a substantial Facebook following that has helped spread word about New Freedom Farm across the country. Veterans have come from as far as New Hampshire and Vermont to visit, Mitchell Fritz said, sometimes with transportation and financial assistance from groups like Rolling Thunder or the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association. Weve been supporting Lois since 2016, said Brenda Einhorn, a Rolling Thunder member from the organizations home state of New Jersey. She has saved quite a few lives. For more information on New Freedom Farm, call (540) 855-1158 or visit newfreedomfarm.org. Judge Antonio Dias Toffoli, sided with the streaming platform's appeal against a temporary injunction banning the movie. The film, entitled "The First Temptation of Christ", by the Brazilian production company Porta dos Fundos, came out on December 3 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. Following an explosive week between the US and Iran, it has been revealed that the Pentagon secretly discussed targeting Iranian General Qassem Soleimani for 18 months before making the decision to strike. As tensions escalated between the two nations, the US had a list of targets in mind in case Iran ever attacked the US. When American civilian contractor Nawres Waleed Hamid was killed when rockets hit the K1 military base in Kirkuk, Iraq on December 27, Washington was ready to act. After months of tracking Soleimani, the second most powerful man in Iran, the plan to finally strike him was rolled out on January 3, 2020, a move that thrust the US to the brink of war, according to a New York Times report based on interviews with dozens of Trump administration and military officials. Soleimani was known as a 62-year-old high-flying general and leader of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps who was behind proxy wars in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. He was one of the most ruthless commanders in the region who for years worked in the shadows but emerged in the spotlight following the Arab Spring and the war with the Islamic State. He's seen as the mastermind behind Iran's fight for regional dominance. The US discussed targeting Iranian General Qassem Soleimani for the past 18 months, according to a new report. Surveillance of the shadowy general increased in May and September and culminated in a drone strike that killed him on January 3, 2020 The image shows one of the smoldering vehicles struck in a US drone strike that killed General Qassem Soleimani on January 3 at the Baghdad International Airport On December 31, when the US embassy in Baghdad was attacked by pro-Iran protesters, a top secret memo started to circulate among US defense officials signed by Robert C. O'Brien, Trump's national security adviser, listing out potential targets. That memo's most provocative response option was to target specific Iranian officials for death by military strike. Named on that list was General Soleimani and Abdul Reza Shahlai, an Iranian commander in Yemen who helped finance armed groups in the region. Less dramatic response options were to target an Iranian energy facility and a Revolutionary Guard command-and-control ship used to direct small boats that harass oil tankers in the waters around Iran. While Soleimani had been on the US radar for some time, surveillance on the shadowy general intensified in May. At that time tensions with Iran had escalated following attacks on four oil tankers, leading then national security adviser John R. Bolton to ask the military and intelligence agencies to produce new options to stop Iranian aggression. He was presented with the option to kill Soleimani and other leaders of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. On December 31 when the US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq was attacked by pro-Iran protesters, a top secret memo started to circulate among US defense officials signed by Robert C. O'Brien, Trump's national security adviser, listing out potential targets including General Soleimani. The protest where angry dissenters burned tired in front of the US embassy is pictured above In September, the US Central Command and Joint Special Operations Command were brought in to plan a possible operation against him, debating targeting Soleimani in Syria or Iraq. Agents recruited in Syria and Iraq reported on Soleimani's movements, according to one official. Officials had discussions for months about targeting Soleimani. They said it would be too challenging to hit him in Iran and debated targeting him in Syria or Iraq. The US worked on developing agents in seven different entities - the Syrian Army, the Quds Force in Damascus, Hezbollah in Damascus, the Damascus and Baghdad airports and Kataib Hezbollah and Popular Mobilization forces in Iraq to report on his movements. Surveillance records found that Soleimani flew on a number of airlines and often bought multiple tickets for a trip to throw off people who could be tailing him. He'd be dropped off to his plane at the last moment possible and sit in the front row of business class so he'd be the first one off the plane, according to sources who spoke to the New York Times. On New Year's Day he flew to Damascus then drove by car to Lebanon to meet with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Nasrallah warned him American news media was fixating on him and posting his photograph, saying: 'This was media and political preparation for his assassination.' He said Soleimani laughed and said he hoped to die a a martyr and asked Nasrallah to pray that he would. That same day across the world at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia officials reported a 'mosaic effect' - scraps of information that together indicated Soleimani was mobilizing and organizing proxy forces in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq to attack American embassies and bases. Though there wasn't concrete evidence of an imminent threat, there was a concerning pattern. Tracking General Qassem Soleimani The US considered targeting General Qassem Soleimani, 62, for the past 18 months In May then national security adviser John R Bolton asked military and intelligence agencies for options to end Iranian aggression. One option was to kill General Soleimani and his surveillance intensified. In September the US Central Command and Joint Special Operations Command were included to plan a possible operation, targeting the general in either Syria or Iraq Agents were recruited in seven different groups in the Middle East to track his movements On December 31 a top secret memo circulates among US defense officials listing out potential targets including Soleimani Trump chooses to target Soleimani On January 1, 2020 Soleimani flies to Damascus and heads to Lebanon to meet with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah On January 3 he flies from Damascus to Baghdad, Iraq and is struck by US drones while driving away from airport Advertisement CIA officials determined that the consequences of not striking Soleimani would outweigh waiting around. Trump agreed with the option to target Soleimani and there was overall agreement among his senior advisers. However, some officials with the Pentagon were shocked that the president chose the most extreme option. In the end they struck him on January 3 after he disembarked of Cham Wings Airlines Flight 6Q501 that took off from Damascus and landed in Baghdad. The plane landed at 12.36am and Soleimani disembarked with his entourage first. He was joined by Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the leader of several militia groups tied to Iran. In two cars they drove away from the airport while followed by American MQ-9 Reaper drones. At 12.47pm several missiles fired into the vehicles, sending them up in flames and leaving 10 burnt bodies in their wake. It's not precisely clear why he was in Iraq. Some theories say he was there as a part of an attack plot. Others say he was there to reduce tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia. In the attack 10 people were killed: Soleimani, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis who helped found Kataib Hezbollah, and their aides. However that same night American forces tried to target another general in Yemen, but failed. The US targeted Abdul Reza Shahlai, the Quds Force commander, but failed due to an undisclosed problem with intelligence. In the aftermath of the attack, while Trump announced the strike with triumph, the rest of the world raced to ease tensions with Iran. The French and Japanese offered to serve as mediators between the countries - which only annoyed President Trump who reportedly dislikes middle men. A senior German diplomat sent a text to his Iranian counterpart urging the country to remain calm. Iranian Revolution supreme leader Ali Khamenei (center) and President Hassan Rouhani (2nd from L) pictured at the funeral of General Qassem Soleimani President Emmanuel Macron of France reached out to the US and Iran. 'Macron's specificity is that he does not approve, but he also does not condemn,' Michel Duclos, a former French ambassador to Syria said. Switzerland played a key role in keeping the peace, continuing its role as intermediary between US and Iran since they broke off diplomatic relations in 1980. Swiss ambassador in Tehran Markus Leitner visited the Iranian Foreign ministry twice, according to a Swiss analyst. The Americans sent a letter to the Iranians through the Swiss warning that retaliation for the drone strike would trigger further military action by Trump. Leitner returned to the Foreign Ministry at the end of the day to get the Iranian response. All the while, Trump had agreed for the US to target other sites that were originally considered in the line of attack against Iran including the oil and gas facility and the command-in-control ship for further retaliation in case Iran responded to the drone strike. Furthermore the US developed plans to conduct a cyber attack to partly disable Iran's oil and gas sector. Trump sparked fury when he tweeted he had a list of Iranian targets including culturally important ones. One official said none of the targets were actually cultural. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 19:52:24|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close PHNOM PENH, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian police have arrested two local men for allegedly possessing and trafficking 9.64 kg of illicit drugs, said an Anti-Drug Police Department's report released on Sunday. Kim Va, a 35-year-old tuk-tuk driver, and Keo Sothea, a 25-year-old unemployed man, were detained on Friday during a raid at their houses in Phnom Penh's Por Senchey district and southwest Kampong Speu province's Thapong district. "A total of 9.64 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine was seized from the two suspects," the report said, adding that two cars, two cellphones and two scales were also confiscated from them. It was the second remarkable drug bust this week. On Tuesday, the anti-drug police nabbed three local men in the capital's Tuol Kork district and seized a total of 14 kg of crystal methamphetamine and Nimetazepam. The Southeast Asian nation has no death sentence for drug traffickers. Under its law, someone found guilty of trafficking more than 80 grams of drugs could be jailed for life. According to the Anti-Drug Police Department, Cambodia arrested 20,113 drug suspects, including 401 foreigners in 12 nationalities, in 2019, confiscating about 720 kg of illicit drugs. - In 2019, the same judge handed his brother Baktash Akasha 25 years in prison for heading the drug syndicate - Ibrahim and Baktash pleaded guilty in October 2018 for dealing in cocaine, heroin and also bribing Kenyan officials to prevent their extradition - According to prosecution, the duo also dealt in guns which they used to neutralise would-be competitors in the business - Ibrahim pleaded with the court to give him time to see his family and also ask for forgiveness from families destroyed by his trade A court in the U.S has sentenced Ibrahim Akasha to 23 years imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to counts of drug trafficking. The Friday, January 10, the ruling was issued at Manhattan Federal Court by District Judge Victor Marrero and it spelt an end of an era to one of East Africa's most sophisticated drugs syndicate known as the Akasha organisation. READ ALSO: Baringo dancing kids join boarding school in Nyahururu Baktash Akasha (pictured) was earlier handed 25 years in prison for heading the Akasha drug syndicate. Photo: UGC. Source: UGC READ ALSO: Iranian top commander takes full responsibility for shooting down Ukrainian plane The sentencing of Ibrahim comes about six months after that of Baktash Akasha who was handed 25 years behind bars for dealing in narcotics by the same judge. TUKO.co.ke has earlier reported that the two brothers had pleaded guilty to dealing in drugs in October 2018 following their extradition from Kenya. READ ALSO: Protests in Tehran after Iran admitted it accidentally downed plane that killed 176 Lawyer Cliff Ombeta earlier served as a defence lawyer in the case. Photo: UGC. Source: UGC Ibrahim and Baktash were arrested in 2014 by US agents who posed as drug barons. They lured them into selling sell 99 kilograms of cocaine and two kilograms of methamphetamine. READ ALSO: Moses Kuria freed after spending cold night in custody According to the prosecution, the duo also dealt in guns which they used to neutralise would-be competitors in the business. During the sentencing, Ibrahim pleaded with the court to allow hem to see his family and also make apologise to families they were hurt by his business. Chief Justice David Maraga earlier admitted that cartels within the Judiciary and the police force frustrated determination the case. 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 The police, on January 7, had requested the administration to do an audit of hostels for outsiders or unauthorised students. New Delhi: A day after the Delhi police identified nine suspects responsible for the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) violence on January 5, sources in the Delhi police, on Saturday, said that the SIT has also identified 37 more suspects from a WhatsApp group which was created during the violence at the campus. Meanwhile, on Saturday, the JNU administration undertook a security audit of hostels to check the stay of outsiders and unauthorised students following the January 5 violence in the campus, the JNU administration said. The police, on January 7, had requested the administration to do an audit of hostels for outsiders or unauthorised students. According to a police source, the 37 suspects identified do not belong to any students party active in JNU. Those identified are students of JNU, who were in favour of the semester registration process and wanted to enrol themselves. The group had 60 members and 37 of them have been identified, said a source. These identified persons will be called for questioning and after that it will be cleared if they are associated with any of the student outfits, said the source. ABVPs secretary (JNU unit) Manish Jangid, who had earlier alleged that he was attacked by left students, was also part of the Unity Against Left WhatsApp group and some other ABVP members were also in this group, said another source. However, Mr Jangid claimed that on January 5, after he was attacked by some people, his phone broke and he had no knowledge about being added to that group. It was when my phone was repaired that I came to know I had been added to that group, Mr Jangid said. Earlier on Friday, the police had released pictures of nine students, which included former students too, carrying out violence against JNU students and teachers last Sunday. JNU Students Union (JNUSU) president Aishe Ghosh too has been named in the list of the suspects. Among the nine individuals, seven belong to the Left wing while the remaining two are from the Right wing. However, no one has been detained. Earlier, the police said that a WhatsApp group, Unity Against Left, which is believed to have been formed while the violence escalated, is also under the scanner. Notices will be served to the suspects and as the investigation progresses, we may come out with more facts, said. Wood added that the district still has two insurance holidays to take in February and March. Each of those insurance holidays come to $1,370,000 in savings, totaling $2,740,000. Kobylski said that asking the SBRC to forgive some or all of that $9 million in negative unspent balance is a bold approach, but, he added, If you dont ask the question the answer is always no. He added that with the numbers showing the financial progress, the district is proving to the SBRC that the district has actual plans and is sticking to those plans. Naturally, he said, the SBRC could say no, or they could only grant a part of the request. To make it more palatable, the district is asking for the forgiveness over two fiscal years, $6,956,617 the first year and $2,318,872 in the second year. Tom Lane, assigned by the Iowa Board of Education to advise the Davenport School District, said the state school board has never had a district of this size in this financial strait. Theyre used to dealing with 1-A schools that just have run out of kids basically and have gone bankrupt in their programming before they go bankrupt financially. Thats what theyre used to dealing with, districts of maybe less than 100 children. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have vowed to become financially independent from Queen Elizabeth. The two made a jaw-dropping statement earlier in the week, announcing that they intend to step back as senior royals. The announcement has caused major outcry among the public, with some people siding with the Sussexes and others not. The two will reportedly still have publicly funded security while they make their transition. But how much will it cost to protect them in North America? Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | Dan Istitene/Pool/Getty Images Harry and Meghan are officially taking a step back from royal life The couple made a shocking announcement to start off 2020 theyre planning to step back from being royals. Meghan and Harry have had a tough time being in the public eye since they wed. The media have attacked Meghan relentlessly, and many members of the public dont feel that she compares to Kate. Meghan and Harry have filed a lawsuit against several British tabloids, which has only added fuel to the fire. And after the two decided to spend six weeks in solace on their trip to Vancouver, British Columbia, they realized they now want to live a less public life. The two plan to become financially independent Part of the couples announcement was that they plan to become financially independent from the queen but still support her. Right now, the couples lifestyle is funded by the queen, who is funded by taxpayer money. So, yes, the couples multi-million-dollar wedding was essentially paid for by the people of the United Kingdom. Meghan and Harry then went on to renovate their massive home, known as Frogmore Cottage, for nearly $2 million a number that was heavily funded by taxpayers as well. Now, the two plan to stop using taxpayer money for their lifestyle. But not everything will be coming out of their own pockets. Their security detail costs an estimated $1 million per year and could likely cost more in North America The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are reportedly still going to be funded by the queen (so, the taxpayers) for their security detail. And according to British reporter Rob Shuter, its not cheap to protect the royal couple. $1 million per year is the number I got from the security company, Shuter said on Good Day New York on January 9. However, now that theyll have to adapt to a brand new living situation, the security detail might cost even more. And taxpayers certainly wouldnt be happy about funding a family that doesnt even want to consider itself royalty. She could end up one of the most hated women in Britain, Shuter said. Many taxpayers have a problem with the couples departure If Meghan and Harry choose to leave the royal family, it essentially means that taxpayer money was spent on the couple when it never should have been. Their wedding and home renovations cost millions, and now, they dont want to be attached to the name any further. Naturally, many taxpayers have taken issue with the couples departure. And though Meghan and Harry claim they arent fully leaving the royal family, its unclear how this supposed 50/50 split will actually work. Its just never happened before successfully, royal commentator Eloise Parker told Good Day New York. Time will tell if Meghan and Harry can be the first ones to make it work. In a goof up, a senior BJP leader from Goa on Sunday attached "Swami Vivekananda against the CAA, NRC and Hindutva" hashtag to his tweet on the birth anniversary of the 19th Century Hindu monk. Minutes after his tweet went viral, BJP general secretary and former MP Narendra Sawaikar deleted the post, which he said was an "oversight". Sawaikar quoted Swami Vivekananda's historic 1893 Chicago speech in which he had said, "I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugee of all religions and all nations of the earth". Sawaikar, however, attached the hashtag "Vivekananda Against CAA, Vivekananda Against NRC and Vivekananda Against Hindutva". "Admit that it was by oversight. Stand by the contents of Vivekananda Speech," he said in another tweet. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Swami Vivekananda at the Belur Math, the headquarters of Ramakrishna Mission. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi: Reaffirming close ties between New Delhi and Moscow, Russian envoy to India Nikolay Kudashev has said that the time-tested bilateral relationship between the two nations is "second to none" Speaking to reporters, Kudashev said, "Our relationship with India is second to none. This is a relationship which is a privileged strategic partnership." "We supply topmost technology and weapons, committed to Indian industries like nuclear," the Russian envoy stated further. The comments came days ahead of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's India visit next week. PM Modi will travel to Russia in May and, in response to it, Russian President Vladimir Putin can visit India by the end of the year. On Kashmir, Kudashev reiterated his government's stand saying, "Kashmir is an internal matter of India, it belongs to the constitutional space of India. We always consider the internal affairs of your country." Live TV When quizzed about the recent foreign envoys' visit to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Kudashev said, while he hasn't got "official invitation" but "as far as India inviting other envoys is concerned, it is a sovereign matter of India. I do not feel obliged to comment on the matter." Explaining, "No doubt, as far as geopolitics in Kashmir is concerned, if somebody has some doubts or issues, let them travel, it is my personal comment." Russia is also going to train Indian astronauts for the Gaganyaan mission - the first manned Indian mission to space. On the mission, the envoy said, "space is established entity of our cooperation and we have been willing to contribute...based on our common conviction of peacefull and open outerspace". The BJP on Sunday held a kite festival here in support of the Citizenship Amendment Act where party leaders and workers flew kites with slogans in support of CAA written on them. Such kites were also distributed to people on the occasion. The festival was organised at Agrawal college and was participated by the party's state president Satish Poonia, Jaipur MP Ramcharan Bohra, former BJP's state unit president Ashok Parnami and others. In Sanganer area, a rally led by former Mayor Ashok Lahoti was also organised in support of the CAA. According to the amended law, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 and facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given expedited citizenship in 5 years instead of 11. The law excludes Muslims. Those opposing the law contend that it discriminates on the basis of religion and violates the Constitution. They also allege that the CAA along withe the NRC is intended to target the Muslim community in India. However, the central government has dismissed the allegations, maintaining that the law is intended to give citizenship to the persecuted people from the three neighbouring countries and not to take away citizenship from anyone. Image Credits: BJP Rajasthan Twitter Champaign, IL (61820) Today Sunny. Becoming windy late. High 34F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.. Tonight Partly cloudy in the evening with more clouds for later at night. Low 29F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible. The United States to expel more than a dozen Saudi military trainees training at US military bases, international media reported. The Pentagon review came after the deadly December 6 shooting by a Saudi serviceman at an American naval base in Florida. International media reported that the Saudi military personnel being expelled are not in any way connected to the shooting at the Pensacola naval base. Read: Six Saudi Nationals Detained In Connection To Pensacola Naval Base Shooting On December 10, 2019, the Pentagon announced that it was halting all operational training of Saudi Arabian military personnel in the United States. Then on December 19, the Pentagon announced that it found no threat in its review of approximately 850 Saudi Arabian students studying in the United States. The FBI confirmed that the Saudi Air Force second lieutenant Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani acted alone in the shooting that killed four people including the shooter. Florida shooting The gunman was in the United States for a training program which he was receiving at Pensacola naval base. Mohammed Alshamrani was in the United States since 2017 and was part of a group of some 200 foreign students receiving training at the Pensacola naval base. The shooter was receiving basic aviation, initial pilot training, and English classes at the base. Read: Saudi Man Involved In US Naval Base Shooting Assailed America As 'nation Of Evil' The United States SITE intelligence group had earlier said that the shooter from Saudi Arabia bashed America as a "nation of evil" prior to the attack. SITE said that the shooter who killed three people posted a short manifesto on twitter prior to opening fire at the Pensacola naval base. The shooter in his tweet branded America as a nation of evil. The shooter further added that his hate for America is not motivated by the freedoms they enjoy, but by the crimes they are committing against Muslims and also humanity as a whole. Read: US Navy Suspends Flight Training For Saudi Students After Florida Shooting King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia condemned the attack and expressed his sorrow and grief to the President of the United States, Donald Trump. The King also offered condolences to families of the victims. After the attack, President Donald Trump on Twitter said, the Saudi King called him to express his solidarity and also said that the people of the Kingdom does not support the barbaric attack. Read: Saudi King Expresses Sorrow Over US Naval Base Shooting, Pledges Cooperation Iran's civil aviation chief denied Friday that a missile downed a Ukrainian airliner which crashed killing all 176 people on board, rejecting Western claims of a catastrophic mistake by Tehran's air defences. The cause of the crash is to be announced Saturday after an investigating committee meeting in the presence of foreign and local parties involved, Iran's Fars news agency said, quoting an "informed source". The report came as Ukraine said its experts had been granted access to the black box flight recorders and as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo repeated it was "likely" an Iranian missile had downed the plane. Tehran has been facing mounting international pressure to allow a "credible" investigation into the crash, which several Western governments have blamed on 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, after Tehran invited the United States, Ukraine, Canada and others to join the investigation. The Boeing 737 crashed on Wednesday shortly after Iran launched missiles at US forces in Iraq in response to the killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike in Baghdad. Ukrainian passenger jet crashes in Iran / AFP It was 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 passengers on Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) Flight PS752 were dual national Iranian-Canadians but also included Ukrainians, Afghans, Britons and Swedes. Vadym Prystaiko, the foreign minister of Ukraine which has sent around 50 experts to Tehran to take part in the Iran-led inquiry, said Friday: "Our team has now access to the black boxes". The experts, he said, also had access to the radio exchanges between the UIA pilots and Tehran air traffic control and were receiving "full cooperation" from Iran. The Ukraine team, granted access to plane fragments and the crash site, will start analysing the contents of the black boxes, he added. Pompeo, echoing several world leaders, said "we do believe it's likely the plane was shot down by an Iranian missile", adding a final determination would be made after a probe is conducted. - Canada demands answers - Iran says that data must be extracted from the plane's black boxes before the cause of the crash can be established / IRAN PRESS/AFP Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said intelligence sources indicated an Iranian surface-to-air missile downed the aircraft after it took off from Tehran. "We know this may have been unintentional. Canadians have questions, and they deserve answers," he said. Abedzadeh rejected the claim. "Any remarks made before the data is extracted (from the plane's black box flight recorders) ... is not an expert opinion," he said. Video footage, which the New York Times said it had verified, emerged and appeared to show the moment the airliner was hit. A fast-moving object is seen rising at an angle into the sky before a bright flash appears, which dims and then continues moving forward. Several seconds later, an explosion is heard and the sky lights up. Iran said a 10-member Canadian delegation was on its way to help with the probe, although the two countries cut diplomatic relations in 2012. But Ottawa said only two Canadian investigators had been granted visas to travel to Iran. Canada's foreign minister Francois-Philippe Champagne also lowered the toll of Canadians killed in the crash from 63 to 57, citing new information on people's travel documents. The Islamic republic also invited US plane maker Boeing to "participate" in the investigation. Canada and the US National Transportation Safety Board said they received the invitations and would join the probe. Abedzadeh said Tehran had invited "Americans, Canadians, the French, Ukrainians and the Swedish" to be present during the investigation. European Union foreign ministers on Friday urged Iran to be transparent. "The important thing now is that everything is completely investigated. Nothing must be swept under the table," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said. Rescue teams work among debris after a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 passengers crashed near Imam Khomeini airport in the Iranian capital Tehran / AFP US President Donald Trump has indicated that Washington officials believed the Kiev-bound Boeing 737 was struck by an Iranian missile. - Radio silence - A woman in front of a memorial at the Boryspil airport outside Kiev for the victims of the Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 / AFP Unidentified officials told US media that satellite, radar and electronic data indicated Tehran's air defence units downed the aircraft. 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". "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, Iranian aviation authorities said. The pilot did not call the tower because "he must have been trying to save the airplane before anything else", Abedzadeh said. Rescue teams are pictured among bodies and debris at the crash site / ISNA/AFP/File German carrier Lufthansa said Friday it was cancelling all flights to and from Tehran until January 20 "due to the unclear security situation for the airspace around Tehran airport". Sweden said it was stopping Iran Air flights between the two countries because of safety concerns, and Australian Airlines also scrapped its flights to Tehran. Several other airlines also announced they would avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace. Investigators are pursuing several possibilities, including engine failure, a missile strike or an act of terror. As speculation about the cause grew, Hesamodin Ashena, 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. A north Alabama man faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty in a deadly ATV crash. Ryan Tolliver Johnson, a 21-year-old from Lexington, on Wednesday pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide in Lauderdale County Circuit Court. Judge Gil Self will sentence Johnson on March 4. He faces up to a decade in prison for the Class C felony charge. Johnson was driving under the influence of alcohol when the crash happened during the early morning hours of Sept. 16, 2017, killing 20-year-old Jackson Newton, the authorities said. Five people, including Johnson and Newton were on a Polaris Ranger when it overturned in a field off Lauderdale County Road 86 near Rogersville. Johnson was 19 at the time and had a blood alcohol content of at least 0.14, said Lauderdale County District Attorney Chris Connolly, citing a urine analysis performed on a sample taken hours after the crash. The legal limit in Alabama is 0.08. Defense attorney Ralph Holt said a blood analysis determined Johnsons blood alcohol content was 0.08. But because Johnson was under 21, the legal limit for him was 0.02. Connolly said his office will ask the judge to send Johnson to prison as a message of deterrent to other people. Its just senseless, Connolly said. The family and Jackson were really involved in the community. The deep sense of loss they have over something that was so senseless has been devastating. Holt said Johnson pleaded guilty because he wanted to accept responsibility and publicly acknowledge what happened. Its really just an attempt to try to do whats right to, by and for everybody involved, Holt said. Holt said Johnson and Newton were best friends. Johnson was an honorary pallbearer for Newtons funeral. In the time since the deadly crash, Johnson has worked as an electrician, Holt said, and tried to be a better person. Holt said the defense will ask the judge for a probation sentence, rather than prison time. Hes the perfect candidate for it, Holt said. He has no criminal history. Johnson had been indicted in 2018 on charges of manslaughter and first-degree assault. Prosecutors dismissed the assault charge and amended the manslaughter to the reduced charge of criminally negligent homicide. Flash The international community has called for restraint and a de-escalation in the Middle East and the Gulf region amid rising U.S.-Iran tensions following the U.S. killing of a top Iranian general and ensuing Iranian attacks on U.S. military bases. The situation was further complicated when Iran's state TV on Saturday quoted the Iranian military as saying that it "unintentionally" shot down the Ukrainian jetliner on Wednesday, in which all the 176 passengers and crew members on board were killed. "This tragic accident only reinforces the importance of de-escalating tensions in the region. We can all see very clearly that further conflict will only lead to more loss and tragedy," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Saturday. "It is vital that all leaders now pursue a diplomatic way forward." "Iran's admission that Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was shot down by mistake by its own armed forces is an important first step," Johnson said. "This will be an incredibly difficult time for all those families who lost loved ones in such tragic circumstances," said the British prime minister. "We will do everything we can to support the families of the four British victims and ensure they get the answers and closure they deserve." "We now need a comprehensive, transparent and independent international investigation and the repatriation of those who died," Johnson said. "The Britain will work closely with Canada, Ukraine and our other international partners affected by this accident to ensure this happens." Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Saturday that the country welcomes any international cooperation concerning the plane crash, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. "Iran welcomes any international cooperation within the framework of international regulations which is aimed at clarifying dimensions of the incident," Rouhani said in a telephone conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. At a news conference on Saturday, Trudeau said that "a full and complete investigation must be conducted," adding that "we need full clarity on how such a horrific tragedy could have occurred." In another phone talk with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, Rouhani said that "all those involved in the air disaster will be brought to justice." He said that the joint investigations between the Iranian and Ukrainian experts over the incident will continue and the judicial measures will "soon" start. At an open debate on upholding the United Nations (UN) Charter, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres lamented that this year began with fresh turmoil and long-standing suffering and geopolitical tensions reached "dangerous levels," most recently in the Gulf. China's Permanent Representative to the UN Zhang Jun 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 society. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, called on Wednesday for dialogue instead of war in the Middle East, saying that "the use of weapons must stop now." Von der Leyen, head of the European Union's executive arm, also said that "we are called upon to do everything possible to rekindle talks," adding that "there cannot be enough of that." Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called for restraint and diplomacy to avoid "a new cycle of instability" in the Middle East. In a joint statement issued following their meeting, the two leaders urged both the United States and Iran to act with restraint and prioritize diplomacy. "The use of force does not contribute to finding solutions to complex problems in the Middle East, but would lead to a new cycle of instability," the statement said. A man was hacked to death allegedly by a woman with whom he was in an illicit relationship in West Bengal's North Dinajpur district, police said on Sunday. The incident happened in Ukilpara area in the district's Raiganj town. Gopal Das and Saraswati Jha, both married to other persons, were in an illicit relationship, police said, adding that recently Gopal was having an affair with another woman. Saraswati came to know of the other woman and when they were drinking together on Saturday night, she attacked him with a sharp object, killing him instantly, they said. Saraswati has been arrested and a case has been filed, they said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Patna, Jan 12 : Though Bihar assembly elections are still far away, the swords have been drawn in grand alliance of the opposition parties on who will fight on how many seats in the state. Similar is the case in the ruling alliance where Lok Janshakti Party is eyeing more seats for the party in the assembly elections. The LJP has said that it will fight at least on 43 seats given the fact that it won 100 per cent seats in the general elections in 2019. In the opposition alliance, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has said the party will contest on 150 seats out of a total of 243 in state assembly. Vijay Prakash, RJD legislator said, "Though our party is planning to contest all seats in the state, but if like minded parties come together, we will not compromise on anything below 150 seats." Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) chief and former Chief Minister Jeetan Ram Manjhi, an ally of the opposition, has upped the ante by demanding 85 seats for his party. "We cannot win elections on all 243 seats alone, but with an alliance can certainly win 85 seats," Manjhi said. In 2015, the Congress, which was a part of the grand alliance with the RJD and the JDU then, had fielded 40 candidates and won 27 seats. Now it is putting pressure on the alliance partners to shell out more in the next assembly elections. "Our vote share in Bihar has increased and people are more inclined to the ideology of the party," claimed a senior Congress leader Ravindranath Mishra. "We want to fight on at least 100 seats in the state this time, and the way the party has progressed in the state, it will not be very difficult for other alliance partners to allocate that many seats to us," Mishra added. The opposition grand alliance in Bihar includes RJD, Congress, HAM, Rashtriya Lok Samata Party and others. On the other hand, the ruling JD(U) on the question of allocation of seats said that when the time will come the party will make its stand clear on how many seats it is going to contest. (Newser) Iranian demonstrators defied a heavy police presence Sunday night to protest their country's days of denials that it shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane carrying 176 people, the latest unrest to roil the capital amid soaring tensions with the US, the AP reports. Videos posted online showed protesters shouting anti-government slogans and moving through subway stations and sidewalks, many around Azadi, or Freedom, Square after an earlier call for people to demonstrate there. Other videos suggested similar protests were taking place in other Iranian cities. Protesters often wore hoods and covered their faces, probably to avoid being recognized by surveillance cameras. story continues below Some online videos purported to show police firing tear gas sporadically, though there was no immediate wholesale crackdown on demonstrators. Meanwhile, in an emotional speech before parliament, the head of the Revolutionary Guard apologized for the shootdown and insisted it was a tragic mistake. "I swear to almighty God that I wished I was on that plane and had crashed with them and burned but had not witnessed this tragic incident," said Gen. Hossein Salami. Meanwhile, Fox News reports that President Trump tweeted support for the protesters, saying "I've stood with you since the beginning of my Presidency, and my Administration will continue to stand with you. We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage." (See what other dramas are unfolding in Iran.) Rouhani: Iran welcomes int'l cooperation to determine causes of Ukrainian plane crash IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Jan 11, 2020 -- President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday that Iran welcomes international collaboration for clearly determining causes of the air disaster and will prepare all consular facilities to this end. In a telephone conversation with the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he expressed regret over the Ukrainian passenger plane crash and death of the passengers, saying that useful research have been carried out regarding the reasons behind the accident and complementary examinations are being conducted precisely and quickly to achieve final results. "The incident is tragic and sorrowful for the Iranian and Canadian people and other nations whose compatriots were in the plane," he said. "We started investigations into the incident from the early moments and we will declare any result we can achieve in the process," he said. President Rouhani said that he has issued necessary orders for keeping up essential technical and legal investigations, adding that Iran is ready for continuation of talks between the two countries' foreign ministers. Noting that security in the volatile region has reached a dangerous stage due to the US measures and interventions, chief executive said to ease tensions Iran initiated Hormuz Peace Plan and all should work for restoring full security to the region. Trudeau, for his part, expressed condolences over the air disaster and called for cooperation to shed light on the incident. Voicing readiness for cooperation with Iran to carry out research on the incident, he hoped that the issues influencing regional security would be discussed in future. All 176 passengers on board the Ukrainian Boeing 737 were killed after it crashed shortly after departure from Tehran's main international airport early Wednesday. There were 167 passengers and nine crew members on flight PS-752 that burst into flames mid-sky and crashed into ground near Parand, a city southwest of Tehran. Among the victims were over 140 Iranian nationals and 32 from other countries, including Ukraine, Sweden, Germany and Britain. 8072**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Prince Harry decided to pull the plug on his royal role without a thought for William and his family, according to insiders. They say Harry, 35, is so caught up in his own misery he hasnt considered the fall-out for the brother he was once inseparable from and his little niece and nephews. It was reported yesterday that the Duke of Cambridge had spoken of his sadness at the broken bond with Harry. Ive put my arm around my brother all our lives and I cant do that any more; were separate entities, he told a friend according to the Sunday Times. Prince Harry decided to pull the plug on his royal role without a thought for William and his family, according to insiders. Pictured arriving together for the Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service at St Paul's Cathedral in 2017 Harry and Meghan announced their intention to step down as senior royals on Wednesday Im sad about that. All we can do, and all I can do, is try and support them and hope the time comes when were all singing from the same page. I want everyone to play on the same team. When it was put to Harry last week that he needed to discuss his plans with William at least before pressing the nuclear button, he made clear he hadnt any intention of doing so. Neither had it occurred to him that there would also be ramifications for the young Cambridge children, George, six, Charlotte, four, and Louis, just one. The siblings have only seen their cousin Archie, eight months, once or twice since he was born. He is so caught up with his own problems and just hadnt thought through how it would affect everyone else, said a source with intimate knowledge of the weeks events. Friends say the rift between the two is so deep now that it is unlikely to be repaired for the foreseeable future. Prince William accompanies his brother on his wedding day in May 2018 (left). It was reported yesterday that the Duke of Cambridge had spoken of his sadness at the broken bond with Harry (right) While sources close to William say he does not recognise the quote in the Sunday Times, it is widely acknowledged it is fairly close to what he is thinking. Sadness, Id say is the overwhelming emotion, said one source. This is his brother, for Gods sake. He loves him. And he is desperately sad and worried that it has come to this. Theres an acknowledgement that things are very estranged at the moment. But maybe time and a little distance will heal that. While understandably concerned for his brother, William is also said to be worried about the increased workload the abdication will bring for other family members. Although now seventh in line to the throne, Harry and Meghan would still have undertaken more than 200 public engagements each year. And even in the slimmed-down monarchy their father is hoping for, the Sussexes would have had a significant role. Privately, William and Harry have always felt the public perception of them as Dianas boys wedded together for the rest of their lives by tragedy was an anachronism. They have always had each others back, but have always had different ways of handling things and different paths. Privately, William and Harry have always felt the public perception of them as Dianas boys wedded together for the rest of their lives by tragedy was an anachronism. Pictured together at Thorpe Park in 1993 One source said the rot began after Harry left the military in 2015 and began to feel frustrated at his rather rootless existence compared to Williams clearly defined career path. It was Kate who brought the brothers together, particularly as they collaborated on their mental health campaign, Heads Together. But others say it was just a plaster on a long-festering wound that was ripped off when Meghan came on the scene and Harry had his own family to defend. The Mail understands while William feels both he and his brother have been deeply affected by Dianas death, Harry seems unable to move on with his life. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the voices of those protesting against the contentious citizenship law, NRC and National Population Register (NPR) cannot be muzzled, as he hailed the protests in West Bengal during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit. Activists, who hit the streets on Saturday with placards that read 'Modi Go Back' and 'Down with BJP', continued their sit-in all night at Esplanade area of Kolkata, insisting that their agitation would continue till the prime minister left the city. "The voices of those resisting the discriminatory CAA-NRC-NPR cannot be muzzled," Yechury tweeted. "The PM is out of touch and thinks he can brazen it out. He cannot. India's young have arrived and will take this country forward," the CPI(M) leader said. Modi met Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday after arriving in Kolkata during his two-day visit to the state. The meeting at the Raj Bhavan came amid a bitter face-off between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Trinamool Congress over the amended Citizenship Act that has triggered massive protests across India. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least four Iraqi soldiers were wounded after rockets struck the Balad airbase north of Baghdad housing US forces, according to Reuters. The bombs all fell on a runway within the base, the outlet reported, citing two unidentified military sources. There were no immediate reports of casualties. The Iraqi military acknowledged the attack in a statement shortly after reports of explosions near the base surfaced online, saying eight rockets landed on the Balad airbase. At least four Iraqi personnel were injured in the attack, the statement said, including two officers. It was not immediately clear how many US and coalition troops were being housed on the base at the time of the attack. The strike on the Balad airbase followed an attack on two other bases housing US and coalition troops carried out by Iran earlier this month. 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 However, there was no immediate indication the latest rockets attack was linked to Tehran. The region has found itself at the epicentre of an increasing conflict between Iran and the US after Donald Trump ordered the killing of General Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards elite Quds Force, during a 2 January air strike at Baghdads international airport. Tehran then struck two bases in Iraq housing US and coalition troops, though no casualties were reported at the time. The US Department of Defence said Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region and had approved an attack earlier in the month against the US Embassy in Baghdad. Iranian officials have said the recent air strikes against Iraqi bases housing US troops were not meant to escalate the conflict into a full-scale war. Still, Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said a harsh retaliation is waiting for the US after killing Soleimani, who has been described as the architect of Tehrans proxy wars across the Middle East. More follows Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty President Trump took to Twitter late Saturday to offer a message of solidarity with Iranian anti-government protestersand he did it in Farsi. Usually known for his erratic capitalization and spelling mistakes on Twitter, the president made waves with the tweet, which was addressed to the long-suffering people of Iran and came after protests erupted in Tehran following Irans admission that it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane and killed all 176 people on board. I've stood with you since the beginning of my Presidency, and my Administration will continue to stand with you, Trump said. We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage. Trump sent out two Farsi-language tweets on the protests, both accompanied by their English translations. In addition to expressing support for the protesters, the president also called on Iran to allow human rights groups to monitor the demonstrations and warned against another massacre of peaceful protesters. The tweets come after protests erupted Saturday in Tehran, with thousands taking to the streets to demand government officials and even the Supreme Leader step down over the downed plane. Irans armed forces announced early Saturday that its military had accidentally shot down Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 after it was mistaken for a hostile target when it went towards a sensitive military center of the Revolutionary Guard. The plane was shot down amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran, and just hours after Iranian forces fired missiles at Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops in retaliation for the American airstrike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said in a tweet that human error at time of crisis caused by U.S. adventurism led to disaster, according to an internal investigation by the Armed Forces. Trump did not immediately respond to the thinly veiled jab by Zarif, and he spent much of the day on Saturday tweeting about his approval rating, his border wall, and the shortcomings of his political opponents before chiming in on the growing protests in Tehran. Story continues His stern tone and Farsi-language tweets seemed a far cry from his warning to Iran just a week ago that the U.S. was ready to strike 52 sites in the countryincluding those important to Iranian cultureif any American assets were damaged or harmed. Many on social media also questioned the sincerity of Trumps tweets, noting that he had banned all Iranians from entering the United States during the first month of his presidency as part of an executive order widely known as the Muslim ban. The Trump administration later updated the order to allow Iranians with student visas or cultural exchange visas into the country, but the Associated Press reported yesterday that the White House is currently considering an expansion of the ban. 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. Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah ordered on Saturday official mourning for three days on demise of the Sultan of Oman Qaboos bin Said, the Kuwaiti government said, Trend reports citing Xinhua. All government institutions will shut down and Kuwaiti flag will fly at half-mast for three days, Anas Al-Saleh, the Kuwaiti deputy prime minister and minister of interior and minister of state for cabinet affairs, said in a government statement. Al-Saleh eulogized Sultan Qaboos as a great, kind and sagacious leader who had played a key role in making enormous achievements in his country, which played a pivotal role in maintaining unity of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. Kuwait wholeheartedly offers condolences and solace to the Omani government and people, the statement said. The Sultan of Oman Qaboos bin Said passed away on Friday evening, Oman's state media reported early Saturday. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 14:40:58|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KUNMING, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- A total of 87 students from Myanmar have received skills training in Longling County, southwest China's Yunnan Province, as the educational exchanges and cooperation strengthen between Yunnan and Myanmar. The students, in different batches, received skills training at Longling Vocational High School in the city of Baoshan, mainly learning jade carving, computer skills, car maintenance, Chinese cooking and other skills, according to the local education department. Among them, 80 students have graduated from the vocational high school, and the other seven students are still learning jade carving skills in Longling. "Most of the graduates have returned to Myanmar to work or start their businesses with their mastered skills from China, bringing good social benefits," said Li Lifang, a teacher at Longling County Vocational High School. With the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative in recent years, the China-Myanmar border city of Baoshan has sped up its opening to the outside world and deepened educational and cultural exchanges with Myanmar. New research from Harvard University suggests that the emotion of sadness, compared to other negative emotions like anger or stress, plays an especially strong role in the drive to smoke cigarettes. The research team conducted four studies to answer several questions regarding the nature of cigarette addiction: What drives a person to smoke? What role do emotions play in this addictive behavior? Why do some smokers puff more often and more deeply or even relapse many years after theyve quit? If policymakers had those answers, how could they strengthen the fight against the global smoking epidemic? While drawing from methodologies from different fields, the four studies all reinforce the central finding that sadness, more so than other negative emotions, increases peoples craving to smoke. The conventional wisdom in the field was that any type of negative feelings, whether its anger, disgust, stress, sadness, fear, or shame, would make individuals more likely to use an addictive drug, said lead researcher Charles A. Dorison, a Harvard Kennedy School doctoral candidate. Our work suggests that the reality is much more nuanced than the idea of feel bad, smoke more. Specifically, we find that sadness appears to be an especially potent trigger of addictive substance use. Senior co-author Dr. Jennifer Lerner, the co-founder of the Harvard Decision Science Laboratory and Thornton F. Bradshaw Professor of Public Policy, Decision Science, and Management at Harvard Kennedy School, said the research could have useful public policy implications. For example, current anti-smoking ad campaigns could be redesigned to avoid images that trigger sadness and thus unintentionally increase cigarette cravings among smokers. In one study, the researchers analyzed data from a national survey that tracked 10,685 people over 20 years. The findings revealed that self-reported sadness among participants was associated with being a smoker and with relapsing back into smoking one and two decades later. In fact, the sadder people were, the more likely they were to be smokers. Notably, other negative emotions did not show the same relationship with smoking. In another study, the team wanted to test cause-and-effect: Did sadness cause people to smoke, or were negative life events causing both sadness and smoking? They recruited 425 smokers for an online study: one-third were shown a sad video clip about the loss of a life partner. Another third of the smokers were shown a neutral video clip, about woodworking; the final third were shown a disgusting video involving an unsanitary toilet. All participants were asked to write about a related personal experience. The study found that individuals in the sadness condition who watched the sad video and wrote about a personal loss had higher cravings to smoke than both the neutral group and the disgust group. A third study measured actual impatience for cigarette puffs rather than just self-reported cravings. Nearly 700 participants watched videos and wrote about life experiences that were either sad or neutral, and then were given hypothetical choices between having fewer puffs sooner or more puffs after a delay. Participants in the sadness group proved to be more impatient to smoke sooner than those in the neutral group. That result built upon previous research findings that sadness increases financial impatience, measured with behavioral economics techniques. Finally, a fourth study recruited 158 smokers from the Boston area to test how sadness influenced actual smoking behavior. Participants had to abstain from smoking for at least eight hours (verified by carbon monoxide breath test). They were randomly assigned to sadness or neutral control groups; smokers sat in a private room at the Harvard Tobacco Research Laboratory, watched the sad video and wrote about great loss, or watched a neutral video and wrote about their work environment. Then they smoked their own brand through a device that tested the total volume of puffs and their speed and duration. The results: smokers in the sadness condition made more impatient choices and smoked greater volumes per puff. We believe that theory-driven research could help shed light on how to address this epidemic, Dorison said. We need insights across disciplines, including psychology, behavioral economics and public health, to confront this threat effectively. The findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Source: Harvard Kennedy School The Prime Minister of Libya's United Nations backed government, Feyaz Sarraj, met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on Sunday. The meeting comes on the day an internationally brokered ceasefire takes effect in Libya, though immediate reports of violations by both sides raised concerns it might not stick. The truce, which was proposed by Russia and Turkey, could be the first break in fighting in months, and the first brokered by international players. Earlier this week, Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin released a joint statement after a meeting in Istanbul calling for the 12 January truce. They did not specify what the conditions would be. Both Russia and Turkey have been accused of exacerbating the conflict in Libya by giving military aid to its warring parties. Libyas war has crippled the country for more than seven years, displacing hundreds of thousands and leaving more than a million in need of humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, speaking at the inauguration of the 150th anniversary celebrations of Kolkata Port Trust, announced that it will be renamed as Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, speaking at the inauguration of the 150th anniversary celebrations of Kolkata Port Trust, announced that it will be renamed as Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who was scheduled to share the dais with prime minister, skipped the event. Modi said, "I announce the renaming of the Kolkata Port Trust to Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port. He is a living legend who was a leader for development and fought on the forefront for the idea of One Nation, One Constitution." "This port represents industrial, spiritual and self-sufficiency aspirations of India. Today, when the port is celebrating its 150th anniversary, it is our responsibility to make it a powerful symbol of New India," Modi added. The prime minister said that the Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder laid the foundation for industrialisation in India. "Chittaranjan Locomotive Factory, Hindustan Aircraft Factory, Damodar Valley Corporation and several others saw active participation from him," he said. The pime minister also felicitated Nagina Bhagat and Naresh Chandra Chakraborty, the two oldest pensioners of the Kolkata Port Trust. Mamata Banerjee skips event Banerjee, whose name was mentioned on the invitation card along with the prime minister, West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and Union minister Mansukh Mandaviya, skipped the event. On Saturday, Banerjee faced Left-affiliated demonstrators who accused her of diluting the fight against the CAA and sought an explanation from her over the meeting with Modi. Banerjee termed her meeting with Modi as a "courtesy visit." With inputs from ANI The governments decision to withdraw the elite National Security Guard from VIP protection duties is a welcome step. One, the argument that NSG Commandoes were deployed to secure certain VIPs, more as a status symbol, rather than a result of a robust threat perception exercise, is valid. Two, the NSG is a Special Force and its usage must remain strategic. The NSG is structurally divided into two parts, the Special Action Group and the Special Rangers Group. The Special Action Group (SAG) is further divided into two parts. 51 SAG is the counter-terrorism Unit, which does a variety of operations, including room intervention, amongst many others. 52 SAG is the anti-hijack Unit of NSG. SAG has personnel drawn only from the Indian Army. Support elements like the Bomb Disposal Squad has personnel from armys Corps of Engineers. The SAG does not provide VIP security. The second wing of the NSG the Special Rangers Group or SRG, manages VIP security. The SRG comprises of personnel drawn from the state police forces, the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) like CRPF, BSF, ITBP, CISF and SSB, and Para Military Forces like the Assam Rifles. It is these personnel who guard VIPs. India is facing the brunt of a hybrid war unleashed by Pakistan, and Pakistan would want nothing more than to see terrorism, largely confined to the Kashmir Valley, spread to the rest of India. 26/11, the 2001 Parliament attacks and Akshardham terror strikes point to the fact that the next terror attack on Indias mainland will emanate from Pakistani soil. NSG is a critical part of the construct of our response to Pakistan. In fact, it is the only specialized anti-terrorist force India has. The high-risk individuals whose NSG security is being revoked are in safe hands. State Police Forces and the CAPFs already have a vast talent pool of policemen trained by NSG. They have exposure to the worlds best training techniques, weaponry and tactics. That talent pool includes instructors who can help recreate the professionalism of NSG within various police forces. The same level of professional security will be provided. Nothing will change, except the name and the uniform. When NSG was raised in 1984, VIP security was not part of their charter. Their charter later morphed into providing proximate and mobile security to politicians, deemed high risk. NSG should be expanded, equipped with the most modern weapons and the process of honing them into a shield to defend India must never stop. But in essence it must remain Indias final argument against the next major terror strike or hijack. The black dungarees that the NSG commandoes wear are earned. Unfortunately, it has led to needless glamorization and numerous state police spinoffs. For long, people have wrongly assumed that the magic is in the black dungaree itself. It takes years of blood, sweat and operational experience to make an NSG Commando. It is this needless glamorization that has led to politicians of various hues demanding NSG cover, threat perception be damned. You are deemed important only if you have a dozen black clad NSG commandoes following you. This thankfully, has come to an end. The 13 high-risk VIPs who are currently protected by NSG will soon see a change in the personnel who shadow them 24/7. Both the CRPF and CISF have specially trained VIP security Units, with many personnel who are former NSG Commandoes. It is these Units that will take over their security. Through Operation Black Thunder (flushing out terrorists from the Golden Temple) to Operation Black Tornado (26/11), from the clinical Operation Ashwamedh (anti-hijack operation for IC427) to countless operations in the Kashmir Valley, the NSG has proved to be both Indias sword arm and shield. Its commandoes are famously called Black Cats, a nod to their famous arm patch. That they are clad in black, head to toe, adds to the legend. The Black Cats are our elite counter-terror Special Forces. Removing them from VIP duty is a much-needed shot in the arm for this legendary force. Dramatic footage has captured the moment young Liberal protesters stormed into an event and loudly protested against drag queens reading stories to children. The clip, taken at Brisbane Square Library in the city's CBD on Sunday afternoon, showed the protesters interrupting the Drag Storytime event and shouting 'drag queens are not for kids'. The University of Queensland's Liberal National Club said they demonstrated against the event to fight against children 'being indoctrinated with radical gender theories'. Protesters stormed a drag queen story-time event for children at a library in Brisbane's CBD (left and right) But The Veronicas' star Jessica Origliasso, who is engaged to transgender bartender Kai Carlton, said she was furious at the protest and called the group 'bigoted'. 'A good friend of mine took her daughter along to a children's story telling event in Brisbane by two gorgeous Drag Queens, when a screaming group calling themselves the UQ young Libs stormed the event, causing chaos and distress to children and everybody there,' Origliasso wrote on Instagram on Sunday afternoon. 'What they did today was add to the bigotry, division and trauma young children are left to face in today's society.' A Queensland Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia officers were called to the venue following reports between 15 and 20 protesters were causing distress at a community event. Footage of the incident showed protesters repeatedly chant 'drag queens are not for kids' before a voice behind the camera appears to criticise a security guard. 'You guys should have dealt with this downstairs,' the person out of shot said. The Veronicas' star Jessica Origliasso, who is engaged to transgender bartender Kai Carlton, (pictured together left and right) said she was furious at the protest and called the group bigoted Organisers Rainbow Families Queensland (RFQ) - who held the event in collaboration with Brisbane City Council - said the group left before police arrived. 'They entered the event chanting and scared the children. Some parents got them outside the room where they continued to chant loudly,' a spokesperson for the organisation said. UQ Liberal National Club said they waited until the story-reading event had finished to begin their demonstration, and claimed neither children or staff were upset as a result of the protest. Drag queen Johnny Valkyrie (pictured) was in attendance at the event and was reading stories to children at the Brisbane library Rainbow Families Queensland billed the event on Sunday morning as a chance for children to 'join the glamorous Diamond and Queeny for bubbles, craft, and stories about diverse kids and families.' 'In regards to the protest itself, we waited until the event had finished, did not response to abuse directed at us, and left when directed by security,' the university group said. 'What people do with their own time and money is their choice, but Brisbane City Council should not be subsidising this event. 'We are hoping that Brisbane City Council will take swift action to cancel future events.' RFQ disputed this, saying children were still cutting out paper angels and drawing with pencils and crayons when protesters walked into the room where the event was taking place. The event featured story reading by drag queen Johnny Valkyrie. RFQ billed the event on Sunday morning as a chance for children to 'join the glamorous Diamond and Queeny for bubbles, craft, and stories about diverse kids and families.' Daily Mail Australia has contacted Brisbane City Council for comment. MIAMI - A Florida man was shot dead by Miami Beach police after he stabbed an officer on the iconic Ocean Drive, officials said. Miami Beach police spokesman Ernesto Rodriguez said in a statement the man died Sunday, and the officer remains in the intensive care unit of a local hospital, in stable condition. Rodriguez said the officer made contact with a man Saturday on the popular street and then was stabbed by him, which prompted other officers to shoot at him. Authorities have not released the names of the man or the officer. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will investigate the shooting. Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber told The Miami Herald that the officer was patrolling the area as part of an initiative to increase police presence in the party district of South Beach. Description Learn how to tell your own compelling true stories - taught by a Moth Radio Hour storyteller. If you've been curious about how storytellers at The Moth and This American Life (and my show, "Now You're Talking!") craft such interesting, wonderful stories, come to my next beginners' storytelling workshop at a private hom on the south shore of Long Island in Nassau County (address to be forwarded once you sign up). You'll take part in story improv and games to learn how to find the meaningful moments in your lives. Everyone will leave with one 5-minute story to tell friends, co-workers, maybe even up on a stage. The workshop is limited to 10 people so that we'll have time to give everyone personalized attention and feedback. The workshop is taught by Tracey Segarra, an award-winning storyteller who stories have been broadcast on The Moth Radio Hour, as well as Story Collider and Risk! podcasts. 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. 12, 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 The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. I ran's security forces have deployed in large numbers across Tehran as Donald Trump tweeted his support for anti-government protesters in the capital. Riot police in black uniforms and helmets gathered in Vali-e Asr Square in the city as calls circulated for protests. Revolutionary Guard members patrolled the city on motorbikes and plainclothes security men were also out in force. The protests follow a plane crash early on Wednesday that killed all 176 people on board, mostly Iranians and Iranian-Canadians. Iranian students demonstrate following a tribute for the victims of Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 in front of the Amirkabir University in the capital Tehran / AFP via Getty Images After initially blaming a technical failure, authorities finally admitted to accidentally shooting it down in the face of mounting evidence and accusations by western leaders. The plane was shot down as Iran braced for retaliation after firing ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq housing American forces. Iran admits unintentionally shooting down Ukrainian jet The ballistic missile attack, which caused no casualties, was a response to the killing of General Qasem Soleimani, Iran's top general, in a US airstrike in Baghdad. Iranians have expressed anger over the downing of the plane and the misleading explanations from senior officials in the wake of the tragedy. Hundreds of students gathered at Tehran's Shahid Beheshti University on Sunday to mourn the victims and protest against authorities for concealing the cause of the crash, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported. They later dispersed peacefully. A woman shouts slogans at a protest as she gathers with people to show their sympathy to the victims of the crash of the Boeing 737-800 plane, flight PS 752, on Saturday night / VIA REUTERS President Donald Trump, who has expressed support for past waves of anti-government demonstrations in Iran, addressed the country's leaders in a tweet, saying "DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS." "The World is watching. More importantly, the USA is watching," he tweeted. Mr Trump called on the Iranian regime to allow human rights groups to monitor protests in the Islamic Republic. In another tweet, President Trump expressed his support for the "brave, long-suffering people" of Iran. Trump tweeted in Persian and in English: "To the brave and suffering Iranian people: I have stood with you since the beginning of my presidency and my government will continue to stand with you. We are following your protests closely. Your courage is inspiring." He then followed it with a second bilingual set of tweets: "The Iranian government should allow human rights groups to monitor and report on the current reality of protests in the Iranian people. "We should not see the peaceful killing of protesters again or the Internet shut down. The world is watching." Britains ambassador to Tehran was arrested during protests outside Amirkabir University / Instagram/UkInIran It came after Britains ambassador to Tehran was arrested during protests outside Amirkabir University on Saturday night. Rob Macaire was detained for more than an hour before being released. In a tweet, Mr Macaire said: Thanks for the many goodwill messages. Can confirm I wasnt taking part in any demonstrations! Went to an event advertised as a vigil for victims of #PS752 tragedy. Normal to want to pay respects some of victims were British. I left after 5 mins, when some started chanting. Detained half an hour after leaving the area. Arresting diplomats is of course illegal, in all countries. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said the arrest of the British ambassador to Iran during protests in Tehran was a flagrant violation of international law. In a statement he said: "The arrest of our ambassador in Tehran without grounds or explanation is a flagrant violation of international law. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 16:50:42|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close Foreigners enjoy the long-table banquet at Qiantong ancient town in Ninghai County, east China's Zhejiang Province, Jan. 11, 2020. An activity featuring Chinese Lunar New Year customs was held here on Saturday, attended by over 100 foreigners from over 30 countries. (Photo by Zhang Peijian/Xinhua) Roads and lanes leading to Shaheen Bagh were jam-packed on Sunday as thousands of people joined the ongoing protest against the amended citizenship law and National Register of Citizens (NRC), in what was one of the largest gatherings at the spot ever since the agitation began four weeks ago. While hundreds have been gathering at Shaheen Bagh everyday, protesters attributed the increase in numbers on Sunday to the weekend and the pleasant weather. Everyday, I come here for two or three hours. But since it was a Sunday today, I am here since morning and so is my friend and his family, said Tufail Ashraf, a resident of Batla House and medical transcripter. Unlike other days, both the carriageways of road 13A were full of protesters armed with posters and flags against CAA. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who visited Jamia Millia Islamia and Shaheen Bagh on Sunday, tweeted that he was stuck in severe traffic on the 3-km stretch from the varsity and Shaheen Bagh. So thick were the crowds and so blocked the traffic that we had to walk the last fifteen minutes to reach the site (Jamia). But the audiences enthusiasm made it all worthwhile, he wrote on Twitter. Despite a section of organisers pulling out on January 2, the protests at Shaheen Bagh have continued. From a replica of India Gate with names of those who died during anti-CAA protests, to a model detention centre to raise awareness, to graffiti and posters, the protesters have used unique methods to express their dissent. An interfaith prayer meeting to counter divisive forces trying to polarise the country was also held at the protest site. We have to give a message to the government that we can no longer be divided on the basis of religion. That is why we went there and prayed for our countrys peace. As we engaged in kirtan and shabad gurbani, our Muslim, Hindu and Christian brothers read their religious scriptures, said DS Bindra, a social activist who has been participating in the anti-CAA protests. Apart from readings from the Bible and the Quran, the prayer meeting, which went on for about two hours, also saw Hindu priests performing yagna. Hundreds of protesters also participated in reading of the Preamble to the Constitution. Hena Ahmed, a protester at the site, said, When we say all Indians are our brothers and sisters, we mean it. Muslim women wore tilak and covered their heads during gurbani, Sikh women participated in mantras recited by Pandit ji. This shows how secular and united our country is. The protesters are also planning to organise another interfaith meeting on January 19. Participants said there have been attempts to describe the Shaheen Bagh protest as a Muslim initiative. We are coming here everyday to save Constitution. This is not just about Muslims, said Zahida Khanam, 50, whose children have studied in Jamia Millia Islamia. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON They're some of the most famous parents in Hollywood. So, it's a no brainer that actress Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds would set up a play date for their eldest daughters, James, 5, and Inez, 3, with none other than Bradley Cooper's 2-year-old baby girl, Lea. The parental trio met up on Saturday afternoon at Cooper's NYC apartment. Play date: Blake Lively was seen leaving Bradley Cooper's apartment in NYC following play date between Cooper's daughter and Lively's two daughter Dad's here: Lively's husband, Ryan Reynolds was spotted leaving the apartment, as well, carrying their eldest child James Brad and Lea: Bradley and 2-year-old Lea followed Lively and Reynolds to a nearby vehicle Blake was seen cradling Inez in her arms as they made their way towards a nearby vehicle. Lively, known for her fashion sense, donned a black, floppy hat that featured a thin, brown leather band. Her signature bright, blonde hair flowed out from underneath her hat and onto her navy blue wool trench coat and striped scarf. The coat covered up the majority of Lively's black and white floral tunic, which she paired with black jeans that were tucked into patterned combat boots. Inez, sporting a bright red star patterned onesie, rocked some major bed-head as she clung onto her superstar mamma. Ryan followed closely behind his wife of 7-years with their eldest daughter James. Never off duty: Blake and Ryan are full-time parents, always putting family before their careers Fashionable: Blake rocked a navy blue wool coat and a black floppy hat as she braved the NYC chill with Inez Reynolds showed off his muscles in a tight-fitting grey long-sleeved top that he styled with black sweatpants. Atop his head was a brown, tweed flat cap that allowed him to pull off a nerdy-chic look in conjunction with his black RayBan eyeglasses. James looked incredibly cute in a My Little Pony onesie with funky rainbow detailing. Brad swooped up behind the couple with baby Lea who was busy sucking her thumb. The 2-year-old looked cozy in a Polarn O. Pyret vest, camo green top, and a pair of light-wash denim jeans. Cooper, with a backpack on his back and blue-tinted sunglasses on his face, looked more than ready for dad-duty. Surprise: The couple announced their third pregnancy to the world when Blake arrived to the premiere of Reynold's film Detective Pikachu rocking a noticeable baby bump Smile: Blake and Ryan beamed over the reaction to their shocking announcement He wore a black wind-breaker coat paired with charcoal grey sweatpants. Bradley and his baby mama and ex, Irina Shayk, share Lea and agreed to fifty-fifty custody in the Summer of 2019. One stipulation was that Brad would have to relocate to NYC permanently so the custody agreement could play out. Cooper split from his model girlfriend in early 2019, after four years together. Luckily, The Hangover star has local parent friends like Blake and Ryan to make him feel right at home in the Big Apple. Blake and Ryan welcomed their third baby girl into the world in August of 2019. The couple had successfully kept their newborn out of the public eye since Blake gave birth late last summer. Family: In 2018, the trio were a happy family while attending the 75th Venice Film Festival in Italy 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. By Express News Service VIJAYAWADA: Hours after State BJP leaders once again made it clear that the Central government will not wade into the raging capital controversy, Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan rushed to New Delhi on Saturday afternoon to meet the saffron party top brass. His mission: to persuade the Modi government to convene an all-party meeting and prevent the YSRC government from making Visakhapatnam the executive capital. Jana Sena sources told TNIE, he is likely to meet BJP working president JP Nadda, and Ram Madhav among others. Speculation is rife that he may even get an audience with Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday. ALSO READ| Amaravati protests: Rallies in Rayalaseema, North Andhra supports three-capital proposal The TDP, which is spearheading the agitation to retain the capital at Amaravati, is in a wait and watch mode. Its chief N Chandrababu Naidu has said he too would take the issue to Delhi but hasnt walked the talk so far. Sources said he may be relying on the good offices of Pawan to reach out to the BJP, whom he distanced himself from in 2018. But Pawans mission may not succeed if State BJP leaders are to be believed. The State leaders, who voiced different opinions on the YSRC governments proposal to have three capitals, tried to find a common ground at the party core committee meeting in Guntur Saturday. Later, they clarified the Union government will not interfere as the issue is under the State governments purview. ALSO READ| TDP stand on Amaravati issue may not pay dividends in local polls The core committee adopted a resolution in favour of Amaravati, while pitching for the high court to be moved to Kurnool. Speaking to the media, the leaders, including State BJP chief Kanna Lakshminarayana, Rajya Sabha member GVL Narasimha Rao, MLC Somu Veerraju, former Union minister Purandeswari, State unit co-incharge Sunil Deodhar, national joint secretary (organisation) V Satish, MPs YS Chowdary and CM Ramesh, appeared almost defensive. Asserting that theirs was a political stand -- taken by the State unit --, they took pains to explain that it doesnt reflect the view of the Centre. "The BJP adopted a resolution demanding that the government continue development of the core capital executive and legislative buildings in Amaravati... in a federal system, the Centre cant intervene taking suo motu cognisance of the issue. But since it is the capital and there is a financial link with the Centre, the State has to certainly inform the Centre, Kanna said. He, however, quickly added, "We will continue to fight the dictatorial attitude of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. There is no need for the Centres intervention, we ourselves (State unit) will fight for Amaravati." ALSO READ| TDP stand on Amaravati issue may not pay dividends in local polls While Kanna maintained the State unit discussed the issue at length and there was no ambiguity in the party stand, it is learnt that a few leaders favoured Centres intervention. Confirming the same, a senior leader told TNIE, The members voiced their opinions. But, ultimately, we decided not to seek the Centres involvement as the capital is a State issue. Asked why the BJP, whose leaders had initially claimed the Centre would intervene as and when required, did a volte face, a national BJP leader reasoned, The Centre has no role. If the Centre could have its way, Amaravati would not have been the capital in the first place! The Sivaramakrishnan Committee, which was appointed by the Centre, was against a greenfield capital in this location. He recalled that the then State went ahead with its plans. So, even now, the Centre will not intervene. Even though Amaravati was established against the Sivaramakrishnan Committees recommendations unilaterally, we have taken a political stand in favour of Amaravati as public money, including the amount given by the Centre, has been spent on it. ALSO READ| TDP favours 'one State, one capital': Chandrababu Naidu on Amaravati issue In the press meet, Kanna slammed both the TDP and the YSRC for unilaterally taking decisions in personal interests and said the party will announce its action plan to oppose the YSRC governments proposal after January 15. Capital moves People gather for a candlelight vigil to remember the victims of the Ukraine plane crash, at the gate of Amri Kabir University that some of the victims of the crash were former students of, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020. Iran on Saturday, Jan. 11, acknowledged that its armed forces "unintentionally" shot down the Ukrainian jetliner that crashed earlier this week, killing all 176 aboard, after the government had repeatedly denied Western accusations that it was responsible. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Read more DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Iran deployed riot police in the capital on Sunday expecting more protests after its Revolutionary Guard admitted to accidentally shooting down a passenger plane at a time of soaring tensions with the United States. Riot police and plainclothes officers could be seen massing in Vali-e Asr Square in Tehran as calls circulated for protests later in the day. A large black banner unveiled in the square bore the names of those killed in the plane crash. The plane crash early Wednesday killed all 176 people on board, mostly Iranians and Iranian-Canadians. After initially blaming a technical failure, authorities finally admitted to accidentally shooting it down in the face of mounting evidence and accusations by Western leaders. Iran downed the Ukrainian flight as it braced for retaliation after firing ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq housing U.S. forces. The ballistic missile attack, which caused no casualties, was a response to the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Iran's top general, in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad. Iranians have expressed anger over the downing of the plane and the misleading explanations from senior officials in the wake of the tragedy. A candlelight ceremony late Saturday in Tehran turned into a protest, with hundreds of people chanting against the country's leaders including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and police dispersing them with tear gas. Police briefly detained the British ambassador to Iran, Rob Macaire, who says he went with the intention of attending the vigil and did not know it would turn into a protest. Can confirm I wasnt taking part in any demonstrations! he tweeted. Went to an event advertised as a vigil for victims of #PS752 tragedy. Normal to want to pay respects some of victims were British. I left after 5 mins, when some started chanting. He said he was arrested 30 minutes after leaving the area. Britain said its envoy was detained without grounds or explanation and in flagrant violation of international law. The Iranian government is at a cross-roads moment. It can continue its march towards pariah status with all the political and economic isolation that entails, or take steps to deescalate tensions and engage in a diplomatic path forwards, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement. Iran's Foreign Ministry said it was awaiting a police report on the arrest. The semi-official Tasnim news agency cited an unnamed official as saying the ambassador was suspected of organizing and provoking the protesters, which it said was in violation of diplomatic protocol and justified his arrest on national security grounds. It said he was taken to the Foreign Ministry, which later released him. Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a member of Iran's parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, also accused the ambassador of organizing protests and called for his expulsion. Iranian media meanwhile focused on the admission of responsibility for the crash, with several newspapers calling for those responsible to apologize and resign. The hardline daily Vatan-e Emrouz bore the front-page headline, A sky full of sadness, while the Hamshahri daily went with Shame, and the IRAN daily said Unforgivable. Mehdi Karroubi, an opposition activist under house arrest, lashed out at Khamenei himself. You, as the commander of chief of the armed forces, are directly responsible for this," he said in a statement. "Please tell us, were you aware of this disaster on Wednesday morning? Or did you learn about this on Friday, as the media close to you claims? If you were aware and you let military and security authorities deceive people, then there is no doubt you lack the attributes of constitutional leadership," Karroubi added. Criticism of the supreme leader is punishable by up to two years in prison. Tensions with the United States eased after the ballistic missile attack, when President Donald Trump declined to respond and welcomed Iran's apparent decision to stand down. The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, meanwhile traveled to Iran for talks with senior officials. Qatar hosts a large U.S. military base and shares an offshore gas field with Iran. It has often served as a mediator between the two countries, which have no diplomatic relations. Syria's Prime Minister Imad Khamis was also leading a high-level delegation to Iran, which includes the defense and foreign ministers. Syrian state media described it as an important visit in light of recent events, without elaborating. Iran is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad in his country's civil war, and Soleimani had mobilized militias and coordinated military aid. Pakistans Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was also traveling to Iran, with plans to visit Saudi Arabia the following day. Israels education minister has sparked fury by implying it is unnatural and unhealthy not to be heterosexual. Rafael Peretz, an Orthodox rabbi, drew condemnation from his colleagues and fresh calls to resign after he was asked by Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper what he would do if one his children had a different sexual orientation. Thank God, my children grew up in a natural and healthy way, he replied. They are building their homes on the basis of Jewish values. I dont bother my head with what if thinking. Mr Peretz, who leads the Orthodox Jewish party Jewish Home, assumed the education portfolio in Benjamin Netanyahus coalition government in June. One month later, hundreds of protesters demanded his resignation after he voiced a belief in gay conversion therapy and admitted he had tried it on a student. 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 After international outcry and a rebuke from Mr Netanyahu, he claimed his words were taken out of context, clarifying that he had in the past referred students to such therapists and believes it is possible for such methods to change a persons sexual orientation, but that he did not support it. Justice minister Amir Ohana, who has children with a same-sex partner, condemned his cabinet colleagues latest remarks as wretched, and not for the first time, adding they do not reflect the governments position. [His words] are not based on knowledge and facts, but rather on prejudice, Mr Ohana said. I grew up in a healthy, good and loving family, as are my children and the children of many LGBTs from all parts of the country, from all over the political spectrum. Several Israeli school districts held impromptu classes promoting tolerance on Sunday in the wake of Mr Peretzs comments. I will promote within the municipal educational system a programme of democracy, equality, recognition of the other and acceptance of differences. In short everything that is the opposite of Rabbi Rafi, said Amir Kochavi, mayor of the city of Hod Hasharon near Tel Aviv. Israels oldest newspaper published an editorial headlined Minister of Ignorance which said Mr Peretzs views were not compatible with his government role. The education system shapes the entire Israeli society, the article in Haaretz said. Peretzs narrow and benighted worldview disqualifies him from serving as education minister. In the interview, Mr Peretz also described the normative Israeli family as one with a man and a woman and called for the West Bank to be annexed while only granting the Palestinians who live there the right to vote in local elections at most. He also expressed a preference for refusing Africans asylum because they have their own certain mentality and their place is in their own country. We are the state of the Jews. Tel Avivs mayor insisted the remarks could not be ignored, after Mr Peretz managed to keep his ministerial position despite his conversion therapy comments. [Mr Perretz] thinks he has a god-given qualification to decide what is natural and what is normative, said mayor Ron Huldai. There is no choice but to fight for our values and principles as a democratic society, where the citizen has the right to learn, know and decide what is normative and what is natural. Israel is just weeks away from its third election in less than a year. It remains to be seen how Mr Peretzs comments will affect his partys share of the vote and its ability to make electoral pacts. Additional reporting by Reuters STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Congressman Max Rose recently joined with a bipartisan group of lawmakers opposing a proposed 100% tariff on European wine, Scotch, whiskey, cookware, cheese and other food imports. The steep increase is a potential byproduct of the U.S. World Trade Organization (WTO)'s enforcement of rights in a dispute with the European Union over aircraft subsidies. At the moment there are already 25% tariffs on European imports. In December, the U.S. Trade Representatives office suggested raising the excise taxes to 100% if a settlement wasnt reached on imposition of a new French digital services tax, a levy that would do damage to U.S. tech companies. Life is already hard enough for Staten Islands small business owners, and theyre the ones who would bear the brunt of these wine tariffs not to mention the bartenders and servers who could see their jobs and wages cut," said Rose. "There has to be a better way to negotiate trade agreements that doesnt include using Staten Island small businesses as a bargaining chip. Thats why Im joining together with bipartisan colleagues in calling on the administration to reverse course on this proposal. IMPACT ON BUSINESS OWNERS Joseph DeLissio is a St. George resident and long time wine director for The River Cafe, Brooklyn, where 70 to 75% of the wines hail from France and Spain -- countries affected by the tariff imposition. You cant charge $50 a bottle one day, then charge $100 the next. It just doesnt work that way, he said. And if the 100% tariff goes on long-term, DeLissio added, he sees it affecting other aspects of the wine and spirits world. European whiskeys and some wines are affected by a proposed 100 percent tariff increase. Staff-Shot Nobody wants it to happen so, for now, I think its a negotiating tool. Its a game of chicken, he said. Lorie Honor of Honor Wines in Stapleton said: Obviously this would hurt, if not shutter, my shop...and many other small wine loving businesses and restaurants if it goes through. She added, Taking European wines out of the shop would gut me. The 25% tariff in the fall was hard enough to absorb, and quite frankly, I am sure there are many in the business that just did not have time to rebut it, as our industry was gearing up for the busy holiday season. Honor noted that after seven years in business, the shops drawn out and costly move from St. George to Stapleton and a lively holiday season, she was hopeful that her once thriving business was bouncing back. She continued, But there is no hope for my business with the tariffs as presented. I never expected that an administration that prides itself on their job growth numbers, would so quickly and capriciously threaten an entire industry and put an American workforce out of business. As a certified sommelier and Rosebank restaurant owner, Bin 5 proprietor Danny Ippolitio has been vociferous on the subject. From a purely political standpoint, the most important thing to remember when it comes to taxing European wines, is that American jobs rely on the handling, sale and interpretation of these wines," he said. "There are jobs -- nay careers -- built specifically on this grape juice -- and this is more, if not the most prevalent in New York City. Ippolitio said he hopes lawmakers reconsider the impending tariffs in lieu of their widespread impact. Michael Schraeder, owner of Jeans Fine Wines in West Brighton, looked at some of the positives. The tariffs most certainly will cause problems," he said. "However the wine and spirit world is very accommodating. There are always options, and it will provide an opportunity to turn people onto new perspectives that they might not have considered. I cant wait to make those introductions. Those introductions arent necessarily American. He points to other options from South Africa and Chile. Certain Old World expressions might still be within reach. I have to see, said the shopkeeper. DeLissio also noted some positive side effects from heavy tariffs. Customers will adjust, he said. Its actually going to be a little interesting with Scotch. Maybe people will start drinking more American bourbon. And he said that distributors and producers might be a bit ahead of the curve on a looming tariff. Some of the big companies did bring in a lot of extra inventory. I have stock, so Im not going to have to raise my prices until I get new inventory, DeLissio concluded. A comment page has been generated by the United States Trade Representatives office and will be open for discussion on the tariff matter until Monday, Jan. 13. Also affected by a potential hike in excise taxes on European goods: cheeses, cookware and yogurt (Photo by Pamela Silvestri) MORE IN STATEN ISLAND FOOD: NYC takes aim at sugary drinks on kids menus Greenmarkets offer a prize for Winter Warriors McDonalds on Midland Avenue gets massive overhaul Are you a DoorDash customer with a Chase card on Staten Island? NYC brings home lunches to school Beverage Island makes a bold move Meatballs on Staten Island: Who makes them best? CHICO, Calif.- A group of Camp Fire survivors gathered for a protest against PG&E near the Chico Mall on Saturday. It took place for about three hours in front of the old Sears building on East 20th Street. Many survivors say they are not happy with what PG&E has put on the table so far, including the $13.5 billion dollar settlement. Camp Fire survivor Laurie Smith, from Magalia says, "The consequences of their actions even after a year will follow us for the rest of ours lives, we want money, we want them to assume responsibility and let us have what we need to start our lives over." Fire survivor and founder of the Coral Apple Foundation, Stephen Murray, was at the protest and explained why the protest was occurring. He said a lot of people are protesting about the money set aside for Camp Fire survivors. He said the protester believe the money should not be paid back to FEMA, and should just go back to survivors. "People need to be heard and if this is the way it's gonna happen, then this is why people are out here," Murray added, saying that the protesting survivors are trying to spread the word that they still need help. The group says they plan on organizing more protests in the near future. Democrats have a real opportunity in Iowa. The U.S. Senate battle is heating up, and all U.S. House races could be competitive. To shift the political balance in Washington, however, the candidate leading the ticket must boost performance in rural areas. What happens here Feb. 3 will be a national bellwether for November. After the trade wars, ethanol setbacks, disaster relief funding problems, and other administration failures, some previous Trump fans are open-minded heading into 2020. But the White House seems to have recognized its softening support. Theyve capitulated to China to encourage more U.S. food exports and taken other steps to woo rural America. Recent polling shows the efforts may be working. It would be a shame for Democrats to cede this ground without a fight, but it appears some presidential candidates would do so. Operating in a radical echo chamber, several top contenders have overreached with their policy proposals. Now confronted with tough questions about how to pay for everything theyve promised, a troubling pattern has emerged. While Sen. Elizabeth Warrens wealth tax remains an outlier, several Democratic hopefuls from the far-left to the center have embraced a different option, a financial transaction tax, or FTT. A seemingly more palatable alternative for funding big ticket items like Medicare for All, an FTT could wreak more damage, especially in rural areas. Thats because most Americans engage in various market transactions, often without thinking much about it. For instance, Iowas nearly $30 billion agricultural industry relies on futures. These financial vehicles are the way farmers hedge risk, so they know in advance whether theyll get a good price on their corn, dairy, or beef before putting the time and money into production. Futures transactions would be taxed under an FTT, and this would be a gut punch to rural America. It would make the high-wire act of turning a profit at farming even more challenging. And where goes the farmer, there go we all. With an FTT in place, grocery prices would rise across the country and agricultural economies would suffer. Although farm futures may be a unique concern, other targets of the FTT would strike hardworking people directly, regardless of their industry or address. For example, accounts intended for childrens college education would be affected, and students would need to take out $7,800 more in loans to make up for the costs. Even more common are retirement investments. Half of U.S. households participate in an investment plan, such as a pension, 401(k), or 403(b). In Iowa, public sector employees alone contribute over $500 million to pension funds. Add in private retirements, and billions of dollars of the Hawkeye states hard-earned savings would fall under an FTT. Studies suggest the average investor would earn about $6,000 less on a $10,000 investment over 20 years. With such diminished returns, countless Americans will be forced to work far longer just to retire. There would be other fallout, too. Mortgages would be more expensive, taxpayers would eat the added costs of government financing, and market volatility would increase, making all investments less secure. Wall Street is well-positioned to thrive in such an environment. Big investment firms will adopt new risk management strategies, and theyll pass FTT costs on to their customers the rest of us. The average American family, on the other hand, will foot the bill for the FTT in nearly every possible way. Democrats have been thinking big about how to improve the lot of working families, and theyve launched important discussions about inequality and opportunity. Iowans are receptive to their ideas. But now candidates must ground their proposals in financial reality and reassure rural and moderate voters that they wont impose unaffordable pay fors on the very same people they champion. Photos: Presidential candidates campaign in the area. State Rep. Bruce Bearinger of Oelwein is the former education director of Buchanan Countys Iowa State Extension and Regional Extension. He also served as the economic development director at the Oelwein Chamber and Area Development. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sir Roger Scruton, a revered conservative philosopher who cleared his name after being sacked as a government advisor over false anti-Semitism claims, has died after a six-month battle with cancer. The Cambridge graduate - author of some 50 books on morals, politics, architecture and aesthetics - died on Sunday, with his family saying they are 'hugely proud of him and of all his achievements'. Tory MEP Daniel Hannan tweeted: 'Very sad news. Professor Sir Roger Scruton, the greatest conservative of our age, has died. The country has lost a towering intellect. I have lost a wonderful friend.' Sir Roger had been sacked as a government advisor in April last year after an interview he gave to The New Statesman which wildly misrepresented his views and led to claims of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. The father-of-two described his sacking as a 'witch-hunt of people on the Right' and said he had faced the 'complete destruction' of his 'career, identity and personality'. Sir Roger with his wife Sophie, daughter Lucy and son Sam after he was knighted for services to philosophy, teaching and public education in 2016 Spectator columnist James Delingpole paid tribute to 'a brave, great man' Tory MEP Daniel Hannan described Sir Roger as 'the greatest conservative of our age' Mail on Sunday columnist and author Peter Hitchens paid tribute to Sir Roger on Sunday night, calling him a man of 'immense courage' The magazine and James Brokenshire, the Communities Secretary who sacked Sir Roger, later apologised to him. Sir Roger looks on after being decorated the Middle Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Hungarian embassy in London in December A statement from Sir Roger's family tonight said: 'It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Sir Roger Scruton, FBA, FRSL. 'Beloved husband of Sophie, adored father to Sam and Lucy and treasured brother of Elizabeth and Andrea, he died peacefully on Sunday 12th January. 'He was born on 27th February 1944 and had been fighting cancer for the last 6 months. His family are hugely proud of him and of all his achievements.' Meanwhile Mail on Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens tweeted: 'RIP Sir Roger Scruton, a man of immense courage, intellect and fortitude, whose loss we can ill afford in these narrow, conformist times.' Spectator columnist James Delingpole wrote: 'RIP Roger Scruton - a brave, great man.' Last year, The New Statesman's George Eaton had quoted Sir Roger as saying there was a '[George] Soros empire in Hungary', but The New Statesman left out that he had continued: 'it's not necessarily an empire of Jews, that's such nonsense'. Sir Roger Scruton's personal website said: 'It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Sir Roger Scruton, FBA, FRSL' (pictured: Sir Roger Scruton at the FT Weekend Oxford Literary festival, Oxfordshire in 2014) The magazine also quoted him as saying 'each Chinese person is a kind of replica of the next one', but later accepted he was criticising the Chinese Communist Party rather than Chinese people themselves. Tributes to Sir Roger: BBC presenter Amol Rajan: 'Roger Scruton put even those with whom he disagreed profoundly in a debt which they will never service. 'What a life. For sheer lucidity, erudition, and wisdom, I think he wrote the best English prose since Orwell. His humanity and humour have gone; but his ideas will never die.' Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick: 'Deeply sorry to learn of the death of Sir Roger Scruton. 'His work on building more beautifully, submitted recently to my department, will proceed and stand part of his unusually rich legacy.' Oxford University history professor Timothy Garton Ash: 'Saddened to hear news of death of Roger Scruton, a man of extraordinary intellect, learning & humour, great supporter of C European dissidents, & the kind of provocative, sometimes outrageous Conservative thinker that a truly liberal society should be glad to have challenging it.' Brexit Party MEP Claire Fox: 'I'm devastated. I'd hoped he'd fought C off, as he fought off so many of his foes for decades. 'Roger Scruton was so good to me over years, regardless of our political differences. I loved his mind, his writing, his humour. He taught me so much about music, beauty and life.' Advertisement He was sacked by the government for reportedly saying Islamophobia was a 'propaganda word'. But it later emerged he had also said: 'Muslims who settle into the Meccan way of life are obviously perfect citizens. They have the inner serenity that the citizen should have. We ought to learn to appreciate that and encourage it.' Mr Brokenshire later penned an open-letter to him in the Spectator magazine, saying he regretted his decision. 'I am sorry especially as it was based on a clearly partial report of your thoughts,' Mr Brokenshire wrote in July. The New Statesman also apologised to Sir Roger, saying tweets about the interview 'did not accurately represent his views'. That a reference to a series of tweets by Mr Eaton, who had characterised Sir Roger's statements to him as 'outrageous.' Writing in The Spectator's review of the year last month, Sir Roger wrote of 'April': 'Readers of The Spectator do not need reminding of the sequel. The interview is duly published - a mendacious concoction of out-of-context remarks and downright fabrications. 'We are able to obtain the tapes of the interview, and on the strength of this, and thanks to all the support that is offered to me, not least by this magazine and its brave associate editor Douglas Murray, I obtain an apology from the New Statesman.' In his piece he referred to Mr Eaton as 'an eager young man' who had 'come not to learn about my views but to reinforce his own.' Sir Roger, a keen huntsmen, saddled up ready to ride with the Vale of the White Horse Hunt Cambridge-graduate Sir Roger was a revered conservative philosopher and was invited to speak to academics and dignitaries throughout the world (pictured in 1989, left, and at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in 2010, right) He had been knighted in 2016 for services to philosophy, teaching and public education and was joined at Buckingham Palace by his wife Sophie, daughter Lucy and son Sam. He had also received honours from Poland and Hungary for his work supporting dissidents behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. Sir Roger graduated from Cambridge University in 1965 and paid particular attention to aesthetics, architecture and music in his philosophical work. TV actor Rashami Desai has revealed she was so tortured with taunts for being a girl that she once tried to commit suicide and Vishal Aditya Singh has said that he was molested by three men, at different times, when he was a nine-year-old child. The Bigg Boss 13 contestants were speaking during an interaction with acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal who came inside the house to promote Deepika Padukones film, Chhapaak, based on her life. Crediting Arti Singh for giving him the courage to speak up about his own experience, Vishal said, Love you, Arti. Reason ho bahut bada bolne ka, jo abhi bolne jaa raha hoon. Molest hua hoon bachpan mein, 2-3 logon se. (You are the reason behind me revealing what I am going to say now. I have been molested as a child, by 2-3 people). I have hatred for men, I could never talk about it. When I told Papa, he beat me up. I could not talk about it the second time. It happened with me thrice - between the age of 9 to 11. I started fearing people and developed shortcomings. I could not trust my father because he beat me up when I named the person who saw it all happen. I could not study. I closed myself, like a room, he added. Also read: Chhapaak: As Deepika Padukone champions their cause, meet real life acid attack survivors He further said, I lagged behind in a lot of things and only played. I liked playing because no one molested on the fields. I hail from a village, and did not study so I could not speak proper Hindi or English. People made fun of me when I came here (Mumbai) and I would not get work. Vishal also revealed he later thrashed his molesters. I won't lie. When I was 17-18 years old, I beat two of them. People kept asking me why was I doing so but I only said they will tell themselves. Of course they did not. Laxmi then interrupted, apologising for doing so, and said the problem is that our own parents shake our faith when we confide in them. Rashami was next in facing her own monsters. She revealed that she consumed poison and tried to kill herself when she was made to feel that being a girl, she was a burden for her family. I belong to a poor family, rather belonged to. I was often taunted for being a girl and my mom had to struggle a lot. Kaha ladki paida ho gayi, bahut manhoos hai, iski wajah se paise kam hote hai. (Why did we have a girl? She is jinxed, we are short of money because of her.) Even my education was questioned and I began feeling that it was a crime to be a girl. That is when I committed a mistake, I ate poison and called up my aunt to tell her. I did not know my worth, I just knew I am a girl and a burden on my family. I was admitted to a hospital and came out fine soon.Ever since, a lot of people tried to break me, irritate me but I never gave up, she said. Follow @htshowbiz for more Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha on Sunday said enactment of the "unconstitutional and unnecessary" new citizenship Act was a ploy by the Centre to "divert attention" of people from its "failure" to prevent the economic slowdown. Addressing a gathering during the course of his "Gandhi Shanti Yatra" here, the former BJP leader quoted former chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian saying that India was facing a "great slowdown with its economy headed for intensive care unit (ICU)". "All sections of the society are disenchanted with the functioning of the government. Those in the government are great experts at diverting attention. "So, this unconstitutional, unnecessary Act is meant to divert the attention of the youth, farmers, women, so they get involved in opposing this and do not think about their daily difficulties," Sinha said. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which was notified on January 10, grants Indian citizenship to non- Muslim minorities migrated to India Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh till December 31, 2014, following their persecution over their faith. Massive protests were witnessed against the CAA, mainly by the student community, since its passage by Parliament in December last year. Opposition parties has been dubbing the CAA an "anti-Muslim" legislation, a charge being debunked by the government. Sinha said, "The Act was brought in because the economic condition of the country is at present in a great danger". The former finance minister was in Surat as part of his 3,000-km yatra, which began from Mumbai on January 9, for various demands including repealing the CAA; constituting judicial inquiry into instances of "state-sponsored violence" such as the attack on JNU students, and seeking the government's assurance in Parliament that nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise will not be carried out. "The biggest catch of the Act, which is why this can't be implemented, despite being notified by the Central government, is that it talks about giving citizenship to persons who have suffered religious persecution or fear of religious persecution," Sinha told reporters. "..Where is the evidence of religious persecution? It is in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, but not in India. Will India get proof of this from neighbouring countries?" he asked. "How will a child prove if their parents or grandparents who migrated here from neighbouring countries are dead? This Act cannot be truly implemented because it is unconstitutional, with an artificial cut-off date, is based on religion, and is impractical," he added. Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], Jan12 (ANI): A delegation of Shiromani Akali DaI (SAD) led by its President Sukhbir Singh Badal has requested Union Home Minister Amit Shah to cancel the death sentence of Balwant Singh Rajoana in 2007 case of assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh and commute it into life imprisonment. A press release said, "The SAD delegation requested the Home Minister to intervene and expedite the matter of clemency of Rajoana with the competent authority to commute the death penalty awarded to him and ensure his release from prison at the earliest." The SAD delegation informed Union Home Minister that Rajoana had already undergone 24 years of imprisonment without any parole. It said a clemency petition under article 72 of the Constitution of India was filed by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on March 25, 2012, before the President which was still pending. It also disclosed that the commutation of death penalty of Rajoana was announced as a goodwill gesture on the pious occasion of 550th years of celebrations of Parkash Purb of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji. "The delegation also urged Shah to constitute a national level celebrations' committee to commemorate the 400th birth anniversary of ninth Sikh guru Shri Guru Teg Bahadur ji in a most befitting manner across the country," the press release added. (ANI) A candidate running to become Canada's next federal Green Party leader said he wants to see the voting opened up to all Canadians. David Merner, one of the first to declare, said he'd like to see a leadership contest that allows all Canadians to vote not just party members. "My view is that we should open up the leadership race voting to any Canadian who wants to vote in it," Merner said. "I think we should really make it a national race by allowing all Canadians to vote without having to buy a Green Party membership." During the 2013 leadership race that elected Justin Trudeau, the Liberals opened up voting to Canadians who didn't hold paid party memberships, weren't affiliated with other parties and pledged support for the Grits. Merner is a former-Liberal-turned-Green candidate for Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke, and said he would like to see something similar. The Greens have not yet finalized the rules for the leadership race. Those rules, interim party leader Jo-Ann Roberts said, will be made public on Feb. 3. Greens will elect their new leader in Charlottetown, P.E.I. in October. Elizabeth May stepped down from the leadership in November after 13 years on the job. She remains the party's parliamentary leader. In the future, Roberts said, the Green Party might be open to expanding the vote, but it's not likely to do so for the 2020 leadership race. "It's not the direction we've been going in," Roberts said. "We believe that there is something to be said in a very grassroots member-driven party that the members should be choosing the leader." Candidates want to keep the fee low Julie Tremblay-Cloutier, the other officially declared candidate, said she isn't convinced the Greens need to open up voting to non-members. But she and Merner agree the leadership race registration fee which has not yet been announced should be as low as possible to attract a diverse array of candidates who might not have deep pockets or fundraising networks. Story continues "I really believe that the more ideas we have, the more that the thinking is elevated. The more, the merrier," said Tremblay-Cloutier, who ran for the party in 2019 in Mirabel, Que. "It should be as low as possible, so as many people as possible can get into the race." THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston The last time the Greens had a leadership race in 2006, candidates paid a $1,000 entrance fee. The party's provincial cousins, the B.C.Greens, are also looking for a new leader and contenders are expected to pay $16,000 to enter the race. Roberts, interim party leader, said she isn't ready to announce the fee yet but insisted it will be "accessible and fair." Aside from the confirmed candidates, two others have told CBC they'll be making up their minds soon: Quebec Green Party Leader Alex Tyrrell and his justice critic Dimitri Lascaris. Newly elected Green MPs Jenica Atwin and Paul Manly have both said they're passing on the leadership race to focus on being effective parliamentarians. Kansas City Blight Fight Cont'd KC leaders deem Marlborough neighborhood as blighted with goal to spark energy KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City, Missouri, leaders designated nearly 350 acres in the Marlborough neighborhood as blighted as part of a community coalition and urban renewal plan. https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/kc-leaders-deem-marlborough-neighborhood-as-blighted-with-goal-to-spark-energy Golden Ghetto Growing One of the hottest housing markets in Johnson County fears losing 'small-town feel' When she stops to think about it, Wanda Riedhart realizes she's approaching a milestone: She's about to mark eight years of serving pancakes, patty melts and pork tenderloins at her Wanda's Roadside Cafe in De Soto. On the spot, she decides a celebration is in order. KC BBQ Embittered Missouri's Kansas City Barbeque Society is in turmoil KANSAS CITY - A board member under fire for allegedly swindling an Indian tribe in Oklahoma. The organization's $3 million Kansas City headquarters, bought and renovated just a few years ago, up for sale. The founder stepping away from day-to-day control. A CEO abruptly leaving after only a few months at the helm. Show-Me Life Fight Planned Parenthood Again Challenges Missouri's Cutoff Of Medicaid Payments For the second time in two years, Planned Parenthood is challenging Missouri's denial of its claims for Medicaid payments. The first time Missouri cut off the organization's Medicaid funding was in fiscal 2019, after the legislature enacted an appropriations bill denying it reimbursement under the program. Rock Chalk Cooperation Kansas governor, top Republican reach deal to expand Medicaid Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, and Sen. Jim Denning, the state's top Senate Republican, announced Thursday that they had come to an agreement on Medicaid expansion, which would provide the state's working poor access to health care coverage. Everybody Against Ayatollah Iranian protesters demand Khamenei quits over plane downing A group of Iranian protesters demanded Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei step down on Saturday after Tehran said that its military had mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian plane, killing all 176 people on board. "Commander-in-chief [Khamenei] resign, resign," videos posted on Twitter showed hundreds of people chanting in front of Tehran's Amir Kabir university. Prez Trump Vs. Bernie Trump campaign steps up attacks on Sanders For most of 2019, 's allies braced for an eventual clash with former Vice President , who remains a top contender for the Democratic nomination. But Trump's attacks this week underscore how the president's campaign increasingly views Sanders as a potential general election threat. Hollywood Slapfight Ricky Gervais Responds To Critics Upset Over Him 'Accepting' Conservatives On Friday evening, Ricky Gervais responded to critics upset over the comedian "accepting" Christian and conservative followers since his blistering Golden Globes monologue against Hollywood. "I've noticed a couple of tweets criticising me for 'accepting' new followers who are the 'opposite' of me," Gervais posted via Twitter. Silenced In The Senate??? Trump Suggests He'd Block Bolton Testimony "For the Sake of the Office" The Courts Can Move Quickly. They're Slow-Walking Trump Cases on Purpose. U.S. Rejects Iraqi Demand to Withdraw Troops. Can We Do That? ROYAL DISTRACTION!!! Prince William breaks silence on Megxit Prince William has told a pal he can't "put his arm around" his brother anymore - after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle abandoned their royal duties. He revealed his "sadness" over the tense relationship with his younger brother and the splitting of the Royal Family, according to The Sun . Today's Rescue Firefighters pull driver from creek after crash early Saturday in Gardner A driver was rescued from a creek after a crash in the Gardner, Kansas, area early Saturday.Johnson County firefighters were called just after midnight to the two-vehicle wreck on northbound Interstate 35 just south of Gardner Road.One vehicle was found in the median. Meth Town Moving Fast Independence upgrading bus service Independence has received bids for a project to enhance 20 bus stop locations around the city, including shelters at three locations and benches at all of them. The city has received a $150,000 federal grant through the Kansas City Area Transit Authority and will provide $37,500 from Public Works already earmarked for such a project. Kansas City History Revealed How did the Kansas City Royals get its name? There are two famous royals in the Kansas City area - the Kansas City Royals and the American Royal. Both boast their own version of the World Series - one competes with a ball and a bat, and the other with smoke and meat. But are they somehow linked? With respect to legendary hotness, pop culture, current events, Kansas City news items and the current partisan debate . . . We humbly share these local news that aren't all about today's garbage weather. Checkit:was the song of the day and this is the OPEN THREAD for right now . . . China-hostile Incumbent Wins Re-election in Taiwan, Vows to Pursue Talks By Ralph Jennings January 11, 2020 Taiwanese voters re-elected incumbent Tsai Ing-wen on Saturday by a landslide, renewing her mandate to keep holding off the island's long-time military rival, China, after a year of fast-changing threats. But the 63-year-old U.S.-educated law scholar's approach to China over the next four years might depart from her first four. Shortly after winning the election with more than 57% of the vote, Tsai suggested her government would speak with angry officials in Beijing if they don't treat Taiwan as an equal partner. "As president, I must handle relations with China according to popular opinion, and I will do my utmost to break the stalemate and improve cross-Strait relations," Tsai told a news conference outside her Taipei campaign headquarters after receiving more than 8 million votes." So, I'd like to appeal to leaders in Beijing to respect Taiwanese people's opinion and consensus for peace and equal treatment," she said. "Then we can set up a sustainable as well as a healthy communication mechanism that is able to meet expectations for people's welfare." Resumption of dialogue would ease a festering military flashpoint in Asia. China maintains the world's third strongest military and has not ruled out use of force, if eventually needed, to capture Taiwan. The government in Beijing considers Taiwan part of its own territory that must eventually unify with China. Taiwanese said in surveys last year they prefer today's democratic autonomy over unification. The two sides have been self-ruled since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s, when Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists fled to the island and re-based their government here. Events in 2019 further hardened many people's views against China, endearing them instead to Tsai as someone who won't engage Beijing on its terms: that both sides come to the table as parts of one country. A year ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping gave a speech advocating that China rule Taiwan under a "one country, two systems" model that's supposed to allow a measure of local autonomy. Beijing has ruled Hong Kong that way since 1997, but the former British colony was hit by months of anti-China protests last year. Also in 2019 China sailed aircraft carriers near Taiwan twice and within a week persuaded two Taiwanese diplomatic allies to break ties in favor of Beijing. Chen Li-chin, a 43-year-old mother from suburban Taipei, decided to vote for Tsai because the president shows willingness to resist China. "To safeguard Taiwan's democracy and that's the most important thing the government can do," she said. "In comparing candidates on this issue, it's Tsai Ing-wen. We can still carry on cooperative relations state to state (with Beijing) as long as China doesn't take Taiwan to be part of its own country." The two sides never spoke formally in Tsai's first four years. She irritated Beijing last year particularly by rejecting "one country, two systems." Lin Chong-pin, a retired strategic studies professor from Tamkang University in Taiwan, believes Tsai is already working on ways to start talks. "I think both sides will do something gradually, but they need to do it quietly before it surfaces to the public eye," he said. "I think they probably are doing it already." Beijing may drop its "one China" condition for dialogue if Tsai's government makes a concession in return, one Washington-based scholar said last month. But other analysts expect Tsai to make no change from the past four years, which would mean sidelining Beijing in favor of stronger ties with other countries to boost Taiwan's international standing. Foreign Minister Joseph Wu told a news conference Thursday his government would try to deepen relations with Europe, Japan and the United States if Tsai was re-elected. U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo congratulated Tsai on Saturday and lauded Taiwan's democratic process. "Under her leadership, we hope Taiwan will continue to serve as a shining example for countries that strive for democracy, prosperity, and a better path for their people," he said in a statement. On Saturday, Tsai beat Han Kuo-yu of the Nationalist party, also called the KMT. Han, the 62-year-old mayor of Taiwan's chief port city Kaohsiung, had advocated trade and investment talks with China on Beijing's condition that both sides are two parts of one country. His policies follow from those of ex-president Ma Ying-jeou. Over Ma's eight years in office before 2016, China and Taiwan signed more than 20 trade and investment deals while setting aside the political dispute. But by 2014 many Taiwanese feared Ma was getting dangerously cozy with China and staged mass street protests in Taipei Taiwanese on Saturday also renewed Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party majority in parliament, giving it control of the foreign affairs budget and a clear channel to pass any laws related to Taiwanese people's interactions with China. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Legacy mechanisms to deal with Northern Irelands troubled past are about establishing the truth, not apportioning blame, Simon Coveney has said. Irelands deputy premier said families had a right to learn about what happened to their loved ones. He was responding to concerns voiced by some unionists that fresh investigations could be disproportionately focused on state actions during the conflict. Stalled mechanisms agreed by the regions parties as part of the 2014 Stormont House Agreement are finally set to be implemented as part of the deal to restore powersharing. Expand Close Simon Coveney (left) and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Julian Smith holding the New Decade, New Approach deal that secured a return to powersharing (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Simon Coveney (left) and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Julian Smith holding the New Decade, New Approach deal that secured a return to powersharing (Niall Carson/PA) They include an independent investigation unit to establish if any prosecutorial opportunities remain and a truth recovery body to help families find out more details about the deaths of their loved ones in cases where prosecutions are unlikely. What both governments have agreed to do and that has been reinforced by this agreement is to try to establish the truth, so that families can access the truth about what happened to their loved ones, Mr Coveney told the BBCs Andrew Marr Show. That truth has to be fair across all communities. It is not about apportioning blame, its about establishing the truth and I think we are going to try and move forward now. The British Government has committed to move forward on the basis of the Stormont House Agreement in this (powersharing) agreement and I think that is going to be a big challenge for Julian Smith, as a Secretary of State, to explain in Westminster but also to convince people in Northern Ireland who want him to move ahead with this process, but to do it in a way that is fair and truthful. And I think we can do that and certainly the Irish Government is there to help and to work with communities to bring them on that difficult journey. But that is a journey that is essential if we are going to achieve true reconciliation in Northern Ireland which is ultimately what we need to do. Mr Coveney also downplayed the influence of the UK general election result on achieving the breakthrough that secured the return of Stormont. Some have claimed the DUP losing its status as Westminster kingmaker changed the dynamic in the talks, and ultimately led to the party being more willing to sign up to proposals that it had previously rejected. Certainly the British general election has been part of that story, but I wouldnt characterise it as the dominant influence over what has been achieved this weekendSimon Coveney Irelands foreign affairs minister said the agreement did not come about because of the election. That hasnt just happened because of a British general election and the changing balance of the power that has involved the DUP in the past, he said. I have been working with all parties in Northern Ireland for two years. We have had an intensive engagement for the last nine months since the tragic murder of Lyra McKee a young journalist who was shot and killed in Derry nine months ago. And I think all parties, regardless of British general election results, have been working for some time to try to restore powersharing in Northern Ireland, to try to ensure that Northern Ireland can take decisions for itself again. Certainly the British general election has been part of that story, but I wouldnt characterise it as the dominant influence over what has been achieved this weekend. Britain's van drivers may have a reputation for devouring greasy fry-ups but new research suggests that many are actually on a health kick. More than a third have cut back on alcohol in the past year, with one in five switching to alcohol-free beer or wine some of the time, a survey of 1,100 drivers by Vauxhall Motors found. A similar number have tried meat-free alternatives such as Quorn or vegan sausage rolls, the study discovered. And a third exercised at least once a week to offset the damage from sitting behind the wheel for hours at a time. Van drivers often spend a lot of time at the wheel, which makes it trickier to prioritise healthy eating and exercise, says Vauxhalls Patrick Fourniol. But our research shows that many are making it a priority. Britain's van drivers may have a reputation for devouring greasy fry-ups but new research suggests that many are actually on a health kick (stock image) Walk uphill to build up knees Walking uphill on a treadmill could help to beat the most common form of arthritis. A new study has found that the low-intensity exercise can ease symptoms in patients with osteoarthritis, which affects some eight million people in the UK. Many of them rely on painkillers and anti-inflammatories. Researchers in Tehran used 30 volunteers with osteoarthritis of the knee to see if uphill treadmill walking, alongside strengthening exercises, might help. The results, published in the journal Disability And Rehabilitation, showed that treadmill-users had reduced pain scores, faster walking speed and a longer stride. A new study has found that the low-intensity exercise can ease symptoms in patients with osteoarthritis, which affects some eight million people in the UK A leading blood-cancer charity has appealed for more Asian stem-cell donors, warning that a severe shortage is putting lives at risk. Only two per cent of the UK population is on the stem-cell register, and just one in five is from the black, Asian or minority ethnic population. Three-year-old Veer Gudhka, below, from North-West London, inherited the rare genetic disorder Fanconi anaemia and needs a bone marrow stem-cell transplant. The Anthony Nolan blood-cancer charity said: Nobody should die waiting for a stem-cell transplant because of their ethnicity. anthonynolan.org/HelpVeerNow Three-year-old Veer Gudhka, from North-West London, inherited the rare genetic disorder Fanconi anaemia and needs a bone marrow stem-cell transplant Jab cuts heart death risk A jab in the arm could help protect against potentially fatal heart failure, new research has found. Thick scarring on the heart is common after a heart attack and can trigger dangerously abnormal heart rhythms. But an Australian study suggests that an injection of a specific protein can make these scars stronger, lowering the risk of heart failure, which affects more than 900,000 Britons. So far the jab has been tried only on pigs, but researchers in Sydney say human trials will begin very soon. Harold Bunnell died earlier this month, taking with him yet another tiny piece of the sprawling story that was World War II. Bunnell, 96, of Napa, was one of the 10 local veterans we profiled for our They Served With Honor series last year, three of whom served in World War II. I only got to meet him briefly a little bit more than an hour in his home. We were joined by his son Dan, a retired doctor here in Napa, and his wife of 76 years, Charlotte. That interview sticks out in my mind for several reasons. They Served With Honor: Keeping the supply lines moving Harold Bunnells invasion of France started at the wheel of a two-and-a-half-ton GMC truck, plunging off the back of a landing craft into the surf off Omaha beach. First was the clarity of his recollection those events of seven and a half decades ago were still alive to him. His eyes grew moist when remembering his best friend in the unit, Frank Braun, who was electrocuted when a German bomb knocked down live powerlines onto a truck he was trying to repair. He also teared up slightly when recalling the first sight of New York from the deck of the cruise liner Queen Mary, which was bringing troops back home after the end of the fighting in Europe. More importantly was Bunnells striking practicality. For him, there was no glory or romance to war. He didnt speak about grand ideological vision, but rather that one thing that drives every person in war at an elemental level getting home. Every GI will tell you, if theyre honest, theyll say I want to go home, he told me. I want to go home to that pretty little thing thats waiting for me. Not to say that he wasnt proud of his service. Before our meeting, he had carefully laid out a table full of memorabilia and brought out his old uniforms, which he was proud to say he could still fit in. He handed over with pride a book listing all the members of his unit, the 3509th Ordnance Automotive Maintenance Company. Their job wasnt glamorous, but it was as important to the war effort as anyones. They were the mobile mechanics that kept supply trucks running. A damaged or broken down truck meant less ammunition, less food, and fewer supplies to the men fighting on the front line. Bunnell and his colleagues would dash about in a Jeep just behind the front line, often under threat from German artillery and aircraft, looking for stalled trucks and getting them back on the move. He shrugged off any idea that there was anything heroic about his duty he was just doing his job, he said. From the editor: Entrusted with their stories Often the best moments in journalism are when another person lets you in, opens up, and allows you to tell their story. (My father) told me this, and I followed it: no matter what job you get, do your very best. Dont dog it, he said. Always do your very best and if you can do a little extra, do it, just so long as you dont make everybody else mad at you. What was also striking about Bunnell was the tender and loving relationship with his wife. They got married just before he shipped off to Europe, he a 19-year-old draftee and she a 17-year-old just finishing high school. They raised three highly successful boys and have eight grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. I have no idea what ups and downs they had in their 76-year marriage, and I am sure there were many, but in their living room in Napa that day, they had an easy energy together that told me this was a couple that had a marriage that worked and had stood the test of time for good reason. From the Editor: Memorial Day in memory Memorial Day is different from other holidays. Today, we gather not to mark a date or time, but rather an idea. About 16 million Americans served in World War II. In 2019, when I interviewed Bunnell, the federal government estimated that there were fewer than 400,000 of those veterans still alive. Most, like Bunnell, are well into their 90s or more. By the year 2030, there may well be no more living veterans left from that era. I am so glad I was able to capture even a small part of Bunnells story. His son told me recently that his father began to decline just a week after we spoke, so that day at his home in Napa was just about the last opportunity to hear his living testimony to what he saw and what he did. Thanks for your service, Harold Bunnell, and thanks for sharing your story. And for all of you with veterans in your life, especially those toward the end of their lives, please remember to hear their stories before they can no longer be told. You can reach Sean Scully at 256-2246 or sscully@napanews.com. Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly 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. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 21:47:38|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Assets under management of public offering of funds reached a new record in 2019, said the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC). The figure was 14.8 trillion yuan (about 2.13 trillion U.S. dollars) by the end of 2019, up 1.7 trillion yuan from last year, according to the AMAC, an industry body supervised by China's securities regulator. Of the total, the asset value of closed-end funds increased by 703.9 billion yuan year on year while the money market funds of the open-end funds decreased by 500.8 billion yuan year on year. The public offering of funds is a type of investment vehicle that collects funds from investors through public offerings and takes securities as its main investment target. It has to follow strict requirements for information disclosure and profit distribution. 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. But the reality is that when a company loses money each year, for long enough, its investors will usually take their share of those losses. In contrast to all that, I prefer to spend time on companies like Gym Group (LON:GYM), which has not only revenues, but also profits. While profit is not necessarily a social good, it's easy to admire a business that can consistently produce it. While a well funded company may sustain losses for years, unless its owners have an endless appetite for subsidizing the customer, it will need to generate a profit eventually, or else breathe its last breath. See our latest analysis for Gym Group How Fast Is Gym Group Growing? If a company can keep growing earnings per share (EPS) long enough, its share price will eventually follow. Therefore, there are plenty of investors who like to buy shares in companies that are growing EPS. Who among us would not applaud Gym Group's stratospheric annual EPS growth of 42%, compound, over the last three years? That sort of growth never lasts long, but like a shooting star it is well worth watching when it happens. One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. On the one hand, Gym Group's EBIT margins fell over the last year, but on the other hand, revenue grew. So it seems the future my hold further growth, especially if EBIT margins can stabilize. In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings, and revenue, over time. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers. LSE:GYM Income Statement, January 12th 2020 You don't drive with your eyes on the rear-view mirror, so you might be more interested in this free report showing analyst forecasts for Gym Group's future profits. Are Gym Group Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders? Story continues Like the kids in the streets standing up for their beliefs, insider share purchases give me reason to believe in a brighter future. Because oftentimes, the purchase of stock is a sign that the buyer views it as undervalued. However, small purchases are not always indicative of conviction, and insiders don't always get it right. Not only did Gym Group insiders refrain from selling stock during the year, but they also spent UK77k buying it. That's nice to see, because it suggests insiders are optimistic. Zooming in, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Independent Non-Executive Chairwoman Penelope Hughes for UK53k worth of shares, at about UK2.20 per share. Along with the insider buying, another encouraging sign for Gym Group is that insiders, as a group, have a considerable shareholding. Indeed, they hold UK14m worth of its stock. That shows significant buy-in, and may indicate conviction in the business strategy. Despite being just 3.5% of the company, the value of that investment is enough to show insiders have plenty riding on the venture. While insiders already own a significant amount of shares, and they have been buying more, the good news for ordinary shareholders does not stop there. That's because on our analysis the CEO, Richard Darwin, is paid less than the median for similar sized companies. For companies with market capitalizations between UK153m and UK613m, like Gym Group, the median CEO pay is around UK663k. The Gym Group CEO received UK338k in compensation for the year ending December 2018. That seems pretty reasonable, especially given its below the median for similar sized companies. While the level of CEO compensation isn't a huge factor in my view of the company, modest remuneration is a positive, because it suggests that the board keeps shareholder interests in mind. It can also be a sign of good governance, more generally. Does Gym Group Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist? Gym Group's earnings per share growth have been levitating higher, like a mountain goat scaling the Alps. What's more insiders own a significant stake in the company and have been buying more shares. This quick rundown suggests that the business may be of good quality, and also at an inflection point, so maybe Gym Group deserves timely attention. Now, you could try to make up your mind on Gym 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 Gym 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. MUNSTER After fleeing a traffic stop, the driver of a car crashed into a cement flower pot a short distance away, police said. An officer stopped the vehicle around 5:30 pm. for a traffic violation in the 8200 block of Calumet Avenue in Munster, said Munster police Lt. John Peirick. Shortly after the officer talked to the driver, the driver fled, traveling north on Calumet Avenue. While the officer didn't pursue the driver, the officer saw the vehicle crash just north of where the traffic stop happened. The vehicle crashed into a cement flower pot near the road across from Boston Market at 8032 Calumet Ave. The passenger and driver fled on foot from the crash, Peirick said. While searching the crashed car, officers also found marijuana, police said. On Jan. 3 the chief editor of Russias state-own media conglomerate Rossiya Segodnya, Margarita Simonyan, tweeted a photo from the RT video platform Ruptly showing a mass protest in Iran over the U.S. killing of Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Irans Quds Force. Simonyan said Fox News, NBC and Bloomberg did not show the protests in Iran or even mention them. On Fox News, NBC and Bloomberg there is no such picture. More precisely, there is no picture from the protests. As well as [no] mention of the protests themselves, she claimed. That claim is false, and was immediately debunked in the replies to her tweet. Question: Why lie even in such trifles? To further discredit yourself? @Glnvz wrote posting links to the U.S. media reports on the protests in Iran. @Slavab16 followed with two screenshots showing NBC News and Bloomberg reports. Everything is in there, his tweet said. The flow of debunking replies continued with screenshots and links to Fox News, Bloomberg, NBC and other western media reports. A Bloomberg.com website search found 99 Soleimani-related reports published on Jan. 3 alone, most of them with video footage of the protests. For instance, a Bloomberg report titled Iranians Take to the Streets After Soleimanis Death was published at 9:36 AM Eastern Standard Time (EST). The NBC News website has more than 100 reports on the situation in Iran since the announcement of Soleimanis death, including live footage of the protests and multiple live reports from Soleimanis funeral. Headlines include Mourners flood the streets of Iran after death of Soleimani and Huge crowds in Iran for Soleimanis funeral. Fox News carried similar reports. Contrary to Simonyan, they included live footage of the protests in Iran. Simonyans domain includes the news agencies RIA Novosti and Sputnik, and RT (Russia Today). She has regularly made unsubstantiated claims about U.S. media. In May 2019, Polygraph.info refuted her claim that RT had broadcast a May Day rally in support of Maduro in Caracas, with video showing large crowds, while Reuters broadcast video showing a green boulevard, with relatively few people. Reuters green boulevard footage was actually from Paris ahead of mass protests that took place in France's capital the same day, not Caracas. A deal by British wealth management company St James's Place to acquire Dublin-based financial advisory firm Harvest Financial Services has fallen through. In a statement to the Sunday Independent, St James's Place (SJP) confirmed it was not going ahead with a deal announced last February. "Following careful consideration, St James's Place has decided not to proceed with the acquisition of Harvest Financial Services Limited," said a spokesman. "This reflects a strategic decision regarding this opportunity by St James's Place and does not reflect in any way upon Harvest Financial Services. "St James's Place looks forward to maintaining the good relationships it has established with Harvest." The deal was subject to approval by the Central Bank and it is not clear if this had been granted. SJP declined to elaborate or answer specific queries, while Harvest did not respond to queries. The two parties had been in talks for around two years before announcing the acquisition, which was valued at under 10m (11.7m). At the time of the announcement, Jonathan McMahon, executive director at SJP, said the acquisition "supports St James's Place Group's strategic growth plans of continuing to invest and extend Rowan Dartington's (a wealth manager owned by St James's Place) proven discretionary fund management capabilities." "As a marketplace, Ireland shares many of the same characteristics as the UK, while Harvest has an established track record of providing high-quality financial and investment advice and pension services to clients there," added the 2019 statement. "The firm shares many of our values and we look forward to working closely together to provide leading investment management services to Irish clients, helping them to achieve their financial objectives." At the time of the deal, Harvest executive, Gerry Devitt, said the company was "extremely excited" at bringing SJP's products to the market. The company was founded in 1993. Last October, when announcing that McMahon was leaving the business, the company said he would "continue to support the integration of Dublin-based financial advice firm Harvest Financial Services as chairman, following its acquisition by SJP in February". However, as confirmed on Friday to the Sunday Independent, the deal unravelled. Prior to beginning talks with SJP in 2017, Harvest had been in advanced talks with Cantor Fitzgerald, while Davy and Investec are also believed to have looked at the boutique firm. One student died while six others were rescued from heavy snow by State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) on Friday night in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand even as cold conditions threw normal life out of gear across north India on Saturday. According to officials in Uttarkashi, all the students aged 18-21, studying in an Industrial Training Institute centre, were heading home when they got stuck amid heavy snowfall. SDRF spokesperson Praveen Alok said they received an emergency call from one of the students on Friday at 5 pm. The team reached the spot around 10.30 pm on foot, braving heavy snow. They found one student, Anuj Semwal, 18, in an unconscious state, said Alok. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead, he added. Meanwhile, an avalanche warning has been issued in middle and high hills of Himachal Pradesh for Sunday following widespread snowfall, while a spell of moderate to high-intensity snowfall is most likely across Kashmir and upper reaches of Jammu region till Sunday night. A fresh orange warning of heavy rain and snowfall till January 17 has been issued for Himachal. Light to moderate rainfall is very likely over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Western Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan on Monday, the India Meteorological department predicted. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON LNA Headed by Haftar Announces Ceasefire in West of Libya Starting Midnight on Sunday Sputnik News 00:34 12.01.2020(updated 00:59 12.01.2020) Earlier, the Libyan National Army (LNA) welcomed the ceasefire initiative by Russia and Turkey, but added that the LNA would continue the fight for Tripoli. The Libyan National Army led by Marshal Khalifa Haftar declared a ceasefire in western Libya starting midnight local time on January 12, the LNA spokesman said. "The main command of the LNA announces a ceasefire from 00.00 local time [22:00 GMT] on January 12 in the west of the country, the other side [Government of National Accord (GNA)] must also adhere to this truce. In case of violation, there will be a harsh response," LNA spokesman Ahmed Mismari said in a statement. On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, agreed on a common stance on Libya and called for a comprehensive ceasefire starting midnight January 12. They also urged all conflict parties to begin negotiations. Libya's east is controlled by the LNA, while the GNA has been operating in the western part of the country. The situation escalated over the past few months as the LNA launched a new offensive on GNA-held Tripoli. On January 6, the LNA declared full control over the strategic coastal town of Sirte. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The last of the four illegal multi-storey apartment complexes in Maradu town of Keralas Kochi was successfully demolished in the final round of controlled implosion on Sunday, officials said. Golden Kayaloram, the 17-storeyed building with 40 flats, was the last to be razed for flouting Coastal Zone Regulation norms as dust and fume from the rubble settled in the surrounding area. The Supreme Court had ordered the demolition of these four flats with more than 350 houses in May last year. Also read | Gone in seconds: Residential Maradu flats brought down by controlled implosion In the morning, the 17-storeyed Jain Coral Cove building, the largest among the four with 128 flats, was demolished using 372kg of explosives. Dramatic visuals showed the flats coming down as packs of cards within seconds, filling the area with debris. On Saturday, H20 Holy Faith complex, a 19-floor building with 91 apartments, and Alfa Serene with 67 houses on 17 floors were pulled down in one of the largest demolition drives in the country. Watch: Maradu demolition | Biggest apartment complex among the four razed in seconds Firemen used water cannons to control dust and fumes that enveloped the whole area of the Maradu complexes after both the buildings came down as thousands gathered to watch the demolition. Authorities had evacuated hundreds of residents and imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to control the surge in the number of onlookers. Edifice Engineering and South Africa-based Jet Demolitions are the two companies involved in the razing of these buildings, spread in an area of at least 800,000 square feet. The Kerala government will inform the Supreme Court on Monday about the demolition of the four flats. Justice Arun Mishra was very keen on demolishing the flats citing the flood of the century, which ravaged the state two years ago and when 400 people died. Officials have said it will take at least one month to clear the nearly 70,000 tonne of rubble after the demolition. Some of the local residents will be allowed to return to their houses after the concrete waste is cleared. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Jordan Banjo has announced he's engaged to his girlfriend of nearly five years, Naomi Courts. The Greatest Dancer host, 27, revealed he popped the question to the mother-of-two in the Maldives on Sunday, six months after welcoming their second child, Mayowa Angel. In a sweet Instagram post, the Diversity star and his partner - who also share 20-month-old son Cassius - cuddled up to each other at the four-star SAii Lagoon resort as the brunette flashed her diamond engagement ring. 'Well she didn't say no': Jordan Banjo announced his engagement to his girlfriend of nearly five years, Naomi Courts, in a sweet Instagram post on Sunday The couple appeared on cloud nine as they took snaps on the beach, where a fire display with the words: 'WILL U MARRY ME' was lit up. In another photo, Naomi put her eye-watering band on full display, which was complete with a pear-shaped stone and a sculpted swirl design. Street dancer Jordan captioned the images: 'Well she didn't say no', alongside ring and heart emojis. The pair are finally one step closer to marriage after Jordan admitted his proposal plans failed twice. Happy family: The Greatest Dancer host, 27, and his girlfriend share daughter Mayowa Angel, six months, and 20-month-old son Cassius (pictured last month) Sweet: The Diversity star revealed he popped the question to the mother-of-two in the Maldives Loved-up: The smitten couple have been holidaying at the four-star SAii Lagoon resort (pictured on Friday) He told The Sun in April 2019: 'At this rate we're going to end up with 13 kids and not going to be married. I was ready to propose when I found out she was pregnant with Cass. 'So I thought, "OK, I'll wait until he's a little older and then I'll take Naomi away and surprise her with a proposal". 'Then when I started thinking about doing it again this year I found out she was pregnant again. Now she's convinced we're not going to get married.' Happy days: Before Naomi (pictured in July) fell pregnant, the presenter said he was ready to get hitched Jordan and Naomi met at famous nightclub Sugar Hut in 2013, but embarked on a relationship two years later. In January 2018, the couple revealed they were expecting their first child together, with the Essex-based beauty admitting she took 'nine pregnancy tests' out of shock. She told OK! at the time: 'I wanted to be sure so I went out and bought eight more tests. I sat with them laid out in front of me on the bathroom floor, staring at them in disbelief. 'We always said we wanted kids together, we just didn't think it would happen this soon. We're over the moon, though!' Strength to strength: Jordan and Naomi met at famous nightclub Sugar Hut in 2013, but embarked on a relationship two years later (pictured in September 2017) Growing family: Eight months after welcoming Cass, the pair announced they were pregnant with their second baby (pictured in January 2019) Baby joy: The couple welcomed their baby girl Mayowa in late July Eight months after welcoming Cass, the pair announced they were pregnant with their second baby, with their daughter arriving in late July. The I'm A Celeb star was previously dated Little Mix's Jesy Nelson from mid 2012 until March 2013. Jordan rose to fame in 2009 when he won Britain's Got Talent with big brother Ashley, 31, as part of their dance troupe Diversity. Since being in the spotlight, he has hosted the 2013 edition of Got to Dance, participated in I'm A Celeb in 2016 and currently presents BBC's The Greatest Dancer with Alesha Dixon. Washington DC: Fresh off his win at the Golden Globes, actor Joaquin Phoenix participated in a climate change protest and was arrested by the police. The "Joker" star took part in the weekly protests against climate change, started by Hollywood veteran Jane Fonda. According to Variety, the 45-year-old actor also addressed the crowd of close to 300 people. In his short speech, he took aim at the meat and dairy industry for being the third leading cause of the climate crisis. "Sometimes we wonder what can we do in this fight against climate change, and there is something that you can do today and tomorrow, by making a choice about what you consume," Phoenix said. "There are things I can't avoid. I flew a plane here today, or last night rather, but one thing I can do is change my eating habits," he added. Besides Phoenix, veteran Hollywood star Martin Sheen also turned up for the protest and got arrested by the police. Actors Maggie Gyllenhaal and Susan Sarandon were also present. Capitol Police said it arrested 147 people who were charged with crowding, obstructing or incommoding. All the protestors were later released. Fonda, who was on stage with Phoenix, called him "one of the greatest living actors today". She has been protesting weekly as part of her "Fire Drill Fridays" initiative since announcing she was moving to Washington "to be closer to the epicenter of the fight for our climate." Her participation has ended in multiple arrests. Earlier this month, Phoenix had talked about climate change at the Golden Globes ceremony, asking Hollywood to walk the talk on the issue. Fine Gael will vow to increase the state pension by 5 per week every year it is in government if the party is returned to power after the election. In an exclusive interview with Independent.ie, social protection minister Regina Doherty said Fine Gael will commit to giving an extra 1,250 to every pensioner over the next five years. "It will be in the programme for government - 5 per week, per year for the lifetime of the next government and that's a cast-iron guarantee," Ms Doherty said. The minister said she would not be making a similar commitment on jobseeker benefits as her focus would be on encouraging people to get back to work. Ms Doherty said between 140,000 and 150,000 people are in receipt of the payment and half of those are transient workers who are in-between jobs. She said the other half are long-term unemployed. "If I'm to be really honest with you, I know some of those 70,000 people are actually working. I think we need to step up our game to do more inspections so that if they are working that they're not getting money from the State too," she added. She also said she was awaiting the result of an independent review before making a decision on disability payments. The pension spending pledge of almost 900m comes against a backdrop of Fine Gael repeatedly targeting Fianna Fail for making reckless expenditure promises. The Fine Gael election manifesto promise is also a significant policy shift from Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's commitment to index-link pension payments to the cost of living or national incomes. Read More However, Ms Doherty said the Taoiseach promised to index-link weekly pension rates to ensure pensioners have a legal right to yearly increases, no matter who is in government. She said Fine Gael's election promise was to increase pensions by 5 per week but if the index-linked rate was higher, then it would be increased by that amount. Ms Doherty said she will "sing it from the rooftops" that Fine Gael will increase the pension in the next programme for government because she wants "none of this business of Willie O'Dea popping up in June or July", calling for the payment to be hiked. "It's Willie's only trick card because he has no other trick in his back pocket which is a bit of a pity, to be honest with you, given that he was my Opposition spokesperson for the last three and a half years," she added. Yesterday, Mr O'Dea said Fine Gael had "no credibility" on state pensions because they promised to increase it by 25 in the last programme for government and never fulfilled this pledge. "They take people for fools because they broke their promises on pensions last time, so why should anyone believe they will stick to their word this time?" he added. Mr O'Dea also noted that Fine Gael says it is "reckless when Fianna Fail promises to help the poor" but it's "something different" when Mr Varadkar's party makes spending commitments. On jobseekers benefits, she said the number of people who contacted her department with tip-offs about people allegedly claiming welfare payments fraudulently had increased in recent years. "You know what Irish people are like, we don't like snitching on each other, for want of a better word, and that's not what I'm asking people to do," she said. "I'm asking us to reach out, we know who the 70,000 people are, it's not new to us, they've been on our live register a long, long time." She had heard about a man living in Clondalkin in Dublin who was unemployed for 23 years and when an inspection team contacted him, he "miraculously" got a job. Ms Doherty said she would like the Department of Social Protection staff to not only hand out payments to people but also offer them other supports and give them more encouragement to get back to work. "I want our team to get involved in people's lives, to find out what are the real reasons that they can't get a job and if there are social issues in their families or with themselves, to find services to help them. If there are not and they just need retraining and re-skilling, let's help them," she said. Ms Doherty said she "won't play fast and loose" with disability payments because she had ordered research into the financial needs of those who are living with disabilities. "I want to form a new policy that actually takes into account the real cost of living for all people with disabilities and that will feed into what I do and I have to tell you that it will probably be a lot more than a fiver week," she added. Read More The minister also hit out at those who accuse Fine Gael of being an elitist party who only look after the upper echelons of society. "I'm the least posh person you've ever met in your life," she said, adding: "We have such a variety of people in Fine Gael." Ms Doherty, who grew up in Ballymun in Dublin, also criticised Opposition parties who are calling on the Government to fast-track social housing construction to help alleviate the housing crisis. "We get given out to a lot for not building 1,000 social houses in one field, in one part of the country, like we did in the 1970s and the 1980s," she said. "I grew up in that four square kilometres of 1,000 houses with not very many facilities and not much other than a great community spirit and I saw the deprivation. "I don't want that for this generation and I certainly don't want it for our next generation and that's why we have the policy of having the 10pc and increasing it to 20pc and 30pc in the future of social and affordable houses in every housing estate that's built in every county in the country and I believe it is far more inclusive and that's what we have to be about," she added. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Rudy Giuliani appeared on Fox News late Saturday to argue that the Supreme Court should dismiss the impeachment trial against President Trump, bizarrely likening the charges against the president to an indictment for not looking nice. In a rambling interview, the presidents personal lawyer appeared to simultaneously argue that the Supreme Court can and should nullify the impeachment while in the same breath admitting the Senate trial would benefit Trump. Claiming that the abuse of power and obstruction of Congress charges against Trump are essentially made up, Giuliani said, The remedy is to go before the Supreme Court of the United States and have it declared unconstitutional. Acknowledging that theres nothing in the Constitution that would allow the Supreme Court to do that, Giuliani said: Theres also nothing in the Constitution that allows the Supreme Court to declare a law of Congress unconstitutional. Marshall made it up. Suppose somebody charged me with not looking nice tonight and brought me on trial before the New York Supreme Court. It would be dismissed, he said. The rules are set by the Senate. Then the Chief Justice interprets the rules. The Chief Justice will be given the power to dismiss, Giuliani argued. If the impeachment trial is not blocked, he said, Trump would be acquitted but there would be no limits on impeachment and then the next group of maybe crazy Republicans are going to go after some Democrat. I can even argue that politically it would be better to go to trial! Theyll find out about Biden, theyll find out what a big crook Biden is, Giuliani said. Apparently forgetting about Ukraine entirelythe country where his own crusade to expose Bidens supposed corruption has proven central to the impeachment proceedingsGiuliani said a trial means that theyll find out that Biden just didnt make money in Iran, but he made money in China, and he made money in Iraq. Trump himself has previously vowed to head to the U.S. Supreme Court in case of impeachment proceedings against him, and he singled Giuliani out on Twitter for a thank you late Saturday after the lawyer pushed the argument on Fox News. In a 1993 opinion by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, however, the Supreme Court itself ruled that the judiciary, and the Supreme Court in particular, were not chosen to have any role in impeachments. Story continues 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. Queen Elizabeth is to hold a summit with the Duke of Sussex, Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge tomorrow in the first face-to-face discussions since the royal family was plunged into crisis over Prince Harry and his wife Meghan's plans to "step back" from royal duties. The 93-year-old monarch convened the urgent meeting at Sandringham to thrash out a deal that will provide a blueprint for the Sussexes' "progressive" new role, which will see them spend more time in North America. It will be the first time Prince Harry has seen the queen and the two direct heirs to the throne since the couple made the bombshell announcement that they wanted to step back from life as senior royals, leaving other members of the family "deeply disappointed". Buckingham Palace sources said the queen, her son and two grandsons will have been presented with a range of draft written proposals - compiled by a team of aides and private secretaries - ahead of the crunch meeting. The Duchess of Sussex is expected to dial into the talks from Canada, having flown back to the country last Thursday evening to be reunited with her eight-month-old son Archie. Prince Charles has cut short his visit to Scotland and travelled to Sandringham to help put an end to the crisis engulfing the family. Expand Close Prince Charles. Photo: Niklas HALLE'N / AFP / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Prince Charles. Photo: Niklas HALLE'N / AFP The queen traditionally remains at Sandringham, her Norfolk estate, after Christmas until February 6, the anniversary of the death of her father, King George VI. Aides stressed it was a "family discussion" that all four royal households hoped would go some way to reaching a solution to the current impasse. A palace source said: "The family will gather on Monday at Sandringham to talk things through. The queen, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex will meet for the first time. "There are a range of possibilities for the family to review which take into account the thinking the Sussexes outlined earlier in the week." The aide stressed that striking a deal would not be simple. "Making a change to the working life and role in the monarchy for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex requires complex and thoughtful discussion," they added. "Next steps will be agreed at the meeting and the request for this to be resolved at pace is still Her Majesty's wish. The aim remains for this to be in days, not weeks. There is genuine agreement and understanding that any decision will take time to be implemented." Aides will be hoping the Sussexes' "red lines" will be made clear at the meeting so discussions can progress. Expand Close Prince William. Photo: Tolga AKMEN / AFP / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Prince William. Photo: Tolga AKMEN / AFP It is hoped that when a deal is finally agreed it will form a blueprint for future royal generations, including Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. A source close to the Sussexes said: "They have been talking about the principle for some time. A lot of people might have been surprised by the speed, but the principle has been on everyone's radar for some time. They are looking for a swift resolution and clarity for everyone's sake." Aides confirmed Prince Harry has further engagements in the coming weeks, scotching claims he may be planning to fly to Canada in the next few days with no intention of returning. Wife files $9.5M lawsuit against Mormon church for reporting husbands sexual abuse of daughter Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The wife of a Mormon man who confessed to leaders of his church that he sexually abused his underage daughter has filed a $9.5 million lawsuit against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for violating his confidence 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 a minor known to him, the lawsuit cited in the Statesman Journal said. 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, told the Statesman Journal. Also listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit are four of the couples five children whom she says have all been deprived of her husbands companionship, society, love, affection and financial support. The fifth child is the victim who was molested by her father for four years during her pre-teen and teenage years, The Oregonian said. The lawsuit requests $5.5 million for Timothy Johnsons wife for loss of his income and for extreme emotional distress, as well as $1 million for each of his four children. It also asks for $40,000 to pay for Brandts work on the case. Brandt told The Washington Post Wednesday night that the impact of losing the familys main breadwinner has been devastating, emotionally and financially. When she discovered her husbands sin they chose to let the church handle the situation because, They firmly believe that they can deal with their parishioners better than law enforcement. While Oregon has mandatory reporting laws for certain professions, including clergy and pharmacists, confessional-style "clergy-penitent privilege" is an exemption to mandatory reporting laws and Kristine Johnson's case is arguing that there was a violation of that privilege. The Utah-based Mormon church listed as the sole defendant in the lawsuit said in a statement from spokesman Eric Hawkins that one of its top priorities is protecting victims and ensuring proper reporting." The [LDS] Church teaches that leaders and members should fulfill all legal obligations to report abuse to civil authorities, Hawkins said. "In some circumstances, those obligations may be governed by their professional duty and in others by their role as clergy. The Church has a 24-hour abuse help line to help leaders understand and meet both their professional and ecclesiastical obligations to report abuse. We are grateful for the efforts of law enforcement and prosecutors to investigate and pursue justice for those who were abused. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 12 By Elnur Baghishov - Trend: A protest was held in front of the British Embassy in Tehran with the participation of hundreds of Iranian citizens, Trend reports citing IRNA. According to the report, they protested against the participation of British Ambassador Rob Macaire in an illegal rally in Tehran last night in front of Amir-Kabir University. Iranian police officers took steps to ensure that the rally ended without incident, and reminded the protesters to remain calm. British ambassador was detained on Jan.11 on charges of participation in an illegal protest in connection with the Ukrainian passenger plane crash, which was shot down by the Iranian armed forces near the city of Parand, Tehran province. Britains royal family is hurt and disappointed by Prince Harry and his wife Meghans surprise announcement that they will step back from their senior roles and spend more time in North America, a royal source said. Harry and Meghans decision to step away from royal duties sent shock waves through the royal family as neither Queen Elizabeth nor Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, had been consulted on the announcement, made on Instagram. Elizabeth, who has devoted her life to the public duty of monarchy since she became queen in 1952, and other senior members of the family felt hurt and disappointed by the move, a royal source said. We have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution, Harry and Meghan said in their statement. We intend to step back as senior members of the Royal Family, and work to become financially independent. They said the decision was taken after months of reflection and discussion, and that they would split their time between the United Kingdom and North America to allow their family the space it needs. Cast by the couple as an exciting next step, it was not immediately clear how the couple will become what royal biographers said was akin to being a half royal and who will pay for their transatlantic lifestyles. No senior royal has yet commented on the decision. British tabloids said the announcement had left senior royals such as Prince Charles and Harrys brother, Prince William, incandescent with rage. Buckingham Palace said discussions with Harry and Meghan were at an early stage and that such complicated issues took time to work out. MEGXIT read The Suns front page headline. The Daily Mail said Queen Elizabeth was furious about the move. While the manner in which Harry and Meghan have tried to exit the spotlight cast on the worlds most famous family drew criticism, Prince Charles has long sought a slimmer and leaner royal family. The haste of their decision, though, raises questions for a family which had in Elizabeths words a quite bumpy year that included her son Prince Andrews decision to step down due to his relationship with disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein. Royal commentators drew parallels with the abdication crisis of Edward VIII who gave up the throne in 1936 to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson and lived out his life in France. Opponents of the monarchy were scathing and even supporters questioned how one could be a part-time royal. This really is wanting to have your cake and eat it, said Graham Smith, head of Republic which wants to abolish the monarchy. They have said they will dip in and out of royal duties as it suits them but wont stop taking public money until they find other sources of income. Meghan, known for her role in the TV legal drama Suits, could return to acting in the United States though it is unclear how that would be viewed by the Palace. Perhaps shed have to be careful about what roles shed do because she is a member of the royal family, so she couldnt do too many racy sex scenes for instance, said Royal biographer Penny Junor. Harry and Meghan, an American divorcee, met on a blind date but fell in love in Botswana. They married in May 2018 in a lavish ceremony in Windsor Castle that was heralded at the time as a sign of a more modern monarchy. Yet their relationship with the media turned sour as they struggled to deal with the intense scrutiny it brought. Educated at the exclusive Eton College, Harrys teenage years were overshadowed by negative headlines. Harry and his brother disliked the press because of the way it had hounded their mother, Princess Diana, who died in a Paris car crash in 1997 while being chased by paparazzi. There have been negative stories criticizing Harry and Meghans use of private jets while promoting environmental causes and the 2.4 million pound ($3.08 million) taxpayer-funded renovation of their new home. The couple, whose titles are the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, began legal action against some tabloid newspapers in October over historic phone-hacking and invasion of privacy. Harry described the treatment of his wife as bullying, and likened it to that of his mother before her death. China, Russia and US: New Power Dynamics in Middle East After Soleimanis Death Iraq emerges as a new battleground of geopolitical opportunities The power dynamics in the Middle East after Qassim Soleimanis death are likely to be redrawn between Iran, China, and Russia vis-a-vis the United States. Added to this paradigm is Iraqsandwiched between the United States and Iran and increasingly being pushed toward China, according to geopolitical analysts who study the region. Frankly, the Iranian government will remain closer to Beijing than ever before. Because Tehran knows well that Russia could not be the only balance of power vis-a-vis the American hegemony in the Middle East, Esra Serim, a Turkish analyst based in France, told The Epoch Times in an email. Serim believes that Tehran needs the presence and support of both Russia and China following Soleimanis death to counterbalance Washington and Tel-Aviv in the region. In addition to the economic relationship between Iran and Russia/China, Tehran also has robust military relationships with them, such as transference of military technology and equipment, and even infrastructure services to Irans nuclear facilities, she said of the already existing relationship. Kanishkan Sathasivam, a Massachusetts based Geopolitical analyst, told The Epoch Times that he expects a notable improvement in Irans relationship with China after Soleimanis death, but its Iraq that is a greater emerging opportunity for both China and Russia. I would expect a significant upgrade in their relations, said Sathasivam. By contrast, Iraq is a more open opportunity because it is an adversary state [to] the U.S., whose influence China would be supplanting. So, my expectation is that both Russia and China will now make a huge play for influence with the Iraqi government, offering themselves as a viable alternative to the U.S., he said. Sam Bazzi, a Lebanese Middle East expert based in the United States, told The Epoch Times in a written interview that both Iran and Iraq will increasingly need China after Soleimanis death because only it can come to their rescue in the face of increasing U.S. economic sanctions. A man holds a picture of Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with Iranian Revolutionary Guards Gen. Qassem Soleimani (L) during a demonstration in Tehran on Jan. 3, 2020. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images) The advantage that China offers is its willingness to engage in barter and exchange oil for the implementation of major projects such as reconstruction, infrastructure development, and industrialization, at a relatively low cost (in terms of oil value), he said. China and Iran recently found another way of bypassing the U.S. sanctionslast year China signed a multi-decade oil-supply deal that would inject $280 billion in the Iranian petrochemical industryall to be paid in Chinese Yuan, thus bypassing the established petrodollar system, reported The Telegraph. China and Russia Diplomatically Shield Iran In the situation emerging after Soleimanis killing, China and Russia acted diplomatically in ways to dilute the United States posture against Iran because the United States killing the Iranian commander on Iraqi soil has strategic implications for them as well, explained experts. A day after Soleimanis killing, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in his call with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, talked about China playing a constructive role in maintaining peace and security in the Middle East, according to Xinhua, Chinas state-controlled news agency. On Jan. 5, Wang also spoke to his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, to discuss the emerging state of affairs in the Middle East. Wang opposed the abuse of military force and cautioned the United States against military adventurism, reported the Turkish Anadolu Agency. Sathasivam explained that China and Russia were quick to respond because the U.S. strategic deterrence posture against Iran impacts them. Strategic deterrence is a politico-military posturing of capabilities (military power and technology) and doctrinal principles that represents the grand strategy of the nation, according to the Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis. Sathasivam said that the United States had been rolling back its deterrence posture for some time, but things changed with Soleimanis killing. The U.S. has been slowly giving up its deterrence posture against Iran for many years now, from the GW Bush years through especially the Obama years What Trump has now (seemingly) done successfully is to reestablish deterrence with Iran, he said. And yes, when you establish deterrence with one state, that also helps establish deterrence with other potential adversaries, for example, China, Russia, and North Korea, he added. 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) Sathasivam, however, added that we cant conclude from these developments that China and Russia are ready to go to war with the United States over Iran. A key realist view is that states help one another when interests are common, but will usually be willing to fight wars only for their own interests and never for another states interests. Even Russia is not at the point yet in its relationship with Iran where it will go to war against the U.S. on behalf of Iran, he said. Serim, a Senior Researcher, Ph.D., at the University of Aix Marseille, is of the view that China intervened because it cannot afford war between the United States and Iran. Any war in the region could likely harm Chinas present investments in the Middle East, notably in Iraq and Iran, as well as in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Egypt. Since right now, Beijing has become a major power and game-changer in the region. China wants to rise by implementing soft power in the region, she explained. So while China and its ally, Russia, condemned the New Years Eve attack on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, the duo also blocked a U.N. Security Council statement condemning the attack because it didnt address the subsequent killing of Soleimani. It is a classic realist approach to international relations. If the Russian or Chinese embassy had been attacked in this way these states would be outraged. But because it is something happening against their perceived adversary, they have a different reaction, said Sathasivam. Members of the Hashed al-Shaabi, a terrorist group trained and armed by Iran, smash the bullet-proof glass of the U.S. embassys windows in Baghdad with blocks of cement after breaching the outer wall of the diplomatic mission on Dec. 31, 2019. (Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP via Getty Images) Serim said China is a rising threat to Washington in the Middle East, the way it is in the Pacific region. Because, for many years, Beijing, unlike Moscow, has been an implicit ally of Iran. For example, Beijing and Tehran have still been holding joint naval and military exercises in Strait of Hormoz where oil/gas tankers have been transiting. This is in the open. In major developments before Soleimanis death, China decided to invest $120 billion into Irans transport infrastructure and also decided to deploy 5,000 Chinese security personnel to guard the Iranian assets and shipments of oil on tankers en route from Iran to China, according to The Telegraph. Serim is of the belief that U.S. allies dont want to get involved in Chinas military activities in the region because of their own economic interests and dont want to antagonize China. Almost all of the U.S. allies are still doing business with China, as an alternative power to the U.S., she said. Sathasivam said that every situation like this has its unique dynamics and that it always comes down to influence and power. In todays Middle East, and, for that matter, todays world, the U.S. has the vast majority of influence and power. So every other state that wants to become more powerful automatically targets the U.S., and we have the U.S. versus everyone else situation. If in the future the U.S. has less power and influence and these other states have more, then surely they will start competing with each other as well. Iraq Wants US Forces Out, Wheres China? Since Soleimani was killed on Iraqi soil and because it hosts multiple U.S. military bases, by default it became the target of the Iranian missiles. After the strikes, the Iraqi government tried to distance itself militarily from the United States and talked more about China. After Soleimanis killing, the situation between Iraq and the United States developed to the point that the outgoing Iraqi prime minister, Adil Abdul al-Mahdi, asked U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a phone call on Jan. 9 to make plans for troop withdrawals. The Iraqi government seriously started talking about American troop withdrawal on Jan. 5 when the Iraqi Parliament passed a non-binding resolution to expel foreign troops from the country. The very next day, al-Mahdi received Chinas ambassador to Iraq, Zhang Tao, who expressed a readiness to provide military assistance to Iraq. The outgoing Iraqi PM met with the representative of a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council to gauge Beijings intentions in the upcoming phase as he most probably anticipated a military escalation, Joseph A. Kechichian, a senior fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, told The Epoch Times in an email. In turn, China is interested in taking Abdul Mahdis pulse as the caretaker PM tries to figure out how he may salvage whats left of his countrys sovereignty, he said. Members of the Iraqi parliament are seen at the parliament in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 5, 2020. (Iraqi parliament media office/Handout via Reuters) The day al-Mahdi met Zhang, Iraqs U.N. Ambassador Mohammed Hussein Bahr Aluloom called on the U.N. Security Council to condemn the U.S. airstrike and the killing of Soleimani and a senior Iraqi militia commander. It condemned the U.S. airstrike that killed Irans top military commander as a flagrant violation of the terms of the American forces presence in the country and a dangerous escalation that might ignite a devastating war in Iraq, the region and the world. Bazzi, who is also the founder of Hezbollah Watch, told The Epoch Times that the meeting between al-Mahdi and Zhang is not a high-level engagement. But it was amplified to highlight the Axis of Resistance countries collective desire and determination to resort to China as an alternative to the United States and nations that deal in only hard currency, particularly the U.S. dollar. This is consistent with Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallahs call upon Beirut to open the door to Chinese investments in Lebanon, said Bazzi. The Axis of Resistance refers to the anti-Western and anti-Tel Aviv alliance between Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah, Irans proxy militia in Lebanon. Nasrallah alluded to Chinese investments even in his speech in the aftermath of Soleimanis liquidation, said Bazzi. Serim also expressed similar insights about Iraqs economic dependency on China after Soleimanis death. China has still been very willing to invest and play both an economic and political role in Iraq as well as making big investments, along with the European firms/banks in Iran, she said. American soldiers taking position around the embassy in the capital Baghdad on Dec. 31, 2019, after supporters and members of the Hashed al-Shaabi military network breached the outer wall of the diplomatic mission during a rally to vent anger over weekend airstrikes that killed pro-Iran fighters in western Iraq. (U.S. Embassy in Iraq/AFP via Getty Images) Serim said that Iraq will use its relationship with China and Russia as a trump card and will try to use it to jump over U.S. sanctions. She said despite sanctions, Baghdad will speed up to make oil and trade deals with both Russia and China. Kechichian, however, believes that the developments dont indicate that the Middle East is looking for an alternative to the United States. This is wishful thinking at best but everyone is entitled to be delusional, he said. The senior analyst, who has authored several books on Saudi Arabia, also said that both China and Russia would draw a cautionary line as they go about their affairs with Iran and Iraq. Time will tell whether China and Russia will set their own markers in the area. For now, it looks like a rejectionist front, though both countriespermanent members of the U.N. Security Councilknow that their long-term interests are with the leading Western economic powers, said Kechichian. The Associated Press contributed to this report. suresh_gs Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: KA-01 / TN-22 Posts: 2,158 Thanked: 1,421 Times re: Blissful road-trip to our Gods own Varkala (Kerala) ACTUAL ONWARD JOURNEY DETAILS Left home at 5:15 AM and stopped for tiffin break close to Krishnagiri for 45 min. Had lunch at Nellai Saravana Bhava at Tirumangalam. From thetre till Puliangadi it was smooth sailing. Infact google maps indicated that I would be at the resort by 7:00 PM. Then followed the unfortunate cycle of events. Firstly the cops diverted all vehicles to the interior roads. Not sure whether it was due to christmas eve celebrations or celebrations to commemorate the death anniversary of former TN CM MGR or for some local elections. The detour consumed close to 1.5 hrs. By the time I entered the main road again, google maps indicated I would reach my destination by 8:00 PM. Then I encountered the mother of all traffic jams at Puliyarai. Vehicles were stuck for close to 2 hrs. To complicate matters, sabarimala crowd was also considerably higher. By the time vehicular movement resumed, google maps indicated I would reach the destination by 10:00 PM. After crossing the KL borderat Thenmala, I encountered road repair work in progress at 4 places. Not able to recollect the location as it was dark. Moreover there were no road signs indicating repair work in progress. The trip details are as follows: DISTANCE COVERED : 710.9 KMS TIME TAKEN : 16 HRS 45 MIN. AVERAGE SPEED : 42.4 KM / HR This includes 45 min tiffin break, 45 min lunch break, 1.5 hrs time loss due to diversions post Puliangadi and 2 hrs due to traffic jam. TRAFFIC JAM AT PULIYARAI ACTUAL RETURN JOURNEY DETAILS For the return journey, I decided not to take the onward journey route anticipating more sabarimala crowd. Chose to go via Kollam, Alappuzha, Kochi, Pallakad, Coimbatore and Salem. Even though roads were good enroute, there were far too many signals on the 2 lane and 4 lane NH that hampers your momentum. Moreover I was stuck in a traffic jam at Alappuzha for close to 30 min. I did notice Alappuzha by pass work is in progress. Also lots of flyovers are under construction in Kochi. Once done, crossing Kochi should be a breeze. There were no issues crossing Kuthiran. Took about 10 min to cross the same KUTHIRAN The trip details are as follows: DISTANCE COVERED : 717.4 KMS TIME TAKEN : 16 HRS 20 MIN. AVERAGE SPEED : 44 KM / HR This includes 45 min lunch break at Vytilla , 30 min tiffin break near Palakkad, 30 min time loss due to traffic jam at Alappuzha. I have no regrets about the onward and return journey as this can happen to anyone travelling by bus or train. Overall I would sum this up as a must visit place for those who have not been here yet. Left home at 5:15 AM and stopped for tiffin break close to Krishnagiri for 45 min. Had lunch at Nellai Saravana Bhava at Tirumangalam. From thetre till Puliangadi it was smooth sailing. Infact google maps indicated that I would be at the resort by 7:00 PM. Then followed the unfortunate cycle of events. Firstly the cops diverted all vehicles to the interior roads. Not sure whether it was due to christmas eve celebrations or celebrations to commemorate the death anniversary of former TN CM MGR or for some local elections. The detour consumed close to 1.5 hrs. By the time I entered the main road again, google maps indicated I would reach my destination by 8:00 PM. Then I encountered the mother of all traffic jams at Puliyarai. Vehicles were stuck for close to 2 hrs. To complicate matters, sabarimala crowd was also considerably higher. By the time vehicular movement resumed, google maps indicated I would reach the destination by 10:00 PM.After crossing the KL borderat Thenmala, I encountered road repair work in progress at 4 places. Not able to recollect the location as it was dark. Moreover there were no road signs indicating repair work in progress. The trip details are as follows:: 710.9 KMS: 16 HRS 45 MIN.: 42.4 KM / HRThis includes 45 min tiffin break, 45 min lunch break, 1.5 hrs time loss due to diversions post Puliangadi and 2 hrs due to traffic jam.For the return journey, I decided not to take the onward journey route anticipating more sabarimala crowd. Chose to go via Kollam, Alappuzha, Kochi, Pallakad, Coimbatore and Salem.Even though roads were good enroute, there were far too many signals on the 2 lane and 4 lane NH that hampers your momentum. Moreover I was stuck in a traffic jam at Alappuzha for close to 30 min. I did notice Alappuzha by pass work is in progress. Also lots of flyovers are under construction in Kochi. Once done, crossing Kochi should be a breeze.There were no issues crossing Kuthiran. Took about 10 min to cross the sameThe trip details are as follows:: 717.4 KMS: 16 HRS 20 MIN.: 44 KM / HRThis includes 45 min lunch break at Vytilla , 30 min tiffin break near Palakkad, 30 min time loss due to traffic jam at Alappuzha.I have no regrets about the onward and return journey as this can happen to anyone travelling by bus or train. Overall I would sum this up as a must visit place for those who have not been here yet. Last edited by Aditya : 4th January 2020 at 08:11 . By Trend The Iranian parliament held a closed session dedicated to the crash of the Ukrainian aircraft near Parand city, Tehran province on January 8, Trend reports referring to the Iranian parliament's website. While speaking at the session, Speaker of the Iranian parliament Ali Larijani said that Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Hossein Salami made the report regarding the preparation of the Iranian forces to combat the US, as well as the incident that resulted in shooting of the Ukrainian aircraft. Larijani expressed hope that as a result of the necessary measures, such incident will not reoccur. The speaker of the Iranian parliament added that the Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy commission will investigate the incident related to the plane crash. The Ukrainian International Airlines Boeing 737-800 crashed in Tehran province on Jan. 8, killing all 176 people on board. Iran's Armed Forces General Staff issued a statement on Jan. 11 saying that the aircraft was shot down by the Iranian Air Defense System. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz The group is doing the same with Burger King, saying the commercial is 'inappropriate' and asking it be killed or edited to remove the 'cuss word' A conservative group slammed Burger King for airing an ad with a man tasting a popular, new meatless sandwich and proclaiming, 'Damn! That's good.' One Million Moms charged the burger chain of using profanity to advertise its 'Impossible Burger', which uses plant-based meat, and not real beef. The Christian-right group posted on its website Friday that the commercial is 'offensive', and commented on its website that it was saddened the 'once-family restaurant' made the 'deliberate decision to produce a controversial advertisement instead of a wholesome one.' A Burger King ad shows this unidentified man trying the restaurant's new meatless sandwich The man is seen in the advert doing a double take after he sinks his teeth into Burger King's 'Impossible Whopper' 'Damn! That's good,' the man proclaims in the marketing promotion which shows a crowd welcoming the unveiling of the meatless sandwich One Million Moms, whose parent group is the American Family Association, charged that the man in the commercial, apparently responding to a taste test, did not have to 'curse.' The group goes further to say if the response was unscripted, that Burger King could have chosen to edit the profanity out. The commercial, One Million Mom claims, is 'irresponsible and tasteless', and 'extremely destructive and damaging to impressionable children' who view it. 'We all know children repeat what they hear,' the group says, demanding supporters sign petition to kill or edit the commercial. Fast-food alternatives to meat-based items have been recently showing up on the menus of national chains, getting in some cases lines of people seeking options for vegans and those seeking healthier fare. KFC may have found a hit with healthy eaters and animal rights activists after a new meatless chicken sold out in only five hours at one of the company's Atlanta restaurants in August. An image from the Burger King advert shows patrons before they sample the restaurant's meatless sandwich. One Million Moms on its website Friday said the commercial is 'offensive' Patrons are seen in the commercial sampling the 'Impossible Whopper'. Fast-food alternatives to meat-based items have recently shown up on the menus of national chains, getting in some cases lines of people seeking options for vegans and healthier fare KFC may have found a hit with healthy eaters and animal rights activists after a new meatless chicken sold out in only five hours in August A Burger King spokesperson did not immediately respond when DailyMail.com reached out for comment on the negative reception over its commercial from One Million Moms. The group has voiced strong criticisms about other ads. In December, it called for a boycott of the Hallmark channel for airing a Zola.com commercial showing a same-sex couple kissing. The greeting card company pulled the commercial, but then later returned it to the air after a backlash. One Million Moms also has singled out Burger King's marketing in the past. The group wasn't happy when the burger chain last year unveiled a selection of meals designed to suit a variety of different moods, as it was aiming to spread the message that 'no one is happy all the time.' The options, dubbed 'Real Meals', were inspired by a selection of different moods, including the Pissed Meal, Blue Meal, Salty Meal, YAAAS Meal and DGAF Meal. 'Happy' was not one of the choices. The idea behind the new Real Meals, which were unveiled on May 1, was to celebrate 'being yourself' and feeling 'however you want to feel.' The campaign was tied into a partnership between Burger King and Mental Health America, highlighting May as a 'Mental Health Awareness' month. Jihadists linked with the Islamic State militant group killed five members of a militia in an offensive in Nigeria's northeastern Borno state, militia sources told AFP. Fighters from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) -- travelling in pickup trucks fitted with machine guns -- attacked Gajiram town, 80 kilometres from the state capital Maiduguri, on Friday. They targeted hunters and vigilantes who were guarding the town against attacks, resident Mele Butari said. "We lost five men in the attack," militia leader Babakura Kolo said on Saturday. The five men were buried in Maiduguri on Saturday, another militia member Ibrahim Liman said. Nganzai district, where Gajiram is located, has been repeatedly attacked by jihadists in recent months, with troops and residents targeted. In the past two months, the number of ambushes against troops and civilian abductions at fake highway checkpoints by ISWAP -- which split from the Boko Haram militant group in 2016 -- has increased. The spike in attacks followed the creation of "super camps" by the Nigerian military in the northeast to stave off repeated jihadist raids. Authorities in the state recruited hundreds of hunters and vigilantes to fill the void left by the withdrawal of troops from small camps, but they have been exposed to incessant jihadist attacks. The decade-long conflict has killed 36,000 people and displaced around two million from their homes in northeast Nigeria. The violence has spread to neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition to fight the insurgents. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Venezuelan opposition leader, Juan Guaido, has accused the government of Nicolas Maduro of trying to bribe lawmakers to vote against his re-election as National Assembly president in an effort to put Maduro loyalists in the parliament Guaido made the comments in an exclusive interview When Bolivia's leftist president was pressured to resign by his country's military after an audit found signs of a tainted election two months ago, many American leaders showed little interest in condemning the ousting. Some said it was a potentially positive step for democracy a sign, as Donald Trump put it, that "the will of the people will always prevail." A sharply different response came from senator Bernie Sanders, who immediately condemned "what appears to be a coup." The ousted leader, Evo Morales, who had challenged term limits to remain in power, later thanked the senator from Vermont and Democratic presidential candidate, referring to him affectionately as "brother." Most of Mr Sanders' rivals paid little attention to the incident in a faraway place. But for Mr Sanders, the episode offered a glimpse into an unorthodox foreign policy worldview anchored by a passionate opposition to US military interventions that has been overshadowed by his famously liberal domestic policy agenda. With the Iran crisis thrusting foreign affairs to the forefront of the campaign, just as Mr Sanders rises in early state polls, Democrats who previously waved off the senator's views as fringe ideas now must contemplate the possibility of a democratic socialist becoming commander in chief of the United States. Mr Trump has already upended the world order with an "America First" approach that tests Western alliances, and Mr Sanders would deliver another jolt echoing some of Mr Trump's criticisms of military actions and free trade but realigning the country's priorities even more thoroughly. Beyond his objection to Mr Morales' removal, Mr Sanders has pointedly declined to label Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro a dictator. He called Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "racist," and has campaigned with representatives Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar vocal supporters of a controversial Israel boycott movement. He said China has done more to address extreme poverty "than any country in the history of civilisation." 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 And as Mr Sanders has noted repeatedly in recent days, he opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq that most US leaders, including former vice president Joe Biden, supported, advancing an argument that he is the most unwavering antiwar candidate in the race. "I think it would a be fundamental shift, assuming his principles hold in the transition from campaigning to governing," said Aaron David Miller, a former adviser to six secretaries of state and now a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "You've had a consensus in this country on certain principles. Joe Biden represents that consensus. And to a degree, Obama as well." Even some Democrats note that Mr Sanders has put much more emphasis on domestic policies than global ones. "It hasn't been his strong suit," senator Richard Durbin said of Mr Sanders' foreign policy. Mr Sanders and his supporters say he's been right on foreign policy far more than the supposed experts, and that the establishment is responsible for a series of misguided military adventures. Besides, they say, Mr Sanders' positions are often more nuanced than he's given credit for he has criticised Mr Morales and Mr Maduro, for example, even while questioning the wisdom of removing them. Recommended Democrats and Republicans are equally incompetent over Soleimani "What were the two major foreign policy blunders in our lifetimes? Help me out here. What were they? Vietnam was one, and Iraq was the other," Mr Sanders said Saturday at a town hall in Newton, Iowa. "I marched against the war in Vietnam. I was a kid. As a United States congressman in 2002, 2003, I helped lead the effort to prevent us from invading Iraq." Mr Sanders' campaign declined to make him available for an interview. In a statement, Mr Sanders' national policy director Josh Orton said: "Washington's foreign policy establishment has been consistently wrong," and that a Sanders administration would "begin to repair the damage done by Trump." Mr Sanders, 78, was strongly influenced by the Reagan-era US interventions in Latin America, which appalled many liberals. Those years also influenced his broader approach to the region, which stands apart from many Democrats. Mr Sanders was at odds with many in the party last year, for example, when he refused to call Mr Maduro a dictator, even as he made critical comments about the authoritarian socialist leader. His comments about Mr Morales, whose success lifting Bolivians into the middle class made him an iconic figure among socialists, also stood out. At a Univision forum, Mr Sanders praised Mr Morales for addressing poverty and empowering indigenous people. He added that it was fair to question whether he should have stayed in power so long almost 14 years but it was a far less critical approach than other Democrats took towards a man whom many viewed as increasingly authoritarian. Mr Sanders has been accused by members of both parties of not being tough enough on repressive socialist regimes. "He's not going to pretend we face remotely equivalent threats from left-wing authoritarianism than from right-wing authoritarianism," said a senior Sanders aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity to be candid. When he ran for president four years ago, Mr Sanders often appeared unprepared for a rigorous foreign policy debate. Facing opponent Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of state, he often sidestepped questions about specific global challenges. Following his loss, Mr Sanders sought to shore up his foreign policy credentials. After the 2016 election, he hired Matt Duss, who has helped the candidate with his foreign policy chops. Now his top foreign policy hand and seen inside Mr Sanders' world as a potential future national security adviser Mr Duss rose from blogging about policy to helming the Foundation for Middle East Peace. In the years after his loss to Ms Clinton, Mr Sanders delivered some lengthy speeches on foreign policy, including one at Westminster College in Missouri, where Winston Churchill gave his famous "Iron Curtain" address. That 2017 Sanders speech encapsulated much of his thinking on world affairs, people close to him said. In it, he tethered his foreign policy vision to his populist domestic agenda, declaring, "We cannot convincingly promote democracy abroad if we do not live it vigorously here at home." Mr Sanders argued that the events of the past two decades have discredited the notion that the US should use its military might to shape the world to its liking. He decried US interference in Iran and Chile in the 20th century. He underlined the need for alliances to confront adversaries such as North Korea. On a smaller scale, he touted the value of partnering with a sister city in Russia when he was mayor of Burlington, Vermont. Many Democrats remain unimpressed. On the campaign trail, Mr Sanders has increasingly clashed with Mr Biden, who touts his extensive foreign policy experience in the Senate and Obama administration. Mr Sanders sat with Evo Morales at a conference the economy and social justice at the Vatican in 2016 (AP) David Lammy, the British MP, who has gotten to know Mr Sanders in recent years, noted that Sanders' views would fit more comfortably in a typical European centre-left party. "Whether he were in Germany or France or the UK, of course, Bernie, his politics would be very familiar and probably quite mainstream," Mr Lammy said. He added, "Clearly, in the US context, it has been a slightly different experience." While Mr Sanders' unorthodox views make some Democrats nervous, the most pointed hostility comes from Republicans. Asked what he thinks of Mr Sanders' foreign policy platform, senator Thom Tillis said, "A disaster." Standing next to him in an elevator in the Capitol Building was senator Rick Scott who chuckled and interjected, "Does he have a foreign policy?" Yet this is a time of foreign policy upheaval in both parties. Mr Trump himself has upended decades of Republican thinking, praising figures such as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un while questioning the role of Nato. A populist non-interventionism is surging in both parties, championed by figures such as representative Tulsi Gabbard and senator Rand Paul. That has given Mr Sanders a sometimes surprising array of foreign policy partners on Capitol Hill. He teamed up with senator Mike Lee, a conservative Republican from Utah, on a measure to end US support for the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen. Their legislation passed the Senate and forced Mr Trump to issue his second veto. Recommended Sanders introduces law to stop Trump from starting war with Iran On Saturday, Mr Lee signed onto Mr Sanders' bill to prevent Mr Trump from deploying funds for military action against Iran without congressional approval. Other alliances have been more controversial. Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, who have endorsed Mr Sanders for president, strongly support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement to pressure Israel over its policies towards Palestinians. Many Democrats and Republicans, including some who have criticised Israeli policies, object to the BDS movement as going too far. "To me, BDS has no place," said senator Ben Cardin, formerly the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Mr Sanders himself does not support the BDS movement. But he has been a vocal critic of Mr Netanyahu, and he has said he is willing to make foreign aid to Israel contingent on fostering more peaceful relations with Palestinians, a condition many Democrats and Republicans are unwilling to impose. When it comes to international trade, Mr Sanders opposes an emerging US deal with Mexico and Canada, arguing that it does not go far enough in protecting American jobs. The deal has the support of the union AFL-CIO and Elizabeth Warren among others on the left. To some moderate Democrats, including senator Jon Tester of Montana, Mr Sanders' message at times can resemble the current president's promises to avoid needless wars. "Kind of like Trump?" Mr Tester mused in a brief interview at the Capitol. Mr Sanders' identification as a democratic socialist is "something he has to overcome" in his pitch to be commander in chief, Mr Tester added. Trade politics also divided Mr Sanders and Barack Obama. "He may have more differences with Obama on foreign policy than Trump, is the great irony," said John Cavanagh, who has known Mr Sanders since 1991 and directs the Institute for Policy Studies, a liberal think tank. "Both he and Trump can sit down with workers in the Midwest. It's just that one does it in a racist and xenophobic way." But Mr Sanders has his stark differences with Mr Trump as well. The senator from Vermont was a lonely voice opposing the most recent defence spending bill. And Mr Sanders favours international diplomacy to tackle big issues such as the Paris climate accord. Until recently, Mr Sanders' proposals have been overshadowed by his sweeping domestic agenda. But the US killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani prompted Mr Sanders to amplify the linchpin of his foreign agenda: his long-standing opposition to US intervention abroad. News of the airstrike came late 2 January, after Mr Sanders had spent the day campaigning in Iowa. Inside a restaurant at the Doubletree Hotel in Cedar Rapids, Mr Sanders huddled with aides including campaign manager Faiz Shakir and his deputy, Ari Rabin-Havt, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Mr Duss, the foreign policy adviser, joined by phone. Together, they crafted a statement calling the killing an "assassination" and drew a connection to the instability caused by the Iraq War. "It gives me no pleasure to tell you at this moment we face a similar crossroads fraught with danger," he said the next day during a town hall meeting at the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, Iowa, delivering a speech he wrote and then revised on the drive from the hotel, according to the aide with knowledge of the situation. For some at the town hall, his aversion to military conflict resonated. "We've been through this in the past," said Thomas Wiand, 51. "We went through unnecessary wars continually." Others were more cautious. "Sometimes you have to go and do what needs to be done to correct the situation," said Craig Bruxvoort, 62, a grain farmer who applauded Mr Trump for ordering general Soleimani's killing. Those who have worked with Mr Sanders on foreign policy describe him as methodical and inquisitive. Suzanne DiMaggio, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment who is advising Mr Sanders on Iran, recalled him asking specific questions about the consequences of general Soleimani's killing. "A lot of the questions focused on the internal political dynamics in Iran: What are the likely scenarios that will now emerge? How will it affect those who are moderates in Iran?" Ms DiMaggio said. Ben Rhodes, who served as deputy national security adviser under Mr Obama, remembered briefing Mr Sanders on the Iran nuclear deal for about an hour, as the senator fired questions his way. A more vivid memory for Mr Rhodes was how Mr Sanders was affected by talking to veterans and family members of soldiers killed in combat. "I remember him telling me once, he said, 'Obama doesn't get enough credit for how many troops Obama took out from Afghanistan,'" said Mr Rhodes, who has offered informal advice to Mr Sanders and other candidates. "And Bernie measured that by not having to attend as many funerals in Vermont." The Washington Post NEW DELHI: Booker Prize winner and activist, Arundhati Roy joined protesters outside the Jamia Millia Islamia on Saturday extending her support to the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), anti-National Population Register (NPR) and anti-National Register of Citizens (NRC) movement. Roy also hit out at the BJP government saying maybe, one day they might land in a detention centre. I have come to tell you that I am with you. When we all are together there wont be a detention centre big enough to keep us. One day might come that this government that wants to divide this nation would themselves land into a detention centre and we would be azaad (free), Roy said while addressing the gathering on Saturday afternoon. ALSO READ | Warning for Modi government: Anti-CAA stir sees rise of young India She chanted slogans amid loud cheer: Inquilab zindabad (long live revolution), Jamia zindabad, JNU zindabad, people of the nation zindabad. She also donated around 20 of her books including bestsellers The god of small things, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, to the open library of Jamia, Read for Revolution. ALSO READ | 'PM Modi, BJP betrayed youth on CAA, NRC': CWC resolution condemns campus violence Police action inside the Jamia campus last month led to an uproar against the government and kindled massive protests across education institutes and states of the country against the CAA, proposed NRC and now NPR. The government has now said that there has been no discussion on a pan-NRC and has been asking people to not worry about citizenship. According to the government, the CAA has no provision of taking away ones citizenship but instead will provide citizenship to minorities facing persecution in the neighbouring countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. These claims by the government, though, have been refuted and called out by opposition parties, protesting academicians and activists. Being an Imtiaz Ali heroine has been on my wish list: Sara Ali Bollywoods buzz girl and also, a youth icon- the characters that Sara has portrayed have always been loved by the audience. The actress is ready for her upcoming Imtiaz Ali's next flick which will be a new romance on the block. Telling us more on her upcoming movie, the actress shares, Being an Imtiaz Ali heroine has been on my wish list and then bucket list. I still cant believe it will soon be in my filmography, which is slated to release on Valentines Day 2020. Sara Ali Khan represents the gen-next and is the perfect representation of what love is today which makes her totally fit for the film. The story will not only have direction by the man who has the most interesting take on romance but Imtiaz will also be directing someone who represents the youth in a film, about the youth with a fresh take on love. Sara is currently the most anticipated actress in B-Town. The actress has won several accolades for her stellar debut with Kedarnath which was immediately followed by Simmba which went on to become a box office hit. All through the year, the actress also featured on several magazine covers and every time she did, she left the fans spellbound. Sara is ahead of the game, and that gives her an edge over the other young actors who are also looking to make an impact today. With her amazing work so far and her ability to be at her dramatic best, Sara is winning hearts all over. On the work front, Sara will next be seen in Imtiaz Alis directorial opposite Kartik Aryan and Coolie No 1 opposite Varun Dhawan directed by David Dhawan. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 07:41:29|Editor: ZX Video Player Close TORONTO, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Greater Toronto Area is under a flood warning as a powerful storm is causing hazardous conditions in the area, according to an advisory issued by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority Saturday afternoon. "Due to the potential for further snowmelt caused by above freezing temperatures in the region, rivers within the Greater Toronto Area will be experiencing higher flows and water levels, resulting in hazardous conditions," according to the advisory. In the advisory, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority called on residents in the area to exercise "extreme caution" around all bodies of water and avoid driving on flooded roadways in low-lying areas and underpasses. The flood warning is in effect until Jan. 12. Toronto Police said on Twitter they have reported road closures in the area due to flood-like conditions. The area could see between 40 and 60 millimeters of rainfall by Saturday evening. Strong winds of up to 80 kilometers per hour are expected on Sunday morning, said Canada's environmental authorities on Saturday. Sesa sen By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Negotiations for a trade agreement between India and Canada is set to pick up pace as the slowdown-hit country looks for a speedy revival, said Andrew Smith, minister (Commercial), High Commission of Canada in India. Speaking to TMS, Smith said, the two nations are in discussion for enhancing bilateral trade for over a decade now. In 2019, however, the talks were put on the back-burner as India became very ambitious with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) the biggest regional trade partnership, the world could have seen. Now that RCEP has ended for the time being, the two nations are likely to begin negotiations but chances of finalisation of trade agreement doesnt seem to take place soon, he said. However, bilateral trade is growing rapidly. Two-way trade between the two nations grew by 61 per cent in the last five years to $9.4 billion and this year we are on track for another 15 per cent increase to reach $10.5 billion this year, Smith said, adding the aim is to double it and take it to $25 billion in the next five years. Admitting these figures are relatively low when compared to the size of each of our economies, he pointed out Canadian investments into India has been booming having reached almost $50 billion in the last five years and we believe trade will follow investment soon. Nearly 2,000 Canadian firms are currently doing business in India and the government is working to bring the next set of companies to invest in the country. Under BRAND CANADA initiative, Canadian firms will travel to 10 cities between January-March, in an effort to bring both countries closer through investment. The idea is to introduce Canada to the tier-2 cities with strong economic centres that will contribute in making India a $5 trillion economy by 2025, Smith said. The investments are expected to fuel-in sectors like clean energy, agri-food, climate change and digital industries. The first event is scheduled for January 13 in Gurugram. President Donald Trump expressed solidarity with Iranian protesters as they took to the streets of Tehran over the weekend, after the Islamic Republic admitted it accidentally shot down a Ukraine-bound airliner, killing all 176 people on board the Boeing aircraft. Trump, in Twitter messages written in both Farsi and English Saturday, called on Tehran to allow human rights groups to report facts from the ground and warned the government that the "world is watching." The president warned Iran's leaders on Sunday not to kill protesters and to let reporters move freely. Protests against the Iranian government in November led to a crackdown that resulted in hundreds of deaths, according to human rights groups. Hundreds of protesters in Tehran chanted anti-government slogans against the Islamic Republic's leaders on Saturday, according to Iran's semi-official Fars news agency. The protesters, who numbered between 700 to 1,000, tore up pictures of Gen. Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq last week. Video clips posted on Twitter showed protesters chanting "Death to the dictator" in reference to the country's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to Reuters. The protests come after Iran's military admitted that Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 was shot down by Iranian missiles due to "human error." Iran's government previously said it was not responsible for the crash, dismissing allegations that its missiles had downed the plane as "a big lie." Tehran reversed its position as international pressure mounted. According to the Iranian military, the Revolutionary Guard Corps was on high alert amid tensions with the U.S. over the killing of Soleimani. The airline took off just minutes after Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said ballistic missile attacks on two U.S. bases in Iraq had ended, according to flight tracking data. Astria: The latest The U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Wednesday approved a motion allowing Astria Health to close Regional Medical Center in Yakima. The order said inpatient services would start winding down immediately, with operations ceasing entirely within two weeks. More than 463 people will lose their jobs. Astria Health said will close Regionals emergency department at 12:01 a.m. Monday. Astrias hospitals in Sunnyside and Toppenish will remain open. Astrias primary and ambulatory care will continue operations. The Washington State Nurses Association filed an emergency motion in court Friday asking the bankruptcy judge to reconsider the closure. A hearing is planned at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in Yakima. Vividly capturing the life, lands and people of Vietnam, the photos on display were taken by Hungarian director photographer Bela Bernolak when he joined a delegation of Hungarian journalists to produce a film on Vietnam in 2019. Bernolak recounted that although it was his first time to visit Vietnam, he was welcomed so warmly that he felt no distance in geography and culture between the two countries. Addressing the opening ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to Hungary Nguyen Tien Thuc spoke highly of the development in the Vietnam Hungary multifaceted cooperation over the past seven decades, particularly after the two countries lifted relations to a comprehensive partnership. He also expressed his appreciation for the friendly sentiments and valuable support from Hungarian people, and photographer Bela Bernolak in particular, towards Vietnam. The exhibition will be open to public for free until February 2 at Ujpest Gallery, 66 Arpad, Budapest. Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Majid Takht Ravanchi sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, asking him to intervene in the situation over the United States' refusal to grant a visa to Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to participate in the UN Security Council meeting this week, Sputnik reports. On Tuesday, the United Nations informed Tehran that the US would not issue Zarif his visa. Iran submitted an application for the visa on December 10, a day after the foreign minister received an invitation to attend the UN Security Council meeting on Thursday. "The Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United States strongly protests to the Host Country and expresses its deep concern over its repeated failure to abide by its legal obligations as well as its persistent attempt to use the seat of the United Nations Headquarters as political leverage against certain countries," the letter, obtained by Sputnik, read. The statement added that Washington did not respond appropriately to the concern and the UN legal position on the refusal to issue visas or illegal restrictions on the part of the US with respect to some member states. "Under the current circumstances, available legal remedies need to be employed to correct this violation of international law," Ravanchi said in the letter. The ambassador added that Tehran was firmly convinced that the continued US failure to fulfil its obligations, which affected the work of Iranian representatives at the UN, confirms that there is a legal dispute between the host country, the UN and Iran. "Therefore, the Islamic Republic of Iran once again invites your Excellency to intervene under Section 21 of the Headquarters Agreement in order to reach a settlement of such a dispute, which already has put into the question the credibility of the UN system," the letter read. According to the host country agreement, the United States - being a host country - should not impose any obstacles on the movement to or from the UN headquarters district of officials from UN member states who seek to attend the United Nations events. When Bolivia's leftist president was pressured to resign by his country's military after an audit found signs of a tainted election two months ago, many American leaders showed little interest in condemning the ouster. Some said it was a potentially positive step for democracy - a sign, as President Donald Trump put it, that "the will of the people will always prevail." A sharply different response came from Sen. Bernie Sanders, who immediately condemned "what appears to be a coup." The ousted leader, Evo Morales, who had challenged term limits to remain in power, later thanked the senator from Vermont and Democratic presidential candidate, referring to him affectionately as "brother." Most of Sanders' rivals paid little attention to the incident in a faraway place. But for Sanders, the episode offered a glimpse into an unorthodox foreign policy worldview - anchored by a passionate opposition to U.S. military interventions - that has been overshadowed by his famously liberal domestic policy agenda. With the Iran crisis thrusting foreign affairs to the forefront of the campaign, just as Sanders rises in early state polls, Democrats who previously waved off the senator's views as fringe ideas now must contemplate the possibility of a democratic socialist becoming commander in chief of the United States. Trump has already upended the world order with an "America First" approach that tests Western alliances, and Sanders would deliver another jolt - echoing some of Trump's criticisms of military actions and free trade but realigning the country's priorities even more thoroughly. Beyond his objection to Morales' removal, Sanders has pointedly declined to label Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro a dictator. He called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "racist," and has campaigned with Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., vocal supporters of a controversial Israel boycott movement. He said China has done more to address extreme poverty "than any country in the history of civilization." And as Sanders has noted repeatedly in recent days, he opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq that most U.S. leaders, including former vice president Joe Biden, supported, advancing an argument that he is the most unwavering antiwar candidate in the race. "I think it would a be fundamental shift, assuming his principles hold in the transition from campaigning to governing," said Aaron David Miller, a former adviser to six secretaries of state and now a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "You've had a consensus in this country on certain principles. Joe Biden represents that consensus. And to a degree, Obama as well." Even some Democrats note that Sanders has put much more emphasis on domestic policies than global ones. "It hasn't been his strong suit," Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., said of Sanders' foreign policy. Sanders and his supporters say he's been right on foreign policy far more than the supposed experts, and that the establishment is responsible for a series of misguided military adventures. Besides, they say, Sanders' positions are often more nuanced than he's given credit for - he has criticized Morales and Maduro, for example, even while questioning the wisdom of removing them. "What were the two major foreign policy blunders in our lifetimes? Help me out here. What were they? Vietnam was one, and Iraq was the other," Sanders said Saturday at a town hall in Newton, Iowa. "I marched against the war in Vietnam. I was a kid. As a United States congressman in 2002, 2003, I helped lead the effort to prevent us from invading Iraq." Sanders' campaign declined to make him available for an interview. In a statement, Sanders' national policy director Josh Orton said: "Washington's foreign policy establishment has been consistently wrong," and that a Sanders administration would "begin to repair the damage done by Trump." Sanders, 78, was strongly influenced by the Reagan-era U.S. interventions in Latin America, which appalled many liberals. Those years also influenced his broader approach to the region, which stands apart from many Democrats. Sanders was at odds with many in the party last year, for example, when he refused to call Maduro a dictator, even as he made critical comments about the authoritarian socialist leader. His comments about Morales, whose success lifting Bolivians into the middle class made him an iconic figure among socialists, also stood out. At a Univision forum, Sanders praised Morales for addressing poverty and empowering indigenous people. He added that it was fair to question whether he should have stayed in power so long - almost 14 years - but it was a far less critical approach than other Democrats took toward a man whom many viewed as increasingly authoritarian. Sanders has been accused by members of both parties of not being tough enough on repressive socialist regimes. "He's not going to pretend we face remotely equivalent threats from left-wing authoritarianism than from right-wing authoritarianism," said a senior Sanders aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity to be candid. When he ran for president four years ago, Sanders often appeared unprepared for a rigorous foreign policy debate. Facing opponent Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of state, he often sidestepped questions about specific global challenges. Following his loss, Sanders sought to shore up his foreign policy credentials. After the 2016 election, he hired Matt Duss, who has helped the candidate with his foreign policy chops. Now his top foreign policy hand - and seen inside Sanders' world as a potential future national security adviser - Duss rose from blogging about policy to helming the Foundation for Middle East Peace. In the years after his loss to Clinton, Sanders delivered some lengthy speeches on foreign policy, including one at Westminster College in Missouri, where Winston Churchill gave his famous "Iron Curtain" address. That 2017 Sanders speech encapsulated much of his thinking on world affairs, people close to him said. In it, he tethered his foreign policy vision to his populist domestic agenda, declaring, "We cannot convincingly promote democracy abroad if we do not live it vigorously here at home." Sanders argued that the events of the past two decades have discredited the notion that the U.S. should use its military might to shape the world to its liking. He decried U.S. interference in Iran and Chile in the 20th century. He underlined the need for alliances to confront adversaries such as North Korea. On a smaller scale, he touted the value of partnering with a sister city in Russia when he was mayor of Burlington, Vt. Many Democrats remain unimpressed. On the campaign trail, Sanders has increasingly clashed with Biden, who touts his extensive foreign policy experience in the Senate and Obama administration. David Lammy, a member of British Parliament who has gotten to know Sanders in recent years, noted that Sanders' views would fit more comfortably in a typical European center-left party. "Whether he were in Germany or France or the U.K., of course, Bernie, his politics would be very familiar and probably quite mainstream," Lammy said. He added, "Clearly, in the U.S. context, it has been a slightly different experience." While Sanders' unorthodox views make some Democrats nervous, the most pointed hostility comes from Republicans. Asked what he thinks of Sanders' foreign policy platform, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said, "A disaster." Standing next to him in an elevator in the Capitol was Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who chuckled and interjected, "Does he have a foreign policy?" Yet this is a time of foreign policy upheaval in both parties. Trump himself has upended decades of Republican thinking, praising figures such as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un while questioning the role of NATO. A populist non-interventionism is surging in both parties, championed by figures such as Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. That has given Sanders a sometimes surprising array of foreign policy partners on Capitol Hill. He teamed up with Sen. Mike Lee, a conservative Republican from Utah, on a measure to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen. Their legislation passed the Senate and forced Trump to issue his second veto. On Saturday, Lee signed onto Sanders' bill to prevent Trump from deploying funds for military action against Iran without congressional approval. Other alliances have been more controversial. Omar and Tlaib, who have endorsed Sanders for president, strongly support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement to pressure Israel over its policies toward Palestinians. Many Democrats and Republicans, including some who have criticized Israeli policies, object to the BDS movement as going too far. "To me, BDS has no place," said Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., formerly the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Sanders himself does not support the BDS movement. But he has been a vocal critic of Netanyahu, and he has said he is willing to make foreign aid to Israel contingent on fostering more peaceful relations with Palestinians, a condition many Democrats and Republicans are unwilling to impose. When it comes to international trade, Sanders opposes an emerging U.S. deal with Mexico and Canada, arguing that it does not go far enough in protecting American jobs. The deal has the support of the AFL-CIO and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., among others on the left. To some moderate Democrats, including Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, Sanders' message at times can resemble the current president's promises to avoid needless wars. "Kind of like Trump?" Tester mused in a brief interview at the Capitol. Sanders' identification as a democratic socialist is "something he has to overcome" in his pitch to be commander in chief, Tester added. Trade politics also divided Sanders and President Barack Obama. "He may have more differences with Obama on foreign policy than Trump, is the great irony," said John Cavanagh, who has known Sanders since 1991 and directs the Institute for Policy Studies, a liberal think tank. "Both he and Trump can sit down with workers in the Midwest. It's just that one does it in a racist and xenophobic way." But Sanders has his stark differences with Trump as well. The senator from Vermont was a lonely voice opposing the most recent defense spending bill. And Sanders favors international diplomacy to tackle big issues such as the Paris climate accord. Until recently, Sanders' proposals have been overshadowed by his sweeping domestic agenda. But the U.S. killing of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani prompted Sanders to amplify the linchpin of his foreign agenda: his long-standing opposition to U.S. intervention abroad. News of the airstrike came late Jan. 2, after Sanders had spent the day campaigning in Iowa. Inside a restaurant at the Doubletree Hotel in Cedar Rapids, Sanders huddled with aides including campaign manager Faiz Shakir and his deputy, Ari Rabin-Havt, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Duss, the foreign policy adviser, joined by phone. Together, they crafted a statement calling the killing an "assassination" and drew a connection to the instability caused by the Iraq War. "It gives me no pleasure to tell you at this moment we face a similar crossroads fraught with danger," he said the next day during a town hall meeting at the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, Iowa. delivering a speech he wrote and then revised on the drive from the hotel, according to the aide with knowledge of the situation. For some at the town hall, his aversion to military conflict resonated. "We've been through this in the past," said Thomas Wiand, 51. "We went through unnecessary wars continually." Others were more cautious. "Sometimes you have to go and do what needs to be done to correct the situation," said Craig Bruxvoort, 62, a grain farmer who applauded Trump for ordering Soleimani's killing. Those who have worked with Sanders on foreign policy describe him as methodical and inquisitive. Suzanne DiMaggio, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment who is advising Sanders on Iran, recalled him asking specific questions about the consequences of Soleimani's killing. "A lot of the questions focused on the internal political dynamics in Iran: What are the likely scenarios that will now emerge? How will it affect those who are moderates in Iran?" DiMaggio said. Ben Rhodes, who served as deputy national security adviser under Obama, remembered briefing Sanders on the Iran nuclear deal for about an hour. as the senator fired questions his way. A more vivid memory for Rhodes was how Sanders was affected by talking to veterans and family members of soldiers killed in combat. "I remember him telling me once, he said, 'Obama doesn't get enough credit for how many troops Obama took out from Afghanistan,' " said Rhodes, who has offered informal advice to Sanders and other candidates. "And Bernie measured that by not having to attend as many funerals in Vermont." - - - The Washington Post's Holly Bailey in Newton, Iowa, contributed to this report. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip - Samsungs new foldable phone New Delhi, Sun, 12 Jan 2020 Deepak Kumar Samsung is going to launch a new foldable phone and the name given to this phone is Samsung Galaxy Z Flip. Earlier leaked photo shows a foldable phone from Samsung with the name Galaxy Bloom. But during the 2020 edition of CES, Samsung clarifies the name and it will be called Galaxy Z Flip. The Galaxy Z Flip is next foldable phone from Samsung and which is to be released soon. The company did not give any confirmed date about the release of this phone. The 2020 edition of CES of just concluded and during this conference Samsung demoed many products. During the event the company showed soon-to-be-released second foldable phone with the name Galaxy Z Flip. Now, the official name of Samsungs new foldable phone is revealed and this phone will be branded with the name Galaxy Z Flip. Samsung has not revealed the release date of this phone, but mentioned soon-to-be-released second foldable phone, which means phone imminent release in coming months. Popular leaker Ice Universe (@UniverseIce) posted Twitter a message saying Bloom is just a code name and that the real name is Galaxy Z ****. Shortly after this post he posted the official name of the phone on the Twitter. This post revealed the name official name of the device. According to the tweet of the Ice Universe (@UniverseIce), the new device which was earlier called Galaxy Bloom got the final official name the Galaxy Z Flip. Now we can say that Galaxy Z Flip will be the next foldable smartphone from Samsung. Bloom is just a code name, the real name is Galaxy Z xxxx, guess it! pic.twitter.com/55mGBp4v0A Ice universe (@UniverseIce) January 12, 2020 According to the reports the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip will have fold across its horizontal axis. It is noted that the Samsung Galaxy Fold has folds across its vertical axis. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is expected to have Snapdragon 855 processor. It will also have a new type of glass covering the display. The new foldable phone Samsung Galaxy Z Flip will come with 8K video recording support. The phone will have dual cameras and an Infinity-O display. On the front size it will host a selfie camera at a centered punch-hole in the screen. On the operating side this phone will run on the latest Android 10 operating system. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip will have OneUI out of the box. Samsung already announced event on February 11, where the company may release Galaxy Z Flip alongside the Galaxy S20 series smartphones. Students, mostly affiliated to the Congress and the Left parties, continued protests here for the second consecutive day on Sunday against the amended citizenship act, despite PM Narendra Modi's assurance that the new law would not harm the interests of any citizen. Activists, who hit the streets on Saturday with placards that read 'Modi go back' and 'Down with BJP', continued their sit-in all night at Esplanade area in the state capital, insisting that their agitation would continue till the prime minister leaves the city. Some of them also staged protests at several vantage points here since morning, raising slogans against the prime minister and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for bringing in the "divisive" law. Dispelling fears over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Modi said earlier in the day that a section of the youth was being misguided about the law and asserted that it would not take away anybody's citizenship. "I want to make this clear again that the CAA is not about taking away anybody's citizenship, but about granting citizenship," he said. The PM is on a two-day visit to the city. Black flags and angry chants had greeted Modi as he arrived here on Saturday afternoon, but nicety was not entirely abandoned as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee shared dais with him while remaining insistent on annulment of the new citizenship law. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Japan-based Corporation's Indian subsidiary Life Solutions is eyeing Rs 500 crore revenues from its solar business in the next 3-4 years, with focus to become a leading rooftop EPC player. Life Solutions India, earlier known as Anchor Electricals, is also looking to expand its electric vehicle charging offerings across the country. "We entered the solar market in 2014-15 and have established ourselves as a rooftop EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) solutions provider. We have been successful in executing projects across the country as well as in a few foreign countries," Panasonic Life Solutions Joint Managing Director Dinesh Aggarwal told PTI. He said the company will continue to be an EPC player and aims to garner revenues of around Rs 500 crore from the solar business in the next 3-4 years. As part of its solar business, the company sells modules manufactured by its parent firm at a facility in Malaysia and also develops solar rooftop projects on a turnkey basis. For the current financial year, the company is eyeing a Rs 200 crore revenue from the solar business with Rs 50 crore coming from the sale of Panasonic HIT modules and the rest from EPC projects. The firm's total revenue target for 2019-20 is Rs 4,000 crore. In 2018-19, the company recorded a total revenue of Rs 3,410 crore and its solar segment registered Rs 152 crore revenue. In the current fiscal, the company, which is largely engaged in the electricals sector and offers products such as switches, fans, lighting products, wires, cables and switchgear, is expecting a topline of Rs 3,410 crore. "We are bullish about the solar market here as there is an increasing acceptance, especially in the industrial and commercial segment, having rooftop captive generation. Earlier, subsidies from the government drove the demand, which is not the case right now. People have realised that they can get a payback in about 5-6 years for their investments. So, I believe investments will continue in solar," Aggarwal said. He further said price-wise, these modules are costlier than the Chinese modules that make up most of the market. When asked if the company was planning to set a module manufacturing unit in India, he said, "Right now, the focus is establishing as an EPC player. In future, if there is large-scale investment going to come in rooftop solar, we might consider manufacturing here because the 'Make in India' will become mandatory. The whole emphasis is on performance and capturing the upper segment of the market." When asked about its electric vehicle services offering, Aggarwal said, "We are gradually progressing in this area. Last year, we launched the smart EV charging service in India under the platform 'Nymbus'. The service helps EV users, EV fleet owners, e-commerce and logistics to manage their fleet more efficiently and also the utility providers, vehicle, equipment and battery manufacturers to understand the user patterns and calibrate the products and services accordingly." As part of the first phase, Panasonic has partnered with electric mobility service providers SmartE and qQuick, wherein Panasonic will deploy the EV charging service on 150 SmartE electric three-wheelers and on 25 qQuick two-wheelers in the Delhi-NCR region. The company aims to expand the offerings to Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai and Amaravati in the next three years and 25 more cities in the next five years with a target of catering to around 1 million vehicles. By AFP SAMARRA: A volley of rockets slammed into an Iraqi airbase north of Baghdad where US forces have been based, wounding four local troops, the Iraqi military said on Sunday. Its statement said eight Katyusha-type rockets landed on Al-Balad airbase, wounding two Iraqi officers and two airmen. Al-Balad is the main airbase for Iraq's F-16s, which it bought from the US to upgrade its air capacities. The base had held a small US Air Force contingent as well as American contractors, but a majority had been evacuated following tensions between the US and Iran over the past two weeks, military sources told AFP. "About 90 percent of the US advisers, and employees of Sallyport and Lockheed Martin who are specialised in aircraft maintenance, have withdrawn to Taji and Erbil after threats," one of the sources said. ALSO READ | Iran agrees de-escalation 'only solution' to solve crisis with US "There are no more than 15 US soldiers and a single plane at al-Balad," the source added. Military bases hosting US troops have been subject to volleys of rocket and mortar attacks in recent months that have mostly wounded Iraqi forces, but also killed one American contractor last month. That death set off a series of dramatic developments, with the US carrying out strikes against a pro-Iran paramilitary group in Iraq as well as a convoy carrying top Iranian and Iraqi commanders outside Baghdad airport. Pro-Iran factions in Iraq have vowed revenge for those raids, even as Iran said it had already responded in "proportion" by striking another western airbase where US soldiers are located. ALSO READ | Trump warns Iran not to kill protesters, door still open to talks Rocket attacks against Baghdad's high-security Green Zone, where the US and other embassies are based alongside international troops, are still taking place. On the orders of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Meerut Inspector General Alok Singh and District Magistrate BN Singh visited the residence of Gaurav Chandel, who was allegedly murdered on January 6. Singh extended financial assistance of Rs 20 lakh to Chandel's family and promised the early arrest of his murderers. Speaking to the media, Singh said: "The matter is being looked into very seriously. On the instructions of the Chief Minister, we visited the family of the victim. The police have been instructed and further investigation to find the perpetrators of the crime is underway." He further said that the family has extended their thanks and have requested an early arrest of the accused. Gaurav was allegedly murdered after being robbed while he was on his way home from his office on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday. The deceased used to work at a private firm in Gurugram and his body was found near sector-123 of Greater Noida. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Roughly one out of every eight Americans right now is caring for an ailing parent or grandparent or both. This translates into staggering numbers. Between 7 million and 10 million adults fit into one of the generational categories for eldercare. And as the population of America ages, these intergenerational relationships are becoming ever more complicated. Not only is there the familiar Sandwich Generation, folks usually in their 40s to 70s who care for aging parents while raising their own children, but there now are additional, classifiable generations: the Club Sandwich Generation and the Open-Faced Sandwich Generation. The first term refers to those in their 40s through 60s who are sandwiched between aging parents, adult children and grandchildren. It also refers to couples with young children plus aging parents and grandparents. The second term, Open-Faced Sandwich Generation, refers to anyone, regardless of age, involved in eldercare, caring for a sibling, an aunt or uncle, or even a good friend. What has caused this continued shift in relationships? First of all, we are living longer. In 1900, the average life span was 47 years. With health care advances and better life style choices, we now can anticipate living until 80 or older. As well, couples are waiting longer before starting a family, so as the adult childrens parents health begins to fail, the couples are just entering early stages of building their own personal and professional lives with young children. So, statistics reflect that many of us will face multiple relationship challenges. What can be done to anticipate the potential role as a caregiver? Since none of us have a crystal ball, it is best to plan for the worst, and hope for the best. Having a plan can help avoid having to deal with a crisis in the future. The first important step: having the appropriate legal documents. This is crucial in managing your own and your extended family members medical and financial matters, regardless of age or health, before the need arises. Powers of attorney, that is, the legal appointment of a trusted person and alternate agents to act on your behalf, will ensure that your wishes will be carried out, especially in the event of an emergency. In addition, medical advance directives, known as a living will, and appointment of a health care proxy regarding your medical and end-of-life wishes will ensure that someone you trust will be able to act regarding your medical decisions. The agent that you trust for either situation will stand in your shoes. It is important for all generations to execute these documents. It is important to have conversations among the generations regarding financial resources, expectations of both the parents and the adult children, and the considerations for alternate living arrangements, should the need arise. These discussions should happen now, regardless of how uncomfortable the dialogue might be. Avoiding talking about painful subjects will not make them go away. Facing our realities is one way to control how each generation will manage in a caregiver situation. Education is very important. The Alzheimers Association, AARP and the internet are good preliminary resources for caregiving options and understanding your loved ones diagnoses. Retaining a geriatric care manager is a great option if searching for respite care, transportation, home-care, management of the household, meal delivery and options, as well as alternate housing considerations. Support groups also can be beneficial for the caregiver, to relieve the feeling of isolation and helplessness. Being a caregiver for multiple generations can be exhausting, frustrating and stressful. Planning ahead, having legal documents appointing agents of your choice and defining sources of support early in the process will help ease the burden. Attorney Christine M. Tenore is a partner in the Law Offices of Eliovson & Tenore. Their Fairfield-based firm practices in the areas of estate planning, asset preservation, wills & trusts and estate administration with a focus on elder law. She can be reached at 203-336-2566 or CMT@connecticutelderlaw.com. On 7 January, the Withdrawal Agreement Bill entered the Committee Stage of debates. This involves the House of Commons debating the arrangements and laws which will be put into place to allow the UK to withdraw from the European Union on 31 January 2020. The Bill passed the previous round of debates with ease; arguably an unsurprising outcome given the Conservatives majority government hold. Three new clauses were proposed during the Committee Stage New Clauses 5 (to allow EU citizens residing in the UK before exit day the right to permanent residence), 18 (to ensure EU citizens benefitting from citizens rights protections are able to register as UK citizens), and 34 (setting out a right to appeal settled status decisions) all of which were voted down. The Withdrawal Bill is due to enter the House of Lords for the next stage of debates on 13 January. Deadlines As it currently stands, the UK will leave the EU on 31 January, after which we enter a transition phase where we will be bound by EU laws and must contribute to the budget with no say on how the Union is run. This transition phase is due to last until 31 December 2020 and Johnson is currently in the process of writing a law that will make it illegal to request an extension going into 2021. EU rulers argue this isn't a sufficient timeframe to complete the negotiations: the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, stated it will be basically impossible to fully negotiate the future relationship between the UK and EU in just 11 months. Instead, she suggested that progress should be reviewed again before summer to consider whether more time will be needed. The more divergence there is, the more distant the partnership has to be. And without an extension of the transition period beyond 2020, you cannot expect to agree on every single aspect of our new partnership. We will have to prioritise. Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) January 8, 2020 Future Relationship Ursula von der Leyen outlined her ideal Brexit as a relationship with zero tariffs, zero quotas, and zero dumping, and argued, without the free movement of people, you cannot have the free movement of capital, goods, and services." She also highlighted the need for a partnership between the EU and UK covering security and the ability to combat threats ranging from terrorism to cyber-security to counter-intelligence. The UK government, however, is likely to inform von der Leyen they will not be seeking a deal based on close alignment with the EU and want a new deal that takes back control, with the ability to strike trade agreements outside of the EU without restriction. Trade Our ability to trade with the EU and other countries is a serious issue with regard to the UKs withdrawal from the European Union. Until 31 December 2020, the UK will remain a part of the EU single market and customs union, however, Boris Johnson and the Conservatives are likely to want to devolve this as quickly as possible as it involves the UK continuing to pay for single market membership without a say in the rules. According to Johnson, the ideal future trading between the UK and EU would reflect the agreement between the EU and Canada; involving a significant increase in trade barriers. This type of relationship could cause problems with Ireland if hard borders and trade checks are required. Although its not expected that the Withdrawal Bill will cover every aspect of the future trading relationship between the UK and EU, it is important that some ideas are clarified as, despite Johnsons claim that here come the good times, an unclear or incomplete trade agreement could mean serious trouble for the UK economy. Thankfully, the Withdrawal Agreement does include provisions for a backstop trade agreement which will come into play if the UK and EU cannot come up with a more effective version. This would involve a single customs territory with virtually no tariffs or trade restrictions between the UK and EU until a more thorough and long-lasting agreement can be established. Ireland Ireland has been a big issue within the Brexit debates so far, with earlier deals being voted down due to the controversial Irish Backstop and customs border between Northern Ireland (which is part of the UK) and the Republic of Ireland (which will remain a part of the EU and is separate from Northern Ireland). Currently, the Withdrawal Agreement states Northern Ireland will remain part of the UK customs territory, however, checks and controls will apply when at risk goods (a full definition of this is yet to be established) cross the border between England and Northern Ireland. This involves the receiver of the at risk goods in Northern Ireland paying a tariff which will be refunded if the goods remain in Northern Ireland, therefore avoiding a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and a possible breach of the Good Friday Agreement. The agreement in this form means Northern Ireland will need to maintain EU standards and regulations regarding the goods crossing into their territory rather than matching any new UK standards, in order to maintain the all-island regulatory zone proposed in the Withdrawal Agreement. In addition, VAT on goods (but not services) in Northern Ireland will need to match EU levels. This should mean that the VAT rates on goods in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland remain the same, so neither side has an unfair advantage over the other. For individual travellers, there will be no baggage checks on any borders, nor will you need to pay to send goods to other individuals. The agreements made under the Withdrawal Bill will be evaluated four years after the end of the transition period and the Northern Ireland Assembly will be able to vote on whether the protocol is working, or put suggestions forward to the UK and EU leaders on how to improve the arrangement. Citizen's Rights For now, EU nationals living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU can retain the residency and social security rights theyve been enjoying so far, with the same freedom to move and live throughout the UK and EU being maintained during the transition period. After the transition period ends, the Withdrawal Agreement will allow those citizens to remain and apply for permanent residence after 5 years. Non-British family members of UK nationals currently living in the EEA (or living in the EEA on exit day) will also be protected under the Withdrawal Agreement, with provisions to ensure those who are returning to the UK can also bring their close family members, regardless of the nationality of those members. This safeguard will be in place until 29 March 2022, after which non-British family members will need to apply to enter the UK in accordance with existing immigration rules. Different rules will apply to refugees. At the moment, its not clear whether UK citizens who have successfully applied for permanent residence in an EU country will be able to enjoy the same freedom of movement throughout the EU after the transition period has ended as they currently can. This will be discussed in more detail during the transition period. Travel On 3 April 2019, the EU agreed to ad the UK to their list of visa-exempt countries, which means that UK citizens will be able to travel to the EU for up to 90 days within any 180-day period without needing to apply for a visa. This offer is conditional on the UK replicating the agreement. Border guards will also be entitled to ask travellers for additional information including the reason for and duration of their stay. Travellers from the UK to any EU country will need to ensure their passports are valid for a minimum of three months after the final day of their visit. Workers Rights Another contested issue in the Brexit negotiations is that of workers rights. A change since Theresa Mays proposed deal from last year saw provisions relating to workers rights (as well as environmental protections) moved from the legally binding Withdrawal Agreement to the new Political Declaration: a non-binding document effectively setting out a blueprint for the future relationship between the UK and EU. This means that any agreements on the protection of workers rights would not be legally binding on the UK, a move which Labour claimed may risk triggering a race to the bottom on rights and protections cutting environmental standards and workers rights. While Theresa Mays deal included provisions stating the UK and EU should work together to improve both employment and environmental standards, Johnsons version simply agrees to maintain existing standards during the transition period, with the goal to build upon those standards after we exit the European Union removed from the legally binding Withdrawal Agreement. This is the story of old friends and new beginnings. In our meeting today, PM @BorisJohnson and I agreed: & share common values and many interests. Climate change, human rights & security are just a few areas where cooperation on the global stage will be invaluable. pic.twitter.com/nqFYUPr6vV Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) January 8, 2020 That said, the Political Declaration is still likely to hold some weight, with the possibility of serious practical and political barriers being raised should the UK choose to ignore the content in the future. Whats more, the Withdrawal Agreement includes a clause emphasising the importance of both the UK and EU adhering to the Political Declaration in their best endeavours, in good faith and in full respect of their respective legal orders, so some protection should still exist. The items included in the Political Declaration relating to workers rights include the promise to create a level playing field, in which the UK agreed to maintain a close alignment with EU workers rights; keeping the same high standards of available state aid, restrictions on competition, standards of employment, and relevant tax matters. Protections with regards to discrimination and equal rights in the workplace have been kept in the Withdrawal Agreement. Money and Divorce Bill Back in December 2017, Theresa May announced the UK and EU had agreed the scope of commitments, and methods for valuations and adjustments for calculating how much the UK's divorce bill to the EU will cost. These calculations include the UKs contributions to EU annual budgets until we fully leave the Union, the payment of all outstanding commitments, and any additional financial liabilities the UK owes the EU up to the end of 2020. It will also include payment to implement customs arrangements for Ireland and contributions to citizens rights. Although Boris Johnson has changed a number of aspects since Mays proposed deal, the divorce bill is currently unchanged. However, existing estimates for the divorce bill's final figure will need to be adjusted and will take time to calculate, as contributions to the EU budget are subject to a rebate (or discount) and don't include money that we get back from the Union. To put this into context, the UKs EU Membership Fee in 2018 would have been 17.4 billion, however, we received a rebate of 4.2 billion. In addition, the EU spent 4.3 billion on the public sector in the UK in 2018 plus additional, unspecified amounts were paid directly to the UKs private sector, so its not always straightforward to come up with a concrete figure for how much we put into the EU budget vs how much we take out. Laws The Withdrawal Agreement includes provisions to allow some European laws to be kept by the UK even after Brexit has completed. This will allow the UK to maintain usual standards of living even after we exit the European Union as, after 47 years of membership, our laws are deeply enshrined in EU regulations and rewriting every EU-influenced law will take more time than is available if we are to leave the EU before 2021. Next Steps The current form of the Withdrawal Agreement has been doing well so far in the House of Commons and will be ready to move to the House of Lords on Monday 13 January (as Parliament doesnt sit on a Friday). Assuming the Agreement passes these next stages - which Boris Johnson clearly expects it to based on his assertions that the oven-ready deal I talked about already had its plastic covering pierced and has been placed in the microwave. - any final changes will be debated on 27 January before the Agreement is granted Royal Assent and converted into UK law. In the summer of 1951, Harvey E. Clark, Jr., a black man, rented an apartment in all-white Cicero, a Chicago suburb. Attempting to move into his apartment, Clark was stopped by 20 Cicero police officers who threatened to kill him if he returned. The NAACP filed suit against the Cicero police, and Clark and his family moved into their apartment. On July 11, thousands of White thugs, many of them teenagers, gathered outside the Clark apartment, fomented a riot that lasted four days, and did thousands of dollars worth of damage to the building. The riot was stopped when Governor Adlai E. Stevenson brought in the Illinois National Guard. Even so the rioters continued to fight against the National Guard and had to be dispersed with tear gas, fixed bayonets, and rifle butts. The Cook County Grand Jury did not indict any of the rioters. In an action and mentality foretelling the voices raised by of some blacks to blame Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jersey City, in 2019, for their own murders, the grand jury blamed the lawyer for the NAACP, the buildings owner, rental agent, and lawyer. They were indicted. In an Alice-in-Wonderland decision, the Cook County Grand Jury, like some black community influentials in Jersey City, blamed the riots on its victims, not its perpetrators. Fortunately, even in 1951, there were lines of sanity, especially since this riot had been televised for the world to see. Public outrage caused the indictments to be later dropped. George N. Leighton, the attorney for the NAACP, took the indictment so seriously that he secured the services of Thurgood Marshall as his defense attorney. I grew up less than a mile from the Cicero border. In my neighborhood, Lawndale, the riots were very real, not just items in the daily paper or something to be seen on television. So, too was the issue of a changing neighborhood. Chicago was a destination point on the Illinois Central for blacks fleeing the Jim Crow South. After WWII, thousands came each day. Their increasing numbers threatened the political dominance of the Irish Catholic political machine. Through redlining and massive public housing construction, the Democratic Machine hoped to confine Blacks to super blocks in certain wards. This was designed to keep the city white and dilute black political power. Meeting opposition on the South and Southwest side, Blacks found Jewish neighborhoods like Lawndale were the path of least resistance. But in contrast to the textbook analysis of neighborhood change, initially there was almost no white flight. Neither the Interstate highway nor the FHA had much to do with eventual white flight from working-class communities like Jewish Lawndale. Working-class people in the 1950s worked in the city, were by nature apartment dwellers, and few middle-aged and older people owned a car or desired to do so. An FHA loan and a commute from suburbia to downtown, the stockyards, or the mills on the southside were not on many peoples wish list. In addition, with important exceptions, Chicago had rent control until 1953. Giving up a rent-controlled apartment for a working-class generation that suffered through the Great Depression was not considered desirable. Two mutually antagonistic groups would find a confluence of interest to bring the period of racial integration to an end. Unscrupulous investors who could buy permits to convert apartment buildings to residence hotels, which were exempt from rent control, and black advocacy groups. The former was motivated by greed, the latter by the quest for political power. Neither was interested in integration. The black advocacy groups needed to create housing for Southern blacks and for poor blacks who were discriminated against from obtaining public housing in white areas by the Chicago Housing Authority. With housing came votes, and with votes came a path to changing the system of white alderman running wards that had strong black minorities. With black majorities, the city could transition to a black power base. The investors and the black advocacy groups needed the whites to flee. A rising and violent crime rate that came with the changing neighborhood and black harassment of whites who were too stubborn to leave enhanced the motivation for white flight. Within a matter of four or five years, Lawndale had -- by the confluence of greed and the quest for a black power base -- become a black neighborhood. In Jersey City, Jews moved into a black neighborhood, not causing a rising crime rate or a surge in communal violence, and are condemned by some blacks for the victimization that as befallen them as was the Clark family that tried to move into Cicero, Illinois back in 1951. As a white power structure tried to blame Clark and the NAACP for the riots back IN 1951, some black leaders have tried to blame Jews for their own deaths in Jersey City, even hailing their murderers as heroes. The parallels are as offensive as they are outrageous, and the terrible lesson is that if we are all tribal, then the multicultural society we aspire to is nothing more than a useful myth to be exploited by minorities for convenient political and economic ends. If it is justified for blacks to rise up against Jews moving into their neighborhoods, then it was equally justified for whites to riot against blacks moving into theirs. If that is the world we want to create, it will be a tragic one indeed. Abraham H. Miller is an emeritus professor of political science, University of Cincinnati and a distinguished fellow with Haym Salomon Center. The Department of Foreign Affairs spent more than 5,000 on the operation to bring Lisa Smith back to Ireland. According to the Sunday Independent, the costs covered travel and accommodation for the team of officials involved in the three-day mission. PM Modi at Belur Math: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that people are being misled over the Citizenship Amendment Act and that some are playing political games with it. "You understood this very clearly. But those playing political games purposely refuse to understand. People are being misled over the Citizenship Amendment Act," said PM Modi during a speech to students at Belur Math on Sunday. He said that the act does not seek to take away citizenship from anyone. "I repeat again, Citizenship act is not to revoke anyone's citizenship, but it is to give citizenship. After independence, Mahatma Gandhi ji and other big leaders of the time all believed that India should give citizenship to persecuted religious minorities of Pakistan," he said during the speech. The Prime Minister is on a two-day visit to Kolkata. On Sunday morning, he paid tribute to Swami Vivekananda on his birth anniversary at Belur Math, the headquarters of Ramakrishna Mission. "We must always remember Swami Vivekananda ji's iconic saying 'give me 100 energetic youth and I shall transform India'. Our energy, and passion to do something, is necessary for change," he said. "The last time I came here, I had taken the blessings of Swami Atmasthanandaji. Today he is not physically present with us. But his work, his path, will always guide us in the form of Ramakrishna Mission," said the PM during his speech at Belur Math. PM Modi is the first Prime Minister to stay overnight at the Math in neighbouring Howrah district. The Prime Minister was received by senior monks of the order after he reached Belur Math on Saturday evening, taking the river route from Kolkata. Also read: PM Modi mourns death of monarch Oman Sultan Qaboos, hails him as a visionary leader Also read: PM Modi stresses on governance, implementation in meeting with economists, industrialists There are at least 16 national and international competitions in math for students from the first to the 12th grades. Many of them are believed to be useless. N.T.T, a parent in Cau Giay district, Hanoi, said his son, a fifth grader, spent VND300,000 to register to attend an international math talent competition. This is a contest for students from the second to 11th grades, brought to Vietnam by a joint stock company. T found that about 3,000 students in Hanoi participated in the qualifier to select some hundreds of students to take the competition round in Thailand. T.'s son was among the students meeting the standards to enter the second round. At the meeting between the organizing board and parents, T and other parents were informed that to attend the second round, he would have to pay VND30 million for his son and VND24 million for himself to go to Thailand. There are at least 16 national and international competitions in math for students from the first to the 12th grades. Many of them are believed to be useless. Only when attending the meeting did he realize that this is a competition with commercial color. When my son talked to me about the competition, I just knew that the competition was introduced by the teacher and some students in the class were believed to be eligible to attend it. No more information was given, he said. Therefore, I thought the completion was organized by the Ministry of Education and Training, he said. Also according to T, the organizing board did not clarify how the competition would be organized. The information about the second round was only released after the first round finished. When parents asked the representative of the organizing board if the achievements from the competition would give students bonus marks when sitting secondary or high school entrance exams, they could not receive clear answers. The representative just said the parents proposal about bonus mark would be forwarded to the Hanoi Education and Training Department. And T decided that his son would not go to Thailand to attend the second round of the competition. Thousands of dollars is a high cost for a competition which doesnt have much significance, T said. Tien Phong reported that international competitions are mushrooming and they are brought to Vietnam by many educational organizations. According to Le Anh Vinh, head of the Vietnams Math Olympiad delegation, at many international competitions in Singapore he knows, the number of Vietnamese students are even higher than Singaporeans. A high school teacher in Hanoi commented that attending competitions has become fashionable. I know some students who attend competitions regularly. February and March are their busiest time when they have competitions weekly. In April and May, they are busy receiving prizes from the competitions, he said. After all, the goal of studying is knowledge, not exams, he concluded. Thanh Lich Teachers devoted to education of island students Song Tu Tay Primary School in Truong Sa Archipelago off the coast of Khanh Hoa Province is an educational institution like no other in Vietnam. NASA photo of the eruption of Klyuchevsky volcano on 30 September, 1994, the volcano's largest explosion in 40 years. The large Background: Kliuchevskoi is Kamchatka's highest and most active volcano. Since its origin about 6000 years ago, the beautifully symmetrical, 4835-m-high basaltic stratovolcano has produced frequent moderate-volume explosive and effusive eruptions without major periods of inactivity. Kliuchevskoi rises above a saddle NE of sharp-peaked Kamen volcano and lies SE of the broad Ushkovsky massif. More than 100 flank eruptions have occurred at Kliuchevskoi during the past roughly 3000 years, with most lateral craters and cones occurring along radial fissures between the unconfined NE-to-SE flanks of the conical volcano between 500 m and 3600 m elevation. The morphology of its 700-m-wide summit crater has been frequently modified by historical eruptions, which have been recorded since the late-17th century. Historical eruptions have originated primarily from the summit crater, but have also included numerous major explosive and effusive eruptions from flank craters. --- Source: Klyuchevsky information by the GVP (Smithsonian Institution) Laredo Sector Border Patrol Agents, assigned to the Cotulla Station, apprehended an illegal alien who was convicted of Indecent Liberties with a Child. The arrest occurred during the morning of Jan. 9, when agents encountered an individual near State Highway 83 north of Laredo. During investigation, records checks revealed that 37-year-old Sotero Salas-Ruiz, a Mexican National, was in the country illegally with a prior conviction for Indecent Liberties with a Child and Driving Under the Influence, February 2009 out of Charlotte, North Carolina. Addressing youngsters at Belur Math, PM Narendra Modi said that Indias youth has the energy to bring change that can be beneficial for the society. On the event of National Youth Day, PM Modi said that the world community has huge expectations from the youth of the nation. PM Modi who had stayed overnight at the Math also participated in the morning prayer meeting with the saints and seers . PM Modi is the first Prime Minister to have stayed overnight at the headquarters of Ramakrishna Mission. PM Modi also invoked the teachings of Swami Vivekananda and said that the famous seer, during the dark days of British Raj, was able to realise the potential of Indias youth. Modi said that Swami Vivekananda never asked for a hundred people, but only asked for hundred youngsters with resolve in order to change the fate of the country, quoting one of the seers famous quotes regarding youth and duty. The prime minister, who was on a two-day visit to Kolkata, addressed the gathering at Howrah, where he outlined the role of youth in this decade. He said that the energy of the todays young people will be the basis for change in the 21st century. He said to the youngsters gathered at the venue that innovative ideas should combine with sheer resolve in order to foster change in society. The PM also spoke about the recent protests that were being organised against the passage and implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. He hit out at the opposition saying that despite understanding the recently passed law, some people are pretending deliberately not to understand. PM said that people with political interests are misleading the youth and creating unrest in the society regarding the new citizenship law. He also said that the youth is aware and understands the CAA better than most politicians. He also requested the youth to fight against misinformation being spread against CAA. He further added that, if there is any citizen who abides by the Constitution of India, that person is rightfully an Indian. He reiterated that the new Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 is not about taking away anyones citizenship. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Last year was one of the deadliest for US, with 23 American troops killed Kabul: Two US service members were killed and two others injured when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan, the US military said in a statement Saturday. In keeping with defense department rules, the US military did not identify the service members. The Taliban immediately took responsibility for the attack. A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yusouf Ahmadi, said it occurred in the southern Kandahar province. More than 2,400 US service members have been killed in Afghanistan. Last year was one of the deadliest for the United States, with 23 American troops killed, even as Washington engaged in peace talks with the Taliban. The latest attack seemed certain to stall fresh efforts to restart the on-again, off-again peace talks between Washington and the Taliban. US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has been pressing the insurgents to declare a cease-fire or at least reduce violent attacks. That would give a window in which the US and the Taliban could forge an agreement to withdraw all of Americas troops. That agreement would also set out a road map for direct Afghan-to-Afghan talks, mapping out the countrys post-war future. The Taliban leadership decided at the end of December to support a temporary cease-fire to allow for a peace deal to be signed, but they never said when it would go into effect. The final approval required from their leader, Maulvi Hibatullah Akhundzada, was never announced. Earlier Saturday, both NATO and Afghan officials had confirmed a roadside bomb hit a US army vehicle, without mentioning casualties. In a short statement, a NATO spokesman said that officials were still assessing the situation and will provide more information as it became available. An Afghan official said the attack had taken place in the Dand district of Kandahar province. The official was not authorized to speak with media and requested anonymity. The Taliban now control or hold sway over roughly half of Afghanistan. The militants continue to stage near-daily attacks targeting Afghan and US forces, even as they hold peace talks with the US Scores of Afghan civilians are also killed in the crossfire or by roadside bombs planted by militants. In November, two US service members were killed when their helicopter crashed in eastern Logar province. The US military at the time said preliminary reports did not indicate it was caused by enemy fire, although the Taliban claimed to have shot down the helicopter, a claim the US military dismissed as false. The US currently has about 13,000 troops in Afghanistan. About 5,000 of them are doing counterterrorism missions. The remainder are part of a broader NATO mission to train, advise and assist the Afghan security forces. US Ambassador John Bass left Kabul last week, ending his two-year tenure as Americas top diplomat. Congratulations, magicdeckvortex.com got a very good Social Media Impact Score! Show it by adding this HTML code on your site: Magicdeckvortex.com scored 99 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 5/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 12 Dec 2012, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. magicdeckvortex.com is very popular in Twitter and Facebook. It has 114 twitter followers. Furthermore its facebook page has 79 likes. Add a widget like this on your site: click here The total number of people who shared the magicdeckvortex homepage on Delicious. The total number of people who shared the magicdeckvortex homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. The total number of people who shared the magicdeckvortex homepage on StumbleUpon. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the magicdeckvortex homepage on Twitter + the total number of magicdeckvortex followers (if magicdeckvortex has a Twitter account). This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the magicdeckvortex homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if magicdeckvortex has a Facebook fan page). Basic Information PAGE TITLE Magic Deck Vortex - Magic Deck Vortex DESCRIPTION Magic Deck Vortex: a casual Magic: the Gathering website full of decks, combos, features, articles, contests and a great community.Magic Deck Vortex:Casual Magic Player KEYWORDS The Front Page, vBulletin 4.0, CMS OTHER KEYWORDS The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. The title 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. Domain and Server DOCTYPE XHTML 1.0 Transitional CHARSET AND LANGUAGE English ISO-8859-1English DETECTED LANGUAGE English English SERVER Apache (PHP/5.3.13) OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux Type of server and offered services. The language of magicdeckvortex.com as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Character set and language of the site. Operative System running on the server. Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world. Referring domains for magicdeckvortex.com by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines. Facebook link FACEBOOK PAGE LINK FOUND FACEBOOK PAGE www.facebook.com/MagicDeckVortex DESCRIPTION MDV LIKES 79 PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT 0 PAGE TYPE Media/news/publishing TIMELINE PAGE TIMELINE The total number of people who like website Facebook page. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. The type of Facebook page. The URL of the found Facebook page. A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK FOUND TWITTER PAGE twitter.com/#!/StreetzMDV DESCRIPTION webmaster and owner of Magic Deck Vortex www.magicdeckvortex.com ACCOUNT CREATED ON 25 Aug 2012 LOCATION Chicago burbs TWEETS 464 FOLLOWERS 114 LISTED 8 NBCs streaming service, Peacock, is dedicated to bringing Saved by the Bell back for an entirely new generation. With a political spin, the new series will serve as a flagship series for the streaming service provider. The team behind the series announced, last week, that Josie Totah would be joining the cast, creating a ton of hype for the upcoming series. Now, it looks like two familiar faces will also be added to the cast. Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Tiffani Thiessen may be returning to Bayside High, and fans of the original series could not be happier. Mark-Paul Gosselaar will be joining the cast While the series premise hinges on Zack Morris, now the Governor of California, sending students from low-income schools to Bayside High, Gosselaar, who originally played the iconic character, was not signed on to the role. He is currently working on Mixed-ish, an ABC-backed series. Gosselaar told several media outlets that he was never approached about the series when news of the reboot hit the media in September 2019. That seems to have changed. The Hollywood Reporter, speaking to an inside source, has reported that Gosselaar will reprise his role as Zack Morris for at least three episodes of the first season. The report also claims Gosselaar will be credit as a producer, and that the deal has been finalized. Gosselaar has not commented on the reported agreement. The production team is in talks to bring Tiffani Thiessen onboard, too Tiffani Thiessen is reportedly in negotiations to reprise her role as Kelly Kapowski, as well. Thiessen, who later went on to join the Beverly Hills: 90210 cast, dated Zack throughout high school and rekindled their relationship in Saved by the Bell: The College Years. The short-lived spin-off saw Kelly and Zack get married. According to The Wrap, Thiessen has not finalized a deal just yet, but insiders expect an official announcement soon. Thiessens representation has not commented on the reports. She most recently appeared in Alexa and Katie, a Netflix original. Three seasons of the series have been released, but there is no word on whether the streaming giant is planning to renew the series for its fourth season. Dustin Diamond and Lark Voorhies likely will not appear Now that three of the six stars of the original series are confirmed to be returning, and one is in talks to join the cast, fans are, naturally, curious about the other two stars of the 1990s sitcom. Lark Voorhies, who portrayed Lisa Turtle, and Dustin Diamond, who portrayed Screech, are the outliers. They have yet to be mentioned as potential additions to the cast, and there might be a good reason why. Lark Voorhies as Lisa Turtle, Ed Alonzo as Max, Tiffani Thiessen as Kelly Kapowski, Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Zack Morris, Dennis Haskins as Mr. Richard Belding, Elizabeth Berkley as Jessie Myrtle Spano, Dustin Diamond as Screech Powers, Mario Lopez as A.C. Slater | NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images Diamond has been outspoken about his disdain for his fellow castmembers. Diamond penned a book about his time on the series and laid out some pretty damaging claims. Diamond accused Gosselaar of using steroids and made several claims about the sexual preferences of his former castmates. Diamond might have hated his time on Saved by the Bell, but now that hes broke, he could probably be convinced to get involved. Its unlikely hell be asked though, considering all the dirt he spilled on the ladies and gentlemen who will be executive producing and producing the series. Lark Voorhies is an entirely different story. After Saved by the Bell, she seemingly walked into the sunset, but a series of bizarre interviews in the mid-2000s left fans concerned about Voorhiess health. The former child star claimed to have Lupus, but her rep later reported the admission came from a fake account, and that Voorhies does not have the autoimmune disease, according to Us Weekly. Her mother, on the other hand, has suggested that Voorhies was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. Voorhies denies the allegation. Until recently, few international travelers had ever set foot in Tokyo's sprawling, busy Haneda Airport, which served primarily as a hub for domestic Japanese flights. But all that changed when authorities opened a flashy new international terminal in 2010 and relaxed rules about which airlines could use it in 2014. Nowadays, if you are flying from the United States to Japan, it is more likely you'll fly into Haneda International than Narita. So if you've never been there before, and you have a trip to Japan in your sights, here's what you need to know: Haneda is older than Narita and a lot busier-- twice as busy as a matter of fact. Located about 10 miles south of central Tokyo, the airport opened in 1931 and has expanded over the years on the shores of Tokyo Bay. Narita almost 40 miles east of the city center -- opened in 1978 and was designed from the start to be the countrys primary international airport, especially for long-haul flights, while Haneda was increasingly used for domestic flights. In 2017, Haneda handled 86 million total travelers (making it one of the five busiest in the world) vs. 39 million at Narita, although Naritas 31 million international flyers far outpaced Hanedas 17 million. Things started to change in 2010, when Hanedas latest expansion project gave it a fourth runway and a new international passenger terminal (See the slideshow at the top of this post for a look inside). After that, Japan started opening Haneda up to more international service. Initially, those longer flights were only available during nighttime hours, but after 2014, the airport started to make long-haul arrival and departure slots available for more convenient daytime service. And that trend is continuing into 2020, especially with the Summer 2020 Olympics coming up in Tokyo. This March, the International Terminal will change names to simply Terminal 3 that's to avoid confusion when Terminal 2 starts hosting international flights and opens customs and immigration halls. Haneda's international terminal is relatively small and easy to navigate. It's not as dramatic or sexy as many other Asian airports, but it gets the job done, and who really needs more than that? Its lounges are adequate, but getting better right now, Japan Airlines is updating its business- and first-class lounges as it prepares for the Olympics onslaught so be prepared to enjoy a temporary space through March 2020, details here. (See photos in the slideshow at the top for a look inside the JAL Sakura Skyview Lounge.) SkyTeam and Oneworld passengers use the JAL lounges. Oneworld passengers may also access the Cathay Pacific lounge. Star Alliance flyers use the ANA lounges. All three terminals have observation decks accessible for outside security that are fantastic on a sunny, clear day. Airlines flying between Haneda Airport and the US United, which currently flies to Tokyo Haneda from San Francisco, announced that it will add new service to the airport next March from four more hubs Chicago, Los Angeles, Newark and Washington Dulles. Delta plans to abandon Narita entirely in 2020, operating all its Tokyo flights into Haneda starting in March. That service will include daily flights to Haneda from Seattle, Detroit, Atlanta, Honolulu, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Los Angeles and Portland. Delta is also planning to open a new Sky Club at Haneda by next summer. And American Airlines will inaugurate a second daily flight to Haneda on March 29 from Los Angeles, and a new daily Dallas/Ft. Worth-Haneda flight on the same date. (American passengers use the lounges of its Oneworld partner, JAL.) Japans All Nippon Airways (ANA) plans to launch service to Haneda from six U.S. gateways, mostly starting March 29, including a new daily flight from San Francisco International to supplement its existing SFO-Tokyo Narita flight. ANA will also move its existing San Jose-Narita service to Haneda. In other markets, ANA (a Star Alliance member) plans to add a second daily Los Angeles-Haneda flight, and begin new daily Haneda service from Houston, Seattle and Washington Dulles, ending its Narita service from those three airports. Don't miss a shred of important travel news! Sign up for our FREE bi-weekly email alerts! Japan Airlines announced plans to add a second daily San Francisco-Tokyo flight on March 29, but to Narita Airport; it already has one to Haneda. (This is JAL #1 and #2, which you can read about in my Trip Report here.) And this month, JAL said it will begin a number of new Haneda flights in March, including daily service from Chicago OHare, Dallas/Ft. Worth and Los Angeles; it will also operate two daily flights to Haneda from New York JFK, ending its JFK-Narita route. Besides its international terminal (Terminal 3), Haneda has two domestic terminals. Terminal 1 is used by Japan Airlines, while Terminal 2 is used by ANA and some smaller Japanese airlines. Travelers heading between the International Terminal and Terminals 1 or 2 to catch a connecting flight can take the airports monorail for free when they show their passport and transfer flight ticket. The airport also operates free shuttle buses between the terminals. Don't miss the slideshow at the top of this post for a look inside Haneda Airport during my recent visit. Haneda Airport Getting to and from Haneda Airport There are several public transportation options for getting into central Tokyo from Haneda. The best transport depends on a variety of factors so just call your hotel and ask for the best or easiest option. Trains and train stations can be crowded and confusing for first timers and dragging along luggage can make the trip even worse. So you may want to consider buses or taxis. The Tokyo Monorail will take riders to Tokyo Station downtown in 30 minutes, if they transfer from the Monorail at Hamamatsucho Station to the JR Yamanote or JR Kewihin-Tohoku line to get to Tokyo Station. That costs about $6. The Keikyu Railways Haneda Airport Line will take passengers from the airport to Shinagawa Station where they can transfer to the JR Yamanoote or JR Keihin-Tohoku Line to get to Tokyo Station. The total trip takes 35 minutes and costs $4.30. Express buses from the airport to Tokyo Station running every 30 to 60 minutes, making the trip in 40 to 55 minutes depending on traffic at a cost of $8.70. A taxi that takes you straight to or from your hotel in central Tokyo will cost $46 to $100, depending on its location. By contrast, trips from Narita to downtown Tokyo take at least an hour even by the fastest rail option, and road trips take a lot longer. However, the numerous and familiar buses with stops at hotels are sometimes easiest for travelers. You can explore the airports English-language website here. Read all recent TravelSkills posts here Chris McGinnis is SFGATE's senior travel correspondent. You can reach him via email or follow him on Twitter or Facebook. Don't miss a shred of important travel news by signing up for his FREE biweekly email updates! Smells like Western Statecraft is fully in play here: J Post Reports: A group of Iranian protesters demanded Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei step down on Saturday after Tehran said that its military had mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian plane, killing all 176 people on board. "Commander-in-chief [Khamenei] resign, resign," videos posted on Twitter showed hundreds of people chanting in front of Tehran's Amir Kabir university. Related Articles: Saturday, January 11, 2020 - Trump Threatened To Cut Off Baghdad's Access To Its NY Fed Cash After rejecting Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi's request to begin talks on the withdrawal of American troops, there are now more signs of the eroding ties between the two countries. Saturday, January 11, 2020 - Iranian Armed Forces Say They Inadvertently Shot Down The Ukrainian Plane The Iranian Armed Forces General Staff just admitted (in Farsi, English translation) that its air defenses inadvertently shot down the Ukrainian flight PS 752 shortly after it took off on January 8 in Tehran Friday, January 10, 2020 - Time Magazine Offers Guide on How Parents Can Brainwash Their Kids on Iran Time Magazine offered a handy guide on how parents can brainwash their kids on Iran by disputing the fact that Qasem Soleimani was a terrorist. Friday, January 10, 2020 - The Long Sordid History of Pentagon Intervention in Iraq 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. Iranian National, Armed With Knives, Detained Near Mar-A-Lago An Iranian national armed with knives has been detained by police in Palm Beach, Florida, close to President Trumps Mar-A-Lago estate. Thursday, January 9, 2020 - Pentagon Accuses Iran Of Shooting Down A Ukrainian Plane But Its Evidence Is Flimsy 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. The attack was reportedly launched at 1:20 AM to align with the time of the US airstrike which killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. Iran fires TENS of ballistic missiles at US bases in Iraq in operation 'Martyr Soleimani' after promising 'crushing revenge' for Trump's decision to kill the top general in drone strike Tuesday, January 7, 2020 - Krieger: The Final Chapter In The Decline Of US Imperial Dominance Has Begun First off, we need to understand the U.S. is now at war with Iran. Its an undeclared, insane and unconstitutional war, but it is war nonetheless. There is no world in which one government intentionally assassinates the top general of another government and that not be warfare. You can argue the U.S. and Iran were already engaged in low-level proxy wars, and thats a fair assessment, but you cant say we arent currently in far more serious a state of war. We are. Monday, January 6, 2020 - Federal Reserve Admits It Pumped More than $6 Trillion to Wall Street in Recent Six Week Period The House Financial Services Committee just released its committee hearing schedule for January and there isnt a peep about a hearing to examine the Feds unprecedented actions. Monday, January 6, 2020 - Military Contractors Raytheon, Lockheed Martin See Stock Prices Soar Amid Iran Crisis Lockheed Martin, famous for its fighter planes, helicopters and missiles, saw its stock price spike to over $416, a jump of seven percent almost overnight. Raytheon and General Dynamics saw similar increases. Monday, January 6, 2020 - US Empires Passion For Iraqi Democracy Magically Disappears Following a vote by the Iraqi parliament to remove foreign troops from the nation, the US president threatened to destroy Iraqs economy in retaliation and to refuse to leave unless an expensive military base worth billions of dollars was paid for. President Trump may not have given us the executive order on birthright citizenship he promised before the 2018 midterms but at least we got a war with Iran! Chevron said Monday it has evacuated all expatriate oil workers from Iraq, following last weeks Trump airstrike in Baghdad that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. Monday, January 6, 2020 - Amphibious Assault Ship Bataan With 2,000 Marines On Board Is Headed Toward Iraq The Iraqi parliament voted on Sunday to expel US troops out of the country but so far, it appears that nobody in the US got the memo. In fact quite the contrary. As it should be. Trump and his gaggle of war criminals must be removed from office and prosecuted, same as Slobodan Milosevic was prosecuted (the crisis in Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo were small brushfires compared to what the neocons and fellow traveling Democrats have done in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, and much of Africa). Monday, January 6, 2020 - Trump Doubles Down on Threat to Attack Iran Cultural Sites US President Donald Trump doubled down Sunday on a threat to attack Iranian cultural sites despite accusations that any such strike would amount to a war crime. Sunday, January 5, 2020 - Iran's Deep Distrust Of America Is Rooted In History Our agreement with Iran reached under the Obama administration and canceled by President Trump was viewed, by many, as an alternative to the unsavory option of taking military action to halt Iran from developing a nuclear bomb. John Kerry crafting the agreement with Iran always stressed that if Iran fails to meet the requirements of the current deal, all options remain on the table. With this in mind, we should not give the Obama administration too much credit for bringing us a great or even good agreement. Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf published a special bulletin via the National Terrorism Advisory System, indicating that there is no credible terrorist threat but warns Americans need to be extra vigilant for suspicious activity amid the threat of war with Iran. It Could Be Years Before Holmes Goes to Prison 12.01.2020 LISTEN The President of OGHA, Organisation of Ghanaians Abroad, Mr. Osei Mensah Michael who doubles as the President of the Ghanaian Community Representative Council, GHACIF has asked President Akufo Addo to tap into the Potentials of Oman Ghana Baako Agenda which seeks to create payment of a voluntary patriotic tax for Ghanaians Abroad and Ghanaians living in Ghana who so wish. He said this when he welcomed ace Adom FM broadcaster and Dwaaso Nsem journalist Captain Smart to Paris in France last Friday. One Diasporan organization which is gathering massive wave is Oman Ghana Baako (OGB). This is a body that seeks to bring all Ghanaians together to help in the development processes of the country. The Organisation of Ghanaians Abroad, OGHA has teamed up with OGB to promote the Ghanaian agenda across the globe. OGB is building participation in almost every country in the world. With their huge vision, members shall pay only one-unit currency (1 cedi for members in Ghana, 1 dollar for members in America, 1 Pound for Members in Britain, etc) or more every month to promote the worthy vision. He said this vision can go a long way to be useful for the Ghana Beyond Aid and Free Education Agenda even though OGB and OGHA, Organisation of Ghanaians Abroad are non-partisan. They only seek to help governments succeed in the interest of Ghanaians. Mr. Osei Mensah Michael is the author of the Ghanaian book which featured at the 2019 Africa Authors Lounge of UNESCO. '' A Call for a Ministry of Ghanaians in Foreign Lands with Two Subsidiary Parliamentary Seats from Each Continent''. JABALPUR: Union Home Minister and BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday said that the Narendra Modi government will not rest until each oppressed Pakistani refugee is given the Indian citizenship. Congress people, listen...Oppose (CAA) to the extent you can. But we wont sit quiet till each oppressed refugee from Pakistan gets Indian citizenship, Shah said. Shah was speaking at a public meeting organised in Jabalpur to mobilise support for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). He also renewed attack on Congres and other opposition parties for spreading rumours about the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 and instilling fears in the minds of minority community members about the law. Addressing the public rally, Shah said, ''Congress and other opposition parties want the bloodshed to continue in the country and for this, they are spreading falsehood regarding the Citizenship law. I want to them all that the citizenship law has been passed by Parliament and it will be fully implemented.'' Shah also challenged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to "find out if there was any provision in the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which can take the citizenship away from any Indian.'' Live TV "I challenge Mamata Banerjee and Rahul Baba to find out a provision in the Citizenship Amendment Act that can take the citizenship away from anyone in this country," Shah said while addressing a public meeting here. Further attacking the Congress party, Shah said, ''When the Partition of the country took place, the Congress party divided the country on the basis of religion." He added that the then leaders had assured Indian citizenship to the minority refugees from Pakistan. "The Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, Jain, who lived in both East and West Pakistan wanted to come here, but they stayed there because of the bloodshed. The leaders of our country then assured them that they will be welcome here and given the citizenship whenever they come," Shah said. Taking on the Congress for opposing the CAA, he said, "When the partition took place, there were 30 per cent Hindus in both East and West Pakistan. Today, there are just 3 per cent Hindus in Pakistan and 7 per cent Hindus in East Pakistan (Bangladesh). I want to ask the blind and deaf Congress leaders, where are my Hindu, Sikh, Sindhi brothers." Speaking on the Ram temple issue, he dared the Congress party to stop the construction of a grand temple dedicated to the deity in Ayodhya. Kapil Sibal, Congress party's lawyer, says Ram temple should not be constructed. I want to tell him, however, they may try, a grand Ram temple will surely be constructed in Ayodhya.'' The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, which grants citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Parsi, Buddhist, and Christian from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who came to India on or before December 31, 2014, has triggered widespread protest across the country. Nearly everyone knows about Fred Rogers, the beloved host of Mister Rogers Neighborhood who taught millions of children about love, kindness and the magic of make believe. But far fewer people are familiar with Margaret McFarland, the child psychologist who mentored him and helped shape his groundbreaking television show. Rogers first met McFarland in the 1950s, when he was a puppeteer and a producer on a Pittsburgh public television show called The Childrens Corner. During lunch breaks, he attended classes to earn a masters degree in divinity. When Rogers expressed an interest in learning about the psychology of children, one of his professors recommend that he meet McFarland, who was regarded as one of the most respected child psychologists in Pittsburgh. She saw great potential in Rogers. Fred Rogers is a man who has not closed off the channels of communication between his childhood and his manhood, McFarland told The Washington Post in 1982. Repression, you see, is not his major defence. But she felt it was a disservice that he worked off-camera, behind the scenes, manipulating his various puppets. So she told him: Fred, the children need to see you. They need you to help them distinguish between reality and fantasy. Rogers was ordained as a minister and was invited to appear as Mister Rogers on a show in Canada in the early 1960s. He returned to Pittsburgh in 1966 to start Mister Rogers Neighborhood on WQED-TV. The show aired for the first time nationally, on public television stations, in 1968. McFarland became his chief consultant. She and Rogers met nearly every week to discuss scripts and songs that Rogers had written. Her advice became so valuable to Rogers that he took extensive handwritten notes and recorded their meetings on audiocassettes, which I often overheard him replaying in his office, recalled Arthur Greenwald, a producer and writer who worked with Rogers. She would work on the show for 20 years and spoke regularly with Rogers until around her death in 1988. (Rogers died in 2003.) She will make just one suggestion, and it raises the whole level, Rogers told The Pittsburgh Press in 1987, adding that she was an enormous influence on me. His book Mister Rogers Talks With Parents (1983, with Barry Head) is dedicated to McFarland. And the creators of Daniel Tigers Neighborhood, the modern-day animated spinoff of Mister Rogers, honoured McFarland by naming the main characters little sister Margaret. Even though the show first aired more than a half-century ago, it still resonates. In 2018 a documentary about Rogers grossed more than $22 million, and last year he was portrayed by Tom Hanks in the acclaimed movie A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Margaret Beall McFarland was born July 3, 1905, in Oakdale, Pa., a suburb of Pittsburgh, the youngest of three girls of Robert and Gertrude (Messer) McFarland. Her father died when she was 5, an event that would later pique her interest in child psychology. All of the subsequent phases of what it means to be loved by a male and loving to a male were lost to me, she told The Pittsburgh Press in 1987. I wanted a kind of fathering. She graduated from Goucher College in Baltimore in 1927, received her masters degree from Columbia University in 1928 and later earned her PhD from Teachers College at Columbia University. After graduating, she became principal of the Kindergarten Training College of Melbourne, Australia, then returned to the United States to serve as director of the childrens school at Mount Holyoke College, a womens college in South Hadley, Mass., where she was promoted to associate professor of psychology in 1948. She returned to her hometown in 1951 and was an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh when she met Rogers. At the time, she was also working as the executive director of the Arsenal Family and Childrens Center, a training ground for pediatric students to study child development; it was founded in 1953 by Benjamin Spock, the pediatrician and bestselling author. He and McFarland collaborated with Erik Erikson, the developmental psychologist known for coining the phrase identity crisis. (Arsenal is now a preschool and social service agency.) McFarland believed that an adequate understanding of child development was, as she wrote, crucial in the solution of many of the problems with which man is grappling. She would often bring in a mother and child to her classroom, ask her students to observe their behaviour, then spend hours afterward discussing their interactions. McFarland was also fond of teaching by parable, gently guiding her students toward clarity by telling stories and asking questions rather than providing critiques. Her methods made a lasting impression. There was something very unique about the way she connected with people, said Judith Rubin, a therapist who helped people deal with trauma through art. Rubin worked with McFarland at the Arsenal Center and appeared as the art lady on Mister Rogers Neighborhood in the shows early years. I think she had Fred Rogers capacity to make the person feel as if they were extremely important and interesting, she added. Serious and reserved, McFarland was content to avoid the spotlight, even as Mister Rogers became a staple for generations of children. She preferred to be a counterpart to the creative person, said Hedda Sharapan, a senior fellow at the Fred Rogers Center and a child development consultant at Fred Rogers Productions. She gave him the road map of child development and then said, Now you take the journey in the way thats right for your creative spirit, Sharapan said. Fred somehow, with Margarets help, was able to tap into his own childhood. In 1979, during a symposium honouring Rogers, Erikson surprised her in front of more than 1,000 people at a banquet by acknowledging her research with a special presentation. We almost had to drag her out of the chair to stand up, Douglas Nowicki, a friend who is the chancellor of St. Vincent College in Pennsylvania, said in a phone interview. She would never have come if she had known in any way she was going to be recognized or honoured. Greenwald, the producer who often worked with Rogers, once suggested that they go out to lunch with friends to celebrate McFarlands birthday. Almost predictably, Margaret wouldnt hear of us making such a fuss and instead invited us to her house, where she would prepare the lunch, he said. We agreed, because why not? And because beneath that frail exterior was hundreds of years of stubborn Scottish-Presbyterian wilfulness that youd be crazy to mess with. She loved to feed others. How she found the time to create the fanciest cookies (in her own kitchen) Ill never know, Rogers wrote in an obituary about her. McFarland never married or had children. She lived alone in the home in which she grew up, surrounded by her extensive book collection. Later in life she learned she had myelofibrosis, a rare bone marrow disease, but she continued conducting research and was absorbed in the study of ego development as late as 1987. News reports of her death at 83, on Sept. 12, 1988, were modest, much like McFarland herself. The New York Times, like several other major newspapers, published a brief obituary by The Associated Press. In Pittsburgh, however, original obituaries appeared in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and The Pittsburgh Press. Her books, which numbered in the thousands, were donated to St. Vincent College, where the Fred Rogers Center was established in 2003, the year of Rogers death. Read more about: Irans Foreign Ministry has set up a consular task force to help families of victims of a Ukrainian plane crash on January 8 near Tehran, Tasnim reported. Spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Abbas Musavi issued a statement and expressed deep regret over the deaths of Ukrainian plane passengers flying from Tehran to Kyiv and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims. Under emphatic orders from the honorable President of the Islamic Republic of Iran and following the honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasis on immediate handling of the consular affairs relating to the victims, a special task force has been formed in the (Foreign) Ministrys Parliamentary and Iranians Affairs Department, tasked with dealing with requests from the families of victims and providing the necessary services, the spokesman said. Moreover, the necessary orders have been given to all political and consular missions of the Islamic Republic of Iran and to the domestic and airport offices to handle the requests relating to this matter extraordinarily, Mousavi noted. Jenny Edwards didnt want to go back home to Canberra, the Australian capital. She added seven days to a five-day family vacation specifically to stay out of the smoke. But it didnt matter. Within a day of returning, her eyes were irritated, her chest felt tight, her head hurt and a small but persistent cough couldnt clear a tickle in her throat. Three massive fires were still burning about 60 miles away, and even though the heaviest smoke had momentarily lifted, the misery of living in a brownish haze remained. Air quality in Canberra on New Years Day was among the worst of any major city in the world. Australias bush fires have blanketed parts of the continent with pollution, affecting hundreds of thousands of people who are not in immediate danger from the flames. Government agencies and medical officials say distress calls, ambulance runs and hospital emergency room visits have surged. Even some federal departments in the capital had to temporarily shutter offices and tell non-essential staff to stay away. Stores have seen an overwhelming demand for smoke filtration masks, and in recent days government officials have begun rationing them to particularly vulnerable people, including pregnant women, the elderly and those with chronic heart and lung conditions. On Facebook, residents have posted pictures of doors and windows sealed with thick tape in an effort to keep smoke out their houses. And 7News Sydney posted a Ciggie Index the equivalent number of cigarettes each resident consumes daily from inhaling smoke. In east Sydney, its 19. A key question lingers as the fires that began last year continue to burn, in some cases merging into megafires: What are the long-term health implications of so many people exposed to thick smoke for so long? Wildfire smoke that lingers for weeks doesnt just get into peoples eyes and the pores of their skin, researchers say. It enters their minds, settles in their thoughts and affects their mental health. That was a finding from studies following the deadly Black Saturday fires in Victoria in 2009, when both firefighters and residents suffered from post-traumatic stress. Im predicting that the effect is going to be far greater than before because the fires have been burning for such a long time, said Mirella Di Benedetto, a researcher and clinical psychologist at RMIT University in Melbourne. The 2009 fires were isolated to Victoria, but the current fires are burning nationwide, near Australias largest cities. Even where there are no fires, smoke is moving down to these areas, Di Benedetto said. The air quality is really bad in Sydney. I think the mental health and physical health impact will be huge in the months to come. Little research exists about the long-term consequences of exposure to wildfire smoke, but Kari Nadeau and Mary Prunicki, scientists at Stanford University, are working to change that. Theyre closely following hundreds of people affected by devastating wildfires in California, taking blood samples and asking them about everything from their use of air filters to their psychological responses to the experience. Earlier research has linked air pollution from wildfires to a range of acute conditions, including asthma, heart ailments and strokes, but Nadeau and Prunicki hope to solve a deeper mystery. Are there irreversible consequences over time? said Nadeau, director of Stanfords Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research. The work is urgent, Prunicki said, not only because existing research is limited, but also because the rapidly warming climate is likely to make the unprecedented fires in Australia only more common there and elsewhere around the globe. They are not going to go away, she said. In Australia, the smoke is affecting cities in unexpected ways. At one of Canberras public hospitals, workers kept the hospitals exterior doors shut to keep smoke from clouding the hallways and patient rooms, said David Caldicott, an emergency room physician. Some nurses wore breathing masks, and the smoke temporarily incapacitated some local MRI machines, he said. At his own house, the smoke detector kept blaring one day until Caldicott finally muffled it with a towel at 3 a.m. In an arid country where residents are accustomed to a wildfire season, he said, the past weeks have been unlike any he has experienced. Its sort of like medicine meets Mad Max, Caldicott said, referring to the vintage Australian action movie about a dystopian, postapocalyptic future. In the state of New South Wales, home to Sydney, health officials said emergency room visits for asthma and breathing problems increased more than 34 per cent in the period from Dec. 30 and Jan. 5 compared to a year earlier. Ambulance calls for respiratory issues were also higher, about 2,500 compared to the five-year average of about 1,900. Similarly, hospital admissions increased to more than 430, surpassing the five-year average of 361. Four of Australias five largest population centres are experiencing the effects of the fires. At least 25 people have died, nearly 2,000 homes have been destroyed and more than 14 million acres have burned. So much smoke has been produced, theres evidence that some is circumnavigating the planet and has reached South America, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Bush fires are a known trigger for asthma attacks, said Bruce Thompson, dean of the School of Health Sciences at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne. This is a very significant health concern. Here in Australia, were making sure people are moving themselves from the outdoors as best they can, Thompson said. Inside bushfire smoke, water vapour intermingles with tiny particles measured in micrometers. It also contains gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide. Wood dust from exploded trees and chemicals from melted tires and scorched steel also hitch a ride. Particles as large as 5 micrometers stick in your nose; you wake up with a runny nose and itchy eyes, Thompson said. Particles as small as 2.5 micrometers known by researchers as PM 2.5 are scarier, he said. They can get to the very edges of the lungs, Thompson said. We had a coal mine fire a few years ago and its been demonstrated that four years after, children close to the plume had worse lung function. So this is bad. Smaller particles in smoke can hinder cardiac function in adults. Thompson said the developing lungs of children can be permanently damaged in varying degrees. The lung becomes inflamed, and you cough as the lung tries to adjust, Thompson said. The lung is bad at repairing itself. It tries to get rid of particles by making you cough, but it produces scar tissue, and you dont want that in the lung because it changes the efficiency of the lung. Fay Johnston, an environmental health professor at the University of Tasmanias Menzies Institute for Medical Research, said most people exposed to the smoke wont be harmed as long as the fires end soon. If the smoke goes away, a healthy person can withstand it, said Johnston, who specializes in the health effects of bushfire smoke. Healthy people will come through it without any long-term harm. But relief from the yearly rainy season isnt expected until February. Like other researchers, Johnston worries about what will happen if the fires continue, particularly for old and young asthma sufferers. Whats the long-term legacy of it? she said. We really dont know. Few studies have delved into the consequences of long-term exposure to bush fires. Johnston and other researchers conducted the study Thompson referenced, on health impacts on children and mothers in the wake of a 2014 fire at a Victoria coal mine that burned for more than a month, blanketing the nearby town of Morwell with smoke. Young children exposed to the smoke were more likely to get an antibiotic prescription in the year after the fire, and pregnant women were more likely to develop gestational diabetes, Johnston said. Bin Jalaludin, a professor at the University of New South Wales and chief investigator at the Centre for Air Pollution, Energy and Health Research, said government officials and academics in Australia already have been brainstorming ways to study the long-term health implications of the truly unprecedented fires. What we want to look at is things like ER visits, deaths, hospitalizations, ambulance call-outs for respiratory problems, birth outcomes do women who are pregnant and exposed to high levels of smoke, does it have an impact on the newborn? he said. It will take time, although we are trying to expedite it and get some of this work done quickly. Meanwhile, south of Sydney in Bowral, Peggy Stone said shes fighting off feelings of depression. We havent seen the sun for weeks, she said. The sky is sometimes fiery orange, sometimes smoky grey. The day she spoke, she said, The sun is trying to penetrate the smoke. Occasionally it might try to get through and we get a little ray. Farther south in Canberra, Jenny Edwards, who has asthma, made an appointment to see a doctor. Im quite worried about the next couple of months, Edwards said. Air quality is so hard to predict with so many large fires in our region and the possibility of new ones starting. Shes thinking of leaving Canberra again. But she knows that option is also risky because its hard to escape the reach of the fires. I am considering returning to stay with my mother-in-law near Lake Macquarie, she said. Mind you, there are big fires inland from there, and while staying there last week we had three small fires break out within 10 kilometres of us. Read more about: Country's Mounted Police told there must be no 'blank cheque' on costs Canadian taxpayers could be forced to pay for Harry and Meghan's security Harry and Meghan to hold crisis summit with family over move to Canada The Duke and Duchess of Sussex could face a huge backlash from Canadian taxpayers if they are forced to pay for the couple's security if they decide to move there, even part time. Campaigners say the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), who are charged with protecting senior officials including the Governor General, must not write a 'blank cheque' on potentially millions of pounds worth of protection, while others suggest Harry and Meghan foot the bill themselves. Crisis talks are expected to be taking place in the royal family on how to proceed following the couple's shock decision to step back from being 'senior members' and start a home in Canada. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex could face a huge backlash from Canadian taxpayers if they are forced to pay for the couple's security if they decide to move there (Harry and Meghan are saluted by two officers of the Canadian Royal Mounted Police in London, March 2019) Crisis talks are expected to be taking place in the royal family on how to proceed following the couple's shock decision to step back from being 'senior members' and start a home in Canada 'I thought it was very interesting when they used the term "financial independence",' Aaron Wudrick, the director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, told The Sunday Telegraph. 'The details remain to be seen. There's always going to be a cost [to the taxpayer] and the public deserves some prudence. 'I don't think it's reasonable to expect us to pay for everything the way we do for a royal visit. If they're going to make Canada a second home, a good step in the right direction would be to pay for at least part of it, and not rely on taxpayers to fund their entire lifestyle.' 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) However, experts say that Mounties would be obliged to do give protection for Harry, Meghan and their eight-month-old son Archie, even if the couple still had British royal protection officers. '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 U.S. 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,' said Mr Zimet. 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 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,' Mr Balz said. In a post on their website, the Sussexes announced they would be transitioning to 'financial independence' after ending funding from the Sovereign Grant, but did not go into specifics as to whether this extends to the cost of their security which is paid for by the State. However, a recent poll conducted two days before the couple's shock announcement found that more than 60 per cent of Canadians would support the appointment of the Duke of Sussex as the Governor General of Canada. The mostly ceremonial role, which is to act as the Queens representative in Canada, provides both a residence - Government House in Ottowa - and a security detail. Sixty-one percent of the Canadians polled said they would support having Harry replace current governor general Julie Payette when her term expires in two years. The favorable poll came despite Harry never having expressed any interest in the post, which has been held by Canadians since the 1950s but was previously held by Britons. The National Post poll of 1,515 Canadians was conducted on Monday by Dart and Maru/Blue Voice Canada and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points. Rajshahi, Khulna eyeing BBPL final in first attempt Both Rajshahi Royals and Khulna Tigers is looking for a victory in the first Qualifier game of the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BBPL) in a bid to confirm the final at first attempt. The first Qualifier game between the two teams will be held today (Monday) under lights at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. They occupied the top two slots with 16 points after group phase with Khulna edging them by net-run-rate for becoming the table topper. A defeat would not ruin anyone's chance but they would have to play the second Qualifier in which they will take on the winner of the Eliminator game, to make them available for the final. Considering a defeat could loss the winning momentum, Rajshahi and Khulna however wouldn't want to jinx their chance by taking the game lightly. "From my first-hand experience, I know it's better to seal the final at first attempt," Rajshahi all-rounder Alok Kapali, who won the BPL trophy with Cumilla Victorians earlier in 2017, said here on Sunday. "Because the momentum will be with you if you win the game. Yes there will be another chance but still considering all factor, it is better to win at first attempt." Kapali, the former national player, basically emphasized on the momentum, which he thought is crucial in this sort of tournament. "Team spirit is crucial but from what we have seen, the momentum is very important in BPL. If you think about Sylhet, you will see that they won just one game and later couldn't win any game. Because they lost the momentum," he added. "At the halfway through the tournament we lost two matches in a row which made an adverse impact on our team. We discussed about it seriously and came back to regain the momentum and that's why we could finish at top two positions." Kapali reckoned Khulna Tigers' top order as dangerous and having said that he revealed they have some special plan for them. In their last group match, Khulna gunned down Dhaka Platoon's 205-4 to achieve an effortless eight-wicket victory and in doing so, they successfully chased the highest total of BPL history. Their middle order looked pretty strong with the likes of Mushfiqur Rahim, Rilee Rossoue who both were in top form. Mehidy Hasan Miraz also thrived as opener while to their delight Nazmul Hossain Shanto got back to his groove with a stunning 57 ball-115 not out against Dhaka Platoon. "Shanto couldn't score that much in the whole tournament but he hit a century in the last match. They have a good player in Mushfiqur Rahim. It's actually good that our local players this year scored runs consistently to occupy top slots in batting chart," Kapali remarked. "And yes we have a plan for them as to how we should stop them. In T20 cricket, there is nothing like big team or small team. On you given day, you can beat any team in T20 cricket." According to Kapali, Rajshahi Royals also has the firepower in batting which would make the battle against Khulna an intriguing one. "I think the top order would make the ultimate difference. They have a good top order and we also have. Just what we need to do is to execute our plan well on the ground," Kapali concluded. Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal Casandra Fresquez says shes ready to go back to work. Until Feb. 15, 2019, Fresquez worked as both city clerk and the human resources director within Las Vegas, New Mexico, city government. But in a move that is still playing out in court, Tonita Gurule-Giron then the mayor, but who resigned from that position last week placed Fresquez on paid leave. Fresquez says she was never given a reason for her suspension. In any case, she has been receiving her salary which comes to $71,000 a year for 11 months now. That means her paid leave imposed by Gurule-Giron has cost taxpayers about $65,000. Its ridiculous, is what it is, said Las Vegas City Councilor Barbara Perea-Casey, who with fellow councilor David Romero, filed suit over Fresquezs being placed on leave. The City Council voted against firing Fresquez last year, but Gurule-Giron kept her on suspension. The suit maintains Gurule-Giron has violated the city charter. Now, with Gurule-Giron no longer in office, Perea-Casey said Romero is trying to put the issue of having Fresquez resume doing her various jobs in front of the City Council next week. Ive just been sitting and waiting, Fresquez said on Thursday. Im ready and willing and able to go back to work, she said. Im just waiting for them to let me know. Fresquezs long suspension with pay is a subchapter in long-running turmoil in Las Vegas surrounding Gurule-Giron. In a criminal case brought by the New Mexico Attorney Generals office after at least a year of investigation, she was indicted in December on charges alleging bribery and kickbacks. GuruleaGiron is accused of pressuring city employees to give contracts to her boyfriends construction company. She has pleaded not guilty to her criminal charges. After three of the four city councilors scheduled a special council meeting last week to vote to remove Gurule-Giron from office, which would have referred the matter to a state district judge, GuruleaGiron resigned. Those who know me personally know that I am a fighter, she said in her resignation letter. However, I believe the citizens of Las Vegas deserve to have city government operate without the distractions that undoubtedly will ensue if I remain in office for the last two months of my term. City Clerk Fresquezs stay-at-home situation is related tangentially to the investigation that led to Gurule-Girons indictments. The lawsuit filed by councilors Perea-Casey and Romero challenging the indefinite suspension of the city clerk says that the mayor inexplicably placed Fresquez on paid leave on Feb. 15. Four days later, a special meeting of the City Council was called by Gurule-Giron for the purpose of terminating Fesquezs employment. Instead, the council voted 3-1 against firing Fresquez. Perea-Casey and Romero, in their suit, argue that council approval was required to fire or suspend Fresquez, who had been city clerk for about 11 years. But when Fresquez wrote a letter to City Manager Ann Marie Gallegos requesting permission to come back to work after the council vote, Gurule-Giron said Fresquez would remain on paid administratively leave indefinitely, according to the lawsuit. Perea-Casey maintains that Gurule-Giron started to criticize Fresquez over work-related issues only after the city clerk was interviewed by investigators from the state Attorney Generals Office, the agency that recently obtained the indictments against Gurule-Giron. The then-mayor wanted to know what they (the investigators) wanted, said Perea-Casey. Fresquez said last week she didnt know if talking to investigators led Gurule-Giron to suspend her with pay, but that she knew of no other reason for the action. At the meeting where the City Council voted against her firing, she said, We each stand for something, and I choose to stand for the truth, and always doing the right thing, no matter the cost and in this case it is the question of my removal as city clerk, according to minutes of the meeting. Gurule-Giron has denied any fraud or wrongdoing on her part. Councilor Romero has also requested that Gurule-Giron and others be investigated over handling of absentee ballots during the 2018 city election. Gurule-Giron said last year that, to her knowledge, the city attorney had put those allegations to bed through conversations with the AGs Office. A judge recently denied a motion to dismiss the councilors lawsuit over Fresquezs suspension, and the case remains pending. Gurule-Giron, as expected, is not among the group of candidates who have filed to run for mayor in the Las Vegas March 3 municipal election. The candidates include Perea-Casey and five others. Two City Council seats are also on the ballot. Im hoping Ill be back, said Fresquez, who as city clerk would oversee the voting. I have an election to administer. WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump and Speaker Nancy Pelosi squared off Sunday ahead of his impeachment trial, as she said senators will pay a price for blocking new witnesses and he quickly retorted that she and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff should both testify. The House plans to vote this week to transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate for the historic trial on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress over Trumps actions toward Ukraine. It will be only the third presidential impeachment trial in American history and could start this week. Trump and Pelosi, the two most powerful party leaders in the nation, communicated as often happens in this presidency with the president responding on Twitter to a television interview. Its about a fair trial, Pelosi told ABCs This Week. Weve done our job. We have defended the Constitution of the United States. We would hope the Senate would do that as well. She warned, Now the ball is in their court to either do that or pay a price. Trump tweeted right before and after Pelosis appearance, in both instances using derisive nicknames. He said both she and Schiff should appear in the Senate for testimony. He must be a Witness, and so should she! Trump tweeted. Yet hours later Trump suggested almost the opposite, saying senators should do away with a trial completely. Trump said many believe by holding a Senate trial it gives the partisan Democrat Witch Hunt credibility that it otherwise does not have. I agree! The president rebutted Pelosis suggestion that no matter what the Senate does, he will always be impeached. Pelosi said the House vote last month means Trump will be impeached forever and for life. Why should I have the stigma of Impeachment attached to my name when I did NOTHING wrong? Trump tweeted, calling the House action a totally partisan Hoax. Voters are divided over impeachment much the way they are split along partisan lines and as the Senate prepares for the landmark trial both parties are trying to set the terms of the debate over high crimes and misdemeanours. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is seeking a speedy trial to acquit the president and is reluctant to seek more witnesses. The GOP leader has proposed a process similar to the last presidential impeachment trial of Bill Clinton in 1999 that would start the proceedings and then vote later on hearing new testimony. One leading Republican, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, has already predicted that the trial would end in a matter of days. In a Fox News Channel interview Saturday, Graham dismissed Pelosis tactics, saying the delay would have no effect on calling new witnesses or the expected outcome acquittal by the GOP-controlled Senate. The Senate should not reward this behaviour by the House, said Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Senate should end this trial as quickly as possible. Thats what I intend to do. He will be acquitted. I hope and pray every Republican will reject what Nancy Pelosi did, and well pick up a few Democrats. Trump was charged with abuse of power for pressuring the president of Ukraine to investigate Democrats, specifically Trump political rival Joe Biden. Trump was also charged with obstruction of Congress for trying to block the House investigation. Trump was delaying nearly $400 million in aide as Ukraine battles Russia on its border while he pushed the countrys new president to investigate. Trump follows a conspiracy theory pushed by his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani about Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, who served on the board of a gas company there while his father was vice-president. Neither is accused formally of any wrongdoing. Some Republicans want to turn the impeachment trial away from the Democrats case against Trump and toward Giulianis theory about Biden. GOP Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said Sunday he wants to hear from the Bidens and find out get to the bottom of that. McConnell is reluctant to pursue any more witnesses at all, wary of dragging out the Senate trial. He and joined some Republicans in backing a proposal for votes to dismiss the charges against Trump. But at least one Republican up for reelection, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, said last week she was in talks with GOP colleagues on a process that would allow them to hear more testimony as Democrats want. The Democratic-run House is set to vote this week to send over the articles of impeachment after Pelosi ended a more than three-week delay. Once the Republican-led Senate receives the charges, the trial is expected to begin swiftly. The date is not yet certain and Pelosi will meet behind closed doors with House Democrats to decide next steps on Tuesday morning ahead of the partys presidential primary debate that evening, the last before the Iowa caucus Feb. 3. While some Democrats have grumbled about the delay, Pelosi and other party leaders defended the strategy, saying it produced new potential evidence and turned public attention on the upcoming trial. One of the things that holding on to the articles has succeeded doing is fleshing out McConnell and the presidents desire to make this a cover up, Schiff said on CBS Face the Nation. If McConnell succeeds in making this trial a trial without witnesses.... Thats not a fair trial. Thats a sham, he said. Pelosi said senators need to consider new witnesses, including former national security adviser John Bolton, who has said he would be willing to testify if he receives a subpoena. Trump is blocking White House officials from appearing and reiterated last week he does not want his former top security adviser to testify before the Senate. Bolton is a brash figure and his outspoken comments could cut different ways in testimony. House Democrats, who did not issue a subpoena for Bolton last year, did not rule out doing so now. Its certainly something that we are considering, Schiff said. Pelosi also left open the door to filing more articles of impeachment against Trump. Its Sunday morning lets be optimistic about the future... a future that will not have Donald Trump in the White House, one way or another, 10 months from now we will have an election, if we dont have him removed sooner, she said. Right before Pelosi was set to appear for the Sunday interview, Trump tweeted against Pelosi, calling her a derisive nickname, Crazy Nancy. Asked about Trumps tweet, Pelosi said, Every knock from him is a boost. You are here: China The Nanchang, China's first Type 055 guided missile destroyer, was commissioned in the People's Liberation Army Navy on Sunday morning in the port city of Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province. The 10,000 tonne-class destroyer officially debuted at the multinational naval parade in celebration of the Chinese navy's 70th founding anniversary on April 23, 2019. Launched on June 28, 2017, the destroyer was equipped with new air defense, anti-missile, anti-ship and anti-submarine weapons, said a statement from the Navy. The commission of Nanchang marks the Navy's leap from the third generation to the fourth generation of destroyers, according to the statement. The argument against a wealth tax rests upon a little-known constitutional requirement that a direct tax be apportioned among the states by population. This requirement was part of the infamous constitutional compromise that counted enslaved persons as three-fifths of a person for purposes of legislative representation and direct taxes. As the Supreme Court has often noted, no clear understanding existed at that very different time about what taxes might be affected. James Madisons notes from the Constitutional Convention report: Mr. King asked what was the precise meaning of direct taxation? No one answered. This ambiguity served the goal of compromise in the face of North-South disputes that threatened to defeat the new Constitution. Harry and Meghan may settle in the US eventually but not while President Donald Trump is in charge. Friends have told the Daily Mail that while the couple plan to live in Canada at first although probably not on Vancouver Island their ultimate aim is to have a home and business in Los Angeles. Harry and Meghan have a 'long-term plan' to end up in the US with a second home in Canada, close friends of the Sussexes have revealed. The royal couple will not settle in the US while President Donald Trump, who Meghan described as divisive in 2016, is in charge Meghan grew up in the city and her mother, Doria Ragland, still lives there. Miss Ragland, 63, was seen walking her two dogs near her home last week after the royal couples bombshell news. However, staunch Democrat Meghan, who has openly been critical of Mr Trump and missed the Presidents state visit to the UK last year, has said that she will not move to the US while he is in charge. The Duchess of Sussex described Trump (pictured on January 9) as 'misogynistic' during his presidential campaign and pledged to vote for his rival Hilary Clinton. She told Trump that she would be moving to Canada if he won, to which he recently responded by saying: 'I didnt know that she was nasty' Its by no means an immediate thing but there is a long-term plan to end up back in the US with a second home in Canada, where they will also spent a great deal of time, the source said. The couple used the words North America in their statement about where they planned to live deliberately. It doesnt pin them down to any one place. 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 An aide stressed that negotiations over the couples future were only taking place with the UK and Canadian governments but said nothing could be ruled out. In 2016, before she met Harry, Meghan called Mr Trump divisive and misogynistic. She pledged to vote for his presidential rival Hillary Clinton and threatened to move to Canada if he won. Analysis banner Business Insider strait of hormuz jan 2020 MarineTraffic.com Recent tensions between Iran and the US are threatening the safety of the world's ships and movement oil in the Strait of Hormuz. The narrow strait is the most important chokepoint for the world's oil supply. Some 21 million barrels or $1.2 billion worth of oil pass through the strait every day. One way Iran could exact its revenge on the US and its allies is by shutting or harassing tankers in the strait, which would disrupt oil supply and send prices shooting up. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Tensions between the West and Iran bubbled to a historic height in recent days after the assassination of top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani and Tehran bombed two Iraqi bases that housed US troops. They have sparked fears of wider US-Iran attacks in the greater region, which could take place in and around the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow body of water linking the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, which feeds into Arabian Sea and the rest of the world. strait of hormuz map Google Maps/Business Insider While Iran's leaders claim to have "concluded" their revenge for Soleimani's death and President Donald Trump appears to believe them many regional experts and diplomatic sources say Iran could unleash other modes of attack, which include unleashing allied militias to disrupt the Middle East. One strategy could include Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz, which would stop oil tanker traffic, disrupt global oil supply, and send prices shooting up. Here's what you need to know about this valuable strait. Why is the Strait of Hormuz important? Though the strait is tiny at its narrowest point it is just 33 km (21 miles) across it's a geopolitically and financially crucial chokepoint. It's the world's busiest shipping lane, chiefly because there are limited alternatives to bypass the strait. Most of the oil that passes through the strait come from Saudi Arabia, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported. Story continues Some 21 million barrels of crude and refined oil pass through the strait every day, the EIA said, citing 2018 statistics. That's about one-third of the world's sea-traded oil, or $1.2 billion worth of oil a day, at current oil prices. strait of hormuz oil tanker.JPG Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters How important is the strait to the US and its allies? The US and many of its allies have billion-dollar reasons to protect the Strait of Hormuz. The majority of Saudi Arabia's crude exports pass through the Strait of Hormuz, meaning much of the oil-dependent economy's wealth is situated there. Saudi state-backed oil tanker Bahri temporarily suspended its shipments through the strait after Iran's missile strikes in Iran, the Financial Times reported. The UK Royal Navy has also sent vessels to escort British ships to protect them from potential attacks amid the heightened tensions, the Press Association reported. It has good reason to worry: last July, Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized two British oil tankers sailing in the strait's international waters and, according to the UK, attempted to harass another British tanker. trump rouhani iran 2x1 Michael Gruber/Getty Images; Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images; Samantha Lee/Business Insider Last June Iran shot down a US drone flying near the strait, and a month later a US warship USS Boxer also shot down an Iranian drone in the same area. Shortly after Iran's drone attack, President Donald Trump questioned the US' presence in the region, and called on China, Japan, and other countries to protect their own ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump noted that much of China and Japan's oil flow through the strait, and added: "So why are we protecting the shipping lanes for other countries (many years) for zero compensation." While a large proportion 76% of oil flowing through the chokepoint does end up in Asian countries, the US still imports more than 30 million barrels of oil a month from countries in the Middle East, Business Insider has reported, citing the EIA. That's about $1.7 billion worth of oil, and 10% of the US's total oil imports per month. soleimani funeral mourners Ebrahim Noroozi/AP How do US-Iran tensions affect it? Oil prices swung wildly as news broke of Iran's missile strikes on US targets and the subsequent relief that neither lives nor energy infrastructure were harmed. Iranian leaders, who have also vowed retaliation for the death of Soleimani, have threatened to close down the strait multiple times in the past. If Iran followed through with these threats, it would likely cause huge disruption to the global oil trade. As the strait is so narrow, any sort of interference in tanker traffic could decrease the world's oil supply, and send prices shooting up. Global oil prices have proven vulnerable to tensions between Iran and the West before. After the Trump administration said in April 2019 it would stop providing sanctions waivers to countries who purchase Iranian oil, prices rose to their highest level since November the year before, Axios reported. And because the US would be affected by global oil prices, regardless of the origin of the oil, Washington would still have an interest in protecting the Strait of Hormuz. Kenneth Vincent, an economist at the Department of Energy, told a 2017 conference, cited by The Atlantic: "The origin of whatever molecules are consumed in the United States does not matter." "What matters is that if there's a shooting war somewhere in the Middle East, those molecules will cost more and that will harm the American economy," he said. oil tanker gulf of iran fire AP Photo/ISNA How likely is Iran to shut down the strait? Iran is more likely to disrupt traffic in the Strait of Hormuz than to engage in an all-out conventional war with the US, which is much stronger militarily. But doing so comes with high costs to Iran. To close down the entire strait, Iran would have to place at least 1,000 mines with submarines and surface craft along the chokepoint, security researcher Caitlin Talmadge posited in a 2009 MIT study. Such an effort could take weeks, the study added. Disrupting oil traffic on the strait would also result in oil importers around the world looking beyond the Middle East for their sources, and further reduce reliance on the region. Iran's oil industry is already suffering after the US imposed sanctions designed to stop countries from importing Iranian oil earlier this year. As Michael Knights, a Middle East expert at the Washington Institute think tank, told The Atlantic last May: "They'd be cutting their own throat if they close the strait." Read the original article on Business Insider Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to release a coffee-table book, which chronicles the "largest political leadership training programme undertaken anywhere in the world", and the BJP believes that the pictorial tome with a snapshot of its ideology, programmes and history will help familiarise the outside world with the saffron party. Though cadre-training has been a regular exercise in the BJP, the party scaled it up like never before after its president Amit Shah took the helm in 2014 and launched a nation-wide training programme on the birth centenary of its ideologue Deendayal Upadhyaya in 2015. According to the 208-page book put together by the party'straining cell and titled 'Training for a new India'- it captures a variety of programmes organised from mandal to district, state and national level by the BJP to train and reorient party workers on its ideology from 2015 onwards. More than 12.90 lakh party workers have been trained since then, the book says. "This programme is also the largest political leadership training programme undertaken anywhere in the world," it says. BJP general secretary P Muralidhar Rao, who is in charge of the training programme, writes in the book that Shah had suggested its publication in 2018 so as to document the massive work that had taken place. BJP functionary R Balashankar, who edited the book with his colleague Hemant Goswami, said the book will help the party to familiarise the outside world, from scholars and academicians to foreign delegates, with its ideology and history. Modi is likely to release the book soon, party leaders said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tsai and DPP must curb radical tendency Global Times Source:Global Times Published: 2020/1/11 21:36:31 Taiwan's regional leadership and legislative elections were held on Saturday. Situation showed the current leader Tsai Ing-wen realized the reelection after winning more than half of the votes. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is also set to win more than half of the legislative seats. Kuomintang chairman Wu Den-yih has announced his resignation. The DPP had suffered a major setback in Taiwan's nine-in-one local elections in November 2018 following which Tsai was fiercely attacked by members of DPP. At one point, it seemed like she was almost abandoned by DPP. But Tsai not only stabilized her position in the party but also realized reelection by rebounding in less than one and a half years. Obviously, this is not something common to Western-style elections and struggles among parties. Over the past months, Tsai and DPP exploited administrative resources and crushed their opponents through approaches devoid of a bottom line. The most typical example was the passing of the anti-infiltration law at the end of 2019, through which they wantonly hyped up the so-called threat from the Chinese mainland while slandering Han Kuo-yu's mainland connections. Every time Taiwan goes to polls, the most convenient tactic of the DPP is orchestrating tensions across the straits and mongering fear among the Taiwan people toward the mainland. The cross-Straits ties have to a large extent been poisoned by troubles stirred up by the DPP for winning the elections. This time, the election took place against the backdrop of the US adjusting its China policy and defining China as the "strategic competitor." This has made it easier for Tsai to play her tricks. After the outbreak of radical protests in Hong Kong, which was triggered by an extradition amendment bill, the DPP authorities also linked Hong Kong's affairs with Taiwan, further inciting various misreading of the mainland. The level of pro-secession camp's demonization of the mainland has reached a peak in recent years. Their description of the Chinese mainland and its Taiwan policy cannot be more absurd. Unfortunately, new political infightings have taken place within the KMT too and the support for Han was further disrupted. Han lost the election, but the forces supporting him is on a rise. The Taiwan public's demand for economic development, improvements in people's living standards, and opposition against fierce confrontation across the straits are real. The Chinese mainland's increasing influence cannot be overlooked. Tsai's authorities are able to maintain their rule by playing tricks to woo voters, but they are unable to tie the Taiwan society to the chariot of Taiwan secession. In fact, the Taiwan society has formed a collective consciousness to oppose Taiwan secession among Taiwan people. Even the US has refrained from publicly promoting Taiwan secession, which will lead to a showdown with Chinese mainland. China has enough international support to safeguard its one-China principle. The reelection of Tsai will increase the uncertainty across the Taiwan Straits. It may encourage Tsai and the DPP to take the extreme path. Yet no matter how much uncertainty there is across the straits, the fact that the Chinese mainland is getting increasingly stronger and the Taiwan island is getting weaker is an inevitable reality. In the long run, the role the US can play across the straits will be gradually weakened. Recognizing and complying with the reality is the only feasible option for Taiwan's peaceful development. If Tsai and the DPP authorities are to lead the island toward the opposite direction, history will label them as a sinner of all Chinese people. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Tinas daughter Daisha, who had a close bond with Shaggy before he got loose, said she and her sister Toyri are super excited about his return. Now 24, Daisha was at work and didnt get to be there when the family picked up the dog. But she got to watch it on video. POLITICOJanuary 12, 2019David Gambacorta is a writer-at-large at the Philadelphia Inquirer. He has also written for Esquire, Longreads, The Ringer, The Baffler and The Marshall Project.The FBI and Secret Service agents made their way through the streets of San Franciscos foggy Richmond District neighborhood, about two miles from the Golden Gate Bridge, toward a narrow Victorian house that looked like it had tumbled out of the shadows of Alfred Hitchcocks imagination. The building rose two floors to a sharply pitched roof; nearly every inch of the exterior had been painted the color of midnight.The agencies had spent the better part of two weeks in October 1980 pursuing a case that had all the ingredients of a potential media firestorm, one that could stir up the countrys most traumatic political memories. Nowon Halloweentheir digging had led investigators here, to 6114 California Street.It was called the Black House, and stories about what went on behind its walls had been the subject of curiosity and speculation for more than a decade. The agents climbed a brick staircase, and knocked on the jet-black front door.They were soon met by a bald, middle-aged man with a goatee: Anton Szandor LaVey. No introductions were necessary. LaVey, the high priest of the Church of Satan, was once rumored to have played a mystical role in the death of a former Hollywood star. Hed been expecting these agents to pay him a visit.A day earlier, Senator Ted Kennedy had left San Francisco after campaigning for President Jimmy Carter, whose general election showdown with Ronald Reagan was inching closer. It had been a long, tumultuous year for Kennedy, who was then in his late 40s. Hed tried to wrest the Democratic presidential nomination from Carter; when that bid failed, Kennedy resorted to playing the role of a good party soldier, summoning the remnants of his familys old Camelot magic as he crisscrossed the country to win over voters for Carter.Running for president had also awakened a fear that Kennedy had tried to hide even from his closest confidants: that he would be assassinated, just like his brothers, President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. Anonymous tormentors had been sending Ted Kennedy handwritten threats since the late 1960s. Teddy has to die, promised a note that was once mailed to his father. The death threats only multiplied when Kennedy was on the campaign trail in 1980. He had to be conscious of it. There was always a danger, Bob Shrum, Kennedys former press secretary and speechwriter, remembers. There were always nuts out there, and thats just the way it was.What Kennedy, Shrum and a handful of other staffers didnt know was that one morning that October, teletype machines had clattered to life in FBI field offices across the country with a fresh transmission, seven pages worth of new intelligence information. The bottom of the first page contained a stark message: SENATOR EDWARD KENNEDY VICTIM, CONGRESSIONAL ASSASSINATION STATUTE.An informant had contacted the FBI office in downtown Chicago and explained that a plot to murder Kennedy was being set in motion. Its a story that has never been told until now, a bizarre piece of history that became public only when I discovered records of the investigation that the FBI quietly released in June in The Vault, the bureaus online FOIA library. The files outlined a scheme that supposedly involved money, drugs and the mob. And according to the informant, the ringleaderthe man who allegedly wanted Ted Kennedy deadwas none other than Anton LaVey.Fourteen years earlier, in the spring of 1966, the country was marked by unrest and experimentation. War was raging in Vietnam, flower power was blossoming at home, the Mamas and the Papas Southern California groove was all over the radio. It was an ideal environment for provocateurs, a fact that was not lost on LaVey, then a 36-year-old showman who claimed hed worked in the past as an occult investigator and a performer in a traveling circus.That April, he invented a new role for himself, shaving his head and forming the Church of Satan. LaVey organized his church around a philosophy of self-indulgence and excessaptly mirroring the timesbut still played around with devil worship motifs, vamping in a cape, and wearing a bulbous ring that he claimed could grant little children their wishes. His Jaguar even had a personalized license plate: SATAN9. People like to have a hell of a time, dont they? LaVey asked during an interview around that time with Joe Pyne, a syndicated talk show host.P.T. Barnum had a circus tent, and LaVey had the Black House, where he kept a pet lion and performed rituals. He would sometimes don a hood with two horns and surround himself with nude women in front of a fireplace that hed converted into an altar. LaVeys theatricality attracted the attention of some Hollywood players, like Sammy Davis Jr. and the actress Jayne Mansfield, who was rumored to have had an affair with LaVey. Black-and-white photos from that era show the two posing together campily. In one, Mansfield playfully clutches a skull while LaVey fans his cape out beside her, and in another, she prepares to drink from a chalice that he cradles in his hand.The decade that followed proved to be a period of transition for both LaVey and Kennedy. LaVey cut back on his public performances, and began writing books that cashed in on the pop culture fascination with films like Rosemarys Baby and The Exorcist. He had ended what he called the stuffed rat and tombstone news coverage which had primarily been published in mens magazines, explains Magus Peter Gilmore, the Church of Satans current high priest, in an email. He was now granting his time to more serious discussions of his philosophy, beyond the flamboyant and spooky trappings which initially brought him attention.Across the country, meanwhile, Kennedy was wrestling behind the scenes with questions about his political fate. Supporters had once expected him to pick up his slain brothers mantle and make a bid for the White House, yet the 1972 and 1976 presidential races found Kennedy on the sidelines, immobilized by the specter of his 1969 car crash in Chappaquiddick that resulted in the death of a passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, and led to him pleading guilty to leaving the scene of an accident.But Kennedys hesitancy faded by the end of the decade, and he was heartened by early polls that showed Democratic voters would favor him over Carter in a presidential primary battle. He was running for president because he really believed President Carter was not addressing issues that were important, says Stuart Shapiro, a former Kennedy senior staffer. Thats why, after much soul-searching, he decided to take on a sitting president.Running for the countrys highest office, though, increased the odds that Kennedy could become a target for some deranged would-be assassin who might lurk, anonymous and undetected, at a busy rally. It was no idle threat. In March 1980, a tipster in Charlotte, North Carolina, contacted the police after overhearing a group of men in a movie theater bragging that they planned to assassinate Kennedy in Pittsburgh, with some stolen M-16 rifles. A campaign volunteer in Trenton, New Jersey, received a phone call from a man who vowed to gun down the senator when he visited the city in May.Aside from blurting, Theyre going to shoot my ass off the way they shot Bobby, while on a congressional flight back from Alaska, Kennedy shied away from sharing his assassination fears with aides or family members. Instead, he tried to project an air of invincibility, or at least indifference. I remember being in Iowa, and when wed first go out there, the Secret Service would create this huge space between him and the crowd, Shrum tells me. And he hated it. So he started working the rope line again.Privately, Kennedy sought out his physician and political adviser, Larry Horowitz, and handed him something important. It was a letter my father had written to me at the start of his presidential campaign, in case he was assassinated, Patrick Kennedy, his youngest son, recalled in his 2015 book, A Common Struggle: A Personal Journey Through the Past and Future of Mental Illness and Addiction. In it, he talked about how much he loved me, and how I had given him so much love. He said he would never forget the times we went fishing and sailing. Kennedy took to calling Patrick from the road every nighthis way of letting his adolescent son know nothing bad had happened.The informant who contacted the FBI in 1980 said hed received a phone call, too, on October 20. The caller had identified himself as LaVey, the informant claimed, and disclosed that he wanted the mans help with a plan to murder Ted Kennedy.The FBI and the Secret Service knew two things for certain: LaVey still lived in San Francisco, and they needed to get a handle on the caseand quick.Investigators didnt have to contend with Twitter or Facebook, digital echo chambers that decades later would make political discourse more toxic and create ideal delivery systems for trolls to share threats. But they also had fewer tools at their disposal. We didnt have all of the modern vehicles of communication or detection that you have today, says William H. Webster, who was the director of the FBI from 1978 to 1987. Investigations involved a lot of interviews and personal contacts.The FBIs San Francisco office pulled records it had on LaVey dating back to the mid-70s, when a tipster told the bureau that LaVey had purchased handguns, a shotgun and a rifle. Other files showed that LaVey had once supposedly been interested in joining the National Socialist White Peoples Party, which had been known, in an earlier incarnation, as the American Nazi Party.LaVey had no arrest history, but hed been linked to a tragedy once before. His relationship with Mansfield had reportedly ended with LaVeys putting a curse on Sam Brody, the actress attorney and boyfriend, promising that hed die in a car crash. In 1967, not long after the hex was supposedly cast, Brody and Mansfield were killed in a wreck on a highway near New Orleans. The improbable implicationthat LaVey inadvertently caused Mansfields deathpersisted long enough to fuel a 2017 documentary, Mansfield 66/67. (In truth, LaVey did not have magical powers.)The Chicago informantwhose identity is still being kept secret by the FBItold agents that hed had dinner once before with LaVey, who explained to him the Church of Satans beliefs. When they supposedly reconnected by phone in 1980, LaVey told the man that he owed the high priest a favor. His alleged instructions were simple: In a week or so, the informant would receive a package, and he must ferry it to a mob boss on the South Side of Chicago; the mob would, in turn, take out Kennedy. After the phone call, the informant was visited by a member of the Church of Satan, whose purpose was specifically to discuss the satanic cult and the plot against Senator Kennedy, according to FBI records.There was more. The informant told the FBI that LaVey was going to fly to Chicago on October 27, carrying with him eight kilograms of hashish and an unknown amount of cash. Was this another piece of the puzzle to the assassination plot? Taking no chances, the FBI, Secret Service and DEA sent agents to OHare International Airport to intercept flights from San Francisco and apprehend LaVey, like something out of Steven Spielbergs Catch Me If You Can. But there was no sign of him at the airport. An attempt at monitoring a phone call to LaVey also failed.The Secret Service had polygraphed the informant prior to the fruitless airport search. Results were inconclusive, investigators noted, due to use of cocaine. They pressed on. They had to find LaVey. I was a young agent when President Kennedy was killed, and [investigated] some leads on the case, says Francis Mullen, who had risen to executive assistant director of the FBI by 1980. When Bobby was assassinated, I was in Los Angeles, coordinating some of the leads on that case. If a threat had come in on the third brother, wed have to take it seriously.Two days after the search at OHare came up empty, agents flew to San Francisco, and made their way to the Black House. A woman who answered LaVeys door told them that he was traveling, and wouldnt be back for several days. Another whiff. The investigators warned her they had information that suggested an attempt may be made on LaVeys life, according to the records. They encouraged the woman to get a hold of LaVey and urge him to make himself available for an interview.Kennedys Secret Service detail was kept in the loop about the potential threat, but its unclear whether the senator was aware of the investigation. I spent a lot of time with him privately, and I dont ever recall hearing about that one, Shapiro says. But I can tell you there were times when the Secret Service wanted him to wear a bulletproof vest. The informant, meanwhile, had been polygraphed again, and was facing increased scrutiny. The FBI began to notice inconsistencies in his account. Were the agencies being played?Investigators returned to the Black House a second time, on Halloween. And this time, when the door opened, they came face-to-face with LaVey. For years, he had enjoyed toying with peoples imaginations, blurring the lines between performance and something darker. But now he was faced with no-nonsense federal agents, and they werent in the mood to play around.For a man who referred to himself as the Black Pope, the notoriety of being linked to an FBI investigation might have been a welcome development when he was first seeking attention for his church. This older version of LaVey, though, decided to come right out with it: He had nothing to do with any assassination plot.LaVey advised that of any political official, he has the highest regard for Senator Kennedy and his family, according to the FBI records. And LaVey could sympathize with the threats that Kennedy often received; he told the agents that he had been the victim of physical and verbal attacks because of his position in the Church of Satan.LaVey checked his recent phone messages, and noticed that hed received calls from the Chicago area on October 23 and October 27. But he told the agents that he didnt know the identity of the caller and hadnt tried dialing the number that had been left for him.And then LaVey shared some surprising news with the agents: His role as the head of the church was all a charade. Most of the churchs followers, he said, were fanatics, cultists, and weirdos, the records show. [H]is interest in the Church of Satan is strictly from a monetary point of view, the agents noted, and spends most of his time furnishing interviews, writing material, and lately has become interested in photography.Satisfied that Kennedys life wasnt in danger, the FBI and Secret Service returned their attention to their informant. Though he was sternly admonished for misleading federal authorities, he was not charged with a crime. But he didnt get off entirely. The Secret Service told the man his activities would be monitored on a quarterly basis and whenever an official who was being protected by the agency had to visit Chicago. If he had an explanation for why he bothered to send the agencies on a while goose chase in the first place, no agent bothered jotting it down.This wasnt the last time that LaVey popped up on the FBIs radar, though. In the late 1980s, the bureau would investigate a spate of allegations about child sex abuse that was supposedly linked to satantic churches, including LaVeys, fueling a so-called Satanic Panic. The allegations were never substantiated. Our organization has always been above-ground about its law-abiding beliefs and practices, so wild stories are generally seen to be precisely thatnot having any basis in reality, Gilmore, the current high priest, tells me.LaVey died in 1997, and the Black House was later torn down, replaced by a fairly generic-looking condominium.For Kennedy, the LaVey casesuch as it waswas just another bizarre subplot in a life full of them, the cost of being a Kennedy and leading a public life. No threat ever proved worrisome enough to persuade him to give up his Senate seat, which he held until his death from glioblastoma in 2009. You either live your life or you dont, Shrum says. And he decided to live his life. Supporters celebrate the poll victory of Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen and chant slogans in support of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, outside the Democratic Progressive Party's headquarters as results came in for the general election in Taipei on Jan. 11, 2020. AFP Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen won a landslide victory on Saturday as voters delivered a stunning rebuke of Beijing's campaign to isolate the self-ruled island and handed its first female leader a second term. Tsai, 63, was greeted by thousands of jubilant flag-waving supporters outside her party headquarters, hailing a result which looks set to infuriate China. "Today we have defended our democracy and freedom, tomorrow let us stand united to overcome all challenges and difficulties," she told the cheering crowd. Official results showed Tsai secured 57 percent of the popular vote with a record-breaking 8.2 million ballots, 1.3 million more than her 2016 victory. Her main rival Han Kuo-yu, from the China-friendly Kuomintang, racked up 39 percent and conceded defeat. The result is a blow for Beijing, which views Taiwan as part of China and has made no secret of wanting to see Tsai turfed out. Over the last four years it ramped up economic, military and diplomatic pressure on the self-ruled island, hoping it would scare voters into supporting Tsai's opposition. But the strong arm tactics backfired and voters flocked to her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), fuelled in part by China's hardline response to months of huge and violent pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. In the United States, Taiwan's primary military ally, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saluted Tsai's "commitment to maintaining cross-Strait stability in the face of unrelenting pressure". - 'No threats' - Tsai pitched herself as a defender of liberal democratic values against the increasingly authoritarian shadow cast by China under President Xi Jinping. Beijing has vowed to one day retake the island, by force if necessary. It loathes Tsai because she refuses to acknowledge the idea that Taiwan is part of "one China". Her campaign frequently invoked Hong Kong's protests as a warning of what might lie ahead should China one day take control of Taiwan. During her victory speech Tsai said she was committed to dialogue with China's leaders and wanted peace. But she called on Beijing to halt its sabre- rattling towards Taiwan and respect the idea that only the island's 23 million inhabitants can decide its future. "Today I want to once again remind the Beijing authorities that peace, parity, democracy and dialogue are the keys to stability," Tsai said. Almost a fifth of the countrys network of regional roads is in need of major structural repair. A new report commissioned by the Department of Transport has highlighted how 19% of more than 13,000km of main non-national roads were classified as requiring structural rehabilitation while 0.5% need complete reconstruction. The Pavement Condition Study Report provides the results of a detailed review carried out during the second half of 2018 of the condition of the entire length of 686 regional roads extending to 13,150 kilometres. It established that 30% of all regional roads were in very good condition and only require routine maintenance. Another 28% were classified in good condition but with relatively poor skid resistance. The report revealed the proportion of regional roads requiring total reconstruction reached as high as 2.4% in Donegal and 1.8% in Mayo compared to the national average of 0.5%. It said such roads were recorded as having extremely poor ride quality, very significant structural weakness or extremely poor visual condition. Almost 30% of regional roads in Offaly and over a quarter in Donegal, Cork County and Mayo were classified as needing structural repair. At the other end of the scale, 56% of regional roads in Roscommon were categorised as only requiring routine maintenance. Other counties where over 40% of regional roads were effectively deemed in near-perfect condition were Leitrim, Galway City, Westmeath, Fingal. South Dublin, Louth Meath and Longford. In contrast, less than 11% of regional roads in Cork City were assessed as only needing routine maintenance. All regional roads were analysed on the basis of general condition, skid resistance, roughness, rut depth and surface texture with measurements taken for each 100 metres stretch of road. Regional roads, which are designated by an R prefix provide important links between national roads and motorways and include some former national roads that were reclassified following the development of the countrys motorway network. Under the control of local authorities, they account for about 15% of the entire non-national road network. Regional roads include the R113 (Belgard Road), R710 (Waterford Outer Ring Road) and R110 (Naas Road). On roughness regarded as a measurement of ride quality Donegal had the worst regional roads followed closely by Mayo, Cork County, Clare and Cork City. Westmeath, Roscommon, Louth and Kildare had the best surfaces for regional roads. In terms of structural condition, Mayo, Donegal, Tipperary and Cork County had the worst conditions with at least a quarter of all roads in these countries categorised as poor or very poor. The regional roads with the best structural condition were found in the cities of Dublin, Galway and Cork where only 1% were poor or very poor. On skidding resistance in wet driving conditions, the worst regional roads were found in Wexford, Galway City, Carlow, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown and Laois. More than half of all roads in Galway City were categorised as poor or very poor on skid resistance. In contrast, the roads with the best surface to resist skids were in Leitrim, Donegal, Sligo, Roscommon and Galway County. Comparing the latest results with a similar survey conducted in 2011, the report said there was a substantial improvement in ride quality over the seven year period. It showed 60% of the network was deemed very good or good in terms of the lack of vibration when driving on such roads with 25% categorised as poor or very poor. The findings showed former national roads that had been reclassified as regional roads had the best surfaces followed by regional roads in Dublin and other urban areas. Roads built on underlying peat, which account for a large proportion of the roads in counties like Donegal, Mayo and Galway, generally were in the worst condition. The Department of Transport said it had provided grant assistance of 416.8m in 2018 and 483.4m last year to local authorities for work on regional and local roads. It estimates that 630m is needed to be spent each year to keep the regional and local road network in a steady-state condition. As available grant funding is still significantly below steady state levels the main focus of grant allocation continues to be on road maintenance and renewal, the department said. It said expenditure was focused on specific policy objectives including work to protect road surfaces from water damage, road strengthening to lengthen the life of roads and winter maintenance. Some limited funding is available for road improvement schemes, it observed. The department pointed out that the National Development Plan provides for increases in capital funding for regional and local roads over the next few years, while current funding is reviewed annually as part of the Estimates process. NPS Photo January 2, 2020 Contact: Christie Anastasia, 207 288-8806 BAR HARBOR, MAINE The National Park Service (NPS) is recruiting six Acadia Teacher Fellows to spend the summer learning about Acadia National Parks diverse natural and cultural resources, and ways to protect them. Teachers will be selected to work on Mount Desert Island and at Schoodic Point. Acadia National Park invites full-time, K-12 public classroom school teachers to apply online by February 21. The Acadia Teacher Fellowship program strives to connect teachers and students to national parks. Priority is given to classroom teachers from public schools with students who are underrepresented, economically disadvantaged, or have limited access to parks. Priority is also given to teachers from Maine schools who do not require housing. Many classroom teachers dream about living in and learning about our national parks, said Superintendent Kevin Schneider. Acadia Teacher Fellowships are helping make those dreams come true. Acadia Teacher Fellows will receive weekly stipends, teaching materials from America's National Parks Store, the parks bookstore partner, and shared park housing as available. Additional benefits include a free class field trip to Acadia or a national park site near their school, plus assistance with designing an outdoor classroom at their home school. The Acadia Teacher Fellowship program at Acadia National Park is generously funded by Friends of Acadia. For more information on the Acadia Teacher Fellowship program please contact Kate Petrie, Supervisory Education Coordinator, Acadia National Park, 207-288-1312 or kate_petrie@nps.gov. New York (United Nations), January 12, 2020 (SPS) - Member of the National Secretariat, Representative of the Frente POLISARIO to the United Nations, Dr. Sidi Mohamed Omar, has met with Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo. During the meeting, the Sahrawi diplomat briefed the UN official on the position of the the Frente POLISARIO on a number of issues related to the United Nations peace process in Western Sahara in the light of the letter sent by President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Frente POLISARIO, Mr. Brahim Ghali, to Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Antonio Guterres, on 28 December 2019. The letter contained an account of the outcome of the 15th Congress of the Frente POLISARIO, held in the liberated town of Tafaritti, especially its resolutions on United Nations-led international efforts aimed at resolving the conflict in Western Sahara, in light of the strong support expressed by the Congress to the decision announced by the Frente POLISARIO, on 30 October 2019, regarding the review of its involvement in the United Nations peace process. In the letter, the President of the Republic and Secretary-General of the Frente POLISARIO drew the attention of the United Nations Secretary-General to the deep disappointment expressed by the Congress regarding the silence and inaction of the United Nations in the face of the illegal, provocative and destabilizing actions of the Moroccan occupation state, which resulted in losing the confidence of the Sahrawi people in the peace process sponsored by the United Nations and its mission in Western Sahara. The letter outlined practical actions that must be taken urgently by the United Nations Secretariat and the Security Council, within their respective responsibilities, in order to restore the lost confidence of the Sahrawi people in the United Nations peace process. In this context, the letter of the President of the Republic and Secretary-General of the Frente POLISARIO to the Secretary-General of the United Nations confirmed that, while the Frente POLISARIO renewed its continuing commitment to a peaceful solution to the conflict, it can never be a partner in any process that does not fully respect and guarantee the exercise by the people of Western Sahara of their inalienable right to self-determination and independence in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly and Security Council. (SPS) 062/SPS/T Gopalganj (Bihar) [India], Jan 12 (ANI): In an unusual incident, Gopalganj District Magistrate (DM) issued a 'heatwave' order by mistake instead of a 'coldwave' order to close all private and government schools from January 13 up to January 14. "Whereas, it has been made to appear to me that due to continuing heatwave weather in the district, health and life of children are at risk," the DM wrote in his order. "Therefore, I, Arsad Aziz, District Magistrate, Gopalganj under Section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, do hereby prohibit the academic activities of all Prive and Government Schools from January 13 up to January 14 in class I to VIII," he added. (ANI) US: Seoul Must Continue to Enforce Sanctions on Pyongyang By Christy Lee January 11, 2020 The U.S. has responded to a call by South Korean President Moon Jae-in for renewed inter-Korean cooperation by stressing that Seoul must continue to implement all sanctions on North Korea. "All U.N. Member States are required to implement U.N. Security Council sanctions resolutions, and we expect them all to continue doing so," a State Department spokesperson said in an email message sent to VOA's Korean Service Wednesday. "The United States and South Korea coordinate closely on our efforts related to the DPRK, and we mutually work to ensure that U.N. sanctions are fully implemented," the spokesperson continued. The DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the official English name of North Korea. New Year's speech In his New Year's speech delivered Tuesday, Moon urged his government to work toward resuming joint projects at the Kaesong Industrial Complex and Mount Kumgang resort, and reviving frayed inter-Korean ties. Moon also invited North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit Seoul. On Thursday, a South Korean Unification Ministry official addressed the possible resumption of Mount Kumgang tourism by saying, "We are still discussing the issue, but there has been no progress in the talks, with the two sides still remaining far apart," according to the Yonhap News Agency in Seoul. North Korea has berated South Korea for not resuming cooperation on the inter-Korean projects. But Seoul has been slow to restart the joint efforts, wary of violating the sanctions the U.N. placed on North Korea in 2016. The sanctions, which are aimed at curbing Pyongyang's nuclear weapons development program, ban setting up joint enterprises with North Korea. The closing of both projects deprived North Korea of a flow of much needed hard currency. On Wednesday, Seoul said it will push ahead to restart the joint projects with North Korea. "As the party directly involved in the Korean Peninsula issue, South Korea will expand room for maneuvers and move forward things that can be carried out independently as much as possible," Unification Ministry spokesperson Lee Sang-min said. Lee's remarks came after U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris said Tuesday during an interview with South Korean broadcaster KBS that inter-Korean relations should move in tandem with denuclearization efforts. Warming relations between Seoul and Pyongyang began to chill after President Donald Trump denied Kim's request for sanctions relief in exchange for partial denuclearization at the failed Hanoi Summit in February. Denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang have been deadlocked since their working-level talks in Stockholm broke down in October. Moon and Kim had agreed to reopen the shuttered factory complex in Kaesong and tours on Mount Kumgang when they met at their third summit held in Pyongyang in September 2018. At the time, the two leaders were hoping that thawing relations between Washington and Pyongyang would lead to a relaxation of U.S.-led sanctions placed on North Korea. The two projects were at the heart of Seoul's rapprochement with Pyongyang in the late 1990s. Tours of the scenic Mount Kumgang began in 1998, but were ended by Seoul after a North Korean soldier fatally shot a South Korean tourist in 2008. South Korea began its joint industrial project with Pyongyang at the factory park in Kaesong in 2004 but shut it after North Korea conducted a long-range missile test in early 2016. Last week Kim said his country will focus on economic self-sufficiency, adding the present situation with the U.S. requires North Korea "to live under the sanctions by the hostile forces." Christy Lee contributed to this story, which originated on VOA's Korean Service. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address By Trudy Rubin Ahomka Lindsay 12.01.2020 LISTEN On Monday, 6 January 2020, a popular Ghanaian residing in the United Kingdom, London to be precise, phoned me up asking why the Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Ahomka Lindsay (Hon), is girding up to contest the Kumawu constituency parliamentary seat on the ticket of NPP at election 2020? He told me Mr Ahomka Lindsay is from Cape Coast with both his parents being natives of Cape Coast. Therefore, he does not understand why he is desirously aspiring to become a Member of Parliament for Kumawu constituency but not Cape Coast. As he was the first person to break the news to me, I told him I was not aware of it but would investigate and get back to him. Hanging up the phone, I immediately contacted a very reliable person in Kumawu to verify whether or not Mr Ahomka Lindsay is gearing up to wrest the seat from the incumbent NPP Member of Parliament for the constituency come the NPP parliamentary primaries. My contact person told me as follows. "Mr Lindsay claims his father is from Kumawu-Ananangya. During former President Kufuor's time, Mr Ahomka Lindsay came to Kumawu-Bodomase and assured them that he would come and build a factory at Kumawu-Bodomase. Subsequently, the chief of Kumawu-Bodomase allotted to him a large piece of land intended for the factory. Years down the line, no factory came. However, he came back to construct his own residential building on the land. He does not even live in it". I got back to the gentleman in London with the above information. He said, there are some top NPP members allegedly including the Minister for Trade and Industry, Alan Kwadwo Kyeremateng (Hon) and one insatiably greedy octogenarian from Kumawu who are goading him to contest for the seat. "You people must be very careful because experience has taught the people of my own Kwabre district a bitter lesson. We once had a northerner who does not come from our district appointed as the District Chief Executive for the district. He diverted almost all the developments meant for our area to his hometown in the Northern region. Will Mr Lindsay, a foreigner to Kumawu constituency not do same by redirecting his efforts to channel developments that could come to Kumawu constituency to Cape Coast, the place of his birth", he said. Readers, let's take a short walk down the memory lane. In Dr Kwame Nkrumah's CPP government of the late 1950s and mid-1960s, Kumawu constituency was contested, won and represented by Krobo Edusei (Hon). Krobo was not from Kumawu but for the purpose of being able to stand for the parliamentary seat, he joined one of the Kumawu families. When he won the seat, he did a lot for Kumawu. He brought the Kumawu Tweneboa Kodua Secondary School. He brought electricity and potable pipe-borne water to Kumawu and its environs. Note, in those days, the parliamentarians were although corrupt, they were not as stinkingly corrupt as the modern day Ghana politicians. This is the fear many people have when a stranger is today coming to stand for Kumawu, otherwise, there is a precedent where a stranger stood for Kumawu seat. There is also a precedent where a stranger had diverted the developments for the district he represented to his hometown far away from the district. Where do we then draw the line on Ahomka Lindsay (Hon)? Could we say he is a liar come to dupe the people of Kumawu? A land was demarcated for him to build a factory but he has used it to build his own house, it is alleged. He has not paid for the land. The land was not meant for, or not meant only for, his personal residential house but a factory. By putting the land to a different use, has he not duped the people of Kumawuman if what my contact person in Kumawu told me is nothing but the absolute truth? The Ghana constitution permits anyone living in a place for two to five years, to be able to, and capable of, contesting for the parliamentary seat of the constituency where he/she lives, or, has his/her residential house, I should think. However, will Ahomka Lindsay (Hon) be a credible representative for Kumawu constituency concluding from his failure to build the promised factory, usage of the land earmarked for the purported factory and externally, his utter disrespect for Ghanaians in diaspora. If he could boldly shamelessly insult his once fellow Ghanaian "burgers" as whiners, what/where is the guarantee that he will respect the constituents of Kumawu constituency were he to be elected as a Member of Parliament for the constituency come 7 December 2020? Check the video below. Those eligible to elect the parliamentary candidate for Kumawu constituency at the NPP primaries scheduled for April 2020, must think twice before casting their vote for Mr Ahomka Lindsay. They should not be induced by any bribe which is but for a short enjoyment only to be quickly replaced by misery, to vote for stranger Ahomka. Some people may ask, but what have the MPs from Kumawu constituency ever done for us, especially the sitting one? What a good and credible question! On the current MP, he may not have done anything or much. However, if you help somebody to climb upwards, then remove the aid-stool from underneath them, how do you expect them to climb down or act? Again, there is an Akan adage that goes, "You have stuffed my mouth with stinky roasted salt fish, if I open my mouth, you accuse me of having a foul or noisome mouth" (Wa toto m3m3ne ahye ma num, me bie ma nnum a wo se ma nnum b3n". This is exactly the situation in which the current MP finds himself. Some of the very people from Kumawu who are supportive of Ahomka Lindsay are the very people that have vilifyingly been painting the current MP darker to His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo since year 2012 until now. This is a fact of which I personally bear witness. Their malicious actions are militating against any useful attempts by the MP to lobby for developments for Kumawu constituency, I should think. These same people turn around to inform the constituents that the MP is doing nothing for the constituency. These two-face people are not only dangerous but are greedy bastards who only always seek their self-serving interests. For the attention of Ahomka, you are one of those types of persons who after helping them to climb the ladder, on reaching the top, they turn around to look at those standing underneath the ladder with scorn. Those who helped him are now simply nobodies because they are far below him. If that was not the case, Ahomka who was once a Ghanaian burger in London, would never treat his fellow Ghanaian "burgers" (diasporans) with complete disrespect when he landed in government. If he were that intelligent, and knowing that time is always not on the side of the Ghanaian diasporans when they do come home on holiday, himself and his government would ensure that enforceable laws able to help the "burgers" achieve their genuine objectives, and are also punitive to those swindling them, are in place. Without that, how can the government get any positive response from them when they are invited to come home to invest their hard-earned foreign currency on intent of building the Ghana economy? I will personally never vote for such an arrogant, uncouth and politically-unwise person irrespective of his level of education and money. At general elections, the Ghanaian politician will come to you with a bowl in hand soliciting alms and begging for your vote. Once you help them financially and/or with your vote and they get elected, they then see you as a piece of paper not worthy of cleansing their arse with. Ahomka typifies this disgusting mentality of the Ghana politician. I rest my case but I will not hesitate to come back to hit him harder if he dares me! For how long will outsiders continue to undermine and underestimate the intelligence of Kumawuman citizens? For how long will Kumawuman citizens sit on the fence for their patience to be taxed by outsiders? Rockson Adofo Saturday, 11 January 20120 Irish households spend more of their incomes on dining out and takeaways than those of any other country in Europe. There is no perfect measure of comparative affluence, but how much you spend on having others prepare, deliver and serve the food you eat is a pretty good one. The recent figures from the EU statistics agency on dining out and food deliveries is but one measure to show that Ireland is now a very affluent country. Last Friday, Danny McCoy, the head of the business group Ibec, gave an untypical speech for someone in his position. Along with issues around affluence, he wondered if corporate Ireland had grown too quickly for the wider society in which it operates and suggested that it may be time to expand the role of the State further, given the scale of private sector growth. These are not things lobbyists for the corporate sector often say. They certainly raise eyebrows at a time when the taxman has his hand so deep in the pockets of the people on whose behalf McCoy works. His views that Ireland has a booming economy, and that the extent of the affluence it is generating is not be fully appreciated, might not go down well with an entirely different group in Irish society - those who insist on focusing exclusively on problems and failings. Many people in the angry brigade cannot get their heads around the fact that two things can be, and in Ireland's case are, simultaneously true. One of those truths is that Ireland has some serious problems and that some people suffer a great deal. Another truth is that the Irish economy is booming and that most people are benefiting from that boom in one way or another. Few need convincing on the second truth - simply turn on your radio and listen to any news show or scan social media for 60 seconds. The second truth gets less attention, but it is equally true. That employment is growing rapidly means anyone who wants to work can find a job. A tight labour market is causing pay rates to increase at a high and accelerating rate. In 2018 Irish residents took more than seven million foreign trips - for holidays and to see loved ones. That was one million more than in 2015. Anyone who passes through the country's airports can see these statistics in the flesh, just as anyone can see the numbers of food delivery cyclists on the country's streets to support this column's opening statistic. Despite the massive amount of job creation over the past half decade and more, there has been little change in the share of the adult population in the labour force. One reason for this is how attractive Ireland is as a place to work. McCoy wondered last Friday if Ireland - and Dublin in particular - was coming to resemble Dubai, with lots of foreign workers arriving at both the high skill and low skills ends of the spectrum. He also suggested that at least part of the reason for more adults not taking up paid employment was because there is a significant group which is sufficiently affluent not to have to work. There is undoubtedly much to this. A central point of McCoy's talk last Friday was the scale of business investment in Ireland, the durability of that investment, and what the State should do in response. On these topics, there may be more to quibble with. Let's go back a few years. In recent times there has been international recognition that as companies become more globalised, the rules governing them need to follow suite. One reason for this is the capacity of clever accountants and lawyers to shift money between a multinationals' subsidiaries in different countries in order to lower their overall global tax bills. The first international "Base-erosion and profit-shifting" (BEPS) agreement was meant to cut down on companies using tax havens to avoid tax. There were some concerns in Ireland that this could have a negative effect on the huge multinational sector here. In fact, the opposite happened. In Ireland in 2015 the world's most commonly used measure of economic growth - gross domestic product - surged by 25pc. These days, a developed economy that grows by a tenth of that rate is considered to be doing very well. The figure made headlines globally, prompting American celebrity economist Paul Krugman to derisorily describe it as 'Leprechaun economics', on the basis that it had more to do with multinationals' accounting practices than real business activity. Most people in the economics business would tend to agree with the thrust of Krugman's argument. McCoy challenged the conventional view last Friday (and of relevance is that, unusually for a lobbyist, he is an economist by profession, so his views cannot be dismissed as merely 'businessman's economics'). He argues that the world's biggest companies as recently as a decade ago had most of their money tied up in tangible, physical assets such as factories and oil rigs. Today, the technology companies have overtaken the manufacturing and energy giants in size. Their assets are mostly their patented ideas. The main cause of the huge increase in Irish GDP in 2015 was the BEPS-prompted decision of multinationals to move their intangible assets to Ireland. Among other things, this has caused the amount of profit taxes going into the Government's coffers to more than double since. Companies paid the State well north of 10bn last year in corporation tax. Will this last? That question keeps the Department of Finance's mandarins awake at night. McCoy sleeps soundly. He believes that Ireland won the lottery when the multinationals shifted their intangible assets here and that they are not likely to up sticks and leave any time soon. He is probably correct. The multinational sector is deeply embedded and Ireland has come through significant challenges, such as the reputational damage of being bailed out in 2010 and changes to US corporation tax laws two years ago which threatened to cause US investment to be repatriated. Last week's figures from IDA Ireland showed that foreign investment continued to flood into the country last year. But should growth in public spending be accelerated on the back of this, as McCoy suggests? On this, I'm more sceptical. The main sources of government revenue - personal taxes and VAT - have grown solidly since the economy turned around. They have not surged, as profit taxes have. Nor have they grown at the double-digit rates recorded in the 1997-2007 period. The public sector has expanded since the economy returned to growth, soaking up all the additional revenues (none of the government's 200bn in debt has been paid down). A more rapid expansion than is already taking place would lock in even more spending commitments, with implications for the Government's budget balance and overall public debt in the event of any kind of downturn. Perhaps McCoy is right, but his proposal if implemented would generate additional risk for the economy and the State. However dull and boring it may sound, but with the economy doing well and a history of excessive volatility in economic performance, the priority should be on de-risking. ******* On an entirely different subject, permit me conclude with a thought on the recent Royal Irish Constabulary commemoration controversy. Higher levels of education and greater historical awareness has made the marking of events in the past a growth industry, in Ireland and around the world. Also underpinning the rise and rise of commemoration is George Santayana's famous claim that "those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it". His words are accepted as a wise and immutable truth by most thinking people, despite the lack of evidence to support them. It may be more accurate to say that excessive focus on the past can cause suspicions and hatreds to be passed on from one generation to the next. The opposition that emerged last week to an event commemorating the pre-independence police force, and how strongly some of those who opposed it appear to feel on the subject, led to the Government cancelling the event. It might well consider cancelling more events and slowing the commemoration juggernaut more generally. With the centenaries of the most painful events of the wars of 1919-23 yet to come, reflecting on history should become more like the practice of faith - a private affair. Fewer public, and in particular State-led commemorations, would lessen the scope for further unnecessary controversy. We have enough divisions in society on issues of relevance now and into the future. Bringing old divisions back to the fore will benefit nobody. When the inaugural Russia-Africa summit was held in October 2019, most industry observers believed that the majority of projects under discussion would not get past the FID stage in no small part because of their varied economic prospects. As well as wheat exports, nuclear technologies, conventional weaponry and ore mining, oil loomed large on the agenda. With the OPEC+ agreement entering its third consecutive year and oil prices stabilizing around $60 per barrel, Russian oil firms have enough cash to invest but face an uncertain future with domestic projects as no one really wants to see their own project ending up in the category of spare production capacity. International sanctions and the ramifications they entail have compelled Russia to look beyond their usual investment regions with little to no investments in Europe since 2014. Gazprom is now an unwelcome investor in Europe and even the privately-owned LUKOIL has mulled divesting its downstream assets and has reduced its retail presence in Europe. Investing in the United States or Canada is completely out of question for reasons predominantly political, whilst Middle Eastern NOCs have grown to become competitors, themselves looking for opportunities to diversify their portfolio. Due to all of the above factors, Africa has emerged somewhat naturally as a suitable region for Russian investment. The Russian Energy Ministry has repeatedly declined to link Russias newly-found interest in Africa and the OPEC+ curtailments, saying that greenfield projects usually require 5-7 years before commissioning and thus the time gap between todays issues and future production is too wide to impact any forecasts. Yet no one really knows when exactly the OPEC+ cuts would come to a stop it might be this year or it might be any year in the upcoming decade. Oil companies need to prepare for the future and cannot just act upon the (usually quite sudden) decision to ramp up production to normal levels. With much of the US majors now focused on domestic shale and deepwater developments, Russia sees a new role for itself in Western Africa. Related: Low Gas Prices Crush Appalachia Shale Boom The Democratic Republic of the Congo has emerged as one of the key areas for Russian investments in Africa. The DRC wouldnt be the first African nation to see Russian investments per se the Russian NOC Rosneft already bought stakes in gas-producing projects in Egypt (Zohr) and Mozambique, whilst LUKOIL has had a tumultuous history in Ghana. The DRC, however, may be the first country where Russian companies take on complex commitments, including infrastructure-related solutions. Oddly enough, these will not be headlined by an oil & gas company but by VEB, the state development corporation in the upcoming months VEB and the Congolese oil company SNPC are supposed to finalize the deal on construction of an oil products pipeline. This 2.1mtpa capacity pipeline will connect the Congolese port of Pointe Noire to the Maloukou Terminal next to Kinshasa providing for the supply of both gasoline and diesel, as well as aviation kerosene. Reportedly the leading Russian steel pipe manufacturer TMK will clinch the contract on the Congolese product pipeline in the upcoming weeks, however it still remains to be seen which oil company would take the job. The fact that it is the states development corporation taking the role of interfacing between the Congolese NOC and Russian firms implies that it need not be majors who get involved the case of Syria demonstrates that tasks of such difficulty might be allotted to new companies (though staffed with experienced oilmen) which avail themselves of government support. The pipeline deal comes just several months after Russias leading private oil firm LUKOIL entered Congos offshore by buying 25 percent in the Marine XII license block. Marine XII, operated by ENI, comprises five discovered fields with a total reserve base of 1.3 BBbls which should reach a production plateau of 100kbpd, essentially tripling from the current output level of some 30kbpd. The $770 million investment on Marine XII will supplement LUKOILs earlier involvement in offshore Ghana, where it aims to start development drilling on the ultra-deepwater Pecan field (reserves estimated at 0.34 Bbbls, exploration well drilled to a depth of 4880 meters) which lies in the Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points block. In addition to the above, LUKOIL and Russias state-owned geological exploration company Rosgeologia have signed separate agreements with Equatorial Guinea on future exploration activities in the country. Related: Bearish Sentiment Returns To Oil Markets With most of Nigeria seemingly booked by international majors who have opted to move into Western Africa much earlier, Russia seems to be seeking a place of its own in the southern part of the Gulf of Guinea. The pipeline deal with the Democratic Republic of Congo enhances its market presence in both Congos as it will be used to feed both Kinshasa and Brazzaville. Potential upstream activities in Cameroon might also come into the picture LUKOIL took a 37.5 percent stake in the offshore Etinde field in 2014 if the Russian firm decides to kickstart its drilling program in the region. Add to this the prospect of Russian appraisal/drilling success in Equatorial Guinea and you get a fairly dense web of coverage in West Africa. So why are Russian firms doing this? Firstly, because they have internal goals to attain which, given the zero tolerance for any substantial market liberalization, will be quite difficult to reach if they are to focus solely on projects at home. Rosneft is an illustrative case in this context as Gazprom has maintained its monopoly on pipeline exports, Rosneft has essentially failed to achieve its aim of producing 100 BCm per year of gas by 2020. However, with a couple of Zohr-like investments it can recover whatever has been potentially lost domestically in ventures abroad. Second, OPEC+ is putting pressure on companies not to lose out when all the others are seeking new opportunities focusing solely on Russia would be a remarkably short-sighted strategy. By Viktor Katona for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, said on Sunday that the central government will make sufficient provisions for the Indian Army soldiers guarding the borders on a real-time basis. Rai paid a visit to the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) Border Outpost (BoP) at Indo-Nepal border in Raxaul, Bihar and spent a night with the jawans on Saturday. Rai said, as the Indo-Nepal border is an open border, it is very sensitive and makes the task of jawans even more difficult. He saluted the soldiers for working day and night to protect the country. The Union Minister also dined with the SSB jawans and applauded their determination in the harsh weather conditions. READ | ITPB: Sufficient Arrangements Made For Jawans Deployed In Freezing Weather While speaking to ANI over phone, Rai said, "I spent my last night time with SSB jawans at Raxaul (Indo -Nepal) Border and saw that despite chilly weather, our jawans were standing like a rock on the border to serve the nation." "I salute our jawans who are serving the nation and are protecting our borders. Indo-Nepal Border is a very sensitive border and an open border which makes the task of our jawans more difficult. They are doing very well. I assured the jawans that whatever they require on the borders, the government will provide them in real-time," he said. Previously, the Union Minister had paid a visit to Indo-Bangladesh Border near Siliguri BoP Fulbari. READ | Indian Army Chief Naravane Announces That 100 Female Jawans Are Being Trained For The Army Arrangements for Jawans deployed in freezing weather The Indo-Tibetan Border Police on January 1, said that sufficient arrangements have been made for the jawans who were deployed in severe weather conditions to ensure that they don't face any problems. As the region experiences an unusual shift in the weather, rescue teams have been deployed to deal with any untoward situation. "There is an unusual change in weather this year due to which we have put multiple rescue teams on standby to deal with any situation," Vivek Pandey, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) spokesperson said. "We have also made sufficient arrangements so that jawans deployed in -35 degrees don't face any problem due to extreme weather conditions," he added. Pandey also told the reporters that the temperatures are gone below normal. He assured that ITBP is equipped to face the harsh weather and also shared that the clothing pattern of army soldiers recently underwent a change to bear the cold weather conditions. READ | Central Govt Replacing Old Fencing With Anti-cut Fencing At India-Pak, B'desh Borders READ | CRPF Jawan Dies On Guard Duty In Srinagar Three persons were killed and one sustained injuries when their motorcycle was hit by a bus in Madhya Pradesh's Rajgarh district, police said on Sunday. The mishap took place near Peeplebay village on Jaipur-Jabalpur road on Saturday night, Biaora Dehat police station inspector Aditya Soni said. The speeding bus knocked down the two-wheeler, killing its riders Badri Lal (25), Kamal (22) and Govardhan (27), all local residents, he said. Another person on the motorcycle received injuries and was admitted to a hospital in Bhopal, he said. The bus was impounded and search was underway for its driver, who fled the spot after the mishap, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The region is under a wind advisory from Sunday morning through early afternoon as temperatures across Connecticut are expected to remain unseasonably warm. The advisory goes into effect at 4 a.m. Sunday and continues through 1 p.m. During the advisory period, residents can expect winds of 20 to 25 mph with gusts up to 50 mph, according to the National Weather Service. The strongest winds will likely take place around daybreak through mid-morning Sunday. This could result in downed tree limbs and unsecured objects being blown around, the advisory states. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result. Residents are urged to secure outdoor objects. Anyone hitting the roads, especially if driving a high profile vehicle, should use extra caution, the NWS said. The gusty winds will continue throughout the day but are forecast to drop below advisory levels by early afternoon. Despite the wind, the NWS predicts that unseasonably warm conditions will continue through the remainder of the weekend before a cold front pushes in cooler temperatures Monday. Overnight Saturday into Sunday, the temperature is expected to fall into the upper 50s to around 60 degrees typically the nighttime temperatures Connecticut sees in late May or early June. Temperature highs on Sunday will again climb into the 60s, with the potential to threaten previous temperature records. But Sunday night into Monday, temperatures will drop drastically into the upper 20s to mid-30s in the wake of the cold front. Highs on Monday will range from the mid- to upper-40s. While these temperatures are definitely a stiff drop from Saturday and Sundays highs, the NWS said these temperatures are still roughly 10 degree above normal for mid-January. Howrah (West Bengal) [India], Jan 12 (ANI): On the occasion of 'National Youth Day', Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday highlighted the importance of youngsters and said that their energy is the basis of changing India in the 21st century. "We have all seen how the country's youth took to the street in a fight against corruption a few years ago. It seemed that changing the situation would be difficult. The youth changed that as well," the Prime Minister said while addressing people at Belur Math, which is the headquarters of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. "The energy of youth is the basis of changing India in the 21st century. The target of New India can only be achieved by all of you. It is the youth that says 'Let's not postpone problems'. The youth will always challenge problems and solve them. Challenge the challenge...," he said. He also said that the initiatives including water conversation and shunning single-use plastic will only become successful with the participation of people. "In the last five years, the youth has proven that they can make any mission successful if they join in. There was a sense of negativity over India's cleanliness until five years ago. The youth lead from the front and change can be seen everywhere," Modi said. "Until five years ago, a lot of people doubted India's ability to digitalise its payment network. Today, India stands as one of the fastest-growing digital networks in the world," he said. Prime Minister Modi, who arrived in Kolkata on Saturday for a two-day visit had earlier paid tribute to Swami Vivekananda on his birth anniversary. He asserted the duty of citizens is equally important as their rights. "Our Constitution and culture expect us to fulfill our responsibility as a citizen with honesty. After 70 years of independence, we have heard a lot about rights. We have made people aware of them. But now the duty of every Indian should be equally important," Modi said. The Prime Minister said that people must always remember Swami Vivekananda's iconic saying 'give me 100 energetic youth and I shall transform India'. "Our energy, and passion to do something, is necessary for change. On the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda here in Belur Math, it is my honour and luck to spend some time in a room where he used to live. I could feel as if he's inspiring us to work harder and was helping us with more energy," he said. "Swami Vivekananda had said that we should forget everything and dedicate our life to Mother India. Let's walk on that dream," he said. (ANI) Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi arrives at the Capitol in Washington (J Scott Applewhite/AP) US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said that senators will pay a price if they block new witnesses in Donald Trumps impeachment trial. The House plans to vote this week to transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate for the historic trial on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress over Mr Trumps actions toward Ukraine. It will be only the third impeachment trial in American history. Its about a fair trial, Ms Pelosi told ABCs This Week. Weve done our job. We have defended the Constitution of the United States. We would hope the Senate would do that as well. She warned: Now the ball is in their court to either do that or pay a price. Weve done our job. We have defended the Constitution of the United States. We would hope the Senate would do that as wellNancy Pelosi Mr Trump tweeted right before and after Ms Pelosis appearance, in both instances using derisive nicknames. He said both she and House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff should appear in the Senate for testimony. He must be a Witness, and so should she! Mr Trump tweeted. The president also rebutted Ms Pelosis suggestion that no matter what the Senate does, the House vote last month means Mr Trump will be impeached forever and for life. Why should I have the stigma of Impeachment attached to my name when I did NOTHING wrong? Mr Trump tweeted, calling the House action a totally partisan Hoax. It is unlikely that the Republican-controlled Senate would call either Democrat to testify in the presidents impeachment trial, which could start as soon as this week. The Democratic-run House is set to vote this week to send the articles of impeachment after Ms Pelosi ended a more than three-week delay. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, seeking a speedy trial to acquit the president, is reluctant to seek more witnesses. Mr McConnell has proposed a process similar to the last presidential impeachment trial of Bill Clinton in 1999 that would start the proceedings and then vote later on hearing new testimony. Expand Close The House plans to vote this week to transmit the articles of impeachment against Donald Trump to the Senate (Kevin Wolf/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The House plans to vote this week to transmit the articles of impeachment against Donald Trump to the Senate (Kevin Wolf/AP) One leading Republican, Senator Lindsey Graham, has already predicted that the trial would end in a matter of days. In a Fox News Channel interview on Saturday, Mr Graham dismissed Ms Pelosis tactics, saying the delay would have no effect on calling new witnesses or the expected outcome acquittal by the Republican-controlled Senate. The Senate should not reward this behaviour by the House, said Mr Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Senate should end this trial as quickly as possible. Thats what I intend to do. He will be acquitted. I hope and pray every Republican will reject what Nancy Pelosi did, and well pick up a few Democrats. Top Democrats defended Ms Pelosis decision to delay sending the articles of impeachment against the president, saying it produced new potential evidence and turned public attention on the upcoming trial. One of the things that holding on to the articles has succeeded doing is fleshing out McConnell and the presidents desire to make this a cover up, Mr Schiff said on CBS Face The Nation. If McConnell succeeds in making this trial a trial without witnesses. Thats not a fair trial. Thats a sham, he said. Every knock from him is a boostNancy Pelosi Mr Trump was impeached on charges that he abused his power by pressuring the president of Ukraine to investigate Democrats, specifically Mr Trump political rival Joe Biden. Mr Trump was also charged with obstruction of Congress for trying to block the House investigation. While Mr McConnell joined some Republicans in a resolution for votes to dismiss the charges against Mr Trump, at least one Republican up for reelection, Senator Susan Collins, said last week she was in talks with colleagues to hear more testimony. Mr Schiff has rebuffed previous calls to testify, saying he was not a fact witness to the events. Ms Pelosi said senators need to consider new witnesses, including former national security adviser John Bolton, who has said he would be willing to testify if he receives a subpoena. Mr Trump is blocking White House officials from appearing and reiterated last week he does not want his former top security adviser to testify before the Senate. House Democrats, who did not issue a subpoena for Mr Bolton last year, did not rule out doing so now. Its certainly something that we are considering, Mr Schiff said. Ms Pelosi also left open the door to filing more articles of impeachment against Mr Trump. Its Sunday morning lets be optimistic about the future a future that will not have Donald Trump in the White House, one way or another, 10 months from now we will have an election, if we dont have him removed sooner, she said. Right before Ms Pelosi was set to appear for the Sunday interview, Mr Trump tweeted against Ms Pelosi, calling her a derisive nickname, Crazy Nancy. Asked about Mr Trumps tweet, Ms Pelosi said, Every knock from him is a boost. Medha Patkar visits campus to be a part of the ongoing anti-CAA protests Peaceful protests against citizenship law to continue, says student leader AGRA After the winter vacation, the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is set to reopen in a phased manner from Monday amid protests. Noted social activist Medha Patkar was on the campus on Sunday to be a part of the ongoing protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The police would be deployed at the V-C lodge, registrar office and the administrative block on AMU campus, said SSP (Aligarh) Aakash Kulhari. Vice-chancellor Tariq Mansoor had sought extra security from the state authorities for himself and his family before the university reopens on January 13, citing threats from lumpen elements and outsiders, varsity sources said on Sunday. He wrote a letter to the SSP in this regard. Anti-CAA protests have been on at AMU since December 9. On December 15 night, the stir turned violent and the police entered the campus after the varsity administration raised an alarm. The university pre-poned the winter vacation and students were asked to vacate the hostels, but the remaining students continued with protests. On Sunday, social activist Medha Patkar reached AMU and condemned violence that marred the peace of the university on December 15. She went to hostel rooms allegedly targeted by the police on that night and also met the injured students admitted to JN Medical College of AMU. She attended a meeting organised at Trauma Centre at JNMC and staged protest against CAA, NPR and NRC. The provisions of CAA are against all the sections of society. The country is heading in the wrong direction and as such youth need to come forward and unite to save it, stated Patkar, who even opposed death sentence and favoured life imprisonment instead because 146 countries in the world had stopped death sentence. On Sunday, AMU authorities assured students that efforts would be made to quash FIRs, in case these were lodged against innocent students. Vice-chancellor Tariq Mansoor clarified that he had no issue if students protested peacefully on any provision, which they found objectionable. The university administration is committed to provide congenial atmosphere and security to students. Exams will be held on the revised dates so that the academic schedule is maintained, said the V-C, adding that the AMU administration would meet senior students along with provosts and senior teachers to redress their grievances. Despite clarification by the V-C that there was no threat to him from students of AMU, but from anti social elements, the students objected to the letter written to the SSP by him. AMU students were shocked to know that the V-C has expressed fears for his and his family members life. As per reports, AMU V-C has written to police and state administration to protect him, stated Salman M Imtiaz, former president of AMU Students Union. Students find this claim ridiculous. The V-C has no threat from students. They have been protesting peacefully against CAA-NRC since December 8 and will continue peaceful protests, he stated. As AMU students have been protesting against CAA-NRC-NPR, his statement is an attempt to intimidate students so that democratic voices are curbed on the campus. Peaceful resistance within the limits of law will continue at the university, stated the former president of AMUSU. . The Central Crime Branch of Bengaluru has arrested an alleged Khalistan supporter who had fled Punjab and was hiding in the city, police said on Sunday. A hunt was launched for Jarnail Singh Sidhu, who was wanted by the Punjab police, after the internal security division lodged a case against him in February, 2019, the police said. He was staying as a paying guest here for the last four months and was working at the Bagmane Tech Park, they added. "The Punjab police had approached us about Jarnail Singh, who was wanted by them. We traced him and handed him over to the Punjab police," a police officer told PTI. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Five Naxals were arrested here following raids by police on Friday. They belonged to the Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC) and Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee (TSPC). In a press release, police said, "Raids were conducted and an extremist of the TPC was nabbed. After his interrogation, further raids were conducted in forests area and four others extremists of TPC and TSPC were arrested. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Glenroe is back on the telly on Sunday nights but not as we know it. Christened Team GlenRo, TV presenter Glenda Gilson and dance partner Robert Rowinski were first to take to the Dancing With The Stars dance floor to kick off the ladies performances before the judges with a challenging cha-cha. Meanwhile, Lottie Ryans power-packed jive dazzled viewers even more than judge Julian Bensons glitter-tastic outfit. Team GlenRo played to their strengths Glendas long legs, according to all the judges and despite some nerves-related timing issues in the early stages, Glenda finished with a cartwheel in heels. The judges gave them 17 out of 30, with suggestions that Glenda, in true Glenroe style, find a more earthy performance next week. From the catwalk to the dancefloor, model and former Miss Universe Ireland Grainne Gallanagh and her dance partner, Kai Widdrington, danced the tango, impressing judges Brian Redmond and Julian Benson with her frame. They all urged her to dig deep and find her inner actress, giving the couple 18. However, social media reacted angrily to Nicky Byrnes jibe at her in the after-dance interview. Its not the first time youve been tangoed, he joked, as they flashed a paparazzi-style photograph of her, fake-tanned up to her eyeballs after a modelling shoot. B*Witched pop star Sinead OCarroll and her partner, Ryan McShane, wowed with their American smooth, moving around the floor with ease and elegance, and with a nice shoulder shrug towards the end. Giving the couple 21 out of 30, the judges described Sinead, who hit the limelight with the girl group in 1997, as a star in the making. Nursing bruised ribs, Love Island star Yewande Biala braved the pain and danced a summer salsa, enduring three challenging lifts above the head of her partner, Stephen Vincent. A beautiful opening to this Love Island Summer Salsa from @yewande_biala and @SteveVincent17 16 points!@DWTSIRL DWTSIrl pic.twitter.com/BYvyg1BlUs RTE One (@RTEOne) January 12, 2020 The judges praised her bravery and courage for taking to the floor while injured, and gave them 16. National treasure Mary Kennedy, recently retired as presenter of Nationwide, and her partner John Nolan danced the foxtrot to Mary Blacks No Frontiers. Julian gushed about her timeless elegance, and Lorraine described her dance as anything but a retirement performance, but Brian brought things back to earth with a crash, lamenting the lack of rise and fall in her performance, describing it as flat, and giving her just a three. The couple scored 13. 2FM presenter Lottie Ryan, the bookies favourite, stepped out from behind her microphone with partner Pasquale La Rocca to blow the audience away with an energy-charged jive. A trained dancer who studied at New Yorks Broadway Dance Centre and who taught dance classes in Dublin for several years, Lottie drew a standing ovation, before the judges said she has the potential to go a long way in the competition. Lorraine urged her to work on foot technique, and Brian said she needed a bit more bounce, but summed it up by saying: Lottie you little legend. They gave the couple 20. The public votes from the gents show last week, and tonights ladies show, will be carried forward, along with the judges votes to next weeks live show, when the first elimination will be announced. The findings which appear in Current Biology place the African gray parrot in the limelight. Now, Desiree Brucks and Auguste von Bayern from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen, Germany, have carried out research that suggests that individuals from one parrot species also demonstrate the ability to be selfless. However, we are not the only ones in the animal kingdom who can demonstrate selflessness. Other mammals including wolves , bonobos , and humpback whales are also adept at helping other members of their species when they are called upon to do so. Altruism the act of offering help to someone in need even if it does not benefit you is a quality on which humans have prided themselves through the ages. Humans and some other mammals stand out among animals by showing kindness and helping other individuals in need. But do birds also demonstrate selflessness? The answer is yes at least in the case of the African gray parrot. In their study, the researchers worked not only with African gray parrots native to regions of equatorial Africa but also with blue-headed macaws, their South American cousins. Brucks and von Bayern trained eight African gray parrots and six blue-headed macaws, noting in their study paper that both species are remarkable thanks to their intelligence. The first step in the experiment was to teach all of the parrots to give the researcher a token, in exchange for which they would receive a nut as a reward. Soon enough, all of the birds had learned the trick hand over a token, receive a nut. Next, the investigators wanted to see whether they would be just as eager to help a partner receive the reward as they were to get it themselves. To this purpose, Brucks and von Bayern housed pairs of parrots of the same species in a specially built chamber that separated them from one another and the researcher, with small openings for access and communication. The researchers gave one parrot the tokens, but no way of handing them to the researcher to obtain the nuts. The other parrot, in contrast, could reach the researcher but had no tokens to offer in exchange for the nuts. In each case, the tokenless parrot would signal to its partner, asking for help. The question was, of course: Would the parrot with the tokens hand them over to the tokenless parrot, knowing that only the other parrot would then be able to claim the reward? As it turns out, the blue-headed macaws were not at all eager to help each other. As the parrot with the tokens would be unable to claim any nuts, neither would its partner. This was not at all the case with the African gray parrots. Seven out of the eight African gray parrots involved chose to help out their partner by giving them tokens so that they could claim the nuts. Moreover, when the researchers reversed the roles of the African gray parrots, the ones who now held the tokens were happy to share them with the partners who had formerly helped them out. This finding, the researchers argue, suggests that these parrots may even have some understanding of reciprocity. Brucks and von Bayern were further impressed by the fact that African gray parrots chose to help each other even if they were not related to the individual with whom the researchers had paired them. This further suggests that individuals from this species simply feel motivated to help each other, regardless of their relationship, which is unusual. The researchers explain that, typically, animals are much more likely to help related individuals and feel no motivation to assist those with whom they have no relationship. In contrast, the blue-headed macaws persisted in demonstrating selfishness, even in other experiments. For example, when the researchers offered the birds a bowl of food that they were all supposed to feed from, the dominant individual in the group dragged the bowl away from the other birds to make sure that they would not be able to access it. Why do the members of two intelligent bird species act so differently, though? The researchers remain unsure, but they hypothesize that it may be due to the fact that they organize their social groups in different ways. In the study paper, Brucks and von Bayern write: Species-specific differences in social tolerance, in particular in a food context, might account for variation in prosocial behaviors across parrot species. African gray parrots live in large flocks whose members change continually, whereas the blue-headed macaws like to organize themselves in smaller groups with stricter hierarchies. The researchers would like to learn more about why the birds act in the way that they do. There is, however, a certain difficulty in studying the birds natural behavior in the wild. According to International Union for Conservation of Nature data, the blue-headed macaws status is vulnerable, with populations rapidly decreasing in the wild, and experts now consider the African gray parrot to be an endangered species. NEW HARTFORD, NY The Skating Club of New Hartford hosted the annual Mohawk Valley Classic on Saturday. The skating competition was held at the New Hartford Recreation Center and featured numerous skaters from across New York. Claire Hotvedt of the Skating Club of New Hartford says competitions like the Mohawk Valley Classic give skaters a chance to see what its like to compete on the next level. There are many competitions throughout New York, and by having something in the local area, you get the gist of how far you can go. I think everyone knows theres a long way you can go in any sport. The forces of Libyan strongman General Khalifa Haftar on Saturday announced a ceasefire from midnight on Sunday following calls from Moscow and Ankara for a truce. They warned, however, in a short statement that the "response will be severe in the event of any violation of the truce by the opposing camp", a reference to the UN-recognised government in Libya, the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez al-Sarraj. Haftar's forces have been battling to take the capital from the GNA since April. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Under the said programme, readings of major religious texts of Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism and Christianity are being carried out at the venue that has emerged as the strongest show of resistance against the contentious act. Read more Heres more top news of the day: Drug Overdose Claims At Least 1 Life Every 12 Hours; One Juvenile Dies Every 10 Days Of Substance Abuse In India afp At the EDM fest, Sunburn this year in Goa, three tourists died. Officials have speculated the cause of death to be drug overdose, given the close connect of such music fests with drug usage among tourists and visitors. Nevertheless, the incident has raised questions, throwing light on the increasing use of drugs by people at such big festivals. Read more When My Father Wanted Her To Lit His Pyre: Sushma Swarajs Husband Shares Details Of Her Life bccl I ndian politician and lawyer Sushma Swaraj is remembered for her warmth and the ability to connect with the masses. She was on the top of her game and her folksy mannerisms. She took to Twitter like duck to water and was accessible to all. People were and still are fond of her. Read more Bangladesh Deputy Foreign Minister Is The Third Leader From His Country To Cancel India Visit Over CAA Bangladesh's Deputy Foreign Minister Shahriar Alam, who was scheduled to speak at an event in New Delhi, has cancelled his visit to India. The official reason for the cancellation of the said visit as given by Bangladesh is that it coincided with the country's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's UAE trip. Read more Peak Apathy: Woman Delivers Baby On Road After Being Turned Away From Andhra Govt Hospital unsplash/representational image A pregnant woman delivered a baby on the side of a road in Andhra Pradesh's Krishna district after she was allegedly turned away from a local government hospital in the area. The woman delivered the baby with help from locals in Krishna district's Mylavaram town. Read more Shaheen Bagh: 'Dabang Dadis' Brave Winter Cold As Protests Against CAA Show No Signs Of Slowing Down Reuters Braving the harsh winter chill, anti-CAA protesters continued their agitation, demanding the withdrawal of the contentious legislation that has brought India at a standstill and sparked outrage across the country. Read more Mr. Trump himself has made clear in other circumstances that he does not trust the intelligence agencies that he is now citing to justify his decision to eliminate General Suleimani. Moreover, given his long history of falsehoods and distortions, Mr. Trump has his own credibility issues that further cloud the picture. All of which means the administrations failure to provide a consistent explanation has sown doubts and exposed it to criticism. If indeed the strike was taken to disrupt an imminent threat to U.S. persons and that picture seems to be getting murkier by the minute the case should be made to Congress and to the public, consistent with national security, said Lisa Monaco, a former senior F.B.I. official and homeland security adviser to President Barack Obama. Failure to do so hurts our credibility and deterrence going forward. Intelligence officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive data collection, have said there was no single definitive piece of information about a coming attack. Instead, C.I.A. officers described a mosaic effect, multiple scraps of information that came together indicating that General Suleimani was organizing proxy forces around the region, including in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq, to attack American embassies and bases. Several officials said they did not have enough concrete information to describe such a threat as imminent, despite the administrations assertion, but they did see a worrying pattern. A State Department official has privately said it was a mistake for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to use the word imminent because it suggested a level of specificity that was not borne out by the intelligence. I have not seen the intelligence, just to be clear, but it is sometimes possible for the reporting of planned attacks to be very compelling even without specificity of time, target or method, said John E. McLaughlin, a former acting C.I.A. director. In a sense, that is the story of 9/11. Our reporting gave us high confidence that a big attack was coming and we so warned but we were unable to nail down key details. Mr. McLaughlin said that the administration may well have had intelligence adequate to compel action, but that it was a separate question whether killing General Suleimani was the most effective response, as opposed to hardening targets or choosing a less provocative option. John B. Bellinger III, who was the top lawyer for the National Security Council and later the State Department under Mr. Bush, said the president would have legal authority to strike under the Constitution whether or not there was fear of an imminent attack. The wall of student debt is an obstacle to opportunity for thousands of Pennsylvanias young citizens. In fact, the commonwealth has the unfortunate distinction of having the highest average debt among the 50 states and Washington, DC., according to a Petersons Data survey. As of 2017, that average was $36,193 and climbing. The result is that college graduates find themselves held back from buying homes, getting married, starting families and taking jobs that create future opportunities but dont pay enough now to cover loan payments. The stereotyped living in their parents basement is a direct result of student debt. Why are Pennsylvania college students graduating with more debt than in other states? One major factor is college costs. The average annual in-state college tuition in Pennsylvania was $22,794 for the 2018-2019 academic year, $8,387 higher than the U.S. average, reports CollegeCalc.org. Pennsylvania is the 5th most expensive and one of the least affordable states (48th of 50) to attend college. Those dire numbers and the effect on the future of Pennsylvanias workforce are getting some attention in Harrisburg. Two lawmakers new to the Legislature this year, from Bucks and Delaware counties, have formed a Student Debt Caucus to examine the problem, according to a recent report in The Morning Call. Rep. Jennifer OMara, D-Delaware County, and Rep. Meghan Schroeder, D-Bucks, both of whom are in their 30s, understand the problem firsthand. They told the Call that their approach is a deep dive that will result in a package of legislation. Thirty-two other lawmakers have joined them in the effort. Alongside that effort is a task force examining state funding of higher education. A Higher Education Funding Commission formed last August held a session last week at West Chester University coordinated by state Sen. Andy Dinniman, D-Chester County. OMara was among the legislators who attended. The commission is tasked with developing a higher education funding formula and identifying factors that may be used to determine the distribution of funding, according to a release from Dinnimans office. The hearing examined the cost-effectiveness of what colleges are providing in Pennsylvania, noting that oftentimes graduates have the degree and the debt to go with it but lack the workforce skills to meet employers needs. We have to be a lot more data-driven in looking at how we deliver higher education and how it fits into job creation, Dinniman said. We are living in the greatest era of change in human history that means what we prepare for today could change tomorrow. At the same time, our systems of education and higher education must adapt to meet the needs and develops the skills of a growing variety of individuals. The hearing included speakers who stressed the need for middle skills that require some college training but also rely on technical or community college specialty training, particularly in the health care field. Much of the discussion focused on whether colleges are preparing young people for the needs of the workforce. Whether or not they can pay for that training is the focus of several other legislative efforts, as well as legal actions to ferret out unfair loan practices. Some of the ideas are increased loan forgiveness incentive programs for firefighters and others who give back to their communities. But there is widespread belief that the states underfunding of higher education and the resulting tuition increases among state schools is at the root of the problem. We urge the Higher Education Funding Commission to examine the costs side of the coin as well as the workforce side. The next generation of Pennsylvania citizens need to be prepared not only with necessary skills but also financially solvent to be consumers, home buyers and contributing citizens. College in Pennsylvania has become out of reach for the middle class without taking on debt. Failure to address this problem not only crushes the opportunity for young people but also tramples economic growth. We urge the legislature to make it a priority in 2020 to bring down college costs and give the next generation the opportunities they deserve and that our commonwealth needs. Two persons have been arrested in connection with the assault on an RSS worker Varun for participating in a demonstration here supporting the Citizenship Amendment Act, police said on Sunday We have arrested two persons in this case. We will shortly brief you about the arrest, a police officer told PTI on condition of anonymity. He refused to divulge more information about the accused. A police team arrested the two from Tamil Nadu. The BJP had organised a demonstration at the Town Hall on December 22, which the Bengaluru south BJP MP Tejasvi Surya had addressed. Varun too attended the event and was on the way home when he was attacked by four people with a sharp-edged weapon and fled the spot. Following the assault, Varun was admitted to a hospital in a serious condition. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kolkata: Irked by the continuous protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) across Kolkata even on the second and final day of his official visit to West Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi blamed the Opposition parties for misguiding the youth with rum-ours about the CAA. He also made a veiled attack on Chief Minister Mam-ata Banerjee for joining her partys protests after meeting him twice on Saturday evening. A lot of discussions have been underway on the CAA among the youth across the country. What is this? Why was it necessary for implementation? Different types of people have filled the young minds with lots of questions, Mr Modi told students on Sunday morning on Swami Vivekanandas birth anniversary at Belur Math, the headqua-rters of the Ramakrishna Mission, after spending the night and attending a prayer there. Reiterating that the CAA would only give citizenship rights and not snatch it away from people, Mr Modi said: Many youth are aware of it. But there are many others who have been victims of illusion and rumours. It is our responsibility to help them to understand it and also satisfy them. You understand it. But those who play politics on it are not ready to understand what you do. He added: They are mature. Still they do not want to understand it. Despite so much clarity, some people for their political interests have been spreading rumours on the CAA. Stung by Mr Modis jibe, the Trinamul Congress supremo skipped the 150th anniversary celebrations of Kolkata Port Trust at Netaji Indoor Stadium, where she had earlier agreed to share the dais with the PM. The PM was also shown black flags and faced slogans like Go Back Modi by protesters at around 11 am as he was entering the venue in his convoy after cruising across the Hooghly from Belur Math. Two persons were arrested by the police. Taking the opportunity, Mr Modi taunted Ms Banerjee about cut-money and syndicate before expressing the wish that God would bless her with wisdom! Announcing the renaming of Kolkata Port as Syama Prasad Mukerjee Port, the PM observed: If the state government allows Ayushman Yojana and PM Kishan Samman Nidhi here, though I do not know whether it will do so or not, the people will get benefits without any deviation, cut and syndicate. But why would someone implement it when it reaches directly, no cut comes, no syndicate exists? He added: It will always pain my heart. So I wish and I pray to God to bless wisdom on policymakers. Those with low-level cannabis charges may not have to do anything to have the charges removed from their record after the new laws that went into place this year automatically remove certain level cannabis charges. While state officials estimate there are more than 100,000 cases that could be expunged under the new law, in Morgan County, the number is unknown. States Attorney Gray Noll said there are a couple of processes that are taking place at the state level to remove some charges from records. Gov. J.B. Pritzker has already granted more than 11,000 pardons for low-level marijuana convictions, with more to come as the Illinois State Police compile a list of cases that are eligible. Many of these cases are being handled without the individuals having to do anything, Noll said. For those that were arrested but never formally charged with cannabis charges, local law enforcement agencies are responsible for removing those files and records. For those charged with Class A, Class B, Class C misdemeanors and Class 4 felonies, charges should be automatically removed in the coming years. Once these cases are closed, they are reported to the Illinois State Police, Noll said. ISP is compiling the list statewide. Once its compiled the pardon and expungement process will begin. Once the list is ready, it will go before the Prisoner Review Board, which will make a recommendation to the governors office for pardon. Once the pardons are granted or denied, the list will go to the Illinois Attorney Generals Office for expungement. Those who receive pardons will be notified once the process is complete. Pritzker said this will provide more opportunities for those with low-level convictions. We are ending the 50-year-long war on cannabis, Pritzker said. We are restoring rights to many tens of thousands of Illinoisans. We are bringing regulation and safety to a previously unsafe and illegal market. And we are creating a new industry that puts equity at its very core. Expungements can also be initiated at the county level through the states attorneys office. In October, Cook County estimated it would spend $700,000 to hire additional staff to handle the expungements. Noll said Morgan County doesnt have those kinds of resources. I cant justify using taxpayer money to do something that is already being done, Noll said. It would be redundant. For those that would like to have charges removed more quickly, they can apply for expungement through their countys circuit clerks office, although Noll said that comes with fees. For charges that are above the lower level, expungement is still possible, though would have to be initiated by the individual and will not be done automatically under the new law. For the more serious cases, that process is still available, Noll said. London: If the Queen ever needed a reminder of the dangers facing the monarchy before Monday's face-to-face meeting of the royal family's feuding factions, she'd only have to fetch a copy of The Sunday Times and turn to page 25. There, journalist Tom Bradby offers an exquisite insight into the thinking of Prince Harry and Meghan in the days, weeks and months leading up to last week's bombshell decision to pack their bags and walk away. He also gives warning that a bomb is primed and ready to go off underneath the House of Windsor. Britain is saturated by coverage of the royal split - some of it informed and much of it total garbage. However the Queen and her staff would know Bradby is one reporter who should be taken very seriously. Known as the "royal whisperer", Bradby is an accomplished journalist, news anchor and longtime friend of Harry and Prince William. He secured the exclusive 2010 interview in which William and Kate Middleton announced their engagement. He even went to their wedding. Iranian students have protested outside several universities for a second day amid mounting outrage over officials' admission that an Iranian antiaircraft battery was responsible for downing a Ukrainian passenger jet. Videos circulating on social media on January 12 showed protesters gathering outside Beheshti University in Tehran, chanting "the students are vigilant and are fed up with that Ali" -- a disrespectful reference to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The new protests came one day after Iran's military said that Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 was hit with two missiles fired in error by an Iranian air-defense unit manned by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The crash occurred early January 8, just hours after Iran fired ballistic missiles at U.S. forces on Iraqi bases. Demonstrators have called for those responsible for the missile strike to be tried. Another video showed several dozen students protesting outside the Isfahan University of Technology, south of Tehran, specifically criticizing the IRGC. "The guards are committing crimes and the leader supports them," they chanted. The videos, and the reported protests, could not be immediately verified. More demonstrations were reportedly scheduled for later on January 12, a day after similar events took place in at least five cities, including Tehran. Britain's ambassador, meanwhile, said he was detained briefly by Iranian authorities as he attended a January 11 vigil for the victims of the crash. In a post on Twitter, Rob Macaire said he attended the event in Tehran to pay respects to the victims, and was not attending any political demonstration. Britain's Foreign Ministry called Macaire's detention a violation of international law. But Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned Macaire on January 12 to complain about what it called "his unconventional behavior of attending an illegal rally." "Today, Rob Macaire was summoned because of his unconventional behavior of attending an illegal rally on Saturday," the report said. At one of the January 11 demonstrations, the semiofficial Fars news agency said, some protesters ripped up photographs of Major General Qasem Soleimani, the powerful military commander who was assassinated by a U.S. drone strike on January 3 near Baghdad's airport. Iran's military said the Ukrainian jet was shot down when it was mistaken for a "hostile target" after it turned toward a "sensitive military center" of the IRGC. The jet's downing, the missile attack, and the killing of Soleimani have further stoked already high tensions, particularly between Tehran and Washington. Late on January 11, U.S. President Donald Trump appealed to Iranians, expressing support for "brave" protesters and warning the Iranian government. "To the brave, long-suffering people of Iran: I've stood with you since the beginning of my Presidency, and my Administration will continue to stand with you. We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage," he wrote on Twitter on January 11 in English and Perrsian. He added that Tehran "must allow human rights groups to monitor and report facts from the ground on the ongoing protests by the Iranian people." "There cannot be another massacre of peaceful protesters, nor an internet shutdown. The world is watching," he added, referring to a previous round of anti-government protests in November and December that saw more than 300 people killed and a shutdown of the Internet. Although saying its forces shot down the plane, Iran tried put some of the blame on the United States. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the incident occurred "at a time of crisis caused by U.S. adventurism." "A sad day. Preliminary conclusions of internal investigation by Armed Forces: Human error at time of crisis caused by U.S. adventurism led to disaster," Zarif wrote on Twitter. Amirali Hajizadeh, head of the aerospace division of the IRGC, said that his unit accepted "full responsibility" for the tragedy. Until the admission, Tehran had vehemently denied allegations by Western leaders and experts, and evidence that indicated an Iranian missile had brought down the plane. The Ukraine International Airlines flight was en route to Kyiv, carrying 82 Iranians, 57 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, 10 Afghans, three Germans, and three Britons. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his country expected a full probe and compensation from Iran. "We expect from Iran assurances of their readiness for a full and open investigation, bringing those responsible to justice, the return of the bodies of the dead, the payment of compensation, official apologies through diplomatic channels," Zelensky said on January 11. Zelenskiy spoke later in the day by phone with Iranian President Hassan Rohani. Zelenskiys office said Rohani apologized for the tragedy and promised that those responsible would be held accountable. The two also discussed Iranian compensation to the victims, the office said. With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Farda Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari visited the ISKCON temple in Juhu area here on Sunday and interacted with devotees. ISKCON president Braj Hari Das, and industrialists Gopichand Hinduja and Ashok Hinduja were present at the temple, a Raj Bhavan press release said here. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), colloquially known as the Hare Krishna movement, is a Hindu religious organisation. The ISCKON temple here is set up on a four-acre land near the Juhu beach. Opened in 1978, it is one of the most visited temple complex in the country. The complex includes a spacious marble temple, an auditorium, a restaurant and a twin towered seven-storey guest house where visitors can stay. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) She may have returned from her lavish Bali getaway a week ago. But Victoria's Secret model Kelly Gale, 24, couldn't resist sharing another throwback photo from her time in the tropical paradise on Sunday. Taking to Instagram, the Australian-Swedish beauty shared two snaps of herself posing on a wharf in a skimpy blue G-string bikini. Bikini babe! Victoria's Secret model Kelly Gale, 24, took to Instagram Stories on Sunday to share a racy throwback snap from her recent trip to Bali Arching her back seductively, Kelly flaunted her incredibly toned torso and a glimpse of underboob in the racy images. The runway star sported a subtle makeup look and allowed her raven tresses to fall loosely by her shoulders. Kelly is known for her dedication to maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle. Sending pulses racing! Arching her back seductively, Kelly flaunted her incredible physique in a tiny blue bikini as she lounged on a wharf In an interview with Vogue Australia in November 2018, Kelly spoke about her extreme exercise regimen in the lead up to the since-cancelled annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. 'To be honest, my exercise regimen doesn't change that much leading up to the show,' she told the publication at the time. 'I work out six days per week all year round and usually work out two hours per day, and on top of that, I like power walking 15 to 30 kilometres each day.' 'I work out six days per week': Kelly is known for her dedication to maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle She added: 'In the lead up to the show, I walk closer to 30 kilometres every day, [and] work out two hours per day.' Meanwhile, Kelly is enjoying a blossoming romance with actor Joel Kinnaman, 39. Kelly previously dated long-term boyfriend Johannes Jarl, while Joel split from his ex-wife, Cleo Wattenstrom, in late 2018 after two years of marriage. Demonstrators attend a protest to oppose the threat of war with Iran, in London, Britain, Jan. 11, 2020. Reuters Iranian authorities briefly detained Britain's ambassador in Tehran on Saturday, according to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, after he was reportedly arrested during protests against the regime. "The arrest of our ambassador in Tehran without grounds or explanation is a flagrant violation of international law," Raab said in a statement after the detention of Rob Macaire. The minister warned Iran that it was "at a cross-roads moment", and had to choose between "its march towards pariah status" or "take steps to de-escalate tensions and engage in a diplomatic path forwards." Macaire was arrested for allegedly "inciting" protesters in Tehran angry at the military's accidental downing of a Ukranian passenger jet, killing 176 people, most of them Iranian citizens, according to the Daily Mail. MILFORD Women Redefining Retirement will hold its first meeting of the year at a new venue and a new time. The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Jan. 13 at the Milford Senior Center, 9 Jepson Drive. in the large conference room on the second floor. Nicole Camporale will speak about the value of estate planning, and a collection of pet food and supplies will be held to benefit the Milford Animal Shelter. Food donations will go to the Beth El Shelter. New members are welcome. For information, visit wrrofmilford@google.com. Connex donations support New Reach mission Connex Credit Union recently donated $1,000 and more than 600 new household items to New Reach, a nonprofit that helps people in Connecticut who are facing homelessness and poverty, according to a release. As part of its annual holiday drive and philanthropic program, Connex collected donations throughout December 2019 to help a single mother of two to reestablish her family after being removed by New Reach from an unsafe domestic situation, the release said. Connex members and staff, as well as local community residents donated basic household items and supplies, as well as toys and gift cards. Donations were plentiful enough that not only was the original family aided, but excess donations were provided to other families in need within the New Reach program, according to the release. We cannot put into words how truly grateful we are for the overwhelming support we received and the selflessness of everyone involved, Carl Casper, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Connex Credit Union, said in the release. It truly warms our hearts to see a community band together around the true spirit of the holiday season and help change the lives of families in need. For information about New Reach or to donate, visit newreach.org. Information about ConnexCares and Connexs philanthropic initiatives is available at connexcu.org. WILMINGTON A 34-year-old Waltham man was critically injured after his car rolled over on Interstate-93 early Sunday morning. The crash occurred at about 2:30 a.m. on the northbound side of the highway on the Exit 41 ramp leading to Route 125, Massachusetts State Police said. The victim, whose name was not released, was alone when he lost control of the 2003 Toyota Camry Solara he was driving. The vehicle rolled over and he was ejected. He was brought to Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington suffering life-threatening injuries, police said. The ramp was closed until about 5 a.m. while troopers cleared the scene and investigated, police said. The cause remains under investigation by troopers assigned to State Police barracks in Andover. Multiple state police units including Troop A Headquarters, Crime Scene Services Section and Collision Analysis Reconstruction Section assisted at the scene. The Wilmington Fire Department and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation also responded to the crash. Scott Morrison has hit back at protesters demanding more government action on climate change, saying even shutting down every coal plant in the country would hardly make a dent in the fight against global warming. The Prime Minister said he remained committed to cutting back Australia's carbon emissions but admitted he won't increase the current 26 per cent reduction target in place. In an interview with ABC TV on Sunday, host David Speers said the plan means the country would go from emitting 534 megatonnes to 511, by 2030. 'Doesn't sound like a big decrease,' he told the prime minister. Mr Morrison replied: 'We could close down every single power generation facility in the country and those emissions would be taken up by China in about nine days. 'So I think we need to understand that global emissions don't have an accent, they come from many countries.' Scott Morrison said he remains committed to reducing Australia's carbon emissions, in an interview with the ABC on Sunday Mr Morrison said one of the issues which should be explored by a royal commission into the bushfires, which he will put to cabinet and the state premiers in coming weeks, would be the impact of climate change Mr Morrison has faced criticism for lacking ambition on the issue, and many of his coalition colleagues have downplayed the link between climate change and the fire crisis. He told Speers it is his intention to 'meet and beat that target' while trying to 'evolve' Australia's policies on the issue. 'In the years ahead we are going to continue to evolve our policy in this area to reduce emissions even further and we are going to do it without a carbon tax, without putting up electricity prices and without shutting down traditional industries,' he said. 'I'm not willing to put someone's job at risk, a region town's future at risk I won't put up electricity prices to do it or put a tax on them. 'The way we've met our Kyoto 2020 targets, met and beat, we did that through better policies.' Catastrophic: The current bushfire season in Australia has so far claimed 26 lives, destroyed about 2,000 homes and killed close to a billion animals Hundreds of activists from Extinction Rebellion stage a protest outside the Australian Embassy in London Mr Morrison acknowledged some within coalition ranks felt climate change had nothing to do with the bushfires but said it was the government's 'uncontested' position that climate change was impacting on longer, hotter, drier summer seasons. He said he plans to follow the policy framework he proposed during the 2019 election while keeping the country's economic interests in mind. 'I'm saying we want to reduce emissions and do the best job we possibly can and get better at it. 'I want to do that with a balanced policy which recognises Australia's broader national economic interests and social interest,' he added. Mr Morrison said one of the issues which should be explored by a royal commission into the bushfires, which he will put to cabinet and the state premiers in coming weeks, would be the impact of climate change. The PM also responded to criticism of how he's handled the bushfire disaster admitting there are areas 'we need to learn from.' Mr Morrison was fiercely criticised for taking a family holiday to Hawaii in December at the height of the national disaster. Protests around the country were organised on Friday in response to the ongoing bushfire crisis in Australia Activists rally for climate action at Sydney Town Hall on Friday January 10 'In hindsight, I would not have taken that trip knowing what I know now,' he admitted. 'One of the great difficulties in any job, as you know, David, is balancing your work and family responsibilities. It had been a very busy year. 'I'd made a promise to my kids and we'd taken forward that break, as I explained when I came back and I thought I was very up-front about my contrition on that.' When asked if he did not see the need for a leader on the ground he 'I texted Anthony Albanese on my way out the door so I wasn't secretive about it. 'I've followed the same practice on two other occasions. The Office won't do that again. You learn from these things.' Qatar's ruler, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, said during a visit to Iran on Sunday that de-escalation and dialogue were needed to resolve regional crises at a "sensitive" time. He was speaking in a televised news conference with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during a visit to Tehran at a time of heightened U.S.-Iranian tensions that threaten to destabilise the region. Sheikh Tamim also thanked Iran, with which his country shares a giant gas field, for supporting Doha by providing air and land routes after Saudi Arabia and its allies imposed a trade and transport boycott on Qatar in mid-2017. Search Keywords: Short link: Email To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required. Your Full Name: (optional) Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required. New Delhi [India], Jan 12 (ANI): Indian Navy on Sunday said that the developmental Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)(N) MK1 achieved another important milestone by successfully undertaking the maiden Ski Jump Take-Off from INS Vikramaditya. With this feat, the indigenously developed niche technologies specific to deck based fighter operations have been proven, which will now pave the way to develop and manufacture the Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter for the #IndianNavy. Taking to Twitter, the Indian Navy said: "The developmental LCA (N) MK1 achieved another important milestone today by successfully undertaking the maiden Ski Jump Take-Off from INS Vikramaditya." "This landmark event demonstrates Professional commitment and synergy between various agencies ADA, HAL, CEMILAC and Indian Navy in harnessing the potential of our scientists, engineers and naval flight testing community towards meeting the expectations of the nation," it added. Indian Army, in another tweet, said that with this feat, the indigenously developed niche technologies specific to deck based fighter operations have been proven, which will now pave the way to develop and manufacture the Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter for the Indian Navy. (ANI) More than a dozen Saudi military personnel training in the U.S. are being expelled following an investigation into a shooting rampage at a Florida military base that killed three American service members, multiple media outlets reported. Eight others were wounded in the Dec. 6 attack at Naval Air Station Pensacola. The Saudis being ousted are not accused of conspiring with the shooter, a 21-year-old member of the Royal Saudi Air Force, CNN reported. Some were found to have connections to extremist groups and others were found in possession of child porn, CNN said, citing two officials close to the investigation. The Washington Post said federal officials were preparing to announce developments in the case within days. The gunman, a second lieutenant, was fatally shot by a sheriff's deputy responding to the attack. The Pentagon then grounded all Saudi pilots training in the United States. Tweets attributed to the killer criticized U.S. support for Israel. He was one of 852 Saudi nationals in the U.S. for military training under a security cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia, and the Pentagon immediately began scouring government and commercial databases in a search for red flags. Denis Tauber stands at the funeral for Navy Airman Apprentice Cameron Walters in Savannah, Ga., Monday, Dec. 16, 2019. Walters was killed in a Saudi gunman's attack at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida. The Pentagon would neither confirm nor deny the report. "In the wake of the Pensacola tragedy, the Department of Defense restricted to classroom training programs foreign military students from Saudi Arabia while we conducted a review and enhancement of our foreign student vetting procedures," said Lt. Col. Robert Carver, a spokesman for the Department of Defense. "That training pause is still in place while we implement new screening and security measures." Carver referred further inquiries to the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY. In a Dec. 10 memo to military leaders calling for enhanced vetting of foreign nationals entering the U.S. for training, Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist referred to Saudi Arabia as an "essential partner" for the Pentagon. The country is the top buyer of U.S. arms and hosts a growing contingent of U.S. troops sent to the Middle East. Story continues No conspirators have been charged in the attack, which drew condemnation from the Saudi government. Saudi officials pledged full support for the U.S. investigation. The Navy identified the victims as Airman Mohammed Hathaim, 19, from St. Petersburg, Florida; Ensign Joshua Kaleb Watson, 23, from Coffee, Alabama; and Airman Apprentice Cameron Scott Walters, 21, from Richmond Hill, Georgia. Contributing: Tom Vanden Brook This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pensacola shooting: At least 12 Saudis face expulsion from US On Saturday, the new Indian Army chief, General MM Naravane laid out his vision of the role of the forces as well as outlined the challenges the army faces. In itself, this may have passed off as a routine briefing. But the intervention was particular significant because of the broad political context in which it was made, the evolving security landscape, and the change in the national security architecture underway with the appointment of the Chief of Defence Staff. What stood out in General Naravanes comments was his firm and unequivocal commitment to the Constitution. To be sure, every army chief has worked within the constitutional structure. But at a time when politics is deeply polarised, and there has been concern over the somewhat political remarks made by Naravanes predecessor, General Bipin Rawat, the chiefs comment are a reminder of the broad principles which govern the Indian Army. His emphasis on the fact that the army fights to preserve values of liberty, equality, fraternity and justice for citizens shows a deep belief in the original vision of the drafters of the Constitution and provides a deeper justification of the armys mandate. His emphasis on respecting fundamental rights carries meaning, for security compulsions have often been posited against civil liberties in effect, the chief was suggesting that the motive for the army to provide security was to enable citizens to exercise these rights. His comments also reflects a commitment to the framework of civil-military relations, where the elected government is the final authority. The other thread of the chiefs remark was on the challenging security situation India faces, on both the China and Pakistan front. But these are not necessarily independent fronts, given the deep nexus between Islamabad and Beijing. By highlighting Siachen as a potentially space where this collusion could happen, he was alerting the country to the sensitivity of one of worlds toughest battle terrain. His emphasis on rebalancing, which meant enhanced preparations across the northern border with China, was based on the recognition that Indias strategic challenge notwithstanding the emphasis on Pakistan in everyday discourse perhaps lies elsewhere. The chief also reiterated the Indian Armys commitment to the broader integration of services, which is the CDSs remit. Put it all together, and General Naravane came across as a clear, articulate thinker, committed to the Constitution, and also focused on the need to modernise Indias forces and train them with an eye on the evolving security challenges. Authorities have identified the two victims fatally shot in Framingham Friday night. James Manny Wade, 45, of Framingham, and his son, James Wade, 24, of Framingham, died following a shooting at roughly 11:30 p.m. in the area of Second Street and Beaver Street in Framingham, according to a statement from the Middlesex District Attorneys Office. James Wade died at the scene, and his father later died at MetroWest Medical Center, officials said. A resident near the scene called police at roughly 11:40 p.m., saying they heard multiple gunshots and saw someone laying on the ground. The Middlesex DAs office, Framingham Police Department and Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the Middlesex DAs office are actively investigating the shooting. The preliminary investigation suggests this was an isolated incident, officials said. No arrests have been made. Love Island's Curtis Pritchard has been hit by claims he cosied up to a woman behind his girlfriend Maura Higgins' back during a night out on New Year's Eve. The Greatest Dancer's receptionist, 23, was apparently caught in a 'passionate clinch' with a mystery woman on the dance floor of a night club in High Wycombe, Bucks. According to The Sun, the pair were seen getting close during a night out at O'Neill's bar as they celebrated the end of the decade. Accusations:Love Island's Curtis Pritchard has been hit by claims he cosied up to a woman behind Maura Higgins' back during a night out on New Year's Eve (pictured earlier this month) In the clip obtained by the publication appeared to show Curtis with his arms around the unknown woman. A source told the paper: 'He started embracing her, in the full view of the entire club. It was quite shocking given we all knew he had a girlfriend.' Maura and Curtis' representatives have been contacted by MailOnline. A source close to Curtis denied allegations to The Sun that he had cheated on Maura. Unknown woman: The reality star, 23, was apparently caught in a 'passionate clinch' on the dance floor of a night club in High Wycombe, Bucks (pictured with Maura last September) It comes after Maura, 29, insisted she and her beau will not be hit by the Dancing On Ice curse on Loose Women earlier this week. The Irish beauty, who is set to made her show debut on Sunday, said Curtis has no qualms about her partnership with Alexander Demetriou. She said: 'I dont think hes worried. Curtis is a dancer, he knows you have to have chemistry with your partner. The brunette beauty also declared that Curtis still gives her 'f***y flutters' six months into their romance, in a nod to her signature phrase while in the Mallorcan villa. On how their romance has stayed strong in the outside world, Maura said the pair "support one another" but, due to the nature of their work, are unable to see each other very regularly. She said: 'We dont see each other as much as we hoped. But were both in the same line of work now so we understand each other. So when we do see each other its nice.' Smitten: It comes after Maura, 29, insisted she and her beau will not be hit by the Dancing On Ice curse during a candid interview on Loose Women earlier this week Couple: Curtis and grid girl Maura coupled up on last summer's series of Love Island but only made their relationship official two months after the show ended (pictured last year) Curtis and grid girl Maura coupled up on last summer's series of Love Island but only made their relationship official two months after the show ended. Speaking exclusively to MailOnline in October, Curtis admitted he was worried about making things official with his other half. He confessed: 'I was nervous. Im not a person who sleeps around a lot or had a lot of girlfriends. 'I've only ever really had one [girlfriend] before that and then what happened in the villa happened. I was nervous to ask because I didn't really know how to do that stuff.' The moment is graven into the history of Buttes cleanup by a photograph that has become shorthand for a long-held dream. On Jan. 27, 2018, Doug Benevento, then EPAs Region 8 administrator, triumphantly announced what had eluded negotiators for well over a decade an agreement in principle on a consent decree for the Butte Hill cleanup. When he was asked the inevitable question does the agreement include plans for a restored Upper Silver Bow Creek? Benevento replied by holding up a copy of the citizens group Restore Our Creeks book detailing plans for a restored creek. He said the agreement enabled Restore Our Creeks vision, and that nothing in the agreement precludes a creek. Walt Hinick, photographer for The Montana Standard, did not miss the moment. His photo of Benevento with the creek plan has become emblematic of the communitys desire for a restored creek, and EPAs recognition of that idea. In the two years since Beneventos assertion, Restore Our Creek and other community members have said, in effect, prove it. In various conversations with stakeholders about the possibility of a creek in the corridor between Montana Resources and the confluence of Blacktail and Silver Bow creeks, caution often prevailed. Comments about cost, unfavorable topography and logistical obstructions like, for instance, Harrison Avenue were often used as expectation-tamping tools. And while some ideas were exchanged between the parties to those discussions, none of the Superfund negotiators EPA, the state of Montana, Butte-Silver Bow or Atlantic Richfield ever produced a map with a restored creek on it. After considerable back-and-forth, EPA issued a $50,000 grant to the Citizens Technical Environmental Committee in Butte, to underwrite a feasibility study to see if a creek would be compatible with the remedial plans for the Butte Hill. Now, that analysis has been completed by Water & Environmental Technologies. WET partner Elizabeth Erickson will discuss the study at a special CTEC presentation for the public Tuesday at Montana Tech (see information box). She previewed it for The Montana Standard. Spoiler alert: The report makes clear that a creek is eminently feasible and estimates the total cost, including design and construction, land acquisition, and road, pipe and utility crossings, at about $12.4 million far less than it cost, for instance, to remove the Parrot tailings. Further, the analysis specifies that amount could be considerably less if construction of the lined creek were done in full coordination with the remedial work to be done in the corridor basically, at the same time. The studys executive summary concludes: With the existing available information, the feasibility review concluded that no design/construction considerations preclude the future restoration of a lined, meandering Silver Bow Creek corridor in its historic upper reaches from Continental/Shields Avenue to Blacktail Creek near the KOA Campground. Erickson said, I think its not only doable, but its a great recreational opportunity in the middle of our town. * The study originally considered three potential stream alignments. The one recommended by the analysis, Alternative 1A, provides a stream corridor beginning near Continential Drive/Shields Avenue and ending at Blacktail Creek south of the KOA campground. The route begins south of Continental Drive/Shields Avenue; proceeds through the Butte-Silver Bow maintenance shops/Parrot tailings removal phase 2 area; along the southern edge of the Civic Center parking lot; under Harrison Avenue; through private property to Casey Street; under Casey Street; through a reserved area provided in the conceptual design for the Northside Tailings area; under George Street; through a reserved area provided in the conceptual design for the Diggings East area; crossing private property to Kaw Avenue; and, using the MDT right of way, converging with Blacktail Creek. Alternative 1B would have been the same until it reached Kaw Avenue. At that point, it turned north, crossing George Street and connecting to Silver Bow Creek. But the study found that alignment would potentially conflict with remedy features planned for Diggings East, the existing storm water channel and the Subdrain, also part of the remedy. Additionally, as this alignment flows to the north, the ground surface elevation increases, thus precluding gravity flow of water in this section of the corridor. Based on the possible impacts to remedy and major design considerations it is deemed less feasible than Alternative 1A and will not be further considered, the study says. Also briefly considered was an Alternative 2, which would have used the existing Upper Silver Bow Creek channel, now used to convey storm water, to Silver Bow Creek. The remedial Silver Bow Creek Subdrain, a sanitary sewer main, storm sewer components, and many other utilities are located near this channel, the study says. This alternative would involve providing an alternate route for storm water, such as putting it in a pipe, and building the stream channel on top of the storm water piping. It is unknown at this time whether adequate space is available in the channel for both storm water and the creek channel. This option does not provide the meandering aesthetics and natural stream banks as envisioned in the Silver Bow Creek Headwaters Park plan, and thus does not achieve the community goals outlined therein, the study said. In addition, much existing remedial and municipal infrastructure is located along this channel and there is and will continue to be a need for access to this infrastructure for operation and maintenance purposes, the study said. Thus this alternative does not meet community goals or the project requirement not to impact remedial features, and has been deemed less than feasible. The following specific parameters were used to define the study: The clean water flowing along the creek must have no contact with groundwater, which is currently contaminated, until such time that the lining is no longer needed. The restored lined creek will rely on gravity flow. The proposed creek alignment must accommodate anticipated future flows from remedially mandated water treatment discharge and other available waters, with a target of no less than the average daily flow of Blacktail Creek over the past decade (no less than 10 cubic feet per second). The study identified challenges along the creek alignment, including street crossings, pipelines and the existing Silver Bow Creek channel. Certainly, engineering challenges abound along the 7,200-foot length of the lined creek option that the study favors. The chosen alignment allows for "a lined corridor width of 50 feet and an average excavation depth of 10 feet," the study says. Perhaps the biggest issue to be managed overall is the very slight elevation change the topography of the corridor is very nearly flat. Particularly from George Street to Kaw Avenue, there is currently very little surface slope, the analysis says. Heres one area where it would make sense to coordinate the creek work with the planned work on the remedy, Erickson said. In remedy, waste must be removed from the Diggings East and Northside Tailings locations, and a system of storm water retention ponds are planned there. With all that earth-moving, its impossible to know now what final surface elevations will be. But if that work were done with an eye to elevation requirements for the nearby creek channel, it would prevent earth having to be moved yet again to modify the topography for the creeks elevation requirements. Other challenges come in the form of road crossings, pipeline crossings, and utility line crossings. Each has been identified to the best possible degree based on current information. Each has been analyzed with alternatives presented. And each has been accounted for in the cost estimate. Also, there are places in the proposed alignment where the groundwater is close to the surface, raising the issue of potentially floating the liner. But that problem, too, is not insurmountable, Erickson said. An encouraging sign: In arriving at the proposed alignment and doing the analysis, WET met with all the stakeholders Atlantic Richfield, EPA, Butte-Silver Bow, and the state Natural Resource Damage Program and the Department of Environmental Quality. It was a fun project. Talking to all the stakeholders made me feel like the project is possible, Erickson said. She said she was also surprised and pleased that the creek's costs seem reasonable much less than some numbers that had been thrown around earlier in discussions about the potential project. We are pleased that the WET analysis finds the proposed restoration of the first mile of Silver Bow Creek compatible with the remedy in the upcoming consent decree, said Northey Tretheway, spokesperson for Restore Our Creek. WETs analysis brings some comfort to the people of Butte who are committed to the creeks restoration. Erickson said one thing that encouraged her was a key interaction with Butte-Silver Bow. Near where the creek would begin, we originally had it winding through the shops area, where Phase 2 of the Parrot removal will be, she said. The county took exception to that, saying that it hoped to reserve much of that property for development. But then they told us something we didnt know: They had earmarked a strip at the edge of that property for a potential waterway. So we put it there. And just as it would be elsewhere, the creek could be an amenity that makes the rest of the property more valuable, Erickson said. When asked about it, Butte-Silver Bow Superfund Coordinator Jon Sesso said much the same. Whether that property gets developed as a hotel, or as a residential area, it could be a plus to have a water feature right there. Sesso said he has not seen the feasibility analysis yet, but reminded, Hey, were pretty bullish about the plan we have. He said the planned storm water retention ponds and the connections between them would themselves provide the public with a water feature. Tretheway, however, said the group remains determined to see a restored creek. The WET report is a step in the right direction, but all in Butte must remain alert and active as the consent decree review process proceeds to make sure their process does not exclude Buttes first mile. We have come a long way and we do not want to falter or lose something in the closing minutes of this very long game. Love 4 Funny 7 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said that passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act is the first time a religious test has been introduced into the definition of Indian citizenship. The problem with the Citizenship Amendment Act is that it is wrong in principle. This is the first time that a religious test has been introduced into the definition of Indian citizenship. Never before, in our country has it mattered what your religion was to qualify to be an Indian citizen," Tharoor said addressing a group of students at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). As many as 36 students were injured after a masked mob had entered the varsity on the night of January 5 and assaulted the students and professors with sticks and rods. "What happened on January 5 was inexcusable. As a parent I feel the anguish that your parents must have suffered seeing the way in which all of you students were assaulted with impunity by masked thugs and goons brought here in some cases from other campuses," Tharoor said. "What they did, with the police waiting outside the gates, with a reticence that they could not show in Jamia on December 15. The police stood by while others came and did the dirty work of assaulting you," he added. He said that this is not what our country is about and this has never been allowed to happen before. "The worst things are, that it reminded students of history like myself of events in Nazi Germany in the 1930s when sadly the same tactic was employed as young troopers of the ruling party marched into several campuses and assaulted several students," Tharoor said. Earlier in the day, the Congress leader from Thiruvananthapuram had visited Jamia Millia Islamia University and nearby Shaheen Bagh area to express solidarity with protestors. The MP later tweeted about his visits to the two universities: "Glimpses of today's crowds at the three #CAA_NRC_Protests I addressed. Let there be no doubt, this is a people's upsurge, going well beyond any political party. We should applaud the courage & determination of ordinary people without seeking to appropriate their movement. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Colombo, Jan 12 : Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is slated to visit India next month, during which he will hold talks with his counterpart Narendra Modi, it was reported on Sunday. This will be his first trip to India after assuming office in November 2019 and the third high-level visit to New Delhi by a member of the new Sri Lankan government, the Colombo Gazette said in the report. Sources in the Prime Minister's Office confirmed the visit but said that the dates were yet to be finalised. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's first overseas visit after taking office was to India where he had talks with Prime Minister Modi. Last week, Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena was in India for talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. 2020 ELECTIONS / President Tsai wins second term with huge victory ROC Central News Agency 01/11/2020 11:28 PM Taipei, Jan. 11 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen () has been elected to a second four-year term after defeating her main competitor, Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu () of the Kuomintang (KMT), by a wide margin. Tsai of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) received 8.17 million votes, or 57.13 percent of the total valid ballots cast, while Han garnered 5.52 million votes, or 38.61 percent. The third candidate, James Soong () of the People First Party (PFP), garnered 608,590 votes, or 4.26 percent, according to vote tallies from the Central Election Commission. Voter turnout was 74.9 percent. Tsai's vote total was the highest ever recorded for any candidate in a presidential election in Taiwan, breaking the previous high of 7.66 million votes received by Ma Ying-jeou () in the 2008 election. At an international conference following the victory, Tsai described the election as demonstrating the resolve of Taiwan's people in standing up to China's threat. "The results of this election carry an added significance because they have shown that when our sovereignty and democracy are threatened, the Taiwanese people will shout our determination even more loudly back," she said. Tsai emphasized that in the face of China's diplomatic pressure, military threats and intention to "unilaterally change the cross-Taiwan Strait status quo," her commitment to peaceful, stable cross-strait relations remained unchanged. "Today, I want to once again call upon the Beijing authorities to remind them that peace, parity, democracy and dialogue are the key to positive cross-strait interactions and long-term stable development," she said. "I also hope that the Beijing authorities understand that democratic Taiwan and our democratically-elected government will not concede to threats and intimidation." The results were consistent with final opinion polls released 10 days before the election that had Tsai winning by a double-digit margin, often above 20 percentage points. Tsai also came close to repeating her 25-point victory in 2016, in which she grabbed 56.12 percent of the vote, against 31.04 percent for Eric Chu () of the KMT and 12.83 percent for Soong. Her triumph likely means a continued standoff between Taiwan and China, which has marked her first term, and a continued emphasis on relations with the United States and other major democracies to help resist China's efforts to keep Taiwan out of the international community. Domestically, she should be able to continue to push through legislation she wants because her DPP held its majority in the Legislative Yuan. The victory was a remarkable rebound for a candidacy that pundits thought was in trouble after a major defeat for Tsai and her party in nationwide elections for local offices in November 2018. Tsai's approval ratings plunged to their lowest point in December 2018 following Han's astonishing victory in Kaohsiung mayoral race that ended 20 years of DPP control in southern Taiwan's biggest city. Her approval rating fell to 24.3 percent against 60.3 percent disapproval, according to a Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation (TPOF) tracking poll at the time, and that weakness led to calls that she abandon plans to seek re-election. It also led to a challenge in the DPP's presidential primary, the first time an incumbent president in Taiwan had to compete for the party's nomination in a primary. Starting in January 2019, however, public support for Tsai rebounded after she embarked on an aggressive year-long strategy to play the sovereignty card by pledging to defend Taiwan's sovereignty and democratic system against China's "one country, two systems" formula. That strategy, helped by the massive protests against Chinese encroachment that shook Hong Kong in the second half of the year, helped fuel Tsai's victory. Taiwan does not offer immediate exit polling data, but the last TPOF poll showed 52.6 percent support for Tsai's handling of relations with China against 39.5 percent opposition, a complete flip from 25.3 support and 65.7 percent opposition in December 2018. The Hong Kong protests also seemed to galvanize a big advantage for Tsai among young voters, who are more likely to favor Taiwan independence and a hard line politically against China. In a pre-election TVBS poll, Tsai had a 63-24 percent advantage over Han among 20-29 year olds and a 56-21 percent edge among 30-39 year olds. The question was whether the 1.18 million young Taiwanese eligible to vote in a presidential election for the first time this year would actually show up at polling stations, after only 57 percent of young voters turned out in 2016. The winning margin suggested that they did. Overall satisfaction with Tsai's performance also apparently swayed voters. By the TPOF's final pre-election poll in December 2019, the 60.3 disapproval vs. 24.3 percent approval that was seen at the end of 2018 had flipped to 49.3 percent approval of Tsai's performance against 38.3 percent disapproval . Tsai's victory was also propelled by serious missteps by the KMT and Han. Han was heavily criticized for expressing interest in running for the presidency only three months after assuming his duties as Kaohsiung mayor. The tsunami-like Han wave, which swept him to a shocking victory in Kaohsiung, ebbed in mid-2019 with allegations of his involvement in buying luxury properties, hurting his average Joe image, as well as having extramarital affairs. His visit in March 2019 to China's liaison offices in Hong Kong and Macau -- which are synonymous with Beijing's "one country, two systems" approach -- gave the DPP the chance to brand him as a puppet of China. From that point on, he and the KMT had trouble convincing voters that they could resume warmer relations with China without compromising Taiwan's sovereignty, security or democracy. Han was still in the race as recently as early August, when he had a 3-point lead over Tsai in a TVBS tracking poll, and trailed Tsai by only 1.9 points in an Apple Daily poll. But bad public relations over his luxury properties, the intensification of the protests in Hong Kong and the big victory for pro-democracy forces there in November, essentially put the race out of reach in Tsai's favor. (By Elizabeth Hsu) Enditem/ls NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday (local time) said that many questions remain unanswered about the downing of the Ukraine jetliner by Iran which killed all 176 people onboard. "Canada and the rest of the still have many questions that must be answered. Iran's admission is an important step providing answers for the families of the victims. But I noted that many more steps must be taken," said Trudeau in press conference after speaking to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani about the downing of the plane. He also said that a full and complete investigation must be conducted on how such a horrific tragedy could have occurred. Earlier, Trudeau had stated that the Ukrainian airliner was shot down by Iranian surface-to-air missile, adding that the action by Tehran may be 'unintentional'. Yesterday, Rouhani, in a statement posted on social media, admitted Tehran's role saying, "Our country deeply regrets this disastrous mistake." Iran had denied for several days that a missile downed the aircraft, calling such suggestions "psychological warfare". But then, the US and Canada, citing intelligence, said they believed Tehran had shot down the aircraft. The jetliner, a Boeing 737-800 operated by Ukraine International Airlines, went down in the outskirts of Tehran during takeoff just hours after Iran launched a barrage of missiles at US military bases in Iraq. The plane, en route to the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members from several countries, including 82 Iranians, 57 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians when it was shot down. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jonathan Ernst/Reuters President Donald Trump concocted a blatant lie in a tweet Saturday morning, accusing Democrats of defending the life of Qassem Soleimani who he called one of the worst terrorists in history. There is no evidence that any Democrats have made such a defense. After Trump ally Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) made a similar assertion earlier this week, he apologized soon thereafter. Russians Think Soleimani Was Great, and Trumps a Big Loser Writing on Twitter, the president asked, Where have the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats gone when they have spent the last 3 days defending the life of Qassem Soleimani, adding, He was also looking to do big future damage! Dems are unhinged. Earlier in the week, Nikki Haley, Trumps former Ambassador to the United Nations, claimed on Fox News that Democrats were mourning the loss of the Iranian general. When pressed on what she meant, she doubled down. Mourning comes in different forms, Haleys office said in a statement. It doesnt have to be literally crying over the casket like Ayatollah [Ali] Khamenei. Leading Democrats are aggressively arguing that we would be better off if Qassem Suleimani was still alive today. That is effectively mourning his death. Democratic presidential candidates have been explicit about Soleimanis legacy. No Americans will mourn Qassem Soleimanis passing, Democratic presidential hopeful and former Vice President Joe Biden said. He deserved to be brought to justice. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) also called the Iranian general a murderer, responsible for the deaths of thousands, including hundreds of Americans even as she questioned the strategic reasoning behind the timing of the strike that took him out. The mistruth follows a barrage of other eyebrow-raising claims by the president. On Friday, he claimed that four embassies were under threat from Iran. But, as the Washington Post reported, that was at odds with intelligence assessments from senior officials. Story continues The Trump administration has been under increasing pressure to supply concrete evidence about the imminent threat that led them to take out Soleimani, the head of Irans elite Quds Force. 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. Hyderabad: The Telangana Rashtra Samiti has announced that it has set up a nine-member committee to coordinate its election preparedness and campaign for the upcoming civic body elections. The committee will immediately start working from Telangana Bhavan, the TRS party headquarters, till the completion of the elections, party working president and minister K.T. Rama Rao said on Sunday. Rama Rao, who met with party leaders at Telangana Bhavan, said this central coordination committee will assist the local leaders in the various municipalities and municipal corporations where elections are scheduled for January 22. The committee comprises party general secretary Palla Rajeswar Reddy, Hyderabad mayor Bonthu Rammohan, MLCs Seri Subhash Reddy, Srinivas Reddy, Naveen Rao, and TSIIC chairman Gyadari Balamallu, Civil Supplies Corporation chairman Mareddy Srinivas Reddy, party secretary Gattu Ramachandra Rao and Dande Vitthal. Each of these members have been told to take charge of the party campaign in different districts, work along with senior party leaders and MLAs, and provide all necessary information to the party candidates. They have also been tasked with holding media conferences every day addressed by TRS leaders to counter campaigns by the opposition parties. Special focus should be placed on using social media for the party campaign, Rama Rao told them. Further, the committee members have been tasked with speaking with all the candidates who have filed their nominations from the TRS even when not being issued with the B Form that makes a candidate an official nominee of the party. The goal is to ensure that TRS does not face any challenges from rebel candidates denied party nominations, an issue that the TRS has been grappling with ever since the announcement of the civic polls. Rama Rao who met with some ministers, MLAs, MLCs and other party leaders, stressed that the party must work unitedly and carry the message of how the TRS government has provided special funds for Warangal, Khammam and Nizamabad municipal corporations. Our party should explain how setting up of the corporations has speeded up development. It should also be explained in other corporations limits that the government will do the same there too. The TRS must register victories in all the 10 municipal corporations. Every effort should be made to ensure this. And in Karimnagar and Nizamabad the TRS should explain how the BJP and Congress parties are working together with a secret understanding, Rama Rao said. TRS leaders ridicule BJP for fewer candidates Ministers V. Srinivas Goud and Koppua Eshwar on Sunday ridiculed the BJP for allegedly not having enough candidates to contest the municipal elections. They alleged that the BJP leaders were in search of candidates to protect their prestige in the party. Addressing the media at Telangana Bhavan, the ministers said that those who had voted for the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections from the state were now repenting. They would certainly vote against the BJP in the civic polls, they said. They said that the Huzurnagar byelection outcome had exposed the position of the BJP in the state. The BJP will stay that way in the next 20 years. They alleged that the BJP and Congress were trying to give B forms for TRS rebels to allow them to contest the elections. Despite Telangana state paying thousands of crores of tax to the Centre, the ministers alleged that the Centre was not allocating sufficient funds for the states development. Mr Eshwar dared BJP state president Dr K. Laxman to an open debate on the allocation of the funds to Telangana state by the Centre. Mr Eshwar said the people of the state were noticing the development and welfare programmes taken up the state government and will certainly back the TRS in the municipal elections as they did in the zilla parishad elections. Anu Jain Rohatgi By Children are often encouraged to take short afternoon naps to help parents get some time to themselves or increase their energy levels. While adults may not have the luxury of quick snooze, its benefits are aplenty, a new study highlights. The research co-relates healthy heart function with afternoon naps and how 10 or 15 minutes of slumber reduces the occurrence of cardiovascular problems. Around 3,462 people between the ages 35 and 75 were examined in Switzerland. Over a period of five years, they were questioned in detail about their medical history, sleeping patterns, physical activities, etc. Other important parameters such as sex, age, tobacco smoking, sedentary behaviour, BMI, blood pressure and blood sugar were also considered. After these were factored in, researchers found that those who napped once or twice a week had 48 per cent lower risk of cardiovascular diseases. Afternoon nap reduces stress and mental fatigue and makes you happy. When the body is in a relaxed form, it produces endorphins which trigger a positive-happy feeling. Endorphins also reduce the catecholamines level in the body, which are responsible for anger, high blood pressure, increased heartbeat which lead to cardiovascular problems. These hormones release into the blood stream when a person is emotionally or psychically stressed, explains Dr Upendra Kaul, Head, Cardiology Unit, Batra Hospital, Delhi. It is a known medical fact that afternoon nap shifts the sleeper from sympathetic to parasympathetic mode. When you are awake and active, you are in defence and protection mood, it means you are angry, stressed, full of anxiety. This is called a sympathetic mode of the body, which increases the heart rate. But when you take a nap, it shifts you from sympathetic to parasympathetic mode. In this state, the body and mind are relaxed, and pulse and breathing are slower. This process is helpful in progressive muscular relaxation, says Dr K K Aggarwal, President of Heart Care Foundation of India. Parasympathetic mode is a state of healing and a short nap charges our body to give energy equivalent to seven hours of sleep. Generally, we dont dream during short nap, which is again soothing and relaxing for the mind, adds Dr Aggarwal. A NASA study further explains that a 40-minute nap improves performance by 34 per cent and alertness 100 per cent. The study was conducted on sleepy military pilots and astronauts. Experts opine that short naps are as restorative as full night of sleep. Short nap is basically REM [rapid eye movement] sleep which is better for being alert and fresh. Exceeding napping hour leads to sluggishness. Napping between working hours is better than napping on Sundays or other holidays, says Dr Shrikant Sharma, senior consultant, Internal Medicine, Moolchand Hospital, Delhi. Afternoon nap at work is encouraged in Japan and is referred to as the inemuri culture. It is also prevalent in other countries. Spanish siesta is a short nap taken in the early afternoon, often after the midday meal, and the Italian riposo is an extended lunch break that lasts for two-three hours allowing people to nap. Of late, the practice of napping at work has received support from a number of employers across the world. Notable among them are Google, Apple, Nike, BASF, Opel, the Huffington Post and Procter & Gamble, which provide dedicated rooms and sleeping pods for their office employees to take short naps during working hours. Elaborating the advantages of hitting the snooze button, Dr Sharma says, Napping is better than drinking coffee to maintain the alertness and freshness of the mind. Naps are good to boost memory, especially in recalling memory, and hence enhances performance and creativity. Napping calms down nervous system, resulting in reduced fear and stress, and also cuts down chances of mistakes. DECODING SLUMBER More than 85 per cent of mammalian species are polyphasic sleepers, which means they sleep for short duration throughout the day. Humans are part of the minority of monophasic sleepers, which means that our day is divided into two distinct periods, one for sleep and one for wakefulness. 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Marilyn Patino, 45, shared a picture of herself to Instagram on Wednesday holding a large stuffed sloth at a fairground alongside a message about the fires. 'And I think this will be the only way to see them. I feel so guilty,' she originally posted, adding the hashtag 'Australia' and using a koala emoji. Marilyn Patino, 45, shared a picture of herself to Instagram on Wednesday holding a large stuffed sloth at a fairground alongside a message about the horrific fires But Ms Patino confused sloths, which are native to South America, with koalas. Social media users were quick to point out the actress' mistake. 'I like your picture and your message but that stuffed animal is not a koala,' one said. The model took the insults in her stride - saying the comments got her exactly what she wanted. 'I think some did not understand my message but I will not erase it because it worked,' she later added to the message. However Ms Patino confused sloths, which are native to South America, with koalas 'Thank you social media. They talk about love and here you can tell perfectly what is there! For those who call me ignorant, I never said I am intelligent.' The horrific bushfires that have been raging since September have claimed 27 lives. NSW Rural Fire Service deputy commissioner Rob Rogers confirmed on Sunday that 2136 NSW homes have been destroyed this fire season. More than 1200 of those homes have burned down since New Year's Eve. Social media users were quick to point out the actress' mistake to her in the comments section Temperatures in the Snowy Mountains and south coast will be in the low to mid-20s on Sunday and may reach the low 30s by Tuesday, Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Rebecca Kamitakahara said. The southern slopes will be slightly warmer, reaching the high 30s on Tuesday. Ms Kamitakahara said the warmth wouldn't be accompanied by strong winds. Another front containing more moisture would pass over the southeast late in the week, bringing possible showers and thunderstorms. 'That midweek period across southern slopes looks like it'll be the peak of the fire danger this week,' Ms Kamitakahara told AAP. NSW Rural Fire Service deputy commissioner Rob Rogers confirmed on Sunday that 2136 NSW homes have been destroyed this fire season A visitor 'leave zone' still remains in the Adaminaby area but those on the south coast are welcoming back holiday-makers. 'Instead of Bali, think Berrara, Nowra instead of Noumea, Huskisson over Hawaii,' South Coast state MP Shelley Hancock said. Significant amounts of fire remained in the area but the risk had eased and many villages and towns were now safe to visit, the RFS said. Areas heavily impacted by the fires remain accessible to local residents only, while many waterways are still unsafe due to ash, debris and runoff. Just before Christmas, Tony and Anna Hudson decided they were going to give the gift of life to a couple of young men that they had never met before. Working with Stevensville Tire-Ramas manager, Brad Taber, the three donated a brand-new set of studded snow tires to two Stevensville High School students. The donation was in memory of Hudsons son, Wyatt, who lost his life the year before after his pickup truck lost traction, flew off the road and ran into a rail fence on Quast Lane. The students had written essays on the importance of having good tires while navigating Montanas wintery roads. The Hudsons and Taber hoped that real-life experience of driving with good snow tires would impact not only those two young men for the rest of their lives, but maybe even their children and grandchildren, too. That tangible idea of giving young people a chance to experience for themselves the difference between good and bad tires in the wintertime was something that struck home beyond both in the Bitterroot and beyond. This week, the Hudsons and Taber came together again at Stevensville High School to inform student Evynne Alexander that she, too, would be receiving a new set of studded snow tires for her vehicle. The tires had been donated by Kevin Davis of Missoula. Davis had contacted the Stevensville Tire-Rama after learning about the fledgling program and said he wanted to be part of it. Another group from Salmon, Idaho, also reached out to Taber to see about the potential of creating something similar on the other side of the mountains. Tony Hudson said he had also been contacted by someone living on Sunset Bench. They said, Count me in, Hudson said. Since the news came out about this, people have been coming up to me to say that they just love this idea. When you start to talk about it, people get it. Its just never been on their radar screen before. My goal is for this to become a program that impacts generations, he said. When these kids get a chance to drive with good tires in the winter, thats going to be something they want for the rest of their lives. And theyre going to want their kids to have good tires, too. Both Hudson and Taber have been a bit surprised by all the interest. Hudson is working now to create a nonprofit organization so he can start accepting donations to purchase tires for young people. Hes also looking to reach out to other local schools to see if they would be interested in participating in an educational program that would offer their students a chance to win new snow tires. Hudson said he can use all the help he can get. My goal is to make this an annual event, Hudson said. We going to be working with tire manufacturers to see if they would be interested in being a part of it. Its like the best advertising that you can get. If kids get hooked on good tires, they will be buying snow tires for the rest of their lives. I truly think this can be a lifesaver, he said. Its an educational tool that breeds better behavior and builds self-esteem and responsibility because it lets kids know that folks care about them. Taber said probably seven out of 10 customers who have come through the doors of his business since the news began to spread about the tire giveaway have mentioned it. Theres one customer, in particular, who kind of stands out to me, Taber said. They had just moved up here from California and it was kind of an alarming realization for them. Their kids had never seen snow before. None of them had looked at their tires. It was definitely an eye-opener for them. I dont think either one of us really knew how big of a reaction we would get from this, Taber said. It was something we wanted to do to help out in our local community and honor Wyatt, but we didnt know what was going to happen after people heard this story. Its been pretty amazing, he said. Theres a substantial number of people who have said they want to help. Hopefully, we can this turn into something that could spread to other communities in Montana and beyond. Hudson said hes now looking for a name for the new nonprofit thats coming. When the nonprofit has jumped through all its legal hoops, Hudson said 100% of the donations will go toward buying new studded snow tires for young people. Keeping our kids alive is a big deal, Hudson said. If people want to help out, there are all kinds of ways they can do that. Anyone interested in lending a hand can call Hudson at 406-550-1650. 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. A Kildare company has come up with a way for relations to care for the growing number of post-cremation remains. Galway County Council is piloting an initiative by Clane-based Urn Towers, which was set up by Limerick man Stephen Power. A key question for bereaved families is what to do with post-cremation remains. The graveyard in Renville, Oranmore, Galway, which is managed by Galway County Council, is piloting a project which will allow families to inter remains in a new-style memorial called an Urn Tower Vault. Despite the growing popularity of cremation, most of the graveyards in County Galway and elsewhere do not facilitate ash-only interments, said the company. Urn Towers has created an Urn Tower Vault, which allows the interring of cremated remains in graveyards. The Vault, which houses an urn holding a loved ones cremated remains, facilitates an evolution in our burial tradition, said Mr Power. The urns holding the remains are placed inside the family vault. Each Urn Tower Vault can be extended, if needed, to hold more family members urns. Renville Cemetery in Oranmore will be the first Galway graveyard to offer this option. Once the trial period is completed, it is hoped that the Vaults will be available at other Galway graveyards and, eventually, throughout the country. Stephen Power of Urn Towers Mr Power, who has lived in Clane for 20 years, and has his products manufactured by Kent in Wexford, said cremation numbers are growing each year in Ireland. Currently they are running at around 25 to 30% of deaths nationally. Cremation numbers for Kildare in 2017/2018/2019 were 32/44/100, respectively. He said the vast majority of graveyards in Ireland are managed by the local council and do not offer ash-only interment options for families. Crematoriums exist only in Dublin (4) and Clare, Cork and Cavan (one each). The current options for placement of ash-only remains include putting them in existing graves, or, buying a new ash plot or a full burial plot or space on a Columbarium wall. The company was founded in 2016 with the initial concept of creating urn memorials for deceased loved ones. The company has been supported by Enterprise Ireland and the Kildare LEO . In 2017 it developed a range of memorial options companion memorials for pet cremations and home use. In 2018, it developed Celtic urns individually handcrafted cremation urns. Mr Power said that the benefit of Urn Towers for families include individual memorials which can be extended if needed to hold more urns. The Urn Tower remains above ground, which allows them to move with you should that need ever arise Mr Power also said that it costs significantly less than a traditional funeral and it can be placed at home. From the point of view of facility providers, he said, it is modular so that can be placed in many graveyards cost effectively with little or no large infrastructure costs. It can be placed above ground, allowing for placement on ground previously considered unsuitable for interments, thus extending the operating life of a cemetery. Mr Power, who worked in the IT sector with major companies before setting up Urn Towers in 2016, said the company is currently working with several local councils in the implementation of the Urn Tower Memorial Vault in graveyards in Dublin, Limerick, Clare, Monaghan, Galway. He said he approached Kildare County Council about four years but has not got any response from it, so far. There seems to be a lot of investment in infrastructure like roads, water etc but little or none in where or how people can be buried, he said. There are two main business models or approaches by the company. One is to approach a local authority and work with it to put their products in a graveyard. A family can do this by going through the undertaker or go directly to the council. A second model is for a council to provide the company with a piece of ground and let Urn Towers develop the area concerned. There are 200 graveyards in Kildare but only about two to three which allow ash to be interred. Mr Power sees the future in cremation, both for pets and humans. He said that if he, himself, were to be laid to rest following cremation in Clane now he would have to buy a grave in which to put ashes. There are currently around 32,000 deaths a year in Ireland and 7,000 of them are cremations. In the UK, 75% of all deaths result in cremations, amounting to around 600,000 cremations a year. Urn Towers is also in discussions with several large funeral service providers in the US. One is StoneMor, which owns over 300 cemeteries there. Urn Towers is also involved in the pet market, which is said, is worth $98 billion (billion, not million) in the United States. For more information, see www.urntowers.com. With his blackened face covered in soot, Andres Vallina crouches in the gloom of the coal face. Like three generations of his family before him, he has worked down a mine; but not for much longer. In a country where coal mining first began in the 16th century, Vallina is now employed at Spains last working pit. Today there are only 200 miners left at the San Nicolas mine in Mieres, a town in Asturias. The region is synonymous in Spain with coal mining. In its heyday, thousands laboured down this pit. The dwindling workforce at San Nicolas is symbolic of a declining industry which at its peak in the 1990s employed 53,000 miners across the country. Is this the world's most beautiful coal mine? Show all 9 1 /9 Is this the world's most beautiful coal mine? Is this the world's most beautiful coal mine? The former industrial zone is now a green lung near Dusseldorf Jochen Tack/Stiftung Zollverein Is this the world's most beautiful coal mine? Nature has begun to reclaim the land around it Jochen Tack Is this the world's most beautiful coal mine? The land around the mine is now a kind of park Stiftung Zollverein/GNTO Is this the world's most beautiful coal mine? There's a sparse beauty to the mine Stiftung Zollverein/GNTO Is this the world's most beautiful coal mine? Zollverein's main shaft has become the symbol of the area Stiftung Zollverein/GNTO Is this the world's most beautiful coal mine? The exhibition is well laid out inside Stiftung Zollverein/GNTO Is this the world's most beautiful coal mine? The old pool in the mine Jochen Tack/Stiftung Zollverein Is this the world's most beautiful coal mine? Guided tours of a coal mine are more interesting than you'd think Jochen Tack/Stiftung Zollverein Is this the world's most beautiful coal mine? Zollverein's been transformed into an event space for locals Frank Vinken/Stiftung Zollverein The mine will be the last casualty of a move to phase out coal mining and move to greener forms of energy; it is expected to close forever in 2021. Spains left-wing government struck a deal with the unions to close down all of its coal mines which will mean that 250m (212m) is invested into former mining regions over the next decade. Pedro Sanchez, the prime minister, wants to make this ambitious green climate policy a priority. Under the plan, called the Just Transition by the government, it will mix early retirement schemes for miners over 48, with environmental restoration work in pit communities and re-skilling schemes for younger miners in cutting-edge green industries. Some may find employment in the solar or bio-energy industries while others could start work with local chemical, food or metal companies. Unions hailed it as a model deal, contrasting it with the gruelling battle between Margaret Thatcher and the National Union of Mineworkers during the 1984-1985 strike. Vallina, who has been in the industry for 14 years, is unsure what to do when the mines finally close (Andres Vallina) The Conservative prime minister eventually won after a year-long battle with miners who opposed the colliery closures. However, for those like Vallina, whose future depends on the Spanish government honouring its pledges, there is more than a little nervousness about the future. It seems that the Socialists have approached this in a sensible way, especially when you look at what happened in Britain during the time of Margaret Thatcher. Coal mining communities were brutally savaged, he says. But at the same time, I hope this is a just transition for us miners too and they do what they say they will do. Vallina has been a miner for 14 years and followed his father Luis Angel and late grandfather Mino down the pit. Unsure what he will do next when the mine finally closes, he seems nostalgic for a disappearing way of life. There is a solidarity, a sense of companionship between miners that you can only understand if you are one, he reflects. About 40 per cent of people in Mieres have some connection with the mine. It used to be more. The miners who are still working at San Nicolas are no longer digging up coal to sell commercially. Instead, it is sent to thermal power stations where it is used to develop new projects to capture CO2, or for hybrid energy production. In one case, it is used to heat a hospital. The transition of this industry will change societies which have been based around the coal industry for decades, says Jose Luis Fernandez Roces, secretary general of the General Workers Union in Asturias. Demonstrators block a motorway in protest of government plans to scale back mining in 2012 (AP) The entire panorama of society in much of northern Spain will change. But it should regenerate the economy in a better, alternative way, he says. The first licence to open a mine in Asturias dates from 1593 when a formal request had to be made to King Felipe II. Despite ambitious plans to move to greener energy sources, Spain is still a major importer of coal, bucking the trend among European countries which have tried to cut their reliance on this form of energy. Teresa Ribera, acting minister for ecological transition, is confident Spain has laid down foundations to end the era of coal (EPA) Between January and May this year, Spain imported 263,000 more tonnes of coal than during the same period in 2018, when a total of 708,000 tonnes were imported. Political uncertainty also worries miners anxiously waiting for the Socialist government to deliver on its promises. In November, Spaniards headed back to the polls for the fourth election in as many years. After another inconclusive poll, Sanchez eventually managed to form a new coalition government in early January. Teresa Ribera, the minister for ecological transition, is confident Spain has laid down the foundations to end the era of coal. With this agreement, we have solved the first urgent task we had on the table when we came to government. Our aim has been to leave no one behind, she says. We also want to go further, we want to innovate. That is why we offer the drawing up Just Transition contracts, with the aim of helping the regions to consolidate the employment of the future. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Montserrat Mir Roca, the Spanish secretary for the European Trades Union Congress, believes this transition from dirty energy could be applied elsewhere. Social dialogue, collective negotiation and the end of the coal industry are fundamental aspects to move towards a green economy which could be repeated in other countries, she insists. However, if the Socialist government reneges on its plans, it could face a backlash from the miners who have in the past threatened governments. In 1934, miners in Asturias staged a short-lived rebellion. It was brutally crushed by troops led by General Franco. Two years later, Franco led an uprising against the democratically elected Republican government which started the 1936-1939 civil war. After Francos victory, the miners again staged a two-month strike against the dictatorship during the 1960s over the sacking of workers. More recently, miners staged dirty marches in the 1990s and in 2012 to protest at cuts by governments. Back at San Nicolas, Andres Vallina was sanguine about the future. We have to move on. We just dont know what that future will be like, he says. MUSKOGEE, Okla. (TRI) An Oklahoma federal court has refused to hold police responsible for brutalizing an African-American man who, despite complying with police orders during an arrest, was subjected to excessive force and brutality, including being thrown to the ground, tasered, and placed in a chokehold that rendered him unconscious and required his hospitalization for three days. In granting the police officers motion to dismiss a Fourth Amendment lawsuit filed by attorneys for The Rutherford Institute on behalf of Jeriel Edwards, the court ruled that Edwards confusion and trouble understanding police directions constituted resistance that justified the force used by the four police officers involved in the violent arrest. Institute attorneys argued that, as shown by dash cam video of the arrest, Edwards was peaceful, did not defy police orders, and did nothing to provoke the clearly unreasonable and excessive force employed by the police. Affiliate attorney Andrea Worden is assisting in the defense of Edwards Fourth Amendment rights. If you ask police what Americans should do to stay alive during encounters with law enforcement, they will tell you to comply, cooperate, obey, not resist, not argue, not make threatening gestures or statements, avoid sudden movements, and submit to a search of their person and belongings, said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of Battlefield America: The War on the American People. The problem is what to do when compliance is not enough. How can you maintain the illusion of freedom when daily, Americans are being shot, stripped, searched, choked, beaten and tasered by police for little more than daring to frown, smile, question, challenge an order or merely exist? On October 25, 2016, Jeriel Edwards was sitting in his car in the parking lot of a Muskogee Wendys restaurant when he was approached by a City of Muskogee police officer who ordered Edwards to put the car in park and provide his identification. Body and dashboard camera video of the encounter shows that the officer made the request even though he already knew Edwards identity. The officer then ordered Edwards to get out of the vehicle and remove his hands from his pockets. Edwards complied with all the officers orders. At this time, a second Muskogee police officer arrived at the scene. As Edwards exited the vehicle, he was ordered to face the vehicle and place his hands behind his back. At this point one of the officers grabbed Edwards right arm while the other officer shoved him into the corner of the car door, followed by the officers aggressively grabbing Edwards upper body and pushing his head into the corner of the car door as they attempted to place his hands behind his back. One officer then told Edwards to get to the ground, but before he could do so, the officers slammed him to the pavement. As the officers pushed Edwards head and neck to the ground, they also placed a knee on his body to pin him to the ground. Edwards repeatedly asked why the officers were abusing him, but got no answer. Instead, the first officer fired a taser at Edwards as he lay on the ground. A third officer arrived on the scene and made two striking motions at Edwards, the impact of which can be heard on the body camera video. A fourth officer arrived at the scene and put Edwards in a chokehold. As the four officers dragged Edwards to the ground, another joined the fray and held Edwards down by digging his knee into his body. Edwards lost consciousness en route to the hospital, where he was admitted to the ICU. Journalist and close confidante of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Tom Bradby has warned that if the Royal couple are left feeling hard done by, they may give a 'no-holds barred' interview which would could further damage the monarchy. Mr Bradby, who the Duke and Duchess of Sussex opened up to in an ITV interview in which Meghan admitted she was struggling with her new role, suggested it is in the interests of the royal household to keep the couple on-side. It comes as officials hash out a plan of what Harry and Meghan's new roles within the monarchy will look like, after their bombshell announcement earlier this week that they would step down as 'senior members' of the Royal Family. Journalist and close confidante of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Tom Bradby has warned that if the Royal couple are left feeling hard done by, they may give a 'no-holds barred' interview which would could further damage the monarchy Journalist Tom Bradby (pictured) is thought to be a good friend to both Prince Harry and Meghan. The Royal couple opened up to him in ITV documentary 'Harry & Meghan: An African Journey' Courtiers fear that Meghan would brand the royal household racist and sexist Writing in the Sunday Times, Mr Bradby said: 'I have some idea of what might be aired in a full, no-holes-barred sit down interview and I don't think it would be pretty.' Courtiers fear that Meghan would brand the royal household racist and sexist, according to the publication. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have made it clear they plan to carve out a more 'progressive' path for themselves within the royal family. Bradby believes Harry is determined to 'make the best' of the situation they have found themselves in, and believe they are taking a positive step which could also pave the way for future generations including Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. The Queen has called for a solution that is workable not just for Harry and Meghan but could also apply to following generations. And ahead of an unprecedented Family crisis summit at Sandringham on Monday: ITV presenter and Sussex confidante Tom Bradby said the couple could give a 'no-holds-barred' interview that could further damage the Royal Family. Courtiers fear Meghan could brand the household racist; Royal aides were poised to spell out the punitive taxes that could be inflicted on Harry and Meghan if they press ahead with their plans to quit; A video from July emerged where Harry seemed to tell head of Disney Meghan is interested in doing voiceovers. She has since been given work with the company; Prince Philip was said to be livid with the current crisis ravaging the Family; A source rubbished speculation the Sussexes plan to settle down on Vancouver Island where they spent Christmas and instead touted Toronto or LA as potential cities; It emerged Meghan sneaked back to Vancouver Island on a 134 budget flight; It was revealed Meghan and Kate Middleton haven't spoken in over six months after the sisters-in-law severed all communication on a family WhatsApp group Reuters reported that negotiations between Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, Kensington Palace and the Sussex household has been progressing well; Her Majesty was pictured stony-faced as she emerged from her Norfolk estate behind the wheel of her Land Rover for the second day running The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have made it clear they plan to carve out a more 'progressive' path for themselves within the royal family Tom Bradby and Prince Harry on ITV documentary 'Harry & Meghan: An African Journey' Writing in the Times, he added that Harry and Meghan find members of the Royal Family, excluding the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, 'jealous and, at times, unfriendly' Bradby claimed that the foundations for the rift were laid at the time of their wedding in 2018 He added that William 'did try' to make amends with the Duke and Duchess but 'for the moment, at least, things have gone too far to be retrieved.' Meghan Markle sneaked back to Vancouver island mansion on 134 budget flight Idyllic: The royal couple have been living in a luxury 10.7million property on Vancouver Island Meghan Markle sneaked back to the Vancouver island mansion where she spent Christmas on a 134 budget flight after jetting back to Canada in the wake of shock Royal resignation announcement, it is understood. With the runaway Royals' finances and spending under fierce scrutiny, film of her arrival courtesy of Canada's WestJet airline might have provided welcome publicity, but she eluded waiting TV crews who, assuming she was coming in on a private jet, focused their attention elsewhere. With no return flight booked and no official UK engagements, she could remain in Canada for the foreseeable future and, when he arrives, so too could Harry. Advertisement Mr Bradby is considered a good friend to both Prince Harry and Meghan, as well as brother Prince William. Writing in the Times, he added that the couple find members of the Royal Family, excluding the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, 'jealous and, at times, unfriendly.' He claimed that the foundations for the rift were laid at the time of their wedding in 2018. 'Really damaging things were said and done. The atmosphere soured hard and early, but few meaningful attempts were made by anyone to heal the wounds,' Mr Bradby wrote. He said that William 'did try' to make amends with the Duke and Duchess but 'for the moment, at least, things have gone too far to be retrieved.' Tom Bradby's ITV documentary 'Harry & Meghan: An African Journey' aired in October, during which Meghan revealed she was 'existing not living' while Harry spoke out about his struggles with mental health. Bradby said that the watershed documentary was his idea and that it took 'a great deal of persuasion' for the couple to agree to make the documentary about their personal life, as they had wanted the focus to be on their work in Africa. In the documentary, Harry told Bradby how he still struggles to deal with the 'incredibly raw' death of his mother, Princess Diana. He also admitted that his anxieties require 'constant management' and said felt he and his brother were on 'different paths'. He also attacked the press over the public scrutiny that he and wife Meghan Markle have faced. 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 Meghan meanwhile told of the the 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. What will be discussed at the summit? 1. Whether Harry and Meghan will keep their HRH titles. 2. The volume of royal duties the couple will still be expected to perform both in the UK and abroad. 3. The Duke and Duchess's funding and whether they will receive money from the Queen and Prince Charles after they are cut off from the sovereign grant cash supply. 4. Rules regarding the commercial deals the couple will be allowed to broker in their move to becoming 'financially independent'. Advertisement She revealed her friends warned her not to marry Harry because the media focus would 'destroy your life', and admitted that since the wedding and during her pregnancy she felt 'vulnerable.' Earlier this week, Mr Bradby 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 Her Majesty was angered by the timing of the announcement. 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 will host a showdown meeting with Prince Harry on Monday in an attempt to solve the crisis triggered by his bombshell announcement that he and wife Meghan were stepping back from the royal frontline. Other senior royals including Harry's father Prince Charles and brother Prince William, with whom he has strained relations, will join the monarch at her private Sandringham estate in eastern England, while Meghan is expected to join the meeting via conference call from Canada. 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 'I've put my arm around my brother all our lives. I can't do it any more': Prince William reveals 'sadness' at broken bond with Prince Harry and how they are no longer a 'team' - as Queen fears for her fragile grandson ahead of showdown Prince William is desperately sad that the close relationship he once enjoyed with Prince Harry has soured, it was claimed by a friend last night. The Duke of Cambridge has said he is unable to even 'put an arm round' his younger brother nowadays, after a rift saw them drift apart over the past year. Harry and Meghan's intention to quit as senior Royals has widened the gulf between the two siblings, with William understood to be 'incandescent' over his brother's blindsiding of the Family. But as the brothers gear up to come face-to-face at the Queen's high-stakes crisis summit at Sandringham on Monday, the second-in-line to the throne confided in a friend his raw agony over the cracked sibling bond. He said: 'I've put my arm around my brother all our lives and I can't do that any more - we're separate entities,' according to the Sunday Times. William also spoke of his frustration that Harry is no longer part of the 'team' by deciding to become 'financially independent' in a pared-back Royal role. Yet he hopes that there will 'come a time' when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be 'singing from the same page' once again. The Queen, who was pictured ashen-faced behind the wheel of her Land Rover today, is also said to be concerned for the mental fragility of her grandson Harry. It also emerged the Duke of Sussex pulled the trigger on his abdication decision because he feared his wife, who had not settled well in the UK, was 'on the brink' and could suffer a meltdown if she remained in the country permanently. Anxious to avoid exacerbating an already tense situation, the Royal Family is keen to tread carefully. A source said: 'There is no suggestion that they will be punished or stripped of their Royal titles or HRH status. Everyone wants to find a solution to this as quickly as possible.' After laying down a 72-hour ultimatum to aides on Friday to hammer out a solution to the Sussexes' future roles, Her Majesty summoned Princes Charles, William and Harry to her Norfolk Estate to put an end to the turmoil ravaging the monarchy - while Meghan is expected to join the discussions via a conference call from Canada. Prince William is desperately sad that the once close relationship he enjoyed with Prince Harry has been wrecked, it was claimed by a friend on Saturday night Scene of the showdown: The Queen has summoned Princes Charles, William and Harry to her Sandringham Estate (pictured) on Monday for unprecedented crisis talks to resolve the Sussex situation Courtiers have quickly crashed together a document outlining several blueprints for Harry and Meghan's new position within the Royal ranks. Palace staff will also spell out the punitive taxes which could be inflicted on the couple, should they press ahead with their plans to resign from frontline duties. However, the Sandringham Summit will extend to the 'next steps' for the entire monarchy, which is staring down the barrel of its worst crisis since 1992's Annus Horriblis, when both Charles and Diana, and Andrew and Sarah Ferguson both divorced. Commentators have drawn parallels between the New Way Ahead Group - when the senior Royals bunkered down 28 years ago to chart a path out of the chaos - and the Queen's urgency to stamp out the Sussex situation immediately. Growing up, William and Harry's brotherly love seemed unbreakable, with the pair supporting each other in the wake of their mother Diana's death. As they both developed into their roles as senior members of the Royal Family, they became a somewhat double act who would do engagements together. Even when William married Kate, they would often attend events as a trio. But during the past year rumours of a brewing row between the brothers began to bubble up, eventually boiling over when Harry and Meghan quit the charitable entity they spearheaded with the Cambridges and branched ff to form their own. What do each of the Royals want from the Sandringham Summit? The Queen: Her Majesty will want to ensure relative continuity in the monarchy and not allow it to become a vehicle for Royals to make money, as Harry and Meghan have been accused of plotting to do. But she will also want to safeguard Harry's wellbeing, amid concerns for her grandson's mental fragility. Prince Charles: The first-in-line to the throne is also seeking stability to ensure his impending ascendancy is not jeopardised. But like the Queen, he has also expressed concern for Harry. Prince William: He is planning for a streamlined and modern Royal Family and has said he wants his brother 'singing from the same song sheet'. William will also want to resolve the crisis so Harry is not stealing his thunder. Prince Harry: The Royal who sparked the current crisis by announcing his and Meghan's decision to step back will drive a hard bargain to secure the best financial settlement possible while guaranteeing his family's independence. Advertisement In an ITV documentary earlier this year, Harry refused to deny speculation of the rift and said he and William were on 'different paths'. And it is not just the brothers who have drifted apart, as it was claimed last night that Meghan and Kate Middleton have not spoken in over six months after ceasing communication on their WhatsApp group, according to the Mirror. The break-up of the so-called Fab Four, which was cemented when the Sussexes left Kensington Palace, weighed on Harry immensely at the time, a source told the Sunday Times. They said: 'Harry was very opposed to it at first. He saw it as the opening of a chasm between him and his brother. William was also concerned.' As heir to the throne, William's staff at Kensington Palace have spent the past few days bunkered down in talks aimed at resolving the crisis raging through the Windsor ranks. The Duke of Cambridge will weigh in on the 'Sussex situation' at the summit where Harry and Meghan will be confronted with the dire financial impact of abandoning the Royal Family at an extraordinary Sandringham summit tomorrow. Each of the four Royals are expected to be accompanied by their respective private secretaries - Sir Edward Young (Queen), Clive Alderton (Charles), Simon Case (William) and Fiona Mcilwham (Harry). Ms Mcilwham, who recently joined the Sussex household from the Foreign Office, is said to have joked with colleagues: 'I was offered the Iran desk [at the FCO]. That might have been easier'. A firefighter keeps an eye on a controlled fire as they work at building a containment line at a wildfire near Bodalla, Australia (Rick Rycroft/AP) Crews battling Australias wildfires have said that they have been able to turn from defence to offence for the first time in weeks thanks to a break in the weather. Dale McLean, who is helping manage the response to a fire near the town of Bodalla in New South Wales state, was part of team that was bulldozing down small trees and burning scrub ahead of the fires projected path to try to stop it from reaching a major road by starving it of fuel. This fire took a major run about seven or eight days ago, and with the weather changing now, the weather settling down, the fire has settled down, he said. The fire behaviour has changed. So were able to get in front of the fire now, get on the offensive. Other workers echoed Mr McLeans comments, saying cooler temperatures and mild winds have finally offered them a chance to make progress. The weather is expected to remain benign for the next week, although any deterioration in conditions after that could see the wildfires flare up again. While battling the blazes, volunteer firefighting veteran Mick Stain found some moth larvae, or witchetty grubs, and turned them into what Is known in Australia as bush tucker by roasting them directly on the fires burning coals. Bit creamy and nutty, but theyre all right, Mr Stain said. Theyre not spew-worthy, so theyre pretty good. Expand Close Firefighter Mick Stain eats a moth larvae called a witchetty grub as he helps patrol a controlled fire (Rick Rycroft/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Firefighter Mick Stain eats a moth larvae called a witchetty grub as he helps patrol a controlled fire (Rick Rycroft/AP) The progress came after a firefighter was killed by a falling tree. Bill Slade, 60, died near Omeo in the south-eastern state of Victoria, Forest Fire Management Victoria executive director Chris Hardman said. The married father of two was commended in November for 40 years of service with the forestry agency. Expand Close A helicopter prepares to drop water on a wildfire that burns in the hills near Cobargo, Australia (Rick Rycroft/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A helicopter prepares to drop water on a wildfire that burns in the hills near Cobargo, Australia (Rick Rycroft/AP) Although we do have enormous experience in identifying hazardous trees, sometimes these tree failures cant be predicted, Mr Hardman said. Working on the fire ground in a forest environment is a dynamic, high-risk environment and it carries with it significant risk. The tragedy brings the death toll to at least 27 in a crisis that has destroyed more than 2,000 homes. The crisis has brought accusations that Prime Minister Scott Morrisons conservative government needs to take more action to counter climate change, which experts say has worsened the blazes. Thousands of protesters rallied late on Friday in Sydney and Melbourne, calling for Mr Morrison to be sacked and for Australia to take tougher action on global warming. The prime minister said on Sunday that his government was building resilience to the fire danger posed by climate change. Expand Close A firefighters work at building a containment line at a wildfire near Bodalla (Rick Rycroft/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A firefighters work at building a containment line at a wildfire near Bodalla (Rick Rycroft/AP) He said the government was developing a national disaster risk reduction framework within the Department of Home Affairs that will deal with wildfires, cyclones, floods and drought. This is a longer-term risk framework model which deals with one of the big issues in response to the climate changing, Mr Morrison said. He said his government accepted that climate change was leading to longer, hotter and drier summers, despite junior government politician George Christensen posting on social media over the weekend that the cause of the latest fires was arson rather than man-made climate change. Another junior politician, Craig Kelly, has also publicly denied any link between climate change and fire crisis. State authorities have said a minority of fires are deliberately lit. The governments policy is set by the Cabinet. Our party room has a broad range of views, Mr Morrison said of those within government ranks who reject mainstream climate science. Mr Morrison also announced that 76 million Australian dollars (40 million) would be spent on providing psychological counselling for firefighters and fire-affected communities as part of a previously announced two billion Australian dollar recovery fund. There has been a deep scar in the landscape that has been left right across our country, Mr Morrison said. But I am also very mindful, as is the government, of the very real scars that will be there for quite a period of time to come for those whove been exposed to the trauma of these bushfires. While the fire threat is most acute in rural communities, wildfire smoke that has choked some of Australias largest cities is a reminder to many urban Australians of the unfolding disaster. Slavem.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 24 Dec 2013, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. The total number of people who shared the slavem homepage on Delicious. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the slavem homepage on Twitter + the total number of slavem followers (if slavem has a Twitter account). This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the slavem homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if slavem has a Facebook fan page). The total number of people who shared the slavem homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. The total number of people who shared the slavem homepage on StumbleUpon. Basic Information PAGE TITLE DESCRIPTION KEYWORDS OTHER KEYWORDS 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. CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. The title found in the head section of the homepage. Domain and Server DOCTYPE XHTML 1.0 Transitional CHARSET AND LANGUAGE SERVER Apache OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux 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) The language of slavem.com as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. 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 slavem.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 The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. The URL of the found Facebook page. The type of Facebook page. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND The premier of Quebec will join the Atlantic premiers in St. John's Monday afternoon as part of a Council of Atlantic Premiers meeting. According to a press release, the premiers will meet to "discuss clean energy collaboration in Eastern Canada." Premier Dwight Ball met with Quebec Premier Francois Legault Sunday evening, ahead of the meeting. This is Legault's second time in the province and first time as the premier of Quebec. "There is a lot of potential in developing common business in hydroelectricity [and] mining business," Legault said to Ball. Neither premier took questions from reporters at Sunday's meeting, instead offering up statements, with Legault praising the relationship between the two provinces. Jeremy Eaton/CBC Legault also gave his condolences to John Crosbie's family, following the passing of former politician on Friday. "John Crosbie was a great man and we have to thank him," he said. "You've lost a very important man for the province and for the country." Premier Stephen McNeil of Nova Scotia, Premier Blaine Higgs of New Brunswick, and Premier Dennis King of Prince Edward Island and Premier Francois Legault of Quebec will meet at 2:30 p.m Monday. Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador Court passed two death verdicts for brothers Ilya and Stanislav Kostev on Friday, January 10 The European Union condemned the new death sentences that the Mogiliov court of Belarus passed to brothers Ilya and Stanislav Kostev. The EU website reports. "The death penalty violates the inalienable right to life, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and is the highest cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. The death verdicts cannot serve as a deterrent to crime. Justice errors are irreversible," the EU said. It is reported that on January 10, 2020, the Mogiliov Regional Court of Belarus issued two death sentences to brothers Ilya and Stanislav Kostev. The EU also noted that three sentences were carried out last year, and only four people are now in the death line. The introduction of a moratorium on the death penalty in Belarus will be the first positive step towards abolishing the death verdicts, the EU added. Belarus is currently the only country in Europe that has the death penalty. And in May 2019, the Council of Europe called on the state to abolish the death penalty. As we reported, European Union condemns the death penalty in Belarus, due to the execution of the death penalty for two people It is important to understand that students need our support, said Congress MP and former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor on Sunday while expressing solidarity with the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI). Referring to the violence on the campuses of JNU and JMI, which left several teachers and students injured, Tharoor told ANI: "Jamia and JNU have both been sites of very shameful misbehaviour." "In Jamia, by the police themselves, who burst into the hostels and library, and seriously injured and even killed a couple of students, while in JNU, we saw the police standing idle nearby when thugs and goons entered the campus and attacked the students," he said. He objected to the manner in which the students had been dealt with, and said that dissent was very precious in the country, especially on university campuses. "The people who have come into power are claiming that they are big heroes, but they are not showing respect to the students, which they felt they deserve themselves. It is important to understand that the students need our support, and we are here to show our solidarity," said Tharoor. Talking about Home Minister Amit Shah's statement that the amended citizenship law does not take away the citizenship of any citizen, Tharoor said: "The Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) discriminates by imposing, for the first time, a religious test. The Act says that there would be fast track citizenship for the people of only six religions, which is completely violative of Gandhi and our Constitution, and reflects different thinking than that of our freedom struggle." He further said that Shah was linking the CAA explicitly to a nationwide Register of Citizens (NRC), which was 'unacceptable'. "On one hand, if our Muslim brothers and sisters are left out from the CAA, and then the NRC is implemented, which will empower officials to decide whose citizenship is dubious, then only the Muslim community will have the entire onus of proving that they are Indian citizens. So we are objecting the CAA in principle, and the CAA-NRC combination in practice," added Tharoor. On January 5, more than 30 students including JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh were taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre after a masked mob entered the JNU and attacked the students and professors with sticks and rods. Before that, on December 15, several protesters and policemen sustained injuries during an agitation against the CAA near the JMI. At least, three buses were also set on fire and other public properties were damaged. Since the enactment of CAA on December 12 last year, protests have erupted in various parts of the country including the capital after the enactment of CAA last year, which came into effect from January 10. The CAA grants citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Parsi, Buddhist, and Christian refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, who 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.) Manu enjoys great influence and respectability in Indian society even today. Similarly, construction of the dalit woman solely as a victim of rape and sexual violence at the hands of upper-caste men is nothing but a denial of her subjectivity and political agency. Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkars burning of Manusmriti speaks volumes on his formulation of the intersectionality of gender and caste. Manusmriti is a document that still wields enormous power over Indian society. It is the primary text that formalised and legitimised patriarchy and caste. The text normalises misogyny with its codes of control on womens mobility and reproduction. According to Manu, women are a sex composed of anger, meanness, treachery, heartlessness and natural disloyalty. Manu says, Women are the edge of a razor, poison, snakes, and fire all rolled into one. Manus law also constructs a shudra man as subhuman and legitimises violence against untouchables (Manu, IX 17). In Indian society, caste and gender are not mutually exclusive constructs. They are intertwined and inseparable, and cannot sustain independent of each other. How does a person in Indian society know their caste identity? They inherit it from the father, or the father figure. Using Friedrich Engels theory of The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State, a man can identify his children by marrying a woman and controlling her sexuality by restricting her mobility and ensuring that she is impregnated only by him in order to bequeath his property to them. Similarly, Manu advises upper-caste men to guard their women closely so that no other man plants his seed in their wife/woman in order to ensure purity and continuity of caste. If this control over women is subverted, caste dies a quick death. In order to continue the caste system, women are controlled in the name of sexual purity and wifely devotion or pativrata dharma, to be upheld both before and after marriage. Glorification of motherhood, a concept limited only to the caste-endogamous marriage, is another way. A caste Hindu woman who becomes a mother out of wedlock is not glorified but shunned, even killed. This theorisation of intersections of caste and gender and the caste-endogamous marriage as the central tenet of Hindu sociology is the exceptional and monumental contribution of Ambedkar. Feminism in India cannot be complete without incorporating it. Manu enjoys great influence and respectability in Indian society even today. Concepts of sexual purity, marriage-centered socialisation, monogamy and endogamy, all of which aim to control womens sexuality, have devolved from Manusmriti. Differentiating married women from unmarried, pativrata (devoted wife) from prostitute, brahmin women from dalit, originated from Manus law. The ritual of tying a thread around a womans neck in marriage as a signifier of husbands ownership over wife is akin to mans ownership over livestock. It is only a tiny minority of middle class women who do not follow this ritual. The value of a woman is determined by her caste purity. Dalit women do not have value on a par with brahmin women, and are assaulted by caste Hindus. Yet, theorisation of brahminical patriarchy doesnt necessarily mean absence of dalit patriarchy which, in turn, is nothing but an extension of the brahminical patriarchy. The dalit movements exhortations driven by a position that dalit women face violence from upper castes and not from family are not based on Ambedkars theorisation of caste. Ambedkar never accepted that there has been a radical alternative thought within or among dalits in traditional society. Ambedkar proposed inter-caste marriages and inter-caste dining as antidotes to caste. This particular aspect of his theorisation is the most misunderstood one in the post-Ambedkarite dalit movement. Annihilation of caste through inter-caste marriages is possible when a large number of marriages take place to efface the societal memory of caste identity. That the miniscule number of inter-caste marriages which took place in the framework of romantic love could not solve the caste question is an empirical fact. The children born out of this small number of marriages continued to inherit the caste identity of the father figure uncritically. This happened because the marriages unilaterally subverted caste-endogamy but not the patriarchal nature of the institution of marriage. The dalit movement, meanwhile, has reduced an intellectual giant like Ambedkar to a mantra for inter-caste marriage. By using Ambedkars ideas as formulae and not as an episteme, it has excluded formulations of sexism, patriarchy and heteronormativity. Thus dalit women, dalit gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, transwomen and dalit disabled persons are excluded from the movement. Dalit ideologues have distorted Ambedkar by portraying his aim to fight caste only in isolation. In fact, Ambedkar said fighting caste in isolation is impossible. Caste and patriarchy should be annihilated together. The construction of the dalit mans access to a brahmin womans sexuality (inter-caste marriage) as a defeat of brahmins is based on patriarchal ideology. While the dalit mans access to savarna women results in violence, if the dalit movement constructs this as a form of ownership over the savarna womans body, womens autonomy will be a far-fetched dream. Similarly, construction of the dalit woman solely as a victim of rape and sexual violence at the hands of upper-caste men is nothing but a denial of her subjectivity and political agency. The dalit movement has not engaged with questions regarding the position of dalit women in inter-caste marriages. Instead, it has constructed dalit women who marry savarna men as betrayers of the dalit movement and engaged in their character assassination. Setting the brahiminical ideals of glorification of motherhood, brahminical femininity, dress code, moral code (sexual purity) and body image as the norms for dalit women, the dalit movement has been upholding Manu unapologetically. Considering women as a category internal to a community is not based on Ambedkars ideas but on the brahminical framework of Manu. In a brahminical patriarchal family, women are made to sacrifice their rights for the sake of husband and children. The dalit movement demands dalit women sacrifice their rights for the larger cause of fighting caste. It is high time individuals and progressive movements reflect on the Manu inside them and burn him down in order to embrace Ambedkar. Hafiz Mohibullah, one of the senior commanders of the Taliban movement, has been killed in airstrike in Afghanistans Kunduz province, the Tolo News cited the countrys Defence Ministry spokesperson as saying in a statement on Sunday, Trend reports citing Sputnik. The statement noted that a Taliban leader in [Afghanistans] northeast, Mohibullah was destroyed as he was driving in Kunduz provinces Imam Saib district. The Taliban has yet to comment on the matter. Early last year, Reuters quoted unnamed sources as saying that Mohibullah, who was closely involved in talks with the US at the time, was briefly arrested in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, close to the border with Afghanistan. Protesters In Tehran Call For Justice Over Iran's Downing Of Ukrainian Plane By RFE/RL January 11, 2020 Protesters outside a university in Tehran have called for justice after Iran admitted it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane on January 8. "Resignation is not enough," protesters chanted outside Amir Kabir university on January 11 while demanding a trial for those responsible for the downing of the plane that killed all 176 people on board. Amateur videos posted on social media also showed protesters chanting "dishonorable" in an apparent reference to Iranian authorities, who finally admitted that a missile fired by its forces caused the crash. Iran's semiofficial Fars news agency said some of the protesters ripped up photos of Qasem Soleimani, the poweful of the elite foreign arm of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps who was assassinated by the United States on January 3. Fars estimated the protesters numbered between 700 and 1,000. Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) website posted a video claiming to show tear gas being used to break up the protests in Tehran. Iranian police detained a British envoy to Tehran in front of Amir Kabir University for inciting antigovernment protesters. The envoy was released after several hours. Protests also broke out in Isfahan, Hamadan, Sari, Rasht, and Babol, according to posts on social media. They are the largest antigovernment demonstrations since November, when thousands of people took to the streets to protest an increase in fuel prices. Many Iranian were in shock and grief after Tehran admitted -- following days of denials -- that its military shot down the passenger plane. Amirali Hajizadeh, the head of the aerospace division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), said on January 11 that his unit accepts "full responsibility" for the tragedy. In comments aired by state TV, he said that when he learned about the downing of the plane, "I wished I was dead." Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed his "deep sympathy" to the families of the 176 victims and called on the armed forces to "pursue probable shortcomings and guilt in the painful incident." Nearly half of those killed were Iranian citizens while many others were ethnic Iranians living in other countries. With reporting by Reuters and Fars Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/protesters-in- tehran-call-for-justice-over-iran-s-downing-of- ukrainian-plane/30372047.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 Haryana Police on Sunday arrested a woman with narcotics in Kurukshetra and recovered 5 kg cannabis from her possession. Giving this information today, a spokesman of the Police Department said that the team of Anti-Narcotic Cell of Kurukshetra District Police was patrolling in the area of Sadar Thanesar. "The police received secret information that a woman, who sells cannabis, had gone to Delhi to buy it and will return to Kurukshetra by bus at night with a large quantity of cannabis. On reaching Kurukshetra, the woman will get off from the bus at Pipli. From there, she will go to Indra Colony, Dhakka Basti, Kurukshetra," the spokesperson said. On the basis of the secret information, the police started patrolling at Pipli Chowk and saw a woman getting from the bus. The police detained her on suspicion and asked for her name. Police recovered 5-kg cannabis from her possession. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Morrison government will provide $50 million to support ecosystems and threatened species harmed by the country's largest ever bushfires. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Environment Minister Sussan Ley will on Monday detail what the government is describing as a "downpayment" to aid wildlife across states and territories. An injured koala being treated on Friday at the Kangaroo Island Wildlife Zoo in South Australia. Credit:Getty Images This initial investment of $50 million into the protection and restoration of our wildlife and habitat is a critical step in creating a viable future for animals that have survived," Mr Frydenberg said in a statement, ahead of a media event planned for the NSW city of Port Macquarie. With huge fires still active in several states - particularly in NSW, Victoria and South Australia - the full toll on ecosystems is still unknown. A Bryan man was arrested Friday after a search warrant led to the discovery of cocaine. According to Bryan police, a search warrant was executed on a home in the 1100 block of Clear Leaf Drive, adjacent to Jane Long Intermediate School, after detectives had been conducting surveillance on the home. Authorities spoke with the resident, 49-year-old Steven Leonard Hargrove. He admitted to police he had been selling cocaine and directed them to the master bedroom, where officers said they found 37 small bags of cocaine, a report notes. Authorities also located a digital scale in the residence. Hargrove is charged with dealing 17.4 grams of cocaine, a first-degree felony punishable by up to 99 years in prison and $10,000 in fine. He remains in the Brazos County Jail on $12,000 bond. Hundreds of Londoners have stripped down to their underwear for the annual No Trousers On The Tube Day. Arriving in a chilly central London this afternoon, a gathering of fully clothed men and women made their down onto the underground before doing away with their trousers, skirts, leggings and shorts. The aim of participants is to travel around town with just tighty-whities and lingerie on their lower halves in an effort to help people banish their January blues. Today's event started at Chinatown, before partakers split into groups and making into on several tube lines. Hundreds of Londoners have stripped down to their underwear for the annual No Trousers On The Tube Day Arriving in a chilly central London this afternoon, a gathering of fully clothed men and women made their down onto the underground before doing away with their trousers, skirts, leggings and shorts There was even a hilarious gathering at Waterloo station where people in briefs, skivvies and boxers performed a group dance Mind the gap! The aim of participants is to travel around town with just tighty-whities and lingerie on their lower halves in an effort to help people banish their January blues The capitals No Trousers Tube Ride originated from a small prank in New York in 2002 with seven riders taking off their 'pants' for a subway ride There was even a hilarious gathering at Waterloo station where people in briefs, skivvies and boxers performed a group dance. An afterparty was arranged at O'Neils in Soho to give participants a chance to warm up. The capitals No Trousers Tube Ride originated from a small prank in New York in 2002 with seven riders taking off their 'pants' for a subway ride. Organisers of the London event put out a warning in advance to anyone considering taking the fun activity too far by showing more than they ought to The group's facebook event reads: 'Anybody found to be removing more than their trousers will be kicked off the train and reported to the British Transport Police and station authorities' All aboard: Addressing the reason behind the event, now in its 11th year, organisers said: 'Surely "it's fun" is a good enough reason?.' It has since spread to more than 60 cities around the world, including Berlin, Prague and Moscow. However, organisers of the London event put out a warning in advance to anyone considering taking the fun activity too far. The group's facebook event reads: 'Anybody found to be removing more than their trousers will be kicked off the train and reported to the British Transport Police and station authorities.' Wearing just underwear on the tube is not illegal under the The Sexual Offences Act 2003, but organisers encourage people to avoid more risque 'close-fitting' items such as thongs, 'banana hammocks', mankinis or kilts. Addressing the reason behind the event, now in its 11th year, organisers said: 'Surely "it's fun" is a good enough reason?.' An afterparty was arranged at O'Neils in Soho to give participants a chance to warm up Passengers without pants ride an escalator in a subway station in central Prague, Czech Republic We need Vitamin D to keep our spirits up, but getting enough Vitamin D during the winter months is a problem. The sun rises later in the morning and dips below the horizon relatively early in the evening. Even during the daylight hours, clouds can dominate, casting a sense of gloom across the land. So, the next few months can be a bit dreary. The good news is that this season of darkness wont last forever. Even now the days are slowly growing longer, and eventually, the sun will shine bright. Perhaps, as we await the end of winters gloom, its a good time to celebrate a season of light. Thats what Epiphany is all about. We begin with the Magi who follow a star to the home of the baby Jesus. These Sages, who appear in the Gospel of Matthew, might have been Zoroastrian priests who hailed from the land that is today known as Iran. Matthew doesnt tell us very much about these Sages, so were left to our own imaginations. But, we dont stay very long in Bethlehem, because Matthew quickly takes us to the Jordan River, where Jesus appears to John and is baptized. After Jesus emerges from the waters of baptism, he receives a word of assurance and blessing from the heavens. Once again, I picture light shining into the world. With this event, Jesus is launched into his ministry. As Matthew puts it: 16 And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased. (Mt. 3:16-17). These words of affirmation echo the opening lines of Isaiah 42, where we read: Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations (Is. 42:1). Could Matthews Jesus be Second Isaiahs Servant? Is Jesus the chosen one in whom God delights and upon whom the Spirit rests? Is he the Servant of God who will bring forth justice to the nations? The prophet we call Second Isaiah likely spoke these words to Jewish exiles living in Babylon. This was a season of transition for a people who had lost their sense of national identity. They were a people without a home. As the Psalmist sang: By the rivers of Babylon there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion ( The prophet we call Second Isaiah likely spoke these words to Jewish exiles living in Babylon. This was a season of transition for a people who had lost their sense of national identity. They were a people without a home. As the Psalmist sang: By the rivers of Babylon there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion ( Ps. 137:1 ). As they sat down and wept by the rivers of Babylon, the people of Israel heard this message: You are my servant . . . in whom my soul delights, and I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations. According to Isaiah, Israel is called to be a light to the nations, so that justice might come to the earth. This is a universal calling that comes to the people from the creator of the heavens and the earth. They have a mission, if they choose to accept it, to help establish Gods path of compassionate justice in the world. For Israel, this vision of justice is revealed in the Torah; for us, it is revealed in the life and teachings of Jesus who embodies Torah for us. On the day of his baptism in the Jordan, Jesus heard the voice of God declare: You are my Son, the Beloved. As God made this pronouncement the Spirit of God fell upon Jesus, ordaining him for the ministry he was about to take up. I believe this same commission is given to us in our baptisms. Paul wrote this of baptism in his Romans letter: Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life ( On the day of his baptism in the Jordan, Jesus heard the voice of God declare: You are my Son, the Beloved. As God made this pronouncement the Spirit of God fell upon Jesus, ordaining him for the ministry he was about to take up. I believe this same commission is given to us in our baptisms. Paul wrote this of baptism in his Romans letter: Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life ( Rom. 6:4 ). In our baptisms, we identify ourselves with Christ and take up his mantle. We become one with him so that we might share in his calling, which is rooted in the call of Israel. So, empowered by the Spirit, we can participate in Gods work of bringing justice to the nations. According to Isaiah, God gave Israel as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations. This reference to Israel being a light to the nations brought to mind a little song we probably all know very well: This Little Light of Mine, Im gonna let it shine. Yes, this little light of mine, Im gonna let it shine! I think that song sums up Isaiahs message. Israel was not a rich and powerful nation. It couldnt impose its will on its neighbors. In fact, at that moment a good portion of its population lived in exile, and yet God commissioned Israel to be a light to the nations so that it could establish justice on the earth. Yes, God declares through Isaiah: I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. When Jesus appeared before the synagogue in Nazareth in the Gospel of Luke, he read a passage from Isaiah 61. In that passage, which Jesus claimed to fulfill, we hear a word about Gods anointed one, who brings joy to the humble and binds up wounds, proclaims release to the captives, and liberation to those who are in prison ( When Jesus appeared before the synagogue in Nazareth in the Gospel of Luke, he read a passage from Isaiah 61. In that passage, which Jesus claimed to fulfill, we hear a word about Gods anointed one, who brings joy to the humble and binds up wounds, proclaims release to the captives, and liberation to those who are in prison ( Lk. 4:18-19 ). The commission we find here in Isaiah 42 encompasses these same callings. The words of Isaiah, as Jesus embodies them, speak of a pathway to justice that is not imposed by force, but which nevertheless will come to fruition. If this is Israels calling and Jesus calling, is this not also our calling? As we ponder these words of Second Isaiah, given to a group of exiles, gathered by the rivers of Babylon, who wondered what the future might hold for them, do you hear in them a word for us? How might we take up the mantle of the servant, so that we too can be a light to the nations? How might we bring forth justice to the nations? Yes, how might this little light of mine shine forth so that the pathway of justice might make itself known? This question gets posed to us on the Sunday we ponder the meaning of our own baptisms. What does it mean to be baptized into Christ? What is our calling? How might we participate in Gods work of establishing justice on the earth? The Hebrew word translated here as justice is mishpat. I found the Jewish Publication Society translation to be a bit different and intriguing. It suggests that the servant, whom God has chosen, will teach the true way to the nations. What is the true way? It is Gods compassionate justice that is taught and not imposed. According to Isaiah, the Servant will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth. The Servant will not cry or lift up his voice or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench. Nevertheless, he will establish the true way, the way of Gods compassionate justice on the earth. As we move into the year 2020, we face numerous opportunities to share the light of God in the world and embody Gods pathway of justice. There will be elections taking place, and we have choices to make. Well need to make these choices with Gods vision of justice on our hearts and minds. Since we dont know where the situation with Iran will take us, what should our response be? Then there are the fires in Australia that remind us of the challenge of climate change to the earth. We face issues regarding immigration, along with questions of race, sexual orientation, economic equity, and gender equality. One thing Im learning is that these all intersect. Theyre all related. So, how might we embody Gods mishpat, Gods compassionate justice in our lives together? James Evans reminds us that theologically the text suggests that the Spirit of God and the pursuit of justice cannot be separated. Further, this justice is not a narrow, nationalistic kind but a justice for the nations. This suggests that justice is relational [Connections, kindle loc. 5300]. So, how might we embody Gods, Gods compassionate justice in our lives together? James Evans reminds us that theologically the text suggests that the Spirit of God and the pursuit of justice cannot be separated. Further, this justice is not a narrow, nationalistic kind but a justice for the nations. This suggests that justice is relationalkindle loc. 5300]. Two days later, the group posted a friendly caution to the pair on its Facebook page: Any public support for their desire to occupy a new, hybrid role combining their royal status with more personal freedom could disappear quickly were there to develop a feeling that, even inadvertently, they had in some way showed disrespect to The Queen, whose style is self-effacing and whose watchword is duty. DES MOINES 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 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 on Monday, many education advocates 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 declined to say how much funding she will recommend for public schools in 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 aid, some schools received more funds to balance transportation costs and per-pupil funding inequities among districts. That 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 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, said. ... 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 Lee-Gazette Des Moines Bureau contributed to this report. Our photographers and Cedar Valley nature Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Donald Trump gesture signing east room AP Photo Columnist E. Jean Carroll, who accused President Donald Trump of raping her two decades ago, won a key victory on Thursday in her defamation suit against the president. She is accusing Trump of hurting her reputation by accusing her of lying and otherwise attacking her. The judge presiding over the case rejected Trump's argument that Carroll can't sue him in New York because he lives in Washington and denied Trump's motion to delay discovery. The longtime advice columnist accused Trump of violently sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s. Trump has vigorously denied Carroll's allegations. Carroll, who went public with her rape allegation against Trump last June, celebrated the development on Thursday, tweeting, "WE MOVE AHEAD!!" Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Columnist E. Jean Carroll, who accused President Donald Trump of raping her two decades ago, won a key victory on Thursday in her defamation suit against the president. The judge presiding over the case rejected Trump's argument that Carroll can't sue him in New York because he lives in Washington and denied Trump's motion to delay discovery. "There is not even a tweet, much less an affidavit by defendant Trump in support of his motion," the judge wrote. Carroll's lawyer, Roberta "Robbie" Kaplan, said she was "pleased, yet unsurprised" by the decision. "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 in a statement. Carroll, who went public with her rape allegation against Trump last June, celebrated the development on Thursday, tweeting, "WE MOVE AHEAD!!" The longtime advice columnist accused Trump of violently sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the mid-1990s. She accused him of "lunging" at her, forcibly kissing her, and forcing his penis inside her. Story continues Trump has aggressively denied the allegation and claimed never to have even met Carroll, though a photo shows the two chatting at a party a few years before the alleged assault. The president accused Carroll of using the story to sell her memoir and insulted her by saying she wasn't his "type." Carroll's suit alleges that Trump hurt her reputation with tweets and other statements accusing her of lying and otherwise attacking her. White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham previously told Insider that "the lawsuit is frivolous and the story is a fraud just like the author." Trump is facing another defamation suit from an ex-Apprentice contestant, Summer Zervos, who was one of several women to accuse him of sexual misconduct in the days leading up to the 2016 election, saying he groped her twice during a business meeting in 2007. Trump denied the allegation, calling her claims "fake news." Ashley Collman contributed reporting. Read the original article on Business Insider Kolkata Port Trust renamed after BJP icon Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee India oi-Madhuri Adnal Kolkata, Jan 12: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a two-day visit to the city, on Sunday announced that the Kolkata Port Trust will be renamed after Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee. He made the announcement at the sesquicentenary celebrations of Kolkata Port Trust at the Netaji Indoor stadium which was packed to capacity. While addressing the Sesquicetenary Celebration of Kolkata Port, Modi said that Dr Mukherjee had set the stone for industrialization in India. Chittaranjan Locomotive Factory, Hindustan Aircraft Factory, Damodar Valley Corporation and several others saw active participation from him. Black flag shown to PM Modi, Mamata Banerjee skips at Kolkata Port Trust event PM Modi in West Bengal: renames Kolkata Port Trust after Shyama Prasad Mukherjee | OneIndia News "I announce the renaming of the Kolkata Port Trust to Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Port. He is a living legend who was a leader for development and fought on the forefront for the idea of One Nation, One Constitution," he said. Modi, after renaming the Kolkata Port Trust after Syama Prasad Mookerjee on the occasion of its sesquicentenary celebrations, said country's coasts were gateways to development. "Development of waterways has improved Kolkata Port Trust's connectivity with industrial centres in east India, made trade easier for our neighbouring countries, Bhutan, Myanmar and Nepal. " Meanwhile, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee who is in the forefront of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in the state, did not attend the function. Hollywood star Will Smith joined Jimmy Fallon in a three-minute-long rap duet on a recent episode of 'The Tonight Show'. According to USA Today, the song recounted the major milestones of Smith's career, who shot into the scene in the 1980s as an actor and also as a rapper, which pretty much explains the selection of the song's genre. Donning similar tracksuits, the duo began with rapping about the year 1985 and subsequently about the "The Fresh Prince of BelAir" TV sitcom that brought Smith into the limelight, reported USA Today. As Smith shouted "From the City of Brotherly Love," Fallon joined in with: "That's Philly." They even grooved to Alfonso Ribeiro's legendary "Carlton Dance" from the "The Fresh Prince of BelAir" series that ended its run in 1996. The rap also alluded to Smith's role in movies such as "Independence Day," "Men in Black," "Hitch," "Anchorman 2." The rap mentioned Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith, and his three children, out of which Jayden and Willow are into the showbiz themselves. The lyrics said: "Started out a Prince, then became the Fresh Papi Cuz Trey is the Ace, Jaden's a force Willow came and told ya 'Whip Your Hair Back and Forth.'" Smith's much-awaited sequel of the Bad Boys series, "Bad Boys for Life," is set to be launched in US theatres on January 17. Smith sneaked in a promo for the movie with Fallon mentioning Smith as a "Good Man," to which the actor replied, "And Bad Boy for life". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With the selection of next Congress Legislature Party leader and state Congress president on the cards, former chief minister Siddaramaiah will meet the party high command in Delhi on Tuesday, a senior leader said on Sunday. "Yes... He is leaving for Delhi on Monday evening. There is a meeting scheduled with the party high command on Tuesday," said a Congress leader close to Siddaramaiah. Names that are doing rounds for the post of CLP leader include H K Patil and former speaker K R Ramesh Kumar whereas D K Shivakumar and K H Muniyappa are the top contenders for the state party chief's post. Siddaramaiah had stepped down as the CLP leader while Dinesh Gundu Rao had resigned as state Congress president on December 9 after the party's poor performance in the assembly bypolls at 15 places. While the ruling BJP won 12 seats, Congress could secure only two seats namely Hunasuru and Shivajinagar. An independent candidate won from Hoskote. The bypolls were necessitated due to the disqualification of 17 MLAs which brought down the coalition government of Congress and the JD(S). The bypolls were held at 15 places whereas the decision regarding the two other assembly segments was put on hold pending court order. The BJP's thumping victory in the bypolls helped the saffron party gain majority in the Karnataka assembly with 117 seats minus the speaker. The Congress and the JD(S) were expecting a substantial victory in the bypolls but the BJP's stellar performance left the leaders of the two parties in a state of shock. The bypolls were being seen as an acid test for Siddaramaiah and Rao. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Alrosa accepts that lab-grown diamonds are increasingly flooding diamond markets, including India. Despite the growing share of lab-grown diamonds, Russian miner Alrosa does not want to go the De Beers way and enter the segment. Chennai: Despite the growing share of lab-grown diamonds, Russian miner Alrosa does not want to go the De Beers way and enter the segment. However, Alrosa finds that lab-grown diamonds can co-exist with natural diamonds if they are properly declared. Alrosa accepts that lab-grown diamonds are increasingly flooding diamond markets, including India. With improved technology, new companies will create larger stones faster and of better quality than before. In the coming years the annual supply of natural diamonds may decline and the gap may be filled by lab-grown diamonds. However unlike De Beers, Alrosa does not want to enter the segment. Alrosa is committed to natural diamonds only and does not have any plans to go into the synthetics business. The company will remain the largest miner of natural diamonds with a proven origin, Jim Vimadalal, director-Indian Represen-tative Office, Alrosa told Financial Chronicle. We believe that high-quality natural diamonds, which arguably fall into a completely different product category than lab-created diamonds, could perform well as consumers in China and India, the industrys fastest-growing markets, do not perceive man-made diamonds as a substitute for natural, he added. Lab-grown diamonds are 4050 per cent cheaper than natural diamonds and their prices have halved in the past two years. The prices are expected to further dip as production efficiencies increase. According to Vimadalal, there have been cases where lab-grown diamonds are mixed in with the batches of natural diamonds, finally ending up in the jewellery stores around the globe. Only 20 per cent of these diamonds are officially declared, but these declared stones account for three per cent of the diamond market. Lab-grown diamonds can freely co-exist with natural diamonds if the stones are declared to be synthetic. Lab-grown diamonds have already their own niche. It can freely co-exist with natural diamonds market if declared as jewelry with lab-grown diamonds. It is necessary to give customer a clear understanding of the product he/she buys, said Vimadalal. Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], Jan 12 (ANI): A high-level delegation of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), led by President Sukhbir Singh Badal, on Sunday urged Home Minister Amit Shah to constitute a national level celebrations' committee to commemorate the 400th birth anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur in a befitting manner. According to a press release, apprising Shah about the solemn and sacred anniversary of Guru Teg Bahadur, which is being celebrated as a year-long event by the Sikh community across the world, Badal requested that the Union government constitute a national level celebrations' committee to organize this event in a most befitting manner to give an appropriate tribute to the Guru. The SAD delegation also urged the Shah to set up a National Integration Memorial in New Delhi in the memory of the Guru, while also requesting him to announce a national holiday on this pious occasion. "Guru Teg Bahadur laid down his life in the fight against religious bigotry, sectarian hatred and violence," said the delegation, adding that Guru Sahib came to the defense of helpless Kashmiri Pandits who were facing forcible religious conversions. The delegation, comprising the senior SAD leadership, presidents of SGPC, DSGMC and heads of Takhat Sri Hazoor Sahib and Takht Sri Patna Sahib also requested Shah to intervene and expedite the matter of clemency of Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana with the competent authority to commute the death penalty awarded to him and ensure his release from prison at the earliest. Taking up the issue of Bhai Rajoana with the union minister, the SAD delegation informed that Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana had already undergone 24 years of imprisonment without any parole. The SAD President also took up the issue of denial of permission to the SGPC delegation to visit Nankana Sahib to assess the ground situation after the recent attack on Gurdwara Janam Asthan as well as the targeting of members of the Sikh community. Badal urged Shah to take up the issue with the Pakistan authorities and also ask the Pakistan government to take concrete steps to ensure the safety and security of members of the Sikh community as well as other minorities in Pakistan. Other members of the delegation included S Gobind Singh Longowal, S Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Naresh Gujral, Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra and more. (ANI) By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 01/12/2020 ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT So did Anna and Mursel's relationship really end? Is the couple still together? 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 Anna Campisi and Mursel Mistanoglu have appeared to be over on Season 7 of the TLC series, but did they really split for good, or did Anna and Mursel end up getting married -- and are they still together now?Anna, a 38-year-old mother of three from Bellevue, NE, and Mursel, a 38-year-old from Antalya, Turkey, are currently starring on 's seventh season, which premiered in November 2019.Anna had a relationship with a "controlling" man -- the father of her three sons: Joey, 15, Gino, 14, and Leo, 6 -- but it ended badly, so she wasn't sure whether she'd ever find love again.But then Anna met Mursel on Facebook, and she thought the single beekeeper was "kind and sweet."Mursel and Anna bonded over their shared passion for beekeeping, and they continued talking and sending photos to each other despite the language barrier between them and cultural differences.Mursel, for example, is Muslim and doesn't drink, but she had faith things would work out.Anna's first meeting with Mursel in Turkey surpassed her expectations, and so she returned to America and applied for his K-1 visa, which was later approved.Anna acknowledged flying Mursel to America was a huge risk and might flip her family's lives upside down, but she was optimistic her family would come together.Anna had hope her three sons would grow to like and accept Mursel into their family. She felt she was meant to marry Mursel.But Gino and Joey weren't looking forward to having a new authority and father figure in their lives whom they didn't know at all.When Mursel met the boys, it was a little awkward for everyone involved.A couple of Mursel's comments led the boys to believe he was going to view everything in the United States inferior to what he was used to in Turkey.Mursel's meeting with Anna's sons "didn't go well," according to Anna, and then he had to meet her mother, Charlene, at a restaurant. Anna expected her mother to be blunt and a bit harsh with Mursel."How does Mursel's family feel about your kids?" asked Charlene, who wasn't happy about the idea of Mursel trying to control her daughter's household."They don't know about them... because Mursel does not want to tell his family," Anna replied."That's messed up," Gino announced at the table.Mursel explained he loved Anna so much but his family would disapprove of him marrying a woman with children.Mursel therefore planned to keep Anna's sons a secret from his family as to not bring shame upon them.Best case scenario, Mursel hoped to tell his parents about Anna's kids in about 10 years.Mursel said his parents would forgive his sins during their last moments on earth and that is the time to be totally honest and forthcoming about things.Mursel insisted he felt sad and guilty about the secret, but then he made it known if he had things his way, Anna would come to Turkey with him -- which made her sons feel like Mursel didn't care about them at all.Anna was starting to realize she might have to choose between the love of her life and her boys.Once Mursel had been in America for about a month, he and Anna began planning their wedding. Anna put together little honey favors, while Mursel was constructing a "honeycomb altar" made of wood.Mursel admitted he was a little nervous about the wedding and had concerns because he had heard Joey and Gino talking about how he's "stupid." Mursel also thought they were "spoiled."Anna asked Mursel to discuss the issue with her sons, but he didn't really want to.Anna worried she and her fiance were using their language barrier as an excuse not to talk to each other about serious topics. Anna was tired of hearing "yes" and "no" answers from Mursel all the time, but Mursel was afraid of sparking an argument.Anna felt she and Mursel needed to work on their own personal communication, but Mursel didn't seem receptive to her desire to work on things.Anna insisted Mursel never listened to her, and so she was second guessing whether they should even get married.Later on, Anna went shopping for a wedding dress with her friend Viviana, but Anna admitted she should be happier at this time in her life.Anna picked out the strapless dress of her dreams with lace and a lot of beading.Anna cried when she had found the perfect dress, but it was unclear where those tears were really coming from. Anna seemed to be doubting her decision to marry."I'm good," Anna assured her friend Viviana in tears, as if she was trying to convince herself that was the case. "He's The One. It just seems like nothing is going right... [but] we'll get it all figured out."But Anna's son Joey didn't care to have a relationship with Mursel at all because of the big secret Mursel was keeping."Do you want this wedding?" Mursel asked Joey."No," Joey replied."Why?" Mursel asked."Because it's stupid," Joey replied. "I think marrying Mursel would be even more of a burden for my mom, and I think my mom is able to change her mind if she wants to."Anna asked Joey to put his feelings behind him and focus on the future, but he refused."Your situation does not make me happy," Mursel said. "You never give me good energy. You don't try to be nice. If you don't want me, I can go.""It's that easy?!" Joey asked his mom. "Okay, situation solved!"Mursel started questioning why he should stay in the United States if Anna's kids didn't want him around, but Anna was certain they could work something out."The boys mean everything to me. My life revolves around them, but I don't think they appreciate everything I've given and sacrificed for them. And at some point, I want to be happy too," Anna said in a confessional.Anna, however, had already sent out the wedding invitations, so she felt a lot of pressure to go through with the nuptials.After receiving some guidance and words of wisdom from her friends at her bachelorette party, Anna demanded Mursel that he come clean with his family and tell them about her children.Anna told Mursel that he had put her in an uncomfortable position and was acting very selfish.Mursel, however, said his family wouldn't talk to him again if they found out he planned to marry a woman with kids."If I had known Anna was going to make me tell my family about her kids, I would not have come," Mursel confessed to the cameras.Mursel refused to be honest with his parents, so then Anna threatened to cancel their wedding."We're coming towards the end of his 90 days, and we're about to call [the wedding] off," Anna told the cameras. "I didn't think we'd be in this situation."Anna didn't think the situation was fair, but Mursel said he had made a lot of sacrifices to be with her -- including quitting his job in Turkey and leaving everything behind. As a result, Mursel expected Anna to sacrifice for him as well.But since Mursel didn't want to lose Anna, he finally decided to reveal the truth to his parents via video chat."She took you for a fool!" Mursel's father said after hearing about Anna's past.Mursel's mother then scolded Mursel and told him that he needed to return to Turkey, where he could still find a good-paying job and nice woman.Mursel said he understood and then ended the call."I was expecting this, but did not expect it to be this bad. They perceived her as a bad woman. I mean, incredibly bad," Mursel said. "They want me to go back to Turkey. They tell me what I did is nonsense."Mursel told Anna the conversation didn't go well and he must return to Turkey, which made Anna cry. Anna admitted she was feeling "devastated" and loved Mursel, but she was realizing love may not be enough.In the latest episode of , with only 20 days left to wed, Anna was feeling pretty devastated over the demise of her relationship.Anna was angry with Mursel's family for not accepting her three sons, and Mursel admitted his family was "very bad" and "very aggressive."Anna was disappointed that age 38, Mursel wasn't willing to stand up to his parents and just marry her for the sake of their love and happiness.Mursel felt a lot of pressure from all sides because while he wanted to be with Anna, he had no intention of battling his family wishes.Mursel therefore planned to return to Turkey, and then Anna told her mother Charlene that the wedding was off.Charlene called the drama "bullsh-t," especially since Mursel had known about Anna's boys before traveling to the United States.Charlene accused Mursel of breaking her daughter's heart and going back to Turkey as if nothing was wrong. Charlene was angry, but Mursel explained his family needed to come first.Anna's two youngest boys, Leo and Gino, heard the news as well, and they looked pretty upset -- which made Mursel feel guilty.Anna's youngest son Leo was especially sad and didn't understand why Mursel couldn't be a man and just stand up to his parents. Gino thought Mursel was annoying sometimes, but he had grown accustomed to the idea of Mursel sticking around."I thought he would help me a lot, and now he's leaving," Gino vented to the cameras.Charlene bragged she had known all along Anna's romance would "end up in tragedy," so her only concern going forward was figuring out how to get Mursel "the hell out of here."Anna later told her son Joey that the wedding was off. Mursel was staying in a hotel before his trip home, and Anna admitted to her son that she was angry because Mursel wasn't making decisions for himself.Joey agreed Mursel's parents shouldn't control him, but he thought Anna's romance was a bad idea to begin with.Joey accused his mother of never thinking things through or considering all possible outcomes, and so he was disappointed in his mom for putting the family through all this."[Joey] got his wish. Mursel is leaving," Anna said in a confessional.Anna was furious at Mursel and called him "weak," so she kicked him out of her house and sent him to a hotel, where she intended he would live until his flight back to Turkey."If we really cannot be together, I want you gone," Anna told Mursel via text.Mursel said he felt lonely and sad in the hotel room. He was in a foreign land and wished he could spend his final days in America with Anna, but she continued to write him angry messages and ignore his phone calls.But at one point, Anna took Mursel's call and simply said on the other line, "I don't like you. We are finished."Mursel cried in his hotel room, but Anna continued to insist their relationship was over."I want to kiss her because I love her. I couldn't sleep at all. All the time I am thinking about this. I am physically finished," Mursel vented in a confessional.There appears to be even more drama on the horizon for this couple as 's seventh season continues airing on TLC.In trailers that previously aired on TLC, it appears Mursel heads back to Turkey in order to please his family."Do they want you to leave soon?" Anna asks Mursel in tears in one trailer."Yes," he replies.In a different trailer, Anna's son tells the cameras, "I don't know how much Mursel is really in love with my mom."And Anna later drops Mursel off at the airport and cries, "Please, Mursel, don't go!"Mursel also cries, as he says goodbye to his love.Anna revealed November 25, 2019 on Instagram that she and Mursel got engaged on September 8, 2018.Anna announced the news as part of her explanation as to why she and Mursel appear to wear wedding rings on 's seventh season."I finally got the ok! I've gotten a lot of questions about the rings Mursel and I wear. In Turkey it is customary to have an Engagement ceremony. This involves exchanging rings," Anna captioned a series of photos of the couple celebrating at a fancy event."A red ribbon is tied to both rings and the Elder of the family says a prayer and some words to bless the Engagement and the ribbon is then cut. Then the couple goes around and kisses the hands of the Elders. It is also customary for the guests to pin money on the newly Engaged couple."Anna concluded, "We didn't go through the whole engagement custom which would also involve both families meeting and getting a blessing due to my family not being in Turkey. We were engaged September 8 2018! Hopefully this clears some questions."Anna and Mursel then reportedly got married a year after their engagement.Anna and Mursel tied the knot in Nebraska on September 8, 2019, according to court records obtained by Starcasm.The couple has refrained from sharing photos or writing messages about each other on social media, but Mursel recently changed his home state to Nebraska on his Facebook.Anna also hinted she's still with Mursel when she wrote his name as a hashtag in a mid-December 2019 post on Instagram."We need more days till Christmas! #notready, #90dayfiance, #oldestboy, #mursel," Anna captioned a photo with her son.In addition, Anna revealed how to say the word "turkey" in Turkish in honor of Thanksgiving. She apparently continues to learn the language and appreciate Mursel's culture.Anna owns Beauty and the Bees Honey, a business which sells honey and a wide array of bees wax products.Mursel studied at California State University, Northridge, according to Starcasm, but it's unclear whether Mursel came to America for the program or participated in online courses.Want spoilers? Click here to visit our Spoilers webpage! A senior police officer, posted with the strategic anti-hijacking team at Srinagar airport, was arrested along with two terrorists whom he was ferrying in a car in Kashmir Valley, a top police officer said here on Sunday. Kashmir Inspector General of Police (IGP) Vijay Kumar said it was a "heinous crime" and Davinder Singh was being treated at par with the terrorists and jointly interrogated by all security agencies. While refusing to divulge details of the probe so far, Kumar said that after the about their detention on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway in south Kashmir on Saturday spread, some militants escaped from a hideout in Shopian. One of the arrested militants Naveed, who was a police constable and deserted the force in 2017 to join the Hizbul Mujahideen, has been involved in cases of killing of police personnel and civilians, the IGP told a press conference here. "The police officer (Singh) has worked on several anti-militancy operations. But the circumstances under which he was arrested yesterday when he was driving the car with militants towards Jammu is a heinous crime. That is why he is being treated at par with the militants," the IGP said. "He has been properly arrested, has been brought under remand and his interrogation is on. The investigation is at an initial stage and I cannot share anything further. The investigation is on and we have got several leads which we will not like to share as the operation is on. When this spread yesterday, some militants escaped from a hideout in Shopian. The hideout was eight feet under the ground which had food items among other things stored there, he said. Giving details of Saturday's operation, Kumar said the Shopian Superintendent of Police had got a specific intelligence input that two militants were travelling in a vehicle on the national highway towards Jammu. "The SP Shopian informed me and I directed DIG south Kashmir and a naka was laid. The car was searched and two wanted militants were there. A deputy superintendent of police was also there along with a resident who is an advocate and a listed OGW (overground worker) in our records," he said. The IGP said the militants and the police officer were interrogated by the police and then all agencies, including intelligence agencies IB and RAW, working in the valley. "I called all the security forces and agencies for a joint interrogation which is still going on. One of the militants has been identified as a top commander Naveed who was a police constable in 2017 and had decamped with four rifles from Budgam. He has been involved in police and civilian killings and threatening orchardists. 17 FIRs have been registered against him. He is the district commander of Shopian and 2IC of HM commander Riyaz Naikoo, Kumar said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Advertisement He's been enjoying a luxurious break in the Caribbean island alongside his partner Lauren Silverman and son Eric. And Simon Cowell looked on fine form as he continued to showcase his newly slimmed-down physique while on a beach in Barbados on Saturday. The X Factor supremo, 60, looked chilled and content as he displayed his toned torso in a pair of monochrome shorts, before hitting the jet skis with five-year-old Eric. Looking good: Simon Cowell looked on fine form as he continued to showcase his newly slimmed-down physique while on a beach in Barbados on Saturday Simon had a smile on his face as he soaked up the rays, before donning a life jacket ahead of his excursion on the water. Looking every inch the cool cat, the star donned a pair of dark sunglasses as he enjoyed his day on the beach. Meanwhile, his mini-me Eric rocked a pair of red and navy shorts, as well as his life jacket and a pair of goggles, as he joined his dad on the water. The father and son duo were joined by Simon's girlfriend Lauren, 42, who looked incredible in a simple black swimsuit. Father and son: The X Factor supremo, 60, looked chilled and content as he displayed his toned torso in a pair of monochrome shorts, before hitting the jet-skis with five-year-old Eric Life's a beach: Lauren, Simon and Eric enjoyed yet another thrilling jet ski ride during their long, annual holiday to Barbados She added a trendy pair of black sunglasses, while shielding her face from the sun in a pink sports cap. The family were seen larking around on the beach as they walked along the shore, before indulging in some water-sports. Lauren joined Eric and Simon on the jet skis, with the socialite taking one jet ski, while Simon and Eric zipped along on another. Happy: Simon had a smile on his face as he soaked up the rays, before donning a life jacket ahead of his excursion on the water Safety first: Simon strapped himself into a yellow life jacket as he prepared for another jet ski ride during his annual jaunt to Barbados Fun in the sun: The father of one didn't appear to have a care in the world as he stood near the shore Style: Looking every inch the cool cat, the star donned a pair of dark sunglasses as he enjoyed his day on the beach Family: The father and son duo were joined by Simon's girlfriend Lauren, 42, who looked incredible in a simple black swimsuit Happy couple: Simon smiled as he walked alongside Lauren. He has been with the New York native since 2013 The trio looked thrilled as they raced along on the water, with little Eric himself looking in his element. The TV judge has been showcasing his newly trim figure of late, after he shed the pounds after embarking on a vegan diet. Simon recently told The Ellen DeGeneres Show: 'I went to see this doctor in London. We did some tests. And then a month later he said, "You have the worst diet I've ever met from any patient."' Stunning: Lauren showcased her svelte figure in a simple yet chic one-piece which featured a plunging neckline and spaghetti straps Fun day out: The family were seen larking around on the beach as they walked along the shore, before indulging in some water-sports Popular: The family were surrounded by a group of excited tourists as they walked along the beach Making a splash: The family splashed their feet in the water as they made their way down the beach Full of joy: Simon and Lauren were full of smiles as they took their five-year-old son jet skiing in Barbados All together now: The trio were joined by other pals during their fun beach excursion Tottering along: Eric walked alongside his mother as they headed for a spot of water sports Helping hand: Little Eric was helped onto the jet ski as Lauren watched on from behind Simon then added: 'It's like the Eric diet because he actually, apart from ice cream, he actually likes water. I mean, who likes water? And his raw vegetables. So I'm on like, the Eric Cowell diet.' The TV judge's new physique has impressed his celebrity pals, with his close friend and fellow Britain's Got Talent judge David Walliams joking the star has become a 'skinny b***h'. Taking to Twitter to share his thoughts on Simon's transformation, David tweeted a picture of his pal shirtless on the beach and said: 'Skinny b***h,' before following his post up with another of Simon that read: 'Vegan diet my a**e.' Looking great: Lauren looked fab in her black swimsuit as she strapped herself into her yellow life jacket Sensational: The mum-of-two showcased her golden tan after weeks of sunning herself on the Caribbean island Legs for days: Lauren looked fantastic as she displayed her long, bronzed pins on the beach That's my boy: Eric walk ahead of his mother as they prepared for their fun-filled beach day Thrilled: Lauren looked in her element as she waded in the water on the beach Raring to go: Excitable Eric looked keen to embark on another day on the water Raring to go: Simon helped steady the jet skis ahead of their fun time on then water Amanda Holden, who also sits on the panel with Simon for Britain's Got Talent, has also spoken out about his weight loss and claimed it was the result of Simon switching to 'skinny lager'. Speaking on Good Morning Britain to host Piers Morgan, she said: 'Hes drinking lightweight beers, thats the secret. 'And I tasted it because I thought it was gonna taste, like, naff. Actually its quite decent. You could take a tip from him!' Making memories: Lauren and Simon smiled at their son as they spent quality time together on holiday There's my boys: Lauren looked back on Simon and Eric fondly as she prepared to zoom off Let's do this: Lauren joined Eric and Simon on the jet skis, with the socialite taking one jet ski, while Simon and Eric zipped along on another Wow: Simon showed off his jet skiing skills as he rode along with little Eric Fabulous: Lauren still managed to make getting assisted off a jet ski glamorous Stunner: The American beauty looked great as she perched on a jet ski Waves: Simon looked chuffed as he sat on a jet ski with his beloved son Meanwhile, Simon also spoke about cutting down on alcohol earlier this year, he told Extra: 'I went to see this guy whos very well-known. 'And he said to me, after doing some blood work, "You cant have red meat, dairy, sugar, bread or gluten." 'Im thinking, "What about alcohol?" And he said, "Maybe not quite as much as you had before." And I did it and I stuck to it and its easy.' Vroom vroom: Eric took the reigns as Simon kept a watchful eye Hold on tight: Eric gripped the handlebars tightly as his father steered from behind What a view: Lauren looks content as she's surrounded by the turquoise blue waters of the Caribbean sea Look at them go! The family can barely contain their glee as they race around on the water Time of his life: Eric adjusted his goggles before thoroughly enjoying his jet ski ride with his famous parents Giggles: Simon's lookalike boy giggles with glee as he sat on board the jet ski The Honda Jazz crashed into a concrete pillar, got upside down, and caught fire One person died as a result of an accident on the night of January 12, on the Druzhby Narodiv boulevard in Kyiv, four more were hospitalized. The press service of the State Emergencies Service of Ukraine. "The emergency departments of the special fire department of the technical service detachment of the 8th State Fire and Rescue Unit were sent to the scene. As it turned out, as a result of a collision with a concrete pillar, the Honda Jazz car got upside down and immediately caught fire," reads the message. There were five people in the car. Eyewitnesses to the incident helped four passengers get out of a burning car. "At 3:19, firefighters extinguished the fire, released the clamped body of the male driver with a hydraulic tool and handed it to the police," the State Emergency Service reports. As we reported, a large-scale road accident, in which five Ukrainians were injured, took place in Slovakia, in Tatra. It occurred on the D1 motorway near Spisska Storak, where 17 cars, two minibusses, and one bus collided. According to preliminary information, provided by the portal, two people were injured at the scene of the accident. At the time of the accident, 41 people were in the vehicles. Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias will receive the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, at 12:00 on Monday, 13 January. Their talks will focus on bilateral relations, the Cyprus issue as well as regional issues. They will also sign a Memorandum of Understanding on Political Consultations and Technical Cooperation between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs. Statements to the press will follow, at about 13:05. SAWS or VIA? Vote Re: Put aquifer protection over transit, Another View, Jan. 3: The Edwards Aquifer Protection Program has been passed by a large majority of the voters in four bond elections. The public knows the importance of protecting our water for the present and future because of science-based data. Approximately 160,000 acres over the Edwards Aquifer will not be covered by buildings, parking lots and infrastructure. ConnectSA a transportation concept would use the one-eighth of a cent from the sales tax for a plan that has not yet been presented to City Council. The cost we are informed by some of the literature is $1.3 billion. Its a generation-to-generation understanding: We support what is beneficial now and in the future. Let the citizens vote. Bonnie Conner Public transit safe? Re: S.A. can future-proof mobility with light rail, Other Views, Friday: I want to ask Lyndon Henry if he has ever visited the cities he cited as good examples of how light rail works so well. Cities he mentioned were Phoenix, Minneapolis, Seattle, Portland and San Diego. Sadly, San Antonio is not like those cities. The one big difference between San Antonio and those other cities is the segregation of the poor and everyone else. I took a bus ride from UTSA to the Frio bus station downtown to meet my wife, who works downtown. I had to walk to Caesar E. Chavez Boulevard. It was scary. I literally jogged past hordes of homeless and some pretty shady folks. San Antonio is one of the most segregated cities. That brings me to the main issue of public transportation of any kind. Is it safe? If folks who can drive dont feel safe, they will not use public transportation. James Young On ExpressNews.com: Opinion: Protect the Edwards Aquifer, water is essential to our future Speak for the animals Any of us who are parents or grandparents know how much kids love looking at animal books: tigers, elephants, dolphins, whales, wolves. These creatures share our planet. But horrible news, folks: The World Wildlife Funds 2018 report shows a 60 percent decline in the populations of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles and amphibians in the last 40 years. This is due to humans steady destruction of habitat and the effects of global warming. What are we thinking? These creatures do not have a voice and, therefore, it is up to us to speak up for them. Back those candidates who speak to environmental concerns, and contact your elected representatives. For example, our state contributes mightily to global warming: Environment Texas reports in 2018 we released 135 million pounds of illegal air pollution, double the amount of 2017. Read about methane super-emitters on the oil fields, which are a major contributor to atmospheric damage, but guess what? State and federal Republican administrations are working to weaken restrictions. Again, folks, take a stand here both for our children and our fellow creatures. Gary S. Whiting A lot to learn Noticing all the recent troubles the Texas Education Agency is having with school boards across the state, I did a quick Google search for the qualifications to serve on school boards in Texas, Massachusetts, New York and Kansas. Basically, one has to be 18 years old, a U.S. citizen with no criminal record, passionate about education, have a high school diploma and training in fiscal responsibility, and, in Kansas, remember the responsibility is to all children in the state and not just the local area. With these grandiose qualifications and expectations, isnt it any wonder reform is needed when it comes to school boards? We are de facto a laggard when it comes to educational attainment and going backward compared to other advanced industrial nations. As Dorothy came to finally realize in The Wizard of Oz: I have a feeling were not in Kansas anymore. Jesse L. Howell On ExpressNews.com: Opinion: Preparing todays students for tomorrows jobs Not new but great Re: Preparing students for the future, Another View, Jan. 2: As a lifelong educator, I was delighted to see Juan E. Cabreras op-ed on the new way of learning in the El Paso Independent School District. This is actually not a new way, though certainly new to most Texas public schools. John Dewey, publishing from 1902-1938, Maria Montessori, with her Casa dei Bambini in 1907, and Jean Piaget, throughout the mid-20th century, all proposed research-supported, child-centered, inquiry-based education. In the 1950s, I was trained to teach this way in British schools. At University of Texas at San Antonio, since the 1980s, training for elementary and middle school teachers has been based on a child-centered, interdisciplinary inquiry model. And in our own San Antonio ISD, the inclusion of two Montessori schools is an exciting innovation. Unfortunately, the old systems and the power of the testing paradigm have continued to control the public education of Texas children and to frustrate teachers, who still often do marvels in adapting their programs to meet the needs and developmental stages of the children they teach. I hope Cabreras work in El Paso will encourage other school superintendents to take this bold and sound approach to teaching our children. Gillian E. Cook CROWN POINT A Gary man was wanted Friday on charges alleging he shot a woman at her front door while her five children were inside because he was angry she pepper-sprayed him during an earlier attack. Charles King III, 50, was drinking with his girlfriend and the woman Dec. 23 at a residence in the 4300 block of West 23rd Avenue when he became upset with the woman, she told police. King accused the woman of trying to "run his house," but the woman thought he was also upset because she refused to talk to a male friend of his, Lake Criminal Court records state. When the woman got up to leave, King pushed her back on a chair, records allege. The woman got up and pushed King, who grabbed her by the shirt collar with both hands and threw her on a couch, records state. The woman pepper-sprayed King as he approached her again, according to court documents. She then packed up her children and left. A short time later, the woman answered a knock at her door from her friend's adult daughters and saw King running toward her house while pulling a gray revolver from his pants pocket, records allege. Kate Karstens knew she'd nailed the story when the Yale-bound son of a school board member confessed to skipping class more than two dozen times - without consequences. It was 2016, near the end of her junior year, and Karstens had spent weeks reporting an article about chronic absenteeism at George Mason High School in Northern Virginia, tracing administrators' failure to punish offenders. Now, Karstens raced from the interview to tell Peter Laub, faculty adviser for the student newspaper, the Lasso. After a few rounds of editing, they pressed publish. Hours later, an email from the principal hit Laub's inbox: The story had to come down. "I actually remember having this physical response of rage," said Karstens, now a 20-year-old senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "It was this pain, right below my collarbone." It's a scenario Virginia lawmakers hope to prevent through proposed legislation that would limit administrative censorship of student publications in public middle schools, high schools and colleges across the state. Last month, Del. Chris Hurst, D-Montgomery, and Del. Danica Roem, D-Prince William - both former journalists - introduced the measure in the House, and Sen. David W. Marsden, D-Fairfax, filed a companion bill in the Senate. The legislation affirms the free speech rights of student journalists at public schools and stipulates that administrators can censor content only if it is libelous or slanderous, violates federal law, or is likely to spur dangerous or unlawful acts of violence. Roughly a dozen states have adopted similar laws since the late 1980s. The bills in Virginia follow high-profile incidents in the state: Last year, administrators at Maury High School in Norfolk forced student reporters to delete a broadcast revealing the school's dilapidated condition. In September, a Radford University employee stole editions of the student-run Tartan from campus newsstands. "Students are being onerously and unfairly censored all the time," Hurst said. "We have dozens of examples across the Commonwealth." A 1988 Supreme Court ruling found that student journalists are entitled to a lower level of First Amendment protections than professional journalists, opening the door to interference by school administrators, said Hillary Davis, an organizer with the Student Press Law Center. That case - Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier - centered on a principal's decision to remove two student articles about divorce and teen pregnancy. The justices wrote that school officials can censor student publications with impunity so long as the censorship is "reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns." What that meant, Davis said, is that "if you are in the student press, suddenly you can be censored for virtually any reason whatsoever." Nationally, she has witnessed censorship of all kinds - from administrators who deleted yearbook photos of students in "Make America Great Again" gear to officials who spiked an investigative story unearthing financial mismanagement. Roem said she worries students' inability to report the news will teach bad habits to future journalists - or worse, kill their enthusiasm for the profession. At a time when local news outlets are disappearing throughout the country, Roem said, it's vital that student outlets step up to cover their communities. "We can't have teenage reporters being treated like PR outlets by the administration, " Roem said. "That helps exactly no one." Last school year, two Lasso staffers, Colter Adams and Evan Jones, began to wonder whether administrative censorship damages the quality of student journalism. After analyzing data gathered from 50 states, the students concluded that public high schools in states with anti-censorship laws were more likely to win journalism awards than schools in states without those laws. Adams and Jones outlined their findings in a June article for the Lasso, "This is what quality journalism looks like." "Clearly, having censorship means you're less likely to be prepared for actual journalism," said Adams, 18, the Lassos's managing editor and an aspiring politics reporter who sneak-reads longform investigations when he gets bored in class. He and other Lasso staffers - along with Laub, the journalism adviser - say they will do everything they can to speed passage of the anti-censorship measure over the next several months. They've already published an editorial and are planning a letter-writing campaign to legislators. Hurst introduced a version of the legislation last year, but it died in a 5-to-3 subcommittee vote. He attributes the failure to some lawmakers' belief that young people are not sufficiently mature to make news judgments, an argument he finds ridiculous. "If we trust students to use a lathe in a wood shop, or a blowtorch in a technical education course," Hurst said, "why are we so afraid of giving them a pen?" Hurst has been working to build support this time around and said he feels optimistic about the bill's prospects. He is expecting to draw backers from both sides of the political aisle - as has been the case for similar legislation nationwide, Davis said. Over the past five years, a spate of laws meant to protect student journalists' First Amendment rights - known as "New Voices" laws - passed throughout the nation, often with bipartisan support, Davis said. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia already have New Voices laws on the books, and the Student Press Law Center estimates a dozen more, including Virginia, will consider similar bills this year. The Hazelwood ruling does not prevent states from granting full First Amendment rights to student journalists, according to Davis. Davis said the newfound enthusiasm for student journalism stems from a confluence of two broader trends. First, school-aged activists have convinced adults that students have something worthwhile to say - most prominently through movements combating gun violence and climate change. "Second, we're having a larger conversation about press freedom generally," Davis said, pointing in part to the Trump administration's repeated attacks on journalists. Karstens knows exactly what inspired her. When Laub stuck up for Karstens and her reporting, administrators backed off. Her article went back online June 8, 2016, with a deletion - Karstens agreed to remove the exact number of absences the Yale-bound student had recorded, yielding to officials' concerns about student privacy. The incident spurred her to petition the Falls Church City school board to adopt an anti-censorship policy. That campaign failed, so Karstens spent her senior year as Lasso editor in chief holding George Mason's principal, Matt Hills, to the letter of the law: She bucked custom and forced Hills to review every article the Lasso published. She was in his office almost every day. "I won't forget Kate hovering," said Hills, who assumed the principalship after the publication of the absenteeism article. (Tyrone Byrd, the former principal who ordered the story taken down, did not respond to requests for comment.) "At some point," Hills said, "even with the door closed, I could almost sense her from afar." Later, Karstens traveled to Richmond to testify in favor of Hurst's first version of the bill. She was sad to hear of its failure. Censorship may still be legal, but she's left her mark anyway. Spray-painted on the wall of Laub's classroom, above the whiteboard, is a black and white clenched hand. Adjacent red block-letters scream: "THE FIST OF ACCOUNTABILITY." Signed - just below the wrist - "KATE KARSTENS." Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson has become one of the biggest names in Hollywood since his start as a WWE star. And the story of his life before that success is about to become the basis of a new NBC comedy series. He's executive producing through his Seven Bucks Productions and starring in Young Rock, a show inspired by his childhood. True story: Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is executive producing through his Seven Bucks Productions and starring in Young Rock, a show inspired by his childhood The series has been given an 11-episode order with Fresh Off the Boat creator Nahnatchka Khan and her writing partner Jeff Chiang on-board. Johnson took to his Instagram story Friday with the announcement and some childhood photos to set the tone. He said: 'We're gonna show the good, the bad, the ugly. But most importantly, we're gonna show the always funny.' The Ballers star was born May 2, 1972 in Hayward, California to mom Ata Johnson and professional wrestler dad Rocky Johnson. Coming soon: The series has been given an 11-episode order with Fresh Off the Boat creator Nahnatchka Khan and her writing partner Jeff Chiang on-board Good, bad and ugly: Johnson took to his Instagram story Friday with the announcement: 'We're gonna show the good, the bad, the ugly. But most importantly, we're gonna show the always funny' He briefly lived in New Zealand with his mom's family before returning to the United States, where he bounced around North Carolina, Connecticut, Hawaii, Tennessee and Pennsylvania. Johnson found fame as The Rock in 1997, a year after he got his start with the World Wrestling Federation. He later transitioned into acting with the 2001 movie The Mummy Returns, followed by a starring role in the 2002 spin-off The Scorpion King, about his character. Cali boy: The Ballers star was born May 2, 1972 in Hayward, California to mom Ata Johnson and professional wrestler dad Rocky Johnson Smackdown vibes: Johnson found fame as The Rock in 1997, a year after he got his start with the World Wrestling Federation Leading man: He later transitioned into acting with the 2001 movie The Mummy Returns, followed by a starring role in the 2002 spin-off The Scorpion King, about his character The 47-year-old has recently starred in blockbusters like Jumanji: The Next Level and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. In August, he was named by Forbes as the highest-paid actor of 2019, raking in $89.4million. He's helmed several of his major films through his Seven Bucks banner, recently releasing Fighting with My Family, based on the life of WWE star Paige. Major fashion retailers have been accused of cashing in on Britain's knife crime epidemic by selling lookalike stab vests. High Street stores including Asos, Boohoo and Matches Fashion are selling variations on the 'tactical vests'. They resemble stab-proof vests but offer little protection, with some criticising the shops for trying to make violence fashionable. Major fashion retailers including Boohoo (left) and Asos (right) have been accused of cashing in on Britain's knife crime epidemic by selling lookalike stab vests One 'Tactical Mesh Vest' designed by streetwear brand 1017 ALYX 9SM and sold by Matches Fashion is on sale for 310 One 'Tactical Mesh Vest' designed by streetwear brand 1017 ALYX 9SM and sold by Matches Fashion is on sale for 310. While Boohoo Man are selling a black 'utility tactical vest with buckles' for 18.75. Dean Dawe, 37, whose son was twice held up at knife-point, told Sky News that wearing the vests could even encourage further violence. He said: 'If you're walking around with a stab proof vest you're going to get other people who might want to put it to the test and challenge it.' Patrick Green, CEO of the Ben Kinsella Trust, one of the biggest anti-knife crime charities in the UK, fears the trend could see stab vests becoming normalised on British streets. He said: 'What worries me more is that for many young people this is just a normal garment that you would wear. They don't think about what it's really saying.' Grime star Stormzy wore a stab-proof vest with a Union Jack emblazoned on the front designed by Banksy Grime star Stormzy wore a stab-proof vest with a Union Jack emblazoned on the front designed by Banksy for his Glastonbury headline show last year. The move was seen as a political statement about rising knife crime, as his set also featured a speech by David Lammy about the criminalisation of young black men. But similar vests have also been seen at New York Fashion Week and are becoming more and more popular as a fashion accessory. BoohooMan.com said the vests are a 'street wear trend' and said the company does not 'condone any form of violence and would never use fashion or trends to condone this sort of behaviour'. Meanwhile Urban Outfitters have taken down a vest from their website after the issue was raised. MailOnline has contacted Asos and Matches Fashion. Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Director Shannan Reid held up a sheet of paper with a 10-year trajectory written on it. Its just one example of the types of conversation she recalls with, Phil Knutson, a Montgomery coffee shop owner who fired off a concerned email a few years ago and who was honored as the chambers outgoing chairman on Friday night. He thinks so very differently than the rest of us, but thank goodness that he does, Reid said. He challenged us to grow and that has exponentially moved us along in the timeline of maturity. Chamber members, ambassadors, elected officials and other guests gathered in the Lone Star Community Center at 2500 Lone Star Parkway in Montgomery for the special annual event. Aside from honoring the Knutson, the event also introduced the incoming chairman Deanna Voitle, who introduced the 2020 board of directors, who were inducted Friday night by state Rep. Will Metcalf, R-Conroe. Several awards were presented, including to businesses and ambassadors of the year. This year, the ball included the aviation theme Oh, How Time Flies When Youre Having Fun with toy airplane model centerpieces engineered by Reid and her husband. The chamber chose the theme for Knutson, who is an avid private pilot and 1st lieutenant in the U.S. Air Forces Civil Air Patrol. He also shares a passion for private aviation with his father who graduated from the U.S. Army Air Corps Academy and flew a P47 Thunderbolt as a test pilot in the 1940s. Reid described Knutson as instrumental in the chambers soar to success since he became involved in 2015 with service that far exceeds his role as the 2019 chairman. In the past three years, Knutson has also served on Congressman Kevin Bradys Military Academy Nominations board, evaluating young applicants throughout the congressional district seeking an appointment to the Air Force, Navy, West Point, or Merchant Marine academy. In a video message, Brady congratulated Knutson on presiding over a year of tremendous growth boasting about 85 new members. He also congratulated the chamber for celebrating its five-year anniversary while showing progress and achievement with maturity beyond its age. He contributed the success to Knutson, Reid, and the volunteers. Year after year, he said Knutson brought his wealth of knowledge, skills, and organization management to Montgomery County. I know from personal experience how great of a leader you are, what a team player you are, and I am so grateful for that, Brady said. You worked tirelessly this year with the people and businesses of Montgomery County, fitting your program around exactly what the community needs. Although we are sad to see you go in this years leadership, we cant wait to see what you accomplish next. Knutson described the chamber, which officially launched in 2015 and has grown to 218 members today in the roughly 256-square-mile area, as having a rich and vibrant history within and around the historic area. He believes the chambers freedom to be nimble, adapt to geography and innovate, as well as to focus on members needs, sets the chamber apart. It was really early in the year that we passed the 200-member mark, Knutson said. That is such a huge thing for such a young chamber and a milestone marker to show the growth and value that we bring to the area. Chamber History The Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce officially launched in January 2015. In an email to The Courier prior to the event, Reid said there was previously a West County Chamber of Commerce. With too few people to run the organization, she said the Conroe Chamber of Commerce stepped in during the mid-90s to become the chamber for all. In 1997, Reid said the Historic Montgomery Business Association was formed by downtown businesses who banded together to encourage events and consumer traffic to town. Reid has had the pleasure and privilege to serve as the Montgomery area chambers executive director since before its inception. She first became involved in 2012 through the HMBA before transitioning to the chamber in 2015. The leaders of the association always talked that someday a Chamber would once again make sense for the Montgomery Community, Reid said. As the organization and their events grew, they hired part time staff and expanded their vision. By 2014, it was apparent that they had become everything a Chamber was without the name recognition. After completing the paperwork and preparation for the official launch, Reid said the chamber found itself in the arena of well-established chamber across the region and nation. Business owners kept the chamber on its toes with high expectations, as she recalled the organizations having to become the very best version of itself in what felt like overnight. With technology and momentum on our side, as well as a small group of key leaders, savvy with business skills, MACC was able to mold quickly into the Chamber that our community business owners needed right then, Reid stated. Being new in 2015 turned out to have lots of advantages. We didnt have to unlearn anything or change to match the times. We used that to our advantaged and sought to apply the latest technologies whenever possible and affordable. Today, the chamber continues to host various events and networking opportunities, including monthly coffee club meetings and Business Eats luncheons with updates from key county and region leaders. It partners with the Montgomery Independent School District to help schools prepare to open in August. The chamber is also proud to host the communitys largest event to date, Wine Fest. The annual event attracts wineries and visitors from across the Houston region and state each September to discover Montgomery, The Birthplace of the Texas Flag. Membership Kickoff The chamber will share its history with a 2019 report card and a look into the 2020 vision at its Annual Meeting and Membership Kick Off at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday at Lone Star Community Center. More information is available on Facebook and the Chambers website. Two veterans in the Phillipsburg area are working to bring Hometown Heroes banners to the area, honoring those who are serving or who have served. In town, 2013 Phillipsburg High School graduate and five-year U.S. Army veteran Cory Sullivan is in talks with Mayor Todd Tersigni to put the banners up on lampposts along South Main Street from Third to McKeen streets. And in the Stewartsville section of Greenwich Township, retired U.S. Air Force Col. Jim Sikra is arranging for the banners to be hung up along North and South Main, Greenwich and Washington streets. The banners will be available for purchase by veterans or their family members, though the price is to-be-determined because the organizers are collecting donations to offset the cost. Any veteran, living or deceased, or active duty service member is eligible for the recognition. Made by Allentown-based Rileighs Outdoor Decor, the banners are 18-inches-by-36-inches and will feature the veterans name, photo, branch of service and dates or era served. Hometown Heroes banners are displayed along Route 21 in Independence, Ohio.Laura Bednar file photo | For cleveland.com Sullivan and Sikra both hope to finalize their banner programs and have them available for purchase and installation in time for Memorial Day. They'll be taken down after Veterans Day, and are expected to last two or three years, Sikra said. "As a veteran I think it will boost morale in town," Sullivan told town council in pitching the proposal last week. Councilwoman Danielle Degerolamo said she had tried to get a Hometown Heroes banner program started three years ago. "It just didn't happen so thank you for bringing it back," she told Sullivan. "And with the mayor's permission if he's in favor of it I'm sure we'd be thrilled." "I am in full favor of it," Tersigni said. Sullivan, who works with the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission and at his parents' Phillipsburg restaurant, Sullivans on the Main, said he's getting help on the initiative from his wife, Caitlyn Sullivan, and parents Mack and Willie Sullivan. Both Cory Sullivan and Sikra said they'll be posting fliers to share more information and have set up email addresses for those interested in learning more, either about purchasing a banner or contributing to help reduce the cost to veterans and families. The Phillipsburg address is pburghometownhero@gmail.com and stewartsville.heroes@gmail.com is the Stewartsville address. Sullivan said he's also working with Bill Nixon, organizer of Phillipsburg's annual Veterans Day service, to reach out to people who may be interested. New Jersey is home to more than 400,000 veterans. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. MIAMI - A shooting in Miami Beachs tourist-filled South Beach neighbourhood left a police officer injured with a stab wound and one other person hospitalized Saturday night. Miami Beach police tweeted that the shooting occurred on Ocean Drive in the citys famous Art Deco Historic District Authorities later said the officer had been stabbed and was in stable condition. Police said the other person was hospitalized in critical condition. Investigators did not say what prompted the shooting. Dear Editor, Thanks to a recent grant from Gov. Andrew Cuomos Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council, residents and visitors in Esopus and Lloyd soon will be able to hike, bike and paddle along the John Burroughs Black Creek Trail. The $600,000 award will allow project partners- Scenic Hudson, the John Burroughs Association, the towns of Lloyd and Esopus, and the state Department of Environmental Conservation to make important strides in completing this 11-mile route from Scenic Hudsons Black Creek Preserve to Illinois Mountain. In addition to offering outdoor recreation in 1,400 acres of conserved forests and wetlands that inspired the renowned nature writer- including land surrounding Burroughs historic Slabsides retreat the trail will help boost local tourism economies. The grant will fund trail upgrades, expanded parking, creation of an ADA-compliant day-use area on the Hudson River, and new signage to enhance visitors appreciation of Burroughs. Perhaps most important, it will make it possible to fill in a trail gap between Illinois Mountain and the Manhattan-to-Buffalo Empire State Trail, which follows the Hudson Valley Rail Trail and crosses the Walkway Over the Hudson. Along with making the John Burroughs Black Creek Trail accessible to 8.6 million projected annual users of the Empire State Trail, this connection will offer a transportation alternative for Esopus and Lloyd residents who commute to New Paltz and Poughkeepsie. We are grateful to Gov. Cuomo and State Parks Commissioner Erik Kulleseid for recognizing the benefits this collaborative project will deliver and for supporting its completion. Heather Blaikie, Scenic Hudson Joan Burroughs, John Burroughs Association Charles Glasner, Town of Lloyd emale MPs from new Northern heartlands are top of the list for promotion Boris Johnson has held a secret meeting at his country retreat to mastermind his first major Cabinet reshuffle since the Election with female MPs from his partys new Northern heartlands at the head of the queue for promotion. On Friday, while the media was distracted by the ongoing Royal crisis, the Prime Minister slipped away to Chequers, his grace-and-favour Buckinghamshire mansion, to thrash out the new shape of his Government with some key Downing Street advisers. The aides, who included Mr Johnsons powerful guru Dominic Cummings and Munira Mirza, the director of the No 10 policy unit, discussed the likely winners and losers from the reshuffle and mapped out the main policy priorities of the PMs new majority government. Boris Johnson has held a secret meeting at his country retreat to mastermind his first major Cabinet reshuffle since the Election - with female MPs from his partys new Northern heartlands at the head of the queue for promotion. One likely candidate is Sarah Atherton (pictured with Home Secretary Priti Patel on the campaign trail), now the MP for Wrexham Treasury Chief Secretary Rishi Sunak is among those tipped for advancement in the reshuffle expected to be announced after Brexit Day at the end of this month but question marks hang over the future of Trade Secretary Liz Truss and Attorney General Geoffrey Cox. Meanwhile, No 10 aides have begun to look beyond Januarys reshuffle to the next generation of Conservative leaders. A special taskforce has been set up by Mr Cummings close aide Cleo Watson to fast-track new Northern female Tory MPs from the 2019 intake into key roles. Those mentioned for special attention include Dehenna Davison, the 26-year-old MP for Bishop Auckland, who became the first Conservative to represent the constituency since its creation in 1885; and Sarah Atherton, who is the first Conservative to represent Wrexham since its creation in 1918, the first female elected to represent the constituency, and the first female Conservative elected to Westminster representing a Welsh constituency. Ms Atherton also has an impressive back story. After leaving school at 16, she served in the Intelligence Corps and ran a micro-brewery before entering politics. Those mentioned for special attention include Dehenna Davison, the 26-year-old MP for Bishop Auckland, who became the first Conservative to represent the constituency since its creation in 1885 Womens Minister Victoria Atkins, the MP for Louth and Horncastle in Lincolnshire, is also tipped for promotion in the imminent reshuffle. The PMs inner circle, including director of communications Lee Cain and lead Brexit negotiator David Frost, spent eight hours discussing what one source called a mixture of big picture strategic and political thinking and the nuts and bolts of teams and personnel. Ms Mirza will this week send a letter to each Cabinet Minister containing instructions about the policy areas they should prioritise over the coming year. At Chequers, the group discussed the Governments strategy for the Brexit trade talks and key domestic policies, centred on funding injections for NHS, new law-and-order reforms including how to recruit the 20,000 extra police promised during the Election campaign and the roll-out of a new Australian-style points-based immigration system. After a slow start to the year, with Mr Johnson accused of being a submarine Prime Minister after refusing to break his Caribbean holiday to deal with the Iran crisis, No 10 sources say they planning to crank up the pace of delivery on the policies set out in the partys manifesto. Womens Minister Victoria Atkins, the MP for Louth and Horncastle in Lincolnshire, is also tipped for promotion in the imminent reshuffle But senior government sources say that Mr Johnson intends to be more of a hands-off premier who will allow Ministers to lead the responses to future crises. Even after returning from his break in Mustique, Mr Johnson sent Defence Secretary Ben Wallace to the Commons to represent the Government over Donald Trumps decision to kill a leading Iranian general. A source said: It wont just be the case with international crises which coincide with his holidays if there are floods, expect to see the Environment Secretary. Boris wants departments to develop their expertise and enjoy autonomy. A No 10 insider added: The Prime Minister will be focused on his core issues Brexit, law and order and the NHS. Last week was deliberate and you will see him more and more as the chairman of the board. The source pointed to a return to Cabinet government in the more traditional sense, with Ministers more accountable for the decisions they are taking. It makes for a good government. Despite the Iran crisis being fronted by Mr Wallace and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, Mr Johnson gave clear and very forthright instructions about the direction of travel, according to one Cabinet Minister. Treasury Chief Secretary Rishi Sunak is among those tipped for advancement in the reshuffle expected to be announced after Brexit Day at the end of this month The Mail on Sunday has learned that Mr Johnson opened a meeting of his top-secret National Security Council on Tuesday afternoon by setting out his foreign policy views on the United States. A source said: He was very clear we want to be good allies with the US but we are not going to be dragged along by them on everything or sucked into conflicts. Another Cabinet source described Mr Johnsons outlook as more Wilson than Blair a reference to Labour PM Harold Wilson, who kept Britain out of the war in Vietnam, rather than Tony Blair, who led us into conflict in Iraq. Under the new female taskforce, female staff in Downing Street will meet regularly with the women MPs to advise them on how to climb the ministerial ranks. A source said: Many of these brilliant MPs did not expect to win and we have a duty of care to make sure they succeed in Westminster. We are going to be in government for at least half of the 2020s, and have a unique opportunity to change the party and Britain for good. The poster girl for Mr Johnsons assault on Labours Northern heartlands, Ms Davison told The Mail on Sunday during the Election campaign that she was just 13 when she learned her father Dominic had been killed by a single blow to the head in a pub. Ms Davison, who was on her third bid to enter the Commons, won Bishop Auckland with a majority of nearly 8,000 votes. A former contestant on the Channel 4 show Bride And Prejudice with her fiance 35 years her senior she received support on the campaign trail from Mr Johnsons girlfriend Carrie Symonds, and admitted that the poster girl thing was probably due to her tragic family story and her slightly unusual demographics. Last night a No10 source said: The PM is committed to getting more women MPs in total, and promoting the Tory women who are already on the green benches. His first Downing Street reception of the year was for Tory women MPs and female advisers. This sits alongside his work on girls education, which will continue as a major personal priority. Mr Johnsons No 10 team have also been canvassing opinions on how to mark Brexit, which will take place at 11pm on January 31. One option that was considered extending the licensing hours into February 1 has now been ruled out. A source said: We thought that it would allow Brexiteers to celebrate and Remainers to drown their sorrows, but we have now decided against it. Could Michael Gove become CEO of Government? Boris Johnson's plan to become a 'chairman of the board' Prime Minister clears the way for the former leadership contender ByHarry Coleand Glen Owen for The Mail on Sunday Boris Johnsons plan to become a chairman of the board Prime Minister leaving to others the hard graft of running his administration clears the way for Michael Gove to become the Governments effective chief executive. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is being viewed with suspicion by colleagues, who believe that he is on manoeuvres to secure an expanded Whitehall fiefdom through the forthcoming reshuffle. The ambitious former leadership contender who torpedoed Mr Johnsons 2016 bid for the Tory crown has used his extensive involvement in the planning for a No-Deal Brexit to extend his tentacles throughout Whitehall, according to one source. Before Mr Johnson won his Brexit deal, Mr Gove chaired the daily XO committee in Whitehall, which developed contingency plans for a No-Deal Brexit. It gave him the power to give orders to any department which needed to be ready for the worst-case scenarios He wants to play a key part in all the trade talks and hopes to lead the UKs preparations for the UN climate change summit in Glasgow later this year. He even wants to be pivotal to Boriss levelling up agenda. After winning his 80-seat majority in December, Mr Johnson said he wanted to level up by raising economic performance across all parts of the country. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is being viewed with suspicion by colleagues, who believe that he is on manoeuvres to secure an expanded Whitehall fiefdom through the forthcoming reshuffle A Cabinet Minister told The Mail on Sunday: Michael seems to want to use his No Deal planning experience to run the country for ever. Hes a bit of a Cabinet cowboy, riding over everyone elses patch. The Minister added that Mr Johnsons chief Brexit negotiator David Frost had bristled at the idea that Mr Gove would have oversight of his work. Novembers Glasgow climate change summit, known as COP26, is designed to produce an international response to the climate emergency. Before Mr Johnson won his Brexit deal, Mr Gove chaired the daily XO committee in Whitehall, which developed contingency plans for a No-Deal Brexit. It gave him the power to give orders to any department which needed to be ready for the worst-case scenarios. A source said: Boriss desire to be a hands-off PM, as he showed by staying on the beach while Iraq was in flames, is the perfect opportunity for a workaholic control freak like Michael. It means he can get his hands on everything from the trade talks both with the EU and the White House to the UNs climate change agenda. Michael and Boris have always had this strange psychodrama, dating back to the time he knifed Boris, but now he is on the brink of effectively being CEO for his old foe. Mr Goves expected elevation means he will be vying with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab for the bragging rights of being Mr Johnsons No 2. Even as the speaker expressed optimism that the Houses three-month impeachment inquiry had collected enough evidence to win a conviction on its two charges, she implicitly acknowledged the difficulty Democrats would have in doing so. And she warned that the Senate proceeding might be little more than a cover-up if Republican senators did not agree to summon new witnesses and documents that Mr. Trump blocked from the House. We have confidence in our case that its impeachable, and this president is impeached for life, regardless of any gamesmanship on the part of Mitch McConnell, the speaker said, referring to Mr. McConnell. The House impeached Mr. Trump last month on two counts related to what Democrats concluded was a campaign by the president to pressure Ukraine to investigate his domestic political rivals, including by withholding as leverage a White House meeting and nearly $400 million in vital military aid from the country. Theres nothing, Ms. Pelosi said, the Senate can do that can ever erase that. The comments appeared to be an acknowledgment that given the highly polarized state of the nation and the Senate, there was little chance that the two-thirds of senators needed for conviction and removal would agree to do so. They also foreshadowed a likely election-year strategy by Democrats, who are prepared to argue that voters should serve as an appeals court on Mr. Trumps fitness for office. They take an oath to have a fair trial, and we think that would be with witnesses and documentation, Ms. Pelosi said. Now the ball is in their court to either do that, or pay a price for not doing it. Before he called for a dismissal of the case, Mr. Trump appeared to be piqued by Ms. Pelosi. He suggested on Twitter questions for Ms. Pelosi to answer on air and later responded to her statements about his legacy. Why should I have the stigma of Impeachment attached to my name when I did NOTHING wrong? he asked in one tweet, after her appearance, adding, Very unfair to tens of millions of voters! He spent the night eating pizza with The Gentlemen cast, ahead of his new movie release. And Matthew McConaughey was spotted looking fresh and sharp on Sunday when he left his Greenwich hotel in New York City. The 50-year-old star dressed casually as he made his way to a car and headed out for the day. Scroll down for video Ready for the day! Matthew McConaughey was spotted out and about New York City on Sunday looking fresh as he continued press for The Gentlemen Matthew rocked a brown colored sweatshirt that had the top buttons undone. He teamed the look with a pair of dark trousers and leather shoes for the outing. The Hollywood A-list actor accessorised with shades over his eyes and slicked his blonde hair back off of his face. Casual: Matthew rocked a brown colored sweatshirt that had the top buttons undone Clean cut: The Hollywood A-list actor accessorised with shades over his eyes and slicked his blonde hair back off of his face Matthew was followed by a female companion who rocked a grey sweatshirt and a pair of jeans. She too accessorised with a pair of shades and carried with her a large Louis Vuitton tote. The stars outing comes after he enjoyed a pizza dinner with his Gentlemen co-stars on Saturday night. 'Gentlemen slice,' he captioned on social media. Date night! The stars outing comes after he enjoyed a pizza dinner with his Gentlemen co-stars on Saturday night The Gentlemen! Joining Matthew was Hugh Grant, Henry Golding, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding and Dave Portnoy, president of Barstool Sports Joining Matthew was Hugh Grant, Henry Golding, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding and Dave Portnoy, president of Barstool Sports. The action crime film sees Matthew's character, businessman Mickey Pearson, create a highly profitable marijuana empire in London before looking to cash out his business. When the word gets out on the street, there are various plots and blackmail schemes in an attempt to steal the business and domain from him. The Gentlemen will be released in cinemas on January 24. By Jun Ji-hye Korean Air, Asiana Airlines and other local air carriers that have suffered lackluster earnings in 2019, are expected to continue to have difficulty this year amid a continuing nationwide boycott of trips to Japan in addition to fluctuating international oil prices and exchange rates, industry analysts said Wednesday Asiana Airlines and most low-cost carriers were forecast to have suffered an operating loss in 2019, with Korean Air being the only one to make a profit, according to Seoul-based financial data provider FnGuide. But the national flag carrier's operating profit was forecast at 191 billion won ($163 million), a 70 percent plummet from the previous year. Asiana Airlines was estimated to have suffered an operating loss of 263.3 billion won, while Jeju Air and Jin Air were predicted to see operating losses of 17 billion won and 13.5 billion won, respectively. Air Seoul and Eastar Jet are unlisted companies, thus they do not announce their earnings reports, but analysts forecast the budget carriers would, like the others, have suffered operating losses. Securities companies expect the air carriers to remain in deficit territory in 2020, except for Korean Air, noting that it will not be easy for them to rebound any time soon due to falling demand. "It is premature to talk about when air carriers' profits will rebound," said Samsung Securities analyst Kim Young-ho. "We will be able to explore the possibilities of an improvement in air carriers' profits in the latter half of 2020 at the earliest as the number of people going overseas is tending to decrease in general, and the boycott of trips to Japan continues." In July, Japan began to impose restrictions on exports of key industrial materials to Korea, triggering an anti-Japan boycott here, under which Koreans opted not to travel to the neighboring country. Amid such a gloomy outlook, air carriers are scrambling to cope with the worsening business environment in an attempt to speed up a turnaround. Asiana Airlines said it is replacing aging aircraft with next-generation planes to enhance its competitiveness and improve profitability. "We are also working to diversify flight routes and planning to convert irregular operations, which have been popular, into regular routes," an Asiana Airlines official said. "In a bid to maximize passenger convenience, we have adopted various information and communications technologies to check-in bag drops, among others." Air Seoul also said it will redouble efforts to secure competitiveness and turn things around at the earliest possible date. "We suffered a blow due to the issue involving routes to Japan, but we expect our performance to begin improving in the first quarter of the year," CEO Cho Kyu-yung said, noting that the company will operate new aircraft with wider seats, while maintaining low prices. By Lisa Barrington and Nayera Abdallah DUBAI (Reuters) - Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said, one of the Middle East's longest- serving rulers who maintained the country's neutrality in a turbulent region, died on Friday and his cousin Haitham bin Tariq al-Said was named as his successor in a smooth transition. With his death, the region loses a leader seen as the father of modern Oman, who balanced ties between two neighbours locked in a regional struggle, Saudi Arabia to the west and Iran to the north, as well as the United States. In a televised speech, Haitham promised to uphold Muscat's policy of peaceful coexistence with all nations while further developing Oman. "We will continue to assist in resolving disputes peacefully," he said. Oman and other Gulf states declared three days of official mourning with flags at half-mast for the Western-backed Qaboos, 79, who ruled since taking over in a bloodless coup in 1970 with the help of former colonial power Britain. His funeral procession passed along Muscat's main road amid tight security as Omanis thronged the palm tree-lined route, some reaching out their hands and others taking pictures. The casket, draped in the Omani flag, was carried into Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque where hundreds joined prayers inside. Haitham stood facing the casket, with the traditional curved dagger, or khanjar, strapped to his waist. Qaboos was later buried in a family cemetery. Omanis took to social media to mourn the death of a ruler who had made regular tours of the country to speak to citizens, often driving his own vehicle in the convoys. "The first words I heard from my weeping mother after news of the great Sultan Qaboos' death was: The father of orphans, of the poor, of the downtrodden, of all of us, has died," Twitter user Abdullah bin Hamad al-Harthi wrote. State media did not give a cause of death. Qaboos had been unwell for years and underwent treatment in Belgium last month. Story continues SECRET LETTER OPENED Qaboos had no children and had not publicly appointed a successor. A 1996 statute says the ruling family must choose a successor within three days of the throne becoming vacant. A family council on Saturday chose Haitham after opening a sealed envelop in which Qaboos had secretly written his recommendation in case the family could not agree, opting to follow his "wise" guidance, state media said. Born in 1954, Haitham, who studied at Oxford, had served as minister of culture and as foreign ministry undersecretary. He was appointed in 2013 to chair Oman's development committee. "The swift appointment of a successor is positive as the lack of clarity was a key economic uncertainty, said Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank chief economist Monica Malik. He takes power as domestic challenges loom large, from strained state finances to high unemployment in the indebted oil producer, and at a time of heightened tension between Iran and the United States and U.S. ally Saudi Arabia. "The wild card is whether any of Oman's neighbours might try to pressure the new sultan as he settles into power," said Kristian Coates Ulrichsen of Texas-based Rice University's Baker Institute. DIPLOMACY Condolences poured in for the white-bearded Qaboos with Arab and Western leaders praising what they described as his wise rule. Former U.S. President George W. Bush said Qaboos had been a stable force in the Middle East. "He leaves a profound legacy, not only in Oman but across the region," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu, who met Qaboos in Muscat in 2018, lauded him for working to promote regional peace and stability. Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, voiced hope the new leadership would take "inspiration from the past". Oman has friendly ties with Washington and Tehran and helped mediate secret U.S.-Iran talks in 2013 that led two years later to the international nuclear pact which Washington quit in 2018. Muscat did not take sides in a Gulf dispute that saw Riyadh and its allies impose a boycott on Qatar, or join a Saudi-led military coalition that intervened in Yemen. "It is hard to see how Oman can involve itself in the Yemen, Iran and Qatar issues until a new leader has established himself - which means for the foreseeable future," said Simon Henderson of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. (Reporting by Lisa Barrington, Alexander Cornwell, Davide Barbuscia and Tuqa Khalid in Dubai, Nayera Abdallah and Omar Fahmy in Cairo, Steve Holland in Washington, Estelle Shirbon in London and Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem; Writing Ghaida Ghantous; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Shri Navaratnam, Jane Merriman and Giles Elgood) The Japanese drugs giant which bought Shire last year is facing a 340million tax demand from the Irish authorities. The bill has been inherited from Shire which was founded in Britain and listed on the FTSE 100 until last year when it was bought by Takeda for 46billion. It relates to a $1.64billion (1.25billion) fee paid to Shire over a separate aborted takeover attempt by US firm AbbVie in 2014. Japanese drug firm Takeda is facing a 340million tax demand from the Irish authorities The deal was called off after a crackdown by President Barack Obama on takeovers designed to shift tax liabilities abroad. AbbVie was forced to pay Shire a 'break fee' when the deal collapsed. At the time, Shire said it had been advised the break fee one of the biggest of its kind would not be taxable in Ireland. The claim triggered a fresh row over the tax affairs of the company, which moved headquarters from Britain to Ireland in 2008 to cut its tax bill. But it did warn that had not been agreed with the tax authorities. Now The Mail on Sunday can reveal the Irish taxman quietly launched a 398million (340million) claim weeks before the takeover was completed in January last year. The group is appealing and said the continued legal guidance it has received is that it is not liable. The Irish Revenue said it does not discuss details of the tax affairs of individuals nor companies. BJP state president courted controversy on Sunday by threatening to shoot and kill those involved in damaging public property "like the same way in Uttar Pradesh". Addressing a public meeting in West Bengal's Nadia district, Ghosh came down heavily on Chief Minister "for not opening fire and ordering lathicharge" on those destroying railway property and public transport during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests in the state in December last year. "Is it the father's property of those who are setting public property on fire? How can they destroy government property built on tax payers' money!" Ghosh said. He said, "The governments of Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Karnataka did the right thing by opening fire on these anti- elements (during anti-CAA protests)." The BJP leader said those involved in arson and damaging public property will be shot "like the same way in Uttar Pradesh". "They will come here, enjoy all the facilities and destroy country's property. Is it their zamindari!" he asked. Ghosh also called for identifying those "sabotaging the interests" of Hindu Bengalis. He claimed that there are two crore "Muslim infiltrators" in the country. "One crore alone is in and is trying to protect them," he alleged. An unidentified Philadelphia police officer ducks under the tape. Read more Police are investigating two fatal shootings that occurred Saturday. The first victim was a 15-year-old boy, killed around 1:30 p.m. in North Philadelphia. The boy, originally thought by police to be 18 to 25 years old, was shot twice in the chest on the 3100 block of North Rosewood Street. He was taken to Temple University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police said no arrests have been made. Later on Saturday, a 24-year-old man was fatally shot in the head shortly after 7 p.m. on the 200 block of South Edgewood Street in West Philadelphia. The man was rushed to Penn Presbyterian Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:34. An arrest has been made and a weapon recovered, police said. French President Emmanuel Macron will host heads of state from west Africa Monday in the southern city of Pau to map out a new strategy to fight insurgent violence. It comes amid a spate of deadly attacks and increasing hostility towards the presence of French troops. After initially being postponed, it is in the garrison town of Pau at the foot of the Pyrenees in southwestern France, where Monday's summit will now take place. The choice is not insignificant. The city was home to seven of the thirteen French troops who lost their lives in a helicopter collision while hunting jihadists in northern Mali last November. An inside source told RFI that the accident had strengthened France's resolve to review the efficacy and purpose of its combat mission in the Sahel. "This summit was called after the emotion caused by the accidental death of 13 of our French troops," comments Emmanuel Dupuy, president of the Institute of European Perspective & Security Studies in Paris. More than forty French soldiers have been killed since 2013 when France first engaged troops in Mali through its Serval operation and succeeded in driving out jihadist militants from towns they were occupying in the north. Seven years on, Serval's successor, Barkhane has struggled to yield similar military gains. Limited gains A deadly attack on a Niger military base last month, killing 71 soldiers, was a stark reminder of the terrorist threat in the Sahel, which forced the French government to hold off from holding the Pau summit, initially planned for 16 December, until now. "There is interrogation about whether or not the presence of 4,500 French troops in five countries: Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad is efficient to fight against the insurgency," Dupuy told RFI, which has become bolder and more complex in recent months. On Sunday, the death toll from another attack by rebel fighters this week on a Niger army base in the western town of Chinagodrar climbed from 25 to 89. Story continues Failure to quell the violence has fueled rising anti-French sentiment against the former colonial power. On Friday, hundreds of people demonstrated in Mali against the presence of foreign troops in their country, brandishing slogans reading "Down with France, Barkhane must leave," referring to the 4,500-man French force in five Sahel countries, according to the AFP. The people of Bamako but also Ouagadougo in neighbouring Burkina Faso, hit too by jihadist attacks, are questioning the efficiency of France's military presence, continues Dupuy. Searching for commitment "With 4,500 soldiers, more than 500 armed vehicles, 20 or more helicopters, we should have wiped the insurgency out by now. But a military solution alone is not the answer," he said. French President Emmanuel Macron has thus invited his counterparts from the five west African countries to adopt a new strategy in their increasingly shaky counter-terrorism alliance. Macron's invitation initially angered some Sahel leaders, who perceived it as an order. The French president said last month he could not "ask his troops to fight against jihadi violence in the Sahel and at the same time put up with critical statements from the public about their presence." France's Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly on Saturday echoed similar concerns about this growing French hostility. "We must obtain from west African leaders a clear position as to what they want and don't want," she told AFP. While France has a legal mandate from the five Sahel countries justifying its presence in the region, a semi-arid belt beneath the Sahara, it now wants these countries' populations to recognise its legitimacy as well. Call for solidarity This recognition is needed to secure the support of European countries, which so far have been reluctant to engage troops on the battlefield, and will be less inclined to do so given the public antipathy towards France, according to analysts. Along with the five west African presidents, Paris has also invited European leaders and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to Monday's summit. "Joseph Borrell, head of the EU External Action Service was the first to say that France should not be the only European partner to fight against terrorist organisations in the Sahel," Dupuy commented, although he remains sceptical that other countries will step up. "European Union countries do not have the same vision," he says. Germany recently turned down an offer from France to participate in Paris' new Takouba task force, a special operations unit that would be engaged in real fighting, replying that it already had over 1,000 troops in the 13,000-man UN peacekeeping force, MINUSMA. Lack of coordination "Germany, and the United Kingdom," which is due to send over 100 troops to the Sahel this year, "have said they will fight against terrorism but not with the French forces," explains Dupuy. The G5 leaders also have some 5,000 troops fighting the insurgency, but lack funding, training and equipment. Part of the objective of the Pau summit will also be to coordinate all of these military missions into a common strategy for west Africa. "There are more or less 30,000 troops on the ground, costing something like 4 to 5 million euros per day," offers Dupuy. Local populations, he says, are waiting for them to deliver. A former fashion designer for Cara and Poppy Delevingne stole 230,000 from her grandmother after she was diagnosed with dementia to fund a life of luxury in Beverley Hills, a court heard. Emily Rosina Evans-Schreiber, 38, only had 40 in her bank account before she started helping herself to grandmother's finances. But her mother grew suspicious of her splashing out on trips to Los Angeles, five-star hotels, beauty treatments and designer clothes. The mother-of-one, of Naseby, Northamptonshire, worked as a private fashion consultant to the Delevingne family in 2016. She made 42 transactions totalling 230,000 between April and December 2018 but was given a suspended prison sentence of two years, ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work and take part in an alcohol treatment programme. Emily Rosina Evans-Schreiber, 38, made 42 transactions totalling 230,000 between April and December 2018 but was given a suspended prison sentence of two years, ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work and take part in an alcohol treatment programme Northampton Crown Court heard that the defendant's mother Clare had become concerned about her lifestyle in London so had decided to buy her daughter a house in Northamptonshire to give her granddaughter a better life. Prosecuting, Lynsey Knott said that Evans-Schreiber, had 'lived the high life' in London but at a family meeting in January 2018, she was told that she was old enough to start taking responsibility for her own life. At that point, the socialite agreed to take control of her paternal grandmother Rosina Evans's finances. The mother-of-one, of Naseby, Northamptonshire, worked as a private fashion consultant to the Delevingne family (Poppy left and Cara right) in 2016 Her grandmother Rosina Evans, who recently died aged 95, had been diagnosed with dementia in 2014 and lived alone in Surrey with help from social services carers. But Clare Evans-Schreiber became increasingly worried about how her jobless daughter was managing to fund a fancy lifestyle staying in Beverley Hills hotels. Barrister Ms Knott told Judge Rebecca Crane: 'Mrs Evans-Schreiber contacted the bank who found that 230,000 had been transferred by the defendant from Rosina Evans's account into her own account.' Police were called in and found that 230,000 had been transferred as 42 different transactions. Ms Knott said: 'It had funded a lavish lifestyle - top end hotels, restaurants, non-surgical cosmetic treatments, high value shopping. 'She couldn't have afforded it without funds from her grandmother's account..' The court was also told how 21,000 had been put into the account of Evans-Schreiber's former partner Sam Oguche, the father of her daughter, now eight. When police searched the defendant's flat in May 2019 they discovered luxury shoes, clothes and sunglasses. Wearing a green jumper, black skirt and black high-heels, Evans-Schreiber, who has 13,000 Instagram followers, wiped her eyes throughout the proceedings. Her mother sat in the public gallery in court. She pleaded guilty to one offence of theft and the court heard she had no previous convictions. Mitigating, barrister Carolina Guiloff said that her client had always left enough money in her grandmother's account for her to pay her care bills - and at the point police were called in there was 5,516 left in Rosina's account. Northampton Crown Court (pictured) heard that the defendant's mother Clare had become concerned about her lifestyle in London so had decided to buy her daughter a house in Northamptonshire to give her granddaughter a better life She said the victim had never become aware of what had happened and that Evans-Schrebier had sent flowers and chocolates to her grandmother. The court was told how the defendant had suffered from serious mental health problems and alcoholism and had been the victim of more than one abusive relationship, which had been reported in the national press. Ms Guiloff said: 'She's had 37 years of a blame-free life. She was out of control and wasn't in her normal mental state. 'It would be wrong for your honour to be left with the impression that this was a cold and callous woman who had no regard for her grandmother at all.' Ms Guiloff said that her client had attempted to gain employment since the incident and had checked herself into The Priory to try to overcome her addictions. Psychiatrist's reports presented in mitigation said that Evans-Schreiber's actions had been influenced by her mental health issues. Using judgements from previous court cases, Ms Guiloff argued that as the primary carer for a young child, Evans-Schreiber should not be sent to prison Sentencing her to a two-year jail term suspended for 20 months, 150 hours of community service and alcohol treatment programme, Judge Crane said that she had taken into account all the mitigating factors. He added: 'Do not come to this court again asking for a second chance. That's what you've been given today.' Gardai are trying to gather intelligence and assemble evidence in their hunt for a six-man gang behind a heartless aggravated burglary in north Dublin. A young woman, Eve Ryan, publicised the incident on social media, saying her attackers put knives to her neck and screwdrivers to her eyes in the ordeal. The 24-year-old said they threw bleach over her and demanded to know where her jewellery and money was, before locking her into a toilet, where she spent 20 hours before being rescued. Her grandmother, who suffers from dementia, was also in the house at the time. The burglary occurred last Thursday evening on a house on Strand Road, Portmarnock, north Co Dublin. In a social media post, Ms Ryan said she went upstairs at around 7pm last Thursday to find six men with balaclavas in the house. They put knives to my neck and screwdrivers to my eyes, she said. They threw bleach on me and asked where the jewellery and money was. She said she was never so terrified in her life: All I kept saying was please, please don't hurt my granny. Ms Ryan, a model by profession, said they dragged her by the hair into an ensuite toilet, which has no window, and, after taking her iPhoneXS, locked her in. She said they left shortly after and that she banged on the door and walls to attract her grandmother, but she was unable to help her or ring 999 because of her dementia. I was locked in the toilet for 20 hours. I was absolutely freezing. She was rescued when her aunt called to the house, just after 2pm on Friday, and heard her screaming. A neighbour helped to kick the doors down. She said they have CCTV around the house, as well as gates, and three dogs. She said the burglars had a very distinctive Irish accent. A garda source described the nature of the burglary as heartless. It is understood that gardai have, so far, no main lines of inquiry and are gathering forensic evidence and examining CCTV footage for any clues. We are gathering all the evidence and hope to get good intelligence, said one source. Gardai are appealing for anyone with information, particularly any road users who happened to be travelling on the Coast Road between Baldoyle and Portmarnock between 6.30pm and 8pm on January 9 to contact Gardai. Contact Malahide Garda station on 01 666 4600 or the Garda confidential line on 1800 666 111. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said protocol dictates he must delay the announcement (PA) Irelands premier has made a decision on the date of the countrys general election, but says protocol means he cannot yet announce it. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he had to complete some outstanding business on European and British/Irish affairs and inform cabinet colleagues and rival politicians in the Dail parliament before making the announcement. Amid mounting speculation that Ireland will go to the polls in February, Mr Varadkar said: I have made a decision but there is unfinished business to do which I want to get done and also there is some respect and protocol around this and I would like to speak to the cabinet and to leaders of the opposition. He said the Dail would reconvene on Wednesday as scheduled. Mr Varadkars minority Fine Gael-led administration is facing potential defeat in a vote of no confidence in Health Minister Simon Harris in the first week of next month. Expand Close Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin has been propping up Mr Varadkars minority government through a confidence and supply arrangement (Brian Lawless/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin has been propping up Mr Varadkars minority government through a confidence and supply arrangement (Brian Lawless/PA) The Taoiseach, who is holding a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, looks set to avert that eventuality by calling an election. Mr Varadkars personal preference was for a poll in the early summer but, in an interview on RTE Radio Ones This Week programme on Sunday, he acknowledged circumstances have changed. We have a deal on Brexit, in many ways that was the big job of this government, our magnum opus to secure a deal on Brexit, he explained. We have the institutions up and running in Northern Ireland which the Tanaiste (Simon Coveney) and I have put a huge amount of work in to, particularly the Tanaiste. And also the arithmetic in the Dail has changed and thats the reality of that. He later appeared to hint of an imminent campaign when he referenced that parties would be making claims about his governments fiscal record in the next couple of weeks. Mr Varadkars administration has faced intense criticism from rival parties for its handling of problems in housing and health care. Fine Gaels landmark confidence and supply arrangement with arch rivals Fianna Fail, which has sustained the Government since 2016, has also come under growing pressure amid rows over expenses and voting practices in the Dail. Last month, the Government narrowly avoided defeat in a no-confidence motion against Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy, by only three votes. But the numbers in the Dail do not look like stacking up in favour of Mr Harris in February, with a crucial handful of TDs indicating they intend to change how they will vote this time around. Hours after the Taoiseachs remarks, Fianna Fail made clear it was already on campaign footing by announcing deputy leader Dara Calleary as its director of elections. We have a very strong team of candidates, a solid message and we are ready to fight and win the next General Election, whenever it may be, he said. Meanwhile, Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald criticised both main parties for their insistence that they would not countenance her party as potential coalition parties in a future government. She tweeted: We appointed ministers to the Executive in Belfast, a move welcomed by same parties that want to exclude Sinn Fein from govt in Dublin. They are hypocrites, Leo Varadkar & Micheal Martin will not dictate that we and our voters are not good enough for govt. We will not be excluded. Many Nigerians who partook in a PREMIUM TIMES opinion poll have asked President Muhammadu Buhari not to release N37 billion for the renovation of the National Assembly complex. This comes week after the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, announced that Mr Buhari has approved the sum to upgrade and rehabilitate some parts of the legislative complex. While many who participated in the poll said the president should not release the sum, others said he should cut down the amount significantly before releasing it. Already the said amount has triggered outrage amount individuals and civic groups across the country who either the believe the complex does not require renovation or the money budgeted is too much. The Poll A total of 2,216 participants took part in the online poll which lasted for seven days. The participants were asked a single question: Should President Buhari release N37 billion for renovation of the National Assembly? Poll result While 62.3 per cent of the respondents (1,380) said Mr. Buhari should not release the money, 5.6 per cent (124 respondents), said he should, since he already approved it. Meanwhile, 32.1 per cent of the participants (712 votes) said he should cut down the amount significantly before releasing it. Controversial announcement At the time Mr Lawan disclosed the approval of N37 billion for renovation of National Assembly, he said the president approved the amount after the leadership of the National Assembly met with him and complained about the state of the legislative complex. He also said no major renovation had been done on the National Assembly property for 20 years and many parts of the property had become dilapidated. This announcement has triggered controversy among Nigerians who wonder why the legislative arm will require 37 billion for renovation. President Muhammadu Buhari [Photo: Presidency] Although the amount allocated for the renovation is embedded in the 2020 budget of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), some civic groups and over 500 Nigerians have filed a lawsuit asking the Federal High Court, Abuja to restrain and stop President Muhammadu Buhari and Mrs Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning from releasing N37 billion allocated for the renovation of the National Assembly complex to the Federal Capital Development Agency and the National Assembly until an impact assessment of the spending is carried out. Previous allocations However, many do not know that 40.2 (40,238,899,499) billion was approved for the upgrading and rehabilitation of the complex in 2013 under the Goodluck Jonathan administration. On December 11, 2013, the Federal Executive Council approved 40.2 billion for the upgrading of the National Assembly complex. It was part of the approved contract for October November 2013. The contact titled Award of Contract for the construction of the Phase III, Part III including the rehabilitation/upgrading of the two chambers of the National Assembly was awarded to Julius Berger (Nigeria) Plc with the FCTA as its implementing agency. It was expected to be completed within three years and four months. Had the project been carried out, it would have been completed early 2017 and perhaps, little or no need for renovation. Senate President, Ahmed Lawan It is not yet clear if funds were released for the 2013 approval. A Freedom of Information request sent to the office of the Accountant General of the Federation on the matter is yet to be replied to, same as another sent to the FCT minister. A spokesperson for Julius Berger, which was to be awarded the contract, Akeem Taofeek, did not respond to calls and text messages placed through to him. READ ALSO: Apart from the 2013 approval, PREMIUM TIMES reported how the eight assembly management spent about N578 million on refurbishing of meeting and committee rooms notwithstanding the N250million paid to a DCN Nigeria Ltd for general renovation of main building. It also awarded a N100 million contract to a Roadmap Consult & Global Link for General drainage & sewage works while N51 million was paid for the supply and installation of venetian window blinds. It was not clear where the blinds were installed. This paper also found that the National Assembly spent 578 million on the refurbishing of meetings and committee rooms. And that 454 million was spent on office equipment, among others. Advertisements Oppositions Although lawmakers of the new assembly have complained of wiring issues and malfunctioning of microphones and air conditioners in the chamber, this does not justify the approval of N37 billion for renovation, many believe. Interestingly, some federal lawmakers have opposed the allocation as well. Bamidele Salam, the House of Representatives member representing Ede North/Ede South/Egbedore/Ejigbo Federal Constituency First, it was Bamidele Salam (PDP, Osun), a member of the House of Representatives, who said the complex renovation is a misplacement of priority. Then, Akin Alabi (APC, Oyo), another member of the House of Representatives, shared a similar view on Twitter. I see no reason why we should spend N37b renovating the National Assembly. Yes, we need an upgrade on some aspects like the electronic systems (sound system, voting system etc) as they are outdated but N37b? No. Lets spend that on our schools and hospitals, he said. Another lawmaker, Ochilegor Idagbo (Cross River), said the complex needs no renovation that would cost the country N37 billion. Mr Idagbo also said that such amount should be channelled into upgrading classrooms and hospitals to cater for the Nigerian people. Armayau Abdulkadir (APC, Katsina) has also opposed the planned renovation. READ ALSO: In a statement, he said N37 billion is a huge sum that can transform thousands of lives if channelled into proper use. He also said the only renovation needed urgently at the assembly is an upgrade of its audio recording system. Many have said the money could build world-class hospitals in some parts of the country, serve as special intervention funds for universities, build many schools, among others. PREMIUM TIMES had reported how such amount of money could construct roads across the country, construct at least two Primary Healthcare Centres in all the 774 local governments in the country and at least five classroom in all the states. Defence In its defence, the Senate has denied involvement in the proposed amount for renovation. The Senate Spokesperson, Godiya Akwashiki, had in December 2019, said the National Assembly has nothing to do with the structure as it belongs to the Federal Capital Development Agency which has knowledge of how much is needed for the renovation. He said the leadership of the National Assembly had informed the FCDA when it noticed signs of collapse in the complex. He also asked the civic groups to direct their grievances at the FCDA and not the National Assembly. I would be surging all the help that is needed as if it had happened in any other part of America, said Biden, whose broader message often focuses on his experience over intricate policy details. He paints himself as the most experienced person in the race and argues hes best able to begin fixing problems caused by four years of President Trump. The next president is not going to have a lot of time for on-the-job training. Metric Digital works with clients in a variety of industries, with particular expertise in the DTC ecommerce vertical. At Metric Digital, we truly put our people first. We have a startup culture in a collaborative, casual office environment full of smart people who like driving strategy on innovative channels. BuiltInNYC, the online community for startups & tech companies, recently recognized Metric Digital on three of their best workplaces lists. The awards include "100 Best Places to Work in NYC," '"50 Best Small Companies to Work in NYC," and "50 Companies with the Best Benefits in NYC." Metric Digital is the performance marketing agency behind many of the top DTC ecommerce brands in the world. They've helped companies like Mizzen & Main, Buffy, Vuori, Sio Beauty, Caraa, Soul Cycle, Mack Weldon, Amour Vert, Bonobos and Canada Goose achieve their business goals through digital marketing. The agency's secret sauce, according to Head of People Molly Austin, is their team. "At Metric Digital, we truly put our people first. We have a startup culture in a collaborative, casual office environment full of smart people who like driving strategy on innovative channels. Its a great honor to be included alongside other top companies in New York." It's been a wild and rewarding journey over the last year for Metric Digital. The company doubled in size, grew their client base significantly, and their founders published a book on the need for transparency in marketing called Badvertising. The agency also launched an innovative online tool for building Facebook & Instagram creative called The Ad Creative Bank, as well as expanded their performance marketing service lines. "The most meaningful change, of course, is all the amazing team members that have joined Metric Digital in the past year," replied CEO/Co-Founder Kevin Simonson. "Our employees are a huge part of the reason Metric Digital is a great place to work. We had no choice but to move into a bigger office." Team members echoed their leaders' remarks. Cherry Lau, Associate Digital Specialist, commented, "Every day is different, and thats what I love most about my job. Metric Digital is an equal balance of autonomy and accountability. Our culture embraces this 100% and it motivates me to work even harder." Regan Colestock, Senior Email Specialist, said, "From day one, the culture was so refreshing that I thought it must be a bit of a hallucination on the horizon, an oasis in the desert if you will. But everyone truly is continuously supporting each other in small ways, whether that be a quick hi, joke, check-in, or dropping a new campaign insight into Slack as they prep for a client call." Everyone on the Metric Digital team is thrilled for what's to come in 2020 and beyond. They have a passion for pushing the envelope on what a digital marketing company can do, and with their core values of grit, ownership, teamwork, curiosity and honesty, this new decade is off to a rocketship start. Iranian authorities briefly detained Britain's ambassador in Tehran on Saturday, according to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, after he was reportedly arrested during protests against the regime. The arrest of our ambassador in Tehran without grounds or explanation is a flagrant violation of international law," Raab said in a statement after the detention of Rob Macaire. The minister warned Iran that it was "at a cross-roads moment", and had to choose between "its march towards pariah status" or "take steps to de-escalate tensions and engage in a diplomatic path forwards." Macaire was arrested for allegedly "inciting" protesters in Tehran angry at the military's accidental downing of a Ukranian passenger jet, killing 176 people, most of them Iranian citizens, according to the Daily Mail. He was released after around an hour, it added. President Hassan Rouhani said a military probe into the tragedy had found "missiles fired due to human error" brought down the Boeing 737, calling it an "unforgivable mistake". The admission was an "important first step", Prime Minister Boris Johnson said earlier Saturday. "We will do everything we can to support the families of the four British victims and ensure they get the answers and closure they deserve," he said in a statement issued by his Downing Street office. Johnson added that Britain would work closely with Canada, Ukraine and other international partners to ensure "a comprehensive, transparent and independent international investigation and the repatriation of those who died." "This tragic accident only reinforces the importance of de-escalating tensions in the region," he said. "It is vital that all leaders now pursue a diplomatic way forward. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump has said that the United States was monitoring Iranian demonstrations closely, warning against any new "massacre" as protests broke out after Tehran admitted to shooting down a passenger plane. Iran said earlier it unintentionally downed a Ukrainian jetliner outside Tehran, killing all 176 people aboard, in an abrupt about-turn after initially denying Western claims it was struck by a missile. The firing came shortly after Iran launched missiles at bases in Iraq housing American forces. President Hassan Rouhani said a military probe into the tragedy had found "missiles fired due to human error" brought down the Boeing 737, calling it an "unforgivable mistake." At a student protest to pay tribute to the crash victims on Saturday, Iranian authorities briefly detained Britain's ambassador, in what the British government called a violation of international law. He was later released. Trump told Iranians -- in tweets in both English and Farsi -- that he stands by them and is monitoring the demonstrations. "To the brave, long-suffering people of Iran: I've stood with you since the beginning of my Presidency, and my Administration will continue to stand with you," he tweeted. "There can not be another massacre of peaceful protesters, nor an internet shutdown. The world is watching," he added, apparently referring to an Iranian crackdown on street protests that broke out in November. "We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage," he said. The new demonstrations follow an Iranian crackdown on street protests that broke out in November. Amnesty International has said it left more than 300 people dead. Internet access was reportedly cut off in multiple Iranian provinces ahead of memorials planned a month after the protests. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has demanded that Iran provide "full clarity" on the downing of the plane. Ottawa says the dead included 57 Canadians. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also offered his condolences and ordered the armed forces to address "shortcomings" so that such a disaster does not happen again. Tehran's acknowledgement came after officials in Iran denied for days Western claims that the Ukraine International Airlines plane had been struck by a missile in a catastrophic error. The Kiev-bound jet slammed into a field shortly after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport on Wednesday. The crash came hours after Tehran launched missiles at bases hosting American forces in Iraq in response to the killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike. Fears grew of an all-out war between Iran and its arch-enemy the United States, but those concerns have subsided after Trump said Tehran appeared to be standing down after targeting the US bases. On Saturday evening, police dispersed students who had converged on Amir Kabir University in Tehran to pay tribute to the victims, after some among the hundreds gathered shouted "destructive" slogans, Fars agency said. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said UK envoy Rob Macaire had been detained. "The arrest of our ambassador in Tehran without grounds or explanation is a flagrant violation of international law," Raab said in a statement. The US called on Iran to apologize. Iran's Tasnim Agency, which is close to the country's conservatives, said the envoy had been "provoking radical acts" among students. He was released a few hours later and would be summoned again by Iranian officials on Sunday, it said. State television reported that students shouted "anti-regime" chants, while Fars reported that posters of Soleimani had been torn down. The aerospace commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards accepted full responsibility for Wednesday's accident. But Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said the missile operator acted independently, targeting the 737 after mistaking it for a "cruise missile". The operator failed to obtain approval from his superiors because of disruptions to a communications system, he said. "He had 10 seconds to decide. He could have decided to strike or not to strike and under such circumstances, he took the wrong decision." Iran had been under mounting international pressure to allow a "credible" investigation after video emerged appearing to show the moment the airliner was hit. In footage that the New York Times said it had verified, a fast-moving object is seen rising into the sky before a bright flash appears. Several seconds later, an explosion is heard. Iran's military said it had been at the highest level of alert after American "threats" and that the plane had turned and come close to a "sensitive" military site before it was targeted due to "human error." Rouhani said Iran had been on alert for possible US attacks after Soleimani's "martyrdom." Rouhani added he had ordered "all relevant bodies to take all necessary actions (to ensure) compensation" to the families of those killed. The majority of passengers on Flight PS752 were Iranians and Canadians, including dual nationals, while Ukrainians, Afghans, Britons and Swedes were also aboard. Rouhani told his Ukrainian counterpart Saturday that "all the persons involved in this air disaster will be brought to justice," Ukraine's presidency said. This 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. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Iraq's PMU commanders hold summit over US assassinations Iran Press TV Saturday, 11 January 2020 7:40 AM Operation commanders of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units have convened to examine recent developments in the country, specifically US assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and the Iraqi deputy PMU head Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Iraq's al-Furat news channel reported on Friday that participants of the PMU summit, which also included administrative officials from different parts of the organization, stressed the PMU's complete readiness to defend Iraq. The PMU officials said the organization was committed to pursuing its objectives in compliance with the law, respecting the government's authority and following the orders of the Iraqi military's chief of staff. The report did not further elaborate on results of the discussions. The summit comes after Washington assassinated Muhandis and Soleimani, a formal guest of the Iraqi government, last week. The assassinations have since led to major anti-American protests across Iran and Iraq and other parts of the region and the world. Following Iran's missile strike on the US airbase of Ain al-Assad in Iraq's Anbar province on Wednesday, various Iraqi groups affiliated with the PMU have also vowed to respond to the American assassination. During the PMU summit on Friday, participating officials stressed that the legacy of figures such as Soleimani and Muhandis further motivates the resistance organization to pursue its objectives. The PMU officials also expressed gratitude to mourners for participating in funeral processions held for the assassinated commanders earlier this week. The officials also thanked Iraq's clerical establishment, led by Iraq's prominent Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, for its support and added that the PMU was committed to observing its instructions. The PMU was formed following a June 2014 fatwa by Ayatollah Sistani calling on Iraqi citizens to volunteer and defend their country against Daesh terrorists who had unleashed a terror campaign across large parts of the country. Deash was consequently vanquished by the Iraqi forces and is currently limited to dispersed cells operating in more remote areas of the country. PMU halts Daesh advance near Mosul In a separate PMU statement, the organization announced that it successfully halted an offensive launched by Daesh forces south of Mosul. The statement said the operation was conducted by the 25 and 45 Brigades of the Nineveh Operations Command against Deash forces moving in from the direction of the al-Jazira region of Iraq's north-central Salahuddin province. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A policemen and another person were run over by a car on Nagpur-Jabalpur Highway on Sunday morning, an official said. Two other Nagpur policemen on duty at the busy highway were also injured in the mishap, he said. "The car was hit by a speeding Bolero and it jumped the road divider and crushed to death constable Ritesh Bhopre (32) and Pappu Pal (28), waiter in a hotel. Constables Prakash Dohe and Ravindra Kamble were injured," he said. The constables were on highway patrol duty and were checking vehicles and Pal was there with tea and snacks when the mishap happened, he added. The car moving towards Nagpur slowed down on spotting police and a Bolero rammed it from the rear. "The car was tossed into the air and landed on the constables having breakfast nearby. The Bolero driver Shashi Kawale, a Madhya Pradesh resident, has been arrested," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) He wasnt a Christmas present, he just happened to come of age in December. Im talking about the new, and final I might add, addition to the Chambers family. Ladies and gents, let me tell you all about Dessie. Hes snow white and oh so fluffy. Hes 16 weeks old, originally for Northern Ireland and is little brother to Aidan, Sarah and Seamus. Im talking about the new Bichon Frise puppy that joined our family last week; the second bichon to do so in just over a year. On Friday night recently, myself and Daddy Chambers were sitting by the fire enjoying a glass or two of vino. Two turned in to three and, well, you dont need me to explain further. Himself, or maybe it was the alcohol talking, asked me if Id like to have any more children. I jumped at the chance. Except human babies was not exactly what I was thinking about. Fur babies are way more my kind of thing these days. In his drunken state Daddy Chambers agreed to let me add to the family and I was only too delighted. As it happened the breeder we got Seamus from happened to have another litter of puppies that were almost ready to be sold. I asked her to stick my name down for one of them, preferably a little boy, and fast forward a few weeks that little boy is now a part of our family. Most people think we are daft for adding a second dog to the family but I totally and utterly disagree. Yes, Im busy what with looking after my own kids, somebody elses kid, volunteering with the GAA club and everything else thats going on but, in my opinion, you cant have enough wee bichons in your life. Before we ever had a bichon I wasnt a lover of small dogs. I much preferred what I termed as real dogs; and the bigger the better. However, when we were toying with the idea of getting a dog last year, all the research led me to choose a bichon. They dont shed, are very affectionate and most importantly, are very good with children. They ticked all the boxes. Seamus, who we got as a nine month old at Halloween last year, lived up to all those expectations and more. Hes the most gentle soul you could ever meet. The kids could literally wool the head off him and hed just let them. Hes just so placid and so loving so I didnt hesitate when I got the green light to add another one. Now I know well that there are people reading this asking why I didnt rescue a dog. After all there are thousands of dogs all over the country looking for their forever homes. However, theres a few reasons why we didnt rescue. Firstly I wanted a puppy that was reared with kids from almost day one. Secondly I know the bichon temperament and Im comfortable with them around Aidan and Sarah. Im aware there are bichons in rescue centres but nobody can truly know their history. Perhaps the poor mites were abused and as a result may have a tendency to be wicked. Thats simply not a chance I am willing to take around my children. Rest assured though, neither of my dogs came from puppy farms. I made sure of that. I rang the Irish Kennel Club and asked them to recommend assured breeders, which led me to a lady in Armagh. Her dogs are never advertised online on the likes of Done Deal or Adverts. Her dogs are thoroughly health checked by above board vets. I seen both the mum and the dad of our two dogs and they are healthy as proverbial trouts. My conscious is clear and I may be in the minority but Im sure glad Im not bringing business the way of these filthy puppy farmers. So, life with two dogs, two children under seven and a husband is sure busy. Im back to toilet training, back to wiping up pee and poo but well get there. Daddy Chambers likes to remind me that if I went for a baby of the human kind at least I would be able to put a nappy on him or her. I like to remind him that if I had a human one I couldnt lock the baby in a crate when I went to town to do the grocery shopping! So were now a family of four. A complete family, just in time for Christmas and all. So from all of us, to all of you, have a very happy New Year and thank you so much for reading. The elderly parents of artists Lucy and Anna Culliton died 11 days apart after they were evacuated from their home as the raging Gospers Mountain fire closed in. Stephanie Culliton, 76, was pronounced dead at Canberra Hospital on December 27, 2019, while her husband Tony, 77, died in Bombala Hospital on January 7. The pair had both been battling illness in the months prior. They had been evacuated from their home in Little Hartley, 128km north-west of Sydney, to Lucy's home Bibbenluke Lodge in the Monaro region of NSW, almost 400km south-west of Sydney. The elderly parents of artists Lucy (pictured) and Anna Culliton died 11 days apart just weeks after they were evacuated. Stephanie Culliton, 76, died in Canberra Hospital on December 27, 2019, while her husband Tony (pictured), 77, died in Bombala Hospital after they had both been unwell Lucy's father was a prominent figure in the television industry and worked at Network Seven for many years. 'I've just lost my biggest fan,' the 54-year-old told The Daily Telegraph, speaking of her father. During his final days he met artist and social commentator Ben Quilty, who had also worked at the network before he left to pursue his art. The painter said the pair had a 'beautiful and long' conversation over the phone after their in-person meeting was cancelled due to the blazes. Former workplaces aren't the only thing the two men had in common - Mr Culliton and Mr Quilty were both connected to Myall Creek. Mr Culliton had made a documentary with journalist John Pilger about the area while Mr Quilty included the area's Indigenous history in a major painting project. The pair had been evacuated from their home in Little Hartley, 128km north-west of Sydney, to Lucy's home Bibbenluke Lodge in the Monaro region of NSW, almost 400km south-west of Sydney. Lucy pictured with her mother Anna's (pictured) home, in the Blue Mountains, was also under threat because of the fires Lucy said her mother, who was also known as Buff, gave everything to her children. 'She's the one who encouraged us to paint and make,' she said. The famed artist and her partner Jamie Morgan-Bruce moved to the lodge in 2008 and have had to stay due to spot fires. She had to rescue many of her valuable paintings from her parent's property when she evacuated them. Lucy said it has been terrifying to watch and wait as the fires unfold - and on one occasion the fire turned the sky black and red. Anna's home, in the Blue Mountains, was also under threat because of the fires. Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Sunday said that laws might be made by the Central government but their implementation is solely in the hands of the state government, two days after the Centre notified the new citizenship law. Speaking at a protest rally organised by 'We the Citizens of India' in Nagpur, Deshmukh said, "In Maharashtra, we have our government and though the laws are made by the Central government, whether it will be implemented or not is in the hands of state government". The Centre had issued a gazette notification announcing that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), under which non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be given Indian citizenship, will come into force from January 10. The CAA was passed by Parliament on December 11. Maharashtra Energy Minister Nitin Raut of Congress, who also took part in the rally, said the state would not implement the CAA. "However, much they (Centre) may try, the Maharashtra government will not allow this law (CAA) to be implemented in the state," Raut said. The new Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government comprises the Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress. Home minister Deshmukh further said that leaders like NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi had opposed divisive moves like CAA, National Register of Citizens and National Population Register in Parliament. In a swipe at the BJP, Deshmukh said, "Some powers having majority in Parliament are doing this work, the people who were never seen during the freedom struggle. Hindus and Muslims have lived in brotherhood in India and have supported each other". He alleged the Centre was bringing in such laws to create "divisions" among Hindus and Muslims in the country. Raut too condemned the CAA, NRC and NPR, and said they were aimed at dividing the country and its people. He said Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi was leading the fight against these divisive laws and people of the country were with her. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The husband of British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has said the arrest of the UK's ambassador to Iran is a 'really bad sign for us'. Richard Ratcliffe said the detention of Rob Macaire during anti-government protests in Tehran did not bode well for his wife, who has been held 'essentially as a hostage' for almost four years. He also said US President Donald Trump's actions have made the situation 'much more volatile' but noted 'his administration has got Americans home, whereas the UK hasn't succeeded'. Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of jailed Nazanin, fears the arrest of the UK's ambassador to Iran is a 'really bad sign' Mr Ratcliffe told Sky News' Sophie Ridge show: 'The arrest of the ambassador and the attempt to try and turn that into "this is a foreign plot, it's the British organising the protest" which is what Iranian Press TV has put out, it's a really bad sign for us. 'Of course we are in the middle of all that because Nazanin is regularly brought out as someone involved in overthrowing the regime and all those fake stories. 'As a sign of where things are going, the fact the regime's instinct is A) to deny bad stuff then B) to blame foreigners is not great if you are a foreigner that has been blamed.' Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is serving a five-year sentence over allegations, which she vehemently denies, of plotting to overthrow the Tehran government, having been arrested in 2016 during a holiday visit to show her baby daughter Gabriella, now aged five, to her parents. He also said US President Donald Trump's actions have made the situation 'much more volatile' Rob Macaire (pictured) was arrested yesterday during anti-government protests he says he did not take part in Rights groups say her trial was a sham and describe her as a prisoner of conscience, while the Foreign Office says her treatment fails to meet obligations under international law. Mr Ratcliffe says she is being held by the Islamic republic as a diplomatic bargaining chip. Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a charity worker from London, has suffered declining physical and mental health during her detention and suffered panic attacks amid the rising political tensions in recent days. 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 believes once her sentence concludes the regime will 'just add a second sentence at the end, so yes the longer we don't get out the more likely we are to have many more years to do'. Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is serving a five-year sentence over allegations, which she vehemently denies, of plotting to overthrow the Tehran government The long-time campaigner for her freedom said he understands he will have a meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson 'not next week but the week after'. He added: 'Just for him to signal that this is a priority, that he's protecting British citizens... the signalling of the Prime Minister that he is personally taking interest in matters more than anything.' The UK Government has been attempting to secure her release after affording her diplomatic protection in March last year. Mr Ratcliffe has also urged Mr 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, described by Mr Ratcliffe as a 'festering sore', has been outstanding since pre-revolutionary Iran paid the UK for 1,500 Chieftain tanks in the 1970s. The deal was cancelled after the Shah of Iran was deposed in 1979, but while Iran has demanded the money back, Britain has so far refused. WALEWALE, Ghana - Night and day, he thinks of his donkeys. Are they still in the fields, munching on hay? Or has someone stolen them once again, wrecking his business for some foreigner's cash? "My donkeys are my everything," said Hardi Rafik, 25, a brickmaker who relies on animal muscle. "Now I must always guard them." To Rafik and others in Ghana's rural north, donkeys have long provided the cheapest method of transport, dependably hauling goods from village to village. To Chinese merchants here, donkey hides - a key ingredient in traditional medicines - command big money abroad from producers of skin creams, fertility elixirs and energy drinks. These competing demands have fueled a dramatic tug of war between people who call donkeys the economic heart of their households and vendors catering to China's exploding market, with some animal rights groups urging the Ghanaian government to label the beasts as endangered. Half of the world's donkeys could disappear in the next five years if Chinese consumption of the gelatin boiled from their hides does not slow down, according to a November report from the Donkey Sanctuary, an animal charity in England. Donkey populations in Ghana and Kenya, hot spots in this skin trade, are on track to be "devastated" in the near future, the researchers warned. Beijing's tightening relationship with African nations has wrought shiny new roads, schools and power plants in a stream of infrastructure deals. Less explored is the way Chinese influence is scrambling more basic ways of life, such as a family's ability to fetch buckets of water in the countryside. In the remote farming town of Walewale, people say hundreds of donkeys have vanished in recent years - or worse: Some animals have turned up skinned and left for dead. Residents blame thieves motivated by a growing payday: The typical price of a donkey in the area has jumped from about $70 to $130. Authorities in this West African nation outlawed the trade of donkey skins three years ago, but animal advocates say the problem persists because enforcement has been shaky. At least nine donkey slaughterhouses legally operate in Ghana's north. They are supposed to dispose of old or sick animals - the meat is sold at markets across the country - but owners often peddle the hides to Chinese buyers, managers told The Washington Post. Those deals have unleashed ugly consequences. On top of animal thefts, young foals and pregnant mares are being led to their deaths to keep up with the demand, experts say. Populations of the mammal have dropped by 37% in Botswana, 28% in Brazil and 53% in Kyrgyzstan since 2007, the authors of the Donkey Sanctuary report estimated, delivering "a hugely damaging impact" to poor communities. China's donkey population, they noted, has plummeted 76% over the past three decades. Similar data is lacking for Ghana, but experts say donkeys are being slaughtered at an alarming rate. "If we don't take care, the animal will go extinct," said Amal Mohammed Kariyama, spokesman for RISE-Ghana, a nonprofit focused on rural issues. Researchers who have studied the economic importance of donkeys in Nigeria and Ethiopia say the creatures are central to supporting rural life, largely because they are inexpensive and sturdy. Losing just one can be devastating. Donkeys are known to rarely fall ill - which is why Chinese herbalists value their hides. They represent vitality. Apiibolga Akasiede, who runs a slaughterhouse in a town about 50 miles northeast of Walewale, said his workers did not skin the animals until the Chinese demand emerged. "The Chinese only want the skin," Akasiede said. "We sell the skin to them and sell the meat to the market." Volume depends on the buyer's needs, he said, but his business can kill up to 20 donkeys per day. The hides sell for roughly $28 apiece. The operation is legal, he and other agents said, because the donkeys are purchased over the border from neighboring Burkina Faso. But activists and residents in northern Ghana say that kind of supply chain is loosely regulated. Hide sales, they say, bolster a black market that threatens livelihoods. People in Walewale once let their animals roam the fields before roping them up or guiding them into a stable at nightfall. Now paranoia clouds otherwise peaceful days, even after the slaughterhouse in town shuttered about a year ago. (Residents speculate that it ran out of donkeys, and the Walewale police declined to comment on the wave of thefts.) Farmers and merchants ask neighbors to keep an eye on their animals while they venture out. They also take regular breaks to look after them - a grim new routine that dampens productivity. "It spoils my work," said Haruna Mohammed, 45, a rice grower who checks on his donkey at least twice a day after losing one three years ago. Others could not afford to replace their animals. Haruna Rahim, 24, harvested corn before his two donkeys went missing in 2017. Anger gripped his voice as he recounted searching for them and the horror when it dawned on him. "I ended up with nothing," said Rahim, who could not move his crops without them. Now he tries to find odd jobs. Walewale was once full of donkeys - until "they stole all of them here," said Rafik, the brickmaker. He returned from town one day to find someone had skinned his animal. Rage stunned him. He and his brother sold clay blocks from their backyard for four months before they could buy another. These days, they share two. The donkeys grazed on a recent afternoon in the tall grass - tawny figures in a sea of green. Rafik placed his hand on a furry head. "This is Power," he said, "and that's Commander." He gave them names that invoke energy and strength, he said, because they carry the materials that build his community. The merchant keeps them in a stable by his house. When he wakes at night, he waits to hear the familiar braying. Then he can drift back to sleep. 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. 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." Akshaya Jha, assistant professor of economics and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College, who contributed to the study 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." San Francisco, Jan 12 : Electric automaker Tesla has once again challenged hackers to find bugs in its connected cars. The Elon Musk-run company is returning to the annual hackers' competition "Pwn20wn" to be held in Vancouver in March, reports electrek. Some Model 3 cars and $1 million in award money will be up for grabs. In March last year, a group of hackers won a Tesla Model 3 and $35,000 for hacking into its systems. Amat Cama and Richard Zhu of team called 'Fluoroacetate' exposed a vulnerability in the vehicle system during the hacking competition. The hackers targeted the infotainment system on the Tesla Model 3. According to the Electric Vehicle maker, such hacking events it test as well as improve its security systems. Hackers have also demonstrated how they could trick a Tesla Model S to enter into the wrong lane by using a method called "adversarial attack", a way of manipulating a Machine Learning model. Wag the Dog was an oddly prophetic 1997 black comedy in which an American president fabricated a war to divert attention from a sex scandal. In 1998 life imitated art when Bill Clinton uttered the words: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. He was impeached by the House of Representatives in 1998 for lying about the affair. As it happened, Clinton intervened in the Kosovo war. He also ordered missile strikes in Sudan, Afghanistan and Iraq. He was accused at the time of "wagging the dog" to divert attention from his political troubles. US President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the White House on the missile strike Iran launched against Iraqi air bases housing US troops. Credit:AP Fast forward two decades. An American president, impeached by the House of Representatives for abuse of power and obstructing Congress, has ordered the assassination of the military commander of a sovereign country in what is an act of war. On this occasion, the impeachment issue is not about the seemingly trivial matter in hindsight of lying about sex, but whether a president corruptly sought to pressure an independent nation (Ukraine) to dig up dirt on the family of an opponent (Democrat Joe Biden). Speaking of Ukraine, the downing of a Ukrainian jetliner by an Iranian surface-to-air missile soon after take-off from Tehran airport an error confirmed by Iran's government at the weekend is a sickening reminder of the risks associated with an escalation of tensions in the worlds most volatile region. AMU Vice Chancellor Tariq Mansoor has sought from the state authorities extra security for himself and his family before the university reopens on January 13, citing threats from "lumpen elements and outsiders", varsity sources said on Sunday. The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) was closed early for winter vacations from December 16, a day after students clashed with police during a protest against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on campus. The university was to reopen on January 6 but the vacation was extended owing to persisting tension over the changes in the citizenship law. It will reopen in phases starting Monday. The vice chancellor (VC) has written a letter to the state authorities, including the director general of police and the home secretary, asking for extra security for himself and his family in view of threats posed by "lumpen elements and outsiders, including some rusticated students," the sources said. The letter, which was marked as 'secret', has somehow been leaked in the media, they said. Later, Mansoor said in a statement that he has no problem if "students exercise their democratic rights by holding peaceful protests" against any legislation which is rankling them. His concerns, the VC said, were regarding those people who might mingle with the students and give a violent turn to the peaceful agitation. "The threat perception pertains to elements from outside the campus and does not refer to the students. The VC faces no danger from his students, whom he considers his sons and daughters," AMU spokesperson Shafey Kidwai told PTI. Meanwhile, the AMU Teachers Association (AMUTA) passed a resolution on Saturday urging the VC to take necessary steps to ensure that "false and exaggerated charges" levelled against students by police after the December 15 violence are withdrawn. AMUTA secretary Najmul Islam on Sunday said this would help restore normalcy on the campus. He said teachers would support the protesting students in their movement against the CAA, provided it is peaceful and democratic. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With a UN team's impending visit to Shaheen Bagh making the rounds, crowd at the protest site swelled drastically on Sunday. By the evening, it was a thousand plus crowd at the protest site. However, it turned out to be a rumour. "There is one very good news - Coming Sunday on 12-01-2020 ko sham (evening) 7:30 pm per Shaheen Bagh protest main UN team is coming to analyse the protest and the present scenario of the country," read a message that went viral on social media. "All citizens are requested to come in more numbers at Shaheen Bagh on Sunday before 7:30 pm to show your presence and strength in front of the UNO team," the message read. Earlier in the day, the protestors had arranged a "Sarv Dharam Sabhava" to highlight unity among religions and communities. The inter-faith ceremony, witnessed traditional Hindu-style 'havan' and Sikh 'kirtan'. A replica of the India Gate was also placed near the protest site with names of people who have lost their lives during anti-CAA protests across the country inked on it. One of the residents Zulqarnain said the crowd was massive and Shaheen Bagh had not seen such a crowd. Rven peripheral roads were packed with people who had come to show their solidarity with the protesters. 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. Anne Russinof, Triple Dip, 2019, oil on canvas, 58 x 42 inches Contributed by Sharon Butler \ I was recently invited to select work from an Open Call at the Ely Center for Contemporary Art in New Haven. Looking at more than 300 worthy submissions (and reading all the artist statements) I was drawn to work thats rooted in materiality, ritual, and the structure of daily life. I called the show The Daily after Michael Barbaros NY Times morning podcast, which is what I often listen to as I make and post my own daily drawings on Instagram. The sign outside the Ely Center for Contemporary Art Heres my curators statement for the show with some snapshots I took at the opening reception: Some artists have built enduring practices one day at a time (as Bill W. would say). One is Joseph Salerno, who makes a small plein air landscape painting each day in the Vermont woods. Other artists represented here, such as Jean Scott and EK Lee, have suggested that maintaining the daily ritual of making art has a healing effect in the face of loss and tragedy. In Salernos artists statement, he quotes Dante from The Divine Comedy: In the middle years of our life I found myself in a dark wood. EK Lee Incremental approaches, of course, need not suppress humanity. Claire Watson collects leather clothes at thrift shops, takes them apart at the seams, and sews the pieces together to create abstract canvases. Although they have a Modernist sensibility, Watson says its impossible to disassociate the fragments from the living, breathing animals from whence the skins originated. Matthew Best uses the painting process as a way to cope with the sheer uncertainty of life, his improvisational abstract works recording mental shifts and personal growth, move by move. Anne Russinofs paintings are themselves single acts: she makes them in one go, wet on wet, like the ancient Chinese landscape painters. Her floating calligraphic gestures seem as if they could fly off the canvas and enter the space around us. Daniel Bohman, Shelby Charlesworth, and Amy Faris are keen observers of the domestic world. Charlesworths installations incorporate what she calls the repulsive traces of existence hair intertwined in the teeth of a brush, a toothbrush long overused, a toenail stuck in a set of clippers. Fariss drawings and installations examine monotony, utilizing the same repetitive processes she associates with tedious household tasks. Daniel Bohman paints images of interior domestic spaces which convey meaning about those who inhabit them. Claire Watson and Shelby Charlesworth Three artists in the exhibition use materials in especially surprising ways. Cynthia Masons soft sculptures, based on household objects like shelves and ladders, droop and bend over time. Her interest lies in powerlessness and everyday failure. Rick Albees humble goal for his small-scale ceramic objects is simply to make something unexpected, and, by combining familiar forms in unforeseen ways, he succeeds. Elizabeth Mead makes delicate tabletop objects out of white paper and string, then photographs them in natural light, rendering them illusions of shadow and light in a post-literal space. Rick Albee Douglas Degges and Robert Oehl, both overwhelmed by the speed of digital technology in our lives, are intent on slowing down the existential procession. Oehl uses pinhole cameras and traditional darkroom processes to fashion grainy, nude self-portraits that seem elegiac, suggestions that an era may be ending. Degges crafts lumpy plaster slabs on which he makes abstract paintings, like personal frescos for itinerant times. Left: Robert Oehl. Right: Rita Valley Robert Oehl Rita Valley and Eric Anthony Berdis have proudly political missions. Using absurd pageantry and purposeful repetition, Berdis explores the challenge and romance of being gay in a hetero-normative society. Valley, in despair over our ongoing political strife, hand-sews text-based fabric pieces with buzz phrases and hate words like libtard and complicit. The Daily is broadly about paying attention, living in the present, and counting time which of course marches on. Sixty seconds in a minute, sixty minutes in an hour, twenty-four hours in a day. Before you know it, a brave new decade unfolds. The Daily, curated by Sharon Butler. Ely Center for Contemporary Art, 51 Trumbull Street, New Haven, CT. January 12 February 16, 2020 \ Artists include Rick Albee, Eric Anthony Berdis, Matthew Best, Daniel Bohman, Shelby Charlesworth, Douglas Degges, Amy Faris, EK Lee, Cynthia Mason, Elizabeth Mead, Robert Oehl, Anne Russinof, Joseph Salerno, Jean Scott, Rita Valley, Claire Watson Parting shot: Artist and Ely Center Gallery Director Debbie Hesse (on right) who invited me to curate the show, is responsible for the thoughtful installation. Debbie made insightful connections between pieces that I hadnt anticipated. Thank you, Debbie, for making it all work together! (Image via Anne Russinof at Gallery Travels) Other curatorial undertakings: 1959: Spirit of the Void Invitation: Blue State and Inflation at DUMBO Open Studios 2017 Infrastructure @ SEMINAR in DUMBO An invitation: Two Coats of Paints fifth anniversary party @ Bushwick Open Studios Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], Jan 12 (ANI): Paying homage to Swami Vivekananda on his 157th birth anniversary, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said that there is a need to bring down walls that create differences among people. "Today more than ever, there is a need to bring down walls that create differences among people. We follow Sarva Dharma Sama Bhavana -- that is in our Indian blood and part of our civilisation," Naidu said. He also appealed to the youths to strive to spread the message of Swami Vivekananda. Naidu, while participating in the centenary celebrations of the magazine 'Sri Rama Krishna Vijayam' being published by the Ramakrishna Mutt, said: "On this National Youth Day, the youths should re-dedicate themselves to the ideals of Swamiji, who is the embodiment of Indian culture." Taking to Twitter, Naidu said: "A great saint, teacher and social reformer, Swami Vivekananda played a major role in introducing Hinduism to the West." "Swami Ji was a social reformer and was against religious dogmas. He believed in the uplift of humanity, irrespective of caste or creed and emphasised the importance of spiritualism for the survival and progress of mankind," he added. Further, Naidu said: "Swami Vivekananda believed in the religion of humanity. Swami Ji said that he did not believe in a god or religion 'which cannot wipe the widow's tears or bring a piece of bread to the orphan's mouth." (ANI) Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was in Saudi Arabia for talks with King Salman on Sunday as part of a tour of oil-producing Gulf Arab states aimed at promoting peace amid a spike in tensions between the US and Iran. Japan has a deep alliance with the United States, but it also has ties with Iran, which until 2017 supplied Japan with about 5% of its crude oil imports. Japan has sought to remain politically neutral as tensions in the Persian Gulf have escalated following President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the US from Iran's nuclear deal with world powers. Security in the Persian Gulf's waters and for Mideast oil supplies is a national security priority for Japan, which imports nearly 90% of its oil from the Middle East. Much of that is shipped from Arab Gulf states through the narrow Straight of Hormuz, which Iran partly controls. Japan plans to deploy naval forces, a destroyer and two patrol airplanes off the coasts of Yemen and Oman to help protect its energy supplies, while keeping away from directly patrolling the Strait of Hormuz as the US does. After arriving late Saturday evening in Riyadh, Abe was given a ceremonial welcome and hosted for lunch by King Salman Sunday afternoon. Abe also met Sunday with Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman. Saudi media reported he was scheduled to meet the powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This marks Abe's third visit to Saudi Arabia as prime minister. Saudi Arabia is Japan's top supplier of crude oil, accounting for about 39% of Japan's overall crude imports. Iran is unable to sell its oil internationally as it once did, due to US sanctions by the Trump administration. Over the summer, Japanese energy supplies became a target of rising tensions when two cargo ships were mysteriously hit off the Gulf of Oman. No one claimed responsibility for the attack, although others that summer were blamed on Iran, which has denied involvement. The attacks on Japanese-related cargo in June took place while Abe was in Iran meeting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani. He'd traveled to Tehran as an interlocutor for President Donald Trump to ease tensions. Concerns of a wider conflict have grown in recent days following a US airstrike in Baghdad that killed Iran's powerful military commander, Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Iran retaliated, striking two military bases in Iraq where American troops are stationed, though no casualties were reported. Amid the chaos and heightened threats, Iran acknowledged Saturday it had mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing all 176 people aboard. Abe is scheduled to visit the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday and Oman on Wednesday, before departing back to Tokyo. In the UAE, he will meet with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed and other leading Emirati figures. In Oman, Abe will hold talks with the country's new ruler, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, who was named on Saturday following the death of longtime ruler Sultan Qaboos. Abe is travelling with a delegation that includes ministers responsible for boosting trade and business ties. While in Saudi Arabia, he is scheduled to visit the desert region of Al-Ula, which the kingdom is touting as a tourism destination, and will reportedly met the Saudi crown prince there. Search Keywords: Short link: First Lady Melania Trump hosted a group of Safety Patrol students from a Florida elementary at the White House, reconnecting with them 10 months after she first went to visit the school. 'A great afternoon at the @WhiteHouse, reconnecting with the wonderful students from West Gate Elementary school,' Melania's FLOTUS Instagram account said Saturday. 'Inspired by how these children are growing into the best versions of themselves. #BeBest.' Melania Trump is pictured here with students from a Florida elementary school, who visited the White House Friday as part of the First Lady's Be Best initiative In the images, Melania was seen handing out Be Best-branded bags to the visiting students and also shaking their hands. The photos were posted Saturday and noted that Melania was 'inspired' by the children The school kids' visit occurred Friday afternoon, months after Melania toured the West Gate Elementary School in Florida's Palm Beach County in March 2019. Her office said the visit was part of Melania's Be Best campaign, as the school has a special program designed to eliminate classroom bullying. The new Instagram post featured a series of photos from the visit, among them, a group shot in which a smiling Melania is seen standing among 11 children wearing reflective sashes and white Be Best hats. Other photos from Friday's White House visit show Melania handing out white bags - bearing Be Best branding - to the children and also signing a photo of herself walking down a West Gate Elementary School hallway during her March visit. In a separate Instagram post, the FLOTUS account also shared a video of the children as they were toured around the White House by staffers. 'It was a joy to greet Safety Patrol students from West Gate Elementary school as they toured the @whitehouse yesterday!' the FLOTUS account captioned the video. This image from the visit showed Melania talking with the children in the White House The FLOTUS account also posted a video from the visit, in which Melania could be seen shaking hands with the children during their White House trip The students were taken on a tour of the White House by staffers, as seen here The students were also seen filling in answers on a Be Best document in the video Melania Trump was shown signing a photo of herself visiting the school that the children attend. She had gone to visit the school in March 2019 Melania Trump made an unannounced visit to the West Gate Elementary School in March 2019, sharing photos of her visit (pictured) on social media afterwards Melania is seen here with a West Gate Elementary School employee in March 2019 During her trip to the elementary school, Melania sat in on a lesson and met with students Melania's trip to the school in March was unannounced and no members of the media were with her. Instead, her office provided a read out of her visit and photos of her with students were posted on social media. 'Thank you West Gate Elementary School for letting me join you in your morning classroom discussions. Education should include not only academics, but also a firm foundation for understanding our own feelings & those of our peers,' Melania tweeted after the visit. At the time, Melania was in Florida, at Mar-a-Lago, with son Barron during his spring break. Later in the day, she met with Fabiana Rosales de Guaido, the wife of Venezuelan opposition leader and U.S.-recognized acting president Juan Guaido. Raul Khajimba, leader of the self-proclaimed breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia, has resigned following four days of protests in the regional capital, Sukhumi. Former Abkhaz Prime Minister Sergei Shamba read Khajimba's resignation statement to protesters near the presidential residence late on January 12. Parliament speaker Valery Kvarchia confirmed the resignation, telling Russia's TASS news agency that "the issue of who will act [as president] has not yet been decided." "It may be the prime minister," he added, referring to Prime Minister Valery Bganba. Kvarchia said the region's de facto legislature would take up the issue in a session on January 13. The announcement came just hours after Russian presidential aide Vladislav Surkov arrived in Sukhumi, joining a Russian delegation headed by Russian Deputy Security Council Chairman Rashid Nurgaliyev. The crisis in the breakaway Georgian region erupted on January 9, when demonstrators stormed the Sukhumi building housing Khajimba's administration, asserting the September election that he won was fraudulent. The legislature later called on Khajimba to step down. The Abkhaz Supreme Court on January 10 reversed an earlier decision and declared the September results void, following a petition by opposition leader Alkhas Kvitsinia. Khajimba and his supporters resisted the calls for his resignation and planned to launch legal appeals before his January 12 about-face. The head of the region's self-proclaimed Central Election Commission, Tamaz Gogia, said on January 12 that he did not agree with the Supreme Court ruling, but that he would abide by it. The commission set March 22 as the date for a new election. The Black Sea region has had de facto independence from Georgia since a war against Tbilisi in 1992-93. After Russia and Georgia fought a five-day war in August 2008, Moscow unilaterally recognized Abkhazia and another breakaway Georgian region, South Ossetia, as independent states. Both regions have since been largely propped up by Moscow and are hosting Russian military forces. Georgia and most of the international community consider both regions to be occupied territories. With reporting by TASS Currently, this plug-in is only available on Mozilla Firefox. Googles Chrome, which dominates the browser market, does not have an equivalent. Hyderabad: For the past few years, cybersecurity activists in the country have been uncomfortable with the lack of discussion about data mining and monetisation by large tech firms. Post 2016, crores have started using the internet for the first time. These citizens, activists say, do not understand the value of their private data. And companies are using this ignorance to their advantage. The crusade against data mining has already begun in India, but there are a ways to go before it gains momentum. For instance, a Hyderabad-based group, affiliated to the Free Software Movement of India (FSMI), recently released a brow-ser plug-in for Mozilla Firefox which prevents a telecom giants internet services from tracking user data. This telecom giant whose parent conglomerate has varied interests was chosen since it has amassed cro-res of users in a short time after its launch. Developers say it is as big a concern in India as is Google, Facebook, etc across the world. In fact, FSMI plans on launching a similar plug-in to prevent tracking by GAFAM companies in a few weeks. Currently, this plug-in is only available on Mozilla Firefox. Googles Chrome, which dominates the browser market, does not have an equivalent. Mr Ranjith Raj Vasam, one of the developers who worked on the plug-in, said that Firefox, due to its open-source and not-for-profit pedigree, is more conducive to data security. Raj, who is also a representative of Mozilla in India, said Firefox was rehashing itself to compete with Chrome. There are many problems when it comes to Chrome. First of all, most smartphones in India use the Android OS, in which Chrome is default. Since it is part of the overall Google ecosystem, Google has easy access to all these users data, he said. Mr Raj added that Google has even been involved in anti-trust activities when it was found slowing down Google services on rival browsers. Mr Kiran Chandra, founder general secretary of FSMI, said the private data of Indian users were being plundered by tech companies. He explained with an example: If I am a patient and go to a doctor and he writes a prescription for me. In effect, this information is private due to doctor-patient confidentiality. However, if the doctor sends me a prescription or medical document via Gmail, even Google has access to my information now, he said. Mr Chandra said Google, or any other similar service, would be easily able to sell this data to pharmaceutical companies. This information, which is governed by a set of laws and norms in the physical world, is being used and sold by companies without any consequence, he said. Mr Chandra said that one of the most important aspects of data security was educating the masses. A lot of people dont realise the value of their data. They dont know how it can be misused and hence, not aware of the dangers of data mining. It is the governments job to educate them, he said. Adding to this, Raj said the data privacy movement needs figureheads behind whom the people can rally. The movement has largely become enemy-less. The people dont understand how large tech companies are at fault. They are not seeing the big picture, he said. Mr Ranjith Raj, and cybersecurity activists in general, hope that more and more people will start using open-source alternatives to products developed by large tech companies. Products like YouTube and Facebook have open-source alternatives that do not track user data. We hope people will use these more in the future, he said. Michele Gran can clearly remember telling her son not to go to work on Aug. 14 of last year. Landon Gran, 18, suffered a sore back from farm work at a nearby operation two miles south of the Grans' farm in rural Norseland. Michele had wanted her oldest child to take a break, maybe visit a chiropractor, but Landon had told her he would stop by his employer just to see if they needed any help. What happened after that is a little unclear, according to Michele. They know Landon was cleaning out a grain bin almost empty of corn. They know he got his legs stuck in a sweep auger, a piece of equipment at the bottom of a grain bin resembling a really long drill turned on its side that pushes grain through to a dispenser. And they know Landon must have spent hours inside that bin, bleeding to death, before he was found. "He was ground up," Michele said, crying. "I'm just saying it bluntly. This was a gear-driven auger which wrapped him right into it. How long our son sat there crying for help, for hours, we don't know." ADVERTISEMENT Landon's death is one of at least eight grain bin-related fatalities in Minnesota since June. It's an unusually high number in such a short period of time, and the recent spate of deaths is causing lawmakers to pay attention. Lawmakers and state officials alike plan to tackle more farm safety measures during the Minnesota Legislature's 2020 session, which starts in less than a month. Advocates such as Michele Gran say now is the time to put serious regulations in place to prevent more fatalities in the future. "It's unfair that my child had to suffer through that, that my family is suffering now because he's gone," she said. It's no secret farming is dangerous work. Farm workers are 800% more likely to die on the job, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The majority of farm-related fatalities are due to tractor rollovers, not grain bins. Yet grain bins have long posed a hazard to farmers, especially as many farms are growing and storing more and more corn and soybeans during the past few decades. And experts see grain bin-related deaths as entirely preventable. Any farmer worth his or her salt knows a worker is never supposed to go into a grain silo. But some do anyway -- to clean caked-on grain, or dislodge a potential plug in the storage system. Workers can easily fall through grain, getting engulfed by crops and dying due to asphyxiation, either from the grain itself or from toxic air pockets of carbon dioxide. Though agricultural groups and labor officials stress educating farmers about grain bin safety, grain bin-related accidents have been relatively stable over the past few years after increasing and plateauing through the 2000s. An annual report from Purdue University's Agricultural Safety and Health Program shows 61 incidents that took place inside grain storage or transport facilities in the U.S. in 2018. Of those, 30 involved workers entrapped in grain, while 11 were equipment-related. The report shows 27 out of those 61 incidents were fatal, on par with the average yearly number of these kinds of deaths in the U.S. ADVERTISEMENT That's why the sudden jump in grain bin-related deaths in Minnesota is so jarring. Aside from Landon Gran, 74-year-old Rodger Slater died Sept. 10 after he was trapped in a soybean bin on his Sibley County farm about 5 miles west of Belle Plaine. Emergency personnel cut out the side of the grain bin to retrieve Slater, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Jim Welscher, 68, of Caledonia, died after he was trapped in a grain bin July 24. Gregory Fleck, 64, of Glencoe, died Aug. 23 after he was trapped in a grain bin. Gerald Chisholm, 62, of Gary, in northwestern Minnesota, was found dead Dec. 5 inside a grain bin. Three people died after a grain bin accident Dec. 21 in Brandon, which is in the western part of the state. Curt Boesl, 47, and his 11-year-old son, Alex, were working on top of a grain bin when they were overcome by toxic fumes. Another family member called 911 and Curt's brother, Steve Boesl, 49, tried to climb inside the bin to save his brother and nephew but succumbed to the same fumes. Steve Boesl died at the scene. Curt Boesl died the next day. Alex Boesl survived for six days before he was taken off life support and died. There could be even more grain bin-related incidents but such accidents are difficult to track, as many occur on smaller farm operations that fall outside of OSHA jurisdiction. ADVERTISEMENT A 2015 Star Tribune analysis found 19 grain bin-related deaths between 2004 and 2014. And the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry found three grain bin-related deaths between 2010 and 2018 on farms with 10 or more workers. Researchers use publicly available information, such as accident reports, newspaper articles and obituaries to compile what information there is, but Purdue University academics estimate about 30% of all injuries in "agricultural confined spaces" go unreported. "This is a priority issue for us to have hearings, to raise awareness," Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Thom Peterson said. Opt-in or regulate? Local lawmakers Sens. Nick Frentz and Rich Draheim visited the Gran farm with Peterson in November once Michele publicly called for more farm safety mandates in Minnesota and across the nation. Michele wants a variety of mandated measures, such as two people working on a grain bin at all times, cages on augers and mandatory safety harnesses, among other measures. She'd like to see OSHA officials have more jurisdiction over farms with 10 or fewer workers, which are largely exempt from more stringent farm regulations based on the theory that those kinds of farms are family operations where farmers will take extra care. That extra jurisdiction would include investigating every accident and death that took place. The agricultural industry, however, has largely pushed back against mandated safety measures over the years. Former President Barack Obama's administration brought forth a package of farm safety ideas in 2011 that included prohibiting people under age 18 from working in large grain bins or other storage containers, among other things. Even though the proposal wouldn't have affected small-farm operations -- those with 10 or fewer workers -- farm groups and Midwest states vehemently opposed the new regulations, arguing they would economically hurt farm operations and impede teens from learning about farming. Federal officials backed off and killed the proposal. Peterson said he would expect a similar backlash against other regulations. "Some of that is really well meant but it doesn't work in every situation," he said. Ag industry experts say more education and training opportunities are needed for farmers who may know grain bins are dangerous but don't understand what not to do around them. State officials also want more information on why there's a sudden increase in deaths. Peterson attributes the growing rate of accidents to the increasingly stressful industry pressures put on farmers over the past few years. "I think more people are storing grain on farms, and I do think stress is playing a lot into the accidents that we've had," he said. Frentz and Draheim say there may be a compromise between the two views. Frentz, a North Mankato Democrat, plans to introduce legislation that would create a voluntary grant program to allow farmers to buy safety equipment for grain bins such as harnesses and auger cages. He initially proposed a one-time allocation of $500,000, but state officials would rather that proposal be combined with a similar program for tractor rollover bars that began in 2017 but hasn't been continuously funded. "We think there's room for everyone here," Frentz said. Peterson said the increased program could also attract more private contributions from agricultural companies and organizations. Draheim agrees. The Madison Lake Republican said he plans to introduce farm safety legislation of his own and may support Frentz's proposal, depending on the language. But Draheim said he is reluctant to put more regulations on farmers already hurting from low commodity prices and U.S. trade conflicts with other countries. "There's a lot of people working on it, so it's not like we haven't done anything as a state," Draheim said. "But that doesn't make those families that have lost a loved one feel any better." Lawmakers and state officials alike agree grain bin safety will likely be a top agricultural priority in the Legislature this year. While Michele Gran is pleased lawmakers are taking this seriously, she plans to push for more safety regulations at the Capitol. Though she doesn't think of herself as a public speaker, she believes Landon would want her to fight for more safety measures on the farm. "I'm doing this so one day I get a phone call from another mom saying, 'Thank you, my son's life or my daughter's life was saved because of you,'" she said. And Michele doesn't want another mother to be haunted by the same nightmares she has. Michele said she dreamed last week of Landon calling out for her help while he was trapped inside the grain bin. "This should not have happened," she said. "I'm never going to call it an accident. This was an incident. This was preventable. It should never be considered an accident, not when they're preventable." ___ (c)2020 The Free Press (Mankato, Minn.) Visit The Free Press (Mankato, Minn.) at www.mankatofreepress.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. So, as you float through Synchronized Swimmers, you start in the backyard pool of Fines grandmother Sarah Fine, where as a child Jenny Fine and her sister would play make-believe that the pool was as deep as the ocean. Beyond the pool, visitors will walk among aging sea sirens and anthropomorphic aquatic life. Like Fines previous installation, Flat Granny and Me, her latest exhibit mixes photography, visuals, video, sound and even performance art as volunteer actors bring her underwater world to life. When you get other people involved and ask them to embody the characters, the narrative becomes larger than yourself, Fine said. Synchronized Swimmers encompasses the Wiregrass Museum of Arts entire main gallery and will remain at the museum until Feb. 22. Additional performances will be held Feb. 6 and Feb. 22. However, even when actors are not in costume, there will still be things to see in the exhibit, including Fines photography. Depending on volunteers, there could be pop-up performances during the museums regular hours. Foreign Minister of Iran Javad Zarif on Saturday took to his Twitter and confirmed that preliminary conclusions of the internal investigation by Iran's Armed Forces revealed the military 'unintentionally' shot down the Ukrainian jetliner because of a human error. Ukraine international flight 752 was traveling from Tehran for Kyiv went it crashed killing all 176 people on board. The Ukraine Embassy in Iran had earlier ruled out any terrorism and said that the plane had suffered engine failure. Zarif in a his post admitted the 'Human error' at the time of crisis by US adventurism and further apologised to the families of the victims. 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. Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 11, 2020 Even the western leaders had 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 U.S. bases in Iraq to avenge the killing of its top general in an American airstrike last week. READ: Iran invites US, Canada to join crash probe READ: EU ministers support Iran deal, fear IS resurgence US officials on the plane crash As per the investigations, US sources report that the Ukraine plane crash could have very well been caused by an Iranian missile that might have hit it accidentally. Iran had fired a missile during the same time as the Ukranian flight was going over the country. A series of ballistic missiles were fired by Iran during its operation against the US. US President Donald Trump, in a statement, blamed Iran for striking down the Ukranian aircraft. However, as per reports, the US officials have denied naming the intelligence agency that they have been citing. The Iranian intelligence report, on the other hand, blamed the technical malfunction in the Ukranian aircraft as a reason for the crash. READ: Less than a quarter of US voters can identify Iran on a world map, says poll READ: Iran envoy to UK 'confident' plane not hit by missile Please register or log in to keep reading. No credit card required! 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24 Aug (9) 10 Aug - 17 Aug (5) Corey J Malone, from Germantown, is said to have had a blood alcohol content of .32 - which is four times the legal limit A Wisconsin driver's education instructor has been detained for driving drunk while giving a driving lesson, ultimately hitting a high school principal. Corey J Malone, from Germantown, is said to have had a blood alcohol content of .32 - which is four times the legal limit. Officers with the Germantown Police Department arrested Malone on January 6 at the Just Drive driver's education office after he had left the scene at Germantown High School. Officers say that Malone backed into a metal gate that then struck high school principal Joel Farren, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Farren had been assisting with traffic as school was letting out when he noticed the Just Drive vehicle parked near a gate. Scroll down for video Malone allegedly backed into a metal gate that then struck Germantown High School principal Joel Farren According to the principal, a student got inside the vehicle before it proceeded to make a U-Turn. It was then that the car struck the gate, causing a portion of it to hit Farren in his left abdomen area. When the principal confronted Malone, he said the driver refused to open the door before driving off When the principal confronted Malone, he said the driver refused to open the door before driving off. It was then that Farren contacted the district's school resource officer. The student told police that the two drove to a neighborhood before Malone had the student drive for approximately 30 minutes. It was then that Malone had the student pull over so that he could speak to his boss. 'What do you mean I hit someone?' the student heard Malone say to his boss before telling the student to drive back to the high school. Malone offered to drive the student home after they got back to the school, which the student refused. When police apprehended Malone, he admitted to having gone out drinking the night before. He also failed sobriety test that were administrated then. He was cited for OWI and driving with a prohibited alcohol content. His next court date is scheduled for February 20. Malone is no longer employed by Just Drive, the company said in a statement. Dennis Muilenburg, who was ousted as Boeings chief executive last month as the company contended with the biggest crisis in its history, will depart with more than $60m (45m), the company said Friday. Mr Muilenburg will not receive any additional severance or separation payments in connection with his departure, and Boeing said he had forfeited stock units worth some $14.6m (11.2m). But the value of the other stock and pension awards he is contractually entitled to receive is $62.2m (47.6m), the company said. Mr Muilenburg also has stock options that could be worth many millions more. We thank Dennis for his nearly 35 years of service to the Boeing Company, the company said in a statement. 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. Boeings new chief executive, David Calhoun, will receive a $7m (5.3m) bonus if he is able to get the 737 Max, which has been grounded since March, safely flying again. The jet was grounded in the wake of two deadly crashes that left 346 people dead. Boeing parks grounded 737 planes in employee car park: In pictures Show all 6 1 /6 Boeing parks grounded 737 planes in employee car park: In pictures Boeing parks grounded 737 planes in employee car park: In pictures Boeing 737 aeroplanes are parked in the employee car park of Boeing's Seattle factory King 5 Boeing parks grounded 737 planes in employee car park: In pictures Seen above the car park is the full storage area for planes at Boeing's Seattle factory D. Permadi Boeing parks grounded 737 planes in employee car park: In pictures Six 737s are currently being stored in the car park as they have not been delivered from the factory due to the model being grounded following two major crashes Boeing parks grounded 737 planes in employee car park: In pictures Boeing has incurred first quarter losses of around $1 billion following the crashes and ensuing controversy King 5 Boeing parks grounded 737 planes in employee car park: In pictures The company grounded their 737 model in March following their second deadly crash in months King 5 Boeing parks grounded 737 planes in employee car park: In pictures Seen above the car park is the full storage area for planes at Boeing's Seattle factory The issue of Mr Muilenburgs compensation was the source of heated exchanges during his testimony before congress in October. Are you taking a cut in pay? Are you working for free from now on until you can cure this problem? Representative Stephen Cohen asked Mr Muilenburg at one point. These peoples relatives are not coming back. Theyre gone. Your salary is still on. Mr Muilenburg went pale, noting that the board determines his pay. After the hearings, Mr Muilenburg called Mr Calhoun, then the Boeing chair, and offered to forgo any compensation until the Max had fully returned to service. Speaking at a New York Times conference soon after that, Mr Muilenburg said he decided to give up tens of millions of dollars after meeting with families of victims of the crashes. I felt it was important for me to forgo those bonuses and send a message of responsibility, he said. Boeing said Mr Calhoun, who starts as chief executive Monday, would receive a base salary of $1.4m (1m) and be eligible for an annual target bonus of $2.5m (1.9m), long-term incentive awards worth $7.5m (5.7m) and restricted stock units worth $10m (7.6m). Mr Calhoun will receive an additional bonus of $7m if the company reaches key milestones, including fully returning the Max to service. Boeing also said that Kevin McAllister, who was ousted as head of Boeing Commercial Airplanes last year for his mishandling of the Max crisis and key customer relationships, had forfeited stock and dividend awards worth $52.9m (40.4m). Mr McAllister received a cash payment of $14.75m (11.3m), which reflected the value of a pension benefit he forfeited when he left an earlier job, but did not receive any other compensation in connection with his departure. The New York Times Leader orders investigation into "possible negligence" in air disaster IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, Jan 11, IRNA -- Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Saturday ordered an investigation into the likely negligence or faulty performance in the air disaster case. The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces forwarded the directive to General Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces. The Supreme Leader instructed the General Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces to take necessary measures to probe the incident and make sure such events will not be repeated. Sympathizing with the bereaved families of the air disaster, Ayatollah Khamenei said after being informed of the results of the investigation by General Staff of the Armed Forces which indicated a human error in the plane crash, he felt the sorrow even deeper than before. Praying to God to bestow patience upon the bereaved families, he emphasized that the General Staff of the Armed Forces should fully pursue probable negligence and failure. He also ordered relevant officials to take the necessary measures to prevent a repetition of such incidents. After the US increased tension in the Middle East by assassinating Iran's Lieutenant-General Qasem Soeimani, the country made a reaction and hit the US airbase in Iraq with missiles. Iran's military had been put on alert to counter any US adventurism. But unintentionally, a Ukrainian Boeing 373 was shot shown near Tehran minutes after takeoff. Iranian officials have admitted that human error was responsible for downing the passenger plane and expressed regret and apologized for the tragedy. 9417**1416 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Indian Navy on Sunday said that the developmental Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)(N) MK1 achieved another important milestone by successfully undertaking the maiden Ski Jump Take-Off from INS Vikramaditya. With this feat, the indigenously developed niche technologies specific to deck based fighter operations have been proven, which will now pave the way to develop and manufacture the Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter for the #IndianNavy. Taking to Twitter, the Indian Navy said: "The developmental LCA (N) MK1 achieved another important milestone today by successfully undertaking the maiden Ski Jump Take-Off from INS Vikramaditya." "This landmark event demonstrates Professional commitment and synergy between various agencies ADA, HAL, CEMILAC and Indian Navy in harnessing the potential of our scientists, engineers and naval flight testing community towards meeting the expectations of the nation," it added. Indian Army, in another tweet, said that with this feat, the indigenously developed niche technologies specific to deck based fighter operations have been proven, which will now pave the way to develop and manufacture the Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter for the Indian Navy. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A host of travellers have revealed the most unexpected things they saw - or didn't see - when they visited Australia, including Fosters beer, kangaroos on every street corner and flirty salespeople. A Reddit thread asked foreigners to share their answers honestly, looking to pinpoint whether the rumours about the world's driest inhabitable continent were true. According to some, the free BBQs, hospitable locals, as well as the general lack of spiders in the cities, were the most surprising discoveries made on their trip. A Reddit thread asked foreigners to share their answers honestly, looking to pinpoint whether the rumours about the world's driest inhabitable continent were true (stock image) The animals that live here created a great flurry of answers, with one man saying he was entranced by the different colours of the birds and 'fell off his bike' the first time he saw a flock of Rosellas. Another said that he expected to see more kangaroos 'roaming the streets' but that wasn't the case. 'I'm going to have to check in with the most unexpected thing I didn't see. I'm arachnophobic. I visited Australia for two weeks and didn't see a single spider,' said a woman. The animals that live here created a great flurry of answers, with one man saying he was entranced by the different colours of the birds and 'fell off his bike' the first time he saw a flock of Rosellas Australian people's general happiness was a hot topic of conversation, with some saying they were surprised to see great banter being had between British and Aussie countrymen. 'Coming from Glasgow in Scotland, this was a massive culture shock,' replied one person. But others took that to be flirtation, and were surprised to learn that most salespeople were just extremely friendly. While kangaroos are a common sight, they aren't hopping around in the centre of most of our cities (stock image) Australian people's general happiness was a hot topic of conversation, with some saying they were surprised to see great banter being had between British and Aussie countrymen 'I went in to buy more appropriate footwear in my first few days and I was convinced the shopgirl was flirting with me,' another man said. 'I bought something else in another shop and there was still more flirting. Another shop and the same thing. 'Turns out they weren't flirting, they were just naturally being really friendly.' A Canadian resident was surprised to get sunburned in winter while another enjoyed the free BBQ spots dotted around the national parks and beaches. Overall most travellers were positive about their experiences Down Under and said they would likely return to see more of it in the future. I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! Australia's Nikki Osborne is hoping to raise money for the victims of Australia's bushfires while in the South African jungle. During Thursday's episode, the comedian, 38, used her single luxury item, a Polaroid camera, to shoot a 'nude calendar' of the campmates to sell to viewers. AFL legend Billy Brownless, 52, was the first star to strip down for Nikki. Charitable! I'm A Celebrity's Nikki Osborne (left) is hoping to raise money for the victims of Australia's bushfires by creating a nude calendar in the jungle with Billy Brownless (right) As he pulled his tiny shorts into a G-string thong, Nikki joked: 'Billy seemed the most enthusiastic for the waterfall photoshoot, to be honest. 'I think he was ready to be objectified. It has been a while since he's got his pins out.' Billy then seductively sprawled himself across a fallen tree, as Nikki, who was wearing her 'mankini' print bikini, eagerly snapped away. 'Can you see my gut?' asked Billy, as he placed his hat in front of his privates and appeared to remove his shorts completely. Billy bares all! During Thursday's episode, Nikki used her single luxury item, a Polaroid camera, to capture Billy, who had pulled his shorts into a G-string, as he sprawled across a tree 'Can you see my gut?' asked Billy, as he placed his hat in front of his privates and appeared to remove his shorts completely for his pictures Upon reviewing the pictures, Billy laughed: 'A beautiful spot, and a beautiful photo with a big beached whale right in the middle of it. 'You're looking at Mr January in the jungle.' The rest of the campmates found great hilarity in watching Billy pose, while waiting for their own turn in front of the camera lens with Nikki. 'Quite a treat': The rest of the campmates found great hilarity in watching Billy pose, while waiting for their own turn in front of the camera lens with Nikki Dilruk Jayasinha said: 'This African jungle keeps throwing me new experiences that I never thought I would ever see in my life. 'Seeing Billy Brownless pose, basically naked, was quite a treat.' The segment then ended with campmates including Dale Thomas, Tom Williams, Dilruk and Miguel Maestre stripping down for their shoots. I'm A Celebrity continues on Channel 10 at 7:30pm on Sunday night "Serving in the military changes you. The shades and degrees of change vary for everyone, but no one is ever the same as... Everyone remembers the first internship of their lives. From getting used to the work regime to the new things one would get to learn -- it is an experience that widen your horizons and makes you grow. The chances of doing something groundbreaking is fairly limited in an internship, not if your employer is NASA, as this lucky intern got to find out just on his third day at work. Youtubre: Strahan Sara and Keke 17-year-old Wolf Cukier from Scarsdale, New York discovered a planet on the third day of his internship. He had recently completed his junior high school and had headed to intern at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Centre in Greenbelt, Maryland. The planet dubbed TOI 1338b is around seven times larger than Earth. It also has two stars -- one being 10-percent more massive than our sun, whereas the other one was smaller with less light -- very similar to Tatooine, the planet where Luke Skywalker from Star Wars grew up. This was Wolfs second internship at NASA. He previously (2018) worked on a Goldilocks Zone project under the guidance of NASA aerospace technology researcher Ravi Kopparapu. However, this time he was interning at the space flight complex and was under the mentorship of NASA research scientist Veselin Kostov. Wolf was working on NASAs TESS or Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite looking for other planets and celestial objects in the universe. He was given a framework of what to look for based on his exploring the Planet Hunters TESS data and segregate different star systems. NASA Wolf was looking at an image when he stumbled upon something unusual. He notified Kostov immediately and they both spent hours verifying that the additional features they were seeing were real by looking through multiple data sets. It took around two to three months to cross-verify data sets and confirm Wolfs discovery of the planet. Wolf Cukier co-wrote a paper about this discovery with scientists from Goddard and other institutions. It is awaiting scientific review. Cukier is currently looking at colleges like Princeton University, Stanford, MIT to major in astrophysics or physics. A war hero has said Prince Harrys decision to step away from the Royal Family has left many in the military disgusted. Ex-Royal Marine James Glancy, a former Captain in the Special Boat Service, said he wouldnt raise a toast to his Captain General as is tradition if he tried to use his royal position to earn money through commercial ventures. Ex-Royal Marine James Glancy (pictured) said he wont raise a toast to the Duke of Sussex if he uses his royal position to earn money through commercial ventures Speaking on LBC Radio the ex-Commando who won the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross in 2012 after three campaigns in Afghanistan said: Harrys been a great public servant... but his behaviour in the last year is not becoming of somebody that holds these important positions, these patronages including that of the Captain General. Ive spoken to some other Royal Marines and other people in the military and they are very upset, if not disgusted by the disrespect to the Queen by not discussing this. While the Duke of Sussex has been a 'great public servant', his behaviour is not becoming of somebody who holds important positions and patronages, according to the ex-Commando He added: You dont sit as Captain General and think you can make millions of pounds, because that opportunity isnt available to a soldier on 20,000 a year. If Harry goes down the route of semi-privatising his role I wouldnt raise a toast to him as he wouldnt have my respect. UPDATE: Police ID stabbing victim GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Police are investigating an early morning stabbing that left one man dead in southeast Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids police responded to a call at 5:45 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 12 on the 1000 block of Bates Street SE where they found a 55-year-old man dead at a residence, according to a press release. The man was stabbed. The exact cause of death will be determined after an autopsy, according to the press release. Police believe there was an argument between individuals prior to the assault. There is no suspect at this time and the incident remains under investigation, according to the release. Any information or tips can be directed to the Grand Rapids Police at 616-456-3400 or by email at GRPDinfo@grandrapids.mi.us. Anonymous tips can be submitted to the Silent Observer at 616-774-2345 or at www.silentobserver.org. For French sculptor Ariel Moscovici, joining local and international artists at the Art in the Forest (AIF) project in the northern province of Vinh Phuc was a unique experience. The sculpture The Space Between is seen at Flamingo Dai Lai Resort. Photo courtesy of the artist Initiated by artist Vu Hong Nguyen and Flamingo Group in 2015, the project aims to create an art space and connect international artists. The participants stay at the Flamingo Dai Lai Resort in Vinh Phuc Province for several months to create. The AIF 2019 gathered Moscovici and artists from Vietnam, the US, Canada, Spain, Japan and South Korea for a residential art programme from July to October. During his first time at the gathering, Moscovici made the sculpture The Space Between, made of stainless steel and internal red lights. Nguyen contacted Moscovici and asked him to participate in the project, an invitation he happily accepted. Firstly, Moscovici proposed making his sculpture about 150 x 300 x 300cm but Nguyen told him to make it three times bigger. The request motivated Moscovici a lot, even though he has exhibited big sculptures at outdoor spaces across the world. I was scared because it was impossible to make such a big work in such a short time, however Nguyen told me not to worry because I will have a lot of help and indeed I had a wonderful team of workers helping me with an incredible courage and gentleness, said Moscovici. Eventually, the sculpture at a scale of 440 x 900 x 900cm was born. Moscovici said the artwork is related to nature and is research about the origins of life, the moment before everything started, one of his most important subjects. I was attracted by the story of the creation in the Old Testament, it seems childish and yet mysterious, it starts with the word in the beginning but in Hebrew it is bereshit which means in head, the world was created abstractly in the head of God before the real material creation, he said. I tried to imagine the architecture of this inner space in which all the promises for the future creation were contained, a primordial round form emerging from earth, made by a multitude of cubic elements, each representing the hazard of eventual plants and animals to come, like a seed or an egg. The external shape is cut by five lines joined in the centre and visitors can walk to the middle and choose a way out. All the passages seems the same but our choice brings us to another place, he said. In the centre of the artwork, there is a red light like a warm heart protected by a colder stainless steel envelope reflecting the light and colours of nature. I hope my sculpture may give the feeling of energy and hope for a better future, the idea that everything is still possible, he said. A land of dreams Moscovici was in born 1956 in Bucharest, Romania. Now France-based, his work has been the subject of exhibits and installations in Spain, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, South Korea and Japan. Working in Vietnam was like a dream come true, he said, adding that there were no obstacles in terms of time to work or price of materials, allowing Moscovici do do exactly what he wanted thanks to the support from the organiser, fellow artists and co-workers. Before coming to the symposium I didn't have much knowledge about contemporary art scene in Vietnam. Through the AIF project, I found an incredible group of artists with a great purity and energy, said Moscovici. Now Moscovici has many Vietnamese friends who are artists with passion, something he didn't think would be possible without speaking the language. The first one I met is Nguyen who made me surprised by his beautiful coloured paintings. Then I became close with sculptors Dam Dang Lai and Le Lang Luong. I also admire other painters of the project, Cong Kim Hoa, Ly Truc Son and Le Thua Tien. Their works are done in a traditional way using the lacquer paint but with a new spirit, it gave me a new image and way of expression, a continuity between past and future, he said. During the project, he was impressed by art exhibitions in containers. He said it was a contemporary art space with inner light and transparency that no other technique can achieve. Moscovici came to Vietnam about five years ago as a tourist and visited museums of HCM City and Hanoi. He was impressed by old sculptures in wood and bronze. Truly I feel I need to learn more about Vietnamese culture, he said. Moscovici said he was inspired a lot by the landscapes and the nature at Dai Lai Lake, where he was free to think only about art. French sculptor Ariel Moscovici works on his sculpture in the frame work of the the Art in the Forest project. In Dai Lai, my mind was refreshed from the daily problems of life and it gave a nice opportunity to make drawings in the nature and think a lot, I am sure there will be some new forms in my work to come, he said. I also came to the most well-known places like Ha Long Bay, Hoi An Town and Da Lat City, however one of the best souvenirs is from the old ruins of My Son Sanctuary in Quang Nam Province, the buildings there reminded me of some of my sculptures. I think that I was quite influenced by the relics in my works after. Moscovici has a strong connection to Vietnam as his wife, artist Sylvie Rivillon, has Vietnamese origins. The couple intend to return Vietnam together in the near future and stay longer to visit and explore more. VNS Minh Thu Photo: The Canadian Press Omani officials pray over the grave of Sultan Qaboos after his burial in Muscat, Oman, Saturday. Omans Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Mideast's longest-ruling monarch who seized power in a 1970 palace coup and pulled his Arabian sultanate into modernity while carefully balancing diplomatic ties between adversaries Iran and the U.S., has died. He was 79. The British-educated, reclusive sultan reformed a nation that was home to only three schools and harsh laws banning electricity, radios, eyeglasses and even umbrellas when he took the throne. Under his reign, Oman became known as a welcoming tourist destination and a key Mideast interlocutor, helping the U.S. free captives in Iran and Yemen and even hosting visits by Israeli officials while pushing back on their occupation of land Palestinians want for a future state. We do not have any conflicts and we do not put fuel on the fire when our opinion does not agree with someone, Sultan Qaboos told a Kuwaiti newspaper in a rare interview in 2008. Oman's state-run news agency announced his death early Saturday, but offered no cause. The royal court declared three days of mourning. Following Islamic tradition, the sultan was buried before nightfall. The sultans death had raised the risk of unrest in this country on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula. The unmarried Sultan Qaboos had no children and did not publicly name an heir, a tradition among the ruling Al Said dynasty whose history is replete with bloody takeovers. But within hours, Oman state television announced Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, who had served as the sultanate's culture minister, as the new sultan. Omans longtime willingness to strike its own path frustrated Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, longtime foes of Iran who now dominate the politics of regional Gulf Arab nations. How Oman will respond to pressures both external and internal in a nation Sultan Qaboos absolutely ruled for decades remains in question. Maintaining this sort of equidistant type of relationship ... is going to be put to the test," said Gary A. Grappo, a former U.S. ambassador to Oman. "Whoever that person is is going to have an immensely, immensely difficult job. And overhanging all of that will be the sense that he's not Qaboos because those are impossible shoes to fill. The sultan had been believed to be ill for some time, though authorities never disclosed what malady he faced. A December 2019 report by the Washington Institute for Near-East Policy described the sultan as suffering from diabetes and a history of colon cancer. Sultan Qaboos spent eight months in a hospital in Germany, returning to Oman in 2015, with the royal court only saying that the treatment he received was successful. In December 2019, he travelled to Belgium for a week for what the court described as medical checks. Days of worry about his condition ended Dec. 31, 2019, with the royal court describing him to be in stable condition. Sultan Qaboos cut a fashionable figure in a region whose leaders are known for a more austere attire. His colorful turbans stood out, as did his form-fitting robes with a traditional curved khanjar knife stuck inside, the symbol of Oman. He occasionally wore a white turban out of his belief that he spiritually led Omans Ibadi Muslims, a more liberal offshoot of Islam predating the Sunni-Shiite split. The academicians include Hari Singh Gour University VC R P Tiwari, Central University of South Bihar VC HCS Rathore and Sardar Patel University VC Shirish Kulkarni, among others, according to official sources. New Delhi: More than 200 academicians, including vice chancellors of universities, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, blaming a "small coterie of Left-wing activists" for a deteriorating academic environment in the country. "We observe with dismay that in the name of student politics, a disruptive far-left agenda is being pursued. The recent turn of events in campuses from JNU to Jamia, from AMU to Jadavpur alarms us to the deteriorating academic environment due to the shenanigans of a small coterie of left-wing activists," they wrote to the prime minister. The signatories to the statement include Hari Singh Gour University VC R P Tiwari, Central University of South Bihar VC HCS Rathore and Sardar Patel University VC Shirish Kulkarni, among others, according to official sources. It is titled as "statement against left-wing anarchy in educational institutions". The statement by 208 academicians is being seen as part of the ruling dispensation's efforts to mobilise support in the academia after it faced flak from a section of the intelligentsia over protests in certain universities over a host of issues, including the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the recent violence on the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus. Taking on Left-leaning groups, the statement said it had become difficult to organise public talks or speak independently due to the "censorship imposed by the left-wing politics". Strikes, dharnas and shutdowns over maximalist demands were common in Left strongholds and personal targeting, public slandering and harassment for not conforming to the Left ideology were on the rise, the academicians wrote to Modi. The worst sufferer of this kind of politics were poor students and those from marginalised communities, the statement said. "They (these students) lose out on the opportunity to learn and build a better future for themselves. They also lose out on the freedom to articulate their own views and alternative politics. They find themselves constrained to conform to the majoritarian left politics. We appeal to all democratic forces to come together and stand for academic freedom, freedom of speech and plurality of thoughts," it added. OPEC not only continued to cut its crude oil production in December 2019, but it also managed to reach its deeper-cut target for Q1 2020 a month earlier than planned, the monthly S&P Global Platts survey showed. The achievement may not look that remarkable if one considers that, as usual, not all cartel members respected their Decemberlooserquotas, and that OPECs largest producer and de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, still did the heavy lifting and compensated for the cheating of some other producers. As in all previous months, Saudi Arabia overcomplied significantly with its share of the cuts, helping the cartel achieve the new quota effective January a month early. Saudi Arabias December oil production was 9.82 million bpd, as per the Platts survey. This is way below the December quota of 10.3 million bpd and even below the new Q1 2020 Saudi quota of 10.14 million bpd. The Saudis were still compensating for rogue OPEC members Iraq and Nigeria, which, despite cutting their respective production, were still not complying with their December quotas, the S&P Global Platts survey found. OPECs total crude oil production stood at 29.55 million bpd in December, down by 100,000 bpd compared to November, according to the survey. Decembers crude oil production at the 10 OPEC members that have the stricter quotas as of Januarywith Venezuela, Libya, and Iran exempt and Ecuador leaving OPEC on January 1was 25.06 million bpd, just below the combined new ceiling of the 10 producers with quotas25.15 million bpd, Platts survey shows. Related: Oil Poised For Steepest Weekly Decline Since July This surveys findings were similar to ones in the monthly Reuters survey, which showed earlier this week that OPECs crude oil production further declined in December as Saudi Arabia continued to lead by example cutting much more than required and as the biggest laggards in complianceIraq and Nigeriamoved to better comply with their quotas. The Saudis reduced their crude oil production by another 50,000 bpd in December, taking the Kingdoms over-compliance to more than 500,000 bpd compared to its quota in the deal, according to the Reuters survey. At the OPEC+ meeting on December 6, OPEC and its partners decided to deepen the current cuts by 500,000 bpd in the first quarter of 2020, when demand is expected at its weakest for 2020. This brings total production reductions at 1.7 million bpdthat is if rogue members fall in line with their quotas. Of these, OPECs share of the cuts is 1.2 million bpd. Considering the pledge from Saudi Arabia that it would continue to significantly overcomply with its share of the cuts, the total OPEC+ cuts could be as high as 2.1 million bpd, OPEC said. Just as OPEC and its leader Saudi Arabia showed that they are serious about preventing another glut this year, the geopolitical flare-up in the Middle East put OPECs production cuts and potential spare capacity to the spotlight again, as market participants panicked (for a couple of days, at least) about potential supply disruptions in the region. Related: Iranian Cyberattack Hits Bahrain Oil Company Suhail al-Mazrouei, the influential energy minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said this week that he doesnt see an immediate threat to oil flows in the worlds most important oil chokepoint, the Strait of Hormuz. We are not forecasting any shortage of supply unless there is a catastrophic escalation, which we dont see, al-Mazrouei said on the sidelines of an energy conference in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, as carried by Reuters. The heightened tension in the Middle East is throwing in another unknown in OPEC and allies plans for after March 2020, when the current deeper-cut deal expires. As of early on Friday, the U.S. and Iran appeared to be in a de-escalation mode, and unless supply is actually disrupted, analysts do not expect oil prices to trade much higher than US$65 a barrel Brent Crude in coming weeks. The fundamental outlook for the oil market is not constructive, with expectations that the market will return to surplus over 1H20, Warren Patterson, INGs Head of Commodities Strategy, and Senior Commodities Strategist Wenyu Yao said on Thursday. According to INGs strategists, global oil demand growth is still languishing and the market will be closely watching to see what OPEC+ does next. And as we move closer to March, the market will get increasingly nervous about whether OPEC+ will extend its output cut deal through until the end of June. Concerns over demand also continue to linger. And while a phase-one trade deal may bring some relief, if we look at refinery margins, they remain under pressure, suggesting demand is not great at the moment, INGs strategists said. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: FLORENCE, S.C. HopeHealth soon could be expanding in Florence. On the agenda for the first Florence City Council meeting of the year is the first reading of Bill No. 2020-01, which declares five parcels of property as surplus and authorizes their conveyance to HopeHealth for future expansion of its facility and development along North Dargan Street in Florence. The parcels to be conveyed are located in a line along the west side of North Dargan Street, near its intersection with East Marion Street. Tax records indicate that the city acquired the properties from McLeod Regional Medical Center in 2015 for a price of $5. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} HopeHealth is one of 23 nonprofit, federally qualified health centers in South Carolina. It provides health care services to individuals in Florence, Clarendon and Williamsburg counties and infectious diseases services in Aiken, Clarendon, Florence, Orangeburg and Williamsburg counties. China reports first death from mystery pneumonia outbreak CHINA: A 61-year-old man has become the first person to die in China from a mystery respiratory illness that is now believed have originated from the same family as SARS, which claimed hundreds of lives more than a decade ago, authorities have announced. healthChinesetourismCoronavirusCOVID-19 By AFP Sunday 12 January 2020, 04:56PM Wuhan health officials said the man who died from a new virus believed to be from the SARS family had purchased goods from the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, which authorities identified as the outbreak centre. Photo: AFP Forty-one people with pneumonia-like symptoms have so far been diagnosed with the new virus in Wuhan, with one of the victims dying on Thursday, the central Chinese citys health commission said on its website yesterday (Jan 11). Seven others remained in serious condition, two were discharged from treatment, and the rest were stable, it added. The episode has caused alarm due to the spectre of SARS, or Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome, which in 2002-2003 killed 349 people in mainland China and another 299 in Hong Kong, whose economy was hit hard by the epidemics devastating impact on tourism. The Wuhan health commission said the man who died had purchased goods from a seafood market in the city identified by authorities as the centre of the outbreak. It was closed on Jan 1. The man, who also had underlying health issues including chronic liver disease, died in hospital on Thursday of respiratory failure and severe pneumonia, the commission added. No new cases have been detected since January 3 nor any clear evidence of human-to-human transmission, it said. People in white hazmat suits were seen spraying liquid on the market floor late yesterday, while a number of guards sat outside the perimeter of the facilitys two sections without masks on. Chinese scientists investigating the outbreak said last week they believe the pathogen is a previously unknown type of coronavirus, a broad family ranging from the common cold to more serious illnesses like SARS. Scientists in Hong Kongs Department of Health said yesterday that genetic sequencing of the virus found in one of the Wuhan patients and published online by a Chinese expert indicated it was 80% similar to SARS found in bats. Speaking at a news conference in Hong Kong, they said it was too early to conclude definitively that it was a SARS strain, adding that the city needed to stay vigilant. We will remain alert as we believe the epidemic will continue to develop, said Wong Ka-hing, director of the departments Health Protection Centre. Hong Kong authorities have taken a range of precautions including stepping up the disinfection of trains and planes, and checks of passengers. Travel rush looms Yesterday evening, there was little sign of alarm in Wuhan outside of the seafood market, which had been cordoned off. Few people at the citys airport wore masks, and no extra monitoring measures were visible at the airports terminals. A restaurant on the outside of the building housing the seafood market was still open for business. One man, a dry goods seller at the market surnamed Dai, attempted to enter the market around midnight but was turned away by the guards. He told AFP he was not worried about getting infected. I havent heard that this disease is contagious, Dai said, adding that he believed the illness was caused by a fire at the market in mid-November where items including plastic materials and chili peppers were burnt. The WHO said Thursday it was not recommending any specific measures for travellers or restrictions on trade with China, and expressed confidence in the ability of Chinese authorities to contain the virus. China has entered its annual Lunar New Year holiday travel rush, raising concerns about the mass movement of people serving as a vector for the pathogen. In the worlds largest annual human migration, hundreds of millions will pack into trains, buses and planes to travel for the festival in late January. China has not announced any travel restrictions. Hong Kong authorities said yesterday that the number of people hospitalised with flu-like symptoms in recent days after travelling to Wuhan had grown to 60, including seven new cases since Friday. Forty-six of that total, however, have already been discharged. None have yet been diagnosed with the new coronavirus. City residents worried about the outbreak have rushed to buy face masks from local pharmacies, with many selling out earlier this week, while officials in Taiwan have urged the islands health and welfare ministry to strengthen quarantine controls. Balco Group AB (STO:BALCO), which is in the building business, and is based in Sweden, saw a double-digit share price rise of over 10% in the past couple of months on the OM. As a small cap stock, hardly covered by any analysts, there is generally more of an opportunity for mispricing as there is less activity to push the stock closer to fair value. Is there still an opportunity here to buy? Today I will analyse the most recent data on Balco Groups outlook and valuation to see if the opportunity still exists. View our latest analysis for Balco Group What is Balco Group worth? The stock is currently trading at kr95.60 on the share market, which means it is overvalued by 44% compared to my intrinsic value of SEK66.21. Not the best news for investors looking to buy! In addition to this, it seems like Balco Groups 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 Balco Group generate? OM:BALCO Past and Future Earnings, January 12th 2020 Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Although value investors would argue that its the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. Balco Groups earnings over the next few years are expected to increase by 55%, indicating a highly optimistic future ahead. This should lead to more robust cash flows, feeding into a higher share value. What this means for you: Are you a shareholder? BALCOs optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading above its fair value. However, this brings up another question is now the right time to sell? If you believe BALCO 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. Story continues Are you a potential investor? If youve been keeping an eye on BALCO for a while, now may not be the best time to enter into the stock. The price has surpassed its true value, which means theres no upside from mispricing. However, the optimistic prospect is encouraging for BALCO, 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 Balco Group. You can find everything you need to know about Balco Group in the latest infographic research report. If you are no longer interested in Balco Group, 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. We left our establishment at the mouth of the river du Bois or Wood river, a small river which falls into the Mississippi, on the east-side, a mile below the Missouri, and having crossed the Mississippi proceeded up the Missouri on our intended voyage of discovery... The day was showery and in the evening we encamped on the north bank six miles up the river. Here we had leisure to reflect on our situation, and the nature of our engagements: and, as we had all entered this service as volunteers, to consider how far we stood pledged for the success of an expedition, which the government had projected; and which had been undertaken for the benefit and at the expence of the Union: of course of much interest and high expectation. Patrick Gass, May 14, 1804 The Lewis and Clark Expedition started a year before it began. Meriwether Lewis immersed in crash courses in Philadelphia for medicine, botany, zoology, and surveying, plus he learned how to take celestial observations necessary to determine latitude and longitude. He oversaw construction of the keelboat and engaged in the biggest shopping trip in then-American history. Lewis and Clark independently recruited men for the expedition and migrated slowly westward. However, they were not allowed to cross west of the Mississippi, since the Louisiana Purchase had not yet transferred from Spain to France to the United States. The expedition wintered over at the starting gate, building a small fort named Camp Dubois on the Wood River in todays Illinois, officially launching the Corps of Discovery on May 14, 1804. While they sat at the starting line, our Missouri River Corps of Rediscovery stalled near the finish line, camping for three days in St. Charles to wait out a storm. Bedded down in our tents below the Boat House Museum, people passing by wouldnt have known we were there. However, someone encountered an overly friendly puppy and dog-napped Jubilee as a lost dog. Chris spent the following day at a coffee shop searching online lost pet notices and fortunately got her back. She was dog-napped again a day later, only minutes after being released to run off her pent-up puppy energy. Chris paid $35 to retrieve her from the pound, following up with a dog tag and phone number on her collar. Scotts girlfriend Margie flew in from Colorado and joined us as we paddled out of St. Charles, doing an easy 25-mile day to Columbia Bottom, only 3.5 miles from the end of the Missouri River. Our final day of paddling was largely symbolic. We awoke to heavy frost, a sure sign to wrap up the trip. We paddled out into the chilly morning, soon reaching the confluence where the Missouri joins the Mississippi. There isnt any significant turbulence where the waters merge, just two great rivers flowing together like a slow-moving lake. The Lewis and Clark Expedition continued fifteen miles down the Mississippi to end their 28-month expedition at St. Louis on September 23, 1806. We followed their lead, paddling to the Gateway Arch, the iconic symbol of St. Louis. Conceived in the 1940s and completed in 1965, the 630-foot-tall stainless steel arch was created as a memorial to the men who made possible the western territorial expansion of the United States, particularly President Jefferson, his aides Livingston and Monroe, the great explorers, Lewis and Clark, and the hardy hunters, trappers, frontiersmen and pioneers who contributed to the territorial expansion and development of these United States. In todays more politically correct terms, that would make it a monument to colonialism and the subjugation of Native American peoples. Thats the great challenge in celebrating American history. Thomas Jefferson and William Clark both owned slaves, and Meriwether Lewis supervised slaves on his mothers plantation. All three men helped bring about the subjugation of Native Americans, especially William, who continued the work of his elder brother George Rogers Clark to ethnically cleanse Indians from all lands east of the Mississippi. We cannot and should not bury our history, but we can own it and re-interpret it. I grew up with Montana history where General George Custer was slaughtered by wild Indians at the Custer Battlefield National Monument, otherwise known as Custers Last Stand. In a re-appraisal of our history, Congress renamed the site as the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in 1991. The revamped park includes a memorial to the Indians who fought and died there, as well as a telling of their side of the story. Piece by piece we are telling a more authentic narrative of our history, and that is an achievement to be appreciated and honored. In St. Louis, the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial was renamed Gateway Arch National Park in 2018. We planned our arrival for Sunday, the least busy day to mingle with the big ships in the Port of St. Louis. Headwinds kicked up turbulence, aggravated by passing barges, but manageable overall. Waves threatened to batter the canoes against the flooded stairway at the Arch, so we paddled another quarter-mile downriver to a boat ramp. We completed our journey on November 3rd, 2019, five months after leaving home. Many people are under the illusion that we worked hard and suffered greatly on our expedition. I would describe the experience as akin to turtles drifting down the river on a log. John, Chris, and I had extensive prior expedition experience. Scott seemingly gained the most from the journey, transitioning from an office cubicle to canoe to a new life of adventure. For all of us, it was a great privilege to paddle through the heart of America, see beautiful scenery, study our history, and meet some of the nicest people on the planet. The Missouri River Corps of Rediscovery joins a surprisingly short list of all known Missouri River expeditions since 1962, maintained as a database by Norman Miller of Livingston, Montana at www.missouririverpaddlers.com. Thank you for reading along and being part of the journey! Thomas J. Elpel lives in Pony, Montana. He is the author of Green Prosperity: Quit Your Job, Live Your Dreams. Go to www.Elpel.info to learn more about Toms books and the Missouri River Corps of Rediscovery. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 ALBANY Middle school students throughout the Capital Region gathered Saturday at the Armory at The Sage Colleges of Albany to unveil their plans for an energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable future. About 200 students in the Capital Region are competing in the Future City competition this weekend. The aspiring engineers are tasked with creating their own cities facing a problem, and they need to find a way to fix it. This year, the fictitious cities water supply had been contaminated. They are judged on a city plan they created, an essay they wrote, a 3-D model they built and a presentation in front of a panel of judges. Future City is a national competition that has been running for 28 years and is now in 40 different regions. The Capital Region has held a competition for the past 19 years. Jennifer Smith, a commodity manager at Plug Power, helped bring the competition to the Capital Region after she graduated college. She heard about the Future City competition in Buffalo, and a family friend suggested she start it up in Albany. I just really like how hands on it is, Smith said. A group of Hackett Middle School students created a city called Viridian with a long river running through it. They decided to use plants to purify the water so the could get cleaner water without using chemicals. Zoey Volmer, an eighth-grader on the team, said this is her third time in the competition. She said she believes this is the best model theyve created so far. Weve improved so much over the years, she said. Barbara Kirchgraber, another eighth-grader competing in her third competition, credits the group's ability to collaborate. I think our teamwork has gotten so much better over the years, Kirchgraber said. I feel like we wouldnt have gotten all of this done if we didnt work together. For Kirchgraber, its not just about winning a competition. Its a place where she found her passion. Its been outlet of creativity for me, Kirchgraber said. It made me want to be an engineer. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. More Information Richard H. O'Rourke Middle School took first place for the third year in a row. Broadalbin-Perth Middle School came in second place. Hackett Middle School took third place, making it in the top three for the first time. See More Collapse One of the judges,Jack Robson, the executive vice president for Foit Albert Associates, said hes always impressed with the energy the students put into the projects. Nine years ago I was a sponsor, and I came and listened to the presentations, and they were so enthused over what they were doing, and they were so easy to talk to, Robson said. He said its good to get children interested in the field at a young age because it is a challenging profession. Often people may become dissuaded because of its difficulty, he said, but he hopes that capturing their interest while young will convince them to preserve. We need to get kids excited about engineering because for every type of engineers there is a shortage, Robson said. KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Jan, 2020 ) :Pakistan Navy ships "Moawin" and "Aslat" visited Mombasa, Kenya as part of Pakistan Navy Overseas Deployment around African region. During the visit, Mission Commander & Commanding Officers of the visiting ships called on important Kenyan authorities, established free medical camp besides holding an exercise with Kenyan Navy, ISPR-Navy press release said on Sunday. The visit was also amply utilized to highlight atrocities of Indian Armed Forces in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IoK). Upon arrival at port of Mombasa, visiting Pakistan Navy Ships were extended warm welcome by Kenyan Navy. Mission Commander along with Commanding Officers of Pakistan Navy Ships called on Commander in Chief of Kenyan Navy, County Commissioner of Mombasa and other Kenyan authorities. During the interactions, Mission Commander conveyed sincere regards of Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi for people of Kenya in general and Kenyan Navy in particular. Both the sides displayed commitment to further enhance brotherly relations and expand bilateral cooperation between the two countries. Pakistan's sacrifices in fight against terrorism and Pakistan Navy's role in ensuring maritime security were also highlighted which were duly acknowledged by the host. As a gesture of goodwill, a free Medical Camp was also established off port premises by a team of Pakistan Navy doctors and paramedics. The camp provided medical treatment and medicines to around 2200 local patients. Some patients were treated/ operated onboard Pakistan Navy Ship Moawin, which is fitted with state of the art medical facilities. Establishment of Medical Camp by Pakistan Navy was widely appreciated and generated tremendous goodwill amongst local populace. A reception dinner was also hosted onboard Pakistan Navy Ship. Senior Officers of Kenyan Navy along with a large number of diplomatic corps and prominent local community attended the event. On the occasion, deteriorating situation and human rights violations being committed by Indian Armed Forces against innocent people in Indian Occupied Kashmir (loK) were highlighted. Later, an exercise between Kenyan Navy and Pakistan Navy Ships was also conducted in Kenyan waters to enhance naval collaboration. The ongoing deployment of Pakistan Navy Ships to Africa is aimed at further strengthening friendly ties with African Countries, extending humanitarian assistance and developing interoperability with the host Navies. APP/pas/ 20200112 : TAG = DEB : Log No. = 2 : Time = 20:56/21:20 Many investors are still learning about the various metrics that can be useful when analysing a stock. This article is for those who would like to learn about Return On Equity (ROE). We'll use ROE to examine DHT Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DHT), by way of a worked example. Over the last twelve months DHT Holdings has recorded a ROE of 1.2%. One way to conceptualize this, is that for each $1 of shareholders' equity it has, the company made $0.01 in profit. See our latest analysis for DHT Holdings How Do You Calculate Return On Equity? The formula for return on equity is: Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) Shareholders' Equity Or for DHT Holdings: 1.2% = US$9.8m US$837m (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. Shareholders' equity can be calculated by subtracting the total liabilities of the company from the total assets of the company. What Does ROE Signify? Return on Equity measures a company's profitability against the profit it has kept for the business (plus any capital injections). The 'return' is the yearly profit. That means that the higher the ROE, the more profitable the company is. So, all else being equal, a high ROE is better than a low one. That means it can be interesting to compare the ROE of different companies. Does DHT Holdings Have A Good ROE? One simple way to determine if a company has a good return on equity is to compare it to the average for its industry. Importantly, this is far from a perfect measure, because companies differ significantly within the same industry classification. As is clear from the image below, DHT Holdings has a lower ROE than the average (12%) in the Oil and Gas industry. NYSE:DHT Past Revenue and Net Income, January 12th 2020 That's not what we like to see. We'd prefer see an ROE above the industry average, but it might not matter if the company is undervalued. Nonetheless, it could be useful to double-check if insiders have sold shares recently. Story continues The Importance Of Debt To Return On Equity Most companies need money -- from somewhere -- to grow their profits. The cash for investment can come from prior year profits (retained earnings), issuing new shares, or borrowing. In the case of the first and second options, the ROE will reflect this use of cash, for growth. In the latter case, the use of debt will improve the returns, but will not change the equity. That will make the ROE look better than if no debt was used. DHT Holdings's Debt And Its 1.2% ROE DHT Holdings clearly uses a significant amount of debt to boost returns, as it has a debt to equity ratio of 1.15. The combination of a rather low ROE and significant use of debt is not particularly appealing. Investors should think carefully about how a company might perform if it was unable to borrow so easily, because credit markets do change over time. The Bottom Line On ROE 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. If two companies have around the same level of debt to equity, and one has a higher ROE, I'd generally prefer the one with higher ROE. But when a business is high quality, the market often bids it up to a price that reflects this. Profit growth rates, versus the expectations reflected in the price of the stock, are a particularly important to consider. So you might want to take a peek at this data-rich interactive graph of forecasts for the company. Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies. 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. West Ramps Up Pressure On Iran Over Crash Probe By RFE/RL January 11, 2020 The West turned up the heat on Iran over the crash of a Ukrainian airliner outside of Tehran, with the United States saying it is "likely" that an Iranian missile shot down the craft and vowing to "take appropriate action in response." Meanwhile, Canada's foreign minister on January 10 announced the formation of an international working group of countries to press Iran for a thorough investigation into the crash, which counted 57 Canadians among the dead, a figure revised down from an earlier death toll of 63. All 176 on board the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight were killed when it crashed shortly after takeoff from the Tehran airport en route to Kyiv. Initial reports blamed a technical malfunction, but Western leaders and experts say they are increasingly convinced based on intelligence information that it was shot down by an Iranian missile, likely by mistake. 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. That led many experts to suspect Iranian antiaircraft batteries mistook the airliner for a U.S. warplane on a retaliatory mission over Tehran. Iran has vehemently denied one of its missiles shot down the plane, saying it was an "impossible" suggestion. "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 news conference. "If they [Western leaders] are really sure, they should come and show their findings to the world" in accordance with international standards, he added. U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo on January 10 said that "we do believe it is likely that that plane was shot down by an Iranian missile," echoing remarks by Canadian and British officials. Pompeo said a probe into the incident would continue and that, when it is completed, he was "confident that we and the world will take appropriate action as a response." Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that "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. Western intelligence services may be reluctant to share information on a strike because it comes from highly classified sources. Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said Canada has formed a coordination group with Britain, Ukraine, Sweden, and Afghanistan to help families of victims. Many of the Canadians killed were from the country's large Iranian community. Other victims were initially listed as 82 Iranians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans, and three Britons. There were also 11 Ukrainians on board, including nine crew. Champagne said Iran has granted Canada just two visas for government officials. But he expects more will be approved soon so that Canada's Transportation Safety Board can participate in the investigation. Iran has also invited experts from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board and Boeing, along with representatives from France, Britain, and Ukraine, but it is uncertain as to the level of access they will have. Many Western experts expressed concerns that the probe may already have been compromised by the removal of wreckage from the crash site. With reporting by AP, AFP, Reuters, and dpa Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/us-canada- pressure-iran-ukraine-plane-crash -missile-cause/30371410.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 John Bel Edwards was on the ballot last fall, but according to much of the rhetoric out of Republicans who opposed him, the campaigns actual bogeymen were a group that they insist the governor represents: trial lawyers. Blamed for everything from high car insurance rates to regulations on the oil and gas industry, these attorneys, to hear their critics tell it, are so destructive that they border on being un-American. That certainly was the implication of GOP gubernatorial candidate Eddie Rispones claim that Edwards revered alma mater, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, should be ashamed to claim him as an alum. You know, I think hes hurting the reputation of West Point, Rispone said. I dont think West Point wants to turn out a bunch of trial lawyers that will say or do anything to say in power. That allegation was a low point in a campaign that featured few high ones. It was also a window into a certain obsessiveness in the circles in which Rispone travels, centered on long-stalled legislation to change the way courts handle car wrecks. This legislation is heavily backed by tort reform proponents such as the powerful Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, who insist that changing the rules would cut down on trial lawyer-instigated litigation and therefore lower the high insurance rates that Louisianans pay. Others, including from the insurance industry, make convincing cases that the proposed changes wouldnt directly lead to lower rates. Rispone lost the governor race, but these folks got two big wins last fall: a veto-proof Republican majority in the state Senate and just short of that in the House. They have called tort reform a top priority in the term that starts Monday. And so theres a certain irony in the fact that these same forces including Lane Grigsby, a wealthy Baton Rouge donor whos close to Rispone and influential with LABI are urging House Republicans to elect a speaker who pursues the sort of personal injury cases they detest for a living. That would be state Rep. Sherman Mack, R-Albany, a Republican with a strong LABI record but one who advertises his professional services to people looking to sue. Did you or a loved one receive physical or emotional harm from careless or intentional acts? Most often, this happens in car accidents, but personal injury law covers countless situations, including defective products, trips and falls, industrial diseases, or medical malpractice, his firms website promises. Let us represent you and bring negligent offenders to justice. Dont let an insurance company mislead you into taking less than you deserve. Mack is one of two candidates for the speakers job, and hes also favored by U.S. Sen. John Kennedy and Attorney General Jeff Landry, who are pushing Republican House members to unite behind a single candidate so that the chambers new leader doesnt have to make any concessions to Democrats. The other is Clay Schexnayder, R-Gonzales, who is arguing that the House should be independent not only from the Democratic governor but from outside Republicans and interest groups. Because neither has nailed down a majority, both are appealing to Democrats for support, a dynamic Edwards has to be enjoying from afar. If Edwards overplayed his hand by supporting a Democrat for speaker in 2016, Republicans who want to deny Democrats any influence at all apparently did so this time around. Its by no means the only point of contention, but one issue in the race for votes is Macks job. A PAC run by Kennedy and Landry put out a video accusing one possibly wavering lawmaker, state Rep. Stuart Bishop of Lafayette, of not supporting the candidate it claims to be the true Republican. A competing PAC is portraying Mack as a fox guarding the hen house and urging Bishop to stay strong. None of this, of course, addresses why car insurance rates are so high here and whether the Legislature can do anything about it. The very idea that Mack could emerge as the leader of the anti-trial lawyer crowd makes it clear that the fights more about political power than policy. But then, isnt it always? Both sides in Libya's conflict agreed to a ceasefire from Sunday to end nine months of fighting following weeks of international diplomacy and calls for a truce by power-brokers Russia and Turkey. The oil-rich North African country has been wracked by bloody turmoil since a NATO-backed uprising killed long-time dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, with multiple foreign powers now involved. Since April last year, the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli has been under attack from forces loyal to eastern-based strongman Khalifa Haftar, which days ago captured the strategic coastal city of Sirte. Late on Saturday, Haftar's forces announced a ceasefire starting at midnight (Sunday 00:00 local time, Saturday 2200 GMT) in line with a joint call by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Early Sunday the head of the GNA, Fayez al-Sarraj, also announced his acceptance of the ceasefire, saying it had taken effect at the start of Sunday. The UN mission in Libya welcomed the announcements and called on all parties "to respect the ceasefire" and to support efforts to launch an inter-Libyan dialogue. Likewise, the Arab League called on Libya's factions to "commit to stop the fighting, work on alleviating all forms of escalations and engage in good faith aimed at reaching permanent arrangements for a ceasefire." Since the start of the offensive against Tripoli, more than 280 civilians have been killed, 2,000 fighters have died and 146,000 Libyans have been displaced, according to the United Nations. Diplomatic offensive Fighters of a battalion loyal to Libyan General Khalifa Haftar pictured in the eastern city of Benghazi in December 2019. Both sides in Libya's conflict agreed to a ceasefire that started early Sunday. By Abdullah DOMA (AFP/File) Sarraj stressed the GNA's "legitimate right ... to respond to any attack or aggression" that may come from the other side, while Haftar's forces warned of a "severe" response to any violation by the "opposing camp". Artillery fire could be heard shortly after midnight in the capital, before quiet settled over the southern Tripoli suburb where pro-GNA forces have been resisting Haftar's offensive. No ceasefire monitoring mechanism has been announced, but the GNA leader called for both sides to "prepare ceasefire measures under the aegis of the UN", without providing further details. The ceasefire comes after a diplomatic offensive, led by Ankara and Moscow, which have established themselves as key players in Libya, supporting opposing sides. Ankara deployed military support to the GNA in January. Russia has been accused of backing pro-Haftar forces, which are also supported by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, all regional rivals of Turkey. Erdogan and Putin called for a truce at a meeting on Wednesday in Istanbul, and Turkey on Saturday asked Russia to convince Haftar, who had initially vowed to fight on, to respect it. Fears of a 'second Syria' Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met last week in Istanbul. By Alexey DRUZHININ (SPUTNIK/AFP/File) Europe and North Africa have also launched a diplomatic offensive to try to prevent Libya, with the increased involvement of international players in its conflict, from turning into a "second Syria". European governments, also including former colonial power Italy, are concerned that Islamist militants and migrant smugglers, already highly active in Libya, will take further advantage of the chaos. The US embassy in Libya, in a statement Saturday, voiced its "serious concern about toxic foreign interference in the conflict". It said "Russian mercenaries" had backed Haftar's Libyan Arab Armed Forces while "Turkish-supported Syrian fighters" had backed the GNA, a development that had "significantly degraded security, to the detriment of all Libyans". It continued: "All responsible Libyan parties should end this dangerous escalation and reject the destructive involvement by foreign forces." On Saturday Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met in Moscow and called for international efforts to address the crisis in Libya. Merkel said she hoped "the Turkish-Russian efforts will be successful," calling a ceasefire a first step in a peace process. Putin and Merkel both backed a Libya peace conference in Berlin being organised by UN special envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, which could be held in the coming weeks. Putin on Saturday again denied Russia had deployed mercenaries to Libya, saying: "if there are Russians there, they do not represent the interests of the Russian state and do not receive money from it." Fortunately, options for fortifying the F.D.A. abound. For instance, laws that would make it easier for regulators to police the cosmetics industry and to hold medical device companies to account have been floating through Congress for years. A group of former F.D.A. commissioners last year proposed an even bolder fix: Restore the agencys autonomy by extracting it from the Department of Health and Human Services. The F.D.A.s decisions used to be final, but for decades now they have been subject to layers of political interference. Making the agency independent, as the Federal Reserve and the Social Security Administration are, could help reverse that trend. But for these or other worthy ideas to get a fair hearing, Congress will have to step in, and the president and the electorate will need to come to terms with the essential role of regulations in protecting the nations food and drug supply. In the meantime, the challenge of steering the F.D.A. will fall to Dr. Hahn. He will not have nearly enough resources to carry out the agencys stated mission no commissioner ever does. But he will not be completely powerless, either. Here are four things Dr. Hahn would do well to keep in mind as he takes the reins. Stay vocal. Dr. Hahns predecessor, Dr. Gottlieb, managed to keep a spotlight on his chosen priorities namely e-cigarette regulations and generic drug development with a relentless and multifaceted public messaging campaign. He tweeted, he blogged, he gave speeches and he communicated openly and regularly with the press. Dr. Gottlieb did not achieve all of his goals in fact his e-cigarette strategy backfired, badly. But he made the F.D.A. less opaque, and he gave the agency an urgently needed voice. Dr. Hahn will have an easier time defending the agency, and keeping it relevant, if he fosters the same transparency. Slow down on drug and device approvals. The F.D.A. has made several compromises in recent years such as accepting real world or surrogate evidence in lieu of traditional clinical trial data that have enabled increasingly dubious medical products to seep into the marketplace. Dr. Hahn ought to take a fresh look at some of these shifting standards and commit to abandoning the ones that dont work. That will almost certainly mean that the approval process slows down and thats O.K. Stand up for science. As reporting from the medical news website Stat and other outlets suggests, the F.D.A. has become too susceptible to outside pressure. Regulators approved a powerful new opioid at the Department of Defenses urging, fast-tracked a dubious antidepressant after President Trump praised it, and reversed its decision to reject a muscular dystrophy drug after patient groups complained loudly. Such kowtowing hardly inspires confidence. Scientific evidence (or the lack thereof) needs to be the deciding factor in any final regulations from the F.D.A. That means saying no to politicians and drug and device makers as well as patients groups when their demands are not supported by the agencys own findings. It also means holding companies to account when they fail to complete postmarket studies, or when their products prove faulty or dangerous. Follow through on existing commitments. The F.D.A. has yet to issue guidelines for the regulation of increasingly popular CBD products after promising to do so by the end of 2019. E-cigarette makers are supposed to submit their applications for market approval to the agency by May. And a regulatory grace period that the agency granted to so-called stem cell clinics back in 2017 is set to expire this year; when it does, regulators will need to figure out how to police nearly 1,000 businesses selling injections and other treatments that have not proved to work and that have already caused some patients serious harm. Dr. Hahn would build a lot of good will if he showed the F.D.A.s critics and the public at large that he takes all of these deadlines seriously. By PTI GUWAHATI: Opposition leader in the Assam Assembly Debabrata Saikia on Saturday asked Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to quit the BJP along with his MLAs and form an alternate government in the state with support from the Congress. Saikia, the senior Congress leader, said the new government will be "anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act" and "anti-BJP". A day after the Union home ministry issued a gazette notification that the CAA will come into force from January 10, Saikia said if Sonowal along with his MLAs quits the BJP, his party will support them to ensure that a new government is formed with Sonowal as the chief minister. "In view of the current situation in Assam, Sonowal should leave the BJP and come out with just 30 of his MLAs as Independents. We will support him to form a new anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act and anti-BJP government in Assam. He will be made the Chief Minister again," Saikia told reporters. "BJP and its alliance partner Asom Gana Parishad have failed to keep their poll promises. Many of the ministers and MLAs who had joined BJP from All Assam Students Union had promised to implement the Assam Accord." "Let them revolt against the central BJP for their unwillingness to implement the Accord and come out of the BJP and we will support them to form an alternative government," Saikia suggested. Asked if Sonowal will continue to be the chief minister in the alternative government, the Congress leader said: "We have no opposition to it." "Sonowal is facing the wrath of the people for supporting the CAA. The MLAs and ministers who love Assam must quit the BJP and stand with the people of Assam. That is why I am making this proposal," Saikia said. After the Rajya Sabha passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill on December 11 last year, massive protests erupted in Assam and have continued across the state with people demanding that the Act be repealed. The people of Assam have termed the CAA as anti-secular and a threat to their existence, language and culture as it will grant citizenship to refugees from neighbouring Bangladesh who have settled in the state. Istanbul, Jan 12 : The head of the UN-recognised government in Libya will pay a visit to Turkey on Sunday, local media reported on Saturday evening. According to the state-run Anadolu agency, Fayez al-Sarraj, head of the Government of National Accord (GNA), is expected to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul, Xinhua news agency reported. The North African country has been torn by a raging civil war between the GNA based in the capital Tripoli and the Libyan National Army and its allies based in the east. Following a meeting in Istanbul on Wednesday, Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin called on all parties in Libya for the establishment of an immediate cease-fire as of January 12. Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Saturday said Ankara expects Moscow to convince Khalifa Haftar, commander of Libyan National Army, to comply with the cease-fire. Cavusoglu added that Ankara has done its part by persuading the GNA for the truce. Ankara and the GNA had signed a security and military cooperation agreements as well as a controversial maritime boundary memorandum at the end of November. Last week, Erdogan said that Turkey is "gradually" sending troops to Libya in line with the deal. Imperial Valley News Center Walmart Agrees to Amend National Hiring Practices to Protect Military Members Washington, DC - The Department of Justice announced Tuesday the resolution of a lawsuit in which Naval Petty Officer Third Class Lindsey Hunger alleged that Walmart violated her rights when it failed to offer her employment at the Walmart store located at 2545 Rimrock Avenue in Grand Junction, Colorado because of her upcoming Naval Reserve commitments. Ms. Hunger had alleged that Walmarts actions violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and United States Attorneys Office represented Petty Officer Hunger in the lawsuit. As part of the settlement, which includes backpay for Petty Officer Hunger, Walmart has agreed to review and revise its employment and internal hiring policies across the corporation. It has also agreed to revise the policies to include the following language: Walmart prohibits discrimination against individuals, including applicants, based on their military service (including required military training obligations) or membership in the uniformed services. Walmart will also ensure that all supervisors, managers, and administrative staff in the Grand Junction, Colorado store at issue receive training developed in consultation with the United States on the requirements of USERRA and on employees and service members rights and obligations under the statute." Walmart is one of the nations largest employers and scores of dedicated servicemembers all across the United States will benefit from this settlement and Walmarts agreement to update its employment and training practices, said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. On behalf of a grateful nation, the Department of Justice will continue aggressively to enforce the federal civil rights laws on behalf of all servicemembers, including the citizen-soldiers of our National Guard and Reserve. Their sacrifice to serve should never jeopardize their ability to earn a living. It is an honor to represent the men and women of our armed forces and ensure that their military training commitments do not deter employers from hiring them, said U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn for the District of Colorado. By obtaining Walmarts agreement to amend its national hiring practices, this case will have a lasting impact. This lawsuit stems from a complaint that Ms. Hunger filed with the United States Department of Labor, which, after an investigation by the Department of Labors Veterans Employment and Training Service, referred the matter to the Department of Justice. The Justice Departments Civil Rights Division, the United States Attorneys Office for the District of Colorado, and the Department of Labors Veterans Employment and Training Service all give high priority to the enforcement of servicemembers rights under USERRA. VV Balakrishna By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Notwithstanding TRS president K Chandrasekhar Raos warning that indiscipline would not be tolerated, rebel trouble continues to brew in the party ahead of the municipal elections. Denied party tickets, a large number of TRS aspirants have entered the electoral fray as rebels against official party candidates. As rebels pose a threat to the winning prospects of official candidates, TRS working president KT Rama Rao swung into action and had a day-long meeting with ministers and MLAs at Telangana Bhavan here on Saturday. He had one-on-one meetings with several Ministers and MLAs. After getting feedback from them, he spoke with some of the local leaders over phone and wanted them to ensure that the rebel candidates withdrew their nominations. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is January 14. Along with KTR, Chief Ministers political secretary Seri Subhash Reddy and party general secretary Palla Rajeshwar Reddy also interacted with party leaders. Former minister Jupally Krishna Rao was summoned to Telangana Bhavan on Saturday evening, with complaints pouring in that his followers filed nominations for 20 wards in Kollapur municipality as All India Forward Bloc candidates. Jupally and Kollapur MLA Beeram Harshavardhan Reddy, who joined the party after 2018 elections, do not see eye to eye. Harshvardhan Reddy allotted tickets to his followers ignoring Jupally. Upset over this, followers of Jupally filed papers as rebel candidates. After meeting KTR, Jupally said his leader would always be Chandrasekhar Rao and added that any differences with his colleague could be ironed out as they were like a family. There was still time for withdrawal of nominations, Jupally said. Meanwhile, Rama Rao directed Ministers, MLAs and other senior leaders to strive hard for the victory of party candidates in the polls. With the last date for filing nominations having come to an end, he asked them to take up door-to-door campaign and explain to the voters the development and welfare schemes of the TRS government. He said that senior leaders should campaign in their nearest municipalities. While exuding confidence of bagging majority of municipalities and corporations, Rama Rao wanted the leaders to work in tandem for the victory of party candidates. KT Rama Rao distributes B-forms to candidates TRS working president and MAUD Minister KT Rama Rao handed over B-forms to TRS municipal candidates in Sircilla, at Telangana Bhavan on Saturday. The TRS allotted 91 per cent of its tickets to candidates belonging to Backward Classes here. Of the total 39 wards in Sircilla, four seats are reserved. Of the remaining 35 seats, 32 seats were allotted to the BCs. Speaking on the occasion, Rama Rao said that the TRS would emerge victorious in Sircilla. He constituted a special team with TRS leaders to ensure the partys victory Both sides in Libya conflict accept ceasefire President of Libya\'s UN-recognised Government of National Accord, Fayez al-Sarraj (L), has announced a ceasefire AFP, Tripoli : Both sides in Libya's conflict agreed to a ceasefire that started early Sunday following weeks of international diplomacy and calls for a truce by power-brokers Russia and Turkey. The oil-rich North African country has been wracked by bloody turmoil since a NATO-backed uprising killed long-time dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011. Since April last year, the Tripoli-based, UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) has been under attack from forces loyal to eastern-based strongman Khalifa Haftar, which days ago advanced to take the strategic coastal city of Sirte. Late Saturday Haftar forces announced a ceasefire starting at the stroke of midnight (Sunday 00:00 local time, Saturday 2200 GMT) in line with a joint call by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Early Sunday the head of the GNA, Fayez al-Sarraj, also announced an agreement to the ceasefire, saying it had taken effect at the start of Sunday. Sarraj stressed the GNA's "legitimate right to respond to any attack or aggression" that may come from the other side - just as Haftar forces had warned of a "severe" response to any violation by the "opposing camp". Artillery fire could be heard shortly after midnight from the centre of the capital, before quiet settled over the southern Tripoli suburb where pro-GNA forces have been resisting Haftar's offensive launched April 4, 2019. Erdogan and Putin had called for a ceasefire at a meeting on Wednesday in Istanbul, and Turkey on Saturday asked Russia to convince Haftar, who had initially vowed to fight on, to respect it. Ankara deployed military support to the GNA in January, while Russia has been accused of supporting pro-Haftar forces, which are also backed by the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. Europe and North Africa have launched a diplomatic offensive to try to prevent Libya, with the increased involvement of international players in its conflict, from turning into a "second Syria". European governments are concerned that Islamist militants and migrant smugglers, already highly active in Libya, will take further advantage of the chaos. On Saturday Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met in Moscow and called for international efforts to address the crisis in Libya. Merkel, making her first visit to Russia since 2018, said she hoped "the Turkish-Russian efforts will be successful," calling a ceasefire a first step in a peace process. Putin and Merkel both backed a Libya peace conference in Berlin being organised by UN special envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, which could be held in the coming weeks. Both Russia and Turkey have emerged as key players in Libya. While Turkey has sent defence equipment and troops to support the UN-backed Tripoli government, Moscow is accused of backing mercenaries supporting Haftar. Putin on Saturday reiterated Moscow's denial of this, saying: "if there are Russians there, they do not represent the interests of the Russian state and do not receive money from it." In another sign of the diplomatic push for a ceasefire, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte met Gen Haftar in the Italian city of Rome. Mr Conte had also been due to meet Libya's UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj but the meeting was scrapped. Government sources told the Reuters news agency that it appeared Mr al-Serraj called off the meeting after being incorrectly told that the Italians wanted him to meet Gen Haftar during the trip. Mr al-Serraj was earlier in the European Union (EU) capital, Brussels, for talks with Mr Maas and EU officials. "We want to avoid Libya becoming the scene of proxy wars," Mr Maas said. "Libya cannot become a second Syria and so we need rapidly to enter a political process, an agreement on an effective ceasefire and an arms embargo," he added. Mr Serraj has the backing of Turkey, the Qatar and most Western powers, while Gen Haftar's key allies are Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Russia. Gen Haftar's forces have also waged a months-long offensive to capture the capital, Tripoli, but have so far failed to take it. Libya currently has rival administrations: the UN-backed government in Tripoli, and the Gen Haftar-backed government in the eastern city of Tobruk. Libya first descended into conflict after the overthrow and killing of long-serving ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, as rival faction jostled for power. Rocking Star Yash recently spoke about his experience working with Sanjay Dutt in the highly anticipated KGF: Chapter 2. The second installment of the KGF franchise has been written and directed by Prashanth Neel. It is all set to release in the second half of 2020. Sanjay Dutt will be seen portraying the role of the chief antagonist named Adheera. Interestingly, the actor was also approached for KGF: Chapter 1, but he had turned down the offer back then. But after the massive pan-India success of the first film, the Munna Bhai of Bollywood agreed to come on board for the second part of the multilingual movie. In a recent interview, Yash spoke about Sanjay Dutt and revealed, "He is blown away by the efforts put in by the team on the project. He is amazed at the enthusiasm that each person has on the sets. Looking at our work, he told me 'I have never seen this anywhere. I am not exaggerating but you guys are crazy. He used to be on time and dedicatedly work from morning to evening. He is enjoying working with us." On being quizzed about his look in the upcoming film, Yash added, "It is quite sophisticated outlook where I will be seen wearing suits and colorful dress. In the Chapter 1, I had intimidating character, this will be quite different one because his lifestyle has changed. The presentation will be different in Chapter 2." (sic) KGF: Chapter 2 is being produced by Hombale Films. It also stars Srinidhi Shetty, Raveena Tandon and veteran actor Anant Nag in pivotal roles ALSO READ: Yash Says KGF: Chapter 2 Will Satisfy Expectations; Makers Unveil Second Poster On Actor's Birthday ALSO READ: KGF: Chapter 2 Teaser Won't Release On January 8; Prashanth Neel Apologises To Yashs Fans It was a tense week in Washington, Tehran and Baghdad. A U.S. drone strike in Iraq killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Quds Force. Iran retaliated with missile strikes against two U.S. bases in Iraq. There were no casualties. President Donald Trump said the strike against Soleimani was justified because of intelligence that pointed to an imminent attack against U.S. diplomats. But the administration provided limited evidence to Congress, causing Republican Sen. Mike Lee, of Utah, to call the classified briefing he received an unmitigated disaster. Democrats in the House of Representatives, seeing the drone strike as another impulsive act by the president, pushed through a resolution under the War Powers Act requiring Trump to consult with Congress before engaging in more hostilities with Iran. Under the Constitution, Congress has the sole power to declare war, but it has rarely invoked it. The resolution was symbolic; it is not likely to pass the GOP-led Senate. Other topics in the cartoons include the royal rift resulting Prince Harry and his American wife, Meghan Markle, stepping back from their duties and moving to North America; the start of former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinsteins sexual assault trial in New York City; and Australias raging bush fires. Cartoons were drawn by Bill Bramhall, Dan Wasserman, Dana Summers, Drew Sheneman, Scott Stantis, Walt Handelsman, David Horsey, Joel Pett and Joey Weatherford of Tribune Content Agency; and A.F. Branco, Mike Luckovich and Michael Ramirez of Creators Syndicate. View more editorial cartoon galleries. By now, you have to concede that Donald Trump was right when he said he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and get away with it. So, what is Sen. Mitch McConnell worried about? Why is he fighting so hard to block witnesses like John Bolton from testifying during the impeachment trial? Because politics in America is a game of inches. If only 5 percent of Trumps voters defect in November, hes toast. He can keep the other 95 percent. Maybe there is a small percentage that can still move, says Julian Zelizer, a professor of politics and history at Princeton. A small percentage was relevant in the mid-terms, and relevant in the 2016 election. It could be all thats needed to win the White House. Republicans are throwing up all kinds of preposterous reasons why Bolton should not testify. They are degrading themselves. Bolton has said he has important information to share and would agree to testify if the Senate asks. Hes jumping up and down, waving his arms. And hes the guy who actually spoke to Trump about it. Remember how House Republicans kept saying that all those diplomats who described the abuses of power could be ignored because none of them spoke explicitly about it to Trump personally? Bolton just called that bluff. The bank teller is ready to testify about the identify of the bank robber. Does the Senate want to hear it? Under Senate rules, that will be decided by a majority vote, meaning Democrats would need four Republicans to join them. Ross Baker, a professor of politics at Rutgers, thinks they have a decent chance. Heres a look at the most likely defections: Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska lost the Republican nomination to a Trumpster in 2010 and won as an independent. Republicans in the Senate were ready to push her off on an ice floe, Baker says. Ever since, shes been willing to stick a thumb in their eye. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine relies on Democratic votes to win in Maine, and many of them already want to strangle her for supporting Brett Kavanaughs nomination to the Supreme Court. If she can appear to not follow the Trump bandwagon, that will help her, Baker says. Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado, a purple state, might want to cover his rear as well. And Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah oozes disdain for Trump and is untouchable at home. Hes still trying to settle scores with Trump, Baker says. In the House, Democrats are watching this in frustration, given that Bolton declined to testify at their hearings. Before Speaker Nancy Pelosi tipped her move Friday to transmit articles of impeachment to the Senate sometime this week, some in her caucus pushed for the House to issue its own subpoena, and legal experts say Boltons stated willingness to testify before the Senate would compel him to obey a House subpoena. Bolton has effectively waived any argument against testifying should the House subpoena him, the scholar Heidi Kitrosser told the Washington Post. All this convinces me that Pelosi was right to withhold the impeachment from the Senate during these last three weeks. It sounded nuts to me at first, a partisan move that diminished the seriousness of the moment. But look whats happened? First Murkowski stepped up and said she was disturbed by McConnells plans. Then the New York Times revealed the existence of emails showing White House fingerprints on the decision to withhold $390 million in military aid from Ukraine as part of the extortion attempt. And now Bolton. All of it focused discussion on McConnells determination to fix the trial in Trumps favor. The delay was really a way to highlight this, Zelizer says. If this went to the Senate, and the Senate killed it in a day, this would be over. Now its pretty clear what exactly the Senate is doing and why they are doing it. Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-7th, was the first Democrat from Jersey to call for impeachment hearings, a risky move for a freshman in a swing district. Now, he says the House should be ready to subpoena Bolton. John Bolton is perhaps the most critical witness, and we need to hear from him, Malinowski says. I would support the idea of the House subpoenaing him of the Senate does not. Its under discussion. Will it make a difference? Trumps supporters stuck with him when they heard him brag about sexually assaulting women on the Access Hollywood recordings, and theyve stuck with him ever since. His approval rating is 45 percent, on average, exactly what it was a few weeks after he took office. Still, 47 percent want him impeached and removed. Its a game of inches. In 2016, his victory margins in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin were all less than 1 percent. Lets hear from Bolton, in one house or the other. More: Tom Moran columns Tom Moran may be reached at tmoran@starledger.com or call (973) 836-4909. Follow him on Twitter @tomamoran. Find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], Jan 12 (ANI): A Khalistani terror suspect arrested by the Bengaluru police has been handed over to Punjab Police on Sunday. The suspect Jarnail Singh was residing as a paying guest in Sampigehalli, Bengaluru for the last four months and was working in a software company. Punjab Police had received a tip-off about Jarnail Singh's presence in Bengaluru which was shared with the Bengaluru Police's Central Crime Branch. After investigation on Saturday, CCB arrested Singh from his PG and handed over to the team of Punjab Police. (ANI) Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will embark on a visit to Iran and Saudi Arabia on January 13 to discuss the latest developments in the Middle East region. "He (Qureshi) will visit Riyadh on January 13 to hold talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and consult on the issues of regional peace and stability," a Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson was quoted by The Express Tribune, as saying on Saturday. The spokesperson said that Qureshi will meet his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif in Tehran and exchange views on the evolving situation in the Middle East region. Qureshi has already spoken to his counterparts from Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar, will undertake the visits on the direction of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. This visit comes in the backdrop of escalating US-Iran tensions after Soleimani, the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' elite Quds Force, was killed in a drone strike ordered by President Donald Trump at Baghdad International Airport in Iraq. Iran retailated by firing dozens of missiles at two US-led coalition bases in Iraq. However, no casualties were reported. Soleimani's death marked a dramatic escalation in tension between the US and Iran, which has often been at a fever pitch since US President Donald 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.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 05:59:22|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close TRIPOLI, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- The eastern-based army of Libya on Saturday announced cease-fire and stopping all the military operations against the UN-backed government in all western Libya. "The General Command of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces declares cease-fire and stop of military operations in the western region, starting from 00:01, Jan. 12, 2020, provided that the other party commits to cease-fire at this time," the eastern-based army said in a statement. "The response will be harsh in case of any breach to this truce," the statement said. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called on the Libyan rival parties to establish an immediate cease-fire and to stop all hostilities. The Tripoli-based UN-backed government welcomed the Turkish-Russian call, stressing the keenness to end the war and resume political process. The eastern-based army has been leading a military campaign in and around Tripoli since early April, trying to take over the city and topple the UN-backed government. Thousands have been killed and injured in the fighting, and more than 120,000 people fled their homes from the violence. Passenger Ba Lanru (R) and her grandson take the train No. 7505 in northwest China's Gansu Province on January 10, 2020. The train No. 7505, which travels from Lanzhou to Wuwei, is a four-carriage ordinary train. The train, which links more than a dozen small stations between Lanzhou and Wuwei, runs 290 kilometers in 5 hours and 27 minutes. The full fare is 18.5 yuan (about 2.7 U.S. dollars), with the lowest fare being 1 yuan. It has been running for nearly 40 years since the 1980s, carrying nearly 10 million passengers. During the Spring Festival travel season, the ordinary train offers passengers an alternative choice to go home at a cheap fare. [Xinhua/Ma Ning] A passenger looks out of the window of train No. 7505 at the Yongdeng Railway Station in Yongdeng County, northwest China's Gansu Province, January 10, 2020. The train No. 7505, which travels from Lanzhou to Wuwei, is a four-carriage ordinary train. The train, which links more than a dozen small stations between Lanzhou and Wuwei, runs 290 kilometers in 5 hours and 27 minutes. The full fare is 18.5 yuan (about 2.7 U.S. dollars), with the lowest fare being 1 yuan. It has been running for nearly 40 years since the 1980s, carrying nearly 10 million passengers. During the Spring Festival travel season, the ordinary train offers passengers an alternative choice to go home at a cheap fare. [Xinhua/Ma Ning] Passengers get off the train No. 7505 at the Yongdeng Railway Station in Yongdeng County, northwest China's Gansu Province, January 10, 2020. The train No. 7505, which travels from Lanzhou to Wuwei, is a four-carriage ordinary train. The train, which links more than a dozen small stations between Lanzhou and Wuwei, runs 290 kilometers in 5 hours and 27 minutes. The full fare is 18.5 yuan (about 2.7 U.S. dollars), with the lowest fare being 1 yuan. It has been running for nearly 40 years since the 1980s, carrying nearly 10 million passengers. During the Spring Festival travel season, the ordinary train offers passengers an alternative choice to go home at a cheap fare. [Xinhua/Ma Ning] College students chat on the train No. 7505 as they are on their way home for winter vacation in northwest China's Gansu Province, January 10, 2020. The train No. 7505, which travels from Lanzhou to Wuwei, is a four-carriage ordinary train. The train, which links more than a dozen small stations between Lanzhou and Wuwei, runs 290 kilometers in 5 hours and 27 minutes. The full fare is 18.5 yuan (about 2.7 U.S. dollars), with the lowest fare being 1 yuan. It has been running for nearly 40 years since the 1980s, carrying nearly 10 million passengers. During the Spring Festival travel season, the ordinary train offers passengers an alternative choice to go home at a cheap fare. [Xinhua/Ma Ning] The head of the train crew Chen Xi arranges luggage on the train No. 7505 in northwest China's Gansu Province on January 10, 2020. The train No. 7505, which travels from Lanzhou to Wuwei, is a four-carriage ordinary train. The train, which links more than a dozen small stations between Lanzhou and Wuwei, runs 290 kilometers in 5 hours and 27 minutes. The full fare is 18.5 yuan (about 2.7 U.S. dollars), with the lowest fare being 1 yuan. It has been running for nearly 40 years since the 1980s, carrying nearly 10 million passengers. During the Spring Festival travel season, the ordinary train offers passengers an alternative choice to go home at a cheap fare. [Xinhua/Ma Ning] Passengers prepare to get off the train No. 7505 before it arrives at Yongdeng Railway Station in northwest China's Gansu Province, January 10, 2020. The train No. 7505, which travels from Lanzhou to Wuwei, is a four-carriage ordinary train. The train, which links more than a dozen small stations between Lanzhou and Wuwei, runs 290 kilometers in 5 hours and 27 minutes. The full fare is 18.5 yuan (about 2.7 U.S. dollars), with the lowest fare being 1 yuan. It has been running for nearly 40 years since the 1980s, carrying nearly 10 million passengers. During the Spring Festival travel season, the ordinary train offers passengers an alternative choice to go home at a cheap fare. [Xinhua/Ma Ning] Passenger Zhang Xueping (1st, R) and his wife feed their child on the train No. 7505 in northwest China's Gansu Province on January 10, 2020. The train No. 7505, which travels from Lanzhou to Wuwei, is a four-carriage ordinary train. The train, which links more than a dozen small stations between Lanzhou and Wuwei, runs 290 kilometers in 5 hours and 27 minutes. The full fare is 18.5 yuan (about 2.7 U.S. dollars), with the lowest fare being 1 yuan. It has been running for nearly 40 years since the 1980s, carrying nearly 10 million passengers. During the Spring Festival travel season, the ordinary train offers passengers an alternative choice to go home at a cheap fare. [Xinhua/Ma Ning] Passengers get off the train No. 7505 at the Yongdeng Railway Station in Yongdeng County, northwest China's Gansu Province, January 10, 2020. The train No. 7505, which travels from Lanzhou to Wuwei, is a four-carriage ordinary train. The train, which links more than a dozen small stations between Lanzhou and Wuwei, runs 290 kilometers in 5 hours and 27 minutes. The full fare is 18.5 yuan (about 2.7 U.S. dollars), with the lowest fare being 1 yuan. It has been running for nearly 40 years since the 1980s, carrying nearly 10 million passengers. During the Spring Festival travel season, the ordinary train offers passengers an alternative choice to go home at a cheap fare. [Xinhua/Ma Ning] Train conductor Qiu Shuping helps passengers get off the train No. 7505 at the Yongdeng Railway Station in northwest China's Gansu Province, January 10, 2020. The train No. 7505, which travels from Lanzhou to Wuwei, is a four-carriage ordinary train. The train, which links more than a dozen small stations between Lanzhou and Wuwei, runs 290 kilometers in 5 hours and 27 minutes. The full fare is 18.5 yuan (about 2.7 U.S. dollars), with the lowest fare being 1 yuan. It has been running for nearly 40 years since the 1980s, carrying nearly 10 million passengers. During the Spring Festival travel season, the ordinary train offers passengers an alternative choice to go home at a cheap fare. [Xinhua/Ma Ning] Train conductor Zhang Guoxing puts coal into the boiler for heating on the train No. 7505 in northwest China's Gansu Province on January 10, 2020. The train No. 7505, which travels from Lanzhou to Wuwei, is a four-carriage ordinary train. The train, which links more than a dozen small stations between Lanzhou and Wuwei, runs 290 kilometers in 5 hours and 27 minutes. The full fare is 18.5 yuan (about 2.7 U.S. dollars), with the lowest fare being 1 yuan. It has been running for nearly 40 years since the 1980s, carrying nearly 10 million passengers. During the Spring Festival travel season, the ordinary train offers passengers an alternative choice to go home at a cheap fare. [Xinhua/Ma Ning] (Source: Xinhua) Iran regrets human error, promises to punish guilty. Tehran: Iran said on Saturday thta it unintentionally shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing all 176 people aboard, in an abrupt about-turn after initially denying Western claims it was struck by a missile. President Hassan Rouhani said a military probe into the tragedy had found missiles fired due to human error brought down the Boeing 737, calling it an unforgivable mistake. Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei offered his condolences and ordered the armed forces to address shortcomings so that such a disaster does not happen again. The acknowledgement came after officials in Iran had for days categorically denied Western claims that the Ukraine International Airlines plane had been struck by a missile in a catastrophic error. The jet, which had been bound for Kiev, slammed into a field shortly after taking off from Tehrans Imam Khomeini International Airport before dawn on Wednesday. It came only hours after Iran launched a wave of missiles at bases hosting American forces in Iraq in response to the killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike. The aerospace commander of Irans Revolutionary Guards accepted full responsibility. But Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said the missile operator acted independently, shooting down the Boeing 737 after mistaking it for a cruise missile. The operator failed to obtain approval from his superiors because of disruptions to his communications system, he said. He had 10 seconds to decide. He could have decided to strike or not to strike and under such circumstances he took the wrong decision. It was a short-range missile that exploded next to the plane, Hajizadeh added. Iran had come under mounting international pressure to allow a credible investigation after video footage emerged appearing to show the plane being hit by a fast-moving object before a flash appears. Ukraine, Canada, Sweden and Afghanistan called for accountability after Irans admission. British Prime Minister Boris Johnston said Irans acknowledgement was an important first step. The military was first to admit the error, saying the aircraft had been mistaken for a hostile target. It said Iran had been at the highest level of alert after American threats and that the plane had turned and come close to a sensitive military site before it was hit due to human error. Rouhani said that Iran had been on alert for possible US attacks after Soleimanis martyrdom. Iran is very much saddened by this catastrophic mistake and I, on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran, express my deep condolences to the families of victims of this painful catastrophe, the president said. Rouhani added he had ordered all relevant bodies to take all necessary actions (to ensure) compensation to the families of those killed. The perpetrators of this unforgivable mistake will be prosecuted. The majority of passengers on the flight PS752 were dual national Iranian-Canadians but also included Ukrainians, Afghans, Britons and Swedes. - Calls for transparency - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded Iran punish those responsible for the downing of the plane and pay compensation. We expect Iran... to bring the guilty to the courts, he said on Facebook, before his office announced he would speak later on the phone with Rouhani. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau demanded transparency, and justice for the families and loved ones of the victims. This is a national tragedy, and all Canadians are mourning together. Sweden demanded a complete and transparent probe while Afghanistan said families of 13 of its citizens killed in the tragedy deserve answers. A father of triplets is getting attention after his clever way to wash baby bottles was shared over 160,000 times on Facebook. Aerol Peterson, proud dad to 7-month-old triplets Natashia, Arya and Trae, was recorded by his wife Christy as he washed the bottles using a power drill. Peterson told "Good Morning America" he was able to fit one of the bottle brushes on to the end of the tool, and Christy captured the moment for family and friends. PHOTO: Aerol Peterson, proud dad to Natashia, Arya and Trae, 7 months, from Lincoln, Nebraska, was recorded by his wife Christy as he washed the bottled using a power drill. (Christy Peterson) MORE: Moms swimsuit design epically solves every parent's beach-day debacle "She came home from grocery shopping and gave me this face like, 'What are you doing?'" Peterson of Lincoln, Nebraska, said of his wife. "I was already done with the dishes and [she asked me to] grab a couple more." PHOTO: Aerol and Christy Peterson of Lincoln, Nebraska, are seen in a recent photo with their triplets, Natashia, Arya and Trae, 7 months. (Christy Peterson) The video garnered thousands of comments and shares from parents across the globe. "Think of all the time we could of saved," one woman commented on Facebook, tagging her partner. PHOTO: Aerol Peterson, proud dad to Natashia, Arya and Trae, 7 months, from Lincoln, Nebraska, was recorded by his wife Christy as he washed the bottled using a power drill. (Christy Peterson) "Why didnt we think of this!" another parent wrote. MORE: 2-year-old unable to crawl now cruising thanks to dad's smart invention Peterson said he works in construction and is often using tools in unconventional ways. His most recent hack is cutting the amount of time it takes to wash the bottles his family uses per day. PHOTO: Natashia, Arya and Trae Peterson, 7 months, were born June 13, 2019, in Nebraska. (Christy Peterson) Peterson said he and his wife hope to show the video to their two daughters and son when they get older. Editor's note: This was originally published on Jan. 10, 2020. Dad with triplets comes up with genius hack to clean all those bottles originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com British ambassador to Iran arrested in Tehran - REX Britains ambassador to Iran, Rob Macaire, has been arrested and held for several hours after attending a vigil for the victims of the Ukraine plane crash which turned into a demonstration. Details of his arrest were announced by the countrys semi-official Tasnim news agency and prompted an angry response from Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab. "The arrest of our Ambassador in Tehran without grounds or explanation is a flagrant violation of international law, he said. "The Iranian government is at a crossroads moment. It can continue its march towards pariah status with all the political and economic isolation that entails, or take steps to deescalate tensions and engage in a diplomatic path forward." It is understood that the event which Mr Macaire attended had been advertised as a vigil at Amir Kabir University for the 176 victims of the Tehran plane crash last week. He and another member of the embassy staff left once the vigil turned into a protest. Britains ambassador to Iran, Rob Macaire Mr Macaire was arrested on his way back to the embassy after getting a haircut. He was held for three hours before being released, following the intervention of the Iranian foreign ministry. The Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard, claimed Mr Macaire was in the midst of the rally accusing him of trying to organise, instigate and direct some of the radical and destructive actions. It said Mr Macaire, who was safely back at the embassy is to be summoned and prosecuted on Sunday. An unverified photograph appeared to show Mr Macaire in a black coat and grey scarf sitting in the back of a van after his arrest. Mr Macaire has often been the target of Iranian government anger with the UK and he was summoned to the country's foreign ministry earlier this week for a formal protest over comments made by Boris Johnson. Protestors gather at Amir Kabir university in Tehran to show sympathy for victims of the Ukraine Interntaional Airlines plane crash Mr Macaire, 53, a Farsi speaker and Oxford history graduate, has been the UK ambassador to Iran since April 2018, succeeding Nicholas Hopton. He joined the Foreign Office in 1990. Story continues On taking his appointment Mr Macaire said he wanted to maintain Britain's continued engagement with Iran, which he described as "vital to our goal of making the Middle East region a safer and more stable place". He added that he looked forward "to working with the Government of Iran and with international partners to preserve the nuclear deal and deepen our bilateral relationship, through constructive engagement on human rights, trade, and seeking political solutions to the conflicts in Yemen, Syria and elsewhere. He previously served in Bucharest, Washington, New Delhi and in Nairobi where he was appointed British High Commissioner. Mr Macaire, who is married with two daughters, previously worked at the Ministry of Defence and also had a stint in the private sector, assuming the role of Director of Government/Public Affairs and Political Risk at BG Group plc. The mortality trends reflected in our current report, including the largest drop in overall cancer mortality ever recorded from 2016 to 2017, reflect prevention, early detection and treatment advances that occurred in prior years, Gary M. Reedy, the American Cancer Societys chief executive, said in a statement. Experts attributed the decline in mortality to reduced smoking rates and to advances in lung cancer treatment. New therapies for melanoma of the skin have also helped extend life for many people with metastatic disease, or cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. Mr. Reedy said that, since taking office, the president had signed multiple spending bills that increased funding for cancer research at the National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute. But, he said, the impact of those increases are not reflected in the data contained in this report. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday. Mr. Trumps critics pointed out that he had also proposed deep cuts in cancer research funding. In his first budget in 2017, he called for a reduction of $5.8 billion, or 18 percent, from the National Institutes of Health, which fund thousands of researchers working on cancer and other diseases. Congress rejected the cuts and members of both parties joined forces to increase spending on biomedical research. A 33-year-old Viroqua man was referred to the Monroe County District Attorney after police responded to a Nov. 24 traffic complaint. Jason P. Runice was referred for third-offense drunk driving, resisting an officer and driving with a prohibited blood-alcohol limit. Police responded shortly after 1:15 p.m. to a report of a vehicle on Interstate 94 north of Tomah that was all over the road. The vehicle, operated by Runice, exited at the Hwy. 12-21 interchange. Police followed Runices vehicle westbound on Hwy. 21, where it operated in the center of two-lane divided highway for about 100 yards. Runice then turned onto Buan Street and drove erratically for a short time before he pulled over in front of Hampton Inn. The report says Runice had glassy eyes and a blank expression. He responded slowly to an order to exit the truck. He refused an order from police to drop a lit cigarette that an officer believed could be used as a weapon. He resisted efforts to be placed in handcuffs, and police delivered a strong knee strike to his lower abdomen to gain compliance. Runice requested an ambulance after the knee strike. Runice submitted to neither a field sobriety test nor a preliminary breath test. Police obtained a search warrant for a blood draw, which was conducted at Tomah Health. In other Monroe County Sheriffs Office news: Wesley E. Boyles, 31, Sparta, was referred to the district attorney for multiple charges after a Nov. 5 traffic stop in the town of Sparta. Police observed a westbound vehicle on Hwy. 21 shortly before 10 a.m. with tree-shaped air fresheners hanging from the rear-view mirror and conducted a traffic stop for an obstructed-view violation. Boyles was identified as the driver. The report says he was smoking a cigarette, had slow, quiet speech and dilated pupils. He told police his drivers license had been revoked due to a drunk driving conviction. Police noticed an odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle, and a search was conducted. Police allegedly found a smoking device with partially burned marijuana, a grinder with a marijuana leaf emblem and the wording High Quality Designed in Amsterdam, a Ziploc bag with five grams of marijuana and a brown wooden one-hitter dugout box. Boyles was handcuffed and transported to the Monroe County Jail, where police conducted a field sobriety test. It took 42 seconds for him to estimate the passage of 30 seconds. Boyles was referred for possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, fifth-offense operating with a controlled substance, fifth-offense operating after revocation and failure to maintain an ignition interlock device. Benjamin George Warsaw, 31, Norwalk, was referred to the district attorney for violating a restraining order and bail jumping. The report says Warsaw self-reported a violation of a no-contact order Nov. 12. Daisy Maria Mendoza, 20, and Domatila Jazmine Mendoza, 18, both of Wilton, were referred to the district attorney for disorderly conduct and battery and a Nov. 12 disturbance at a village of Wilton residence. They are accused of a striking each other and throwing objects at each other during an argument. Daisy Mendoza was also referred for bail jumping. William T.B. Zahrte, 21, Warrens, was reportedly inside the residence in violation of a restraining order and was referred for bail jumping. Crystal D. Johnston, 39, and Tony R. Noodwang, 34, both of Wisconsin Rapids, were referred to the district attorney for drug charges after a Nov. 16 traffic stop in the town of LaGrange. Police observed a vehicle driven by Johnson around 8 p.m. traveling 64 mph in a 55 mph zone and conducted a traffic stop. The report says Johnson had glassy eyes and dilated pupils and was nervously moving around. Noodwang also appeared nervous. The report said his carotid artery was pulsating. Police conducted a search of the vehicle and found a plastic cup holder that was loose. Police pulled the holder up and allegedly found a zippered bag with a glass methamphetamine smoking device containing a small amount of un-smoked methamphetamine. Johnston reportedly said the drugs belonged to Noodwang, which he denied. He did, however, tell police he had given marijuana to Johnston and told her to stash it. Johnston then handed the marijuana to police. Johnson was referred for possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and bail jumping. Noodwang was referred for possession of marijuana and a probation violation. Matthew T. Rochester, 30, and David James Rochester, 31, both of Tomah, were referred to the district attorney for disorderly conduct and criminal damage to property after a Nov. 16 incident at a town of Byron residence. According to the report, the two got into a fight during which they exchanged punches and shattered the windows on each others vehicles. David Rochester had cuts from the broken glass and a significant amount of blood running down his arm but didnt require stitches. Police determined that Matthew Rochester was the primary aggressor. He ran into the woods after the incident and wouldnt talk to police. David Rochester said they were both intoxicated at the time of the fight. Eddie B. Sanders, 79, Sparta, was referred to the district attorney for bail jumping. He is accused of violating a bond condition that prohibits him from consuming alcohol. A preliminary breath test recorded a blood-alcohol level of .032. Seth James Rickman, 19, Sparta, and Daniel Brian Schultz-Rodriguez, 33, Kendall, were referred to the district attorney for battery by a prisoner and disorderly conduct after a Nov. 17 fight in the Monroe County Jail. They are accused of engaging in a verbal altercation before wrestling each other to the ground. Roger D. Sullivan, 31, and Alannah Jebet Jacquelin Brooks Lancaster, 24, both of Sparta, were referred to the district attorney for drug charges after police observed a vehicle in a ditch in the town of Sparta. As police lights shined the vehicle, its tires were spinning on the slick grass as Sullivan was trying to extricate the vehicle from the ditch. He motioned for police to go away but was still approached since he was a suspect in an unrelated incident earlier in the evening. The report says Sullivan was drowsy and that his pupils didnt respond after an officer shined a flashlight in his face. Police determined that Sullivan and Lancaster, a passenger, were likely under the influence of an intoxicant. Both appeared to be confused about where they were headed and how to get there. Police looked inside the vehicle and reportedly saw a hypodermic needle plunger and marijuana on the floorboard and later found five bags of marijuana and a Clanazepam pill on Lancaster and two syringes in the side door. The search also found a bag containing marijuana, one syringe and a glass methamphetamine pipe and a locked box that had two pill containers for suboxone, one prescribed to Sullivan and the other to Lancaster. There was $330 in cash tucked inside Sullivans container. Sullivan was given a field sobriety test, and multiple clues of intoxication were reported. Lancaster and Sullivan were both referred for possession of a narcotic drug and possession of drug paraphernalia. Lancaster was also referred for possession of marijuana and possession of an illegally obtained prescription, and Sullivan was also referred for operating after revocation and second-offense operating under the influence of an intoxicant. 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. Supporters of Nationalist or KMT party cheer as their candidate Han Kuo-yu Han arrives to concede defeat in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has won a second term, signaling strong voter support for her tough stance against China. Voters chose her stance against China over Han's arguments for friendlier ties with Beijing, which considers self-governing Taiwan a renegade province to be brought under its control, by force if necessary. AP China said Sunday that the world should abide by the idea that there is only one China, ruled by the Communist Party, after Taiwan reelected its democratic leader. ''We hope and believe that the international community will continue adhering to the One China principle, understand and support the just cause of Chinese people to oppose the secessionist activities for 'Taiwan independence' and realize national reunification,'' said a statement from Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party won in a landslide Saturday against pro-China Nationalist Party candidate Han Kuo-yu. Her victory speech warned China not to threaten force against the self-governed island. Fresh from a landslide reelection victory, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen met Sunday with the de facto US ambassador to Taipei, as China warned that countries should stick with recognising Communist-ruled Beijing as the rightful government of "One China," including Taiwan. William Brent Christensen, a US diplomat who is director of the American Institute in Taiwan, congratulated Tsai on her victory and she thanked him for his support. China considers self-governed Taiwan a part of its territory and opposes any official contact with the US as an interference in its domestic affairs. The US does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is legally bound to ensure that Taiwan can defend itself against threats. Tsai has sought closer relations with the US while pushing back against pressure from China, and the Trump administration has reciprocated. Since separating from China during civil war in 1949, Taiwan has developed its own identity but never declared formal independence. Beijing still claims sovereignty over the island of 23 million people and threatens to use force to seize control if necessary. Opposition party supporters 63 year-old Lin Li-li and her husband Wang Wen-long said they were disappointed but hoped Tsai would boost support for younger generations of Taiwan. Interior designer Rocky Hwang said election results mirror that of Hong Kong's local elections in November when voters pushed out pro-government representatives. Political commentator Wen Zhao said the opposition Nationalist Party has lost touch with the sentiment of Taiwan citizens who want to safeguard Taiwan's self-governance. Tsai's victory is a setback for Chinese President Xi Jinping at a time when Beijing is grappling with an economic slowdown and long-running, sometimes violent anti-government demonstrations in Hong Kong. Turmeric is usually used in cooking to add a spicy flavour to food, but it can also be used to treat gastric problems and to heal scars as well as a natural dye for traditional textiles in Vietnam. Nacumin and the industrialization of turmeric Students select fresh turmeric for starch production in a lab at the Da Nang-based Dong A College. Students and lecturers at the college have been researching and applying curcumin extraction from turmeric in pharmaceutical production. VNS Photo Cong Thanh Recent research has also found that curcumin a component extracted from turmeric - can be used to cure cancer and prevent other serious diseases. Lecturers and students at the food technology and biology faculty at Dong A College have successfully developed a cold-drying process for turmeric and a method to extract oil from the peel. The results help ease high-blood pressure, gastritis, wounds, cancer and improve skincare. Turmeric is usually processed after being ground down and heated, but we use a fridge set to 20-25 degrees Celsius. This process retains 1.39 per cent of the natural curcumin content in turmeric powder, said lecturer Nguyen Thi Viet Hai. Turmeric powder can be easily used as daily drink to prevent tumours and ulcers, reducing gastritis and helping women recover after giving birth, she said. Practical education Lecturer Nguyen Phuoc Minh said the cool dried turmeric would help boost business start-up among young students, and further scientific studies and research into turmeric and other spices. Minh said students could learn from their innovations to find different methods to produce medicine or functional food from spices after leaving college. We offer young students the chance to take part in research at the lab from their first year, and they can develop based on their initial projects. It means that students can put what they learn on paper into practice, he said. Following the project, farmers in Quang Nam Province a major supplier of turmeric can double from sales. They used to earn VND11,000 (US$0.5) from one kilo of fresh turmeric for cooking, but now they make more from their crops that are used for functional food or traditional medicine, Hai said. Turmeric starch produced from a research project involving lecturers and students at Dong A College in Da Nang. Every 100kg of fresh turmeric is processed into 3kg of cold-dried turmeric starch, while a bottle of 250ml is sold for VND180,000 ($7.8), Hai said. She said farmers could earn more from essential oils oil and compost from turmeric peel. Nano-curcumin Associate Professor Nguyen Minh Chinh, dean of the pharmacy faculty at Dong A College, said curcumin extracted from turmeric was a crucial part of the research project at the college. He said curcumin was widely used in pharmaceutical production, and cost VND100 million ($4,300) per kilo. Its expensive. Every three tonnes of turmeric only provides 1.5kg of curcumin and 30 litres of essential oils. Meanwhile, turmeric grown in the central and Central Highlands regions has a high rate of curcumin (about 98 per cent), Chinh said. A spice farm in Hoa Vang District, Da Nang. VNS Photo Cong Thanh Nano-curcumin pharmaceutical production could bring huge revenue of VND150 million ($6,500), five times as much as cooking ingredients, he speculated. I mean that turmeric can be extracted from the flesh, peel and essential oil. Nothing becomes waste, he said. Chinh, 65, said nano-curcumin pharmaceutical production would help develop a large farming industry in central Vietnam. Chairman of Dong A College Nguyen Thi Anh Dao said research into turmeric and nano-curcumin production had set a positive science-based curriculum for thousands of student in the central region. She said it would encourage students to conduct more research, while promising future career orientations after leaving college. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Linh, a third year student of biology and food technology faculty, said she had learnt a lot from studying the deeper components of turmeric. She said she enjoyed practical time in the lab working on different spices to produce functional food and cures for deadly diseases including cancer. Vo Thi Bich Thuy from the Quality Assurance Testing Centre in Da Nang said the project would be applied for mass production. She said tests revealed that 100 grammes of turmeric starch contained 1.39 per cent of curcumin. She said turmeric was used as a positive cure for burn patients or scars. Da Nang, in co-operation with Danapha Pharmaceutical JSC, had launched a farm that met the World Health Organisation-guided Good Agricultural and Collection Practice (GACP-WHO) standards in Hoa Vang District to provide products to be used in oriental medicine. VNS Cha ca features Hanoi flavours Hanois cuisine is known for its delicacy and elegance from the simplest dish. Cha ca (grilled fish), a simple but truly tasty dish, characterizes the essence of the capital citys gastronomy. This is very commendable! Rap mogul Jay-Z and hip-hop artist Yo Gotti wrote a letter to two top Mississippi officials protesting the conditions of Mississippi prisons and demanding change. The letter contained a threat Jay-Z and Yo Gotti are ready to sue the state if prison conditions arent improved. An outbreak of deadly gang violence that left five dead in Mississippi prisons has brought the systems long-running problems into sharp relief and under national scrutiny. The letter, addressed to Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant and Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Pelicia Hall, mentions frequent prison lockdowns, violence, a staffing shortage and inmates who are forced to live in squalor, with rats that crawl over them as they sleep on the floor, having been denied even a mattress for a cot. In a statement, Yo Gotti called the conditions inside Mississippi prisons absolutely inhumane and unconstitutional. To see this happen so close to my hometown of Memphis is truly devastating, the rappers statement said. Thats why were calling on Mississippi state leaders to take immediate action and rectify this issue. If they dont right this wrong, were prepared to take legal action to provide relief for those that are incarcerated and their families. Alex Spiro, a New York lawyer representing Roc Nation, Yo Gotti and Jay-Zs company, signed the letter on behalf of Team Roc. He said he wrote the letter in collaboration with the celebrities. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Uttar Pradesh Power Minister Srikant Sharma on Sunday attacked the Congress for misleading students over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and using them to gain political advantage. Massive protests were witnessed against the CAA, mainly by the student community, since its passage by Parliament in December last year. "Congress is playing with the future of students and creating confusion over CAA," Sharma said while talking to reporters prior to addressing a rally organised by the BJP here in support of the amended Citizenship law here. "Congress is in a state of despondence and may not have a future but the students of this country have a bright future," he added. Stressing that the BJP will expose the hidden agenda of the Congress as well as the Left, Sharma said the protests should not spoil the congenial environment of the country's educational institutions. If the Congress is opposed to the CAA, it should hold a press conference and announce that it will not let persecuted minorities get Indian citizenship but would let illegal immigrants enter the country. Sharma said it is the moral responsibility of the Union government to give citizenship rights to minorities including Hindus who have been discriminated against in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan due their religion. The common man is in favour of CAA, he claimed. Addressing the rally at a local ground here, Sharma said Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was spending sleepless nights, fearing that India may take control of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Army Chief Gen M M Naravane had on Saturday said his force can take control of PoK if it gets orders from political authority, in what is seen as a strong message to Islamabad. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Related Egypt carries out amphibious operation in the Mediterranean Egypt naval forces carry out combat training in the Mediterranean: Army The Egyptian military has carried out a number of land, naval and air training activities in the Mediterranean, a spokesman said on Sunday, in the latest of a series of drills as part of a combat training plan. Units of the northern military region, which is based in Alexandria, alongside naval and air forces, border guards and special forces units, carried out activities designed to secure the Mediterranean coast and deter any hostile maritime attack, military spokesman Tamer El-Refai said in a statement. Naval and air force units implemented an amphibious operation on the Mediterranean coast. Air forces launched a number of torpedoes, frigates, aircrafts and anti-submarine units, while enhancing maritime security procedures in the Mediterranean and Red Sea and within international shipping lanes. Commando units, along with naval and air forces, also performed a series of landing operations to capture and secure a coastal area and eliminate hostile targets. Last week, Egypt's naval forces carried out a full amphibious operation in the Mediterranean involving a mistral helicopter carrier, Gowind- and Perry-class frigates, a missile launcher ship, and a German-made Type-209 submarine, in addition to a number of anti-submarine units and special naval forces. Search Keywords: Short link: North Korea: US Must 'Unconditionally Accept Our Demands' By William Gallo January 11, 2020 North Korea will not resume nuclear talks unless the United States unconditionally accepts its demands, a senior North Korean official said Saturday. "We have wasted our time with U.S. for more than a year and a half," said Kim Kye Gwan, a North Korean vice foreign minister, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. Kim, a senior diplomat, said Kim Jong Un's relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump remains positive, noting that Kim recently received birthday greetings from Trump. "But it is a personal thing and our chairman, who represents the state and works for the benefit of the state, will not make decisions based on his personal relationship," Kim added. "For dialogue to happen, the U.S. must unconditionally accept our demands. However, we know that the U.S. is not ready to do so, or cannot do so," he added. The North Korean diplomat did not say what North Korea is demanding. North Korea regularly complains about U.S. and international sanctions, as well as joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises and weapons sales. The U.S.-North Korea talks have been stalled since February, when a Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi ended abruptly over a disagreement on how to pair sanctions relief with steps to dismantle North Korea's nuclear program. Kim, the North Korean diplomat, said "there will be no negotiations like in Vietnam, in which we proposed exchanging a core nuclear facility of the country for the lifting of some U.N. sanctions." Over the last two years, Trump and Kim have exchanged personal letters. Trump has hinted the two also talk on the phone. Last week, Trump insisted the relationship remains "very good," despite U.S.-North Korea talks being stalled. Birthday greetings The latest reported Trump-Kim interaction came this week, when Trump sent birthday greetings to the North Korean leader, who is believed to have turned 36 on Wednesday. South Korea said Friday it had relayed the birthday message following a meeting between Trump and South Korea's national security adviser. However, KCNA reported Saturday that North Korea had already received Trump's greetings directly in the form of a personal letter. KCNA mocked South Korea for attempting to mediate between Washington and Seoul. "They seem not to know that there is a special liaison channel between the top leaders of the DPRK and the U.S.," the diplomat Kim said, using the acronym for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "It seems [South Korea] still has lingering hope for playing the role of 'mediator' in the DPRK-U.S. relations," he said, saying it is "presumptuous for south Korea to meddle in the personal relations between Kim and Trump." South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who has prioritized dialogue with the North, met with Kim three times in 2018. The inter-Korean relations at least initially helped smooth the way for the Trump-Kim talks in early 2018. As U.S.-North Korea negotiations stalled, though, Pyongyang abandoned the inter-Korean talks, apparently in frustration over Seoul's unwillingness to move ahead with joint projects without U.S. support. Two years into dialogue with North Korea, the only apparent remnant is the occasional Trump-Kim letter. Even that relationship may be at risk, however, if North Korea resumes longer-range missile or nuclear tests, as it has been hinting. "Personal relationships at the top can get a dialogue going, but personal relations alone don't result in deals," said Daniel DePetris, a fellow at Defense Priorities, a Washington-based research organization. "This is what Trump doesn't appear to understand. He's banking on his 'friendship' with Kim to lead the way to denuclearization." "Friendship or not, denuclearization left the barn a long time ago," DePetris added. Many analysts are pessimistic about the short-term chances for talks. "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 Seoul conference 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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday unveiled over 5.5 lakh postcards written by Ahmedabad residents to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, thanking him for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. IMAGE: Union home minister Amit Shah addresses party workers in Ahmedabad. Photograph: PTI Photo The postcards were stacked on the dais as Shah addressed a gathering of Bharatiya Janata Party workers who formed letters 'C A A' in front of him. The state BJP claimed that the party's "largest awareness campaign" in support of the CAA had found a place in Limca Book of Records and World Record of India. "It is not just words but a letter of thanks written from the heart. Our public outreach programme is a reply to the lies being spread against the CAA," Shah said addressing BJP workers from his former assembly constituency Naranpura. The BJP had promised to enact the CAA in its manifesto, he said, asking why the Congress did not oppose it then. Targeting Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, Shah said, "Congress has a government in Rajasthan. The Congress party in that state had promised that Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan would be given citizenship. "Why do you oppose it when we fulfill the promise made by you?" the Union home minister asked. "In 2006 and 2009, Ashok Gehlot wrote a letter for the same. We covered Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, Christians, all of them under the Act, you had only mentioned Hindus and Sikhs," Shah claimed. Saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, by bringing in the CAA, granted "human rights to lakhs of people", he asked why opposition was against it. He challenged "Rahul Baba" (Congress leader Rahul Gandhi), Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal to show if any provision of the CAA took away the citizenship of Indian Muslims. "There is no such provision. Lakhs and crores of people have come to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh to save their religion, their self-respect, to save themselves. Where else will they go?" he asked. "From the first prime minister of the country Jawaharlal Nehru to the first home minister, first president of the country, and Mahatma Gandhi himself had said that whoever comes to India from Pakistan will be granted citizenship. Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains coming from Pakistan have nowhere else to go," he said. By Dana Drugmand, a freelance writer and attorney who writes about climate issues. Originally published at DeSmog Blog Industry groups including oil and gas trade associations were quick to pile on the praise following President Trumps announcement Thursday, January 9 of major overhauls to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The 50-year-old bedrock environmental statute requires federal agencies to review the environmental impacts of major actions or projects, and has been a key tool for advocacy groups to challenge harmful infrastructure, from fossil fuel pipelines to chemical plants. And in the Trump administrations hasty efforts to assert energy dominance, judges have halted fossil fuel projects on grounds that the government did not adequately consider how those projects contribute to climate change. For the fossil fuel industry, these court rulings, and the environmental law underpinning them, are an annoying setback. The industry has long been irked by NEPA, especially when it is used to delay petroleum-related projects because of climate concerns. In 2010, for example, the American Petroleum Institute commented in a blog post on the Bureau of Land Management delaying an oil and gas lease sale following a NEPAlawsuit that required the agency to study the leases climate impacts. API hopes the review can be done quickly and allow the sale to be held later this year, API wrote. Furthermore, API believes that neither NEPA, nor other administrative tools, should be used to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. On Thursday, the Trump administration announced major revisions to the NEPAstatute that shrink the scope and timeline of environmental review. Under new regulations proposed by the Center for Environmental Quality, the White House agency that implements NEPA, cumulative effects such as how fossil fuel expansion contributes to climate change would not need to be considered. New on the Blog: Every president since Jimmy Carter has talked about the critical need to increase US oil and natural gas production. The US energy revolution made that dream come true. So why do some talk about throwing away all thats been gained? https://t.co/Xy5Xva3IAl pic.twitter.com/lS8HASgFfT American Petroleum Institute (@APIenergy) 22 November 2019 Several leading Democratic presidential contenders have said they would include a ban on fracking as part of their climate plan. Elizabeth Warren has pledged to immediately end oil and gas leasing offshore and on public lands, and also to ban fracking everywhere. Bernie Sanders includes a ban on fracking in his comprehensive climate plan, and he repeatedly references via Twitter his commitment to ban fracking. Kamala Harris said during a televised Climate Town Hall in September that she would seek to ban fracking as well. On my first day as president, I will sign an executive order that puts a total moratorium on all new fossil fuel leases for drilling offshore and on public lands. And I will ban frackingeverywhere. Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) 6 September 2019 Tying Domestic Oil and Gas to Patriotism The fact that presidential candidates are even talking about a fracking ban undoubtedly has the petroleum industry concerned, as the new API video implies. The video features former presidents from both political parties, from Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush and Barack Obama, declaring the importance of ending reliance on foreign oil and speaking to progress in advancing domestic petroleum production. The video, which also features patriotic images like the Statute of Liberty and American flags, concludes with the message: Support Americas Energy Security. Oppose a Fracking Ban. The Trump Administrations NEPA rollback is a sellout of clean air, clean water and our climate to corporate polluters. We cannot factor out climate change as we prepare for the future. #ClimateActionNow https://t.co/paKwIIopJ3 Rep. Joe Neguse (@RepJoeNeguse) 9 January 2020 The term effects is clarified to exclude effects that the agency has no authority to prevent or would happen even without the agency action. This essentially eliminates climate change from being a concern that agencies must consider under NEPA. The proposed regulations also facilitate efficiency by encouraging categorical exclusions (meaning more projects will not even have to undergo review) and by setting time limits of two years maximum to complete reviews, regardless of the projects complexity. Fossil Fuel Promoters Cheer NEPA Changes The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) lauded the decision, while also disparaging environmentalists efforts to invoke the law. IPAA is pleased that the Administration continues to tackle substantial projects, such as their effort to return the NEPA process to the original intent and scope of the law, said Dan Naatz, senior vice president of Government Relations and Political Affairs at IPAA. Although IPAA and our members recognize the important role NEPA plays in public land policy, for many years we have seen the law being abused by environmentalists with extreme agendas to delay and halt various multiple-use activities on federal lands, including oil and gas production. American Energy Alliance (AEA) president Thomas Pyle, a former Koch Industries lobbyist, also alleged that environmentalists have abused NEPA. Radical environmental groups have twisted the intent behind NEPA and leveraged the legal system to their advantage in a coordinated effort to slow and stop progress and I welcome the news that President Trump plans stop them in his commitment to make America great again, Pyle said. AEA is the advocacy arm of the nonprofit Institute for Energy Research, whose funding has included API, Koch family foundations, and ExxonMobil. Another big win and were only in the second week of January. https://t.co/rf0hZYQz4o American Energy Alliance (@AEA) 10 January 2020 The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), whose members include companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron and which in 2017 launched an initiative attacking climate liability lawsuits, also applauded the NEPA overhaul announcement. NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons was at the White House on Thursday supporting the president. A statement from Timmons following this announcement mentions a NAM blueprint for infrastructure improvements that specifically called for overhauling NEPA. The NAMs Building to Win infrastructure plan called for exactly this type of modernization because our efforts should be used for building the infrastructure Americans desperately need, not wasted on mountains of paperwork and endless delays, Timmons said. This remark reveals that industry groups have been gunning for NEPA reforms for a while. NAMHEC and ESCP>ESSEC>bocconi . I cannot make anything out from the ranking . And stockholm school of economics which has amazing placement figures is ranked at 23 . And LSE which is supposed to be in one of the best in uk is in higher 20s . LBS doesnt figure anywhere . EDHEC as i have come to understand does not have very good placement figures .around 45% of the graduating class found jobs before graduation and no figures available for after 3 months , and after 6 months . And there is a lot of information vaccuum regarding this college . Also , I am not able to understand how all these colleges have placement statastics that are more then 90% considering the economic sitiutaion in europe . EDHEC apparently has a 95% placement rate 3 months after graduation , but when i requested their official placement figures , they were much more sobering , and somewhere in the 50s percentage . now considering EBS . its not at all ranked anywhere but it apparently enjoys a kind of mixed reputation in germany but is supposed to be one of the best in germany . and this programme is my ideal programme since it is specifically designed for the automotive sector . And ofcourse , germany is where all the money is right now in europe . and it has some amazing partner universities for Ex : MIT spain , Mcgill canada , queens canada , IIM ahemedabad , etc etc Now , if you guys could help with some personal input as to what you think of the above two colleges , and job prospects after graduating from either . I am an indian and i will very obviously be learning german or french . I do not have a problem being roman in rome . Now the question is , should i follow the rankings and go to EDHEC ? or should i go the the EBS masters ? I would be highly greatful for your input PS ; I was also accepted into the frankfurt school of finance and management school for their MIM PS PS : i love gmatclub . especialy bb and bunuel Kurt Ikeda December 19, 2019 Contact: Ted Stout, (208)527-1335 JEROME, Ida. The Southern Idaho Parks has selected Kurt Ikeda as the first education specialist to jointly manage the education program of three of Idahos national parks: Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, Minidoka National Historic Site, and Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument. Ikeda will be starting in February 2020 and will work with the parks to develop new educational curricula, present programs, and work with educators to enhance their connection to the Southern Idaho National Parks. I am delighted to welcome Kurt to the National Park Service and to the Southern Idaho Parks family, said Wade Vagias, Superintendent of the Southern Idaho Parks. Under his thoughtful leadership, experience, and demonstrated ability, he will do great work to tell and share the resources and values of the National Park Service and the Idaho Park units. Ikeda hails from Southern California and received his bachelors from the University of California, Los Angeles and his masters degree in education from Loyola Marymount University. He will be moving on from the Japanese American Museum of Oregon where he serves as the Education Manager. Winds are expected to pick up overnight into Sunday morning, according to a wind advisory issued by the National Weather Service at State College. The advisory begins early Sunday morning and is expected to end around 10 a.m. Gusts of 45 to 55 mph are expected from the southwest. Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects, the advisory warns. "Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result." With strong winds in the forecast overnight, take these precautions before you go to sleep (and before the rain arrives)! You can monitor power outages in real time at @PowerOutage_us: https://t.co/dvOUQaoefk. #PAwx pic.twitter.com/hP8AYP5Qj7 NWS State College (@NWSStateCollege) January 11, 2020 Meteorologists urge motorists to use extra caution when driving, especially if operating a high profile vehicle. Forecasters said property owners should secure outdoor objects. For additional high wind safety information, visit weather.gov/wind. The following counties are under the wind advisory from 1 a.m. to 10 a.m.: Cumberland, Perry, and Franklin The following counties are under the wind advisory from 3 a.m. to 10 a.m.: Adams, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, and York The winds come after a day with record or near record highs across Pennsylvania and the East Coast. Philadelphia and Allentown reached record highs of 67 degrees, while Reading hit a record of 65, the National Weather Service said. The temperature reached 69 degrees at Harrisburg International Airport, the second highest for this date, the weather service said. 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. According to its representative, the French Bureau of Investigation will take part in the technical work flight recorders (black boxes) from a downed Boeing 737 Open source The data of the flight recorders (black boxes) from a downed Boeing 737 will be decrypted in Ukraine. This was reported by the press service of the French Bureau of Investigation and Analysis of the Safety of Civil Aviation. According to its representative, the French Bureau of Investigation will take part in the technical work to decrypt the "black boxes". It is also noted that the work will take place in Ukraine. Accident @Boeing #737 UR-PSR @fly_uia on 08/01/20 / @BEA_Aero confirms it will attend the CVR & FDR technical work that will be done in #Ukraine / Any communication on the timeline & investigation progress is the responsibility of Irans AAIB authorities. BEA (@BEA_Aero) January 11, 2020 Earlier it was reported that Ukrainian President during a telephone conversation with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani agreed to begin joint work to decrypt the "black boxes". Related: Trump supported protesters in Iran As we reported, Boeing 737 of Ukraine's International Airlines, flight PS 752 with 176 passengers aboard crashed in Tehran, not far from Imam Khomeini airport. Iranian Tasnim News Agency informed about that, pointing out that the reason for the crash was a "technical malfunction." As of 7 a.m. January 8, the fate of passengers remained unknown. Local authorities feared that no one survived, because the plane was visibly on fire as it was falling, CGTN reported. On Saturday morning, January 11, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran announced that a Ukrainian aircraft Boeing 737 was hit by a missile launched by the military center of the Guards of the Islamic Revolution. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky responded to Irans statement about a missile strike at Ukrainian Boeing 737, demanding to bring those responsible to justice, return the bodies of the dead and pay compensation for the catastrophe. A COUNTY Limerick builder has defended Deputy Niall Collins after he was accused of trying to "interfere" with the running of the Cappamore-Kilmallock Municipal District. In a statement to the Limerick Leader last week, Cllr Eddie Ryan said he left a local area meeting in November in protest. On the evening before this meeting, Cllr Ryan said Deputy Niall Collins sent out an email on behalf of a developer asking that a decision on a Part 8 application for 12 council houses at Station Close, Knocklong, be deferred. Part 8 allows for the application of planning permission for projects by local authorities. In my opinion, it is an insult to the elected members of the Cappamore-Kilmallock Municipal District that a TD should send out such an email the night before the meeting of the municipal district to defer a Part 8 in the middle of a housing crisis or is this fact lost on Mr Collins, said Cllr Ryan. Al Fitzgerald is the developer in question. He describes himself as a builder. Mr Fitzgerald, from Knocklong, has issued a statement to the Leader in which he says Cllr Ryan made a number of allegations which are misleading, not factual and which seek to damage Deputy Niall Collins and myself. I am the owner of the Old Creamery site in Knocklong. It is very well known within the local community that I have for some time been seeking to obtain planning permission for a mix of social, affordable and private housing on this site. "A number of planning applications have been unsuccessful to date, however the complex planning issues are mostly resolved now. These issues include safety of access to the site and waste water disposal, said Mr Fitzgerald. Read also: Potential delay for new Limerick school as council expresses concerns over traffic The recent Part 8 planning application, which was granted planning permission by the Cappamore-Kilmallock councillors in December, is a very welcome development, he said. This Part 8 application is on land owned by both Limerick City and County Council and on land owned by myself, a very important fact deliberately omitted by Cllr Ryan. When the Part 8 application was coming before the councillors in November for decision I asked Deputy Niall Collins to request the Fianna Fail councillors to defer making a decision until the December meeting as I had an issue to resolve regarding the portion of my land which was subject to the Part 8. I also spoke to other councillors in this regard. The decision to defer the matter until the December meeting was entirely at the discretion of the councillors. Mr Fitzgerald continued: For the record, I have for the last 18 months been trying to get to meet or speak to Cllr Ryan in relation to housing in Knocklong, he has never returned my phone calls or emails. It is very disappointing that he now seeks to misrepresent the facts in this matter. Of course he is entitled to his own opinion but he is not entitled to his own facts. To accuse Deputy Niall Collins of seeking to insult the elected members and of thwarting the process is very unfair and not true. The long-time Fianna Fail supporter said if anyone wishes to visit the Old Creamery site in Knocklong and see the plans for badly needed social, affordable and private housing they are most welcome. Mr Fitzgerald thanked Deputy Collins along with Cllrs Mike Donegan, Gerald Mitchell and Martin Ryan for their support and interest in Knocklong. See next week's Limerick Leader for full interview with Mr Fitzgerald on his experiences with the local authority and State bodies in trying to build homes in Knocklong. : Video and photographic 'evidence' of alleged police brutality on women in the Amaravati region during the ongoing agitation against the move to relocate the state capital was presented to the visiting team of National Commission for Women in Guntur on Sunday. A delegation, including Guntur MP Galla Jayadev of TDP and farmers, met the NCW members and complained about the police abuses against women who were holding 'peaceful' protests on the capital issue for the past 26 days. Women are being abused. Police are creating a fear psychosis in the villages (in Amaravati region). Aggressive sections (of law) are being imposed to deter people from taking part in the protests, Jayadev told the NCW team. Talking to reporters later, the MP said he also told the panel that cases were being 'foisted' on women and farmers and they were being 'tortured'. Women constables were not present in many cases and where they were present, their behaviour was worse than the male constables, he charged. Women protestors are being badly beaten up, resulting in injuries. Police is brutally trying to suppress the peoples voices, Jayadev said. The NCW team comprised Kanchan Khattar, senior coordinator and Praveen Singh, counsellor. The commission has taken suo moto (on its own) cognisance of the "police atrocities" on women during the capital protests and sent its team on a fact-finding mission. Pictures of alleged police high handedness have gone viral on social media platforms and opposition MPs on Saturday expressed outrage over the police action in the last few days. Farmers, who gave their land for development of Amaravati, have been protesting after the YSRC government proposed three different capitals, including Visakhapatnam. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) LAST year, after nearly a decade of battling in court over Republican gerrymandering following the 2010 Census, the Virginia General Assembly passed a constitutional amendment that creates the Virginia Redistricting Commission. This commission would, as far as humanly possible, take the politics out of the process of drawing new legislative and congressional districts. After a conference committee agreed to number of changes in the original bill (HJ 615) introduced by Del. Mark Cole, RSpotsylvania, the proposed constitutional amendment was passed by a wide 8315 margin in the House and unanimously by the Senate last February. Thats about as bipartisan as it gets. The 16-member independent commission would consist of eight citizens selected by five retired circuit court judges, and eight legislators: two Republicans and two Democrats from the state Senate and two legislators of each party from the House of Delegates. After receiving the results of the 2020 Census, commissioners would submit their redistricting plan to the General Assembly for an up-or-down vote with no alterations by either legislators or the governor allowed. If the plan is voted down or vetoed, the Supreme Court of Virginia would then be tasked with drawing up the new districts. Cecil Hartley wrote; Speech is the gift which distinguishes man from animals, and makes society possible. Human beings will have differences in opinion because we are neither omniscient nor omnipresent. A gentlemen is characterized by his desire to be polite and respect the opinions and feelings of other people. He maintains his objectivity because he uses the revelations of God as his rule and guide of thoughts and morality. We see a dangerous trend in America today where individuals no longer debate ideas, rather, they attack individuals as human beings. When they attack the individual they demonstrate the critical thinking errors of emotional thinking and dehumanization. The attackers revert to attacking individuals because the attacker knows they lack sound reason and are losing the debate with the person they attack. Emotionality, even when correct, never influences people. It is noble to have political opinions. It is uncivil to endeavor to force others to agree with you. God gave each of us free will. God also gave us the gift of reason to sift ideas. This was prompted by the deadly 6 December shooting by a Saudi Air Force officer at an American naval base in Florida, CNN reported on Saturday Washington: More than a dozen Saudi servicemen who are training at US military bases will be expelled from the United States in the aftermath of a Pentagon review prompted by the deadly 6 December shooting by a Saudi Air Force officer at an American naval base in Florida, CNN reported on Saturday. The Saudi personnel being expelled are not accused of aiding the Saudi Air Force second lieutenant who killed three American sailors at the Pensacola installation, CNN reported, quoting unnamed sources. The Pentagon referred questions to the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The FBI and the Saudi Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Pentagon announced on 10 December it was halting operational training of all Saudi Arabian military personnel in the United States after the incident. The Pentagon then announced on 19 December that it found no threat in its review of about 850 military students from Saudi Arabia studying in the United States. The FBI has said US investigators believe Saudi Air Force Second Lieutenant Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, 21, acted alone in the incident before he was fatally shot by a deputy sheriff. Trump claims 4 U.S. embassies were targeted by Iran People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 14:02, January 11, 2020 U.S. President Donald Trump said that the "imminent threat" from Iran might involve planned attacks on four U.S. embassies, U.S. media reported on Friday. "We will tell you that probably it was going to be the embassy in Baghdad," Trump said in an interview with Fox News when asked about what had been specifically targeted by Iran. "I can reveal that I believe it would have been four embassies," Trump added. Qassem Soleimani, former commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, was killed last Friday in U.S. drone strikes near Baghdad airport. The killing of Soleimani drew skepticism from some U.S. experts and Democratic lawmakers, who argued that Trump's decision was "provocative and disproportionate," and might trigger an uncontrolled conflict between the United States and Iran. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address High winds from a line of storms that moved across southeast Texas overnight Friday caused property damage and power outages for tens of thousands in the region. While there was scattered damage here a tree crashed into a home in The Woodlands, a gas station canopy collapsed in southwest Houston and 66,000 people were briefly without power the brunt of the weather hit outside of Texas. The death toll from the storms stands at 11. A tornado embedded in the long line of thunderstorms killed three in Alabama. Three people in Louisiana died, including an elderly couple found near their demolished trailer. A man drowned in floodwaters in Oklahoma when he was overcome by rushing water as he got out of his stalled truck. And one person was killed in eastern Iowa after a semitrailer crashed just after midnight Saturday. The storm also brought dangerous ice to parts of Texas. In Lubbock, two first responders were killed and another critically injured when they were hit by a vehicle while responding to the scene of a traffic accident in icy conditions. And Dallas police said a person died Friday night when a car flipped into the Five Mile Creek near downtown, but it wasnt clear if that crash was weather-related. In Houston, the Coast Guard was searching for a possible missing boater, but it was unclear whether there had been a weather-related incident. At its peak in Houston, the storms winds left roughly 66,000 homes and businesses in Harris County without power, according to CenterPoint Energy figures. Entergy Texas, which services most counties north and east of Houston, said it had a peak of 19,000 outages. Dan Reilly, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the storms created downbursts with strong gusts of up to 60 mph that are responsible for much of the damage. You get these periodic downbursts and stronger winds pushing out with the wind, said Reilly. In a case like that, the wind damage tends to be laid out in one direction. Such bursts become microbursts when they are severe, but Reilly said there is no evidence yet that those occurred in the overnight storms. Reilly said the weather service also detected some rotating storms on the radar, which could indicate tornadoes touched down. We cant confirm that at this point, he said. One such storm was spotted near Hobby Airport. The weather services log of damage reports includes structural damage to a Buffalo Speedway gas station and downed trees in The Woodlands. One tree there crashed into a home on Drybrook Road, prompting the Spring Fire Department to respond for a reported gas leak. Benjamin Bailey said he was watching television around 11 p.m. when the strong gust of wind thrashed outside. A few seconds later, a tree came crashing through the roof and shook the entire house. The first thing we thought about was our baby, Bailey said, adding that he, his wife and their 10-month-old were all unharmed. I heard a big crashing sound, almost like the wind had really picked up, he said. Essentially, thats when the tree came straight into our house, came through our kitchen, water pouring in everywhere absolutely devastating. The wind was so strong, Bailey said, that before the tree fell he was already concerned it might rip the roof off his house. Spring firefighters were there within minutes, and neighbors and friends stopped by as well, Bailey said. This is the Houston area, so everybody helps out with each other in times like this, he said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. dylan.mcguinness@chron.com New Delhi [India], Jan 12 (ANI): Youth Congress workers distributed blankets among needy and underprivileged, outside All India Institute of Medical Science, Delhi on Saturday midnight to observe party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's birthday. The workers, lead by Youth Congress chief Srinivas BV reached out to people sitting on the pavement outside the hospital and gave them blankets. Speaking to ANI, youth wing leader said, "Our leader always works for the poor and underprivileged and hence today we have come outside AIIMS where people from all parts of the country come. We are distributing blankets to save them from cold." Congress' UP general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will be celebrating her birthday on Sunday, January, 12. (ANI) With his long leathery neck, dull-yellow face and beady eyes, theres just something about Diego. A tortoise more than 100 years old, Diego has had little trouble mating. A member of Chelonoidis hoodensis, or the giant tortoise species from Espanola Island in the Galapagos in Ecuador, he was one of 15 tortoises in a captive breeding program at the Fausto Llerena Tortoise Center on the island of Santa Cruz. Among the males, Diego displayed an exceptional sex drive, so much so, hes credited with helping save his species from extinction. Now, with the future secured, he gets to retire. In a statement on Friday, the Galapagos National Park announced the end of the breeding program, saying an evaluation showed it had met its conservation goals. Former Central African Republic (CAR) rebel leader and president Michel Djotodia returned to Bangui on Friday, exactly six years after quitting as head of state, and pledged to support peace in the troubled country. 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 and given a security escort by police and army personnel, an AFP reporter saw. He was expected to meet later with President Faustin-Archange Touadera. 2020 will be a year of peace. I am no longer a man of war, I am a man of peace, Djotodia told journalists. I urge all the rebels to be patient, Djotodia said separately in a brief interview with AFP. There is a peace agreement which has been signed. It is time for all of us, fighters and all Central Africans, to stand up to pacify the country. Djotodias rebel movement, known as the Seleka, plunged the CAR into violence in 2013. Sectarian fighting between the pro-Christian and Muslim militia sparked military intervention by France, the former colonial power, to stem the bloodshed. Djotodia quit as president under international pressure on January 10 2013. His successor, Touadera, was elected in 2016. He governs with the support of MINUSCA, a 14,700-person UN peacekeeping force. But most of the country lies in the hands of armed groups, who often fight over the countrys mineral resources. The long conflict has forced nearly a quarter of the countrys 4.7 million people to flee their homes. The United Nations estimates that two thirds of the population depends on humanitarian aid to survive. The country is ranked next-to-last after Niger on the 2018 UNDPs Human Development Index, which compares longevity, education, and income per capita. Life expectancy is just 52.9 years. There have been repeated peace agreements between the government and armed groups. The most recent, signed on February 6 last year, has lessened the intensity of the violence but not ended it. Bozize returned home on December 16 to be hailed by thousands of supporters. He arrived just in time to register as a candidate for the next presidential election due in 2020, but he has not disclosed his intentions. He is named in an international arrest warrant, filed by the CAR in 2013, for crimes against humanity and incitement to genocide. Last year, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported that black and LGBTQ students were the target of racist and homophobic flyers at a middle school in Cheyenne. The incident, described by the Tribune Eagle as part of a long pattern of abuse toward certain groups of students, prompted meetings and changes at the district level. The Natrona County School District previously investigated an incident at NC in February 2018, when a group of students were reportedly chanting "the South will rise" while displaying Confederate flags. The district said then that it would use security cameras in NC's parking lot to investigate. District officials ultimately determined in that case that students couldn't be disciplined because the incident happened just off of school property, on a nearby side street. According to enrollment numbers released earlier this week, the Natrona County School District has 161 African-American students enrolled out of more than 13,000 students. In all, the district has more than 2,600 students who are not white, out of 13,300. Well-known businessman Mike Maloney has joined the executive private equity team at Cardinal Capital. He was formerly the chief executive of Payzone, which was bought by Carlyle Cardinal Ireland (CCI), an Irish private equity fund founded by the Carlyle Group and Cardinal Capital. That fund, which was backed in part by the State, bought Payzone in 2015 for 39m. It was then sold to AIB and First Data for 100m in April last year. Maloney and some other executives in Payzone held a minority stake at the time of the most recent sale. Maloney, a former military officer with the Defence Forces, held senior roles with a number of multinational companies, operating in IT, telecoms and fintech, before being appointed group CEO of Payzone in 2008. As reported in the Sunday Independent last month, Cardinal Capital has completed the first closing of its second private equity fund. The new fund, which is capped at 300m, will target four sectors - technology, food, financial services and healthcare - according to market sources. It is already looking at potential investment opportunities. Several founding members of firms in which CCI has previously invested have come on board as investors in Cardinal's new fund. Mary Ann O'Brien, Siobhan Plunkett, Chris Clinch and Sam McAuley have all invested in the new fund and will work exclusively with Cardinal. The new fund follows on from the close of Cardinal's second mezzanine fund, which focuses on residential development funding for established developers. Aside from Payzone, CCI had a number of successful investments, also making strong exits from chocolate company Lily O'Brien's and security firm GSLS. The assassination of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani may not have been the only attack the U.S. carried out last week. On the night of Jan. 2, the U.S. sent a drone to attack the leader of Iran's Quds Forces in Baghdad, killing the powerful Iranian figure. But on that same night, U.S. forces also tried and failed to kill another Quds leader, The Washington Post first reported. U.S. forces embarked on the top secret mission in Yemen to kill Abdul Reza Shahlai, a top commander of the Quds, U.S. officials tell the Post. While the officials declined to share details of the still-classified mission, they did say they failed to kill Shahlai. "If we had killed him, we'd be bragging about it that same night," a senior U.S. official said, as there were plans to announce his killing and Soleimani's together. A counter-terrorism official and a U.S. official told ABC News the same information. Shahlai has been active in Yemen as he leads the Iranian military in support of the Houthi rebels fighting the Yemeni government. The U.S. backs the established government in Yemen, and like the Shahlai mission, "U.S. military operations in Yemen ... are shrouded in secrecy," the Post writes. More stories from theweek.com The death of rock's master craftsman Cardi B might run for Congress Sen. Susan Collins and a 'fairly small group' of GOP colleagues could open the door to impeachment witnesses Advertisement Hunter Biden and his pregnant wife have been spotted out just one day after it was confirmed he would not fight for custody of his 17-month-old child with another woman. Biden was seen holding hands with Melissa Cohen after the couple, who married in 2019, had lunch at Il Pastaio in Beverly Hills, California on Thursday. The South African-born mother-to-be managed to step out in public with a smile following the dramatic events this week surrounding Biden's paternity of Lunden Roberts' child. Hunter Biden and wife Melissa Cohen were spotted at Il Pastaio in Los Angeles, California on Thursday. The two were spotted waiting for their ride after finishing up their meals in Beverly Hills The public appearance was following the dramatic events this week surrounding Biden's paternity of Lunden Roberts' child Son of Democratic candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden guided his spouse across the street with a protective hand The son of Democratic candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden guided his spouse across the street with a protective hand while balancing a cold beverage in a takeout container in the other. Biden partially concealed his eyes with colored lenses, pairing his smart white shirt and dark jeans and brown boots with a padded vest. Cohen, 32, is seemingly in good spirits as she awaits the arrival of her baby. The blonde smiled as she sipped a hot drink in a to-go container following their meal at the restaurant that is well-known for its celebrity clientele. They stepped out amid buzz surrounding Hunter Biden's 17-month-old child with another woman. The spouses has dined at the Italian restaurant often frequented by celebrities Cohen carried a hot beverage as she trekked across the road in platform heels and wearing a tasseled 70s-style jacket With the likes of Justin Bieber and Andrea Bocelli's visits making the LA eatery even more popular, it's possible the pair knew they'd be noticed at the venue which is regularly flocked to by photographers hoping to glimpse a famous face. The couple gave even more face time to onlookers as they waited outside by the valet stand for their vehicle. At one point Cohen removed her 70s-style sunglasses with blue circular lenses. She paired the accessory with flared black pants, featuring black lace at the bottom, a brown jacket with tassel embellishment and rounded off the themed outfit with a blue sweater that drew attention to her second trimester pregnancy. Biden busied himself on the phone as the pair waited for their car to pull up and left. The couple gave even more face time to onlookers as they waited outside by the valet stand for their vehicle. Cohen is in her second trimester Biden partially concealed his eyes with colored lenses, pairing his smart white shirt and dark jeans and brown boots with a padded vest. Cohen wore a blue sweater that drew attention to her second trimester pregnancy At one point Melissa Cohen removed her sunglasses as they waited outside by the valet stand to collect their car Earlier this week, Biden accused Roberts of 'intentionally' including his address in paternity filings so the 'media and his political adversaries' would know where he lives, which brought 'an onslaught of harassment' to him and Cohen. It was as President Trump pushed a 'Where's Hunter' campaign to get him to testify in his impeachment trial. DailyMail.com recently revealed Biden would not fight Roberts for custody of their toddler, whose initials are NJR and whose gender is being kept secret. Roberts filed a paternity suit in May 2019 in Independence County, Arkansas. Roberts was given primary legal and physical custody of their child and Biden was named as the non-custodial parent. 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 pay stubs 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. Earlier this week, Biden accused the mother of his 17-month-old child of 'intentionally' including his address in paternity filings so the 'media and his political adversaries' would know where he lives in Los Angeles Hunter Biden busied himself on the phone as the pair waited for their car to pull up and left. He claimed the revelation of his address brought 'an onslaught of harassment' to himself and pregnant wife Cohen DailyMail.com recently revealed Biden would not fight Roberts for custody of their toddler, whose initials are NJR and whose gender is being kept secret. Cohen is seen getting into their car (right) Circuit Court Judge Holly Meyer said on Tuesday that DNA testing determined that Biden is the father of Roberts' child with 'near scientific certainty'. The two had met while Roberts worked as a stripper in Washington D.C. and she wants 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. Judge Meyer took over the case after Judge Don McSpadden recused himself on New Years Eve, which 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 Biden. The US has imposed new sanctions on Irans steel and metals exports, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said at a press conference. The move comes after US President Donald Trump threatened new sanctions in response to the Iranian airstrikes earlier this week targeting US military bases in Iraq, said S&P Global Platts, a leading provider of information and analytics for the energy and commodities markets. The sanctions on 17 entities in the steel industry and some other shipping and trading entities, including some based in the Seychelles, are designed to cut off billions of dollars to Iran. A statement from the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) lists some of the entities now to be sanctioned as Irans largest steelmaker Mobarakeh Steel Company, Al Mahdi Aluminum Company, Arfa Iron & Steel Company, Arfa Steel, Chadormalu Mining & Industrial Co, Esfahan Steel Company (ESCO), Golgohar Mining and Industrial Company, Hormozgan Steel Company (Hosco), Iran Alloy Steel Company (IASCO), Iran Aluminium Company, Iranian Ghadir Iron & Steel Co (IGISCO), Irans Aluminum Company (IRALCO), Khalagh Tadbir Pars Co, Khorasan Steel Company, Khouzestan Oxin Steel Company, Khouzestan Steel Company, Kish South Kaveh Steel Company (SKS), National Iranian Copper Industries Company (NICICO), Pamchel Asia Steel Group Company Limited (linked to Khalagh Tadbir Pars Co), Pamchel Trading Beijing Co Ltd, Power Anchor Limited, Reputable Trading Source LLC Company (RTS LLC) and Saba Steel Company. Aided by a devalued rial, Iranians steel mills and iron ore producers have continued to increase their exports of a variety of products in recent months despite secondary sanctions and the build-up of tensions, leading Tehran-based observers to say that Trump has helped to make Iranian steel more competitive. As a result of devaluation of Iranian currency -- mainly caused by the US secondary sanctions -- the Iranian mills are very competitive at the moment and almost all of the exporting outputs were sold for next two or three months, an Iranian observer in Tehran told S&P Global Platts. The Iranian rial has lost around 4.5 per cent against the US dollar over the last 20 days. While some costs have increased amid the current tensions, including on freight from the Persian Gulf and insurance, export prices are still attractive for importers and more than in the domestic market, the observer said. Iran's main steel producers, excluding small private sector mills, exported 5.2 million mt of finished and semi-finished steel in the first nine months of the current Iranian year (to December 21), a 19 per cent increase from the same period last year. However, in the past month alone exports totalled 485,000 mt, a 91 per cent increase year on year, according to statistics from Iranian mines and metals holding group Imidro. Most of Irans steel exports go to countries in East Asia and the Middle East. Mobarakeh Steel Company (MSC) exported 1.1 million mt in the nine-month period, 47 per cent more than the same period a year ago, and in the last month (to December 21), its exports totaled 99,000 mt, a 648 per cent year-on-year increase. Some 593,000 mt of slab, a semi-finished steel product, were exported during the period by an MSC-affiliated company, Hormozgan Steel Company (Hosco) in the nine months, a 19 per cent increase on year. With some 1.37 million mt of slab and billet, another semi-finished product exported during this period, Khouzestan Steel Company (KSC), Iran's second-largest producer, reported a 17 per cent year-on-year decrease in exports. In the last month 108,000 mt of semi-finished products were exported by KSC, a 22 per cent decrease on year, with the fall-off attributed to greater domestic sales. South Kaveh Steel (SKS) exported 608,000 mt of billet, 23 per cent more than the same period last year and in the last month its exports totaled 56,000 mt, a 33 per cent decrease. During the last Iranian year (to March 20), the country's major steel producers exported 5.54 million mt of steel, down 25 per cent on the previous year. Irans steel production capacity is expected to reach 43.6 million mt/year by the end of the next Iranian year (March 20, 2021), while Imidro estimates the actual production to hit 31.1 million mt/year as the country continues with an ambitious steel capacity expansion program. Irans current steel production capacity is 35 million mt/year. Fallout from Iran-U.S. tensions intensified Sunday as missiles pounded an Iraqi air base hosting U.S. troops while Iranians defied a government crackdown and protested their government's accidental shootdown of a passenger jet. Gen. Hossein Salami, head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, apologized for the jet tragedy. And President Donald Trump tweeted his support for the demonstrations, warning there "cannot be another massacre of peaceful protesters." Iran-U.S. relations have been devolving since Trump pulled the U.S. out of a global pact with Iran, fashioned by the Obama administration, that eased some economic sanctions in return for Iran curbing nuclear development. Tensions reached new highs after a U.S. drone strike Jan. 3 that killed Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani. Soleimani's death drew millions of angry, mourning Iranians to the streets of Tehran and other cities. It also drew retaliation. Photos of Gen. Qasem Soleimani outside his memorial service in Tehran on Jan. 12, 2020. Here is what we know so far: 4 hurt as missiles slam air base Four Iraqi soldiers were wounded Sunday when at least six rockets slammed into the Balad air base 50 miles north of Baghdad, the Iraqi military said. There was no immediate word of U.S. casualties, and officials said most U.S. troops had left the area in recent days. The statement made no mention of Iran, and no group or nation immediately took responsibility for the attack. U.S. death heightened tensions The attack on Soleimani came days after a U.S. contractor was killed in a rocket attack at an Iraqi air base. U.S. officials blamed the attack on Iranian-backed militias, and the U.S. response was a drone strike on Soleimani, who was in Iraq at the time. The strike drew outrage from Iran and Iraq. In Iraq, lawmakers voted to order U.S. troops to leave the country. In Iran, authorities promised a military response. Searching for answers: 'Why them? What did they do?' Canada mourns victims of Iranian plane crash Iran's military response not bloody Story continues Iran responded early Wednesday by firing missiles at two bases in Iraq housing some U.S. troops. Iran provided Iraq with some notice, and U.S. missile defenses saw the missiles coming. The result: No deaths or injuries were reported. Iran also announced that it would abandon the remnants of the 2015 nuclear deal but said it had concluded its retaliation for Soleimani's death. Trump said the U.S. would respond with tighter economic sanctions but issued no military warning. Iran makes deadly mistake Hours after the missile strikes, a Ukrainian commercial jet with 176 people aboard crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran. Iranian officials at first rejected claims the plane was shot down but later acknowledged responsibility. Iran said the plane turned toward a military installation, already on high alert, and was mistaken for a "hostile target" and shot down. Salami: 'I wished I was on that plane' The Iranian military promised to deal with the plane strike in military court. I swear to almighty God that I wished I was on that plane and had crashed with them and burned but had not witnessed this tragic incident, Salami said Sunday. I have never been this embarrassed in my entire life. Never. Iran's intentions: Did Iran mean to kill Americans in its Iraq attack? The answer hints at how far Iran will go to challenge US Iranians protest tragedy Protesters have taken to the streets in Iran, shouting slogans and demanding that leaders be held accountable. Hadi Ghaemi, the executive director of the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, tweeted: "The brave people of Iran have a right to peacefully mourn and demand accountability from their government without state violence, and that government has a duty to listen." Iranian President Hassan Rouhani issued a statement assuring that those who are responsible for the tragedy will be prosecuted. Protests not new in Iran Iran had been rife with protests before the latest clash with the United States. Economic difficulties, in part because of crushing global sanctions had led to a 50% fuel price hike in November. That drove thousands of Iranians to the streets in protest and prompted clashes with security forces. Violence, some deaths and sweeping arrests followed, and the government even shut down the country's Internet in an effort to quash the unrest. Contributing: The Associated Press This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Iran: Missiles pound base and general apologizes for plane shootdown Calls for accountability flood front pages of Iranian dailies after Tehran admits it mistakenly shot down plane. Newspapers in Iran have paid tribute to those killed in the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane, while heaping pressure on the countrys leadership amid growing public anger after the military acknowledged it had accidentally shot down the aircraft. Ukraine International Airlines flight 752, en route to Ukraines capital of Kyiv, crashed minutes after takeoff from the Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran on Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board. The crash happened hours after Iran fired a barrage of missiles against US targets in Iraq in retaliation for the US assassination of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad on January 3. After days of vigorous denials, Iran on Saturday admitted that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) mistakenly shot down the aircraft and apologised for the disastrous human error. Officials in Tehran pledged to bring those who made the mistake to justice but a top IRGC commander added to public anger about the delayed admission when he said on Saturday he had told the authorities a missile hit the plane the day it crashed. The news triggered angry protests in Tehran, with demonstrators demanding the resignation of senior officials including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and prosecution of those responsible for downing the plane and allegedly covering up the accidental action. Iranians on social media, meanwhile, asked why officials were busy fending off criticism from abroad rather than sympathising with grieving families. Others asked why the plane was allowed to take off at a time of high tension. Apologise, resign On Sunday, many newspapers ran black front pages to mark the loss of 82 Iranians, 57 Canadians including many Iranians with dual citizenship and 11 Ukrainians. The official Iranian daily, Iran, published the names of the victims shaped to form the tail of an aeroplane. "Iran" the official daily newspaper of Iranian government dedicates its Sunday's cover page to the victims of the #ukraineplanecrash by writing the name of all the victims in a typographic representing the tail of the plane. The headline reads "Unforgivable"#Iran #boeing #media pic.twitter.com/87gij92ici MAYSAM BIZR (@m_bizar) January 11, 2020 Another newspaper, Hamshahri, run by Tehran municipalities, published Ashamed as a headline and offered condolences. Meanwhile, the front-page banner of Arman-e Meli, a reformist newspaper, read: Unbelievable. Another moderate daily, Jomhuri-ye Eslami, or Islamic Republic, wrote in an editorial: Those who delayed publishing the reason behind the plane crash and damaged peoples trust in the establishment should be dismissed or should resign. Apologise, resign, said the main headline of the reformist Etemad daily, adding that the peoples demand was for those responsible for mishandling the plane crisis to quit. Kayhan, a hardline daily, led on Khameneis strict orders to follow up on the painful incident of the plane crash. The front page of Javan, which is close to the IRGC published: Deep apology for painful mistake. Criticism of the authorities in Iran is not unusual, but it tends to stay within narrow boundaries. There is definite anger, shock in the country after it was revealed that it was, in fact, Iran that shot down the Ukrainian airliner, after days of denying it, Al Jazeeras Assed Baig, reporting from Tehran, said. Irans leadership faced mass protests in November following a surprise government decision to ration petrol and raise prices to fund cash benefits for the countrys poorest citizens. Iran has been in the grip of a severe economic crisis since President Donald Trumps decision in 2018 to withdraw the US from a nuclear deal signed between Iran and world powers in 2015 and to reimpose punishing sanctions. Aviation live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Gaurav Garg The flight for the aviation sector went through a turbulent patch last year due to various factors ranging from board room battles to the ban on certain airplane models -- the industry withstood a lot, only to hope for a better 2020. At a recent event, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri said that Indias aviation sector was all set to witness exponential growth in the coming times. In 2019, the leading companies in the sector had their troublesome story and they also saw tough times as a whole. Indigo saw a battle between the co-founders which made the management weaker for a while. The ban on Boeing 737 Max meanwhile, meant a major setback to the expansion plans for SpiceJet. The company was betting a huge stake of its growth on this airplane model, after all. During this time the sector also bid adieu to long term player Jet Airways. This not only left several jobless, but also created a temporary vacuum for flights connecting the country and the Middle East. The state-owned Air India was not far away on this bumpy road. A temporary closing of air space by Pakistan and an ever-increasing debt on its balance sheet has left the airline dried and without any prospective buyers. The government has made an attempt to sell its stake in the airline for the third time but has not attracted much attention. A sale of stake for Air India however might happen in the next financial year. With a slow and strenuous year, there were certain opportunities for the sector that are expected to strengthen the pillars of the aviation industry. A vacuum in flights to the Middle East gave other players such as IndiGo a scope to expand. IndiGo is set for take-off for Doha and Dubai and an increase in flight routes is expected to soon follow. We are also witnessing a growth in the regional air connectivity in aviation which presents itself as one of the biggest opportunities for 2020. Even though the future seems bright for the sector, it still seems far away. Thus, we expect the financial year 2019-2020 to close with airlines on the path of recovery from setbacks that 2019 brought with it. (The author is Head of Research at CapitalVia Global Research Limited- Investment Advisor) : The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on moneycontrol.com are his own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. Minister Seremaiah, DG Amos and VANFLY Company representatives witnessing Ifira Stevedoring move the first container of premium sea cucumber products to the wharf ready for shipment A decorated Vietnam and Iraq war hero says his prosthetic legs were repossessed two days before Christmas. Now Jerry Holliman, 69, says he's stuck in a Mississippi veterans home, unable to use the artificial limbs after they were returned to him - most likely because he went to the media with his story. He technically still doesn't own them and needs to have them adjusted before he can wear them. His solution, he was told by the prosthetic vendor, was to file a claim with Medicare, and make a co-payment. Jerry Holliman, a 69-year-old decorated Vietnam and Iraq war hero, says his prosthetic legs were repossessed two days before Christmas However, he said the legs were returned, most likely because he went to the media with his story. He says he still isn't officially the owner and can't use the artificial limbs because the vendor hasn't properly adjusted them His solution, he was told by the prosthetic vendor, was to file a claim with Medicare, and make a co-payment, which he refuses to do Holliman, however, tells DailyMail.com that Medicare won't cover the artificial limbs, and that the Veterans Administration should still pick up the bill. He said: 'I went into Vietnam in 1970 and stayed in the military until I was 60 yearsold. This is ridiculous. Insane really. 'You spend so long, doing something for your country, and you expect it to do something in return, but it doesnt happen.' Holliman's story describes the frustration veterans promised lifetime medical care through the help of the VA sometimes endure when they claim benefits from the government. However, a VA spokesman told DailyMail.com that the agency was not involved the purchase of the artificial legs. Volunteering for service, Holliman completed Basic Training at Fort Ord, California, and received an accelerated promotion that allowed him to serve as a squad leader in the 101 Airborne Division over in Vietnam, according to his profile page on PurpleHeartHomes.org. After Vietnam, he continued in active duty while stationed in Egypt for Operation Bright Star and the Tigris-Euphrates River Valley in Northern Iraq. 'Jerry participated in 37 convoy missions in Iraq from 2004 and 2005,' PurpleHeartsHome.org says. 'In 2010, Jerry was honorably discharged after 40 years in the Army. He had reached the rank of Sergeant Master.' He was the recipient of the Bronze Star from his service in both Vietnam and Iraq, according to his discharge papers, reports the Clarion Ledger. Holliman also was exposed to Agent Orange, the chemical agent used to wipe out forestry in the hunt for enemy soldiers, which also has been linked to illnesses. He told DailyMail.com he's beaten cancer three times, but that diabetes caught up to him, crippling his legs. Both ended up with gangrene, leading to the amputation of one in 2018 and the other in April, the Ledger reports. He moved from his home in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to a veterans home in Collins, which was supposed to be temporary until he got his mobility back, reports the Ledger. That's when in August he was suited up with artificial limbs from Hanger Clinic, assisted by the firm's office in Hattiesburg. A representative from the office was not immediately available when DailyMail.com reached out. He said Hanger provided his artificial limbs in August, that he held on to his paperwork, including handwritten notes on how to use and clean the prosthetics, and that he began rehab at the veterans home. Jerry Holliman, pictured from a post on the site PurpleHeartsHomesUSA.org, is a recipient of both the Bronze Star awards Established February 4, 1944, the bronze star medal is awarded for heroic or meritorious achievement or service, not involving aerial flight, while engaged in combat against an enemy or while serving in combat with friendly foreign forces. After undergoing a few rehab sessions, he said he was then told by Hanger staff that the VA wasn't paying for the limbs. He said the home, wasn't able to help and that his last hope was with the federal government. With the price of prosthetic limbs typically in the thousands, Holliman says he was encouraged to file a claim with Medicare, which leaves him responsible for a co-pay, which he refused to pay. It was not clear how much of a co-pay he would be made responsible for. On December 23, he says Hanger sent an employee to adjust the limbs and have him sign Medicare paperwork. When he refused, the artificial limbs were reclaimed. 'He was always under the impression, "These were my legs,"' his son Jerald told the Ledger. 'What he's done for his community, his country ... for them to have taken these legs is an insult.' 'I stayed in the military 40 years, I'm a Vietnam veteran, then I came back and I went into Iraq. I've had cancer three times from Agent Orange,' Collins says in video footage taken by the Ledger, showing him in the veteran's home. 'I'm going through deep depression. I really want to throw in the towel' he says. 'It's because of them repossessing my legs like that. I was going through therapy to try and get up and go home. It's not even worth it anymore.' After a reporter and photographer from the Ledger visited the same home on January 2, Holliman says the Hanger representative returned with the limbs. After a reporter and photographer visited the same home (pictured), Holliman says the vendor returned with the limbs. 'You can have 'em,' the representative said, Holliman recalled, claiming he was denied the adjustments he needed for using the limbs pending payment ''You can have 'em,' the representative said, Holliman recalled to the Ledger, claiming he was denied the adjustments he needed for using the prosthetics. 'They're not going to do anything to them until the VA pays them,' Holliman says he was told. Hanger declined to give prices for its artificial Limbs, when asked by the Ledger, which quotes a 2013 ABC News report that provides a range of $5,000 to $50,000 for adults. At least two GoFundMe pages have been created to help the veteran since his story went public. Holliman says he was told the Veterans Administration (file) wouldn't cover the cost of his artificial limbs, and that instead he should file a claim with Medicare and make a co-payment A spokeswoman for the company did tell the Ledger that 'Hanger Clinic does not take back prosthetic devices after final delivery to a patient has been made,' in a statement, reports the Ledger. That final delivery will be official once Holliman agrees to have Medicare cover the cost, and make the co-payment. When re-approached, the Hanger spokeswoman re-stated it could not speak about Holliman's case specifically, because of privacy laws. 'We understand how critical the devices we build are for our patients' rehabilitation,' she said in a statement. '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. We are committed to empowering human potential, and want to see our patients regain their mobility and independence.' Meanwhile, Holliman's claims his depression is tough. He's the youngest resident in the veteran's home and his roommate died last month. 'I was here for one thing to get my prosthetic legs, learn how to walk in 'em, and go home,' he told the Ledger. 'I've been here over a year. I wanna go home. This place is not for me. It's a dignified place for these guys to die, that's what it is... 'It's probably every other month somebody dies here. And you know what they do? Put a flag over them, and play 'Taps' and take them outta here.' MELVILLE, N.Y.Chris Levis fellow soldiers were sure he was dead. The Humvee he commanded in Baghdad had been torn apart by a projectile, and so had his body. When he awoke several minutes later, he followed his training, trying to assess his injuries. I tried to wiggle my toes, and I couldnt move them, he recalled. Fearing he had been paralyzed, he reached down to feel his lower body. Its kind of hard to describe, he said. You could feel wet meat, and I knew I lost my legs. The device that nearly killed Levi in 2008 was an improvised bomb called an explosively formed penetrator, or EFP a weapon that blasted a teardrop-shaped slug of molten copper through the passenger door of his armoured Humvee. Though it was fired by Shiite militia members in Iraq, Levi has sought for years to hold another party responsible: Iran. He and dozens of other soldiers injured during the Iraq War, as well as the families of hundreds of dead service members, have pursued justice in federal court. They sued Irans government in an effort to prove that the attacks that took their limbs and loved ones were aided by Irans Revolutionary Guard. Their fight was little noticed, with limited hope of recovering significant damages despite a ruling last year in their favour. Then another form of justice came this month, when an American missile killed the man they hold most responsible, Gen. Qassem Soleimani. His name may not have been well known to most Americans, but the general had long been a focus of anger for many wounded veterans and families of those killed in Iraq. U.S. officials have blamed Soleimani for a campaign of roadside bombs and other attacks that they say killed hundreds of troops at the height of the Iraq War, which took the lives of nearly 4,500 American service members and left more than 30,000 wounded. He was the leader of the group that killed Dad, Kelli Hake, whose husband died in an EFP attack, recalled telling her 13-year-old son when she saw the news of Soleimanis death flash on television. Since 2007, the U.S. military has said that Iran, and specifically the Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, commanded by Soleimani, provided Iraqi militias with the projectile weapons and the training needed to use them. Last week, as White House claims that the general was killed to ward off imminent attacks on Americans were called into question, the administration sought to bolster its justification for the missile strike by also focusing on his role during the Iraq War. President Donald Trump said in a televised statement Wednesday that Soleimani had viciously wounded and murdered thousands of U.S. troops. The claim that Iran was partly responsible for losses in Iraq is at the heart of the lawsuit filed in February 2016 by more than 300 wounded veterans or relatives of dead service members. The plaintiffs say the attacks at issue all had something in common: specialized weaponry or other materials or support provided by Iran. Primarily, that meant components for EFP weapons, one of the most lethal devices wielded against Americans during the Iraq War. Using an explosive charge to launch a dense metal projectile at several times of the speed of sound, they could punch through the armour of almost any military vehicle. Hake said she was skeptical when lawyers first approached her about the lawsuit. Although she might never see much money, she said she decided to join as a way to bring attention to Irans role in the attacks on her husband and others. I want it to be out there and known, she said. Her son, Gage, was a toddler in March 2008 when his father, Staff Sgt. Christopher Hake, was killed by an EFP that pierced the fuel tank of a Bradley Fighting Vehicle, setting it ablaze. Hake remembers feeling grateful that her son was too young to remember his fathers death, but also devastated that he would not remember his life. The death of Soleimani brought some of those emotions back, she said, but it also gave her a feeling of relief. Its not that he physically killed Chris himself, she said, but he was the one who put those motions into action. So far, the case has focused on six specific EFP strikes that killed and maimed troops, including Levi and Hake, in Baghdad between 2005 and 2009, as well as a January 2007 kidnapping operation carried out by militiamen in central Iraq that resulted in the deaths of five service members. In 2018, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia conducted a three-day trial to closely examine who was behind the seven attacks. No one showed up from Iran to defend the case, which the plaintiffs filed under a law that allows Americans to seek damages from other countries for deaths and injuries caused by torture, terrorism and related acts. Levi, who was a specialist in the Army, took the stand and described the day that the copper projectile tore through his Humvee, shattering his right arm and slicing his legs off above the knees. Over the next two years, he endured more than 100 operations at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where doctors fitted him for prosthetic legs and used a metal plate and screws to hold his arm and hand together. Now, when he wants to play with his two small dogs, Marley and Remy, or when he expects a visit from his young nieces, Levi straps on a shorter set of prosthetics that give him a low centre of gravity. I love being able to throw those feet on and be the same height as my nieces, he said. He also wears them when he hikes or wades into the ocean near his home on Long Island, which was built by the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation and is filled with amenities to help him live independently. At the trial, Levi often engaged in what the judge described as gallows levity. But he sometimes broke down while listening to testimony about the deaths of other soldiers, including Hake. I couldnt stop crying, and I couldnt leave, Levi said, adding that it was important for the world to know what happened to them, and who was responsible. Its something other people needed to hear, he said. He added, Im lucky I only lost limbs. In August, in an initial ruling for the plaintiffs, Kollar-Kotelly said that evidence gathered by U.S. military investigators and intelligence officials clearly showed that material support for the seven attacks she examined had flowed through Soleimanis Quds Force. The generals name appeared throughout her opinion, as she described the role he played as the head of Quds Force and the fact that he reported directly to Irans supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Now, in a new phase of the litigation, the judge is looking at evidence from more than 80 other attacks, most of them involving EFPs, and will decide whether those strikes were also aided by Iran. Then a special master would recommend the amount of damages owed to each plaintiff. There is little chance that Iran could be made to pay up directly. But plaintiffs like Levi and Hake may be able to receive money from a federal fund set up to compensate victims of state-sponsored terrorism, said their lawyer, Gary Osen. Just how many troops were killed or wounded by Iranian-supplied weaponry during the Iraq War remains in dispute. The U.S. military said in 2015 that during a six-year stretch, EFP attacks killed 196 American troops and wounded 861 others. More recently, the Pentagon has given an estimate of 600 American troop deaths from roadside bombs and various other attacks supported by Iran during the war. Some experts, like Joe Cirincione, who was a longtime Democratic staff member in Congress, said evidence had never been presented to blame Soleimani for 600 deaths or the thousands of casualties that Trump is now citing. But he said there was no question that Iran bears considerable responsibility. Can you pin every single EFP attack on Soleimani? No, thats going too far, said Cirincione, who is now the president of Plowshares Fund, a global security foundation. But, he said, Ive never heard anyone claim the Iranians did not supply these weapons. Soleimani once sought to plead his innocence. In January 2007, the general told Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi president at the time, that his hands were clean, according to an American diplomatic cable later revealed by WikiLeaks. I swear on the grave of Khomeini I havent authorized a bullet against the U.S., the general said. Patrick Farr, another plaintiff in the suit, does not believe him. Farrs son, Clay, a soldier on his first deployment in Iraq, was injured by a roadside bomb on the day he turned 21. The next day, he called his father from a hospital bed. It was the last time they talked. A week later, he was back in the field, and an EFP struck the Humvee he was driving, killing him. He was all I had, Farr said in an interview from California City, California. On the night the missile strike killed Soleimani, he celebrated with his wife after reading the news on his phone. He changed our lives forever, Farr said, adding, I do take comfort that the last thing he heard was the sound of a United States missile coming down on his head. Read more about: The U.K.s Crown Prosecution Service has sent a formal extradition request to the U.S., asking that the country return Anne Sacoolas to face trial for the killing of teenager Harry Dunn, according to Reuters. Sacoolas, the wife of U.S. diplomat based at at an Air Force base in England, was charged in December for the death of Harry Dunn, a 19-year-old who was killed while riding his motorcycle in August after Sacoolas allegedly crashed into him with her car. Sacoolas then fled to the U.S. and claimed diplomatic immunity, causing international controversy. 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, a Home Office spokesperson told Reuters in a statement. This is now a decision for the U.S. authorities. The Home Office did not immediately return TIMEs request for comment, but the U.S. State Department tells TIME the extradition request is highly inappropriate. This was a tragic accident, a young man has lost his life, and his family is grieving. No one could hear about this tragic accident and not feel incredible sadness over this loss, a State Department spokesperson said in an emailed statement to TIME. The President, the Secretary of State, the U.S. Ambassador in London and others in our government have all expressed sincere condolences to the Dunn family for this tragedy. The United States has been clear that, at the time the accident occurred, and for the duration of her stay in the U.K., the driver in this case had status that conferred diplomatic immunities, the spokesperson added. The Foreign Secretary stated the same in Parliament. It is the position of the United States government that a request to extradite an individual under these circumstances would be an abuse. The use of an extradition treaty to attempt to return the spouse of a former diplomat by force would establish an extraordinarily troubling precedent. Story continues The Dunn family has been adamant in relation to Sacoolas extradition, and met with President Trump at the White House in October. Trump attempted to have Sacoolas meet with the family at the White House, the Dunn family says, but they declined. Its about Harry, its not about politics, Charlotte Charles told TIME in October during the familys visit to the U.S. It shouldnt be about the governments and it shouldnt be us worrying about this becoming a political brawl or whatever. Its about our boy, and making sure that it doesnt happen to another family. Radd Seiger, the Dunn familys spokesperson, told The Guardian that the family is 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, he added. However, no one, whether diplomat or otherwise, is above the law. The fatal stabbing of a 25-year-old man in Fall River Saturday morning remains under investigation by police. According to the Bristol District Attorneys office, police were called to a parking lot outside of a housing complex at 2000 Bay Road in Fall River around 7:20 a.m. Saturday for a report of a stabbing. Authorities discovered 25-year-old Jorge Vieira, of Fall River, in the parking lot. He had been stabbed. Vieira was rushed to a local hospital then taken to Rhode Island Hospital where he died later Saturday. Detectives from Fall River and the Massachusetts State Police continue to investigate the killing. New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday joined hundreds of protestors who are protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens outside the Jamia Millia Islamia. Throor was accompanied by Congress state president Subhash Chopra. Congress president Sonia Gandhi earlier described the Citizenship (Amendment) Act as a discriminatory and divisive law whose sinister purpose was to divide people on religious lines, and asserted that the NPR in form and content was disguised NRC. While addressing the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, Gandhi also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah over the citizenship law, accusing them of making provocative statements. The Congress demands that a comprehensive high-powered commission be constituted to enquire into the incidents connected with anti-CAA protests, she said. The Congress leader said thousands of young men and women, especially students, have realised the grave harm that implementation of the new citizenship law will cause. Also Read: Citizenship Amendment Act Gives Citizenship, Doesn't Take It Away: PM Modi At Belur Math They have taken to the streets braving the cold as well as police brutalities, Gandhi said, adding that it is clear the government is digging in its heels as the students protests gain momentum. Not a day passes without the Home Minister and on some days the Prime Minister himself making provocative statements, the Congress president said. Govt Won't Rest Until Pakistan Refugees Made Indian Citizens: Amit Shah Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said however much the Congress opposes the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), the government will not rest until all the refugees from minority communities from Pakistan are given Indian citizenship. He once again challenged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to show him any provision in the new legislation that will snatch the citizenship of any citizen in the country. Also Read: Those Who Raise Anti-National Slogans Will Be Behind Bars: Amit Shah's Clear Message I am saying it loudly. You Congress leaders, listen carefully...Oppose it as much as you can, but we will rest only after giving citizenship to all these people. No one can stop us from doing so. Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Christian refugees from Pakistan have as much right over India as you and I have. They are the sons and daughters of India. The country will embrace them, Shah said while addressing a public meeting here in support of the new citizenship law. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Vietnam will import 12 million tons of coal this year, 30 million tons in 2025 and 50 million tons in 2030 to fuel thermal power plants. Senior officials of the state-owned coal mining group Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Holding Corporation Limited (Vinacomin) said at a Friday meeting that it supplied more than 36 million tons of coal to operate thermal power projects last year, up seven million tons over 2018 and 12 million tons over 2017. As power consumption in Vietnam increases, it is expected that the demand for coal to serve thermal power plants could rise to 50 million tons in 2020 and double that in 2030, they said. The government has directed Vinacomin to ensure sufficient coal supply for the power plants, via domestic production and imports. "Vinacomin will have to import 12 million tons of coal this year and the figure will rise to 30.5 million five years later and 50 million in 2030," Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung said at the meeting. Under the national Power Development Plan VII, a total of 60,000 MW is expected to be generated by 2020, with coal-fired plants accounting for 42.7 percent, followed by hydropower (30.1 percent), gas-fired plants (14.9 percent), and renewables (9.9 percent). Once a coal exporter, Vietnam last year spent an estimated $3.75 million importing 43.5 million tons of coal, up 190 percent in volume and 148 percent in value against 2018, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Vietnam has already struck deals to buy electricity from Laos to mitigate power shortages predicted to hit the country from this year onwards. The industry ministry estimates shortages of 3.7 billion kWh in 2021 and nearly 10 billion kWh the following year. The ministry said not more than 5-8 percent of electricity can be conserved, and the only way out is to import more from Laos and China. It also added that buying from neighboring countries was just a temporary solution, and in the long run it was necessary to speed up work on large power generation projects. Vietnam currently has 26 operating thermal power plants with a total capacity of 13.810 MW. Stop coal plants, activists say Concerned by the environmental and health toll that coal-fired power plants exact, leaders of 12 networks and non-government organizations collectively urged Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc early this month to stop 14 coal-fired new plants in Vietnam. The 14 projects, located in eight provinces Quang Ninh and Bac Giang in northern Vietnam, Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Binh Thuan in central Vietnam, and the southern Long An, Tien Giang and Soc Trang will have a total capacity of 17,390 MW. Last November, a report by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, prepared in collaboration with Denmarks Energy Agency also warned Vietnam against building new coal-fired power plants. It said the country needs early action to reduce future coal demand, which could include taxation on the use of coal or limits on new coal-based power generation. The death toll in the explosion at a chemical factory in Maharashtra's district rose to eight on Sunday after the body of a missing girl was recovered from the debris at the site, officials said. The blast took place on Saturday evening during the testing of some chemicals at the under-construction plant of Ank Pharma in Kolwade village, killing six people. During the debris clearing operation, one more body was found on Sunday morning. The deceased was identified as Trinad Dasari (35), district disaster control cell chief Vivekananda Kadam said. Later, the body of a girl, who was missing since the mishap took place, was also found, another official said. "We recovered the body of the missing girl, identified as Khushi Surendra Yadav, from the debris around 1.30 pm today. She was in the age group of 13 to 14 years," district Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh told PTI. The blast took place on Saturday evening during the testing of some chemicals at the under-construction plant of Ank Pharma in Kolwade village, killing six people. The six found dead on Saturday were identified as Mohan Ingle (45), Sakshi Madan (39), Nishu Singh (26), Madhuri Singh (46), Gokul Jadhav (18) and Ilyas Ansari (45) (factory watchman). Besides, the seven injured persons, including the plant owner Natwarbhai Patel, who was seriously hurt, were undergoing treatment at different hospitals, Kadam said. Work for clearing the debris was still underway, he added. The explosion took place during the testing of some chemicals around 7.20 pm at the plant in a Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) area of Boisar, located over 100 km away from Mumbai, officials earlier said. The blast was so huge that it was heard within a 15-km radius, and window panes of some houses in the surrounding area shattered, they said. The under-construction plant building collapsed after the explosion and two other chemical units located in the vicinity also suffered damages, Kadam said. A team of the Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team was also called for rescue operations on Saturday. District Guardian minister Dada Bhuse inspected the blast site late Saturday night. Later talking to reporters, he said as per preliminary reports, the plant had permission from the authorities concerned to carry out testing of machineries. "However, the district health and safety officials will visit the site today and carry out an inspection. Based on their report, police will take further action," he said. As of now, an accidental death report has been registered, an official at Boisar police station said. "In view of several chemical units located in Boisar MIDC, we have to now seriously think of taking steps to prevent such incidents in future," Bhuse said. The minister said he would hold a meeting with all stakeholders in the coming days to come up with some preventive measures. "We would seek guidance and suggestions from experts in this field. Periodic inspections of these plants will be conducted to come out with safety measures," he told PTI. The minister also said that he would visit the blast site on Sunday for a detailed review of the incident. Earlier, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday announced an assistance of Rs five lakh each for the kin of the deceased. (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.) As snow and freezing rain spread across New Brunswick on Sunday, the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure warned people to stay off several of the province's highways. Travel is not recommended on Route 108 from Renous to Plaster Rock. The highway is snow packed and icy. Highway 2, the Trans-Canada, from the Quebec border to Moncton is also packed with snow or slushy and icy depending on the section. RCMP are advising drivers to not travel on it. "Driving conditions are extremely poor," they advised in a tweet. Travel is not recommended on Highway 17 from Saint-Leonard to the junction at Highway 11, and from there to Bathurst. Other travel advisories are in place for Highway 8 from Jeanne Mance to Bathurst and on Highway 11 from Bathurst to Bertrand. Travel is also not advised on Highway 180 from St. Quentin to Southeast Upsalquitch River. Maritime Bus cancelled its morning and afternoon routes throughout the province. Air Canada, WestJet and Porter Airlines have issued travel advisories. Morning flights were cancelled or delayed at airports in Moncton, Saint John, Fredericton and Bathurst as well. Ryan Snoddon/CBC City buses are operating in Moncton and Saint John but there are some areas nor being serviced in Saint John. Fredericton Transit does not operate on Sunday. Freezing rain and snowfall warnings will continue across the province Sunday night. A mixture of freezing rain, ice pellets and snow will taper to flurries this evening in the south. In the north, snow will taper to flurries with another 2-4 centimetres expected. In Fredericton, 15-year-old Pranar Badrinthan shoveled his neighbour's driveway. He found it harder to deal with ice pellets than snow. "I need to clear it out so they can get their visitors in safely." Badrinthan, who has been living in Canada for two years, said he adjusted to Canadian winters quickly. "I don't feel too cold or anything while I'm outside.dressed like this." Story continues University students Shivam Sabrwal, Jean-Marc Belliveau and Jacob Majcan agreed the ice pellets were hard to shovel as they worked to clear the driveway. "Freezing rain is definitely worse than snow," said Majcan. Gail Harding/CBC NB Power spokesperson Sheila Lagace said crews are on standby in areas of possible impact. There were a few scattered outages earlier Sunday due to trees making contact with lines. "At this time, we continue to monitor the weather closely and we are ready to respond if there are power outages as a result of this storm," Lagace said in an email. Lagace reminded people to have a 72-hour emergency kit ready in the event of power outages. Fr Paddy Byrne (inset) has said churches need to review their security and consider installing CCTV following the vandalism at his Church of the Most Holy Rosary in Abbeyleix, Co Laois A well-known catholic priest has said churches need to review their security and consider installing CCTV following the vandalism of two separate parishes in the Diocese of Kildare & Leighlin over the weekend. Fr Paddy Byrne is parish priest of the Church of the Most Holy Rosary in Abbeyleix, Co Laois. Speaking to the Irish Independent on Sunday afternoon, he thanked Gardai for apprehending the culprit behind a mindless act of vandalism in his parish which saw a new candelabra, which had been placed over a space where many parishioners like to light a candle, totally destroyed and smashed into pieces. I dont believe there was any big motivation against the church, I think it was mindless vandalism, which churches are particularly vulnerable to because we choose to keep our doors open, Fr Byrne said. Expand Close The destroyed candelabra the Church of the Most Holy Rosary in Abbeyleix, Co Laois. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The destroyed candelabra the Church of the Most Holy Rosary in Abbeyleix, Co Laois. He highlighted that the attack on the church was an attack on a sacred building. People come in here at different times of the day to find a quiet space from the busy and noisy world and to find solace in prayer. He added that religious buildings like churches and mosques shouldnt have to shut up shop over fear of vandalism. But he said the two incidents of vandalism in his diocese were a wakeup call to churches to be on top of their game in relation to safeguarding their sacred spaces and vessels. On Saturday, the parish priest and parishioners of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Allen, Co Kildare were shocked to discover it had been substantially damaged when thieves ripped out the Tabernacle, containing sacred hosts, as well as making off with the safe from the sacristy, and the candle shrine from the back of the Church. Fr Willie Byrne told the Irish independent that the thieves smashed a stained-glass window to gain entry to the small isolated church and broke down a side door in order to make off with the sacred objects. There was absolute devastation in the parish when we discovered what had happened, he said and added that it is the second time the rural parish, which can hold just over 150 people, has been targeted. In September 2018 it was also broken into, though nothing was taken on that occasion. Expand Close Fr Paddy Byrne, parish priest of the Church of the Most Holy Rosary in Abbeyleix, Co Laois. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Fr Paddy Byrne, parish priest of the Church of the Most Holy Rosary in Abbeyleix, Co Laois. Fr Byrne paid tribute to his parishioners, who rallied around and cleared up the damage enabling Mass to go ahead on Sunday. On Sunday afternoon, Gardai discovered the sacred vessels stolen from Holy Trinity abandoned in a field near Newbridge. Fr Byrne believes the thieves dumped them there when they discovered that there was no money in any of the objects. There is a misconception that there is money in parish churches. Any money collected tends to be very small and the candle shrine had recently been emptied. Fr Paddy Byrne of Abbeyleix said, Im not for closing up the church. In the context of the very stressful pace of life, we want people to be able to come here at any time and be able to light a candle and retreat to a sacred space. These are sacrosanct spaces that must be respected. The head of Human Rights Watch has reportedly been barred from entering Hong Kong. Immigration authorities told Kenneth Roth, the organisation's executive director, he could not enter the region after he arrived at the city's airport. He was planning to launch a report in which the lead essay written by Mr Roth himself makes a case for how China is trying to undermine the international code on human rights, the advocacy group said. Even though Ive been able to enter Hong Kong freely before, the director said in a video from the airport, this time for the first time they blocked me. The US citizen said he would fly back to New York to give the press conference on Human Rights Watchs annual world report there instead. Mr Roth added: Sadly this episode is just the latest evidence that the Chinese government is doing everything it can to undermine the enforcement of international human rights standards. Human Rights Watch said authorities did not explain why its director was blocked from entering Hong Kong. The move to bar Mr Roth follows Chinas pledge last month to sanction organisations it claimed had performed badly in relation to anti-government protests taking place in Hong Kong. Human Rights Watch, the National Endowment for Democracy, and Freedom House - all US-based organisations advocate for rights - were all mentioned by Beijing. Protests in Hong Kong were sparked over seven months ago by a proposed bill allowing extradition to mainland China, and have since evolved to encompass wider pro-democracy and anti-government sentiment. Demonstrators' five demands include universal suffrage and an independent investigation into alleged police brutality. Over one thousand people gathered in the semi-autonomous region over the weekend to urge people and governments abroad to support the citys pro-democracy movement and oppose Chinas ruling Communist Party. Additional reporting by Associated Press US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said that senators will pay a price if they block new witnesses in Donald Trumps impeachment trial. The House plans to vote this week to transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate for the historic trial on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress over Mr Trumps actions toward Ukraine. It will be only the third impeachment trial in American history. Its about a fair trial, Ms Pelosi told ABCs This Week. Weve done our job. We have defended the Constitution of the United States. We would hope the Senate would do that as well. She warned: Now the ball is in their court to either do that or pay a price. Mr Trump tweeted right before and after Ms Pelosis appearance, in both instances using derisive nicknames. He said both she and House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff should appear in the Senate for testimony. He must be a Witness, and so should she! Mr Trump tweeted. Why should I have the stigma of Impeachment attached to my name when I did NOTHING wrong? Read the Transcripts! A totally partisan Hoax, never happened before. House Republicans voted 195-0, with three Dems voting with the Republicans. Very unfair to tens of millions of voters! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2020 The president also rebutted Ms Pelosis suggestion that no matter what the Senate does, the House vote last month means Mr Trump will be impeached forever and for life. Why should I have the stigma of Impeachment attached to my name when I did NOTHING wrong? Mr Trump tweeted, calling the House action a totally partisan Hoax. It is unlikely that the Republican-controlled Senate would call either Democrat to testify in the presidents impeachment trial, which could start as soon as this week. Story continues The Democratic-run House is set to vote this week to send the articles of impeachment after Ms Pelosi ended a more than three-week delay. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, seeking a speedy trial to acquit the president, is reluctant to seek more witnesses. Mr McConnell has proposed a process similar to the last presidential impeachment trial of Bill Clinton in 1999 that would start the proceedings and then vote later on hearing new testimony. The House plans to vote this week to transmit the articles of impeachment against Donald Trump to the Senate (Kevin Wolf/AP) One leading Republican, Senator Lindsey Graham, has already predicted that the trial would end in a matter of days. In a Fox News Channel interview on Saturday, Mr Graham dismissed Ms Pelosis tactics, saying the delay would have no effect on calling new witnesses or the expected outcome acquittal by the Republican-controlled Senate. The Senate should not reward this behaviour by the House, said Mr Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Senate should end this trial as quickly as possible. Thats what I intend to do. He will be acquitted. I hope and pray every Republican will reject what Nancy Pelosi did, and well pick up a few Democrats. Top Democrats defended Ms Pelosis decision to delay sending the articles of impeachment against the president, saying it produced new potential evidence and turned public attention on the upcoming trial. One of the things that holding on to the articles has succeeded doing is fleshing out McConnell and the presidents desire to make this a cover up, Mr Schiff said on CBS Face The Nation. If McConnell succeeds in making this trial a trial without witnesses. Thats not a fair trial. Thats a sham, he said. Mr Trump was impeached on charges that he abused his power by pressuring the president of Ukraine to investigate Democrats, specifically Mr Trump political rival Joe Biden. Mr Trump was also charged with obstruction of Congress for trying to block the House investigation. While Mr McConnell joined some Republicans in a resolution for votes to dismiss the charges against Mr Trump, at least one Republican up for reelection, Senator Susan Collins, said last week she was in talks with colleagues to hear more testimony. Mr Schiff has rebuffed previous calls to testify, saying he was not a fact witness to the events. Many believe that by the Senate giving credence to a trial based on the no evidence, no crime, read the transcripts, no pressure Impeachment Hoax, rather than an outright dismissal, it gives the partisan Democrat Witch Hunt credibility that it otherwise does not have. I agree! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2020 Ms Pelosi said senators need to consider new witnesses, including former national security adviser John Bolton, who has said he would be willing to testify if he receives a subpoena. Mr Trump is blocking White House officials from appearing and reiterated last week he does not want his former top security adviser to testify before the Senate. House Democrats, who did not issue a subpoena for Mr Bolton last year, did not rule out doing so now. Its certainly something that we are considering, Mr Schiff said. Ms Pelosi also left open the door to filing more articles of impeachment against Mr Trump. Its Sunday morning lets be optimistic about the future a future that will not have Donald Trump in the White House, one way or another, 10 months from now we will have an election, if we dont have him removed sooner, she said. Right before Ms Pelosi was set to appear for the Sunday interview, Mr Trump tweeted against Ms Pelosi, calling her a derisive nickname, Crazy Nancy. Asked about Mr Trumps tweet, Ms Pelosi said, Every knock from him is a boost. There is no need for President's rule in Maharashtra: Ajit Pawar No problem with raids on companies linked to me, but why drag my sisters: Ajit Pawar Govt considering making Marathi compulsory in all schools till class 10 India oi-Madhuri Adnal Pune, Jan 10: Lamenting that many students can not read and write Marathi, Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said on Friday that the government was thinking of making Marathi compulsory in all schools till class 10. He was speaking at a felicitation program at Baramati, his Assembly constituency. "The number of children studying in English-medium schools is increasing and they speak very good English. But they are not able to read and write Marathi properly," the NCP leader said. Varanasi railway station to announce in 4 south Indian languages; Marathi,Odia later "Very soon we are going to take up one issue, and that is to make Marathi a compulsory subject in schools, be it Urdu-medium, Hindi-medium or English-medium, from class 1 to Class 10," Pawar said. PM Modi in West Bengal: renames Kolkata Port Trust after Shyama Prasad Mukherjee | OneIndia News "We all live in Maharashtra and every child should read and write Marathi properly," he said. Some students may feel that their marks in class 10 and 12 will suffer if they are forced to study an additional subject, he said. "But I would like to tell them, do not think of only percentage. Our mother-tongue should be conserved," the deputy chief minister added. He also said that the condition of police quarters in the state was very bad, and the government will take steps to improve the situation. The government will provide houses of 500 square feet to police personnel, he said. Pawar also appealed party workers not to come to Mumbai to meet him unless there was important work. "I have still not received official residence. At the place where I am staying, we have to accommodate people in the dining room, in bedroom. My wife Sunetra told me that I will not live here till a bigger house is allotted," he said in a lighter vein. "The state is in a difficult financial situation, we are witnessing a decline in the growth rate. Gold prices are going up, fuel prices are going up because of the Iran-US stand-off and rupee is depreciating. Single language for country not feasible says Jairam Ramesh At the same time we have to help farmers and make them eligible for a new crop loan for the Kharif season," he said. Earlier, the NCP leader was accorded a grand welcome in the town as he was visiting Baramati for the first time after becoming deputy CM. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, January 12, 2020, 12:36 [IST] Where are the clowns? Send in the clowns. Don't bother they're here. For some years, Britain has been struggling with the still unresolved issue of Brexit. Now the country is disturbed and confused by the problem of Megxit. A dramatic illustration of this is that the wax figures of the duke and duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, were immediately removed from their place in the royal set at Madame Tussaud's Museum in London after their models' startling and surprising announcement on January 8, 2020. The announcement is written in English, but its import, with its enigmatic nature, is not immediately obvious. The decision of the important tourist museum, however, sharply depicted the reality: the fall from grace and the decline of popularity of the royal couple. Anyone who has watched the various episodes of the British TV series The Crown must appreciate that the members of the British Royal Family, the Firm, have what can be considered a trade-off: privileges and a high lifestyle, if not one of riches, in return for performance of national duties. On constant display, it is not an easy life for members of the Firm, who need a thick skin as well as an ability to give an elegant wave in public. The Crown is aware of the formality of their behavior, the sense of duty, the limits on personal action, the scrutiny and expectations of royals by the press and the public. Those who act improperly in their private life, such as the earl and countess of Wessex, Prince Michael of Kent, and the Duchess of York, are cast into the wilderness. The Sussex announcement of January 8 reflects the dilemma experienced by the Royal Family adherence to duty and established rules and desire for personal expression and independence. The announcement by Prince Harry, 35 years old and sixth in line to the throne, and the 38-year-old duchess, Meghan Markle, stated that they 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. The couple propose to balance their time between the U.K .and North America and to continue to honor their duty to the queen, the commonwealth, and their patronages. This would enable their family, the pair and their infant son, Archie, to focus "on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity." The terse reply from stunned blindsided personnel at Buckingham Palace was that these are complicated issues that will take time to work through. The issue raises problems for the Royal Family, already troubled by the failings of Andrew, Duke of York, the former associate of Jeffrey Epstein and involved in the sex-trafficking scandal. He will step down from public duties for the foreseeable future and will lose his income from the Sovereign Grant, though he will keep his grace and favor home in Windsor. In addition, a number of public companies have severed ties with charities and organizations linked to Andrew. Problems in the Royal Family have become familiar. The tension and rivalry between Queen Elizabeth and her younger sister Margaret is legendary. Over 28 years ago, Princess Diana separated from her husband Charles and said she would be an independent member of the royal family. She also became a global star. Most important was the crisis, a real constitutional crisis, caused in December 1936 by King Edward VIII's insistence on marrying Wallis Simpson, a divorced American socialite, despite the opposition of the U.K .and commonwealth governments to her becoming queen. Edward's obdurate attitude led to his abdication, the only voluntary abdication in British history. At present, Meghan, another divorced American, a modern diva and strong woman, who is regarded by some critics as a manipulative social climber, has stated she wants "her own agenda," whatever that means. Megxit is a problem, a drama, for the Royal Family, but it is not a constitutional crisis for the monarchy. It is a drama of friction between two brothers and their wives for reasons not made public, but probably over differences over the haste of Harry's marriage to Meghan. Harry has said, without explanation, he was on a completely different path from his brother William, which was physically manifested by the separation of the brothers from Kensington Palace. The path is also shown in other ways: Harry's sense of entitlement, by plea of victim status while enjoying privileges; his hypocrisy in pontificating about climate change while traveling by private jet planes that emit vast amounts of CO2; by expressions of self-pity by both him and Meghan. Unlike the usual style of the royal family, Harry and Meghan have been petulant and notable for putting on the glitz. The winter of discontent with the Sussex pair has lasted for about a year and continues. It is worth examining the lifestyle of the duke and duchess of Sussex, who will now be "minor royals." They have received funding for a variety of activities: wedding, home, office, staff, tours, and gifts of money. Father Prince Charles pays for almost all their office expenditure. Harry had inherited 20 million pounds from mother Diana and 7 million from the queen mother, his great grandmother. Meghan had previously earned an estimated $350,000 from her theater work, $37,000 for each episode of the show Suits. Their wedding, costing $3 million, was a lavish affair, to which celebrities, the George Cloonies, David Beckhams, and Oprah Winfreys, were invited and at which Elton John performed at a lunchtime reception. Meghan's wardrobe in 2018 is said to have cost about 500,000 pounds; her baby shower in New York cost $500,000. They spent $3 million renovating their home, Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, a gift to them by Queen Elizabeth. It has been clear for some time that the behavior and exploits of Prince Harry have been less than perfect. Those exploits, including drunken escapades; wearing a Nazi uniform at a party; playing strip billiards in Las Vegas; and his lavish, happy-go-lucky lifestyle, were highly publicized. This, and other incidents, led Harry to attack the press over the public scrutiny he and his wife were getting. He has often highlighted the fact that the death of his mother Princess Diana had affected him. In response to the press coverage of their activities, he said, "I will not be bullied into playing a game that killed my mum." Diana had in fact died with her lover, Dodi Fayed, on August 31, 1997 in a car crash in Paris when pursued by paparazzi. No doubt, Harry was affected by the loss of his mother when he was only 12, but many youngsters have suffered the early death of a parent without dwelling in self-pity. It is almost as if there were a double tendency: imaginary conspiracies against him and determination, sincere or otherwise, to use Diana as a prop. Harry began legal action in 2019 against the British Daily Mail for what he called its ruthless campaign, its breach of privacy, infringement of copyright, and false and deliberate derogatory stories, about their private lives. Paradoxically, this onslaught in the press appeared at the same time as the couple got very favorable coverage of Meghan's South African tour. Nevertheless, Harry's internal drama persisted: "My deepest fear is history repeating itself[.] ... I've seen what happens when someone I love is commoditized [sic] to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person." It is not unfair to suggest that both Diana and Meghan share a facility for backing into the limelight and taking front stage. It is relevant that Diana herself is reputed to have said, "William is deep like his father. Harry is an airhead like me." The couple have chosen to make a new role for themselves. The initial problem is that of financial independence and practical issues. A few questions: Will the couple still get some form of allowance from the Sovereign Grant? Will they be able to live in Frogmore Cottage, free, as their English home? Who will pay for their security, travel, staff, childcare? Will they retain police protection by the Metropolitan Police wherever they go? Will Meghan return to her acting career, in Canada or Hollywood? Above all, what does it mean to balance their time between the U.K .and North America, and to "continue to honor our duty to the queen, the commonwealth, and our patronages"? What does a limited number of royal duties mean? Who will pay for their private secretaries, personal assistants, nannies, and housekeepers? More recently, they have engaged in business and in March 2019 formed Sussex Royal, an Instagram account. They began trademarking their royal brand, a copyright stamp, on more than 100 items t-shirts, books, clothing, merchandise and employed a P.R .firm, Sunshine Sachs, which once represented Harvey Weinstein. While discussions are continuing in Buckingham Palace to find a solution to the drama, the central figure, Meghan, without Harry, quietly left the country on January 9 for Vancouver Island, where her son Archie has been left with his nanny at a secluded luxury home. This does not bode well. One can conclude that unless some acceptable compromise is worked out, the Sussex couple should be deprived of their royal titles; they should not be given public funds; and they should repay the public money, estimated at 2.4 million pounds, spent on renovating Frogmore Cottage. They should not be given publicly funded police protection. In fact, they should be treated as "real persons," which is what Harry wants. (CNN) A week after the US killed Iran's second most powerful official, spiking tensions in the region and triggering fears of war, the Trump administration continues to present conflicting justifications for the deadly Reaper drone strike and clashing narratives about what has followed. Again and again, President Donald Trump's national security officials have contradicted each other about how imminent a threat Qasem Soleimani posed, whether they had specific intelligence on the threat and even what that threat was, with Trump saying one thing then another, while officials offered varying explanations. Administration officials even appear to disagree on the roles that Trump's principal advisers played, with the Defense Department pushing back on news reports Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was a prime actor in directing troop movements. The confusion has extended to events following Soleimani's killing, as the administration offered diverging narratives about Iran's retaliatory attack on US forces in Iraq Wednesday and the departments of Treasury and State presented mismatched details on Iran sanctions Friday. Bungled explanations Amid the fog, lawmakers from both parties have blasted the administration for failing to share intelligence to support or explain its decisions. Administration officials who briefed them insist they explained aspects of the threat that bizarrely several members of Congress say weren't discussed at all. The result is that over a week after Trump pushed the region to the edge of possible conflict, lawmakers and the public remain in the dark about the reasons why. "From the very get-go, the public messaging has raised all kinds of questions about whether or not there was sufficient motivation to launch an attack to kill arguable the second most powerful and important man in Iran," said Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Explanations have been "bungled at I don't know how many levels by the contradictory statements," Miller said. The confusion has implications for US national security, he said. "They've created tremendous problems in terms of transparency and credibility, which are critically important if we're entering a period of potential escalation or even war." What was the threat? On Thursday, it depended on the time of day the President was speaking. At a late morning event in the White House's Roosevelt Room, he told the crowd that "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," an apparent reference to the death of a US contractor after a rocket attack by a militia close to Iran. A few hours later, Trump added other justifications. Soleimani "was looking very seriously at our embassies, and not just the embassy in Baghdad," he said at a rally in Ohio. And on Friday, he offered greater detail in an interview with Fox News, saying that "I believe it would've been four embassies." Asked about Trump's initial claim that "they were looking to blow up our embassy," administration officials said Thursday that the President had been referring to the storming of the embassy that had already occurred. Later in the day, a senior defense official told reporters that there had actually been a plot to attack the embassy involving explosives, one of multiple plots Soleimani was allegedly working that was separate and clearly more sophisticated than the attempts to storm the embassy by Molotov-cocktail-wielding protestors. But lawmakers who attended a briefing from Pompeo and Defense Secretary Esper said that if that was the rationale for killing Soleimani, the two senior officials hadn't bothered to tell them. "Let's be clear - if there was evidence of imminent attacks on four embassies, the Administration would have said so at our Wednesday briefing," Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, said in a tweet. "They didn't. So either Fox News gets higher level briefings than Congress...or...wait for it...there was no such imminent threat." Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Democratic presidential candidate, told NBC Friday morning that neither Pompeo nor Esper raised embassy plots in the briefing, and when Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia was asked about it, he said, "that's news to me based on sitting through that hearing yesterday." "I sat through that hearing. I listened very carefully. I definitely would have known if anyone said that," Kaine said. GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah called the session the "worst briefing I've had on a military issue in my nine years" in the Senate. On the House side, Florida Rep. Val Demings, a member of the House Intelligence committee, also said lawmakers weren't informed about any threat to a US embassy. "Do you think that he had a nightmare and thought it was reality," she asked of Trump's claim. Despite this, Pompeo insisted Friday that he and Esper had, in fact, briefed lawmakers about the embassy threat during the closed-door classified Senate session Wednesday. "We did," he said. "Yes. We told them about the imminent threat. All of the intelligence that we briefed that you've heard today I assure you in an unclassified setting, we provide in the classified setting, as well," Pompeo said. Pressed again, Pompeo said, "I'm not going to talk about the details of what we shared in a classified setting, 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'm describing and what the President said last night." Lawmakers have also challenged the administration on the "question of imminence," as Pompeo puts it. The idea that the threat is imminent is crucial to legally justify Soleimani's January 3 killing. But when asked how immediate the threat had been, administration officials have often referred to Soleimani's past activities or pointed to the US contractor's death in Iraq as evidence. "There was lots of intelligence," Pompeo said January 5. "You've seen some of it's out in the public, right? The death of the American on December 27th." One Republican congressional source with knowledge of the events questioned the idea there was an imminent threat and said the contractor's death may have been the more pivotal factor because of Trump's fears he could face a hostage situation like that in 1979 Iran or US citizen deaths like the 2012 tragedy in Benghazi, Libya. "The intelligence may be no different of (Soleimani) planning" attacks similar to those he'd conducted in the past, this source said. Many analysts note Soleimani's movements about the region were not unusual. "If an American hadn't died, I don't think any of this would have happened." While Esper told CNN on January 8 said the threat was "only a matter of days, certainly no more than weeks" away, Pompeo has emphasized that the exact timing doesn't matter. The timetable "is not something that's relevant" to Americans in the region, Pompeo told CNN. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley said the intelligence was "compelling, it was imminent, and it was very, very clear in scale, scope." But then he went on to caveat heavily, saying, "did it exactly say who, what, when, where? No." On Friday, even as lawmakers continued to question the administration's claims, Pompeo refused to define in time increments what "imminent" meant and insisted there was no contradiction in saying an attack was imminent even if he didn't know when it would happen. "Those are completely consistent thoughts," he said, speaking at the White House. "I don't know exactly which minute. We don't know exactly which day it would have been executed, but it was very clear." 'A lot doesn't add up' The Carnegie Endowment's Miller, referring to the 180-degree disconnect on the briefings to lawmakers and the crucial question of imminence, said "there's a lot, a lot, that doesn't add up." The mixed messages have continued about events in the days after the January 3 drone strike on Soleimani, particularly about Iran's retaliatory missile attacks early Wednesday on Iraqi bases that host US forces. Iran's ambassador to the United Nations Majid Takht Ravanchi told CNN's John Berman Friday that targets were chosen "in order to show that we are capable of hitting the target where the plan to kill Soleimani was organized," and added that "we are not looking after killing Americans within this operation." In the immediate aftermath of the attack, multiple administration officials came to that conclusion, telling CNN they believed Iran had intentionally missed areas populated by Americans to send a message, rather than take significant enough action to provoke a US military response. But a few days later, the story shifted. Esper and Milley were the first to charge that Iran had intended to kill Americans. Vice President Mike Pence echoed them, telling Fox on Thursday there is "no doubt in my mind they were intending to kill Americans." While Trump's senior officials pivoted in lockstep on that talking point, there have been signs of internal discord. A senior US defense official suggested that news reports may be inflating Pompeo's role. CNN reported that a source in Pompeo's inner circle described his work with Milley and the commander of CENTCOM, who assessed the profile of troops in the field. While Esper and Pompeo have a very good relationship, the senior defense official said, Esper had full control and ownership of all issues relating to the defense department and the disposition of US troops. The official added that Esper was in close contact with Pompeo, however, and kept him apprised of troop deployments to secure US facilities in the region. CORRECTION: This story has been updated to accurately reflect that Milley and Esper publicly suggested Iran sought to kill Americans during its Wednesday strikes on Iraqi bases before Pence made the same claim and to clarify that a senior US defense official's comments were in response to news reports. This story was first published on CNN.com. "Trump administration officials have contradicted each other on Soleimani again and again. This is the result." Nearly 60 people, including 48 police officers, were injured in clashes between security forces and students outside the University of Wasit in Iraq's eastern Wasit province, media reported on Sunday, citing a security source. "Forty-eight police officers were injured. Eleven demonstrators were also wounded," the source told Alsumaria broadcaster. The anti-government protests in Iraq began in October with demonstrators demanding economic reforms and calling on the government to step down amid a poor economic situation in the country. Hundreds of people died and thousands of others sustained injuries as the protests were suppressed by the authorities and turned violent. The rallies led to Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi's resignation in November. Mahdi, however, remains in office in a caretaker capacity. President Barham Salih stood down in December. Still the protests continued and a fresh wave of demonstrations gripped Wasit earlier in January. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Days after she faced flak for stating that ministers in the Maharashtra government had just been sworn in and had not started making money, state minister Yashomati Thakur courted controversy again by claiming that touching a cow drives away negativity. Thakur, MLA from Teosa and Women and Child Development minister in the Uddhav Thackeray government, was speaking at a function in Amravati, over 690 kilometres from here, on Saturday. "Our culture says if you touch a cow, all negativity will go away," she told the gathering. Earlier, campaigning for the Vashim Zilla Parishad polls, she had said "we have just come to power, our pockets are not warm enough yet". She had also said that voters may accept money from the opposition but must vote for the Congress. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Duchess of Sussex received the unlikely backing of the hard Left candidate for the next leader of the Labour Party today. Rebecca Long Bailey said that Meghan has been the victim of sexism from her critics and said she wanted the royal to stay in the UK rather than live with Harry in Canada. Her comments came as the high profile couples's decision to step back as senior Royals sent a shockwave through the Establishment. The Queen has called senior members of the family to a high-stakes crisis summit at Sandringham on Monday amid the bitter fallout. Salford and Eccles MP Ms Long Bailey, 40, the preferred candidate of Jeremy Corbyn's inner circle to succeed him when he steps down in April, told Sky's Ridge on Sunday that 'I don't want them to leave the UK.' Her comments came as the high profile couples's decision to step back as senior Royals sent a shockwave through the Establishment Rebecca Long Bailey said that Meghan has been the victim of sexism from her critics and said she wanted the royal to stay in the UK rather than live with Harry in Canada Asked if the American actress had been the victim of sexism and racism she added: 'Sexism, I think certainly, you know, male counterparts don't receive the same level of hostility. 'I think the media has a job to make sure that it is balanced, it is looking at the facts, of course you know reports facts and attack where you can see that there are misdemeanors, wrongdoings or inaccuracies, but don't attack a woman for the sake of attacking a woman.' Meanwhile fellow candidate Emily Thornberry said that the UK taxpayer should continue to pay for the couple's security costs because of the prince's military service. The Queen arrived for a church service on the Sandringham estate this morning, ahead of crisis talks with other senior Royals expected tomorrow Clive Lewis, a shadow Treasury minister who called last week for a referendum on the monarchy, suggested Meghan had been the victim of 'structural racism' in the media Shadow foreign secretary Ms Thornberry told the BBC's Andrew Marr programme: 'I think the British taxpayer should pay for the security of harry and Meghan and their family, as they do with former ministers. 'Harry spent 20 years on the frontline in Afghanistan, through many tours of duty - he has done great service - just on the basis of that. 'I just hate to think what he must be thinking now, having used his instinct to try and defend our country, now he has his much-loved wife and his baby under the type of media scrutiny they are suffering. He must be really wanting to defend them.' Fellow leadership candidate Clive Lewis also defended the duchess. Mr Lewis, a shadow Treasury minister who called last week for a referendum on the monarchy, suggested she had been the victim of 'structural racism' in the media. He told Ridge: 'We can see it with Meghan Markle and the way that she's been treated in the media. 'We know this is a reality of the 21st century still after 400 years of racism. You can't just overturn it overnight, it is something that we're going to have to work on.' The Queen arrived for a church service on the Sandringham estate this morning. Emily Thornberry said that the UK taxpayer should continue to pay for the couple's security costs because of the prince's military service The head of state will be joined at her private Norfolk estate of Sandringham by the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge for the crunch meeting tomorrow - where the 'next steps' will be decided. It will be the first time the four will have met since the issue engulfed the royal family, and it is thought William will be travelling from his Kensington Palace apartment and Harry from Frogmore Cottage near Windsor Castle. Charles was in Oman on Sunday to attend a condolence ceremony following the death Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said, and was expected to travel back to the UK in time for the talks at Sandringham. Before them will be a range of options, and it is likely the royals will try to come to some agreement before the meeting ends to stop the immediate crisis causing lasting damage to the monarchy. Water temperature: 55 degrees. Air temperature: 47. Wind chill: 41. Numbers like those are usually enough to cancel outdoor water-related events in South Texas. But theyre perfect for polar bears. Human polar bears, that is - those daring souls willing to jump into a frigid pool to raise money for the Schertz YMCA. Cold For A Cause brought more than 30 people to the unheated pool at Wendy Swan Memorial Park in the San Antonio suburb Saturday, where participants stripped down to swimsuits for the event known as the polar bear plunge. All the participants started at the deep end of the pool. They would jump in and, depending on swimming prowess and the effects of the cold water, come up sputtering and heading to the closest pool ladder or trying bravely to swim across the pool into the shallow end. First off the edge was Kayla Blevins, aquatics director for the Schertz YMCA. Blevins and Deseret Dawkins, Schertz YMCA senior aquatic director, competed on Facebook to see which one would be the first person to jump in. Blevins won or lost, depending on how you look at it. She tallied about 70 percent of the 200 votes, which brought her to the pools edge first. On about the third countdown, Blevins finally left her feet, hit the waters surface, and disappeared. But just for a second. I had done it in previous years, so I know what the feeling is like, Blevins said of her plunge and direct course to the pool ladder. Everyone was trying to say, Swim across, and Do something cool, but I was in and out. In and out. But it was a very exhilarating experience, she added. Schertz City Councilman David Scagliola, decked out in a wetsuit, took the plunge and crossed the pool to its edge closest to where two fire pits and tables with hot cocoa and Smores were waiting. Im glad I did it. It was very invigorating, the councilman said, adding that the first thing that went through his mind when he hit the waters surface was, Man, is this cold! You have to get acclimated to it, he said, explaining his full lap. Its interesting, it didnt get any warmer the longer I stayed. But it kind of nice out now, what all of 50 degrees out here? Mark Locken, a resident of nearby Cibolo, made the Saturday morning trip down FM 78 for his first polar plunge. Ive always wanted to do one, and this is right here in my community, so I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity, he said, post-jump. The mornings cold temperature and active wind didnt deter him a bit although maybe it should have. He admitted that after initially thinking it was a perfect day for a polar plunge, he was having second thoughts as his feet left the pools edge: Why am I here? This might not be the brightest thing to do. But cold shock aside, Locken said he definitely will be back next year. Its a fun way to bring in the new year, he said. The Schertz-Cibolo community is geographically intertwined. Its another winter tradition, a great family event, and its good to see people here of all ages. Schertz resident Jennifer Hicks, laughing, summed up her experience in one word: Breathtaking. I didnt think I could make it across the pool, though, Hicks said, explaining her cold-splash dash to the pool ladder. I was thinking, Why? Why do you do this? she recalled. But it was wonderful. I loved it. It was exhilarating. All funds raised by the events $15 jump fee help the YMCA offer scholarships for monthly fees that will allow more youth and adults enjoy the YMCAs facilities. jflinn@express-news.net Palghar (Maharashtra) [India], Jan 12 (ANI): Maharashtra government will bear the expenses of all those who are injured in the fire incident that took place in a chemical factory in Palghar district's Boisar area yesterday evening. At least five people died while six sustained injuries in the fire incident. "Chief Minister has announced ex-gratia of Rs 5 Lakh each to the next of the kin of the deceased. The state government will bear the expenses of all the injured," said Kailash Shinde, Palghar District Magistrate. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday announced Rs 5 lakh financial assistance to the kin of the deceased. "Rs 5 lakh financial assistance will be given to the kin of the deceased due to fire at the chemical factory in Boisar in Palghar district this evening," Maharashtra Chief Minister Office had said. Maharashtra Chief Minister Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari also conveyed deepest condolences to the bereaved families. A huge explosion occurred at a chemical factory at Boisar, which is located 100 km away from Mumbai (ANI) The police have issued a call for witnesses after an argument between a motorist and cyclist escalated in Ettelbruck. Two individuals were involved in an argument close to the cigarette factory in Ettelbruck around 6 pm on Saturday. A cyclist attempted to confront a motorist after the latter pushed him to move onto the bus lane. When the cyclist stopped in front of the car, the driver is said to have intentionally rammed the bike twice, resulting in damage on its rear wheel. The police are urging potential witnesses of the incident to contact the Diekirch police station. Elsewhere, the public prosecutor's office ordered alcohol checks in three different locations in Luxembourg City. A total of 165 individuals had to undergo breathalyser tests, five of which came back positive. One person had to hand over their license on the spot. In another incident, the police were alerted to a male individual smoking weed on Rue de la Reine in Luxembourg City over the course of Saturday night. When they arrived at the scene to confront the man, he first fled the scene, then came back running towards the police officers, punching one of them in the face with his fist. The man in question, who continued to behave aggressively, was taken to the police station. It turned out he was in possession of objects he had stolen at the Luxembourg City train station earlier on that same evening. The police informed the public prosecutor's office of the man's arrest. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-13 05:20:14|Editor: yan Video Player Close CAIRO, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi received a phone call from German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday evening where they discussed the recent developments in war-torn Libya, said the Egyptian presidency. Merkel updated Sisi with the recent German efforts attempting to reach a political solution in Libya, said Egyptian presidential spokesman Bassam Rady in a statement. "They exchanged views on the latest developments in the Libyan arena and their consequences on Libya and the region," Rady added. The Egyptian and German leaders agreed that any political solution in Libya should comprehensively deal with the political, economic, security and military aspects of the issue and stop the illegitimate foreign interventions in the Libyan domestic affairs, according to the statement. Also on Sunday, Merkel held a similar phone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who met in Istanbul earlier in the day with Fayez al-Serraj, head of the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA). Libya has been engaged in a civil war since the ouster and killing of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The Libyan conflict escalated in 2014, splitting power between two rival governments: the UN-backed, Tripoli-based GNA and a Tobruk-based government allied with self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar who seeks to take over Tripoli. Both the GNA and the LNA accepted the cease-fire called for by the Turkish and Russian presidents on Wednesday and started on Sunday. Turkey supports the GNA and the Turkish parliament approved in early January a motion to deploy Turkish troops in Libya, a move that was strongly rejected by Egypt that backs Hafatr's LNA. The Egyptian foreign ministry welcomed in a statement on Sunday the cease-fire deal between the two Libyan main rivals, reiterating support for a comprehensive political solution for the Libyan crisis. Published on 2020/01/12 | Source A group of 5,000 reps from a Chinese health food company arrived in Korea on Tuesday for a six-day reward trip. Advertisement They are the biggest single group of Chinese tourists to arrive here since Beijing imposed an unofficial ban on group tours to Korea in March 2017. The Korea Tourism Organization said Tuesday that the employees of Yi Yong Tang, based in Shenyang, are visiting Seoul and Incheon as an incentive from their employer. The visit is the latest in a string of such trips that are returning to Korea since the ban was partially lifted. Last month, 3,300 reps of a cosmetics company in Shanghai came here. The number of Chinese tourists visiting Korea peaked at 8.07 million in 2016, but declined by half to 4.17 million during the boycott in 2017. It recovered to 4.79 million in 2018 and reached 5.51 million last year. But this does not signal a full-fledged lifting of the ban on so-called zero-dollar package tours, where groups visit practically for free but are then herded from one shopping opportunity to another. With the exception of Shanghai and few other regions, most other areas still prohibit group tours to Korea. Major Chinese tourism agencies have yet to re-list package tours to Korea on their websites. Imperial Valley News Center Member of ATM Skimming Conspiracy Targeting Multiple Bank Locations Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison Newark, New Jersey - A New York man was sentenced Tuesday to 60 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for participating in a scheme that used secret card-reading devices and pinhole cameras on various New Jersey bank locations to steal at least $390,141. Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito for the District of New Jersey, Special Agent in Charge Brian Michael of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Newark, and Special Agent in Charge Thomas P. Baker of the U.S. Secret Service, Boston Field Office, made the announcement. Bogdan Rusu, 39, of Queens, New York, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Judge Salas imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court. According to court documents and statements made in court, from August 2014 to November 2016, Rusu and others engaged in a widespread bank fraud conspiracy that targeted various banks in Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey. Rusu and others captured payment card account information from customers as they accessed their accounts through automatic teller machines (ATMs) and then used that information to steal money from the customers bank accounts. As part of the scheme, Rusu and others installed devises on ATMs in New Jersey and elsewhere to illegally obtain customer account information, including account numbers and personal identification numbers. Rusu and others would then transfer the illegally obtained information to counterfeit payment cards and use those counterfeit cards to steal money from the accounts. 11 other defendants charged in this scheme have pleaded guilty. HSI, along with special agents of the U.S. Secret Service, Boston Field Office; Massachusetts State Police; TD Bank Fraud Investigations; East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, Police Department; Cambridge, Massachusetts, Police Department; Ludlow, Massachusetts, Police Department, and Medford, Massachusetts, Police Department, with assistance from the victim banks, conducted the investigation. The Middlesex County, Massachusetts, District Attorneys Office; U.S. Attorneys Office of the Eastern District of New York and U.S. Attorneys Office of the District of Massachusetts, Springfield Division assisted in the investigation and prosecution. Trial Attorney Marianne Shelvey of the Justice Departments Criminal Division Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Angelica Sinopole of the U.S. Attorneys Office Criminal Division Organized Crime and Gangs Unit in Newark prosecuted the case. An Albanian gangster deported from Britain for shooting a rival six times in a cold-blooded attempted murder in his homeland, is back in the UK running a car wash, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Riza Vatoci, 49, was tracked down to his business in quiet Bognor Regis, West Sussex, last week by this newspaper. Our reporter saw him arrive in a black Jaguar and look on while four employees cleaned a steady flow of vehicles. Riza Vatoci, 49, was tracked down to his business in quiet Bognor Regis, West Sussex, last week by this newspaper. Granted British citizenship in 2006, he is thought to have claimed thousands of pounds in benefits But after being contacted by the MoS, the Home Office is taking immediate steps to strip Vatoci of his citizenship. Arrested in Albania in 1996 for attempted murder, believed to be in revenge for the death of his brother, he escaped after five months and in 1998 was sentenced to 15 years in jail in his absence. Coming to the UK in 1999, he claimed to be a refugee from Kosovo, sought asylum and was eventually allowed to remain. Granted British citizenship in 2006, he is thought to have claimed thousands of pounds in benefits. Vatoci is understood to live with his wife and children while running the Express hand car wash in Bognor Regis, which is seen above. After being contacted by the MoS, the Home Office is taking immediate steps to strip Vatoci of his citizenship But after Interpol issued an arrest warrant, Vatoci was arrested. He waged a costly legal battle, claiming that his human rights would be breached if he was sent back to Albania. He was deported in 2012 but released after two months in jail in Albania, successfully arguing the sentence no longer applied under Albanian law. Still holding a British passport, Vatoci returned to the UK where he registered companies under his own name. Clean motor, dirty business... Car washes in Britain including a number run by Albanians have been widely linked to crime. However, there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing at the Express car wash in Bognor Regis, left, owned by Riza Vatoci. MPs were told that the majority of hand car washes may have some illegality around them as part of a parliamentary report into the industry. The Environmental Audit committee found a spectrum of exploitation. And investigators have also found car washes may be linked to street drugs, the illegal sale of tobacco and even prostitution. In 2018, the Safe Car Wash app was launched so that members of the public could report suspected exploitation. Advertisement But after the MoS alerted the authorities, Home Office officials began taking immediate steps to remove Vatocis British citizenship, on the basis that he falsely claimed to be a Kosovan refugee. Vatoci is understood to live with his wife and children while running the Express hand car wash in Bognor Regis. The company is registered with his wife, Gjyle Vata, and himself as directors under the name Sussex Valeting. Approached for comment at his car wash, Vatoci told our reporter: I served my sentence and have been back here a long time. A Home Office spokesman said: The Home Office can ensure a person does not continue to hold British citizenship if it was deemed to have been fraudulently obtained. Researchers have unearthed the oldest fossilised remains of animal digestive tract, dated to be 550 million years old, in the Nevada desert in the US -- a finding that sheds light on the early history of life on the Earth. According to the researchers, including those from the University of Missouri in the US, ocean life forms that existed more than half a billion years ago mostly had simple body structures, unlike any creature which lives today. They said beginning about 540 million years ago, the body structures of animals in the ocean changed dramatically. This period, called the Cambrian Explosion, is widely considered by scientists to be the key point in history of life on the planet when the ancestors of many animal groups we know today emerged, according to the researchers behind the current study. During the Cambrian Explosion, the ancestors of many modern-day animals, such as primitive crustaceans and worms, appeared, noted the study, published in the journal Nature Communications. However, scientists did not know how these communities of prehistoric animals were related, until now. The scientists believe they can possibly find how these ancestral creatures were connected by studying the currently unearthed tubular digestive tract fossils, which offers clues on the internal anatomical structures of the animals of this time. "Not only are these structures the oldest guts yet discovered, but they also help to resolve the long-debated evolutionary positioning of this important fossil group," said Jim Schiffbauer, study co-author from the University of Missouri. "These fossils fit within a very recognizable group of organisms -- the cloudinids -- that scientists use to identify the last 10 to 15 million years of the Ediacaran Period, or the period of time just before the Cambrian Explosion. We can now say that their anatomical structure appears much more worm-like than coral-like," Schiffbauer said. As part of the current study, the researchers used an X-ray-based analysis technique called micro-CT imaging, and created a digital 3D image of the fossil. The method allowed the scientists to view the fossil structure's internal contents, the study noted. "With CT imaging, we can quickly assess key internal features and then analyze the entire fossil without potentially damaging it," said study co-author Tara Selly from the University of Missouri. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BENGHAZI, Libya - Libyas rival governments were sticking to an internationally brokered cease-fire that began Sunday, even as immediate reports of violations by both sides raised concerns it might not hold. The truce, proposed by Russia and Turkey, could be the first break in fighting in months, and the first brokered by international players. It came as Libyas civil war was on the brink of a major escalation. Different foreign countries back Libyas two rival governments, and these outside players have recently been stepping up their involvement in the oil-rich nations conflict. Both Russia and Turkey have been accused of exacerbating the conflict in Libya by sending military aid the warring parties. Meanwhile, Moscow and Ankara have brokered a new truce in Syria, where they also support opposing sides in that countrys conflict. Fayez al Sarraj, the head of Libyas internationally-recognized government, was in Istanbul for talks Sunday with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In Libya, theres been a broad diplomatic push to hold a peace summit in Berlin early this year. Calls for direct talks between the Libyan leaders have come from the United Nations, European powers and the rival sides allies. The goal would be to end the 7-year civil war and possibly move toward nationwide elections. But its proven difficult to stop the fighting. Violations were reported just minutes after the cease-fire was supposed to start early Sunday, according to Libyas Tripoli-based government, which is supported by the U.N. The written statement didnt specify the type of violations. Meanwhile, the east-based forces led by ex-general Khalifa Hifter said random projectiles were also fired at their front lines, according to a top commander. He said the attacks werent large enough to warrant a response. The Associated Press could not verify either sides claims. The cease-fire appeared to be holding, if uneasily. Libya is governed by dueling authorities, one based in the east and the other in the west in Tripoli. Each relies on different militias for support. Both sides have different stipulations in order to halt the wider conflict. The Tripoli government wants Hifters forces to end their siege of the capital. Hifter has been dug in along the citys southern reaches since April, but his forces have made significant advances in recent weeks. Hifter and his allies want to dissolve the militias fighting to hold Tripoli. Neither sides conditions are likely to be met. Withdrawal is not on the table, said Brig. Gen. Khaled al-Mahjoub, the top Hifter commander who spoke with the AP by phone. Moscow is allegedly deploying Russian mercenaries to fight alongside Hifters forces, according to Libyas U.N.-supported government. Last week, Erdogan said his country was deploying military units to Libya to reinforce the Tripoli government. Aguila Saleh, head of the east-based parliament, addressed Egyptian lawmakers in Cairo on Sunday to say that if Turkey sends troops, his government will call on the Egyptian armed forces to intervene in Libya. The eastern government is supported by France Russia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and other key Arab countries. Turkey, Italy and Qatar support the Tripoli government. In an interview with the Italian daily La Stampa, Italys Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio called for an EU peacekeeping force to deploy in Libya in order to enforce any cease-fire agreement. ___ Associated Press writers Noha ElHennawy in Cairo, Andrew Wilks in Ankara, Turkey and Frances DEmilio in Rome contributed to this report. By AFP TEHRAN: Iran signalled Sunday it favours a de-escalation after 10 days of heightened tensions with the United States during which both sides fired missiles and Tehran accidentally shot down a passenger aircraft. Security was stepped up in Iran's capital after a vigil the previous night for those killed in the air disaster turned into an angry protest and police temporarily arrested the British ambassador for being there. US President Donald Trump warned Iran against harming demonstrators and against a repeat of a deadly crackdown against rallies in November sparked by a fuel price hike. "To the leaders of Iran - DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS," Trump tweeted in his occasional all-capitals style. US Defence Secretary Mark Esper, however, said Trump was still willing to "sit down and discuss without precondition a new way forward" with Iran, although Tehran has steadfastly refused to hold talks with Washington unless it lifts sanctions first. ALSO READ | Trump warns Iran not to kill protesters, door still open to talks Tehran said it favoured an easing of tensions after its arch-enemy Washington on January 3 killed a revered Iranian general, Quds Force chief Qasem Soleimani, in a Baghdad drone strike. 'A critical time' In a meeting between Iran's President Hassan Rouhani and the visiting emir of Qatar, both sides agreed de-escalation is the "only solution" to the regional crisis, the emirate's ruler said. Qatar hosts the largest US military base in the region but also enjoys strong ties with Iran, with which it shares the world's largest gas field. "This visit comes at a critical time in the region," Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said on what was believed to be his first official visit to the Islamic republic. "We agreed... that the only solution to these crises is de-escalation from everyone and dialogue." For his part, Rouhani said: "We've decided to have more consultations and cooperation for the security of the entire region." Iran's president also met with visiting Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, whose country has offered to mediate between Tehran and US ally Riyadh. In a briefing to parliament, Hossein Salami, commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, said the missiles it fired last Wednesday on Iraqi bases hosting US troops were not aimed at killing American personnel. "Our aim was not really to kill enemy soldiers. That was not important," he told parliament. The US said no American personnel were harmed in the attacks. Across the border in Iraq, the military said rockets slammed on Sunday into Al-Balad, an Iraqi airbase where US forces have been stationed, wounding two Iraqi officers and two airmen. The base had held a small US Air Force contingent as well as American contractors, but a majority of these personnel had already been evacuated due to the tensions between the US and Iran, military sources told AFP. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Sunday's rocket attacks. The US has previously blamed such attacks on Iran-backed groups in Iraq. 'Death to Britain' The current crisis claimed a tragic toll when Iran -- on hair-triggered alert just after attacking the Iraqi bases -- last Wednesday accidentally shot down the Ukraine International Airlines plane, killing all 176 people aboard. After days of denial from Iran, Rouhani on Saturday admitted to "human error" in bringing down the Boeing 737, and the Guards' aerospace commander General Amirali Hajizadeh accepted full responsibility. On Saturday evening, a memorial at Tehran's Amir Kabir University in honour of those killed turned into a demonstration that AFP correspondents said was attended by hundreds of students. They shouted "death to liars" and demanded the resignation and prosecution of those responsible, Fars news agency reported, saying that police "dispersed" them. Around the same time, police temporarily arrested the British ambassador, Rob Macaire, who had attended the vigil, sparking a fresh diplomatic crisis. Macaire tweeted Sunday: "I wasn't taking part in any demonstrations! Went to an event advertised as a vigil for victims of #PS752 tragedy. "Normal to want to pay respects -- some of victims were British. I left after 5 mins, when some started chanting." Fars said Macaire was summoned on Sunday to Iran's foreign ministry for his "presence in illegal gatherings". Later on Sunday up to 200 protesters rallied outside the British diplomatic mission, chanting "Death to Britain" and burning a Union Jack.. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday called for countries in the region to bolster ties to overcome turbulence caused by the presence of the US and its allies. "The current situation... demands -- more than ever before -- strengthening of relations between countries in the region as well as avoiding influence of foreigners'" meddling, Khamenei was quoted as saying on his official Twitter account as he hosted Qatar's emir. Elsewhere in Tehran, tensions appeared to be mounting again, with a heavy police presence notably around the iconic Azadi Square south of the centre. Riot police armed with water cannon and batons were seen at Amir Kabir, Sharif and Tehran universities as well as Enqelab Square. Around 50 Basij militiamen brandishing paintball guns, potentially to mark protesters to authorities, were also seen near Amir Kabir. On the diplomatic front, France, Germany and Britain on Sunday called on Iran to return to "full respect" of its commitments under Tehran's 2015 nuclear accord with world powers, despite Washington having walked out of the deal. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-13 02:03:01|Editor: yan Video Player Close ALGIERS, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Algeria on Sunday hailed the cease-fire deal in the war-ridden Libya, urging the warring factions to abide by it. "Algeria welcomes the ceasefire in Libya and calls on all the Libyan sides to respect the deal and work on quick recovery of the all-inclusive national dialogue," the Algerian foreign ministry said in a statement. Algeria reiterated "consistent position in favor of a peaceful political settlement of the crisis through dialogue," denouncing "foreign interference that only made the situation worse and hampered efforts to resolve the crisis through dialogue." Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin called on the warring parties in Libya for an immediate cease-fire as of Jan. 12. Both the UN-backed government of Libya and the eastern-based army accepted the cease-fire. Texas Is First State to Opt Out of Accepting Refugees in 2020 Texas became the first state to opt out of receiving refugees in fiscal year 2020 under a new initiative that gives U.S. states and counties more autonomy in refugee resettlement. Texas is one of the most welcoming states for refugees seeking to escape dangers abroad, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wrote in a Jan. 10 letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. 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 said Texas has resettled about 10 percent of all refugees entering the United States over the past 10 years, and also dealt with a disproportionate number of illegal immigrants who cross into the border state. 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, Abbott wrote. This decision does not deny any refugee access to the United States. Nor does it preclude a refugee from later coming to Texas after initially settling in another state. Its unclear how Abbotts decision will affect Texass Bexar County, which had already opted into the refugee program in November, according to a letter sent to Pompeo by County Judge Nelson Wolff. Refugees are resilient, hard workers whose innovative skills have contributed greatly to our state, Wolff wrote. They have opened businesses, revitalized towns, and are productive members of our community. In September 2019, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that gave states and counties the power to opt in or out of accepting refugees in their locales. Before that, the State Department would assign each refugee to a sponsorone of nine nonprofit resettlement agencieswhich would then determine placement of that refugee. The nine nonprofits are Church World Service, Ethiopian Community Development Council, Lutheran Immigration & Refugee Service, Episcopal Migration Ministries, U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Hebrew International Aid Society (HIAS), World Relief, and International Rescue Committee. A resettlement agency receives a one-time payment per refugee to assist with expenses during a refugees first three months in the United States, according to the State Department. Mark Hetfield, president and CEO of HIAS, called Abbotts decision shameful. Texas has a long and proud history of welcoming refugees, he said in a statement on Jan. 10. He said HIAS, along with Church World Service and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, has filed a lawsuit to overturn Trumps executive order and the administrations unlawful and immoral policies targeting refugees. Thirty-seven states, six counties, and nine cities have so far notified the State Department that they will take in refugees in fiscal year 2020, which began Oct. 1, 2019. Two counties have so far opted outAppomattox County in Virginia, and Beltrami County in Minnesota. While neither county has resettled refugees for several years, both county leaderships have said their county doesnt have the budget to support refugee resettlement. The United States will accept around 18,000 refugees in fiscal 2020, which has been progressively reduced from the 2016 ceiling of 110,000. The administration has said the reduction will compensate for the hundreds of thousands of new asylum claims from illegal aliens, mostly from Central America, as well as the backlog of more than 1 million asylum-seekers who are already inside the United States and who are awaiting adjudication of their claims. Currently, more than 1,000 refugees are being resettled each month, with 3,219 resettled in the final three months of 201996 percent of whom are from Afghanistan. While refugees and asylees must meet the same criteria and are granted the same benefits, refugees must apply outside of the country, whereas asylees claim credible fear once inside the United States. The general definition applies to an alien who has experienced past persecution or has a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spent more than $96 billion on programs supporting or benefitting refugees between 2005 and 2014, according to White House data. HHS surveys show that 45 percent of refugees arriving between 2011 and 2015 were receiving cash assistance and 49 percent were receiving Medicaid. Pompeo said the United States has welcomed almost 3.8 million refugees and asylees since 1980. Our support for displaced people also takes the form [of] humanitarian assistance, and in fiscal year 2019, the United States contributed nearly $9.3 billion to supporting crisis response globally, the largest contribution of any country in the world, Pompeo said on Nov. 2, 2019. The majority of the United States refugee aid goes to assisting refugees in the areas where they are concentrated after displacement, such as Bangladesh, Colombia, and Turkey, according to the State Department. Gettyimagesbank By Bae Sung-eun and David Tizzard President Muhammadu Buharis daughter, Aisha Hanan Buhari, who flew in a presidential jet to Bauchi on Thursday, was on a study tour of Bauchi Emirate as part of her fieldwork for her ongoing Masters programme in Photography at the same institution, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt. The presidents daughter recently graduated with a first class in Digital Photography from Ravensbourne University, London. Many Nigerians including the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba, have criticised the president for flouting his own touted policy on cutting cost of governance, by allowing his daughter to fly the jet. The president had in October 2019, reeled out fresh rules on the schedules of foreign trips for heads of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) including his cabinet members. He also cancelled first and business class air tickets for some category of officials. The measure, according to the presidency, was to reduce the cost of governance and shore up the countrys dwindling revenue. A top government official in Bauchi State, who asked not to be named, said Ms Buhari was on a study tour in the state as part of her academic programme at the London university. Yes, she was in Bauchi on a personal visit. She was here for an assignment from school on Bauchi Emirate. She was received at the airport by both the wife of the Governor of Bauchi State, Hajia Aisha Bala Mohammed, and the commissioner for women affairs, Hajia Hajara Gidado. Ms Buhari, who completed her first degree in June 2019, was part of the universitys convocation ceremony on December 4. She then had her field work for her project in Kebbi State, where she researched into the Gwandu emirate. NLC, CSNAC kick In his reaction to the development, Mr Wabba said Nigeria would not change for good until we change the way we do things. The labour leader said it is unfortunate that the presidents daughter could fly a presidential jet at a time many states have not been able to pay the new minimum wage. He said the development is not only condemnable but also demands probe. Mr. Wabba said: Certainly such cannot be good governance best practice. In many countries, even prime ministers use only one vehicle and probably one back-up car. Switzerland is one of the richest countries in the world, but their prime minister uses only one vehicle, and in most cases you dont see these retinue of vehicles following them. Across many jurisdictions, you dont find what is happening here taking place there. But in every facet of development, they are better than us. So our problems are actually human-made and not acts of God. Our problem is not the lack of resources but we are channeling our resources to the wrong directions, and so the issue of inequality has continued to widen between the poor and the rich. That is why we cannot provide for our teeming unemployed youth, our industries are not performing because we dont have the conducive environment to stimulate the necessary growth. Many countries actually produce what they eat but our major problem which we have continued to emphasise is the lack of good governance which borders on rule of law and cutting down the cost of governance. On his part, the Chairman of the Coalition of Civil Societies Network Against Corruption (CSNAC), Lanre Suraj, said the president must pay for the use of the presidential jet by his daughter. He described it as a gross abuse of office on the part of the first family. Even President Obama and his wife when they went on a private visit using presidential jet, they had to pay out of their pocket. In this case, it can only be tolerated if the daughter had travelled with the father while the father was on a journey to the same location at the same time. Anything outside that is an abuse of office, and the father should actually pay for that trip from his allowances, Mr Suraj said; adding that, We cannot afford to revert to that level of degeneracy we had experienced in the past. Mr Suraj said as against the presidents acclaimed Spartan lifestyle, his cousin, Mamman Daura, was once discovered to have been living in the presidential villa. That was equally an abuse of privilege because the villa is mainly for the president and his immediate family. What the law says A human rights lawyer, Jiti Ogunye, has said he is unaware of any law governing the use of the presidential jet. He, however, noted that as an appurtenance of the office of the President, there are provisions of Nigerias criminal law that criminalizes the use of the seal of the president or governor for anyone other than those elected into the offices. He said; For the daughter of the president to use presidential jet on a private tour is an abuse. But as I have said, Im not aware of any law regulating it. However, there should be protocols for such purpose. For example, will it be permissible for children of the president to be moving around with the presidential limousines or cars? That will not be permissible due to security implications and for the dignity of that office. READ ALSO: You must be aware that even the presidential jet has the seal of the president on it. So does it mean the daughter should be using a facility dedicated to the president without the president on board? That was why the use of presidential jet by Asari Dokubo from Benin Republic to Nigeria sometimes in the past generated a fury. High cost of maintaining Presidential Fleet In his 2020 budget, President Buhari proposed to spend a total of N1.492 billion on the upgrading of some of the aircraft in the Presidential Air Fleet. The sum, according to the budget, is apart from other proposals for the overhaul, maintenance and running cost of the fleet. As captured under the budget of the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Presidential Air Fleet is expected to gulp about N8 billion in 2020. Advertisements The allocation contains what is termed mandatory upgrade and installation of live TV, compliance with mandatory upgrade and installation of Internet service, provision of aviation fuel and lubricants, among others. The president had in the past complained of the high cost of maintaining the fleet, and planned to sell off some of the aircraft but the idea seemed to have been jettisoned. He, however, donated two of the aircraft in the fleet to the Nigerian Air Force. Presidency justifies use When asked for his reaction to the development in a telephone interview, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said he could not hear this reporter clearly on the phone and suggested a text message was sent. However, hours after the message was sent, Mr Adesina failed to reply and never picked his phone again. On his part, Mr. Adesinas counterpart, Garba Shehu, initially said he was unaware of the development and so could not comment until Monday, January 12. He has since told other media houses that Ms Buhari, like any other member of the presidents family, is entitled to the use of the presidential jet. He was quoted by Punch newspaper to have said; Its true that a member of the First Family was flown to Bauchi yesterday on a mission duly authorised. It wasnt an impromptu or improper trip because it followed normal procedure. The Presidency informed the National Security Adviser of the mission who in turn informed the Commander of the Presidential Air Fleet. On January 5, a mob entered Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) purportedly wielding rocks, lathis, and acid, carrying out a brutal attack on a section of students and faculty members while the Delhi Police, which reports directly to the central government, allegedly stood down and refused to act. After the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) was passed, protests at Jamia Milia University and Aligarh Muslim University were crushed as police forces entered hostels and libraries. Dalit activist Chandrasekhar Azad has been under arrest since December 21, despite a serious health condition, ever since he led a protest near Jama Masjid in Delhi. In Uttar Pradesh, there have been,allegedly, mass arrests of activists and police-administered beatings, primarily in Muslim homes, after its chief minister vowed revenge on the protesters. The pattern is clear. When people protest, the State will repress it. For the government and its supporters, this is more than mere stifling of dissent. It also simultaneously allows the current dispensation to polarise the electorate by demonising protesters as Marxists, jihadist Muslims, or anti-nationals without giving the protesters any chance to defend themselves. Yet, the protests continue to grow and spread across India. At first blush, the sudden proliferation of public protest, without any genuine opposition party or leader coordination, may seem surprising. But this is often how it happens. The great sociologist, Mark Granovetter, posited a theory of thresholds where frustration gets converted into mass protest. The logic is simple. There may be many people who are upset with the government, but there is a coordination problem. People dont want to protest alone or with a small number of people; so, they only hit the streets when see sufficiently many others on the streets. When more people hit the streets, the threshold for many citizens is met to join protests, but as more people join, even more thresholds are met and the protests get bigger. This spiraling logic explains why protests beget bigger protests and eventually mass protest. We have seen exactly this logic at play recently. The protests after the nullification of Article 370 were relatively small, and they grew only marginally after the Ayodhya verdict, before the eruption of protest we saw as CAA was enacted. Many have said that the protests require political coordination by leaders and parties to survive, but that would kill the diverse character of these protests and give the current dispensation what it wants an opportunity to paint the protests as the handiwork of a few political agents. In fact, the opposite is true. The protests have been effective precisely because of their mass character. Rather than being anointed, a true opposition leader will emerge when he or she is able to gain the trust of this diverse array of protestors. It is exactly this kind of protest that causes problems for a dominant party like the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). As I have documented in an earlier column, the preservation of the dominant nature of the BJP requires an extraordinary mobilisation of financial resources. The costs of repression are even higher. First, Internet shutdowns and curfews cripple basic economic activities. Shops are often closed, credit card machines dont work, and interaction required for basic commercial activities are greatly reduced. The Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) estimates that Internet shutdowns alone cost $3 billion in losses between 2012 and 2017. The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce estimates that the shutdown has cost $2.4 billion in Kashmir since it commenced on August 5 in Jammu and Kashmir. Second, the costs of stationing police, paramilitary and military forces are very high. There is, of course, the direct costs associated with a security lockdown. But the indirect costs are arguably more severe. Those who would otherwise invest in India are likely to be spooked by attenuated economic activities. This is to say nothing of the opportunity cost. Government spending on repression is fundamentally inefficient, as it pays a cost that further retards growth and stifles its citizens, unlike investing in public goods like roads and schools which develops the future of its citizens. This is a scenario that has played out many times across the world protests that are genuinely mass-level in character challenge a ruling dispensation and the State, then, expends huge resources in trying to repress them. The consequences are also clear. The money eventually dries up for the regime, and cracks appear. It may take days, months, years, or decades, but unless the dominant party is willing to negotiate and compromise with protestors, the party and eventually, the State bleeds. Today, the cracks are beginning to appear. Unlike oil-rich countries, which can fund autocratic and dominant parties through wealth generated from natural resources, an Indian party must largely raise its wealth from taxes and contributions from citizens. The repressive behaviours of the ruling dispensation are showing their costs. In an environment where the economic slowdown has already had an impact in terms of a dip in revenue, both direct and indirect, the protests will further impact economic activity. This will then force the government to cut expenditure in the Budget. And this, in turn, will keep the country trapped in a vicious cycle, with potentially adverse consequences for the BJP itself. At the national level, the BJP may look as dominant as ever today. But India is an extraordinarily diverse country, and popular frustrations are starting to show their teeth. The ruling dispensation will need to start negotiating with its citizens, rather than ramming through big bang reforms, backed by repression. If the BJP fails to do so, it will face the consequences. Neelanjan Sircar is an assistant professor, Ashoka University, and visiting senior fellow, Centre for Policy Research The views expressed are personal Iran's Government Should Allow People to Mourn, Protest Without Threat of Violence 01/12/20 Source: CHRI January 11, 2019 - The Iranian people should be allowed to exercise their constitutional right to peaceful assembly without the threat of violence, said the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) after crowds that had gathered in Tehran following the government's announcement that it had "unintentionally" shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane were met with armed state forces and tear gas. "Despite the threat of state violence, brave Iranians are still trying to publicly express their fury over the government's patterns of incompetence, falsehoods and lack of tolerance for criticism and dissent," said CHRI Executive Director Hadi Ghaemi. "After successive national traumas in a short time period, people should be allowed to safely grieve and demand accountability," he added. "Iranians shouldn't have to risk their lives to exercise their constitutional right to peaceful assembly." According to Article 27 of the Iranian Constitution, "Public gatherings and marches may be freely held, provided arms are not carried and that they are not detrimental to the fundamental principles of Islam." Yet Iranian officials have repeatedly ordered state forces to violently repress street protests, most recently resulting in the deaths of more than 300 people according to Amnesty International (other sources report significantly higher numbers) when demonstrations broke out in dozens of Iranian cities between November and December 2019. National Distrust (Iranian daily Honarmand) Calls for justice and accountability by the victims' families were quickly silenced when a U.S. drone strike killed the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, General Qassem Soleimani, on January 3, 2020, and the government swiftly organized mourning events that were attended by mass crowds. Hours after the Iranian government responded to the U.S. strike by launching missiles at Iraqi bases used by U.S. forces on January 7 (no casualties were reported), it also shot down a Ukrainian airliner, killing all 176 people on board. Three days passed before Iranian officials stated that they had "unintentionally" shot down the plane. Crowds who'd gathered outside AmirKabir University of Technology in Tehran and other locations around the city during the evening of January 11 to mourn the victims and express their fury were met with police forces and tear gas, according to videos shared on social media networks. "Our hands are empty, lay down your batons," chanted one crowd standing across the street from police in a clip shared on Twitter by New York Times journalist Farnaz Fassih. Students gathering at Amirkabir University (Source: Iranian daily Shahrvand) Crowds also demanded prosecution against the officials who were responsible for the strike, as activists called for the government to allow a public mourning ceremony for the victims of the downed plane. Calls for more protests on January 12 were subsequently shared on social media networks. CHRI calls on the Iranian government to refrain from trying to repress protests with force and to keep internet access, which is censored and restricted in the Islamic Republic, open when protests break out. CHRI also urges all relevant UN bodies and the international community to strongly call upon the Iranian government to guarantee the security of all protestors and their right to peaceful protest. As Iranians brace for another potential crackdown, it's important to note that the Iranian government still hasn't released an official accounting of the deaths and injuries caused by the state crackdown on the November protests. "The Iranian people have a right to peacefully express their views and demand accountability from their government without fear of death, and that government has a duty to listen," said Ghaemi. Reaction in Iranian Press: Thai protesters run against 'dictatorship' About 10,000 people registered to join the run dubbed as \'Run Against Dictatorship\' in Bangkok, Thailand on Sunday. AP, Bangkok : Thousands of anti-government protesters took part in the "Run Against Dictatorship" in the Thai capital Sunday in the biggest political demonstration in years. Organizers said 10,000 people registered to join the run, which included slogans demanding Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the leader behind a 2014 coup, stand down. In a sign of rising political tensions, government supporters held their own event in a downtown park. Last year's general election was meant to restore full democracy, five years after the military staged the coup. But the poll rules were widely seen as favoring the pro-military party. The government's sluggish economic performance has added to a growing sense of discontent. "Everything's worse," one participant, an office worker who gave his name only as Sakdinan, said through a face mask. "The economy is worse and people are facing difficulties including freedom of expression." The trigger for Sunday's rally were moves by courts to dissolve a popular, new progressive political party. The Future Forward Party came from nowhere to become the third largest group in parliament with 80 seats. Their anti-military agenda made many younger Thais flock to their banner in a challenge to the deeply conservative ruling elite. The party's rise in popularity has been met with legal cases, through the Election Commission and the Constitutional Court, for a number of alleged breaches of the law. Many now assume the party will be found guilty and dissolved, possibly even this month. The party's charismatic leader, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, has emerged as the galvanizing figure behind the growing protests. On Sunday, the billionaire businessman-turned-politician said he was delighted by the numbers who came to show their support. "The people show great awareness of the political situation," he said, in between posing for selfies with excited supporters. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 09:14:34|Editor: ZX Video Player Close KIGALI, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Rwandan Health Ministry will distribute mosquito nets produced in the country for the first time in its fight against malaria, an official said on Saturday. Of some 7 million mosquito bed nets to be distributed in January, 3.5 million were locally produced, Aimable Mbituyumuremyi, head of malaria and other parasitic diseases division at the Rwanda Biomedical Center told reporters here. Started last year at Kigali's special economic zone, the country's local company Garment Vision Ltd currently produces 16,200 mosquito nets a day, and the overall target is to produce 8 million bed nets per year to satisfy Rwandan market, according to officials. The health ministry has been spending 15-17 million U.S. dollars every year to import 7 million mosquito nets, Mbituyumuremyi said. Beneficiaries of the free bed nets include low-income citizens, pregnant women and children under one year old, the official said. The health ministry statistics showed that 4,746,958 malaria cases were reported in 2017, a slight decrease from 4,794,778 cases in 2016. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), malaria affects around 200 million people across the globe annually and proves fatal to more than 400,000 -- particularly children. Stormonts new health minister is to meet trade unions involved in ongoing strike action as other parties face questions as to why they avoided the portfolio. Ulster Unionist minister Robin Swann said he wanted to resolve the industrial dispute right away. Healthcare workers have been engaged in ongoing action to highlight concerns over pay and staffing shortages. The dispute has seen nurses strike for the first time ever in the UK. Health Minister Robin Swann: "Delighted to be appointed Minister for Health. Looking forward to getting to know my portfolio and facing the challenges ahead. A priority is meeting with health unions at an early opportunity next week." pic.twitter.com/ATEvjg18qw Department of Health (@healthdpt) January 11, 2020 I am happy to confirm that contact has been made with trade unions and I will be meeting with them as soon as possible this week, said Mr Swann. Im looking forward to getting this dispute sorted right away. Obviously, the financial package for the new Executive and support from other Ministerial colleagues will be central to making that happen. We need our nurses and other health workers back at work. Theres a massive challenge for all of us in making our health service better and our great staff have a vital role to play in that. The crisis engulfing the regions health service is arguably the most pressing priority of the restored powersharing executive. However, when it came to the selection of the ministerial briefs during Saturdays reconvened hearing of the Assembly, the DUP, Sinn Fein and SDLP all passed on the chance to select the health portfolio. Expand Close Ministerial briefs were allocated during the landmark hearing of the reconvened Assembly on Saturday (Press Eye/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Ministerial briefs were allocated during the landmark hearing of the reconvened Assembly on Saturday (Press Eye/PA) It has prompted claims that the other parties wanted to dodge what is viewed as the most challenging of the ministerial roles. DUP Economy minister Diane Dodds insisted the issue should not be viewed as party political. She said Mr Swann was an executive minister, and all his ministerial colleagues wanted him to succeed. The health portfolio is absolutely vital to the success of this executive, she told RTE. Robin Swann is not from my party but he will be my colleague in the executive and it will be absolutely vitally important that he is successful in that portfolio so his success will be the executives success and we need to work together. Sinn Fein, which held the health brief in the last executive, said it would directly support Mr Swann through its roles in the Executive Office and at the Department of Finance. Sinn Fein Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey said all the portfolios were interconnected. On one portfolio or another, all of these issue are important, all of these issues impact and connect on each other in terms of how we prevent people even falling sick in the first place, she told BBC NIs Sunday Politics show. Expand Close Deirdre Hargey (Niall Carson/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Deirdre Hargey (Niall Carson/PA) Ms Hargey highlighted the first item on the agenda of the next executive would be resolving the pay dispute. The SDLPs Colin McGrath told the same programme his party would only have taken health if it had also controlled the finance department, so it could influence the budget allocation. He said previous health ministers had seen their budgets robbed of millions of pounds by decisions taken elsewhere in the executive. I dont think its about dodging health because we have always been very clear in saying that whoever has the health portfolio would be best to be somebody who had the finance ministry as well, he said. And we are only able to get one ministry. The SDLP selected infrastructure as its chosen ministry. The party had fifth choice under the dhondt system for allocating seven executive ministries. Before that the DUP and Sinn Fein selected four other posts between them. The UUP had sixth pick and only then health was selected. The party has insisted the brief was its number one choice. Having seen whats happening in Hong Kong, I get it: the so-called one country, two systems is a Communist lie. ALLEN HSU, a student in Hong Kong who returned home to Taiwan to vote in the presidential election. The Supreme Court (SC)s judgment on the communications lockdown in the Kashmir Valley, delivered on Friday, has elicited mixed responses. It has been pointed out that even after five long months, the court returned no finding on the legality of the shutdown itself, but set out some abstract legal principles that it did not apply in the case before it. Thus, the whole raison detre of the case the plight of Kashmiris deprived of essential access to the Internet for many months on end remained unaddressed, with the court refusing to comment on it at all, and instead leaving the matter to be reviewed by a government committee under the 2017 Telecom Suspension Rules. There is no doubt that the courts statement of principles will offer cold comfort to Kashmiris, who continue to labour under the longest Internet shutdown in the history of any democratic country, and as was recently shown, have had to travel hundreds of kilometres just to access the Internet, and at exorbitant rates. At the same time, however, Internet shutdowns are not unique to Kashmir. India is the world leader in Internet shutdowns (in sheer number, it exceeds those ranked 2 to 10 put together; these include countries such as Chad and China). Until the SCs judgment, there had been no definitive verdict from the apex court on the constitutionality of such shutdowns. In this context, the SCs judgment sets out two crucial legal principles. First, the court notes that freedom of speech and access to information on the Internet on the one hand, and the freedom of trade and commerce through the Internet on the other, are both constitutionally protected. There has been some debate on the fact that the SC did not expressly hold that access to the Internet is a fundamental right. That, however, is a distinction without a difference. If free speech and freedom of trade on the Internet are fundamental rights (protected by Articles 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution), then the deprivation of these rights, by shutting down the Internet, automatically attracts constitutional scrutiny. To all effects and purposes, thus, depriving a person of their access to the Internet amounts to depriving them of their fundamental rights. Secondly, the court makes clear that the constitutional validity of an Internet shutdown has to be adjudicated in accordance with the doctrine of proportionality. As the name suggests, the doctrine of proportionality requires the court to ask whether a violation of rights is proportionate to the goal or the purpose that the State wants to achieve. The test has a number of factors. The State must demonstrate that the means it has implied (for example, shutting down the Internet) are rationally related to its goal (preserving public peace). Most importantly, however, the State must demonstrate that the method it has chosen is the least intrusive one. For instance, if you are pursuing a thief who has run into a neighbourhood, you do not burn down every house of the neighbourhood to smoke him out. Similarly, in order to tackle cross-border terrorism and online radicalisation, one does not place an entire people under a communications lockdown. The doctrine of proportionality ensures that it is not enough for the State to simply cite law and order concerns, and say that anything goes. Rather, in a constitutional democracy, even when there are law and order concerns, the State must demonstrate that it has respected rights to the maximum possible extent. The value of the SCs observations lies in the fact that it sets the ground for future and indeed, present challenges to the epidemic of Internet shutdowns that is taking place all over India. In the wake of the protests around the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, for example, the Internet was shut down in New Delhi, in Uttar Pradesh, and in Assam. In Assam, a constitutional challenge was filed against the shutdown, and the High Court of Gauhati as an interim measure directed the state government to restore the Internet until the case was finally decided. The SCs judgment now sets out the constitutional framework within which the various high courts of the country can now examine and bring to heel state governments trigger-happy tendency to shut down the Internet at the drop of a hat. What of Kashmir itself? The SC directed the government to make public all the orders on the bases of which the shutdown had been imposed, and to review them within a week. If the government elects to continue the shutdown, there is little doubt that the matter will soon be back in court. And on that occasion, the court will, hopefully, apply the principles that it has set out, and test the validity of this interminable shutdown on the touchstone of the Constitution. Gautam Bhatia is a Delhi-based advocate. (Disclosure: He was one of the lawyers appearing for the petitioners in this case.) The views expressed are personal Two incidents last week affected those who deal with Missoula's homeless population the death of a 45-year-old man in a fight at the Poverello Center, and newly released data showing Missoula housing prices reached a record high last year. That left staff at the Pov coping both with the loss, and the fact that more people than ever face precarious housing situations. Despite a small army of organizations working to put people on a path toward stable housing, there will always be a need for more resources in mental health and substance abuse, according to those who work on the ground with this population. Statewide, Missoulas population has the highest percentage of people without stable housing, according to the 2019 Montana Homeless Point in Time Survey. Thats tethered to Missoulas other problem, the immense stratification of housing costs and wages, said Poverello Center Director Amy Allison Thompson. Sean Stevenson, 45, who'd been staying at the Poverello for a few months died Sunday, Jan. 5, after an altercation with another man there. No charges have been filed. The man initially arrested has been released and law enforcement is awaiting a medical examiners report. (See related story.) Allison Thompson declined to comment on the incident at the Poverello, as the investigation is ongoing, but said both men were well-known to the staff. This week, however, Allison Thompson said staff has been hard at work reviewing safety measures. Things already in place include security cameras, key-card locks on certain wings of the building and staff trained in de-escalation techniques. Since October, the Pov has had in place a behavior-based policy, lowering the barrier of its sobriety requirement as winter approached. Its an evidence-based contributor toward putting people into the process of obtaining stable housing, Allison Thompson said. But it's also an opportunity to bring more people in from the cold. The things weve done in that time sit down, staff debriefing but also walking through all the steps that were taking to keep this a safe place for everyone seeking shelter. Our goal is to make sure that everyone is safe here, that is our primary goal, Allison Thompson said. The man who engaged with Stevenson appeared to be intoxicated in some manner when police arrived to the Poverello on Jan. 3, according to search warrant documents in Missoula District Court. But Allison Thompson said that "our staff are very much in support of this model. Its important that we make sure people have a warm place to be to survive." Likewise, the Poverello staff holds open meetings with guests to gauge their mood. "Overall, I think it's going well," Allison Thompson said of the reaction from guests on the behavior-based policy. Still, the policy is set to expire in March, Allison Thompson said. That's to keep the client-to-staff ratio at a level that allows staff to work directly with clients on attaining stable housing. "We need the community to help us figure out this bigger picture of where people can have an affordable place to live and how we can pay folks a wage that's livable for this community," said Jesse Jaeger, director of development and advocacy at the Poverello. The 2019 Montana Homeless Point in Time Survey shows 260 homeless individuals in Missoula, 26% of the total 1,009 Montanans who are homeless as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The survey findings have been criticized previously because the data are based on outreach. Jaeger said 40% of people staying at the Pov have a job or some other source of income. It's a crisis in affordability that keeps people in need of shelter, he said. In Missoula, the median home sales price has soared from $200,500 in 2010 to $315,000 last year. When state officials scaled back funding for mental health services in 2016 due to a massive budget shortfall unforeseen by the 2015 Legislature, Allison Thompson said the Pov saw a 20% increase in people in need of services. Capacity at Missoula shelters is a looming question, but affordable housing is the solution-based thinking at play in Missoula. Dwellings like the Cornerstone Apartments and the Villagio, the largest affordable housing project in Montana history, are on track to put more than 200 affordable units in the city. Both projects, still in the works, are a part of the city of Missoulas 10-year plan to end homelessness, which kicked off in 2011. And shovels have already cut dirt at the site of the Meadowlark project, an effort by the YWCA and Missoula Interfaith Collaborative. In fact, crews from Sirius Construction Inc., the general contractor, last week were working away at the underground parking garage, which will sit below three stories of administrative offices, counseling rooms and kitchens for the 44 dwelling units in the building. "We feel like it can't open soon enough," YWCA Missoula Executive Director Cindy Weese said Friday. "We have 10 families on our waiting list last night. It's just desperately needed." The Meadowlark project is a family housing endeavor, and would not have made any difference in the fight at the Poverello Center that ended one mans life. But its possible, said Interim Police Chief Mike Colyer, that confrontation could have happened anywhere. He doesnt see the incident as a sign that the strain on Missoulas resources has reached a tipping point. To me, I dont feel like its crisis level. Its busy, and theres always room for more resources, he said. But there are also the unseen issues, Colyer noted. A lot of the common experiences that people have that are homeless, a lot of things theyre battling with is mental health and substance abuse. The things that come along with that, the mental health issue, could be a person whose experiencing suicidal ideations or they could be acting out in a way that people are interpreting as threatening, he said. Calls on homeless people often have those types of threads running through them. And are city police feeling stretched over the communitys needs in homelessness? Its work, but that's the kind of work were in, and were all about working with fire and medical, working with the Pov to make this the best for people who need it the most, Colyer said. That's what we do. Police, emergency medical agencies and fire departments are working shoulder-to-shoulder in addressing the short-term needs for folks experiencing homelessness, explained Jeff Brandt, chief of Missoula City Fire Department. Firefighters are constantly undergoing EMS training to be ready for when they respond to a call for someone experiencing hypothermia, or worse. "When those folks are outside like that and exposed to the weather, you got dehydration and list of other potential medical problems and emotional problems they're dealing with," Brandt said. "Those are all exacerbated by those elements and not having a stable environment." Brandt points to the strong partnerships that are underway to develop solutions. There's the Salvation Army's winter shelter, in place for the first time this winter, that helps with overflow from the Poverello, funded in part by the city of Missoula, Missoula County, Providence St. Patrick Hospital and Community Medical Center. Yet, the need remains larger than the resources at hand. "There's not enough resources, or money behind those resources to be able to meet the needs of what's going on," Brandt said. "It definitely strains our first responders with police, fire and medical, and there are other calls for service going on all around the city." For staff at the Pov, it all circles back to housing. "The solution to homelessness is housing," Allison Thompson said. "Period." You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Massive protests were witnessed against the Citizenship Amendment Act, mainly by the student community, since its passage by Parliament in December last year. Mumbai: Thousands of citizens on Sunday congregated in Mumbai's suburban Jogeshwari to oppose the new citizenship law, the proposed NRC and NPR. They also condemned last Sunday's violence on the JNU campus in Delhi, where masked men ran riot and attacked students. Leftist organisations had claimed RSS-affiliated ABVP's role in the attack, a charge denied by the students' body. Former Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS) general secretary Fahad Ahmed told PTI that they assembled under the aegis of 'Hum Bharat Ke Log' in Millat Nagar area. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi should call 56 students from across the country to debate on the CAA, NRC and NPR," Ahmed said in an apparent jibe at Modi's "56 inch chest" remark, which the latter had made ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. "Why is the prime minister not talking to us? Why is he not communicating? Even the Britishers used to talk to Indians whom they ruled, but our prime minister is not talking to poor people," he alleged. Bollywood actor Sushant Singh also spoke on the occasion. "We are people of this country and such acts (CAA) are tarnishing the image of our country," he said. At the gathering, people waved banners with slogans like "I Am From Gujarat, My Documents Burned in 2002", "No CAA, Boycott NRC, Stop Dividing India, Don't Divide us", "Save Constitution", written on them. A large number of police personnel were present at the venue. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which was notified on 10 January, grants Indian citizenship to non-Muslim minorities migrated to India from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh till December 31, 2014, following persecution over their faith. Massive protests were witnessed against the CAA, mainly by the student community, since its passage by Parliament in December last year. Opposition parties have been dubbing the CAA an "anti-Muslim" legislation, a charge being debunked by the government. The Congress and other parties like the TMC have also opposed the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR). Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that the government won't rest until persecuted refugees are granted Indian citizenship. Boston researchers have developed a new way to generate groups of intestinal cells that can be used, among others, to make disease models in the lab to test treatments for diseases affecting the gastrointestinal system. Using human induced pluripotent stem cells, this novel approach combined a variety of techniques that enabled the development of three-dimensional groups of intestinal cells called organoids in vitro, which can expand disease treatment testing in the lab using human cells. Published online in Nature Communications, this process provides a novel platform to improve drug screenings and uncover novel therapies to treat a variety of diseases impacting the intestine, such as inflammatory bowel disease, colon cancer and Cystic Fibrosis. Researchers at the Center for Regenerative Medicine (CReM) of Boston University and Boston Medical Center used donated human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), which are created by reprogramming adult cells into a primitive state. For this study, these cells were pushed to differentiate into intestinal cells using specific growth factors in order to create organoids in a gel. This new protocol allowed the cells to develop without mesenchyme, which typically in other protocols, provides support for the intestinal epithelial cells to grow. By taking out the mesenchyme, the researchers could study exclusively epithelial cells, which make up the intestinal tract. In addition, using CRISPR technology, the researchers were able to modify and create a novel iPSC stem cell line that glowed green when differentiated into intestinal cells. This allowed the researchers to follow the process of how intestinal cells differentiate in vitro. Generating organoids in our lab allows us to create more accurate disease models, which are used to test treatments and therapies targeted to a specific genetic defect or tissue - and it's all possible without harming the patient. This approach allows us to determine what treatments could be most effective, and which are ineffective, against a disease." Gustavo Mostoslavsky, MD, PhD, co-director of CReM and faculty in the gastroenterology section at Boston Medical Center Using this new protocol, the researchers generated intestinal organoids from iPSCs containing a mutation that causes Cystic Fibrosis, which typically affects several organs, including the gastrointestinal tract. Using CRISPR technology, the researchers corrected the mutation in the intestinal organoids. The intestinal organoids with the mutation did not respond to a drug while the genetically corrected cells did respond, demonstrating their future potential for disease modeling and therapeutic screening applications. The protocol developed in this study provides strong evidence to continue using human iPSCs to study development at the cellular level, tissue engineering and disease modeling in order to advance the understanding - and possibilities - of regenerative medicine. "I hope that this study helps move forward our collective understanding about how diseases impact the gastrointestinal tract at the cellular level," said Mostoslavsky, who also is associate professor of medicine and microbiology at Boston University School of Medicine. "The continual development of novel techniques in creating highly differentiated cells that can be used to develop disease models in a lab setting will pave the way for the development of more targeted approaches to treat many different diseases." Shaking with rage, Helen Ward decided to take matters into her own hands. Basement drilling next door had once again woken her toddler daughter from her afternoon nap and she needed somehow to vent her spleen. So she filled paint cans with water and hurled them through the open window of her neighbour's house, drenching the astonished builders and stopping them in their tracks. Today, 12 years later, she fully admits her anger got the better of her and blames the hormonal roller coaster of her early menopause. For eight long years, Helen, now 52, who runs a recruitment agency in the music industry, suffered horrendously from debilitating mood swings, as well as soaking night sweats followed by extreme daytime exhaustion. Sex was so painful that the mere thought of it made her cry. Mercifully, her misery ended when a doctor prescribed hormone replacement therapy (HRT). When the NHS couldn't give Helen Ward (pictured) HRT , a colleague, who was away in Spain, agreed to purchase a four-month supply, costing 50, which she brought home with her Last autumn, however, Helen faced a new crisis. The kind of HRT she used was suddenly no longer available in the UK. Like thousands of British women, she was victim of a nationwide shortage of pills and patches, a shortage which the Mail first drew attention to in early August last year, when it broke the story. And the shortage is ongoing. No one seems to know precisely why pharmacy shelves are so empty though there are plausible theories but for the women who use HRT, the thought of being plunged back into the hormonal swings and sweats of menopause is terrifying. It's not surprising, then, that Helen joined a small army of British women of a certain age who have either travelled abroad in the past year to buy replacements in Europe, where apparently no such shortages exist, or sourced European HRT from friends. Meet the eminently resourceful but profoundly fed-up HRT tourists. 'I got my prescription from my GP as usual,' says Helen, who lives in central London, 'but couldn't find a single pharmacy that had the oestrogen patches in stock. 'I panicked, terrified of reverting back to the way I'd been before starting HRT. Within 24 hours of doing so my husband said he'd at last got his wife back, while I finally felt like my old self again. Desperate, I put out an impassioned plea to any Facebook friends holidaying in Europe, where I'd discovered they're not prescription-only but sold over the counter at pharmacies, pleading with them to pick up supplies for me.' Luckily for Helen, a colleague, who was away in Spain, agreed to purchase a four-month supply, costing 50, which she brought home with her. The Spanish patches have been a 'lifesaver' for Helen, despite the adhesive used to make them stick clearly being different to that found in her usual NHS brand as they bring her skin out in angry weals. 'It's not pleasant but I'm willing to put up with that if it means not going back to being an angry, hot, sweaty, crying mess,' says Helen. 'But it makes me cross that we, women in a civilised society, are having to go begging around Europe for medication that should be, and has been, readily available here. If this crisis is not sorted out, Boris Johnson will have a lot more to worry about than getting Brexit done. He'll have a million angry, hormonal women banging on his door.' The Spanish patches costing 50 have been a lifesaver, but brought my skin out in angry weals She is certainly not exaggerating her own potential for hormone imbalance-induced rages. 'I had no filter on my emotions before HRT,' says Helen. 'It was a horrific time, horrible for my family and, unsurprisingly, my marriage nearly broke up because even somebody leaving a sock on the floor was enough for me to flip my lid.' Over three-quarters of women suffer adverse side-effects from the menopause, while 25 per cent have 'severe symptoms', according to Haitham Hamoda, chairman of the British Menopause Society and a consultant gynaecologist. And with 15 different products reported to be entirely out of stock since early autumn, an alarming 40 per cent of those prescribed HRT have been told by their GP or pharmacist that their medication is unavailable, according to a recent survey by online networking sites Mumsnet and Gransnet. Since 200,000 British women take HRT, that could be a shocking 80,000 women who have found their health seriously affected by an absence of their usual drug. While the British Menopause Society are 'cautiously optimistic' about suggestions that many of those brands will be back on the shelves next month, others anticipate a shortage until summer at least. Rachel Twyford, 51, (pictured) who stocked up on her HRT supply on a trip to Athens with her teenage daughter during the late October half-term holiday after being unable to get the medication here. Prior to December's General Election, rumours abounded that 'Brexit uncertainty' was to blame for supplies being withheld by European pharmaceutical companies. There was even talk of panic stockpiling in anticipation of a 'no deal' outcome, but the real reason appears to be financial, coupled with an increased demand for patches in place of oral oestrogen. As part of a strategy to manage NHS spending, the UK Government sets a cap on what it is prepared to pay for certain drugs and, a few months before HRT medication began disappearing from the shelves, in late 2018, it reduced that amount for estradiol-based products, including those sold under the brand names Evorel, FemSeven and Estradot. The result? The price paid is understood to have dropped to a level which made them unattractive for pharmaceutical companies to sell to the UK. It was a perfect storm. Production of several strengths of Elleste tablets were 'interrupted', according to Mylan, the company that produces them, due to an issue with its 'manufacturing partner'. It makes me cross women in a civilised society are having to beg around Europe for medication Then, in an unrelated issue, the company behind several patches experienced problems with the quality of the adhesive used to attach them to the skin, leaving doctors with no option but to prescribe alternative patches, including Evorel, stocks of which, in turn, ran low. 'Around 40 per cent of those who use oestrogen patches in the UK use Evorel,' says Mr Hamoda. 'And demand was so high for these patches in the first six months of last year that twice as many were prescribed than during the previous year, leading to a shortage. Part of the reason for this is that more women are opting for patches instead of pills because, when oestrogen is taken trans-dermally, there is a lower risk of blood clots.' The company that produces Evorel patches, Theramex, says they will be back in stock from next month. Carol De Juan, 67, (pictured) an events organiser from South-West London, was another facing the prospect of a sudden absence of her regular HRT. When her pharmacist told her she was taking the 'last two boxes' of her HRT medication last September, she contacted her sister, on holiday in the south of France, asking her to hunt out urgent supplies Helen Ward is prescribed Estradot patches, produced by Novartis Pharmaceuticals, which were also in short supply in the UK until last month, which she combines with a daily Utrogestan tablet, containing progesterone. The pharmacist in Spain checked Estradot's contents and prescribed Evopad, which he told Helen's colleague was the closest match. 'The glue is obviously harsher as they brought my stomach, where I apply them, out in weals,' says Helen. 'I have no choice but to use them. I have a very demanding, stressful job, which means I need to be sharp and, without it, I forget what I'm doing and who people are. Before HRT it felt like I had permanent flu. My recollections of life between the age of 40, when my periods stopped, and 48 are hazy, which is sad because during those years my daughter Mia grew from being a toddler to a ten-year-old.' Helen, husband Jon, 51, who owns a building firm, and Mia are going on holiday to Greece in the summer, where they will stock up on more patches. In the meantime Helen is planning a mercy dash to Spain, so nervous is she at the prospect of running out again and being unable to get her prescription here. It is a fear shared by Rachel Twyford, 51, who stocked up on her HRT supply on a trip to Athens with her teenage daughter during the late October half-term holiday after being unable to get the medication here. Rachel, who lives in Surrey, writes a blog about midlife issues (girlinlimbo.com) and works in property, suffers panic attacks, moodiness and exhaustion without these drugs, so is understandably willing to go to great lengths to avoid running out. I couldn't subject my husband to laying next to me with a wine cooler on each of my arms On one particularly terrifying occasion a couple of years ago, she had a panic attack at the wheel of her car while driving on the motorway to a yoga retreat in Portsmouth. 'My heart was racing, palms sweating and I struggled to breathe,' she says. 'I thought I was having a heart attack so pulled into a service station where I eventually calmed down. I'm not sure why the perimenopause causes heightened anxiety. I understand it's to do with low oestrogen, but I know these attacks are terrifying and I'm not prepared to risk them again. Added to that, I felt low and experienced slight mood swings, which made me snap at the kids. Small things like a child not being able to find their socks in the morning would make me upset when I used to be able to laugh it off and I had no energy to cook dinner. I just wanted to have a long lie down instead.' Rachel was first prescribed Estradot patches by her GP 18 months ago for her perimenopausal symptoms, which also included night sweats and hot flushes, memory loss and brain fog. When these were in short supply last summer, the doctor switched Rachel to Evorel patches, stocks of which also then began to run low. 'Struggling to find a chemist with supplies, instead of changing my patch every three or four days as instructed, I began keeping them on for a week at a time, which meant my oestrogen levels tapered off,' says Rachel. 'Down to my last patch, I was anxious enough about the side-effects of coming off HRT to spend 1,500 on a trip to Greece with my daughter. I stocked up there, buying three packs of Estalis Sequidot in one chemist and two packs in another they didn't seem to have shortages there which was enough to last four months, for around 30. 'I'm coming to the end of them now and getting a bit worried about what will happen then, though I'll definitely go abroad again for more if I have to. 'A friend went to Spain at around the same time and bought so many packs she was handing them out like sweeties.' It is not illegal to buy drugs in countries where they are sold over the counter, and it's perfectly OK to bring them back here too, as long as they are also legal in the UK. But there are risks, says Mr Hamoda, who is also clinical lead for the menopause service at King's College Hospital. 'A pharmacist may not ask questions about the patient's background whether they have a history of cancer or blood clots, for example. They might not check their weight or if they smoke to ascertain if what they're asking for is the most suitable preparation for them. 'Therefore, we absolutely would not recommend going abroad to buy medication over the counter.' And yet hundreds of women have been forced into just that. Mumsnet and Gransnet founder Justine Roberts echoes the fury felt by those still facing the nightmare of scarce HRT. 'It's astonishing that we still have no adequate explanation for the HRT shortage many months after the problem emerged, and little evidence of concerted action to get supplies back into pharmacies,' she says. 'It's difficult enough for women to get good healthcare for menopause-related symptoms and outrageous that so many face difficulties in filling prescriptions.' Carol De Juan, 67, an events organiser from South-West London, was another facing the prospect of a sudden absence of her regular HRT. When her pharmacist told her she was taking the 'last two boxes' of her HRT medication last September, she contacted her sister, on holiday in the south of France, asking her to hunt out urgent supplies. Q&A: What is HRT? by Thea Jourdan WHAT IS HRT AND WHAT DOES IT DO? HRT does the work of oestrogen, levels of which plummet after the menopause. Women usually take a combination of synthetic oestrogen and a second hormone, progesterone. Most women in the UK take combined HRT because taking oestrogen on its own can increase the risk of developing cancer of the womb, says Kathy Abernethy, chair of the British Menopause Society. Oestrogen-only HRT is usually only given to women who have had their wombs removed. ARE THERE ANY RISKS TO CONSIDER? A major U.S. study in 2002, from the Womens Health Initiative USA, was the first to ring alarm bells that HRT may lead to an raised risk of heart disease and breast cancer. As a result, many doctors stopped prescribing it overnight. But the study was found to be flawed the average age of the women in the study was 63, when the risk of breast cancer naturally rises anyway, and half were smokers. The risks were overestimated for women of normal menopausal age between 50 and 60, says Kathy. For most women under the age of 60, and for many over age 60, the benefits of HRT are clear. SO DOES HRT REALLY CAUSE CANCER? Any risk comes with longer use, says Kathy. Cancer Research UK says there is strong evidence HRT can cause breast, womb and ovarian cancer, but the chance is low compared to other risk factors. To put it in perspective, while minimising HRT could prevent 1,400 cancer deaths per year, keeping to a healthy weight could prevent 13,200 and stopping smoking could prevent 22,000. ARE THERE OTHER SIDE-EFFECTS? Women who take HRT may have side-effects including breast tenderness, headaches, nausea, indigestion, tummy pain and vaginal bleeding, says Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Royal College of GPs professional development vice-chair. Taking HRT as tablets (not patches or gels) may slightly raise the risk of blood clots. WHO SHOULD NOT BE GIVEN HRT? Those who have a personal or family history of hormone-sensitive cancers, such as ovarian and breast, and women who have had deep vein thrombosis. High blood pressure should be controlled before starting HRT. WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES? Non-hormonal options include Tibolone (Livial), derived from the Mexican yam, which mimics oestrogen. Blood pressure medication Clonidine, which affects the dilation of blood vessels, can alleviate hot flushes and night sweats. Bio-identical hormones, derived from plant oestrogens and prescribed by private clinics, are said to be similar to human sex hormones. But the NHS does not recommend these as they are not regulated. Advertisement 'I texted her a picture of my Evorel 75 packet, which she showed to the chemist and, while he didn't have the exact same ones, he sold her ten packs, each containing eight patches, of a similar product for around 72. 'It was such a relief when she brought them home because I was terrified by the prospect of running out.' Carol's fear is entirely understandable. When she tried coming off HRT three years ago on the advice of her GP, who felt she was too old and had been taking them for too long, her symptoms came back with a vengeance. 'The night sweats were the worst,' says Carol. 'I honestly felt suicidal through lack of sleep and the dread of knowing I was not going to be able to sleep when I went to bed at night. 'For 18 months I had to sleep in the spare room. I couldn't subject my husband to laying next to me as I went to bed with a wine cooler on each arm, an iced face cloth over my forehead and an electric fan at the end of the bed. And still I was too hot to sleep. 'Once, at a work meeting, where everyone else was male, I broke into the most horrific sweat. The back of my neck and forehead were soaking wet and they were saying, 'Are you OK love. What's the matter?' I thought I can't tell them what's wrong. It was awful, horrendous, so embarrassing. 'I also felt light-headed, dizzy and very ratty much of the time. My husband was understanding but got fed up with my moods.' At an appointment with a specialist doctor at London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, Carol was reassured that it was safe for her to continue using oestrogen patches and progesterone pills. Within days, her symptoms had completely subsided. 'When these French patches run out, I'll not only trawl Europe for more but move Heaven and Earth if I have to,' says Carol. 'I can't face the thought of going back to life without HRT.' Trekking around European countries, begging bowl in hand, in search of vital medication is not a solution for all the women affected by this shortage. The ongoing scarcity has left many including Helen, Rachel and Carol questioning whether this scandalous situation would have arisen if men, still largely the decision-makers in both government and industry, experienced menopause. Ali Abdel-Aal criticised the supply ministers provocative statement last week that the government is considering eliminating in-kind subsidies in favour of cash payments The speaker of Egypts House of Representatives, Ali Abdel-Aal, said at a plenary meeting of parliament on Sunday morning that any government decision to change subsidy systems should be first discussed in parliament. I stress that a shift from one subsidy system to another will be adopted only after discussion and dialogue with members of this parliament, said Abdel-Aal. Abdel-Aals statement came in response to a statement delivered by MP Sayed Abdel-Aal, who is leader of the leftist Tagammu party, who said that he and many MPs were taken aback by Supply Minister Ali Mosselhi declaring last week that the government is considering moving ahead with a plan to eliminate food subsidies in favour of cash payments to recipients. I want to stress that when government officials issue statements of this sensitive kind, they should be cautious and observe the interests of citizens first, because it is by no means acceptable that such provocative statements come at a time the Egyptian state is facing a lot of challenges, said Abdel-Aal. Let me emphasise that there will not be any switch in the subsidy system...that food and in-kind subsidies will be kept in place and that there will never be a switch to cash subsidies unless there is consultation and dialogue with MPs first. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Mosselhi said last week that the government is considering a switch to cash handouts, from the existing ration card system. A subsequent statement issued by the cabinet on 9 January said that a number of entities are currently studying the possibility of the move, and there is a proposal that the new cash subsidy system be implemented on a trial basis in a number of governorates first. Search Keywords: Short link: Kolkata, Jan 12 : A group of Congressmen shouted "go back Modi" and showed the black flag to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he was entering the Netaji Indoor Stadium for the inaugural function of the sesquicentenary celebration of the Kolkata Port Trust on Sunday. The handful of Congress activists, who had assembled near the VIP gate of the venue, staged the demonstration despite the presence of huge police contingent. "Go back Modi", they shouted, waving the black cloth on their hands. Momentarily taken aback, the police then swung into action, and tried to thwart the protest. But the demonstrators grew aggressive and tried to force their way into the stadium by overcoming the police barricade. The police rounded up some of the demonstrators, who were taken to the city police headquarters at Lalbazar. What might have lulled many in New Delhi into complacency is the relative calm in the Valley. The Valleys Kashmiris have been the most dominant section of the population and after Independence have controlled the states politics and administration. (Photo: File) Jammu and Kashmir may have receded into the background during the current nationwide turmoil over the citizenship law issue, but it could be hugely presumptuous to assume that normality has returned to the Kashmir Valley or that the Kashmir issue is now history. The visit of a diplomatic contingent to the Valley may have assured the world that things are not quite as bad as portrayed in parts of the media, but neither has it demonstrated everything is normal and as it should be. Although Article 370 of the Constitution has been abrogated and the erstwhile state divided and downgraded to two Union territories, the fundamental disaffection that fuelled the three-decade-long insurgency in the Kashmir Valley has not gone away. If anything, existing faultlines have only been exacerbated. What might have lulled many in New Delhi into complacency is the relative calm in the Valley. The sky did not collapse upon the Valley after the Government of Indias decision to scrap the states special status and divide it in two. The expected popular upsurge predicted by some did not materialise and as of now an uneasy calm prevails in the Valley. The problem, to be sure, exists as it always did, mainly if not exclusively in the Kashmir Valley. The rest of the state, comprising the Jammu and Ladakh regions, have not been affected by insurgency or pro-independence politics except in pockets. So, when people talk about the Kashmir problem, they actually refer to the disaffection and insurrection in the Valley and not the entire state. The Valley, however, happens to be the most populated part of the state and peopled mainly by Sunni Muslims -- the native Kashmiri Hindus having been long hounded out. The Valleys Kashmiris have been the most dominant section of the population and after Independence have controlled the states politics and administration. Yet, a large section of the Valleys Muslim population has for various reasons remained disenchanted with the Indian State and has been demanding independence, or azadi. The so-called Kashmiri separatists represent this section and have openly collaborated with Pakistan in their struggle against New Delhi. The question is whether all that ended on August 5, 2019 with the abrogation of Article 370 and the states bifurcation? Is the worst behind us or should we be prepared for yet another surge of unrest? The public anger in the Kashmir Valley might be subterranean as of now but whether it will persist or dissipate is uncertain. One factor in favour of continued peace is war weariness. The Valley has seen unremitting violence for over 30 years in which thousands have been killed, the economy destroyed, and the environment wrecked. Many might not wish to return to that cycle of bloodletting, uncertainty and fear. On the other hand, there is the matter of honour. The Valleys Kashmiris feel they have been betrayed yet again by New Delhi, their identity and rights snatched away. They feel the floodgates of demographic invasion from the rest of India has been opened and many might well believe the only way to preserve their future is resistance. This fight against the Indian State might not be in the form of renewed insurgency as in the past this has proved ineffective against the Indian Army. Terrorism too has never shaken New Delhis resolve. This could be one reason why the August 5 decision has not triggered a surge in terrorist or insurgent violence. Unconfirmed reports suggest that large numbers of terrorists have regrouped in the mountains but have remained dormant. The Indian Amy too has not engaged them, perhaps as it does not want a spike in the violence level at a time the international community is focussed on the situation in the Valley. The Pakistan Armys intentions are not transparent at this juncture, but the chances are that once the snows melt, they will try to push in a large contingent of trained insurgents into India. The current high level of border engagements between the two armies does not augur well. More than insurgency and terrorism which the Indian Army, police and paramilitary are quite capable of handling, it is the response of the Valleys mainstream leadership that is a matter of maximum concern and one reason why the Valleys top politicians, including three former chief ministers, remain under detention. Article 370 formed the bedrock of mainstream politics. This special status was used to justify their relations with the rest of India. It allowed the Valleys politicians to counter the separatists and argue they were in fact protecting Kashmiris and insulating them from a potentially hostile India. In a 1981 interview to India Today, Sheikh Abdullah, the Kashmiri political stalwart, had denied that Article 370 was preventing Kashmirs integration with the rest of India: Where is the question of non-integration? There are certain powers that are handed to the state and certain powers are retained by the Centre. Now, there are cries from the states that there is too much power concentrated in the Centre, and there should be decentralisation of power. What I say is the feeling all over the country. Our relations with the Centre are based on Article 370, and everybody must accept that position and function according to that. The Sheikh had stressed Article 370 should stay as long as the people of Kashmir wanted it to stay. But today that consideration has gone down the gutter. By unilaterally scrapping the states special status, the message to the Kashmir Valleys people and leadership is that their opinion does not matter. This and the incarceration of the Valleys mainstream leadership means that New Delhi has no friends left in the Valley. Once released, they are certain to take to the streets. Will this lead to violence or talks? If it is the former, then the world will sit up in alarm and pressure New Delhi. Whatever the outcome, at some point New Delhi must resume negotiations with the Kashmiri leadership. Many years ago, Nelson Mandela had warned about the danger of shying away from negotiations. If negotiations broke down, the result would be a bloodbath, he wrote, and after the bloodbath, we would have to sit down again and negotiate with each other. The thought always sobered us up and we persisted, despite many setbacks. You negotiate with your enemies, not your friends. The year 2019 was a portentous one for Xi Jinping, Chinas Paramount Leader, the most ambitious and merciless strongman that country has seen since Chairman Mao Zedong. On October 1, President Xi celebrated 70 years of the Chinese Communist Partys rule with a massive Soviet-style parade that showcased all manner of military hardware, the presumed foundation of his Chinese Dream. But Mr Xis party was eclipsed by the Hong Kong protests, which exploded last spring, just before June 4, the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. In November, the Xinjiang Papers exposed the state persecution of the Uighur people, and trade talks with the United States are no longer an easy pass; while in Taiwan the Beijing-backed KMT candidate lost by a landslide as tough-on-China President Tsai Ing-wen was decisively re-elected. Now, 2020 is going to be a tough sell for Xi Jinping Thought. The year 2019 marked another historic milestone that received little international notice; 60 years ago, last March, the Dalai Lama eluded capture by the Peoples Liberation Army and escaped to safety in India, where he lives to this day, protected by the Indian government and loved by the Indian people. In Hong Kong, the world is watching, but Tibet and Xinjiang, the Western Treasure Houses, distant lands filled with riches of minerals, timber, water, vital to Chinas hopes for control over Asia, are locked behind the Bamboo Curtain. Hong Kong has put President Xi in a tight spot. The PLAs tanks and troops storming Causeway Bay risks a blowback, and the grand plan for global hegemony. Adhering to international standards of law and supporting the outcome of the November 24 election, when Democracy candidates were victorious, risks fracturing the periphery; like Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang are also autonomous regions within the Peoples Republic of China. If you want to do business in China, there is to be no discussion of Chinese dominion over the Thee Ts Tibet, Turkestan and Taiwan. The Western powers have meekly complied; most foreign governments will no longer receive the Dalai Lama. Former US President Barack Obama in 2009 refused to meet the Dalai Lama, giving the Chinese what they most craved: a mortal blow to the Tibet movement; the one activist group that for decades relentlessly exposed the CCPs crimes against humanity. China has bought the compliance of academics and policymakers, so ignorance about the strategic and resource advantage gained by Tibets capture is near universal. But to ignore Tibet is to misread how the Chinese occupation contributes to environmental, economic and military instability in Asia, and the world. In 2000 China launched Xi Bu Dai Fa Opening and Development of the Western Regions Tibet and Xinjiang the pilot project for the global Belt and Road Initiative. Beijing now has crisp new rail and road links to Tibet to accelerate resource extraction and connectivity to nations in South and Central Asia. Tibet, the Water Tower of Asia, the source of the nine great rivers of Asia that sustain three billion people in 11 nations, is choked by Chinese hydro dams. Tibet has long been Communist Chinas torture laboratory; the official who fine-tuned the concentration camps in Tibet, Chen Quanguo, was posted to Xinjinag in 2016. The Tibetan Plateau gives the PLA the high ground with vast military bases loaded with aircraft that can strike South and Southeast Asia in short order. Any institution with the temerity to raise this matter is threatened with expulsion from the Chinese market, and silence is easily bought. In June 2019, the US-China Committee of 100 sent an open letter to President Donald Trump and members of Congress as well as the Washington Post, with the headline: China is not an enemy, which stated: Although we are very troubled by Beijings recent behaviour, which requires a strong response, we also believe that many US actions are contributing directly to the downward spiral in relations. Thats a novel spin, when American financiers are actively trying to invest $500 billion in US government pensions funds in Hikvision, a Chinese military company. It would not be incorrect to say that this is treasonous, yet the mainstream media wont report on it. So, what do the signatories of this open letter many of them retired diplomats, senators, governors have to say about Hong Kong? So far, nothing thats made it to Twitter. The International Campaign for Tibet, Richard Geres advocacy project, has said little about Hong Kong, most outreach is plaintive requests for funds: I know you are a compassionate person who wants to do as much as possible for Tibet, and your donation gives the Tibetan people hope. Just how your donation gives hope to Tibetans labouring under Chinese rule is unclear, as Tibet has been virtually absent from the new global discussion about Communist China. Hong Kong has also put Chinas appeasers in a tight spot. What excuses will they proffer if China strikes India, Taiwan or Japan, or the West when they willingly handed the Chinese Communist Party computer codes and factories? If PLA troops slaughter the people of Hong Kong, which side will they root for? Lord Chris Patten, the last colonial governor of Hong Kong, wrote in a recent essay Hong Kong says No To The Chinese Dream: There is an American imperative for urging someone to accept reality: Wake up and smell the coffee. When Hong Kongs population wakes up nowadays, the reality of Chinese Communism comes with the smell of tear gas Hong Kongs citizens want to continue living in a free society under the rule of law. That is their dream. The people of Tibet have a dream too freedom from Chinese Communist rule. AGRA: Uttar Pradesh deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has claimed that the Muslims are now supporting the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) after having understood the oppositions game plan to communalise the legislation, in absence of any other ideas to take on the BJP. Maurya made the statement while addressing a rally organised in support of the CAA at Numaish Maidan in Aligarh on Sunday. The deputy CM said the Congress, the BSP and the SP had been misleading people and praised Muslims for understanding the real game plan of opposition parties. Mauryas comments assume significance in the backdrop of the massive protests seen across the state in December, which resulted in at least 19 deaths and over a thousand arrests. Police had to fight pitched battles with violent protestors who mobilized after Friday prayers at mosques in several cities on December 20. Maurya reiterated his partys stand that Muslims need not fear as CAA was to grant citizenship to the deserving and to not take it away from anyone. The opposition is left with no issue and thus misleading Muslims to oppose the CAA. But Muslims are now aware of the truth and are not ready to be used as vote bank, stated Maurya. BJP top leadership including prime minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah have persistently accused the opposition of inciting violence and communal tensions over CAA for vote bank politics. Amit Shah has even challenged Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee and other opposition leaders to a debate on the CAA. Maurya hit out at Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and said the political parties they represent would get minimal seats in the assembly elections in 2022. Priyanka Gandhi has led the Congress campaign against the CAA in Uttar Pradesh with her sharp attacks on the Yogi Adityanath government and demonstration of solidarity with jailed protestors. Akhilesh Yadav has also made his presence felt on the ground by holding protests with party cadre and petitioning the Governor over alleged police atrocities on anti-CAA protestors. Along with Aligarh, the lotus of BJP will bloom all over the state in assembly election of 2022 and opposition parties like BSP, SP and Congress will not return to power in the next 25 years, said Maurya. Outgoing Indian Ambassador to the US, Harsh Vardhan Shringla called on President Donald Trump at the Oval Office in White House and thanked him for his steadfast support for strengthening the India-US strategic partnership. Shringla is set to be the next Foreign Secretary of India. Ambassador Alice Wells, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia described Shringla as the "captain of India-US relationship", ahead of his visit to New Delhi. She further stated that Shringla would play an important part in the India-US relations to achieve its potential. US Chief of Protocol Can Henderson hosted a rare reception for Shringla at the Blair House. A reception at this venue for an outgoing envoy is normally reserved only for a few countries and India became one of them. On December 23 last year, Shringla was appointed as the next Foreign Secretary of India with effect from January 29, 2020, upon completion of the two-year term of Vijay Keshav Gokhale as Foreign Secretary on January 28, 2020. READ: 'Better way forward for J&K': US congressman backs India's abrogation of Article 370 move READ: Mississippi senator loyal to Trump is filing for reelection Scott Perry hails Indo-US ties The Pennsylvania Congressman Scott Perry on the house of the floor on January 10, praised Indo - US relations on the floor of the house and stated that both the nations share strong economic, social and political ties. "I rise today to recognise the strong relationship between the United States and India. Since our two countries established diplomatic relations in 1946, through the 2005 launch of our strategic partnership, the United States and India have had a long and storied history. I thank Ambassador Shringla for his friendship and his deep commitment to maintaining our strong US-India alliance. I wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors. I stand with India in their aspiration to provide equal economic, social, and political opportunities to all citizens. " READ: PM Modi reveals 'Our dreams are bigger than $5 Tn economy', hours after meeting India Inc. READ: GOP senator disturbed by McConnell impeachment remark (With Inputs from ANI) Picture credit: ANI Re: Stanley Heller op-ed on Jan. 3 In his Jan. 3 op-ed, Stanley Heller distorts campus reality by labeling President Trumps recent Executive Order an attack on civil liberties. In fact, the order bolsters civil rights and liberties by giving Jewish students the same safeguards that protect other minorities from harassment and violence, a great relief to Jewish parents. Heller, in his intemperate rant, also distorts and perverts language by inventing false and absurd personal definitions to suit his agenda against Israel. He need only consult any readily available authoritative source (say, the Encyclopaedia Britannica) to learn that Zionism is simply a Jewish nationalist movement that has had as its goal the creation and support of a Jewish national state in Palestine, the ancient homeland of the Jews. He then cites a handful of obscure persons and fringe groups to contradict the overwhelming Jewish support for Zionism both in the United States and abroad. Can non-Jews also be Israelis? Yes, 17.7 percent of Israels population is Muslim, and 2 percent (over 180,000 people) are Christians. Like Jews, non-Jewish Israelis enjoy equal political rights, economic benefits, and protection against the ever-present violence and poverty in other Middle Eastern countries. While Heller, in his alternative and hyperpartisan reality, imagines that Israel mistreats non-Jewish citizens, why doesnt Heller prove it by citing large numbers of non-Jews emigrating from Israel? Because there is no such emigration, although Christians have fled Palestinian Arab-controlled areas. Non-Jewish Israelis are happy and proud of their nation. In fact, even Muslim supporters of Israel identify themselves as Zionists. Mark I. Fishman New Haven STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- New York Army National Guard soldiers said goodbye to their families on Saturday at a farewell ceremony at the College of Staten Island (CSI), Willowbrook. Family members turned out to support 230 soldiers at the farewell ceremony held at CSI. Rep. Max Rose, a New York National Guard combat veteran, attended the ceremony. The soldiers, who are assigned to the headquarters of the 42nd Infantry Division that is based in Troy, have been training for more than a year to prepare for deployment. Soldiers will initially conduct training at Fort Indiantown Gap, Penn., and move to Fort Hood in Killeen, Tex., for additional pre-deployment training. They will then deploy to the United States Central Command area of operations, which includes the Middle East, later this year. Staten Island Major General Ray Shields, the Adjutant General of New York, told the soldiers at the ceremony that [their] hard work preparing for this day is evident in the enthusiasm and professionalism. Soldiers also bid farewell at ceremonies at Siena College in Loudonville and the New York National Guards Army Aviation Support Facility in Rochester on Saturday. The 42nd Infantry Divisions last mobilization as a unit was in 2004-2005, when division headquarters took command of 23,000 soldiers operating north of Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom. FOLLOW ANNALISE KNUDSON ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER. This is the moment a brazen thief was filmed by a brave schoolgirl helping himself to lead from a roof. Rosa Barr, 15, recorded the offender from her bedroom window after he climbed up onto the flat roof of the extension thinking the Bournemouth house was empty. He spent several minutes removing bags of roofing lead he was preparing to steal. Rosa called her mother Emma at work who in turn alerted the police. A brazen thief was filmed by schoolgirl Rosa Barr, 15, removing lead from the roof of her home in Bournemouth The thief was also captured by the Barrs video camera on their doorbell during the raid on the property Mrs Barr, 48, also asked a neighbour to check on the house and when they arrived the thief fled empty handed over the back wall. Emma Barr, 48, was called by her daughter when she was at work and she then phoned Dorset Police Now, Mrs Barr has released her daughter's video footage in a bid to catch the offender. The man has short grey hair and was wearing a black coat and blue jeans at the time. Mrs Barr, a business owner, said: 'My daughter was home alone. Rosa spotted him from out her bedroom window and started filming him which was very brave as he was only a few yards away from her. 'She then called me to say there was a man stealing lead on the roof. 'I called a friend and then the police because I was worried about the safety of my daughter. 'The friend drove their car on to our driveway and that must have scared the thief because he legged it over the back wall before the police arrived. They were there very quickly. 'It is just lucky that he didn't see my daughter. It is horrible to think what could have happened to her. We're all in shock. The thief is seen at the door of the property, filmed on the smart doorbell The thief was filmed by Rosa from a bedroom window at the home in Bournemouth 'Hopefully by putting out this video we can catch him.' A Dorset Police spokesperson said: 'Officers attended and carried out a search of the area for the offender, assisted by the NPAS helicopter. 'An investigation is ongoing into the incident. No arrests have been made at this stage.' Advertisement Tens of thousands of livestock and hundreds of unique bee hives have been destroyed on South Australia's Kangaroo Island. Agriculture experts are counting the losses as fires continue to burn across the island which has already lost 210,000 hectares inside a perimeter of 500km. As of Sunday more than 32,000 sheep losses had been reported to Primary Industries and Regions SA, along with 517 cattle, 65 alpacas and five horses. Adelaide wildlife rescuer Simon Adamczyk is seen with koala rescued at a burning forest near near Cape Borda on Kangaroo Island. Bushfires wiped out 32,000 sheep, 500 cattle, 800 bee hives, 65 alpacas and thousands of koalas on the island A dead koala is seen at the Flinders Chase National Park after bushfires swept through Kangaroo Island A baby brushtail possum (pictured) was rescued from certain death on Kangaroo Island. The animal was rescued and taken to the Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park The livestock toll could still rise as animal heath officers continue to inspect and assess injured animals and more than 200 fire-damaged properties. The island's koala population has been hard hit by the fires. More than 800 bee hives and 115 nucleus hives have been destroyed. Kangaroo Island is home of the unique Ligurian bee, which is protected from disease by strict rules, including restrictions on products like honey and wax, hives and equipment. Volunteers supporting the fire effort have been reminded to clean vehicles and equipment to protect the unique farming and wildlife on the island, including the valuable seed potato industry. Australian Defence Force are coordinating with local authorities to help farmers dispose of and bury livestock in existing burial pits and in other work requiring heavy equipment. A depot has opened at Cape Jervis for fodder donations and deliveries while the ADF and Livestock SA are assisting with hay transport Agriculture experts are counting the losses as fires continue to burn across the island which has already lost 210,000 hectares inside a perimeter of 500km A dead kangaroo joey is seen on the edge of the Playford Highway west of Parndana on January 10, 2020 on Kangaroo Island, Australia Bushfires are estimated to have killed upwards of 500 cattle and 32,000 sheep on Kangaroo Island (pictured) Travel restrictions to Kangaroo Island have been lifted, but Country Fire Service incident controller Ian Tanner says non-essential travel is best postponed. 'If you do need to come here to support relatives and friends, then it's OK to come,' he said. 'But if you don't need to come to Kangaroo Island at this point in time, then please give us a bit longer to get this sorted.' The federal government on Sunday confirmed its plans to help recovery efforts on the island. A water purification system is generating 400,000 litres of water and there will be a further 12,000 litres of drinking water for locals. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said two heavy-lift chinook helicopters will arrive on the island on Monday. The Kangaroo Island dunnart, already one of 10 priority threatened mammal species targeted in the national government's Threatened Species Strategy, could face extinction (file photo) As of Sunday more than 32,000 sheep were reported ot have been lost to the out of control bushfire which tore through large swaths of the wildlife haven off the coast of South Australia 'They will operate for a couple of days to provide additional reach to enable us to provide supplies in the remoter parts of the island, principally delivering fodder and other supplies.' Australia's extinction rate for mammals is already the highest in the world, but there are growing fears this year's bushfires could cause localised extinctions. 'There's almost no considerable habitat remaining for many species. That leads to local extinction events,' John Woinarski of the Threatened Species Recovery Hub told national broadcaster ABC, describing the fires as a 'holocaust of destruction' for wildlife. At least half of Australia's only infection-free koala population on Kangaroo Island, a key 'insurance population' for the species' future, is feared dead with more badly hurt. More than 800 bee hives and 115 nucleus hives of the unique Ligurian bee (pictured) have been destroyed by bushfires Rescuers were able to swoop in and save a koala that was spotted watching helplessly as a bushfire closed in on it Some parts of the bush will take decades to recover and experts say substantial investment may be needed to restore habitats if animals like Chance are to have another shot at survival (Kangaroo Island pictured from a satellite) The Kangaroo Island dunnart, already one of 10 priority threatened mammal species targeted in the national government's Threatened Species Strategy, could face extinction. University of Sydney professor Chris Dickman said his estimate of more than one billion animals killed was 'highly conservative'. 'We're probably looking at what climate change may look like for other parts of the world in the first stages in Australia at the moment.' When the fires abate, Crowther said some populations might become so small they could be taken into captivity to try to save their species. Some parts of the bush will take decades to recover and experts say substantial investment may be needed to restore habitats if animals like Chance are to have another shot at survival. UFC president Dana White plans to fly a former Best Buy employee who thwarted an alleged shoplifting attempt in Hawaii to an upcoming UFC fight in Las Vegas and may even hire the woman, he said on Twitter on Friday. Security footage that went viral showed Summer Tapasa-Sataraka, 24, battling a man trying to leave the store in Aiea with a speaker, using her forearms to block the exit and wrestling the man to the ground before he left empty handed. 'This is Summer. She stopped this punk from getting away with stealing from Best Buy in Hawaii. UFC president Dana White plans to fly Summer Tapasa-Sataraka to a January 18 UFC bout in Las Vegas. Tapasa-Sataraka resides in Hawaii 'She got fired for this. Flying her in this weekend and giving her tickets to the McGregor vs Cowboy fight,' White said, referring to the Jan. 18 bout between Irishman Conor McGregor and Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone. 'I want her to work for me! Get ready for the best weekend of your life, Summer.' In a Facebook post last month, Tapasa-Sataraka said she had seen the man steal from the store before and noticed him trying to walk away with the same item again. 'I just kept thinking ... not today!!' she wrote about the confrontation, which has been viewed millions of times online. The viral video shows Summer Tapasa-Sataraka stopping the thief at the Best Buy store in Waimulu, Hawaii, last month She added that she had already informed Best Buy of her plans to leave the company before the incident and harbored no ill will toward the electronics retailer. On Friday, Tapasa-Sataraka reposted White's offer on her Facebook page and shared her excitement at the news. The bout is between Irishman Conor McGregor and Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone 'I've been a big girl my entire life,' she said in the post. 'Yet, I would have never thought Id be given the opportunities Im getting now. Ive been talked about my entire life. Yet, I still carry on.' The video, posted last month by user @exshayts shows Tapasa-Sataraka stopping the thief at the Best Buy store. Footage shows Tapasa-Sataraka taking a wide stance as she stands in front of the exit. The thief - a male - can be seen charging at her with a box in his hand. Tapasa-Sataraka repeatedly pushes the man away from the door, eventually getting him to crash into a nearby sign. The two soon go flying out of the camera's view, with another Best Buy employee falling on top of them to separate them. Footage shows Tapasa-Sataraka pushing the would be thief as he tries to get out of the store At one point the suspect has the employee in a hold, pulling her shirt over her head so that she has trouble seeing That employee and the suspect then are seen falling to the ground, with the thief holding onto Tapasa-Sataraka as she continues swinging punches at him. At one point the suspect has the employee in a hold, pulling her shirt over her head so that she has trouble seeing. Other employees can be seen pulling the man off of Tapasa-Sataraka and kicking the thief as he gets outside of the store. Tapasa-Sataraka can be seen going out of the store to tell the man something as another employee appears to call authorities on his phone On Twitter, many speculated that the bold employee would be fired for engaging the thief so aggressively Tapasa-Sataraka can be seen going out of the store to tell the man something as another employee appears to call authorities on his phone. On Twitter, many speculated that the bold employee would be fired for engaging the thief so aggressively. But Tapasa-Sataraka insinuated that she planned on quitting. She also stressed that this was not the first time that this particular man had stolen from the store. 'First time, he got away,' she shared on Tuesday. 'I was a customer & I saw that s**t happen. This time round, he tried it.. I saw him run.. not today Mf.' Tapasa-Sataraka insinuated that she planned on quitting Published on 2020/01/12 | Source The population of the Seoul metropolitan region outnumbers the whole of the rest of Korea's for the first time. Advertisement According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, 25.93 million people were registered in Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province as of December last year, accounting for 50.002 percent of the total population of 51.85 million. Some 1,737 fewer were registered in all other parts of the country, yet the Seoul region takes up only 11.8 percent of the country's area. The population proportion of the Seoul area increased sharply from 28.3 percent in 1970 to 49.2 percent in 2010. The more recent surge is mostly due to population growth in the dormitory towns and endless suburbs of Gyeonggi Province. The population there jumped 12.3 percent over the past nine years, far outpacing the overall population growth of 2.6 percent. The population in most other big cities like Busan, Daegu, and Daejeon dwindled in the 2010s. Self-acclaimed male barbie, Bobrisky is elated after his mystery bae promised to give the staggering sum of $100,000 which is equivalent to 36 million naira. The Nigerian transgender took to his social media account to share the exciting news with his fans. The male cross-dresser wrote; Bae said he is giving me worth over $100,000 tomorrow haaaaa guys abi am dreaming nii. Can someone wake me up. $100,000 in Naira is like 36,000,000. Guys stay glued to see it tomorrow. Hopefully, it doesnt turn to be a hoax on Monday. See the post below: https://www.instagram.com/p/B7OZGORAE9b/?igshid=d194z2ek5exm Event Highlights PM Modi Defends CAA at Belur Math The protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens, both criticised as anti-Muslim, have snowballed across India with students and women leading the charge. The flames of discontent have been fanned by police action on protesting students and alleged inaction when a masked mob assaulted Left-leaning students at a JNU hostel last Sunday. Read More Citizenship Act Protests LIVE: Speaking on National Youth Day, which is celebrated on Swami Vivekanandas birth anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accused opposition parties of trying to mislead youth on the amended citizenship law for political gains and reiterated that the Act is not meant to "snatch anyone's rights". He also slammed Pakistan on treatment of minorities since Independence.The protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens, both criticised as anti-Muslim, have snowballed across India with students and women leading the charge. The flames of discontent have been fanned by police action on protesting students and alleged inaction when a masked mob assaulted Left-leaning students at a JNU hostel last Sunday. Jan 12, 2020 11:30 (IST) In a rebuttal to PM Modi's claim that opposition parties are "misleading" the masses into protesing, Salim said, They are misleading the people in the name of citizenship. Whom they are planning to give citizenship? They are planning to give citizenship to those who are already an Indian citizenship? What is going on? They are misleading the people. Jan 12, 2020 11:14 (IST) Meanwhile, CPI(M) Md Salim said, I would like to ask with my folded hands, why PM Modi was allowed to use Belur Math for his political message. He was on an official tour but he gave political statement. With due respectwith my folded hands to them (monks) why he was allowed to use Belur Math to give his political message. Jan 12, 2020 10:26 (IST) The ruling Trinamool Congress students wing, as well as Left Front activists protested separately against the amended Citizenship Act in various parts of West Bengal as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, landed in Kolkata for his two-day visit to the state. While the Trinamool Congress students' wing, TMCP, began their 'dharna' against CAA, NRC and National Population Register (NPR) on Friday, the Left Front activists staged protests yesterday against the new citizenship law. Jan 12, 2020 10:16 (IST) Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math. Jan 12, 2020 10:13 (IST) Slamming the opposition for "misleading" masses over the Citizenship Act, PM Narendra Modi said, "You understood this very clearly. But those playing political games purposely refuse to understand. People are being misled over the Citizenship Amendment Act. Jan 12, 2020 10:08 (IST) "We have just followed what Mahatma Gandhi had said. In CAA we will give citizenship and will not snatch anyone's citizenship. Any person of any religion whether he believes in God or not can take the citizenship of the country according to the already set procedure. It is not that for giving citizenship the Indian government has made some law over night," PM Modi added. Jan 12, 2020 09:55 (IST) PM Modi said, "Citizenship Act is not for taking anyone's citizenship but is for giving citizenship. The Citizeship act is just a change in the Citizenship law. We have increased the criteria for giving citizenship and the change is made for thos who who were persecuted in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan because of the religious leanings." Jan 12, 2020 09:50 (IST) PM Modi Defends CAA at Belur Math | At the Belur Math in Howrah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that the the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will not take away "Indian citizenship", but grant it to those who faced "religious persecution" in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till 2014, amid massive nationwide protests against the CAA. The Prime Minister's speech comes as students and rival political parties are out on the streets protesting against his visit to Kolkata and the Ramakrishna Mission in Howrah. File photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Black flags and angry chants of "Modi, go back" greeted the Prime Minister as he arrived on a two-day visit to Kolkata on Saturday, but nicety was not abandoned as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee shared the dais with him while remaining insistent on annulment of the new citizenship law. Banerjee, arguably the bitterest critic of the prime minister on the CAA, met him at Raj Bhavan, after deciding not to receive him at the airport, and also shared stage at a colourful programme to celebrate 150 years of the Kolkata Port Trust. Moments later, she was present at an anti-CAA protest nearby. Banerjee, who called her meeting with Modi a "courtesy visit", said the prime minister had asked her to come to New Delhi to discuss the vexatious issues. An hour or so later, Modi and Banerjee were seated on stage at the Millennium Park, savouring a delightful dance performance on the Hooghly river as the iconic Howrah Bridge was aglow in hues of red, purple, yellow and green light. The politically significant meet, which had exposed chinks in the opposition unity, came just two days after the TMC chief had declared to boycott an opposition meeting called by Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on January 13 over the JNU violence, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and other "anti-people" policies of the Centre. The meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Banerjee drew sharp reactions from the Congress and CPI(M), which said Trinamool Congress' "double standard" is now exposed. The Trinamool Congress leadership denies claims of "political match-fixing" and said the meeting between the two leaders was just a government-to-government meet. The brief meeting between the two had kicked off a fresh storm as Left students activists protested against her and demanded an explantion from her for diluting the fight against the CAA. Banerjee tried to clarify by saying the decision to meet the PM was her "constitutional obligation" and tried to pacify the protesting students. Modi arrived here amidst protests across the city against CAA. The protesters burnt effigies of the PM and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for bringing in a "divisive law". Several organisations, both political and civil, staged protests at every nook and corner of the state. Hundreds of protesters holding black flags demonstrated outside the Kolkata airport gate number one crossing. The police had put up a barricade to prevent them from crossing over to the airport side. Robots were front and center at the CES gadget show in Las Vegas. One even made pizza. Robots were front and center at the CES gadget show in Las Vegas. One even made pizza. The annual CES technology conference in Las Vegas runs through Friday and offers a forum for companies to unveil their products and services for the coming year. Here are some highlights: PIZZA ROBOT Tucked away behind a concession stand, one robot was busy making overpriced pizzas for the hungry crowds. Its not bad, said McCord Fitzsimmons, who paid $7.50 for a pepperoni slice while the robot worked behind the register. Its kind of neat watching the thing do its thing. The robot, which resembles an assembly line, can churn out 300 12-inch pies in an hour. (The high price, though, has nothing to do with the robots costs, but the captive audience at CES sprawling venues.) Humans are still needed to make lunch. A worker with an iPad tells the robot what type of pizza to make and then slides a frozen crust on the conveyor belt. As the crust goes down the line, sauce, cheese, sausage and other toppings fall from above and onto the crust. A worker then needs to put the pie in the oven, take it out when its done and slice it up. Picnic, the startup behind the robot, said its also assembling pizzas at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, where the company is based. Pizza shop owners can customize the machine and add whatever crusts or ingredients they want. Besides pizzas, Picnic said the robot could be reconfigured to make wraps or salads for restaurants. CRUISIN UNDER THE SEA Need a faster way to travel underwater? Sublue has your back. The company makes handheld scooters for underwater use. Just press two buttons for the battery-powered motors to start, and youre on your way. Sublues scooters are mostly made for professional use for divers or other underwater explorers. But the company is working on a less expensive model for casual water adventurers, one it expects will cost $500 to $600. On the CES floor, Sublue had a huge glass tank pool where onlookers gawked at a professional diver showing off the scooters. The scooter comes with a strap so you dont lose it. Theres also a mount for your phone, hopefully encased in a waterproof covering. Land scooters have gained popularity in urban areas in recent years, garnering both praise for their small size and ease of use and pushback for crowding sidewalks and streets. At least underwater, theres a smaller chance of traffic accidents for now. USE THE FORCE ... How focused are you, really? At BrainCos booth, people wearing headbands equipped with EEG sensors move toy cars around a racetrack using only their minds. The company, which was incubated at Harvard Innovation Lab, uses the headband to convert electro signals into a numeric scale of 0 to 100 to tell how hard someone is focusing. The cars moved faster as people hit higher numbers. BrainCo makes the headbands for athletes, including the USA Weightlifting team, to test their focus levels and get them in the right headspace for training. The company says that using mind games before workouts and meditation afterward can make athletes more effective, without altering their training. Traditionally, EEG measurements are used medically but BrainCo says it collects more than 1,000 data points from the headband, which it uses to measure the persons mental state. BrainCo also sells the headbands to schools so teachers can get a real-time look at how students are responding to lessons. But its not currently on sale for individual consumers. My friend Joe McLaughlin said that he heard that despite House Speaker Nancy Pelosi choosing to hold back the articles of impeachment that House Democrats alone passed against President Trump from the Senate (until certain conditions are met - ie,), the Senate has the opportunity to act. He asked if this is true.Here is how impeachment works, as I understand it. The Constitution speaks to impeachment process but not to an detailed procedure. It is a 2-part process, to be separated by 2 distinct branches of the legislature. It is an act of separation of powers, designed to temper political passions and to resort to reason and responsibility. All the Constitution says is that the House of Representatives can bring impeachment charges against the president (a simple majority is all that is required) but it is the Senate that has the power to remove him for those charges. Article 1, Section 2 states that the House- meaning it alone has the power to bring charges ofagainst a president. The far greater responsibility lies with the Senate, as it should, since those representatives were (as the original Constitution provided) selected by the states and not the populace and hold a far longer tenure in office and hence are (or should be) more knowledgeable and responsible. Section 3 states that the Senate "shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments." A president is removed from office by a 2/3 supermajority vote of the Senate. As you can see, there is no mention of procedure in the Constitution. The question we are pondering is this: Isn't the House REQUIRED to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate IMMEDIATELY? To answer this, we have to look to the Senate's own RULES governing how it handles its role, its procedure, in the impeachment process. Currently, those rules begin by stating: The first rule of impeachment procedure states that the Senate will not act on an impeachment until the House sends to the Senate its appointed- the representatives who will act as the lawyers during the impeachment trial. After the House has presented its managers to the Senate, then the Senate takes the reins and launches its trial. If the Senate wants to frustrate Pelosi'sattempt, all it needs to do is alter its rules outlining the impeachment procedure in the Senate. It simply needs to put a time limit on the transmission of articles of impeachment to the Senate, asserting that any so-calledlevied against the President under the impeachment power must be deemed serious enough to warrant immediate action by the Senate. Otherwise, they are not serious enough to have been brought against him in the first place.In an opinion piece for FOX News by GianCarlo Canaparo titledMr. Canaparo pretty much summed up the very same opinion. He wrote:The first rule of impeachment procedure states that the Senate will not act on an impeachment until the House sends to the Senate its appointed "managers"- the representatives who will act as the lawyers during the impeachment trial. After the House has presented its managers to the Senate, then the Senate takes the reins and launches its trial.So can Pelosi delay an impeachment trial? Yes, as long as the Senate doesn't change its current rules. But there's absolutely nothing stopping it from changing this rule, and the Senate should change the rule to prevent this sort of gamesmanship.The Senate should not let Pelosi interfere with its constitutional obligations and its independence in this way.Impeachment of the president shakes the nation to its core, and when, as here, it's done in a nakedly partisan way, it divides the country and damages our constitutional framework. It needs to be over as quickly as possible.So the Senate should change its impeachment rules as follows: once the House has impeached the president, the Senate shall set a date for trial and shall set a deadline for the House to present its managers to the Senate. If the House fails to meet that deadline, the Senate will either dismiss the articles of impeachment for lack of prosecution or, better yet, vote on the articles immediately in light of the evidence presented to it - in this case, no evidence.Having set this boulder rolling, House Democrats should not be allowed now to hold it up. They started this process. It's up to the Senate to finish it on its terms alone. Not Pelosi's.As I pointed out earlier, the Constitution doesn't say how fast the articles must go to the Senate. But it can arguably be assumed that some modest delay might be expected. It certainly wouldn't be inconsistent with the Constitution. But certainly an indefinite delay - and certainly a "quid-pro-quo" type delay - would pose a very serious problem. It might even rise to a "constitutional crisis."But FOX News isn't the only opinion on Pelosi's decision to withhold the articles of impeachment.According to leftist/ progressive Harvard Law Professor Noah Feldman, who testified in favor of impeachment and on behalf of Democrats in front of the House Judiciary Committee earlier this month, President Trump isn't actually impeached until the Pelosi sends the articles to the Senate. He argues that impeachment, as contemplated by the Constitution, is a process. It does not merely consist of a vote by the House, but includes a trial in the Senate on those charges (the impeachment charges) to determine whether they are serious enough to warrant removal from office. Both parts - the articles of impeachment brought by the House and the trial in the Senate -are necessary to legally constitute "impeachment" under the Constitution. to make an impeachment under the Constitution: In other words, the House must actually send the articles and send managers to the Senate to prosecute the impeachment. And the Senate must actually hold a trial.In an article he penned for Bloomberg Opinion, titled Trump Isn't Impeached Until the House Tells the Senate, Professor Feldman wrote:"According to the Constitution, impeachment is a process, not a vote If the House does not communicate its impeachment to the Senate, it hasn't actually impeached the president. If the articles are not transmitted, Trump could legitimately say that he wasn't truly impeached at all."In fact, President Trump is already hinting that this is his position.And this brings us to another point - the Senate must actually hold a trial on the impeachment charges. Once the articles are sent, the Senate has a constitutional duty to hold a trial on the impeachment charges presented. Just as unreasonably holding back the articles of impeachment or indefinitely holding them back from the Senate frustrates and therefore violates the Constitution scheme of impeachment, failure for the Senate to hold a trial after impeachment would also clearly deviate from such expectations. It would deny the president the chance to defend himself in the Senate that the Constitution provides. We couldn't, in good conscience as a "free nation," deny the President of the United States, duly elected by the American people under the Electoral College system, the fundamental right to confront his accusers and to defend himself in a trial before a vote is taken on removal from office. Due Process demands that when there is a right at stake (the office of the presidency being the right in this case), there must be a legal procedure in place to allow the accused to confront and address those who try to deny him that right. The most debase and vile of criminals are guaranteed this right, after all.The drafters and framers of our Constitution included the provisions for impeachment taking note of how it had been practiced in England. In England, the House of Commons brought impeachment charges and the House of Lords tried those charges. In fact, the whole point of Commons bringing the charges was for them to brought against the accused in the House of Lords, in the form of a trial. Strictly speaking, therefore, "impeachment" refers to the process of presenting the articles of impeachment to the Senate for trial. And, as emphasized earlier, at that point the Senate would be obliged by the Constitution to hold a trial.If the House were vote to "impeach" Trump (which it did) but doesn't send the articles to the Senate or send impeachment managers there to carry its message, then while it hasn't directly violated the text of the Constitution, it certainly has technically violated it by intentionally acting against the implicit logic of the Constitution's process of impeachment. Again, we see the logic in President Trump's position.With respect to Pelosi's quid-pro-quo argument that articles of impeachment will be withheld until SHE deems that the Senate procedures are fair enough to the Democrats, Professor Feldman dismisses that position altogether. He asserts that only the Senate is empowered to judge the fairness of its own trial. After all, that is what is explicitly stated by the phrase "The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments."But even if we decide to overlook GianCarlo Canparo from FOX News and Professor Noah Feldman, there is still liberal law school professor Alan Dershowitz. Dershowitz pretty much echoes the same position as Feldman.Dershowitz further criticizes the Democrats for its second article of impeachment, which in his opinion is abusive and threatens the integrity of the impeachment process. He says that although the entire impeachment process by House Democrats smacks of partisanship, it is the second article of impeachment that particularly does so. And he is concerned for its effect in future attempts to impeach a partisanly-unpopular president.While lamenting over this second article of impeachment, Dershowitz was encouraged by the recent decision by the US Supreme Court to review the lower court rulings involving congressional and prosecution subpoenas directed toward President Trump, which he claims "pulls the rug out from" or "undercuts" the Democrats' second article of impeachment. That second article of impeachment charges President Trump with obstruction of Congress for refusing to comply with the congressional subpoenas in the absence of a final court order. In so charging him, the House Judiciary Committee has arrogated to itself the power to decide the validity of subpoenas, and the power to determine whether claims of executive privilege must be recognized, both authorities that properly belong with the judicial branch of our government, not the legislative branch.In an article he wrote for The Hill, Dershowitz explained: "President Trump has asserted that the executive branch, of which he is the head, need not comply with congressional subpoenas requiring the production of privileged executive material, unless there is a final court order compelling such production. He has argued, appropriately, that the judicial branch is the ultimate arbiter of conflicts between the legislative and executive branches. Therefore, the Supreme Court decision to review these three cases, in which lower courts ruled against President Trump, provides support for his constitutional arguments in the investigation." No progress has been made on the Gujarat government's plan to build the world's second tallest statue of Gautam Buddha in Sabarkantha district and to develop the place into an international Buddhism destination, a member of a Buddhist organisation claimed here on Sunday. The government had proposed to develop Dev Ni Mori in Sabarkantha district into an "international Buddhist destination" with "the second tallest statue of Buddha (108 metre) in the world after the Spring Temple statue in China (153 metre). The prposed statue will be more in height than the Thailand-based Sitting Buddha statue (92 metre). The estimated cost of the project is around Rs 1200 crore. "The state government has proposed a very big project at 'Dev Ni Mori', but has not yet sanctioned any fund, which has stalled the project. We are also struggling for it and trying to make it possible as early as possible," said Bhante Prasheel Ratna Gautam, president of Sanghakaya Foundation, a non-profit Buddhist organisation. He was speaking on the sidelines of the 4th International Buddhist Conference on Peace and Solidarity, which was inaugurated on Sunday, being organised at the Gujarat University here. READ: Gujarat Assembly Passes Resolution Supporting CAA 129 Buddhist monks from different parts of the country and abroad, apart from common people, are participating in the three-day conference. "We don't think the government has any issue regarding funds. The government has not said no to the project, but it is not taking it forward either," Gautam said. The state archaeological department had carried out excavation at Dev Ni Mori near Shamlaji, an important Hindu pilgrimage destination, during 1960-1963. During excavation, remains of a Buddhist monastery dated 3rd-4th century AD were found. A casket was found, which as per its inscription, contained relics of Gautam Budhha. The 1700-year-old casket is currently kept at the MS University of Baroda in Vadodara. Gautam said Sanghakaya Foundation had also proposed to construct a 80-120 metre tall statue of Lord Buddha for which land was identified at Aluva village in Gandhinagar district. "The collector of Gandhinagar district had identified the land at Aluva village in Gandhinagar on the banks of the Sabarmati river. We propose to build a 80-120 metre tall statue of Gautam Buddha there," he said. The Foundation also gifted a five-foot statue of Gautam Buddha to the Gujarat University and signed an MoU to promote Buddhist studies, Gautam added. A ustralian police are offering a $1m (530,000) reward for information about a three-year-old British girl who went missing from a beach 50 years ago. Cheryl Grimmer is thought to have been kidnapped and murdered. She had been at the seaside with her mum and three brothers in Wollongong, near Sydney, New South Wales, when she disappeared from the changing rooms in 1970. The body of the girl from Bristol has never been found. On the 50th anniversary of her disappearance, NSW authorities upped the reward on the cold case for information leading to arrest and conviction. Cheryl spent the morning on the beach before she disappeared / PA A man who cannot be named for legal reasons, aged 16 at the time, was due to face a murder trial last year. But after key evidence was ruled inadmissible, the charges against him were dropped. A judge ruled the man's interview with police from April 1971 could not be used in court because there had been no parent, adult or lawyer accompanying him, Australian media reported. Cherly, centre, with her three brothers. Her Body was never found / PA A coroner in 2011 found Cheryl had died - but her cause and manner of death remained undetermined, NSW Police said. Her brother, Ricki Nash, said: "There are no words to describe the pain of losing a sister and the impact Cheryl's disappearance has had on our entire family. "Every day we are reminded of the tragic way she was taken from us and we hope this reward is what is needed to bring justice for Cheryl." Cheryl, second right, was originally from Bristol / PA Homicide squad commander, detective superintendent Daniel Doherty, said: "We are appealing to those people who know something but have not previously been inclined to assist police. "Witnesses at the time reported seeing an unknown male carrying Cheryl towards the car park 50 years ago today, but there has been no trace of her ever since. "We welcome any information that may assist the investigation. There are now a million reasons to come forward." Anyone with information is asked to contact Crimestoppers on https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. During an operation in Sophian, one Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) was arrested along with two wanted Hizbul Mujahideen militants, the Jammu and Kashmir police said on Sunday. Vijay Kumar, Inspector General (IG) of Police, said: "Yesterday, during an operation in Sophian, one Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) was arrested along with two wanted Hizbul Mujahideen militants, while they were travelling together in a vehicle on the Highway." Investigation in the matter is underway, added the official. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) ATHENS (Reuters) - At least twelve people drowned when their boat sank off an island in western Greece on Saturday, Greek authorities said, marking the deadliest toll in months in Greece's migrant crisis. ATHENS (Reuters) - At least twelve people drowned when their boat sank off an island in western Greece on Saturday, Greek authorities said, marking the deadliest toll in months in Greece's migrant crisis. Twenty one people were rescued, the coastguard said. Helicopters and ships were searching the area south-west of the island of Paxos for more survivors. Authorities said they had accounts of up to 50 people being on the vessel. The Greek authorities said they had scrambled to the area after receiving a distress signal from the boat which was taking in water. No further details were immediately available. Greek authorities regularly detect boatloads of migrants heading to Greece from Turkey, to its east. Sea disasters off its western coast, facing Italy, are less common. Greece was at the frontline of Europe's migrant crisis in 2015 and 2016, when more than a million people reached the country, fleeing war in the Middle East and beyond. Its camps and reception centres on outlying islands facing Turkey are severely overcrowded. Almost 74,500 migrants and refugees made their way to Greece in 2019, most of them by sea, according to the UNHCR, the UN refugee agency. (Reporting by Michele Kambas; Editing by Alexander Smith and Clelia Oziel) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-11 23:33:52|Editor: ZX Video Player Close JOHANNESBURG, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- As South Africa is faced with sluggish economic growth, ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is also South African president, on Saturday promised the party would focus on building inclusive growth and drive investment in this new year. "Our priority is to pursue investment, jobs and inclusive growth. The creation of jobs remains our central priority for 2020," he told thousands of ANC's supporters at the party's 108 birthday celebration in Kimberley. The speech which he delivered is known as the January 8 statement that set out the key priorities for the course of the year. With unemployment rising and food prices going up, Ramaphosa said the ANC would also work hard in tackling such problems. "We will intensify both job creation and other measures to improve the lives of the poor. We will work to reduce the cost of living for poor and working people generally, through better public transport and lower costs for electricity and other services," he said. Ramaphosa said empowering and ensuring that young people have skills was crucial in dealing with unemployment and inequality. "We will work together to realise the enormous potential of our youth by tackling joblessness, poverty and inequality and developing the skills that our people and economy need," he said. With state-owned power utility Eskom facing difficulties in ensuring energy supply, the president said the transformation of this entity would continue. His government plans to divide Eskom into three business entities in an effort to deal with its problems. "We will accelerate the process of transforming Eskom into an effective and reliable electricity supplier that can operate in an open, competitive energy sector," he said. On the land issue, Ramaphosa said the party would continue ensuring that all South Africans have access to land. "The struggle to return the land of this country to all the people of South Africa remains a historical and economic imperative. All legislative efforts to accelerate the return of the land to the people will be done lawfully and in line with the provisions of the Constitution," Ramaphosa said. Bangkok, Jan 12 : Thousands of pro-democracy protesters participated in the "Run Against Dictatorship" on Sunday at a public park here to express their discontent with the Thai government. The capital's Wachirabenchathat Park was filled, even before dawn, with runners of all ages participating in the student-organized event named "Wing Lai Lung" ("Run to Oust Uncle") in Thai, a reference to the nickname commonly afforded to incumbent Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-ocha, who first came to power in 2014 after leading a military coup against the democratically-elected governmen, reports Efe newst. Unlike other demonstrations held in Thailand, the "Run Against Dictatorship" used one of the country's most trending activities - collective running - as a way to send their message to the authorities, a strategy that drew a great deal of attention from the general public, which sought a more peaceful and creative way to make their voices heard than the often-bloody clashes between political opponents or with the security forces of the recent past. The rally was joined by around 14,000 people, including Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the leader of the opposition Anakot Mai ("Future Forward") party who is also the current government's most prominent critic. "I think the first step for the process to democratize Thailand would be that General Prayut has to step down," Thanathorn told the media. As they gathered at the start line, runners cried out in unison: "Prayut, get out!" and raised their hands in the air to show a three-finger salute, a symbol adopted from the popular film adaptation of the novel series "The Hunger Games", that has been often used in protests against the 2014 coup. The Wing Lai Lung campaign was first launched in November 2019 and since then has faced many hurdles from the authorities, who forced activists to cancel their press conference twice and changed the event's authorized location at the last minute. Meanwhile, at another public park located 12 km away, government supporters held a counter-demonstration called "Walk to Back Uncle", which drew around 5,000 participants. The event was organized by a pro-government group known as "Cheer Lung", which aims to defend the Prime Minister and protest against the "nation-haters", a derogatory name for people who often criticize Thai leaders and want to see major changes in the country. Despite being the biggest public gatherings held in the five years since the 2014 coup, both events ended without any violent incidents or confrontations. Thailand has been gripped by political tension for more than a decade, leading to two successful coups in the past 14 years. The army takeovers came in the context of constant violent protests and clashes between the conservative faction (known as the Yellow Shirts) and the Red Shirts, backers of ousted prime ministers Thaksin Shinawatra (in office between 2001-06) and his sister Yingluck (2011-14). Both members of the wealthy Shinawatra clan were deposed by the army and remain in exile. NWS issues flood warning The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for the French Broad River valley at Blantyre after a day of rain on Saturday. The river rose above flood stage of 16 feet at 6:30 a.m. Sunday after 2-4 inches of rainfall on Saturday, the NWS said. The weather will be far better today, with a high near 62 under sunny skies. Showers return Monday night and Tuesday, with an 80 percent chance of rain and continued warm weather with highs in the mid 60s. Chance of rain is 60 percent Wednesday before clearing on Thursday with a high of 57. New Delhi: An encounter broke out between security forces and terrorists in Jammu and Kashmirs Tral area on Sunday morning. According to reports, two terrorists are believed to be trapped in a residential area. Earlier on Tuesday, a local terrorist was killed in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmirs Awantipora. The security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Churswoo village of Awantipora in the early hours of Tuesday following an information about the presence of the terrorist there, they said. The killed terrorist has been identified as Shahid, a resident of Bijbehara area of Anantnag district, the police said. He was asked to surrender by the security forces but he chose to engage them in a gunbattle, they said, adding that the ultra was killed after a brief exchange of fire. Meanwhile, security forces have been conducting Operation All Out to root out terror outfits from the Valley. As many as 160 terrorists were killed and 102 arrested in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019. Jammu and Kashmir polices stated that 250 ultras were active in UT. Security Arrangements have been beefed up in Jammu and Kashmir post abrogation of Article 370. Since the removal of the special status from J&K, Pakistan is trying to push militias via LoC. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Yogi Adityanath government of Uttar Pradesh has made preparations to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act first, besides going to every district of the state, Yogi Adityanath's minister is giving detailed information about citizenship amendment law to the people. The preparation has gained more momentum since its notification was released on last Friday. In the same Yogi Adityanath government, cabinet minister and government spokesperson Siddharth Nath Singh claims that Uttar Pradesh will have the first Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the country. He said that whenever the notification of the CAA is issued to the state after the notification is issued by the Center, Uttar Pradesh will be at the forefront of implementing it. Apart from this, the Minister said that in order to remove the confusion being spread among the people about NRC and CAA, Paday Yatra is being carried out everyday by the Central and State Government in India through Lok Jagaran Manch. Apart from this, opposition is spreading various kinds of confusion about the Citizenship Amendment Bill. No one is going to be hurt by this. He said that the action that has been taken in the Lok Sabha in the last six months has never happened in history. This law is not a law of giving citizenship but of giving. Modi government does not discriminate on the basis of religion. Works for everyone but Congress has made them their vote bank for 70 years by scaring the Muslims. The same law passed by Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will have to be implemented by every state. Everyone should understand that the law has nothing to do with the citizens of India. This is for the minorities of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Apart from this, Siddharth Nath Singh was speaking on Saturday in Gonda in a campaign organized to make people aware of the Citizenship Amendment Act. He said that Narendra Modi gave development plans like Ayushman Yojana to the people of India and benefited both Hindu Muslims without discrimination. The same opposition told the same thing to the Muslim brothers and sisters that they have the right to fear and to frighten them. The opposition also said that if you want to be afraid, then BJP. Meanwhile, from time to time, the Opposition has intimidated him and formed his vote bank. The minister also said after Deepka Padukone went to JNU that everyone has the right to go anywhere. Whether it is Deepika Padukone or someone else. He is a celebrity and if celebrities stand anywhere, they should go with the facts. He said that in 2019 the people of India once again gave a strong government at the Center. Modi removed 370. Legislation on triple talaq. Paved the way for the construction of Ram temple which was welcomed by all. The opposition feels that the government is now going to bring laws like Uniform Civil Code, then the opposition is doing new dramas. Also Read: British Ambassador arrested in Iran, said this in his clarification China got a big shock, Beijings man lost by a shocking landslide in Taiwans presidential election Hurricane wreaked havoc in America, 10 died Pakistan PM Imran Khan's nephew abuses, kicks car in viral video The Fly Baghdad flight, carrying 111 Iraqi tourists on board, was welcomed Saturday with a water cannon salute Egypt's Cairo International Airport received the first ever Fly Baghdad flight from Iraq's Al-Najaf International Airport, a statement by the Ministry of Civil Aviation said. The Fly Baghdad flight, carrying 111 Iraqi tourists on board, was welcomed Saturday with a water cannon salute as the first flight by the operator to land in Cairo. Fly Baghdad chairman Beshir Al-Shabny said only one flight will be operated weekly in January, with the airliner planning to increase flights to two in February. The private Iraqi airliner is expected to operate four flights to Cairo during the upcoming summer season for tourists eying to spend their vacations in Egypt's tourist hotspots, he added. He said that Egypt is a main destination for Iraqi tourists, and Iraqi students studying in Egypt. Egypt aims to attract 12 million tourists in FY 2019/2020, an 11 percent increase on the number of tourists in FY 2018/2019. Search Keywords: Short link: The new series of Love Island is kicking off on Sunday night, bringing a whole crop of new reality TV wannabes into our lives. And Lucie Donlan and Amy Hart were leading the former contestants attending the The Winter Boo Hoo Love Island party at Camp and Furnace in Liverpool, eagerly awaiting the screening of the first episode of the inaugural winter edition of the ITV2 show. The surfer and the former air hostess were dressed to impress as they joined the likes of India Reynolds and Gabby Allen at the bash. Stepping out: Lucie Donlan was leading the former contestants attending the The Winter Boo Hoo Love Island party at Camp and Furnace in Liverpool on Sunday Lucie was dressed down in a black jumpsuit with Bardot shoulder detailing, accessorising with a designer bag. She wore her long blonde hair down in her usual beachy waves and kept her make-up simple and natural. Amy opted for a silky wrap miniskirt featuring a rose print, paired with a long-sleeved black crop top. The TV personality pulled her look together with a pair of opaque tights and some heeled ankle boots. Show of support: Amy Hart opted for a silky wrap miniskirt featuring a rose print, paired with a long-sleeved black crop top Keeping it simple: India Reynolds looked lovely in a beige blazer dress, worn belted at the waist Making a statement: Gabby Allen showed off her toned legs in a pair of faux leather shorts and a matching blouse with puffed sleeves Close: Lucie and Gabby put on a cosy display in matching black ensembles Rock solid: A number of couples from past editions of the reality show were throwing their support behind the launch, including happily married Olivia Buckland and Alex Bowen, who found love on series two Well underway: Alex and Olivia cosied up to Gabby as the former Islanders, who appeared in difference series, enjoyed the screening together Gabby showed off her toned legs in a pair of faux leather shorts and a matching blouse with puffed sleeves. A number of couples from past editions of the reality show were throwing their support behind the launch, including happily married Olivia Buckland and Alex Bowen, who found love on series two. Wes Nelson, who took part in the 2018 edition, went arm-in-arm with Arabella Chi from last year's series. The former Love Islanders stayed at Town Hotels in Liverpool, where they partied late into the night following the BooHoo bash. Joining the party: Samira Mighty looked cool and casual in a hooded dress and a pair of sexy snakeskin boots Let's split a bottle: A few of the girls appeared to share a bottle of prosecco as they sat at the same table Hot couple: Wes Nelson, who took part in the 2018 edition, went arm-in-arm with Arabella Chi from last year's series In attendance: Kady McDermott donned a pair of leather look leggings and strappy heels Glamorous: Joanna Chimonides looked great in a silver dress with a thigh-high split Style: Harley Brash stunned in a cream trouser suit teamed with a red handbag and a pair of strappy heels of the same colour Clueless vibes: Belle Hassan (left) and Elma Pazar (right) embraced a preppy look Low-key: Kendall Rae Knight displayed her tint waist in a pair of high-rise mom jeans Stepping out solo: Tommy Fury put in an appearance at the event without his girlfriend Molly-Mae Hague Beauties: Gabby and India looked stunning as they jumped out of the silver minibus Glitz: Hannah Elizabeth, who made it to the Love Island final in 2015 with Jon Clark, took a break from her mother duties to attend the screening Easy-going: The stars appeared in high spirits as they made their way inside. Francesca's svelte waist was showcased in a thick belt Ride share: Olivia led the reality stars as they descended from a bus after they arrived at the venue Series six of the ITV2 show takes place in a stunning South African villa, which has been given a makeover to look like the Mallorcan house viewers are so familiar with. Hours before the show's return, Caroline Flack broke her social media silence to wish her Love Island replacement Laura Whitmore 'good luck'. On Sunday, the embattled host, 40 - who last shared a post on her Instagram on Christmas Eve - wrote: 'Massive good luck to Laura, Iain [Stirling] and the team for tonights launch show... the first one always the best one. Caroline x' [sic] The presenter stood down from being the face of the show in December as she was charged for common assault following a fight with her boyfriend Lewis Burton, 27. Going solo: Tom was without Molly as he arrived at the venue in a cosy black jacket and ripped black jeans Sheepish: Wes Nelson donned stylish cuffed grey cargo pants with a pair of shiny Doc Martens Wow! The girls pulled out all the stops as they dressed to impress for the screening Casual chic: Kady teamed strappy black heels with leather trousers of the same colour. She carried her accessories in a Louis Vuitton handbag Get together: The islanders appeared to enjoy their reunion as they chatted together Designer: Belle donned a Balenciaga cross-body bag as she walked next to Elma Toned: While Samira wore an oversized hoodie with a pair of dramatic snakeskin thigh-high boots, Kendall displayed her toned abdomen in high-waisted faded jeans PM's UAE visit focuses SDGs, envoy's conference: Momen Foreign minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Sunday said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will highlight Dhaka's position in implementing SDGs during her UAE visit where she is also set to give directives to Bangladesh envoys in West Asia regarding current Middle East situation. "During the visit, the Prime Minister will get opportunities to apprise the world leaders of the initiatives taken by Bangladesh in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)," he told newsmen while speaking at a press briefing over the premier's visit to the UAE at foreign ministry on Sunday morning. The prime minister is set to leave Dhaka this afternoon for Abu Dhabi on a three-day official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to attend "Abu Dhabi Sustainable Week" and "Zayed Sustainable Awards Ceremony". At the programmes, the foreign minister said the Prime minister will also give a detail overview to the participating world leaders about Bangladesh government's initiatives in the field of energy, health care, climate change, water and biotechnology to achieve "Vision 2041" to turn Bangladesh into a developed country. During the visit, Momen said two instruments are likely to be signed between Bangladesh and the UAE. The agreements are - 'Addendum to the MoU signed between Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) and Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Bangladesh' and 'Protocol of Amendment to the Agreement on allotment of land plot in Baridhara Diplomatic Enclave', Dhaka for Construction of Embassy Premises. The foreign minister said the Premier will also attend an envoy's conference during the visit where Bangladesh Ambassadors to Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arab and the UAE to attend. At the conference, Momen said the Prime Minister will give directives to the Bangladesh envoys about Dhaka's role amid the current tensed situation of the Middle East. The foreign minister said Bangladesh's position is always in favour of peace and stability and follows its core diplomatic motto - friendship to all, malice to none. "War is not an answer," he said, adding that Bangladesh would like to see stability, peace and national integrity all over the world. Momen said the Prime Minister is also likely to give directives to Bangladeshi envoys on how they can attract more investment in Bangladesh from the Middle Eastern nations. The Prime minister will also set to discuss about the various plans of the Bangladesh missions in West Asia regarding celebrating the Birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Momen said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to meet with UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al Maktoum and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan and wife of UAE Founder and Founding President Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Al Ketbi on January 14. Momen hoped that the Prime Minister's visit to the UAE also help to create more job opportunities for Bangladeshi work force in the oil rich UAE. Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and Secretary (Maritime Affairs Unit) Rear Admiral (retd) Md Khurshed Alam were, among others, present. A VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the premier and her entourage members will depart Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) in Dhaka for Abu Dhabi this afternoon. The flight is scheduled to reach Abu Dhabi International Airport at 8.55pm (local time) where Bangladesh Ambassador to the UAE Muhammad Imran will receive the premier at the airport. After the reception at the airport, a ceremonial motorcade will escort the premier to Shangri-La Hotel in Abu Dhabi, where she will be staying during her visit to the UAE. On January 13, Sheikh Hasina is expected to attend the "Abu Dhabi Sustainable Week" at 11am and "Zayed Sustainable Awards Ceremony" at 12pm at ICC Hall, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC). Later at 6.30 in the evening, the premier will join the Envoy's conference at her place of residence. On January 14, apart from holding bilateral meetings with the UAE leaders, the premier will also attend an interview session on "The Critical Role of Women in Delivering Climate Action" at Hall-11, the ADNEC. Concluding the three-day official visit to the UAE, the premier will return home on January 14. Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, said that central government will cater to the requirements of jawans guarding the borders on a real-time basis. Rai, made a visit to the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) Border Outpost (BoP) at Indo-Nepal border in Raxaul, Bihar and spent a night with them on Saturday. He said that Indo-Nepal border is very sensitive and being an open border makes the task of jawans very difficult while he lauded the soldiers for working day and night for protecting the country. The Union Minister also had dinner with the SSB jawans and appreciated their way of working in the harsh weather conditions. "I spent my last night time with SSB jawans at Raxaul (Indo -Nepal)Border and saw that despite chilly weather, our jawans were standing like a rock on the border to serve the nation," Rai said in a telephonic conversation with ANI. "I salute our jawans who are serving the nation and are protecting our borders. Indo-Nepal Border is a very sensitive border and an open border which makes the task of our jawans more difficult. They are doing very well. I assured the jawans that whatever they require on the borders, the government will provide them in real-time," he said. Earlier the Union Minister had visited Indo -Bangladesh Border near Siliguri BoP Fulbari. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bushfires are still burning in Australia. Fortunately, after being burnt new bush is also regenerating. Firefighters and volunteers have been trying to save as many animals as possible. One billion animals have been reported dead in the fires till now and it is important to save the rest. It is important to ensure that animals that have managed to survive the fires do not die of hunger because even their source of food, has been destroyed. And to ensure that, the New South Wales government has started doing food-drops, trickling thousands of kilograms of carrots and sweet potato from above to feed the state's colonies of brush-trailed rock wallabies. Twitter/NSW office NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service recently commenced 'Operation Rock Wallaby' in order to combat the at-risk nature of the state's marsupial population. The parks service has dropped more than 2,200kg of fresh vegetables for these animals. New South Wales Environment Minister Matt Kean said that even though these animals managed to flee they have no source of food. The wallabies typically survive the fire itself, but are then left stranded with limited natural food as the fire takes out the vegetation around their rocky habitat, Daily Mail quoted him as saying. He further said, The wallabies were already under stress from the ongoing drought, making survival challenging for the wallabies without assistance. NSW office Lyn White, Animals Australia Spokeswoman, said they're working as hard as they can to make sure the wildlife that has survived the fires doesn't die from a lack of food. She said, With roads likely shut for weeks, the risk of starvation for surviving wildlife in the area is very real. It would be tragic if there was a further loss of life because the needs of surviving animals was not being met. Australia is in dire need of funds to recover from the ongoing devastation, and to keep its population and wild animals alive. A corrections officer was assaulted by a prisoner at Wolston Correctional Centre on Saturday morning. Officers were preparing the prisoner to be moved to the detention unit when he struck the officer in the face. A prisoner struck an officer in the face at the Wolston Correctional Centre. Credit:Greg Henderson A Queensland Corrective Services spokesman said other officers "used force to restrain the prisoner", who was taken to the detention unit without further incident. The officer was assessed at the medical centre and received treatment for a minor eye injury. Cleanup efforts began across Alabama on Sunday, following a day of damaging storms and at least two confirmed tornadoes, one of which left three dead and seven injured. Thousands were without power Sunday, and at least one school district plans to declare an emergency. Heres what we know: Tornadoes National Weather Service teams have confirmed at least four tornadoes touched down in Alabama during Saturdays severe weather. One was an EF-2 tornado, which struck near Reform in Pickens County near Carrollton, with winds of 134 miles per hour. That storm damaged 22 homes along Settlement Road and the three deaths occurred in two of four manufactured homes that were completely destroyed, the National Weather Service reported. That storm is blamed for the deaths of three: Tyrone Spain, 51; Albert Barnett, 85, and his wife Susan Barnett, 75. All three died as the result of blunt force trauma from the storm, according to the Pickens County Coroners office. Spain ran a taxi service in Tuscaloosa County, WHNT News Channel 19 reported. An EF-2 tornado also touched down near Brindlee Mountain Primary School in Marshall County, according to the National Weather Service in Huntsville, with winds of 120 miles per hour. The school was severely damaged, including the cafeteria, office and several classrooms. The school, which has kindergarten through second grades, is closed for the time being. Birmingham NWS also sent survey teams to Greene County near Forkland and Barbour County near Baker Hill, where a debris signature was observed on radar. Huntsville NWS sent teams to Cullman and DeKalb counties. The teams confirmed an an EF1 tornado started in Cullman County near Joppa and moved to the Hog Jaw community in Marshall County. And an EF0 struck Holly Pond in Cullman County. The deadly storm system that hit Alabama is also being blamed for at least 11 deaths across the Southeast. The survey team from Pickens County has sent back a preliminary report that the damage they are seeing is rated at least EF2, at 134 mph. The survey is still ongoing, and more details will be shared when it is available. #alwx pic.twitter.com/rPecIRWPne NWS Birmingham (@NWSBirmingham) January 12, 2020 Ivey responds Governor Kay Ivey released a statement in response to the deaths in Pickens County: My thoughts and prayers are with the victims of Saturdays severe weather. Alabama has lost three of her citizens as a result of the serious round of storms to move through Pickens County yesterday. This morning, I have reached out to both the county leadership as well as the legislative delegation to offer my deepest condolences in this terrible loss of life. I am profoundly grateful for our emergency management officials, meteorologists, law enforcement and first responders who remained on watch throughout the dangerous weather. Because of their preparedness, we are able to take the needed precautions to withstand these type of storms. We will stand together while we grieve the loss of three of our fellow Alabamians and continue to pray for their loved ones. May God bless them and the great state of Alabama. Damage to schools Officials with the Brindlee Mountain School District are working to find space for the displaced students of Brindlee Mountain Primary School, which was severely damaged by the EF-2 tornado in Marshall County. Marshall County Superintendent Dr. Cindy Wigley said in a Facebook post that district officials are relocating Brindlee Mountain Primary students to the middle school building of Brindlee Mountain High School. Brindlee Mountain Primary, Elementary and High Schools will be closed all week, but extracurricular activities will continue as scheduled. The Marshall County Board will hold a special called board meeting on Monday to declare an emergency and request financial assistance from the state. Holly Pond High School in Cullman County also sustained damage, according to Cullman County Superintendent Dr. Shane Barnette. Severe weather damaged an awning at the school, a greenhouse and four buses. The school will be open as usual on Monday. Power outages Meanwhile, Saturdays severe weather caused downed powerlines and snapped utility poles, leaving 100,000 Alabamians with no electricity. Thousands were still without power by midday Sunday. Alabama Power brought in additional crews from states as far away as Kentucky and North Carolina to help restore service in central and south Alabama. A U.S. Congressional report called on the White House to sanction Chinese officials involved in human rights abuses. The bipartisan commission released its annual human rights report on Jan. 8. The report says that rising authoritarianism in China is one of the 21st centurys most important challenges. The commissioners found over the past year the human rights situation has worsened, and the rule of law continues to deteriorate, Chairman of the House Rules Committee Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said. Make no mistake, the Chinese Communist Party is committing crimes against humanity, Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) said. The over 300-page report said that over the past few decades, the Chinese regime has expanded a costly and elaborate authoritarian system designed to intimidate, censor, and even imprison Chinese citizens for exercising their fundamental human rights. Last year, Congress enacted the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. The law included provisions that paved the way for sanctions against Chinese and Hong Kong officials responsible for rights abuses in the city. Now the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act has been signed into law, McGovern said. The administration should hold accountable any person who is responsible for arbitrary detention or other gross human rights violations. Congressman Christopher Smith (R-N.J.) said that now it is President Donald Trumps decision whether to faithfully and aggressively implement it, and I believe he will. The report also mentioned that as in previous years, the Chinese regime sustained suppression of faith groupssuch as practitioners of Falun Gong meditation. A report from Falun Gong information website Minghui.org confirmed 69 practitioners were killed in 2018. Lawmakers on the commission also say that more needs to be done to stop the Chinese communist regimes practice of forced organ harvesting. Falun Gong practitioners continue to face horrific conditions in detention, including violence, forced drug administration, sleep deprivation, and other forms of torture, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said. Well bring attention to it continually, Smith said. We believe, frankly, more must be done to stop it. This years report will be submitted to Trump and Congress. Reporting by Kitty Wang, NTD News. A record number of elephants 361 died in Sri Lanka last year, mostly killed by humans, conservationists have said. People used electric fences, poison and explosives hidden in food to kill the endangered animals. The death toll was the highest reported since Sri Lanka became independent in 1948, experts said. The expansion of rural farming is making natural habitats shrink, so elephant-human conflict is a rising problem, according to the Sri Lankan Centre for Conservation and Research. The competition for food and water often leads villagers and farmers to illegally kill the animals. Campaigners call on Indian PM to end torture of captive elephants Show all 11 1 /11 Campaigners call on Indian PM to end torture of captive elephants Campaigners call on Indian PM to end torture of captive elephants The treatment of captive elephants in Kerala is branded 'India's shame' World Animal Protection Campaigners call on Indian PM to end torture of captive elephants 'Elephants' in chains World Animal Protection Campaigners call on Indian PM to end torture of captive elephants World Animal Protection Campaigners call on Indian PM to end torture of captive elephants At the Indian High Commission World Animal Protection Campaigners call on Indian PM to end torture of captive elephants Protesters wore black World Animal Protection Campaigners call on Indian PM to end torture of captive elephants The protesters were fighting to open the world's eyes to the hidden crisis, urging people to use the hashtag breakthechains World Animal Protection Campaigners call on Indian PM to end torture of captive elephants Campaigners came in elephant masks World Animal Protection Campaigners call on Indian PM to end torture of captive elephants Outside the High Commission, India House World Animal Protection Campaigners call on Indian PM to end torture of captive elephants 'Elephants' in chains World Animal Protection Campaigners call on Indian PM to end torture of captive elephants World Animal Protection Campaigners call on Indian PM to end torture of captive elephants World Animal Protection Sajeewa Chamikara, an environmentalist with the Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform, told the BBC 85 per cent of elephant deaths last year may are thought to have been caused by human activity. He called on the government to do more to improve the quality of protected areas, such as reducing invasive plants that grow over grasslands that feed the elephants. Recommended Beloved elephant Tikiri dies after being forced to perform for decades Our development plan is not eco-friendly. We need a sustainable development plan, he added. According to the world authority on nature, the IUCN red list of threatened species, Asian elephant numbers are falling and the species is classed as endangered and severely fragmented. The IUCN puts numbers at 2,500 at between 4,000. Elephants are known to develop strong, intimate bonds and have been shown to form lifelong friendships. They mourn the death of loved ones, and females help each look after each others calves. In September, seven elephants found dead in a reserve were suspected of having been poisoned by local residents for destroying crops. Anyone who harms, kills or injures an elephant is liable for imprisonment or a fine, but officials say enforcing the law is difficult. They have promised to work to reduce crop-raiding by putting fences between elephant habitats and rural communities. Some wild elephants are hit and killed by trains during migration. And dozens of elephants are kept in captivity in Sri Lanka to raise income from tourists or forced to march at local festivals. To make them submit to being ridden, they are put through a brutal training process called the crush which involves their being hit with sharp bullhooks to cause pain, and being deprived of food and water. Two months ago, an elephant is believed to have died from exhaustion after being forced to carry tourists in Sri Lanka in searing heat. The animal was said to have carried three groups of holidaymakers on the day he died and been hit with a bullhook. In 2018, 319 elephants and almost 100 people were killed in elephant-human conflicts, Mongabay reported, with 64 killed by explosive devices hidden in food, and 53 shot dead. The past four years have seen at least 21 cases of elephant poisoning deaths, for which no perpetrators have been identified. The Sri Lankan Centre for Conservation and Research said: With expanding human populations, natural habitats that are not designated as protected are being converted to human habitats at an ever-increasing rate. Where elephants once ranged have sprung up crop fields, where they once bathed and peacefully drank is now an agricultural reservoir. Every 10 years a count of all of the people living in the United States is taken. It is required by the Constitution. It is used primarily to determine representation in Congress. It also affects representation on the local level aldermen and county supervisors and in the state legislature. To Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian, it is the most important reason for the Census. It deals with the movement of people, how districts are set up (for representation) from alderman up to Congress, he said. It is the basis of this country. Thats why it is so important. It also may be why false information is being sent over social media attempting to reduce participation. Such falsehoods try to depress responding. In addition to the representation aspect, Census numbers determine how much in federal dollars are distributed. Jennie Tunkieicz, the county executives chief of staff, said an undercount means fewer people being served. She said state figures show that a 1 percent undercount in Wisconsin would cost the state $76 million annually over the 10 years. She added that in 2016, $12.6 billion came to the state from federal programs that used the 2010 Census to determine where to allocate them. On the county level, such funding goes to road projects and social services. On the city level, it means money for the Community Development Block Grant Program, including for nonprofits and home funds, used for neighborhood housing and rehabilitation programs. And on the local school level, it affects Title 1, special education and the National School Lunch Program. It also determines funds for Medicaid, childrens health insurance and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps eligible households purchase healthy foods. This is so important that, as announced last Sunday, The Kenosha News and InsideSources.com are joining forces on a yearlong content project called America Counts: Census 2020. The first segment was published last Sunday and others will appear monthly in this Forum section. Other Census reports and updates will run through the year. In March, Census postcards will be sent to most homes. Then a letter with information to take the survey online will be sent to about 75 percent of homes. The remaining 25 percent will receive a letter and a paper survey. Non-respondents can expect multiple reminders for compliance. In December of 2020, the Census director will deliver the apportionment numbers to the president. The states will receive the data in March 2021. This impacts communities significantly, the mayor said. We cant agree more. If you care about highway funds, money for social services and education programs for special education and Title 1, housing and community development, you must participate. If you care about how you are represented on city council, the state legislature or in the halls of the House of Representatives or the Senate, you must stand up and be counted. For the sake of all of us. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Representative Image The US State Department on January 11 expressed concern over the continued detention of political leaders and restrictions on internet in Jammu and Kashmir. The restrictions were imposed on August 5 last year when India's central government had announced the abrogation of the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir under the Article 370 and its bifurcation into two Union Territories. The twitter handle of US State Department's bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA) said that it was closely following the visit of US Ambassador to India Keneth Juster and other foreign envoys' visit to Jammu and Kashmir. The bureau, on behalf of Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Alice Wells, who will be travelling to South Asia next week, expressed hope for return of normalcy. "Closely following USAmbIndia and other foreign diplomats' recent trip to Jammu and Kashmir. Important step," the bureau of SCA said in a tweet. "We remain concerned by detention of political leaders and residents, and Internet restrictions. We look forward to a return to normalcy. AGW," it said in the tweet. In 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". Pakistan has been unsuccessfully trying to drum up international support against India for withdrawing Jammu and Kashmir's special status on August 5 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. Asked about the criticism of Mr. Bloombergs vast wealth and his decision to self-fund his campaign Ms. Sheindlin cast it as a political strength, saying he holds no constituency other than the people who elected him. Her first journey through the rigors of a day on the presidential campaign came on Saturday, when she joined Mr. Bloomberg on a bus tour across Texas. It was Ms. Sheindlins first face-to-face meeting with Mr. Bloomberg, whom she had previously only spoken with over the phone. I know Mike through his work, she said. Today is really the first touching of the flesh for us. Swapping her signature lace collar for a stylish scarf, she walked through a line of selfie-snapping voters to board Mr. Bloombergs campaign bus, emblazoned with the slogan Get It Done Express. She ordered brisket at a barbecue joint. (No bread, she sternly instructed.) And she smiled through Mr. Bloombergs awkward campaign trail prattle. Im never sure whether its appropriate to kiss the judge, said Mr. Bloomberg, taking the stage in San Antonio after Ms. Sheindlins introduction. Theres nobody this country respects any more than you there are other people as well but you really are a great American and you should be very proud of what you do. While Ms. Sheindlin did not mention any of the candidates by name, her judgments on the Democratic primary field were rendered quite clearly for voters. She implied that former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. was a nice guy but described him as number two, when the country deserves a number one. Her comments denouncing calls for revolution were a shot at Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Aides to the former mayor said that Ms. Sheindlins support arrived through a totally organic process. Judge Judy Sheindlin is known for her good judgment, said Galia Slayen, a spokeswoman for Mr. Bloomberg. When The Oregonian first hit the streets on Dec. 4, 1850, people didnt have to guess where the paper would stand on political issues. The then-weekly paper, which focused more on advocacy than news, announced it would support the policies of the Millard Fillmore administration and the principles of the Whig Party so long as they tend to produce results beneficial to the interest of the country at large, and to foster and protect the agricultural and commercial interests of Oregon. Emblazoned on the front page was the motto Equal Rights, Equal Laws, Equal Justice to All Men. The Whig party soon collapsed. The name Millard Fillmore is relegated to history classes and trivia games. And while the campaign for equal rights and laws persists, it does so for all not just men. But the constant that runs through 170 years of the regions growth, upheaval and migration is the mission of The Oregonian/OregonLive to serve as an informed and engaged voice in supporting the success and sustainability of our state. As at other newspapers, the editorial board independently of the newsroom determines the stances of the institution on matters of public interest. Oregonian editorials Editorials reflect the collective opinion of The Oregonian/OregonLive editorial board, which operates independently of the newsroom. Members of the editorial board are Therese Bottomly, Laura Gunderson, Helen Jung, John Maher and Amy Wang. Members of the board meet regularly to determine our institutional stance on issues of the day. We publish editorials when we believe our unique perspective can lend clarity and influence an upcoming decision of great public interest. Editorials are opinion pieces and therefore different from news articles. To respond to this editorial, post your comment below, submit an OpEd or a letter to the editor If you have questions about the opinion section, email Helen Jung , opinion editor, or call 503-294-7621. In recent years, The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board has released an annual agenda at the start of the year that lists the most pressing state and local issues that we believe leaders should address. Those have included calls to transform the states K-12 schools, fix structural problems in the public employee pension system, reform the criminal justice system and help Portland to become a more functional city. This year, by explaining the framework through which we evaluate various issues and solutions, we hope to give readers a clearer understanding of our mission and objectives. Five people serve on the editorial board John Maher, president; Therese Bottomly, editor and vice president of content; Laura Gunderson, director of public interest and accountability; Helen Jung, opinion editor; and Amy Wang, newsletters and special projects editor. (You can find short bios on oregonlive.com/opinion). Each week, the board gathers to discuss and debate topics of public interest that have a strong Portland or Oregon connection, such as the regions affordable housing strategies, Portlands traffic safety measures, and new business tax measures. The discussion typically results in a consensus viewpoint that is developed into an editorial written by Jung. The board also meets with groups and community leaders as issues arise. Additionally, in advance of elections, the board interviews candidates and campaigns and offers endorsements for those looking for recommendations on how to vote. But how do we get to consensus? Largely by following our common priorities and principles. Disagreements, even among diehard opponents, arent so much about a conflict in fundamental values as much as they are conflicts over which values should take priority. For our editorial board, we view proposals, problems and leadership through these primary lenses. We believe transparency and accountability are indispensable to a functional and trustworthy government. The government exists because the people invest their collective power, resources and faith in it. In return, the government should recognize its obligation to the public to conduct business openly, provide access to records and err on the side of disclosure rather than secrecy. Ensuring accountability is also key. In any agency, bureau or staff, accountability begins with a culture that encourages questioning, verification and follow-up. Too often, the act of asking questions is viewed as threatening when, in reality, the lack of such inquiry is the true threat. We view fiscal responsibility as the foundation for good policy. No government, business or individual can fulfill a mission if it is spending unsustainably. This tenet has fueled our relentless push for reforms to the Public Employees Retirement System, in order to protect tax dollars for public services while still granting employees a fair retirement. Equitable taxation is a key component of fiscal responsibility. Exorbitant taxes that unduly hit the poor or the unlucky create more problems than they solve. Unfortunately, Oregon relies heavily on such schemes out of political convenience. We recognize that public and private institutions work best when they stick to their mission. That means first identifying the problems that they are trying to solve and then answering whether they are the right ones to be solving it. Failing to observe discipline in such matters leads to duplication of efforts and a waste of resources. We regard a strong public K-12 educational system as essential for alleviating poverty and ensuring the economic health of any community. It must provide a robust curriculum and opportunities for enrichment for all, regardless of income, neighborhood or identity. The obligation to provide a well-funded, well-run public educational system is among the top priorities for any community. We advocate for responsible policies that help businesses to thrive, understanding their role in building a healthy economy on which everyones prosperity depends. We know our environment is in peril. We support actions to protect it that are targeted and effective while recognizing that economy-breaking policies will ultimately doom efforts to reverse climate change. We believe Oregon must be welcoming to all, regardless of race or background. We support protections of individual freedom in speech, love, religion, medical decisions, gun ownership and other areas. At the same time, we believe there can be rational regulations enacted when a greater societal good is at stake a tricky balance thats getting harder to find as people grow less willing to compromise. And we believe that our communitys civic health depends on open debate. Its more than just hearing different views, but a willingness to look through the lens with which someone else is evaluating an issue. Our city, state and country have plenty of passion and polarization. But ignoring other perspectives doesnt make them go away and doesnt build the widespread support needed for lasting change. Hearing and recognizing the nuance in an opponents viewpoint can be a first step to bridging chasms in our community. We hope that readers will be a part of the discussion. We welcome letters to the editor and commentary pieces regardless of their viewpoint or popularity, provided the opinions expressed are grounded in fact. Read our guidelines for submissions on oregonlive.com/opinion. Sign up for our opinion newsletter at oregonlive.com/newsletters. Email Helen Jung at hjung@oregonian.com with any questions about editorials or the opinion section. And let us know what you think. - The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board UTICA, N.Y. A Utica man was arrested Saturday after leading state troopers on a chase when they tried to pull him over in a vehicle he allegedly stole at gunpoint, according to a news release from New York State Police. Omarie J. Trim, 22, was charged with second-degree robbery, a felony. State police were called to New Port Road in Schuyler, N.Y. around 7:40 p.m. on Saturday regarding a stolen vehicle complaint. When en route, a trooper spotted the vehicle and tried to pull it over. The driver, later identified as Trim, refused to comply. Then he stepped out of the vehicle and fled on foot. Troopers called in multiple patrol officers and police dogs to search the area. The search led troopers to a home on Herkimer Road in Utica. As police formed a perimeter around the home, Trim tried to flee from an upstairs window. But he was confronted by police and ultimately surrendered, police said. Troopers determined that Trim agreed to meet someone on Facebook Marketplace to buy a car. When Trim met the victim, he pointed a handgun, demanded the keys and title and fled the area, police said. Investigators found a loaded revolver at the scene. Trim is being held at the Herkimer County Jail on a $15,000 cash or $30,000 bond. Unable and unwilling to accept the 2016 election results, congressional Democrats accused Trump of winning the presidential election by colluding with Russia. After a lengthy investigation and $40 million later, these charges were totally debunked. This didn't stop Democrat House Speaker Pelosi from recently calling Trump "an imposter" and yet again accusing President Trump of wrong-doing. In their continuous, obsessive pursuit of ousting Trump from office, congressional Democrats have conjured up more unsubstantiated accusations. This led to their biased impeachment inquiry with their parade of Democrat-chosen "witnesses", who (revealed by their own testimony) actually witnessed nothing. These smug, anti-Trump "witnesses" (consisting mostly of intellectuals and bureaucrats) gave their opinions and hearsay as evidence against Trump. No presidential criminality was found. Small business leaders are expected to canvass the best options on Tuesday, leading to a formal proposal to be considered by cabinet later in the week. Some federal disaster payments are already offered to small employers, with concessional loans and subsidies available under Category B of the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) between Canberra and the states. But a more direct form of help is also being considered at a time when business owners have been forced to shut down. The Minister for Emergency Management David Littleproud said on Friday he hoped to announce more assistance for small businesses "very soon" but that the government had to be "methodical" in its response, which would take time. Peter Strong from the Council of Small Business Organisations Australian (COSBOA) said his members needed assistance. "Some of them will be hitting the wall," Mr Strong said, adding the government had been "extremely receptive" to calls for more help. Eden takeaway owner Geoff McCabe, who had to evacuate when the fires hit the NSW South Coast town and who still has no power or water at his home, said he was afraid for the future of small businesses like his. Eden cafe owners May and Geoff McCabe. Credit:Kiran Ridley "There's a lot of businesses that will struggle and might have to close for good," Mr McCabe said. While the federal and NSW state governments have made $15,000 grants available to those whose businesses have burnt, Mr McCabe's business is untouched by the flames but not their economic effects. "There's nothing that covers businesses at this stage that aren't able to operate [due to a loss of customers]," Mr McCabe said. "Nothing covers tourists being completely evacuated from the region and also being isolated ... because of the road blockages." The NSW South Coast was declared "open for business" by the NSW Rural Fire Service on Saturday, which had previously ordered tourists to leave the area, but many locals said they expect the tourist loss to linger. Tracy Innes, whose family owns the Innes Boatshed fish and chip shop in Batemans Bay, said the business expected to be down about $500,000 over the holiday season. "We're such a tourism town here, while you can't plan around six weeks of busy, you certainly don't anticipate an absolute lack of business for six weeks," Mrs Innes said, referring to the amount of time the Kings Highway that normally brings in a flood of tourists from Canberra has been closed. Terry Robinson, chief executive of tourism-promotion body Destination Gippsland, said bringing tourists back to the area was the best way to cure the economic malaise. Loading "We're trying to get the message out that a lot of Gippsland is unaffected and safe ... It's a fantastic experience," Mr Robinson said. Census data shows about three times as many people work in the hotel and accommodation industry on the NSW south coast and in Gippsland than the NSW and Victorian average. There are other forms of relief available, including payments for business owners personally and tax relief. The NSW government has committed $1 billion to the rebuilding effort, with the government saying it will prioritise local infrastructure projects. In Victoria, the government has said it is looking at more measures to help small businesses. Loading In the Snowy Mountains region, locals worry about a sustained economic downturn after the fire burnt through orchards and forests, with at least five years needed to bring new apple trees to production and more than two decades needed to recover lost timber plantations. "This area produces two million tonnes of software fibre a year and we use three million tonnes," said Snowy Valleys Council mayor James Hayes. "We already were in deficit and now we're even further in deficit. And it just doesn't grow in a year. "The farmers are pretty resilient but it would be good if they could get some assistance with fencing and with fodder in the short-term, and after that they could use some assistance with loans." Business owners said they understood the government had to prioritise those who had lost their houses, but said the loss of business did not mean bills had stopped coming in, causing intense cash flow problems. Meghan Markle's decision to move to Canada could affect her application to obtain British citizenship under Home Office rules. The US-born Duchess of Sussex would be required to prove she has not spent more than 270 days outside the UK in the three years leading up to the day her application is formally lodged. She is believed to have started the application process after her engagement to Prince Harry in November 2017. Kensington Palace said at the time she would be treated like anyone else. And Prince Harry's communication's secretary, Jason Knauf, added that the Duchess would be 'compliant with immigration requirements at all times'. Last night, however, immigration lawyers said the Home Office had 'absolute discretion' - and that Meghan's legal team would be able to argue the unique nature of her application, the Sunday Telegraph reported. Meghan Markle's decision to move to Canada could affect her application to obtain British citizenship under Home Office rules. The US-born Duchess of Sussex would be required to prove she has not spent more than 270 days outside the UK in the three years leading up to the day her application is formally lodged Meghan is believed to have started the application process after her engagement to Prince Harry in November 2017. Kensington Palace said at the time she would be treated like anyone else. Last night, however, immigration lawyers said the Home Office had 'absolute discretion'. (Above, the Duchess with Harry and baby Archie in South Africa last September) Sophie Barrett-Brown, senior partner and head of UK practice at Laura Devine Immigration, added: 'One would anticipate that there would be some strong arguments that could be made when representing a person in these circumstances.' A royal aide said there was no change to the Duchess's British application. Meghan flew to Canada a few days ago, where she spent an extended festive break with Harry and baby son Archie in the province of British Columbia. The announcement that the Sussexes plan to spend more time together in North America and quit their frontline royal duties has sent shockwaves around the world. Harry will join Meghan in Canada as early as next weekend giving rise to fears that they may never return to live in the UK. The couple have been living in a luxury 10.7million property on Vancouver Island. Archie was left there with his nanny and Meghan's best friend, Toronto-based stylist Jessica Mulroney, and her family while the Sussexes flew back to London together last Monday. There are a number of ways you can apply for citizenship, but it is likely that Meghan is applying as a spouse of a British citizen. If someone comes to the country as the fiancee of a British citizen, they must marry within six months, which the Duchess achieved after marrying Harry in May 2018. Before a foreigner comes into the UK as the spouse of a British citizen on a family visa, they must submit a range of evidence to prove their relationship is real. There are a number of ways you can apply for citizenship, but it is likely that Meghan is applying as a spouse of a British citizen. If someone comes to the country as the fiancee of a British citizen, they must marry within six months, which the Duchess achieved after marrying Harry in May 2018 (pictured) This includes email and phone conversations, holiday photos and flight tickets. After living in the UK for three years, a spouse can then apply for citizenship providing you have either indefinite leave to remain, settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme or a permanent residence document. You then have to take a test with questions on life in the UK, which costs 50, to attain citizenship. Potential citizens also have to prove they have knowledge of English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic and be of good character. You must also not have spent more than 270 days outside the UK during the three years before the application. Guidance on the Government's website states: 'You should not have spent more than 270 days outside the UK during the three years before your application [or] spent more than 90 days outside the UK in the last 12 months.' However, the Home Office dictates people may be exempt from the residency requirements if your partner works abroad either for the UK government or an organisation closely linked to government, which may apply to the Duchess. It costs 1,330 to apply to become a British citizen. There's no doubt that money can be made by owning shares of unprofitable businesses. For example, although Amazon.com made losses for many years after listing, if you had bought and held the shares since 1999, you would have made a fortune. But while history lauds those rare successes, those that fail are often forgotten; who remembers Pets.com? So, the natural question for Egdon Resources (LON:EDR) shareholders is whether they should be concerned by its rate of cash burn. In this report, we will consider the company's annual negative free cash flow, henceforth referring to it as the 'cash burn'. We'll start by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves in order to calculate its cash runway. View our latest analysis for Egdon Resources Does Egdon Resources Have A Long Cash Runway? A company's cash runway is the amount of time it would take to burn through its cash reserves at its current cash burn rate. In July 2019, Egdon Resources had UK1.6m in cash, and was debt-free. Looking at the last year, the company burnt through UK3.1m. Therefore, from July 2019 it had roughly 6 months of cash runway. To be frank, this kind of short runway puts us on edge, as it indicates the company must reduce its cash burn significantly, or else raise cash imminently. The image below shows how its cash balance has been changing over the last few years. AIM:EDR Historical Debt, January 11th 2020 How Well Is Egdon Resources Growing? Egdon Resources reduced its cash burn by 9.4% during the last year, which points to some degree of discipline. Having said that, the revenue growth of 81% was considerably more inspiring. It seems to be growing nicely. Clearly, however, the crucial factor is whether the company will grow its business going forward. So you might want to take a peek at how much the company is expected to grow in the next few years. How Easily Can Egdon Resources Raise Cash? Given Egdon Resources's revenue is receding, there's a considerable chance it will eventually need to raise more money to spend on driving growth. Issuing new shares, or taking on debt, are the most common ways for a listed company to raise more money for its business. Many companies end up issuing new shares to fund future growth. By comparing a company's annual cash burn to its total market capitalisation, we can estimate roughly how many shares it would have to issue in order to run the company for another year (at the same burn rate). Story continues Egdon Resources's cash burn of UK3.1m is about 29% of its UK11m market capitalisation. That's not insignificant, and if the company had to sell enough shares to fund another year's growth at the current share price, you'd likely witness fairly costly dilution. Is Egdon Resources's Cash Burn A Worry? Even though its cash runway makes us a little nervous, we are compelled to mention that we thought Egdon Resources's revenue growth was relatively promising. Looking at the factors mentioned in this short report, we do think that its cash burn is a bit risky, and it does make us slightly nervous about the stock. While we always like to monitor cash burn for early stage companies, qualitative factors such as the CEO pay can also shed light on the situation. Click here to see free what the Egdon Resources CEO is paid.. Of course Egdon Resources may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks that insiders are buying. 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. Data science and artificial intelligence company Quantium has appointed Tony Keusgen as its global chief customer officer, leading business operations in all markets. Established in Australia in 2002, Quantium now has a network of 10 offices around the world, including in San Francisco, Chicago, Bentonville, London, Johannesburg and Hyderabad. "There are just under 25 million people in Australia, so it's imperative that ambitious Australian businesses should be looking to take their smarts to bigger markets," said Keusgen. "For instance, there are 263 million Indonesians right in Australia's front yard and 166 million of them are on-line. Just think about the data opportunities that will present as the middle class continues to explode. "Australia has many great assets, not least our location on the doorstep of the world's largest developing economies. We are known as an honest broker, for our respect for the rule of law and our relative political independence. "We can leverage these perceptions to secure a reputation as a global centre of data ethics and security and I'm confident that Quantium will lead the charge." Keusgen joins the company from Google, where he spent 12 years in senior roles in the Asia Pacific region including Indonesia and New Zealand. He previously served as sales and marketing manager at Alphawest, national channel business manager at Optus, and NSW sales manager at Macquarie Telecom. Keusgen holds a bachelor's degree in applied science from RMIT University. Warsaw, Poland Judges from across Europe have joined Polish peers, lawyers and members of the public as they marched in silence to protest against what they describe as the systematic erosion of judicial independence by Polands government. The office of Warsaws mayor said some 30,000 people took part in Saturdays march to denounce a bill that would allow the Law and Justice (PiS) government to discipline judges who question its judicial changes. The introduction of the measure in December is the latest episode in a years-long squabble over courts reform in the country that has triggered a feud with the European Union. At the march in the capital, participants held banners reading The right to independence and The right to Europe as well as Polish and EU flags, referring to Brussels standoff with the ruling party over the reforms. Judges from more than 20 other European countries, many wearing judicial robes over their thick winter coats, carried placards with their countries names. As each delegation was announced, chants of Thank you, thank you rose from the crowd. About 1,000 Polish judges also joined the rally, with many travelling to Warsaw from all corners of the country. Judge Irena Kryska, from northwestern Szczecin, told Al Jazeera: I hope that we are making clear, both to the government and to citizens, that this matters to us. We want to feel that we are safe at work. A judge cannot fear that if a ruling they hand down is inconvenient for the government, they will bear consequences. It takes a lot of courage to stand up to that, added judge Halina Musial, a colleague. The protesters made their way from the Supreme Court building, past the presidential palace, and then towards the parliament building, symbolising the separation of powers in Poland. Bartosz Wojcik, a lawyer from Krakow, told Al Jazeera that he came to support his clients. When going to court its important to be sure that the judge is free of any external pressure. Despite protests in some 200 towns and cities when first announced, the draft law passed the PiS-dominated lower house in late December. It is now being considered by the opposition-controlled Senate, which may delay its passage, but is unlikely to stop it. Muzzle law The draft law, which makes it easier to dismiss or fine uncooperative judges, is seen as a response to an earlier blow to the governments reforms. In early December, the Supreme Court ruled that its own disciplinary chamber, a body created by the government, is not a court within the meaning of EU and national law. The court also found that the constitutional body nominating judges, the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS), which has been reformed to be mostly appointed by parliament rather than other judges, is not an impartial and independent body. When first introduced in December, Magorzata Gersdorf, Supreme Court chief justice, warned that the changes would infringe EU treaties and risked driving Poland out of the bloc. For its part, the government claims that the bill is necessary to stop judges from undermining the legal system. The Ministry of Justice has issued a statement explaining that the indicated solutions in the scope of disciplinary liability are modelled on French and German solutions. In an article published on Saturday in German newspaper Die Welt, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki repeated the customary justification for the wider judicial overhaul as a way of sweeping the ranks of judges with past links to the former Communist regime. The governments other declared goal of making the sluggish courts system more efficient has thus far not borne fruit, as the average length of proceedings has extended from four months in 2015, to five months in 2018. International attention Since taking power in 2015, PiS has been at loggerheads with the EU over its judicial meddling, including installing allies in the constitutional court, trying to force Supreme Court judges into retirement and politicising lower-level appointments. The European Commissions vice-president, Vera Jourova, has urged Poland to halt work on the legislation until it had been properly consulted, echoing calls by the Council of Europe and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. At Saturdays protest, Irish Supreme Court judge John MacMenamin carried letters of support from Irish Chief Justice Frank Clarke and the Association of Judges of Ireland, according to the Irish Times. Murat Arslan, an imprisoned Turkish judge and winner of the 2017 Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize, also sent a note of support to the protesters, Polish website OKO.press reported. At the request of the opposition Senate speaker, the Venice Commission, an advisory body of the Council of Europe, visited Warsaw this week to prepare its urgent opinion, but the government declined to meet the representatives. Deputy Prime Minister Jacek Sasin responded that Poland is a sovereign country and shapes its own legal system, including the judiciary. These are not issues governed by European law. Faculty at HACC, Central Pennsylvanias Community College, registered a non-binding vote of no confidence in John Ski Sygielski, the colleges president, last month. But it looks like both the faculty and president will have a prolonged chance to work out their differences as HACCs trustees have extended Sygielskis contract through 2023. According to twin releases posted on HACCs website Saturday, the faculty conducted an online survey during the week of Dec. 9 that included the no-confidence resolution proposed by faculty senate leaders. The college says that while less than half of the 980 eligible full-time and adjunct faculty members voiced a position, of those that did, 254 voiced no confidence in HACCs senior leadership; 109 said they did have confidence; and another 58 abstained. The faculty organization said participation rates among HACCs full-time faculty was 80 percent. Complaints about Sygielski cited in the accompanying resolution included: Rushed reorganizations of key campus leadership posts and within departments like Counseling and Advising, Library Services and Virtual Learning. Abrupt elimination of mental health counseling services for students without a good replacement plan in place. (In his latest newsletter to staff, Sygielski announced the retention of a new vendor for student mental health services.) Violation of shared governance policies including but not limited to staff furloughs and reassignments. The faculty cited the recent elimination of 20 tenured faculty positions. As a result, the faculty asked the board to suspend all further reorganization efforts until a complete plan has been developed in consultation with all constituency groups; the college has improved its monitoring of enrollment and other data trends; and there is a summit of campus leaders this spring to get back to a working shared governance model. The faculty also asked the board not to renew Sygielskis contract in the interim. Trustees, however, did extend Sygielskis contract through June 2023 at their December meeting. Terms of the contract extension were not available for this report, though Sygielskis current salary exceeds $230,000. HACC president John J. Sygielski talks about changes and challenges, and how he draws energy from his mission to create opportunities and change lives. Sygielski, in a statement released by HACC Saturday, called last months faculty vote regrettable," but noted he and his senior management team have met with faculty leadership since the vote to discuss next steps. HACC has been in the midst of a One-College reorganization plan since last spring aimed at responding to and stopping a decline in enrollments - which are not unusual at community colleges during strong economic times. These and other measures, he said in Saturdays release, are being taken to ensure HACC avoids becoming another statistic in the nationwide trend of college closings. Kathleen Pratt, president of the faculty organization, made clear Saturday that the faculty are still open to working with Sygielski, as long as they feel that their voice is being heard. Her statement, also released Saturday by HACCs media relations office, said in part: "Faculty care deeply for our beloved institution and our students. Our every effort is focused on the success of students and we recognize that HACC must thrive for students to succeed. "In this time when many colleges are facing declining enrollments and financial strains, our hope is that administration and the board of trustees agree with us that the results of this special ballot are an opportunity for a fresh start in which faculty are partners in thoughtful planning and collaborative decision making. Saturdays news releases appeared to have been issued in response to questions initially raised from ABC27 News. PennLives efforts to reach both Pratt and Sygielski for this report were not successful. Sygielski became HACCs 7th president in 2011. HACC offers over 100 career and transfer associate degree, certificate and diploma programs to approximately 19,000 degree-seeking students, plus another 7,700 people in workforce development programs. But major challenges facing the school include changing demographics which have lessened the number of high school graduates bound for college, an improved economy which reduced the number of laid-off adults seeking to re-train, and eroding financial aid for students straining to afford higher education. At HACC, those challenges have led to a 25-percent enrollment decline between 2010 and 2019, a $3 million operating loss for 2019 and the prospect of a similar loss in the current fiscal year. Although numbers like those prompted the transformation plan, Sygielski said during a press conference in December that the college remains financially sound. The transformation plan includes eliminating some staff positions, an effort to eliminate redundant and outdated programs, and the outsourcing of various functions including buildings and grounds work, campus security and even the bookstore. There are some tough decisions we have to make. But if this college is to survive and be sustainable, we have to make some tough choices, he said. Other developments include a sale of HACCs building in Lebanon, which Sygielski expects will soon be finalized. He stressed, however, that HACC will lease an upper floor in the building and continue its commitment to the Lebanon area. Similarly, HACC will allow a lease to expire on one of its two buildings in midtown Harrisburg as of 2022, but will continue to occupy the building it owns at Fourth and Reily. Sygielski also announced last November that HACC will be discontinuing its long-running Live At Rose Lehrman performing arts series, which he said is heavily subsidized by the college, has seen dwindling attendance, and has offerings similar to those available elsewhere in the community. The president, in that December appearance, remained optimistic about HACCs future. We believe we are doing the best we can to sustain ourselves and provide an outstanding educational experience as we have for the last 56 years," he said. Boris Johnsons plan to become a chairman of the board Prime Minister leaving to others the hard graft of running his administration clears the way for Michael Gove to become the Governments effective chief executive. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is being viewed with suspicion by colleagues, who believe that he is on manoeuvres to secure an expanded Whitehall fiefdom through the forthcoming reshuffle. The ambitious former leadership contender who torpedoed Mr Johnsons 2016 bid for the Tory crown has used his extensive involvement in the planning for a No-Deal Brexit to extend his tentacles throughout Whitehall, according to one source. Before Mr Johnson won his Brexit deal, Mr Gove chaired the daily XO committee in Whitehall, which developed contingency plans for a No-Deal Brexit. It gave him the power to give orders to any department which needed to be ready for the worst-case scenarios He wants to play a key part in all the trade talks and hopes to lead the UKs preparations for the UN climate change summit in Glasgow later this year. He even wants to be pivotal to Boriss levelling up agenda. After winning his 80-seat majority in December, Mr Johnson said he wanted to level up by raising economic performance across all parts of the country. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is being viewed with suspicion by colleagues, who believe that he is on manoeuvres to secure an expanded Whitehall fiefdom through the forthcoming reshuffle A Cabinet Minister told The Mail on Sunday: Michael seems to want to use his No Deal planning experience to run the country for ever. Hes a bit of a Cabinet cowboy, riding over everyone elses patch. The Minister added that Mr Johnsons chief Brexit negotiator David Frost had bristled at the idea that Mr Gove would have oversight of his work. Novembers Glasgow climate change summit, known as COP26, is designed to produce an international response to the climate emergency. Before Mr Johnson won his Brexit deal, Mr Gove chaired the daily XO committee in Whitehall, which developed contingency plans for a No-Deal Brexit. It gave him the power to give orders to any department which needed to be ready for the worst-case scenarios. A source said: Boriss desire to be a hands-off PM, as he showed by staying on the beach while Iraq was in flames, is the perfect opportunity for a workaholic control freak like Michael. It means he can get his hands on everything from the trade talks both with the EU and the White House to the UNs climate change agenda. Michael and Boris have always had this strange psychodrama, dating back to the time he knifed Boris, but now he is on the brink of effectively being CEO for his old foe. Mr Goves expected elevation means he will be vying with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab for the bragging rights of being Mr Johnsons No 2. Steven Jones struck a deal with state prosecutors in the Northern Arizona University shooting case and lowered his maximum time in prison in exchange for pleading guilty. The deal was accepted by the court Thursday and stopped the coming retrial for the NAU shooting just weeks before the nearly month-long ordeal was set to begin. Jones is now facing five to 10 years in prison for shooting four university students rather than the jury trial that could have ended in him acquitted on all charges or sentenced him to more than 50 years in prison if found guilty. The trial was set to include second-degree murder and six aggravated assault charges. Jones plea deal for manslaughter and three aggravated assault charges ensured that many witnesses, friends and family members on both sides of the case will not have to testify or be cross-examined in one of Coconino Countys highest-profile cases. The victims, their families and the greater Flagstaff community waited four years after three university students were shot, one fatally. There have been seemingly countless motions, hearings and one mistrial that has now all led to a guilty plea that has kept many set to testify from being forced to relive the first trial and their memories from that night. And the question that must have been asked by everyone involved: Is the deal worth it? How we got to a plea deal While Jones had three new lawyers who did not go through the first trial, they were by no means out of the loop. The lawyers had access to every piece of evidence from the first trial that ended in a hung jury, including videos from cross examinations recorded and posted on YouTube. They also hired a private investigator to bring in additional evidence. Additionally, lawyer Burges McCowan helped defend Jones in the first trial, and was undoubtedly helpful for the defense's new lead, Christopher DuPont. Their most consequential tactic that led to the plea deal was using what was known about how the jury read the first trial to drop the first-degree murder charge. In 2017, the jurors told Judge Dan Slayton after the trial they unanimously declined to charge first-degree murder, but were split, 6 to 6 on second-degree murder. When asked if they needed more time to deliberate to come to a consensus, they wrote in response: We do not feel that additional deliberations or assistance will help us reach a verdict, a juror wrote, according to court filings. The defense's tactics to make a motion to the Arizona Court of Appeals eventually forced the Coconino County Attorneys Office to lower the charge to second-degree murder, which comes with a lower maximum sentence. The message from the defense team to the prosecution, however, was undoubtedly clear: the jury did not find Jones guilty of first-degree murder. It is not clear how much the split 6-to-6 decision on second-degree murder impacted their decision making. At the change of plea hearing, Coconino County Attorney Bill Ring declined to answer questions beyond handing out a prepared written statement. "A prison term is mandatory," Ring wrote in his statement. "The incident occurred on October 9, 2015 at NAU. The function of our process is to do justice. This plea is a meaningful step in that direction. We reserve the balance of our statements for the sentencing phase of proceedings." After Ring's office dropped the charge last month, DuPonts team then attempted to push more evidence and undermine the state's characterization of the dead victim Colin Brough as a "peaceful." The expected defense The defense's strategy in the retrial was expected to be the same as the first trial: Jones acted in self defense. But the defense team was planning on using new evidence from its private investigator to its advantage. To Jones' lawyers, Brough was a man who became aggressive when he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol, as he was the night of the shooting. The defense attempted to introduce a photograph from an unrelated night where Brough appeared aggressive toward someone taking the photo. DuPont said he wanted to show the jurors what Jones was looking at when Jones fired his gun. "Colin Brough took advantage of any opportunity he had to charge anyone he had violent feelings toward," DuPont said at the final hearing before the retrial. "He charged the camera as he charged my client." But Slayton denied the photo of Brough as evidence. After DuPonts team attempted to introduce video evidence and continue their allegations that Brough was apt to fighting while intoxicated. At the hearing, DuPonts team showed the video of a massive group of what was alleged college students fighting in a complex. DuPont said they identified and interviewed people from the video to support their statements that Brough was a part of the video. Slayton said the videos allegedly showing Brough and many other fighting in a crowd at a party could not, and would not, be shown to jurors. Itd be a 10-minute verdict in favor of [Jones], Slayton said, without ruling whether Brough was truly in the poorly lit video. It would be using the acts of other people to support a finding of not guilty. Im not going to allow it. While undoubtedly losing the strength of the visual aides was a blow for the defense, the judge did allow the attorneys to refer to and ask witnesses about their allegation that Brough was known to fight while intoxicated. This could still work to the benefit of the defense, being able to undermine the witnesses, family members and the three boys who were the alleged victims of aggravated assault. But would it have been enough to reach a different verdict than another hung jury? Losses on both sides In the eyes of Jones, the victims and their families, revisiting a traumatic moment in a stale courtroom surrounded by the watchful eyes of strangers can be an emotional ordeal. Add in the possibility of live-streamed video from the media, and there develops a recipe for a high-stress moment most people would want to avoid. Add in that the battle before the retrial left both teams with losses: the evidence for Jones' defense had not changed much from the first trial, and prosecutors were not aiming at a high prison sentence after the first-degree murder charge was dropped. It could be questioned whether Nick Prato, Kyle Zientek, Nick Piring or any of the families wanted to endure attacks against their character or their dead friend and son. Similarly, did Jones or his family want to endure the public attention a second time? For the attorneys, no amount of confidence can remove the questions the entire Flagstaff community had. Would the jurors in a retrial have found Jones guilty or not guilty? And on what counts? Would they have been unable to reach a verdict a second time, as the first jury did? The questions were numerous, and the plea deal has made the path forward neat and clear. The plea deal has created a relatively calm end to a technical case filled with motions to the Arizona Court of Appeals and State Bar of Arizona investigations into Jones' former lawyers. At the Thursday hearing, McCowan said Jones decision to plea guilty was an emotional one for his client. He said the stability of the deal, while undoubtedly meaning certain jail time, was a large factor in the agreement. Regardless of whether the plea deal was right thing to do, it will put an end to a trial with seemingly endless delays. If any of the people involved have any doubts or holdouts about the deal, they will likely voice them at the upcoming sentencing hearing on Feb. 11. And attorneys indicated on Thursday that the sentencing hearing will be an all-day affair. Scott Buffon can be reached at sbuffon@azdailysun.com, on Twitter @scottbuffon or by phone at (928) 556-2250. Love 2 Funny 3 Wow 3 Sad 1 Angry 3 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. With the Citizenship Amendment Act coming into effect on Jan 10, the political resistance is deepening. The strength of the protestors is becoming stronger than ever. People are adamant and keen for tables to turn around by the government. There is no going back from here, it seems. timesnownews.com Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap is someone who has never shied away from bluntly expressing his opinions on social issues. The man even took to streets to protest and said that all this "scared, egoistic, uneducated" government wants to do is to cling on power. He recently demanded to see Prime Minister Narendra Modi's father's birth certificate. Twitter Protesting against CAA that facilitates non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan getting Indian citizenship, Anurag Kashyap demanded proof that Mr. Modi was educated, and wanted to see his degree in entire political science. With that, the filmmaker also said Mr. Modi should show his birth certificate, along with that of his father and his entire family, to the nation, and only then could he ask for papers from citizens. The filmmaker used the hashtag #f**kCAA as a mark of protest. CAA PM degree in entire political science #fuckCAA Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) January 10, 2020 CAA PM degree in entire political science #fuckCAA Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) January 10, 2020 In a tweet calling the government dumb and comparing CAA to demonetisation, the filmmaker shared, This government will do dialogue if they know how to talk. They cannot face a single question thats not been vetted, they dont have a plan, they havent put out a system. This is a dumb government. Their CAA is like demonetisation. No plan. No vision. Just bullying. #f**kCAA. This government will do dialogue if they know how to talk. They can not face a single question thats not been vetted , they dont have a plan , they havent put out a system. This is a dumb government.There CAA is like demonitisation. No plan. No vision.Just bullying. #fuckCAA https://t.co/r2DBIzkNGT Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) January 10, 2020 Actor Swara Bhasker also protested against the enforcement of CAA. Sharing the gazette notification issued by the Union Home Ministry that says the Citizenship Amendment Act has been brought into force from Jan 10, 2020, the acotr called it a Black Day for India. Slamming the 15 envoys' visit to Jammu-Kashmir, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, on Sunday, stated that if he attempted to go to Kashmir, he would be arrested by the CISF at Hyderabad airport, addressing a rally in Telangana's Narayanpet. He stated that the government would take foreign envoys who were influenced by PM Modi. He added that he could not go to the Union territory as he was a sworn Lok Sabha MP. Owaisi: 'Will be arrested if I attempt to go to Kashmir' "The Modi government takes foreign envoys who are influenced by them to Kashmir to show normalcy in Kashmir. But if I say that I want to go to Kashmir then I will be arrested by CISF at Hyderabad airport itself. I can't go as I have taken an oath of the Indian Constitution." Opposition parties slam govt over 'guided tour' of envoys to J&K Speaking about the recent Supreme Court order on the Kashmir's restricted internet services, he said, "The two mistakes in Kashmir are jailing of Sheikh Abdullah and revocation of Article 370. It has been 5-6 months since the revocation, but internet is still absent from Kashmir. The Supreme Court had to explain to the government that internet is a fundamental right and that the Union Territory's administration must keep this in mind." Envoys of 15 countries visit Jammu and Kashmir to assess on-ground situation 15 diplomats visit Earlier on January 9, 15 envoys from United States, South Korea, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Fiji, Maldives, Norway, the Philippines, Morocco, Argentina, Peru, Niger, Nigeria, Guyana, and Togo visited Jammu-Kashmir on a two-day visit. They travelled to Srinagar and then had an overnight stay in Jammu after which they met the Lt Governor GC Murmu as well as civil society members. Most of the diplomats including US diplomat Kenneth Juster praised the security arrangements made during the visit. US says foreign envoys' visit to J-K 'important step'; expresses concern over detentions 23 EU MPs visit Kashmir Previously, in October, a delegation of 23 European Union MPs visited Sri Nagar for a first-hand assessment of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir following the revocation of the State's special status under Article 370. The team originally comprised 27 parliamentarians, mostly from extreme right or right-wing parties, among those, four members did not travel to Kashmir and had reportedly returned to their respective countries. The Opposition has slammed both visits calling it a farce while pointing out that Indian MPs are not allowed to visit the Valley freely. Foreign envoys should be allowed to move freely in Kashmir: Pak U.S. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin announces new sanctions on Iran in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, January 10, 2020. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday that Boeing's 737 Max crisis could curb U.S. economic growth in 2020 by half a point, though he expects the economy should grow by about 2.5%. "There's no question that the Boeing situation is going to slow down the GDP numbers," Mnuchin said in an interview on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures." "Boeing is one of the largest exporters, and with the 737 Max, I think that could impact GDP as much as 50 basis points this year." Boeing this month is planning to halt production of the 737 Max, as the worldwide grounding of the planes after two fatal crashes killed 346 people. Regulators say they have no firm timeline to allow the planes to fly again, and U.S. airlines have taken the planes out of their schedules until at least April. The crisis has already led to layoffs in Boeing's supply chain and the grounding has sapped cash from companies that make parts for the beleaguered planes. Spirit Aerosystems, which makes fuselages for the 737 Max, announced initial layoffs of about 2,800 employees at its Wichita, Kansas plant and warned that others could be on the way. Boeing has said it has no plans to lay off workers and last week outlined plans to reassign about 3,000 of its 737 Max workers to other parts of the company, including the 777X and 767 aircraft programs. The fallout has cut more than $50 billion from Boeing's market value and has cost airlines more than $1 billion. "For this year, we've been looking at 2.5 to 3%, as I said, it may be closer to 2.5 because of the adjustment of the Boeing numbers," Mnuchin said regarding 2020 economic growth. "But this would have been 3% otherwise." The U.S. economy remains in the midst of the longest economic expansion on record, though some economists expect slowing growth and a potential recession over the next 12 months. Mnuchin said he expects the U.S.-China phase-one trade deal and the U.S-Mexico-Canada Agreement to add significantly to economic growth in 2020. The U.S. and China plan to sign a phase-one trade deal on Wednesday, which includes China purchasing $200 billion worth of U.S. goods over the next two years and the U.S. reducing tariffs on about $120 billion worth of Chinese products. The Senate Finance Committee also approved the new North American trade deal last Tuesday, but the deal still needs to be passed by the full Senate. The trade deal will take effect once all three countries ratify it. The USMCA makes changes to protect auto industry workers, increases access to Canadian dairy markets for U.S. farmers and updates digital trade rules. File photo shows Britain's Queen Elizabeth, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex pose for a group photo at Buckingham Palace in London. AP photo London: Queen Elizabeth has summoned her grandson Prince Harry for a crisis meeting to discuss future arrangements for him and his wife Meghan following the couples shock announcement that they want to step back from royal duties. Harrys father Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, and his elder brother Prince William, will also attend the meeting, due to take place on Monday at the queens Sandringham estate in Norfolk, eastern England, a Buckingham Palace source told Reuters. Meghan, an American former TV actress, will try to join via telephone from Canada where she returned earlier in the week to rejoin the couples baby son, Archie. Harry and Meghan, officially known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, surprised the rest of the royal family on Wednesday by publicly announcing they wanted a new working model that would allow them to spend more time in North America and to be financially independent. They did not consult the 93-year-old monarch or other members of the family before making their announcement on a new website, https://sussexroyal.com, a move which hurt and disappointed the queen and other royals, according to a royal source. The meeting on Monday will be the first time the senior royals have met in person to discuss the concerns raised by Harry and Meghan. Officials had been holding talks behind the scenes since the bombshell statement to try to work out a new arrangement for the couple, and a royal source said those efforts progressed well. The consultations, which also included the British and Canadian governments, paved the way for a face-to-face meeting between Harry and the queen. The palace source said it remained the queens aim to a find a resolution to the crisis in days rather than weeks but it would require complex and thoughtful discussions and any agreement would take time to be implemented. The split between Harry and the other Windsors is the latest crisis the royal family has faced in a period described last month as bumpy by the queen in a televised annual address. Such is the global interest in Harry and Meghan that their news has overshadowed a scandal surrounding the queens second son Prince Andrew and his friendship with disgraced late U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein, who hanged himself in jail in August while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. In an emotional TV interview last October, Harry admitted he and William had fallen out. The Sunday Times newspaper said the elder prince had spoken of his sadness at the rift. The brothers were close for years following the death of their mother Princess Diana in a Paris car crash in 1997. The newspaper quoted William as saying to an unnamed friend: Ive put my arm around my brother all our lives and I cant do that any more, were separate entities. Im sad about that. All we can do, and all I can do, is try and support them and hope that the time comes when were all singing from the same page. I want everyone to play on the team. Earlier on Saturday, the Times newspaper reported that Meghan had agreed to do voiceover work for Disney (DIS.N) in return for the company making a donation to a charity she supports that works to protect elephants. A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman had no immediate comment on the report. Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An Australian navy warship has set sail for the Persian Gulf as tensions grow between the United States and Iran. HMAS Toowoomba and its 190 sailors will be part of an international coalition along with the US and Britain keeping shipping safe for the next six months in the narrow Strait of Hormuz that passes by Iran. HMAS Toowoomba during a 2018 deployment. Credit:Royal Australian Navy The US and Iran have drawn back from full-blown military conflict in the wake of an American air strike that killed top Iranian general Qassim Suleimani on January 3 and Iranian missiles that hit US bases in Iraq in return. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the situation between the two countries had "stabilised that is a very relative term in the Middle East" last week. 2020 ELECTIONS / Election win shows Taiwanese cherish democratic values: Tsai ROC Central News Agency 01/12/2020 12:40 AM Taipei, Jan. 11 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen () of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) secured a comfortable win in Saturday's presidential election, a victory that she said was indicative of the value the people place on democracy. "Regardless of how you voted, by taking part in this election you have put democratic values into practice," Tsai said at an international news conference. "With each presidential election, Taiwan is showing the world how much we cherish our free democratic way of life and how much we cherish our nation, the Republic of China (Taiwan)," Tsai said. She also thanked the people who voted for her and her running mate Lai Ching-te () and expressed respect for the other two presidential candidates, Han Kuo-yu () of the Kuomintang (KMT) and James Soong () of the smaller People First Party (PFP). "I will take your constructive criticism with me into my next term," she said, directing her comments at Han and Soong. "I am confident that although our parties may have different views, we will have many opportunities to cooperate in the future. According to the Central Election Commission tally, Tsai won with 8.17 million votes, or 57.13 percent of the total, while Han got 5.52 million (38.61 percent) and Soong 608,590 (4.26 percent.) Tsai not only increased her support from 2016 when she got 6.89 million votes but also set a record for the highest number of votes gained by a candidate since Taiwan's first presidential election in 1996. In her victory speech, she said the election results also signaled that when Taiwan's sovereignty and democracy come under threat, the Taiwanese people will speak loudly. "Through China's increasing pressure and proposal of a "one country, two systems" model for Taiwan, it hopes to "force us to accept conditions that are entirely unacceptable," Tsai said. Despite China's diplomatic pressure and military threats, she said, her administration has maintained a non-provocative, non-adventurist approach that has prevented any serious conflicts in the Taiwan Strait. "In the face of China's intention to unilaterally change the cross-strait status quo, Taiwan has had no choice but to continue strengthening our democratic defense mechanisms, and establish national defense capabilities that can ensure security in the Taiwan Strait." At the same time, Tsai said, her administration, over the past three years, has remained firm on its bottom line on Taiwan's sovereignty and has also been willing to engage in healthy exchanges with China. Tsai said she remained committed to peaceful and stable cross-strait relations, but the responsibility for such relations lies with both sides of the Taiwan Strait. "Today, I want to once again call upon the Beijing authorities to remind them that peace, parity, democracy, and dialogue are the key to positive cross-strait interactions and long-term stable development," she said, adding that such an approach is the only path to bringing together and benefitting the people on both sides. She said "peace" means that China must abandon its threats of force against Taiwan, while "parity" means neither side of the Taiwan Strait should deny the fact of the other's existence. "Democracy" means that the future of Taiwan must be decided by the country's 23 million people, and "dialogue" means sitting down and discussing the future of cross-strait relations, she said. In the global arena, Taiwan hopes to be given a fair opportunity to participate in international affairs, Tsai said "The Republic of China (Taiwan) is an indispensable member of the international community," she said. "We are willing to work together with all countries to take on shared responsibility, take part in shared prosperity and help maintain regional peace and stability. All countries should consider Taiwan a partner, not an issue." On the domestic front, Tsai said, any conflicts that arose during the election campaign should end now that the election is over. "I ask that none of my supporters attempt to provoke our opponents," she said. "We need to embrace each other and unite under the banner of democracy if we want to overcome the challenges facing our country." (By Christie Chen, Emerson Lim and Frances Huang) Enditem/pc NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Whitney Houston, Micheal Jackson and many other celebrities we know here in Ghana or around the world may have money, fame, talent and respect. Yet Whitney Houston and Micheal Jackson were miserable and so are many of their counterparts world wide. There are people with money like the kardashians constantly getting plastic surgery because they don't like themselves. In Ghana here there are so many famous people bleaching or getting into one dilemma after the next, because they are cruel and they don't like themselves. Today I want to say that the achievement of fame and fortune won't make you happy. Yes, others might be in awe of you, however if you are not in awe of yourself it doesn't matter. I know a lot of people really desire to have a title or huge achievements to make them feel like their somebody. You're already a somebody and if you cannot notice that, nothing will make you aware. A wise person follows their goals and passions and if that accolades. The joy of their hard work for themselves makes them happy, not their standing in high society. Einstein was not looking to be famous, he was passionate about science. Kwame Nkrumah was not looking to be on a Ghanaian cedi, he was passionate about independence. You will find those looking for fame and fortune are often miserable when they get it. They have no self. Those who are cruel but in high positions with money are also miserable because they cannot give love to others. Some people also snaked their way into their jobs and professions. What they don't know is any human being who wants to be unnatural and thinks their clever by being a snake can never stand on their own two feet. They will snake their way tirelessly through life and never be satisfied. David was a shepeard boy, Goliath was a famed wealthy acclaimed soilder yet David had the confidence of a king. Self esteem comes from knowing who you are and being utterly convinced you are incredible. People with self esteem know nobody is better than them, that we are all human, we bleed the same and we die the same. Just like the Bible says, whether your religious or not the mark of a human being is not accolades or wealth, its the ability to love yourself, express yourself fearlessly and love your neighbour. That means the outcasts, the homeless, the rugged, the poor, the prostitute and the thug too. Those who truly love themselves and have high self esteems are not judgemental, snobbish or snotty. They judge by their heart not appearances. It's only a great person who can have an audience with all from society. Jesus brought unity between all not divisions. A great King, musician, professor, Shakespeare, politician, citezen and human being does the same. In the words of Ghana's second president Kofi Busia, it's only in the giving and spending of ourselves that we truly live. If you don't even have a self or appreciate yourself, you cannot give yourself. Self esteem always provides healthy boundaries, you won't have to worry about haters if you love yourself. They will run. No one can dupe you. You will live a life on your own terms because you come first. If you love others, especially those deemed unlovable you will experience boundless joy. You will follow your dreams and passions and hopefully they will help you build stability and a life you are proud of, or they will keep you going, regardless of what happens you will be satisfied. Take for example one of my favourite celebrities Jennifer Hudson, she struggled before she reached her fame yet her love for music kept her going through it all. She has self love, she loves God and she is kind to people. You see it in the way she interacts. Let's take our own Mercy Asiedu, if you listen to her story you'll discover she came from humble beginnings to stardom. She is a woman who loves herself and has a sweet honest disposition towards others. I have seen people with nothing by the worlds standards who have moe joy than those with many mansions. A man who gains the world and has no soul is the poorest of all. Mumbai: Laxmi Agarwal has become a social media star thanks to "Chhapaak". The acid attack survivor, whose life story has inspired the Deepika Padukone-starrer, is enjoying a huge fan base on social media and her videos are going viral on TikTok. Recently, Deepika Padukone made her debut on currently one of the most popular social media apps, TikTok to promote her film "Chhapaak". A video of Deepika and Laxmi dancing together to the beats of the Punjabi song "Rider" is getting immense love from netizens. Netizens are also loving Deepika and Laxmi's dance to the beats of the song "Naagin gin gin". Not just Laxmi's dance videos, "Chhapaak"s dialogues being mouthed by fans are also going viral on TikTok. Although Laxmi was already popular on social media earlier as well, her popularity has grown manifold ahead of the release of "Chhapaak". Laxmi fell prey to acid attack at the age of 19. She bravely fought back and earned everyone's respect with her social work. Laxmi is currently an activist for women's rights and campaigns to stop the sale of acid. She has inspired many other acid attack victims in the past and continues to do so even today. Her courage and bravery has earned her respect and salute from everyone. While Deepika impresses on screen, the real hero of "Chhapaak", Laxmi Agarwal, has become a TiKTok sensation. "Iran welcomes any international cooperation within the framework of international regulations which is aimed at clarifying dimensions of the incident," Rouhani made the remarks, on Saturday, in a telephone conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Tehran, Jan 12 (IANS) Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the country welcomes any international cooperation concerning Ukrainian plane crash, official IRNA news agency reported. He said that further investigation into the Ukrainian plane crash will be carried out to reach the final result. In another phone talk with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, Rouhani said that "all those involved in the air disaster (of plane crash) will be brought to justice." He said that the joint investigations between the Iranian and Ukrainian experts over the incident will continue and the judicial measures will "soon" start. On Wednesday, a Ukrainian Boeing 737 passenger plane crashed near Tehran, killing all 176 people onboard. Iran's armed forces on Saturday admitted that the Ukrainian plane was "unintentionally" hit by Iran and "human error" was to blame. rt/ Budget 2020: Sitharaman may announce second round of capital infusion for non-life insurers India oi-PTI New Delhi, Jan 12: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman may announce second-round capital infusion for public sector general insurance companies in the upcoming Budget to improve their financial health. The government infused Rs 2,500 crore in the three insurers -- National Insurance, Oriental Insurance and United India Insurance -- through first supplementary demands for grants for 2019-20 last month. However, these companies would require additional Rs 10,000-12,000 crore capital dose to meet the prescribed solvency margin, sources said. 'Finance Minister' trends on twitter as Sitharaman skips pre-Budget experts meet The sources further said that announcement to this effect can be made in the Budget 2020-21 that is scheduled on February 1. Infusion will not only improve their financial health but facilitate merger announced in the Budget 2018-19. PM Modi in West Bengal: renames Kolkata Port Trust after Shyama Prasad Mukherjee | OneIndia News In the Budget 2018-19 speech, then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced that the three companies would be merged into a single insurance entity. However, the process of merger could not be completed due to various reasons, including poor financial health of these companies. According to the sources, after the merger, the combined entity will be listed on the bourses. Initial estimates suggest that the combined entity formed by merging the three insurers will be the largest non-life insurance company in India, valued at Rs 1.2-1.5 lakh crore. As on March 31, 2017, the three companies together had more than 200 insurance products with a total premium of Rs 41,461 crore and a market share of around 35 per cent. Their combined net worth was Rs 9,243 crore, with total employee strength of around 44,000 spread over 6,000 offices. In 2017, state-owned New India Assurance Company and General Insurance Corporation of India were listed on the bourses. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, January 12, 2020, 15:19 [IST] MELBOURNEAfter weeks of criticism over the handling of the wildfires scorching Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday he will propose a national review into the response to the disaster, as the fires claimed another firefighters life. The Australian bush has been burning for nearly three months and the fires have killed 28 people, claimed 2,000 homes, and consumed millions of acres of land and wildlife. The crisis is becoming increasingly political as the country looks at the causes and the governments response. There is obviously a need for a national review of the response, Morrison said in an interview with ABC television. Asked whether it should be a Royal Commission, a powerful judicial inquiry, Morrison said, I think that is what would be necessary and I will be taking a proposal through the cabinet to that end, but it must be done with consultations with the states and territories. Morrison said that the inquiry would examine the response to the crisis, including the deployment of emergency services to battle the fires at a state and local level, the role of the federal government, and the impact of climate change. Wildfires are common during Australias summer months, but this fire season started unusually early, often moving quickly and unpredictably, and leaving swaths of the drought-stricken land a scorched earth. Cooler weather conditions over the weekend have brought a temporary respite, but a firefighter died on duty in Victoria, where new flames sparked. Authorities said the risk was far from over and more hot weather is expected. Smoke again sheathed Sydney on Sunday, almost a new normal for the countrys biggest city, moving the air quality into hazardous territory, according to the NSW Department of Primary Industry index. Facing increasing pressure to do more to tackle climate change, Morrison, who has so far been defiant in rejecting any links between his governments conservative climate policies and the wildfires, said his government will look into improving its performance on curbing emissions. We want to reduce emissions and do the best job we possibly can and get better and better and better at it, he said. I want to do that with a balanced policy which recognizes Australias broader national economic interests and social interest. Morrison rejected criticism that his government had not done enough before the wildfire season started, but he admitted that once the fires started, some responses could have been different. There are things I could have handled on the ground much better, he said. These are sensitive environments, there are very emotional environments; prime ministers are flesh and blood too in how they engage with people. Opposition leader Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that the federal government should have acted earlier to address the disaster. The fact is that bushfires dont recognize state and territory boundaries, Albanese told reporters, according to a transcript provided by his media office. And nor should the need for national leadership. Here are key events in the crisis: Since October, thousands of Australians have been subjected to repeat evacuations as huge and unpredictable fires scorched more than 10.3 million hectares (25.5 million acres), an area roughly the size of South Korea. Across New South Wales, 111 fires were still burning on Sunday, 40 of them not yet contained, but none at emergency level. More than 2,000 homes have been destroyed in the state. A number of fires burning in the Snowy Mountains region in New South Wales and across into Victoria have merged across more than 600,000 hectares (1.5 million acres) of land. They do not pose a threat, authorities say, despite being in an area hard to reach. The government said on Sunday more mental health support services will be provided to firefighters, emergency personnel, individuals and communities. The government is providing A$76 million ($52 million) in areas including counseling and healthcare consultations. Western Australia Department of Fire and Emergency Services said on Sunday an out of control and unpredictable fire that is moving slowly in the states south, poses a possible threat to lives and homes in the area. South Australia said on Sunday that more than 32,000 livestock animals, mostly sheep, have died in recent fires on Kangaroo Island, while fire services are working to strengthen containment lines ahead of expected worsening weather conditions on Monday. Thousands of Australians took to the streets on Friday to protest against government inaction on climate change, and were supported by protesters in London. Australias wildfires have dwarfed other recent catastrophic blazes, with its burnt terrain more than twice the extent of that ravaged by 2019 fires in Brazil, California, and Indonesia combined. Westpac estimated total wildfire losses to date at about A$5 billion, higher than the 2009 wildfires in Victoria but smaller than the Queensland floods in 2010/11. It forecast a hit of 0.2 percent to 0.5 percent on gross domestic product. Australias alpine resorts have dusted off winter snowmaking machines to blast ice-cold water onto dry ski slopes. The Insurance Council of Australia increased to more than A$900 million its estimate of damage claims from the fires, and they are expected to jump further. Morrison has pledged A$2 billion to a newly created National Bushfire Recovery Agency. About 100 firefighters from the United States and Canada are helping, with another 140 expected in coming weeks. The New Zealand Defense Force said on Friday it was sending more health personnel, boosting its support for Australia, which had already included helicopters, aircraft, and crew. The fires have emitted 400 megatons of carbon dioxide and produced harmful pollutants, the European Unions Copernicus monitoring program said. Smoke has drifted across the Pacific, affecting cities in South America, and may have reached the Antarctic, the U.N.s World Meteorological Organization said. ($1 = 1.4491 Australian dollars) By Lidia Kelly Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday embarked on a visit to Iran and Saudi Arabia amidst regional tension over the killing of a top Iranian general in a US drone strike in Iraq. Qureshi's visit came after Prime Minister Imran Khan directed him to travel to the region following the tension between the US and Iran. Khan has said that Pakistan, which shares its border with Iran, will not be party to any regional conflict and rather play the role of a peacemaker. Pakistan's powerful military has also said it will not allow its soil to be used against anyone. In Tehran, Qureshi will meet his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif and exchange views on the evolving situation in the Middle East and Gulf region, the Foreign Office said. From Tehran, he will visit Riyadh on January 13 to hold talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and consult on the issues of regional peace and stability. "The recent developments seriously endanger peace and security in an already volatile region and underscore the need for immediate and collective efforts for a peaceful resolution," the FO said. During these visits, Qureshi will share Pakistan's perspective on the current situation, stress the imperative of avoiding any conflict, underscore the importance of diffusion of tensions, and stress the need for finding a diplomatic way forward, it said. The Foreign Minister will convey Pakistan's readiness to support all efforts that facilitate resolution of differences and disputes through political and diplomatic means, the FO said. Qureshi is also expected to go to the US on some later date as directed by Khan. He has already held telephonic talks with various counterparts in the region. Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said that Qureshi's visit to Iran and Saudi Arabia is an evidence of Pakistan's sincere efforts in resolving conflicts and reducing tension peacefully. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Sunday asked South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene in a long-running dispute with Egypt over a massive dam being built on the Blue Nile River. Ethiopia's ties to Egypt have soured since the east African country launched the construction of the Grand Renaissance Dam in 2011. Set to become the largest hydropower plant in Africa, the project has fuelled tensions because Egypt depends on the river for 90 percent of its water supply. Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan -- where the Blue Nile converges with the White Nile before flowing north -- started discussions in November that are meant to yield an agreement next week. But major sticking points remained in the latest round of talks on Thursday and the parties have yet to clinch a deal. Abiy, who visited South Africa this weekend, called on Ramaphosa to intervene in the negotiations as the next chairperson of the African Union (AU), which he will take over from Egypt this month. "As he (Ramaphosa) is a good friend for both Ethiopia and Egypt and also as incoming AU chair, he can make a discussion between both parties to solve the issue peacefully," Abiy told reporters at a press conference in South Africa's political capital Pretoria. Ramaphosa said South Africa was open to playing a role in facilitating "whatever agreement can be crafted". "What is pleasing, as far as I'm concerned, is that both countries are willing to discuss this matter and find solutions," he said. The president said he had already brought up the issue with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who was "willing to have discussions with Ethiopia". Abiy received the Nobel Peace Prize last month for his efforts to resolve a long-running conflict between Ethiopia and its neighbouring foe Eritrea. Just three months after Abiy took office in 2018, he ended a 20-year-old stalemate between the countries over a 1998-2000 border conflict. U.S. President Donald Trump made a controversial statement earlier this week in which he complained about Abiy receiving the prestigious award. "To be honest, I don't have any clue about... how the Nobel committee selects an individual for the prize," said Abiy, struggling to contain a smile at the mention. "If President Trump complained it must go to Oslo, not to Ethiopia." sch/pma London: Iranian authorities briefly detained Britain's ambassador in Tehran on Saturday, according to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, after he was reportedly arrested during protests against the regime. "The arrest of our ambassador in Tehran without grounds or explanation is a flagrant violation of international law," Raab said in a statement after the detention of Rob Macaire. The minister warned Iran that it was "at a cross-roads moment", and had to choose between "its march towards pariah status" or "take steps to de-escalate tensions and engage in a diplomatic path forwards. Macaire was arrested for allegedly "inciting" protesters in Tehran angry at the military's accidental downing of a Ukranian passenger jet, killing 176 people, most of them Iranian citizens, according to the Daily Mail. He was released after around an hour, it added. President Hassan Rouhani said a military probe into the tragedy had found "missiles fired due to human error" brought down the Boeing 737, calling it an "unforgivable mistake". The admission was an "important first step", Prime Minister Boris Johnson said earlier Saturday. "We will do everything we can to support the families of the four British victims and ensure they get the answers and closure they deserve," he said in a statement issued by his Downing Street office. Johnson added that Britain would work closely with Canada, Ukraine and other international partners to ensure "a comprehensive, transparent and independent international investigation and the repatriation of those who died." "This tragic accident only reinforces the importance of de-escalating tensions in the region," he said. "It is vital that all leaders now pursue a diplomatic way forward." The United States called on Iran to apologise for detaining the British ambassador. "This violates the Vienna Convention, which the regime has a notorious history of violating. We call on the regime to formally apologize to the UK for violating his rights and to respect the rights of all diplomats," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus tweeted. Law enforcement officers who arrived at scene did not try to help victims About 30 people with knives and clubs attacked Jews in Ukraine's Uman near the grave of Rabbi Nachman, on Friday night, January 10. Yeshiva World News reported this. According to the witnesses, the attackers were armed with knives and clubs. It is noted that the brutal beating began after a minor dispute between one of the local Ukrainians and a Jew. "The Ukrainian involved in the dispute called on his anti-Semitic friends to come and beat the Jews," Jew who spent Shabbos in Uman said. Law enforcement officers, who arrived at the scene did not try to help, but "just stood and watched what was happening." As a result of the incident, four injured Jews were taken to the nearest hospital. As we reported, over 30,000 Hasidic pilgrims celebrated Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year in Ukraine. Scott Morrison has called for a royal commission into the bushfire crisis following worldwide protests demanding government action on climate change. Details of the inquiry would be put to the premiers and federal cabinet in coming weeks, the prime minister said on Sunday. 'I think Australians have a very reasonable expectation that any commission of inquiry, royal commission, would need to cover the full gamut of issues.' Facing criticism that federal authorities sat on their hands earlier in the bushfire season, Mr Morrison said his government had acted on all recommendations put to it. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said details of the royal commission into the bushfire crisis would be put to the premiers and federal cabinet in coming weeks The announcement comes as thousands took to the streets to protest the government's alleged lack of action on climate change. Pictured: Three women hold placards demanding action in a rally in Sydney on Friday Catastrophic: The current bushfire season in Australia has so far claimed 25 lives, destroyed 2,000 homes and killed close to a billion animals He said the government's climate policy would continue to 'evolve', including its emissions target, and adaptation and resilience measures. This work would include looking at building more dams, native vegetation and land clearing rules and ensuring homes are built in areas where climate risk has been assessed. Furious protesters across the globe took aim at Mr Morrison's handling of the disaster, which has claimed the lives 26 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes. Activists from Europe to South America flooded to the streets to demand action on climate change on Friday amid a relentless bushfire season. More than one billion animals are thought to have perished and at least eight million hectares have been scorched. Many held signs and banners calling for the prime minister to be sacked. Pictured: protesters in Sydney Thousands of protesters braved the wet weather as they marched through the Melbourne CBD Thousands of protesters in London, Berlin, Madrid, Copenhagen and Stockholm displayed posters in support of Australia and the victims of the catastrophic blazes. Face paint was used at the rally in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where demonstrators dressed as koalas and displayed scorched kangaroos on their cheeks. Traffic came to a halt in London as Extinction Rebellion protesters, dressed in red or in animal costumes, gathered outside the Australian High Commission. The notorious activist group are focusing on the 'betrayal' of the Australian government in their failures to protect the nation from the fires. Meanwhile, demonstrations were in full swing in central Melbourne and Sydney, with many calling for the Mr Morrison to be sacked. Despite pleas from Victorian police and the premier to reschedule the Melbourne event to a less risky fire day, several thousand protesters huddled under umbrellas at the State Library. Many held banners which read 'Time is Running Out,' 'Declare a Climate Emergency,' 'You have blood on your hands, Morrison,' 'Make Fossil Fuels History,' and 'Sack ScoMo.' Activists for climate action dance as they walk along Bent Street in Sydney's CBD Hundreds of activists from Extinction Rebellion stage a protest outside the Australian Embassy in London More than 30,000 people rallied at Town Hall Square in Sydney with similar banners. Protesters in both cities chanted 'ScoMo has got to go' while Sydney protesters also yelled 'the liar from the shire our country is on fire.' Sydney protester Ambrose Hayes, 14, said people were 'fed up' with Mr Morrison because he's not acting enough on the 'climate crisis'. 'This is caused by climate change, there is no denying it and they're (the government) just letting it happen,' he said. 'They're not listening to us.' Izzy Raj-Seppings, the 13-year-old who made headlines when she was moved on by police during a climate protest outside Kirribilli House in December, called on Mr Morrison to step up. 'What have you done when your country burns? What have you done when the kids are crying?,' she said on Friday. Hundreds of protesters also rallied in Adelaide and Brisbane. Mr Morrison has faced weeks of criticism - starting with his decision to take his family on a holiday to Hawaii and flowing through to his fire-ground visits during which he was met with anger and frustration. The latest plank in the federal response is a $76million mental health plan to provide support to firefighters and residents in affected communities. Mr Morrison flagged the commission as he conceded there were things he could have handled better at a personal level. 'There are things I could have handled on the ground much better,' he told ABC TV on Sunday. 'These are sensitive, emotional environments. Mr Morrison, pictured with Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud on Friday, said his government is responding to an unprecedented wildfire crisis with an unprecedented level of support 'Prime ministers are flesh and blood too in how they engage with these people. 'When I went there I went there in good faith, with Jenny on occasions, to provide what consolation I could. They're very strained environments ... you would do things differently and learn from every event but the important thing is the actions we have taken.' He said in hindsight he would not have taken his family for a holiday to Hawaii, despite being defensive about it in a radio interview at the time. His original intention was to holiday, as was routine for his family, on the NSW south coast. 'One of the great difficulties in any job ... is balancing your work and family responsibilities,' he said. Mr Morrison said the scale of the bushfires was 'unprecedented' and had created a situation in which Australians were demanding a greater response from the federal government than had been provided in the past. 'That was not something that was recommended going into this fire season,' he said. 'There is a very new appetite, a very new expectation.' Meeting this new expectation could require federal legislation and new agreements with state and territory governments. Kolkata: National President of All India Trinamool Youth Congress Abhishek Banerjee said that whatever PM Modi said at Belur Math on Thursday (January 11) was full of lies. He added that PM Modi brushed aside the real issues and accused him of giving preference to only BJP-ruled state. Banerjee in a series of tweet said, ''The Honble PM spoke on a range of issues. However, he has completely brushed aside the real issues, the needs and concerns @MamataOfficial has raised with him on several occasions.'' The Honble PM spoke on a range of issues. However he has completely brushed aside the real issues, the needs and concerns @MamataOfficial has raised with him on several occasions. (1/3) Citizen Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) January 12, 2020 He also raised a question on the central government over the funds allocated for cyclone Bulbul and the iron bridge which PM Modi had promised for Bengal three years back. Banerjee said, ''Swiftly disbursing approx 30,000 crore due to be paid to West Bengal, 7,000 Crore grant for Cyclone Bulbul, the Iron Bridge he had promised 3 years ago for Gangasagar Mela etc, all these burning issues which needed attention from the PM, seemed completely missing.'' Live TV Banerjee said that all the non-BJP states are facing the problem and not receiving any cooperation by the government. Questioning the PM Modi he said, ''Why didn't the @PMOIndia say a single word about it? Why does he always discriminate between BJP-ruled states & the non-BJP states. Why similar to West Bengal, all non-BJP-ruled states have to face this apathy from the Central Government.'' Why didn't the @PMOIndia say a single word about it? Why does he always discriminate between BJP-ruled states & the non-BJP states. Why similar to West Bengal, all non BJP-ruled states have to face this apathy from the Central Government. (3/3) Citizen Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) January 12, 2020 PM Modi is on a two days visit to Kolkata. On his first day of visit on Saturday (January 11), he addressed the youth on the occasion of National Youth Day in Belur Math. In his speech Modi said that Five years ago, there was a disappointment among the youth of the country; but the situation has changed now. Speaking of the anti-CAA protest Modi said, ''Youth are still misinformed about CAA. It is our responsibility to make the youth understand. I want to clarify that we did not bring this law overnight. I repeat again, Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 is not to revoke anyone's citizenship, but it is to give citizenship. After independence, Mahatma Gandhi and other big leaders of the time all believed that India should give citizenship to persecuted religious minorities of Pakistan. Our government has fulfilled Mahatma Gandhi's wish by bringing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.'' PM Modi inaugurated Kolkata port on the occasion of 150th-anniversary celebrations programme at Netaji Indoor Stadium on Sunday (January 12). However, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee skipped the event. For us, this is the engine of lift you can kind of think of it as a pontoon for a boat, so if you need more buoyancy, you can put another pontoon on it, Greenberg said. A former colleague at Honeywell, Ian Wells, is Greenbergs partner in Copperhead, which was formed in 2016. Greenberg, who grew up in Albuquerque, said he came up with the idea when he was about 11 years old and started thinking about alternative ways to create flight. I remember asking my physics teachers in high school if this could work, and they couldnt say it wouldnt, he recalled. He continued to pursue the idea and even planned on starting a company around it. Along the way, he discovered efforts in the 1950s to create airplanes with wings or large flaps that essentially could be folded down to direct airflow from propellers downward, with the deflected slipstream giving vertical lift to allow takeoffs from short runways. Former Bigg Boss 13 contestant Arhaan Khan has reacted to claims of actor Amrita Dhanoa, who was arrested recently in a sex racket in Mumbai and had previously alleged that he duped her of Rs 5 lakh. She had also claimed that they were in a relationship. Arhaan has said he is ready to pay her Rs 5 crore if she can prove that he swindled her out of her money. In an interview with The Times of India, Arhaan said, If I have taken money from her, please ask her to show bank transactions and prove it. I am ready to give her Rs 5 crore, if she can prove that I took money from her. Also, if I had dated her, please ask her to show my pictures with her. She has not been able to give any proof. Bigg Boss is Asias biggest reality show and I have seen this in past also where people have used someones name for publicity. She is also doing the same. We all remember how before Abhishek Bachchans wedding, a girl claimed of being his wife. She had cut her wrist also for him. But we all know it was fake. Also read: Deepika Padukone hugs street kids in Mumbai, calls it joys of life. Watch video Even I read somewhere that she is blaming me for her arrest. I mean, I dont even know her, how can I get her arrested? I had cleared in the media during an interview that I dont know this girl (Amrita). However, few publications went ahead and did her interview and she got a chance to spread the lie. I still stand on my ground that I dont know this girl and have never met her, how can I date her or be in a live-relationship, the report quoted him as saying. Amrita came in the limelight when she accused Arhaan of duping her of Rs 5 lakh and claimed that he was cheating her while they were in a relationship. Unconfirmed sources told IANS that they were in a relationship from 2006 to 2010. Not much is known about Amritas Bollywood career either, except that her page on IMDb credits her as featuring in films titled Unlimited Nasha, Parveen Bobby and The World Of Fashion. Follow @htshowbiz for more There is a tribe in this country. It has many members but they tend to live in the shadows. Lots of us know individual members of the tribe, and now and then one of them will stick their head above the parapet in public and remind us all they are there, living in their parallel universe. Most of this tribe are medical experts. They all tend to have their own specialism. They have little formal training but it is a hallmark of them that they will all tend to know far more than any one person should know about some specific area of healthcare. They may be a cardio expert, or a researcher into rare blood diseases. Some of them will have read all the academic work on various experimental treatments for specific conditions of the immune system. Some of them might be among the world's leading experts on a little-known form of cancer. They wear their hard-won knowledge lightly. Apart from when they need to fight for their children, you'd barely know how qualified they are in their field. For many of them, their dedication to their speciality takes over their lives. A lot of them live in this kind of grey area between home and work and a children's hospital. Indeed, sometimes the work might have to be cut out of the equation. Sometimes the home may suffer, too. We've all done it for short periods, haven't we? When a child is in hospital, the home is not a home anymore. Parents do shifts at the hospital, so they're never home together. Meals are basic, eaten standing up or grabbed on the run. The other kids are farmed out to whoever will step in. Home is just a place to land at the end of the day, exhausted from work and hospital - a place to grab some fitful sleep. After a few days of it, it feels like things are coming apart at the seams. But for some people, this becomes their life for a long time. Indeed, the headachy hospital light and the sickly air can become more familiar to them than home. They sit around for days, weeks, months, worried sick but putting a brave face on things, trying to keep bored, sick children jollied along. And that's if they're lucky, if the child is well enough to be bored, and well enough to need jollying along. For others, it's a more sporadic thing. They get periods at home. Sometimes this involves turning the home into a quasi-hospital. In these situations, family life will often revolve around the sick child. The other kids will tend to row in with this because the capacity for love in families is immense. In these situations, the other siblings may not have their needs met in the way they might otherwise. And parents don't tend to get to have much of a life either. Date night might not be very common! But people will put up with a lot to have their kid at home. Then there will be trips to hospital, often up to Dublin if you live down the country. This can obviously be massively disruptive to family life, and can involve considerable expense, organising accommodation in Dublin, pulling in favours, missing work. There are tens of thousands of families all over the country living variations on this life, some at the shallow end of it, some at the deep end, some slowly drowning. Most of the time, most of them bear it with a grace the rest of us can't imagine. They take in their stride things that would be unimaginable for the rest of us - operations, seeing your child having seizures or trouble breathing, seeing your baby go through all kinds of procedures, with tubes and needles sticking out of them. These people are heroic in the truest sense. But sometimes, when they find their already unbearable situation being exacerbated by a health system that doesn't work, they find themselves forced, in desperation, to invade their own privacy and to parade their family's business in the media. It's a last resort for people. But sometimes people clearly feel it's the only weapon they have left in their fight against a system that lets them down again and again. In the grand scheme of these things, Noirin Kinsella is probably one of the luckier ones. Noirin had to see her baby Tommy have heart surgery when he was 11 months, and now, at seven, he needs another heart op. Until he has the operation, Tommy can't go to school, he wears a medical mask, his quality of life is deteriorating. Tommy had his operation postponed again last week, for the eighth time. You can imagine that you might be accepting the first time your child's heart surgery was postponed, maybe even the second, third, fourth or fifth time it happened, maybe even the sixth or seventh. But you can see how the eighth time might tip you over the edge into going on to Facebook and going public. Read More Ciara Reid went public last week, too. She told Kieran Cuddihy on Newstalk last Friday morning that her four-year-old daughter, Reiltin, is "the funniest child on earth and the strongest child on earth, our absolute little hero". Then she explained how Reiltin has Down syndrome, was born with a congenital bowel defect and needed surgery when she was three days old. Reiltin went into heart failure when she was six-weeks-old and needed open-heart surgery when she was four-and-a-half months old, when she was also diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnoea. At eight months old, Reiltin's family found out she was profoundly deaf and needed to get cochlear implants. Ciara said the family were just getting back on their feet after Reiltin's second birthday. Ciara was just going back to work after being off for the two years. And then, on the morning of their other daughter Dearbhla's birthday two years ago, they got a call to come to Crumlin immediately. Her husband's initial response was to say: no, we can't, we have a birthday party today. The world shattered as they were told Reiltin had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Instead of being at her sister's party that afternoon, Reiltin started treatment. Ciara Reid reckons she spent 200 nights in Crumlin in 2018, along with numerous other days that she was in and out for appointments. Last year, she says, was better - only about 50 nights there last year, and maybe another 60 days in and out for appointments and antibiotics. Reiltin is getting close to the end of her treatment now. But every 12 weeks, she has been going to theatre for a general anaesthetic to have chemo into her spine. Of eight or nine such appointments, Ciara reckons every second one has been cancelled. Last Thursday, when Ciara rang to confirm Friday's appointment, she was told it was cancelled. She was told another child needed to go to theatre, but she was also told it was a capacity issue. Ciara says the flu may be the excuse this time but she says she's lost count of how many times they've been cancelled for procedures. Read More In relation to Tommy Kinsella, Ciara told Cuddihy: "We were only cancelled for open-heart surgery once, so we count ourselves quite lucky." We all accept that there are not unlimited resources for health, and hard choices have to be made. We accept, too, that the State is building a world-class children's hospital which will apparently put an end to situations like Tommy's and Ciara's. And we accept, too, that the majority of people have good outcomes in our health service. But equally you read that there were 2,000 nursing home beds available last week, and 611 people waiting to be discharged from hospitals, whose discharges would have provided a bed for practically everyone on a trolley. But apparently bureaucracy and delays in accessing funding models prevents discharges from happening quickly. And you wonder then if the health system is really working to capacity, or could there be a bit more common sense employed. This is a simplistic example, and it wouldn't have helped Tommy and Reiltin, but it does make you wonder if more resources are always the answer, or if there isn't capacity to be tapped within the existing system. We do know, for example, that theatres and scanners across the public health system aren't always working to the same capacity and hours that they would be in the private sector. You'd have to ask are there no creative solutions here to help Tommy and Reiltin and their families, and families like them all over the country, help them from having an already hard old station made much worse. We owe these people, who work so hard in situations most of us would find unbearable, more than this. Most of us would crack under just one of the complications Ciara and Reiltin and the family had to deal with. This is Ciara's grace under pressure: "On my very optimistic days I will say that I'm very lucky. My child is still here and my child is still fighting. We've met too many children who are no longer here." And how was she feeling last Friday morning when Reiltin was supposed to be off having her spine punctured for chemo? "My children woke up there a few minutes ago and I was listening to them in their bedroom laughing and playing with each other and that's one of the best sounds on earth, listening to your children being happy." The tribe have great resilience and the ability to find joy where the rest of us might fail. But we cannot continue to rely on these parents to be superhuman, and relying on their grace under pressure. We cannot continue to make life so much harder for them. It seems so long ago now, but it was only a couple of years ago when Prince William was questioning his brother Prince Harry for rushing into a relationship with Meghan Markle. That incident is what supposedly spurred the feud between the brothers in the first place. But now with all the royal family going on and so many followers blaming the bulk of it on Markle, its leading fans to question: Was Prince William right to question Markles motives all along? Prince William, Meghan Markle, and Prince Harry | Eddie Mulholland WPA Pool/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle fell in love quickly The Duke of Sussex met his future bride in Canada during the summer of 2016. These two had a quiet beginning to their relationship, though both knew the media involvement would be significant once they went public. They just didnt realize how crazy it would get. Prince Harry later claimed he knew Markle was special from that first blind date and she was equally smitten. One date turned to two, and eventually, the pair got engaged. They made their marriage intentions official in November 2017 after just over one year of dating. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle married on May 19, 2018. Prince William wanted his brother to be careful Prince William and Prince Harry | Samir Hussein/WireImage As the older sibling, Prince William had natural inclinations to look out for his younger brother in all facets of life. And these two were especially close after the tragic death of their mother Princess Diana when they were both so young. But instead of heeding the Duke of Cambridges advice, Prince Harry reacted with anger when William suggested he might be moving too quickly. Royal expert Ingrid Seward explained, It was all so quick that William and Kate didnt have a moment to get to know Meghan because Harry hardly knew Meghan. Plus, after waiting years to make the decision to marry wife Kate Middleton, Prince William was well acquainted with patience in relationships. As royal expert Kate Nicholl explained, Harry supported William from the outset of his relationship with Kate and he felt very let down that he wasnt getting his brothers full 100 percent support with the relationship with Meghan. Did Prince William predict this was going to happen? Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex | Stephen Pond/Getty Images Even Prince Harry and Meghan Markle most likely never imagined theyd be quitting the royal family like this. But Prince William may have understood that drama might be on the horizon either way. For one thing, William knew that his brother had a fraught relationship with the media even before getting married. Harry has always blamed them for his mothers misery and, eventually, for her death. Though Prince William couldnt have known these feelings would cause Harry to leave the family, he probably did know that the press wouldnt treat Meghan Markle kindly. And that would be enough to send Harry over the edge. Harry is willing to choose his wife over his blood relatives Prince Harry | Joe Giddins WPA Pool/Getty Images Meghan Markle might be a comparably new addition to Prince Harrys life, but his recent statements prove he is willing to leave behind the people hes known his whole life in favor of the woman he loves. Hes not the first royal family member to do something like this. But its still quite shocking. Theres a chance that this could have happened no matter who Prince Harry married. Prince William is one of the few who saw it coming from a mile away. If youve spent time in the East Village, its likely that youve stopped into one of Ravi DeRossis many restaurants. Theres Mother of Pearl, a Polynesian cocktail bar famous for its highly Instagrammable shark drinks. Or Ladybird, the ideal destination for girls night, with millennial pink decor and small plates. His latest creation is Night Music, an '80s new wave themed Indian restaurant that's ideal for a night out. One aspect all of his spots have in common (other than their Pinterest-perfect decor), is that theyre mostly vegan, a serious decision DeRossi made after returning to veganism himself. DeRossi is the restaurateur behind the East Villages most famous vegan restaurants, all located so close to each other that The New York Times dubbed him the Stealth Prince of the East Village. (New York Times) He started his career as a painter before working in the hospitality industry at 30, returning to his native New York in the early 2000s. Since then, he's opened dozens of bars and restaurants. We spoke to him about where he finds his inspiration, why he went vegan and how tragedy led to the creation of his latest space. Night Music Why did you personally decide to go back to being vegan? "I initially went vegan in response to recognizing the soul in all animals and have not been able to turn back since. I have been on-again, off-again vegan since I was 12-years-old. I've been completely vegan for the past four years, and will not go off again. I began to realize that the effects of animal agriculture on our climate are devastating and that the average restaurant or bar does a thousand times more damage to the environment than a single person. At the time, I think I had 15 or so restaurants and bars so the effect I was having on the environment was significant." HoneyBee's How did you decide to make your restaurants animal-free? "It didn't feel like it was a decision, it was something that just had to happen. I'm actually surprised that more people aren't making this transition. There will come a time in the near future where we will all be forced to." Do you think New York restaurants are more accepting of vegetarian and vegan patrons these days? "I presume only about 10 percent of the people who dine at my restaurants are vegan, nonetheless, there's a huge demand for vegan food by New Yorkers. It seems like every year the demand for vegan food increases dramatically, and the demand continues to far outweigh the supply." Amor Y Amargo Why did you decide to locate your mini-empire in the East Village? "I've lived in the East Village for more than 20 years - it's my favorite part of New York City and it's favorite part of this country. There's no other place in the world I would want to live and work." All of your restaurants have such unique decorations. Whats your process when developing a new restaurant or bar? "My favorite part of opening a new restaurant is the design process. I was an artist for all my life before getting into hospitality so I'm inclined to the more creative side of my psyche. Most of my ideas for restaurants and their designs come to me late at night when I cannot sleep, in an instant, I'll have an idea for a space and see the design, the name, the menu, absolutely everything. It's the same process I went through as an artist. A flash of inspiration would come to me and I would get out of bed and have to start painting immediately." Night Music What was your process behind developing your new restaurant Night Music, from the music to the menu? "I had been a bit down for some time, my company's corporate chef and my good friend had passed away. He and I had so many plans for new restaurants and then in an instant, they were tragically shattered. I spent a lot of time at home by myself after this occurred and at some point, I guess I began to crave the food my mother used to make for me when I was young. I think in moments like these it's natural to crave the things that nurtured us. I had never even once considered opening an Indian restaurant but in the moment it seemed like the only thing I could do. Everything else came to me in a flash, I saw red mirrored walls, purple neon, Indian archways, I even heard the music I grew up to (80s new wave), it all just made sense." Amor Y Amargo The Shark Eye cocktail at Mother of Pearl is one of New Yorks most famous cocktails. Did you have any idea it would be so Instagrammed when it was first introduced? A plane full of convicts has been forced to make an emergency landing in a remote town in the Northern Territory after a panel fell from the aircraft mid flight. NT Corrections was transporting prisoners from Darwin to Alice Springs when a 'malfunction' forced the pilots to land in Tennant Creek on Saturday. Extra police and extra security were called in to guard the high-risk prisoners, which reportedly cost taxpayers about $30,000. NT Corrections were in the process of transporting prisoners from Darwin to Alice Springs when the pilots were forced to land in Tennant Creek (pictured) 'There were a fair few (prisoners) and now they're stuck in Tennant Creek,' a source told NT News. 'They talk about saving money but then they spend thousands on charter flights and now on extra security.' Both NT Attorney General Natasha Fyles, who is currently on leave, and General Eva Lawler, who is acting Attorney on her behalf, were briefed on the incident. 'Correctional Services along with NT Police in Tennant Creek were engaged and responded immediately to provide assistance and ensure community safety,' a spokeswoman for Ms Lawler said. The prisoners were expected to complete their journey to Alice Springs on Saturday night after a part for the aircraft was flown in to make the necessary repairs. Libyan GNA, LNA Accuse Each Other of Ceasefire Violations, No Official Statements Yet Sputnik News 05:07 12.01.2020 DOHA (Sputnik) - The Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA), headed by Fayez Sarraj, has violated the ceasefire announced at midnight on Sunday, according to media reports, however the rival Libyan National Army (LNA) has not officially issued a statement. "The groups [of GNA forces] have violated the ceasefire with the deployment of all types of weapons, in particular, artillery in more than one direction, but we are still committed to the statement made by the general command of operations in the west of the country about the intention to observe the ceasefire and are awaiting new instructions," the Libyan Al-Marsad newspaper quoted LNA's Maj. Gen. Al-Mabrouk Al-Ghazawi as saying. At the same time, the Libyan National Army has not made any official announcement yet. In response, the GNA accused the rival army headed by Marshal Khalifa Haftar of violating the just-announced ceasefire in western Libya, according to Al Jazeera broadcaster, "Haftar's forces violated a ceasefire on the Salah al-Din [front] line in Tripoli," the channel quoted the GNA's military sources as saying. Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, agreed on a common stance on Libya and called for a comprehensive ceasefire starting midnight January 12. They also urged all conflict parties to begin negotiations. The situation in Libya has escalated over the past several weeks as the Libyan National Army's commander Khalifa Haftar ordered his troops to advance on Tripoli, controlled by the UN-recognized Government of National Accord. The city has already experienced being a battleground of a similar attack in April that had left hundreds of people killed and thousands more injured. After the ouster and assassination of then-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the country was plunged into a brutal civil war. Today, Libya is divided between two centers of power: an elected parliament in the country's east, and the UN-backed GNA in the west. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, says it will reopen the investigation of Peter Odili, a former governor of Rivers State. In 2007, Odili got a court injunction preventing the EFCC from investigating or arresting him. The court order also restrained the anti-graft agency from probing the finances of the Rivers State government. Ibrahim Magu, the acting chairman of the EFCC, on a visit to Port Harcourt on Tuesday, January 7, 2020, said the investigation into allegations of money laundering against the former governor would be reopened. Magu said the commission has appealed against the injunction, but that the appeal is still pending at the supreme court. He said subsequent judgments of the courts have held that the EFCC cannot be restrained from investigating anyone. Magu said Rivers has the second-highest number of money laundering cases after Lagos. I think Rivers is the next to Lagos in terms of crime. This is the headquarter of money laundering because there is a lot of oil money here, he said. Nothing is going to stop us. Even the issue of the court order allegedly obtained by Dr Peter Odili and co to stop the EFCC from investigation and prosecution is still at the Supreme Court. We are on it. I am telling you that, that judgment cannot stand; it will only take some time but it cannot hold and we are going to conclude the investigation. There are so many investigations we are doing. I am sure the matter has suffered for about 13 years now. We are going to test it. The matter is in the Supreme Court. We will follow it up. That decision that is pending in the Supreme Court cannot hold water again. There is a subsequent judgment that has overridden it. Other judgments say nobody, not even a judge, not even the Judiciary, not even the court can stop us from investigating and prosecuting. The acting EFCC chairman also said the commission secured 1,245 convictions in 2019. He said the commission would continue to track and expose high-profile financial crimes in the country. He also warned against oil bunkering in the Niger Delta, saying it is economic sabotage. Let me also use this medium to warn against illegal oil bunkering. Perpetrators should desist from their nefarious operations. The EFCC is resolute in its fight against economic sabotage and oil theft, he said. The Niger Delta is highly significant to our national economy and the Commission will continue to do all that is lawful and patriotic in ensuring that operators of illegal oil bunkering are brought to book. Culled from: The Trent Shahriar Alam, latest Bangladesh minister to skip Delhi visit amid an all-is-not-well perception India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Jan 12: Bangladesh Deputy Foreign Minister Shahriar Alam on Saturday cancelled his visit to Delhi scheduled for this week, making this the fourth visit by senior officials from Dhaka that has been cancelled in the past month. Shahriar Alam was suppose to attend the Ministry of External Affairs' annual Raisina Dialogue Conference from January 14 to 16, PTI reported. However, the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry rejected 'misleading' reports that Alam's visit was cancelled because of tensions between New Delhi and Dhaka over the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens exercise. NRC an internal affair of Indian govt: BG Bangladesh DG Maj Gen Shafeenul Islam The ministry said the decision has been conveyed to the MEA's organising partner thinktank, Observer Research Foundation, that he would be travelling to the United Arab Emirates to accompany Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on a visit there. J&K cop caught with 2 Hizbul & Lashkar terrorists in Kashmir|OneIndia News ""The ministry would like to convey that State Minister Mohammad Shahriar Alam was invited as a speaker in the Raisina Dialogue which coincides with his visit to UAE to accompany the Prime Minister of Bangladesh," the ministry said in a statement. The statement added that the inability of Alam's participation in the event had 'no other connection'. Last month, Bangladesh foreign minister AK Abdul Momen had cancelled his his three-day India visit on December 12. Momen was scheduled to arrive in New Delhi to participate in the combined session of the Delhi Dialogue XI and the Indian Ocean Dialogue VI, and a breakfast meeting with counterpart S. Jaishankar the following day. A day later his Cabinet colleague, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan cancelled a scheduled personal visit to Meghalaya's capital Shillong The Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 was officially enforced on Friday by the Centre. The Act provides citizenship to refugees from six minority religious communities from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan, provided they have lived in India for six years and entered the country by December 31, 2014. The Act has been widely criticised for excluding Muslims. The Centre notified it in its official gazette on Friday, making it applicable from January 10. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, January 12, 2020, 11:33 [IST] Nearly 50 people have been arrested after police smashed a human trafficking gang which used UK short-stay visas to smuggle Moroccan migrants into Europe. Police say the gang made around one million pounds from their crimes by charging each migrant trafficked from North Africa up to 7,000. The 47 arrests took place during a joint operation led by Spanish police and Royal Gibraltar Police officers coordinated by EUROPOL. Nearly 50 people have been arrested after police smashed a human trafficking gang which used UK short-stay visas to smuggle Moroccan migrants into Europe More than 15,000 in cash, 12 mobiles phones and five vehicles were seized during searches in Gibraltar and the town of La Linea the other side of the border in Spain. A spokesman for Spain's National Police said in a statement: 'Forty-seven people have been arrested in a joint operation of the Spanish National Police and Royal Gibraltar Police for their suspected membership of a criminal organisation and trafficking of migrants between Gibraltar, Spain and several other European countries. 'The organisation charged each migrant from Morocco between 6,000 and 6,800, which enabled them to obtain a profit of nearly one million pounds.' Police say the gang made around one million pounds from their crimes by charging each migrant trafficked from North Africa up to 7,000 More than 15,000 in cash, 12 mobiles phones and five vehicles were seized during searches in Gibraltar and the town of La Linea the other side of the border in Spain Police said the investigation began in November 2018 after the RGP detected a significant increase in the number of Moroccans arriving in Gibraltar from Tangiers on short-stay UK visas. The visas are not valid for entry into or transit through Schengen area countries, meaning they could not be used to enter Spain. The National Police spokesman said: 'In Morocco the gang planned the migrants' trips and prepared the visa requests using false documentation. 'Once they got the visas, they bought the migrants plane tickets and reserved their hotel in Gibraltar. Police say the gang's criminal activity affected 18 Spanish provinces and five European countries Police said the investigation began in November 2018 after the RGP detected a significant increase in the number of Moroccans arriving in Gibraltar from Tangiers on short-stay UK visas 'From Gibraltar they were helped to cross the border into Spain illegally, using 4x4s with Gibraltarian number-plates and tinted back windows where they were hidden and taken to La Linea at night-time when visibility was worse than during the day. 'Once they crossed the border they were put up in the homes of gang leaders or in hostels in La Linea before being put on a bus the following day to another Spanish province or European country.' The operation to smash the gang is said to have involved 200 police officers. Police say the gang's criminal activity affected 18 Spanish provinces and five European countries. Company honors employee service HICKORY Davidson, Holland, Whitesell & Co., PLLC, recently recognized Matt Barus for 15 years of service and Mitzi Brooks for five years of service with the company. Each was presented with an engraved acrylic piece and a Visa gift card. Barus is an audit manager with DHW. He is a graduate of Davidson College with a B.A. in economics and holds a Master of Science in accountancy from Appalachian State University. He is a member of the AICPA, NCACPA and Hickory Young Professionals. Barus lives in Valdese. Brooks attended East Tennessee State University and works as an administrative associate at DHW. She is an animal lover and avid reader who serves on the launch teams for several Christian authors, including Anne Graham Lotz, Tim Tebow and Rachel Hauck. Brooks lives in Hickory. Davidson, Holland, Whitesell & Co., PLLC has served as a professional adviser to individuals and businesses in a variety of industries since 1990. Additional information about Davidson, Holland, Whitesell & Co., PLLC can be found at www.dhw.net or by calling 828-322-2070. Realty Executives hosts intern for semester Iran has signalled it favours a de-escalation after 10 days of heightened tensions with the United States during which both sides fired missiles and Tehran accidentally shot down a passenger aircraft. Security was stepped up in Iran's capital Sunday after a vigil the previous night for those killed in the air disaster turned into an angry protest and police temporarily arrested the British ambassador for being there. US President Donald Trump warned Iran against harming demonstrators and against a repeat of a deadly crackdown against rallies in November sparked by a fuel price hike. "To the leaders of Iran - DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS," Trump tweeted Sunday in his occasional all-capitals style. US Defense Secretary Mark Esper, however, said Trump was still willing to "sit down and discuss without precondition a new way forward" with Iran, although Tehran has steadfastly refused to hold talks with Washington unless it lifts sanctions first. Tehran said it favoured an easing of tensions after its arch-enemy Washington on January 3 killed a revered Iranian general, Quds Force chief Qasem Soleimani, in a Baghdad drone strike. - 'A critical time' - In a meeting between Iran's President Hassan Rouhani and the visiting emir of Qatar, both sides agreed de-escalation is the "only solution" to the regional crisis, the Qatari ruler said. Qatar hosts the largest US military base in the region but also enjoys strong ties with Iran, with which it shares the world's largest gas field. "We agreed... that the only solution to these crises is de-escalation from everyone and dialogue," Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said on what was believed to be his first official visit to the Islamic republic. For his part, Rouhani said: "We've decided to have more consultations and cooperation for the security of the entire region." Iran's president also met with visiting Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, whose country has offered to mediate between Tehran and US ally Riyadh. In a meeting Sunday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned military conflict with Iran will have an impact on global peace and stability, Japanese foreign ministry spokesman Masato Ohtaka said. In a briefing to parliament, Hossein Salami, commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, said the missiles it fired last Wednesday on Iraqi bases hosting US troops were not aimed at killing American personnel. The US said no American personnel were harmed in the attacks. Across the border in Iraq, the military said rockets slammed on Sunday into Al-Balad, an Iraqi airbase where US forces have been stationed, wounding two Iraqi officers and two airmen. The base had held a small US Air Force contingent as well as American contractors, but a majority of these personnel had already been evacuated due to the tensions between the US and Iran, military sources told AFP. Reacting to the latest attack, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted: "Outraged by reports of another rocket attack on an Iraqi airbase. "These continued violations of Iraq's sovereignty by groups not loyal to the Iraqi government must end," he added. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Sunday's rocket attacks. The US has previously blamed such attacks on Iran-backed groups in Iraq. - 'Death to Britain' - The current crisis claimed a tragic toll when Iran -- on hair-trigger alert just after attacking the Iraqi bases -- last Wednesday accidentally shot down the Ukraine International Airlines plane, killing all 176 people aboard. After days of denial from Iran, Rouhani on Saturday admitted to "human error" in bringing down the Boeing 737, and the Guards' aerospace commander General Amirali Hajizadeh accepted full responsibility. On Saturday evening, a memorial at Tehran's Amir Kabir University in honour of those killed turned into a demonstration that AFP correspondents said was attended by hundreds of students. They shouted "death to liars" and demanded the resignation and prosecution of those responsible, Fars news agency reported, saying that police "dispersed" them. Around the same time, police temporarily arrested the British ambassador, Rob Macaire, who had attended the vigil, sparking a fresh diplomatic crisis. Macaire tweeted Sunday: "I wasn't taking part in any demonstrations! Went to an event advertised as a vigil for victims of #PS752 tragedy." Some Iranian newspapers also criticised the government over the downing of the jet, including how it was handled. "Apologise, resign," the reformist daily Etemad headlined on Sunday, "Unforgivable," the official government newspaper Iran said while Tehran's Hamshahri daily splashed "Shame" in blood-red letters across its front page. Elsewhere in Tehran, tensions appeared to be mounting again, with a heavy police presence notably around the iconic Azadi Square south of the centre. Riot police armed with water cannon and batons were seen at Amir Kabir, Sharif and Tehran universities as well as Enqelab Square. Around 50 Basij militiamen brandishing paintball guns, potentially to mark protesters to authorities, were also seen near Amir Kabir. On the diplomatic front, France, Germany and Britain on Sunday called on Iran to return to "full respect" of its commitments under its 2015 nuclear accord with world powers, despite Washington having walked out of the deal. burs-neg/dv/hc/dwo/mtp/qan AMMAN (Reuters) - Russia and its allies halted air strikes in Syria's Idlib region on Sunday as a ceasefire agreed with Turkey came into force, residents, rebels and respondents said, although few were optimistic the truce would hold. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled Idlib province in recent weeks as Russian jets and Syrian artillery pounded towns and villages in a renewed government assault aimed at clearing the opposition from its last bastion in the northwest of the country. Turkeys defence ministry said it was closely following ceasefire agreements in Idlib on Sunday, adding that the situation was calm "except for one or two separate incidents". Turkey, which for years has backed Syrian rebels fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad, said on Friday it had agreed the ceasefire with Russia to stem the flow of tens of thousands of civilians uprooted by the violence.[L8N29F45Y] The latest offensive had brought the Russian-led military campaign closer to heavily crowded parts of Idlib province, where nearly three million people are trapped, the vast majority women and children, according to the United Nations. Senior U.N. officials said this month that the humanitarian situation had become more acute with at least 300,000 civilians now on the run in Idlib, adding to the more than half a million people who fled earlier bouts of fighting to the safety of camps near the Turkish border. Moscow says its forces, along with the Syrian army and Iranian-backed militias fighting alongside them, are fending off terror attacks by al Qaeda militants whom they say hit populated, government-held areas. However, they accuse the rebels of wrecking a "de-escalation zone" brokered two-years ago between Turkey and Russia. The Syrian army said on Sunday that insurgent rockets had killed two people during shelling of residential areas in Aleppo city. Rebels and witnesses said that at least a dozen towns were hit by artillery bombing from army posts. Story continues "Aerial bombing stopped but many towns and villages continued to be targeted by artillery rounds," Mohamad Rashid, an activist said. Rebels said pro-government forces were massing on the front lines and army helicopters had dropped leaflets calling on civilians to surrender and evacuate rebel-held areas. "There is no return to the decision to cleanse all areas of the terrorist killers so join your army in achieving victory," said a pamphlet dropped on rebel-held areas. Past truces have proved short lived in the months-long bloody campaign to wrest control of the last rebel stronghold that has killed hundreds and left dozens of towns and villages in ruins. On the eve of the ceasefire, at least seventeen people, mostly women and children, were killed in Syrian and Russian bombing of four main towns in Idlib province on Saturday, residents and rescuers said. (Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi, Additional reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen in Istanbul; Editing by Kirsten Donovan) Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi arrives at the Capitol in Washington (J Scott Applewhite/AP) US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said that senators will pay a price if they block new witnesses in Donald Trumps impeachment trial. The House plans to vote this week to transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate for the historic trial on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress over Mr Trumps actions toward Ukraine. It will be only the third impeachment trial in American history. Its about a fair trial, Ms Pelosi told ABCs This Week. Weve done our job. We have defended the Constitution of the United States. We would hope the Senate would do that as well. She warned: Now the ball is in their court to either do that or pay a price. Weve done our job. We have defended the Constitution of the United States. We would hope the Senate would do that as wellNancy Pelosi Mr Trump tweeted right before and after Ms Pelosis appearance, in both instances using derisive nicknames. He said both she and House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff should appear in the Senate for testimony. He must be a Witness, and so should she! Mr Trump tweeted. The president also rebutted Ms Pelosis suggestion that no matter what the Senate does, the House vote last month means Mr Trump will be impeached forever and for life. Why should I have the stigma of Impeachment attached to my name when I did NOTHING wrong? Mr Trump tweeted, calling the House action a totally partisan Hoax. It is unlikely that the Republican-controlled Senate would call either Democrat to testify in the presidents impeachment trial, which could start as soon as this week. The Democratic-run House is set to vote this week to send the articles of impeachment after Ms Pelosi ended a more than three-week delay. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, seeking a speedy trial to acquit the president, is reluctant to seek more witnesses. Mr McConnell has proposed a process similar to the last presidential impeachment trial of Bill Clinton in 1999 that would start the proceedings and then vote later on hearing new testimony. Expand Close The House plans to vote this week to transmit the articles of impeachment against Donald Trump to the Senate (Kevin Wolf/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The House plans to vote this week to transmit the articles of impeachment against Donald Trump to the Senate (Kevin Wolf/AP) One leading Republican, Senator Lindsey Graham, has already predicted that the trial would end in a matter of days. In a Fox News Channel interview on Saturday, Mr Graham dismissed Ms Pelosis tactics, saying the delay would have no effect on calling new witnesses or the expected outcome acquittal by the Republican-controlled Senate. The Senate should not reward this behaviour by the House, said Mr Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Senate should end this trial as quickly as possible. Thats what I intend to do. He will be acquitted. I hope and pray every Republican will reject what Nancy Pelosi did, and well pick up a few Democrats. Top Democrats defended Ms Pelosis decision to delay sending the articles of impeachment against the president, saying it produced new potential evidence and turned public attention on the upcoming trial. One of the things that holding on to the articles has succeeded doing is fleshing out McConnell and the presidents desire to make this a cover up, Mr Schiff said on CBS Face The Nation. If McConnell succeeds in making this trial a trial without witnesses. Thats not a fair trial. Thats a sham, he said. Every knock from him is a boostNancy Pelosi Mr Trump was impeached on charges that he abused his power by pressuring the president of Ukraine to investigate Democrats, specifically Mr Trump political rival Joe Biden. Mr Trump was also charged with obstruction of Congress for trying to block the House investigation. While Mr McConnell joined some Republicans in a resolution for votes to dismiss the charges against Mr Trump, at least one Republican up for reelection, Senator Susan Collins, said last week she was in talks with colleagues to hear more testimony. Mr Schiff has rebuffed previous calls to testify, saying he was not a fact witness to the events. Ms Pelosi said senators need to consider new witnesses, including former national security adviser John Bolton, who has said he would be willing to testify if he receives a subpoena. Mr Trump is blocking White House officials from appearing and reiterated last week he does not want his former top security adviser to testify before the Senate. House Democrats, who did not issue a subpoena for Mr Bolton last year, did not rule out doing so now. Its certainly something that we are considering, Mr Schiff said. Ms Pelosi also left open the door to filing more articles of impeachment against Mr Trump. Its Sunday morning lets be optimistic about the future a future that will not have Donald Trump in the White House, one way or another, 10 months from now we will have an election, if we dont have him removed sooner, she said. Right before Ms Pelosi was set to appear for the Sunday interview, Mr Trump tweeted against Ms Pelosi, calling her a derisive nickname, Crazy Nancy. Asked about Mr Trumps tweet, Ms Pelosi said, Every knock from him is a boost. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-13 04:58:13|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Deputy Director General of China International Import Expo (CIIE) Liu Fuxue (L) and Hala Dakroury, head of central department of information, promotion and co-operation of Export Development Authority of Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry sign a memorandum of understanding during the third CIIE road show in Egypt on Jan. 12, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Binian) The third China International Import Expo launched a road show in Egypt's capital of Cairo on Sunday, attracting a number of Egyptian companies aiming to expand businesses in the Chinese market. CAIRO, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese delegation from China International Import Expo (CIIE) invited on Sunday more Egyptian companies to join the upcoming CIIE session and seize the chance to increase their exports to the Chinese market. During "Cairo Promotion Conference of 3rd CIIE" held in the Egyptian capital, Liu Fuxue, deputy director general of CIIE bureau, said that the Chinese huge import fair greatly contributes to enhancing and strengthening "economic globalization." "In the next 15 years, China intends to import commodities worth more than 30 trillion U.S. dollars and services worth about 10 trillion U.S. dollars," said Liu, head of the CIIE delegation. He noted that the Chinese importation plan would give a strong push for global economy and provide chances for foreign firms to expand businesses and partnerships in the Chinese market. "China and Egypt have vast markets, which supports the opportunities for further economic cooperation and more investment and trade exchange between the two countries," said the head of the Chinese delegation. The 2019 CIIE was joined by nearly 3,900 companies from at least 155 countries and regions. Han Bing, minister counselor for economic and commercial affairs of the Chinese embassy in Cairo, described the CIIE as "a pioneering move in the history of international trade development." "Hosting the CIIE is a major initiative by China to open its market to the world, and it is an international platform to promote open cooperation to achieve common development," the Chinese diplomat told the attendees. Han invited more Egyptian companies to join the third CIIE that will be held in Shanghai in November 2020, noting that several Egyptian companies actively participated in the first two CIIE editions in 2018 and 2019. In 2018, trade exchange between Egypt and China exceeded 13.8 billion dollars, with 12-billion-dollar Chinese exports to Egypt and 1.83-billion-dollar Egyptian exports to China. "Last year, Egypt was the largest exporter of oranges to China and Egyptian exports of agricultural fruits to China mounted to 140 million dollars," Han continued, noting that China is currently the largest trade partner of Egypt. Egypt exports oranges, grapes, dates and sugarbeet pulp to China and is preparing for exporting pomegranates to the Chinese market, amid growing cooperation between the two countries. Growing ties between Egypt and China have been elevated in 2014 to the level of comprehensive strategic partnership with the support of the political leaderships of both countries. More than 1,600 Chinese companies are currently operating in Egypt with total investments of more than 7 billion dollars, providing over 30,000 job opportunities in the most populous Arab country. Mohamed Helal, board member of the Egyptian-Chinese Business Council, described the Chinese market as "the hugest in the world," saying it is absorbant of foreign products in general. Helal, also vice chairman of Gizatec company for manufacturing fertilizers, added that his firm's participation in the CIIE gave a strong push for its exports to China. "We have seven distributors of our products in China, including two state-run companies. We export innovated fertilizers that serve different regions in China and assist farmers to transform from chemical-based agriculture to environment-friendly agriculture," the Egyptian businessman told Xinhua. He noted that Gizatec cooperated for several years with different Chinese universities in the development of fertilizers. For her part, Hala Dakroury, an official at Egypt's Exports Development Authority (EDA), said that the CIIE has become "a milestone in international cooperation" and "a target of different international corporations looking for massive investment opportunities in the huge Chinese market." "The CIIE is a golden chance to market Egyptian products in China, seize the exportation opportunities provided by the exhibition and find Chinese trade partners," said Dakroury, head of EDA's Central Department of Information, Promotion and Cooperation. "The CIIE reflects China's clear and constant steps towards openness to the world not only by importing products but importing services as well," the Egyptian official told the CIIE promotion conference. George Washington Bridge as seen from Fort Lee, New Jersey. The George Washington Bridge connecting New York and New Jersey is the worlds busiest overpass and the subject of a 2013 scandal known as Bridgegate. Next week, the US Supreme Court will consider whether government officials convicted of crimes stemming from a scheme to reallocate lanes on the bridge acted criminally or just crookedly. The shady lane changes were a form of political retaliation. Then New Jersey governor Chris Christies staffers and supporters at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey claimed they were conducting a traffic study but were, in fact, punishing the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee for refusing to endorse his Republican governor for reelection. Normally, 3 of 12 toll lanes on the bridges upper level are separated during morning rush hour, facilitating the passage of traffic from Fort Lee and the region. But in an effort to pressure the mayor to endorse the governor, only one such lane was kept open. Gridlock ensued and paramedics were forced to cross the bridge on foot. The fake study began on the first day of a new school year to ensure maximum hassle to commuters, according to one of the conspirators who pled guilty and cooperated with prosecutors. It lasted four days before the executive director of the Port Authority got wind, ordered the lanes realigned, and vowed to discover what went wrong, saying, Im not going to have someone die in the back of an ambulance, not on my watch. William Baroni, deputy executive director of the Port Authority, his staffer David Wildstein, and governor Christies deputy chief of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, all found themselves out of work and facing criminal charges after it was discovered that they concocted a phony study, lied to officials, and agreed in their emails to create chaos, which cost the Port Authority $5,400, including payments to engineers and an additional toll collector who wouldnt otherwise have been necessary. Story continues Wildstein pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy, cooperated with authorities, and was sentenced to probation. Kelly and Baroni were indicted, tried, found guilty, and ultimately sentenced to 13 and 18 months in prison, respectively, for wire fraud, federal-program fraud, and related conspiracy convictions. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the convictions, finding that they deceived the Port Authority and deprived it of property in the form of unnecessary labor and the right to open lanes. Kelly, joined by Baroni, turned to the Supreme Court for help, arguing that the convictions set a dangerous precedent that will criminalize politics and chill public service. Petty, insensitive, and ill-advised In her brief to the Supreme Court, Kellys attorneys argue that concealing the political motives behind an otherwise legitimate official act does not rise to the level of a federal felony offense. There is no way that could be the law. Taken seriously, it would allow any federal, state, or local official to be indicted on nothing more than the (ubiquitous) allegation that she lied in claiming to act in the public interest. Kelly says that the Port Authority wasnt fraudulently deprived of property and that treating policy decisions as property would put every official action in the sights of the fraud laws, turning them into broad government ethics codes. Given her position, some may say thats not such a bad thing. The state [was] not being defrauded of property; it [was] being deprived of the good-faith service of its agent acting within the scope of her authority, Kellys brief argues. Yes, she breached her fiduciary duty and the conduct here was petty, insensitive, and ill-advised but in our system, political abuses of power are addressed politically. The federal government vehemently disagrees. It points out that the conspirators were warned that the realignment was a public safety hazard, lied to Port Authority officials about having the study approved, and orchestrated a fake research initiative totally inconsistent with usual procedures. Traffic pattern studies are normally modeled on computers and not conducted liveif they are, authorities are given fair warning, which didnt happen here. They also issued a false press release and wrote fraudulent reports to support their cover-up. Moreover, the government notes, the conspirators joked about orchestrating chaos in their exchanges. At one point, Wildstein forwarded Kelly a text from the Fort Lee mayor stating that the locality was having a problem getting kids to school. Kelly responded, Is it wrong that Im smiling? Official acts The government actually agrees with Kelly and Baroni that they couldnt be convicted of a crime for undertaking an otherwise official act within their authority without revealing their true motivations. But it counters the contention that this is all the conspirators did. Under the applicable fraud statute, the US argues, the convictions are valid so long as they rest on a scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises. The brief explains: [T]he scheme here satisfies all of the requirements set forth in this Courts precedents interpreting that text. The scheme involved materially false statements about the existence of a traffic study that did not actually exist. Those false statements were the means through which Kelly and Baroni obtained control of the Port Authority resources necessary to realign the lanes and gridlock Fort Lee. And those resourcespayments to workers who would not otherwise have been on duty, the value of wages paid to salaried employees whom the conspirators unwittingly conscripted into their plans, and the right to control the real property of the George Washington Bridgeare each a species of valuable right [or] interest that constitutes property under the fraud statutes. Rhode Island senator Sheldon Whitehouse joined the fray, filing an amicus brief supporting the government and chiding the high court, writing, The founders empowered the public to protect the public sphere against corruption, including through the jury box. The Supreme Court has dramatically narrowed the definition of corruption, preventing the public from holding its elected officials accountable. Whitehouse urged the justices to affirm the convictions. Naturally, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers supports Kelly and Baroni. Its amicus brief warns that allowing the convictions to stand substitutes the criminal process for the political process. The association contends the case is an example of grave prosecutorial overreach. If state decision makers deprive the electorate of the candid reasons for policy choices, the solution is at the ballot box, not the jury box. Next week, the justices will get to question the parties at oral arguments. A decision is expected by the terms end in late June. Sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief, our free daily newsletter with the worlds most important and interesting news. More stories from Quartz: Bella Thorne had a busy 2019, earning accolades for directing several short films, launching a new cannabis line, and publishing a New York Times bestselling book, among other things. So the multi-hyphenate was ready to relax after the new year, seen celebrating her success in the Dominican Republic this week. The 22-year-old star looked sultry as she showed off her vacation with a series of bikini-clad Instagrams on Saturday. Rest and relaxation: After a busy 2019, Bella Thorne let her hair down during a vacation to the Dominican Republic 'Let's talk about it,' she captioned the two picture set. During her time in the Caribbean nation, Bella was living in fine style. She made herself at home at Villa Las Hamacas, a $20million estate which rents for a smooth $15k per night. Roaring 20s: The 22-year-old star looked sultry as she showed off her vacation with a series of leopard bikini clad Instagrams VIP property: Villa Las Hamacas at Cap Cana rents for $15k a night Bella's visit to the island hot spot has put her in good company. Also recently vacationing in the DR was Golden Globe winner Taron Egerton. The Rocketman actor splurged on lavish birthday celebration in the Dominican Republic back in November. Likewise, the talented Ansel Elgort just made the island home for a getaway with longtime girlfriend Violetta. Celebs have been drawn to the island for its ultra-private, family friendly atmosphere. Breathtaking: The $20million estate featuring amenities like an infinity pool, concierge service and six well-appointed bedrooms Greenery: There is an abundance of beautiful outdoor spaces Jennifer Lopez, Pharrell Williams, Justin Bieber, and the Kardashians have also enjoyed relaxing times there without fear of being bothered. Cardi B took a trip to the Caribbean country in October to throw her grandmother an 80th birthday bash and superstars Jay-Z and Beyonce also recently visited with their family. Vin Diesel also just visited. During his trip he made sure to pay it forward, seen visiting a local orphanage and spending time with the kids. Iranians light candles at the Amir Kabir University in Tehran for the victims of the missile shootdown of an Ukraine International Airlines flight, on January 11, 2020. (AFP) Tehran: Iranian police dispersed students chanting radical slogans during a Saturday gathering in Tehran to honour the 176 people killed when an Ukrainian airliner was mistakenly shot down, Fars news agency reported. AFP correspondents said hundreds of students gathered early in the evening at Amir Kabir University, in downtown Tehran, to pay respects to those killed in the air disaster. The tribute later turned into an angry demonstration. The students chanted slogans denouncing "liars" and demanded the resignation and prosecution of those responsible for downing the plane and allegedly covering up the accidental action. Iran said Saturday that the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 was unintentionally shot down on Wednesday shortly after taking off from Tehran's main airport. All 176 people on board died, mostly Iranians and Canadians, many of whom were students. Fars, which is close to conservatives, said the protesting students chanted destructive and radical slogans. The news agency said some of the students tore down posters of Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian general killed on January 3 in a US drone strike on Baghdad. Fars published pictures of demonstrators gathered around a ring of candles during the tribute and a picture of a torn poster bearing the image of a smiling Soleimani. It said that police "dispersed" them as they left the university and blocked streets, causing a traffic jam. In an extremely unusual move, state television mentioned the protest, reporting that the students shouted "anti-regime" slogans. A video purportedly of the protest circulated online showing police firing tear gas at protesters and a man getting up after apparently being hit in the leg by a projectile. It was not possible to verify the location of the video, or when it was filmed. Iran's acknowledgement on Saturday that the plane had been shot down in error came after officials had for days categorically denied Western claims that it had been struck by a missile. The aerospace commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards accepted full responsibility. But Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said the missile operator acted independently, shooting down the Boeing 737 after mistaking it for a "cruise missile". Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal Overheard at the Blakes Lotaburger at the corner of Guadalupe Street and Paseo de Peralta in Santa Fe: What brings you back to New Mexico, dude? I just got a great job at LANL, but I cant find a place to live that I can afford. I hear you. Have you looked in El Rancho? From fast-food joints to the chambers of local government to Realtors offices, everyone agrees: Theres a shortage of affordable, desirable housing in northern New Mexico to serve the growing workforces of places such as Los Alamos National Laboratories and Presbyterian Espanola Hospital. Its a vexing problem in an area where families are reluctant to move after generations in the same house, there is a lack of new housing developments in key areas, and New Mexico pueblos have been asserting and winning claims over water rights and roads. Pueblo leaders, executives from LANL and its subcontractors, and representatives of local government gathered late last year at the Buffalo Thunder Conference Center to discuss the regional housing outlook and other issues facing northern New Mexico. Kelly Beierschmitt, deputy director of operations at Los Alamos National Laboratory, said then that LANL expects to hire 1,000 people over the next year while 500 employees are projected to retire. The lab will likely end the 2020 fiscal year with 12,000 employees. Historically, retiring LANL employees would sell their houses and leave the community, but increasingly they are staying put because their mortgages are paid off and because of the good quality of life, said David Horpedahl, a qualifying broker with Exit Realty in Los Alamos. Los Alamos is the safest place in the country, Horpedahl said. Nobody wants to leave. As a result, housing sales have slowed to a trickle, with lack of inventory. On Jan. 8, there were 11 homes for sale in Los Alamos County, which includes Los Alamos and White Rock. Just three were priced under $300,000. In 2019, there were just 347 houses sold in Los Alamos County and the average time spent on the market was just 17 days, according to data supplied by Horpedahl. Another reason for the housing shortage in Los Alamos County is the lack of new home construction, particularly multifamily rentals. A dearth of available land, and obstacles to building infrastructure that would connect areas of White Rock to roads leading to Santa Fe have also deterred new construction, Horpedahl said. With an abundance of wilderness surrounding Los Alamos, Horpedahl noted there has been a reluctance to build new roads or pave existing routes for fear of interfering with the pristine environment. Although Los Alamos is a safe place to live when it comes to crime, it does face threat from wildfire and the possibility of a national emergency. Horpedahl, who was active in the Los Alamos Realtors Association before it disbanded in 2018, recalls intense community opposition to the idea of building an escape route that would make it easier to leave the area. Not everyone LANL is hiring as it gears up to resume plutonium pit production for nuclear weapons can afford to live in Los Alamos, where the median home value is $300,528, according to Zillow, a housing website. Zillow estimates that Los Alamos home values rose 7.5% over the past year and predicts they will increase another 1.9% over the next year. LANL commuters At the Regional Economic Development Initiative (REDI) Summit in late November, it was estimated that 40% of LANL employees live on the mesa, while the other 60% commute from elsewhere, including the Espanola Valley, Santa Fe and even Albuquerque. The American Community Survey data recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau shows the median earnings for full-time year-round workers in Los Alamos averaged $103,879 for men and $77,533 for women during the five-year period that ended in 2018. While these salaries are much higher than in the rest of the state, they may not be enough to support a family or buy a house in Los Alamos. Los Alamos isnt the only town facing a housing shortage. At the summit, there was talk of nurses rescinding acceptance notices at Presbyterian Espanola because they cant find safe, affordable places to live in Espanola. Espanola Mayor Javier Sanchez was quite frank about some of the reputational challenges facing his city at the Buffalo Thunder conference and also about the challenges of dealing with inertia. Espanola has to be livable, said Sanchez. He said the city is facing resistance in its efforts to remove properties that have been vacant for 50 years to get rid of blight, as well in buying land for parks. Everyone thinks their property is worth a million dollars, Sanchez said. Horpedahl said there are neighborhoods in Espanola with houses built by Bradbury Stamm, New Mexicos oldest and much-respected housing contractor, that are similar to those in Los Alamos, but that people coming from out of state are reluctant to live in the city because of its reputation for drugs and its clannishness. There was a point a while back where some people were suggesting that Espanola change its name because its reputation was so bad, Horpedahl said. At the Buffalo Thunder meeting, Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber noted that housing is the No. 1 issue facing every city in the country. He estimated there is a shortfall of between 4,000 to 5,000 units in Santa Fe and that the vacancy rate for apartments is near zero. Monica Abeita, executive director of the North Central New Mexico Economic Development District, said that the various municipalities in the region must work together to solve the housing shortage. She pointed to the North Central Regional Transit District, which operates the Blue Bus, as a good example of regional cooperation. Paul Andrus, the community development director for Los Alamos County, expressed hope that an overhaul of the countys development code this year could pave the way for mixed-use zoning that would jumpstart higher-density housing projects. Here's some business news in the Missoula area: Six people will be honored at the annual Missoula Downtown Association's annual awards banquet and meeting on Jan. 16 at the DoubleTree hotel from 5-8 p.m. A total of 18 people and businesses have been nominated by their peers for the Downtown Awards. This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate those individuals who make Downtown Missoula the special place it is, said Tom Snyder, President of the MDA Board of Directors and owner of Five on Black. Our leadership appreciates the opportunity to recognize people in our community who are doing great things for the heart of Missoula. Nominees for the Downtown Employee of the Year Award are Krysta Henley of Break Espresso, Randy Krastel from the Missoula Police Department, and Mark Thompson from Wordens Market. Nominees for the Downtown Volunteer of the Year Award are Julie Maloney of Morrison Mairle Systems, Dan Maronick of ATTIC, and Holley Bootsma of Quality Shelter Companies. Nominees for the MDA Board Member of the Year are Ellen Buchanan of the Missoula Redevelopment Agency, Josh Eder of S.G. Long, and Bob McGowan from the Rocky Mountain School of Photography. Nominees for the Downtown Committee Member of the Year Award are Ashley Cossairt of Run Wild Missoula, Emy Scherrer with the Missoula Historic Preservation Commission, Jimmy Grant from Historical Research Associates, and Chase Jones, City of Missoula Energy Conservation Coordinator. Nominees for the Downtown Business of the Year Award are ATG Cognizant, Basal, and MCAT. Dee-O-Gee, a Bozeman pet products and dog grooming company, has opened a store in Missoula. The old Go Fetch! location at 3275 N Reserve St. in the Grant Creek Town Center has new local owners, Doug and Alison Best, and has been converted to a Dee-O-Gee. Dee-O-Gee started in Bozeman in 2008 and now has five locations across Montana. The company is expanding into Colorado in 2020. Dee-O-Gee offers holistic pet foods, natural supplements, toys and treats, and professional dog grooming. Territorial-Landworks, Inc., a Montana-based civil engineering firm, has joined IMEG Corp., a national full-service engineering firm with more than 40 U.S. locations. Territorial Landworks was formed in 2007. The civil engineering, surveying and land use consulting company specializes in public and private sector land use and community development projects throughout Montana, eastern Washington, and western North Dakota. "We are extremely pleased to welcome Territorial-Landworks into our company," said IMEG President/CEO Paul VanDuyne. By blending both firms civil expertise with IMEGs full-service engineering portfolio, we create a strong synergy for future growth throughout the mountain states and Pacific Northwest, allowing us to leverage a broader base of market and technical expertise. Territorial-Landworks Principal and CEO Jason Rice said his firm is looking forward to beginning the new year as part of IMEG. We are excited to move into this next chapter of our firms growth, expanding our breadth of services, he said. This merger brings together decades of experience, enhances our passion for delivering quality work, and allows us to continue developing strong client relationships across Montana and beyond. The firm joined IMEG Dec. 31, 2019, and is doing business as Territorial-Landworks, now IMEG. It will continue to operate out of its locations in Missoula, Kalispell and Billings. IMEG operates additional Montana offices in Billings and Bozeman. Gov. Steve Bullock this week awarded $320,000 in funding to support the growth of 25 Native American-owned businesses across Montana through the Indian Equity Fund Small Business Grant program. Encouraging the growth of Native American-owned and operated businesses boosts not only the businesses themselves, but also helps strengthen local economies in the communities they operate in, Bullock said in a statement. Indian Equity Fund dollars are an important investment in the future of businesses and tribal communities across Montana. Each business will receive between $7,000 and $14,000 to help with costs related to land purchases, building, equipment, assets, technology, operational costs, and working capital. The Indian Equity Fund builds partnerships with tribal governments by investing in Native American entrepreneurship and small businesses, and encouraging economic development in tribal nations for the benefit of tribal communities and members, according to Bullock's office. The following businesses in western Montana will receive grants through the Indian Equity Fund: Blackfeet Nation Leaning Tree Campground, Cabins, Cafe and Store, Doug Fitzgerald (Babb) Hometown Dollar Store, Ellen Burdeau (Browning) OC Welding, Jonilee Running Fisher (East Glacier) Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Hunter Towing and Hauling, Richard Hunter (Ronan) Lawn Snowbusters, Helen White Quills (Ronan) Water People Tours, Keya Birdsbill-Camel (Ronan) You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Haimarrow Food Service union members hold a rally in front of their company headquarters in Seoul, Tuesday, calling for job security and collective bargaining. / Courtesy of Haimarrow Food Service labor union Labor dispute reminiscent of TRG-BHC union conflict in 2018 By Park Jae-hyuk The intensifying conflict between KL & Partners and the union of Haimarrow Food Service, the operator of fast food franchise Mom's Touch, might have been "deja vu" for market observers who remember the severe dispute between The Rohatyn Group (TRG) and the BHC union that made headlines in 2018. Industry officials said Thursday the ongoing dispute surrounding the hamburger franchiser is feared to weigh on the relatively new local private equity firm (PEF) which is pushing ahead with the largest buyout deal in its four-year history. Founded in June 2015 by former finance ministry official Kim Ki-hyun, who had worked at STIC Investment and EastBridge Partners, KL & Partners having 108 billion won ($93 million) in assets under management made investments in six companies and exited two of them. In November 2019, the domestic PEF came under the spotlight as it agreed with Haimarrow Chairman Chung Hyun-sik to take over the Mom's Touch operator for 190 billion won. Mom's Touch, which had 1,226 franchised restaurants as of September 2019, is one of the country's top two hamburger franchise brands along with Lotteria. After the agreement, KL & Partners appointed executive director Park Sung-mook as Haimarrow's executive vice president in charge of the company's management. The takeover, however, is facing a severe backlash from the burger franchiser's workers who have been concerned about layoffs which could be carried out by the new owner. The workers therefore organized a union Dec. 3 and began collective action, calling for job security through collective bargaining. Eleven franchisees also wrote on a statement that it was hard for them to imagine win-win cooperation with the new management appointed by the PEF which is supposed to pursue "profit maximization." "It is obvious that the PEF will immediately cut costs and focus on maximization of the enterprise value for its exit in the future," the franchisees said. The Haimarrow union and its franchisees are similar to those of BHC, who continued their protest against TRG throughout the five years of the U.S. PEF's management. When it sought for an exit from the Korean fried chicken franchise in 2018, TRG also faced a severe backlash from the BHC union and franchisees who were concerned about job security and the shifting of operating costs onto them. The U.S. PEF eventually sold the franchise to BHC Chairman Park Hyun-jong for 500 billion won through a management buyout, something quite rare in the Korean M&A market. Back then, TRG spun off a team from its Korean unit to finance Park in his acquisition. According to industry officials, KL & Partners will follow suit if it fails to improve its relationship with the union and franchisees. "It has been usual for workers in Korean companies to protest against PEFs that acquired their firms," an industry official said on condition of anonymity. "However, actions by employees are influential for companies dealing with consumer goods, such as food and beverages, because their actions can affect a brand's image." Against this backdrop, Haimarrow's management promised job security to its employees. "We need to create opportunities through aggressive investments, rather than downsizing the company through cost reductions and restructuring," its executive vice president said in an email to employees. "Employees have always been our company's top priority, and we promise to create a labor environment that allows all our staff do their work without worries." Carrots and sweet potatoes have been dropped from the air to help wallabies in a fire-ravaged region in Australia. Thousands of kilograms of food has been delivered to the animals in Operation Rock Wallaby, according to the minister for energy and environment for New South Wales. Matt Kean shared an image of a person throwing carrots from a helicopter, explaining that the vegetable and sweet potatoes have made up most of the provisions given to the animals affected by the bushfires sweeping the region. Under a picture of a wallaby nibbling on a carrot, the minister said: One happy customer. New South Wales, whose National Parks and Wildlife Service led the efforts to feed its local brush-tailed rock wallaby population, has been one of the worst-hit regions by wildfires. Animals rescued during Australia fires Show all 25 1 /25 Animals rescued during Australia fires Animals rescued during Australia fires Wildlife rescuer Simon Adamczyk is seen with a koala rescued at a burning forest near Cape Borda on Kangaroo Island, southwest of Adelaide AAP Image/Reuters Animals rescued during Australia fires Rural Fire Service volunteer firefighter Pat Smith pouring water onto a possum's feet with burns from fires on the outskirts of the town of Tumbarumba in New South Wales Greenpeace Australia-Pacific/AFP Animals rescued during Australia fires Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education volunteer and carer Tracy Dodd holds a kangaroo with burnt feet pads after being rescued from bushfires in Australia's Blue Mountains area Reuters Animals rescued during Australia fires Grey-headed Flying Fox bats prepared for a feeding at the Uralla, Australia, home of Jackie Maisey, a volunteer with Northern Tableands Wildlife Carers. The bats are swaddled in flannel wraps similar to those being made by thousands of crafters worldwide who are using their sewing, knitting and crocheting skills to make items for wildlife injured in the Australian brush fires Jackie Maisey/AP Animals rescued during Australia fires Sara Tilling takes care of a young injured Kangaroo which she and her partner Gary Henderson are nursing back to health in Cobargo EPA Animals rescued during Australia fires Humane Society International Crisis Response Specialist, Kelly Donithan holds a baby Koala she just rescued on Kangaroo Island AFP via Getty Images Animals rescued during Australia fires Tracy Burgess holds a severely burnt brushtail possum Reuters Animals rescued during Australia fires Fire-impacted, orphaned pouch-rescued Eastern Grey Kangaroo joeys are seen at the property of WIRES Carers Kevin and Lorita Clapson in East Lynne, South of Sydney EPA Animals rescued during Australia fires A koala receives water from a cyclist during a severe heatwave that hit the region, in Adelaide Instagram/BIKEBUG2019 via Reuters Animals rescued during Australia fires An orphaned Flying-Fox is fed at the property of WIRES Mid-South Coast Bat Coordinator, Janet Jones, in Tuross Head EPA Animals rescued during Australia fires Humane Society International Crisis Response Specialist, Kelly Donithan checks an injured Koala she had just rescued on Kangaroo Island AFP via Getty Animals rescued during Australia fires A wallabie eating a carrot dropped by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife services over the bushfire affected areas along the South Coast for wallabies NSW National Parks and Wildlife Services Animals rescued during Australia fires A dehydrated and injured Koala receives treatment at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital AFP via Getty Animals rescued during Australia fires Gary Henderson holds the young injured kangaroo he and his partner are nursing back to health EPA Animals rescued during Australia fires A koala drinks water offered from a bottle by a firefighter during bushfires in Cudlee Creek, south Australia Oakbank Balhannah CFS via Reuters Animals rescued during Australia fires WIRES Mid South Coast wombat coordinator Tony De La Fosse with two orphaned pouch-rescued Wombats at his property in Malua Bay EPA Animals rescued during Australia fires Qantas, an orphaned Eastern Grey Kangaroo joey whose feet were burned in recent bushfires, is held by WIRES Carer Kevin Clapson at his property in East Lynne EPA Animals rescued during Australia fires Various completed animal pouches for animals affected by Australia bushfires hang on clothing racks in Regents Park, Queensland Kim Simeon via Reuters Animals rescued during Australia fires An orphaned pouch-rescued Eastern Grey Kangaroo joey hangs in a makeshift pouch at the property of WIRES EPA Animals rescued during Australia fires A rescued koala injured in a bushfire in Kangaroo Island, South Australia Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park/AP Animals rescued during Australia fires WIRES Mid-South Coast Bat Coordinator Janet Jones weighs a rescued Grey-Headed Flying-Fox at her home in Tuross Head EPA Animals rescued during Australia fires A weary kangaroo shelters on a patch of green grass surrounded by burnt bushland along the Princes Highway near in Milton Reuters Animals rescued during Australia fires Various animal wraps for bats affected by bushfires Simone Watts via Reuters Animals rescued during Australia fires A staff member moving a rescued koala to a temporary shelter at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney Taronga Zoo/AFP via Getty Animals rescued during Australia fires A kangaroo jumps in a field amidst smoke from a bushfire in Snowy Valley AFP via Getty Images Millions of acres of land in Australia has been torched by blazes since September, endangering animals and destroying their food sources. One billion animals are estimated to have died in Australias most devastating wildfire season on record, with conservationists even warning entire species could have been wiped out. Chris Dickman, a University of Sydney professor, has estimated that 800 million animals may have been killed in New South Wales alone. Twenty-eight people have been killed and thousands of homes have been destroyed in the blazes. Over 100 fires burned in New South Wales on Sunday. Scott Morrison, the Australian prime minister, said in a weekend interview that he could have interacted with members of the public affected by fires better, after a spate of tense encounters saw people heckling the PM and refusing the shake his hand. He has faced criticism for his handing of the crisis, such as holidaying in Hawaii while fires raged and defending Australias coal industry in the wake of criticism over the governments climate change policies. . Additional reporting by Reuters Every Thursday morning, Lisia Colegrove, a home health aide with North Country Home Services, begins her shift by preparing a cup of coffee for her client, Thomas Wells. Shell spend the next couple of hours doing light housekeeping, laundry and helping Wells get in and out of the shower. Shell also check on his two dogs, Angel and Digger, and make sure that Wells is keeping up with his medications and has everything he needs, including his emergency alert device and an adequate supply of oxygen. Occasionally shell take him to a doctors appointment. Shell make him breakfast: fried eggs, bacon and toast. Like many older residents in the Adirondacks, Wells, a 69-year-old former farm hand and machine operator who lives in Willsboro, relies on aides like Colegrove to assist with basic home care services. He has visits three days a week for two and a half hours each day. Without it theres a good chance Wells, who has a number of chronic health issues, would end up in a nursing home or the emergency room. Asked how he managed before connecting with North Country Home Services (NCHS), Wells said, I got by. But it was tough. In many ways Wells is lucky. An increasing number of elderly residents in the region are unable to get the care they need because of a severe shortage of those willing to do the work. Even as the number of home health aides has declined, the elderly population in the Adirondacks is growing. By 2030, according to data from the New York State Office for the Aging, more than a third of most Adirondack counties will be over the age of 60. Whatever is happening today in 2019, if you look at the aging demographic, particularly here in the Adirondacks, the number of people who are going to need home care is only going to increase, said Donna Beal, executive director of Mercy Care for the Adirondacks, a nonprofit in Lake Placid that trains friendship volunteers to work with seniors. Whatever problem we have today, unless theres a solution, is going to get much, much worse. Home health aides provide a range of services from basic personal care, including housekeeping and cooking or grocery shopping, to more advanced support for clients who need assistance bathing and using the toilet. People are dying at home Colegrove, a 40-year-old mother of five who lives in the Town of Lewis, has been doing home health care work off and on for 20 years. She finds it rewarding and its clear that her presence alone offers comfort to Wells, who lives alone, no longer drives and is unable to leave his home without assistance. If elderly residents do not receive the services they need, theres a much greater likelihood that they will end up needing costlier acute care. People are dying at home without services and supports because they cant get what they need, said Becky Preve director of the Franklin County Office for the Aging. The decline in home health aides paints a troubling picture. According to Becky Leahy, executive director of NCHS, the number of aides working for her agency in the Adirondacksthe largest provider in the regionhas dropped dramatically over the past decade from about 350 in 2010 to just over 200 today. Every week Leahy says there are between 700 and 1,000 hours of authorized care that go unfilled due to the worker shortage. In one case, a 96-year-old woman in Tupper Lake has been authorized to receive 20 hours of personal care through Franklin County. That was in 2017. Two years later, she has still not received an hour of care. State and local officials have been sounding the alarm about the North Country home health care crisis for years. In 2015 Franklin County Office for the Aging, the New York StateWide Senior Action Council, and Mercy Care for the Adirondacks launched a campaign to raise awareness about the issue. According to Beal, Mercy Cares executive director, theyve been successful in defining the problem and getting the word out. This has had some tangible results. Last year the New York Legislature devoted significantly more resources to counties for home health care services. The state not only put up $15 million for in-home servicesthe largest amount in two decadesbut also changed the funding formula so that allocation of money is based on unmet needs at the local level rather than the number of elderly residents in any particular county. This gives county Offices for the Aging a bigger piece of the pie and more discretion over how they spend the money. In Franklin County, for example, the increased funding has allowed the Office for the Aging to cluster services where needed and enlist family members and friends as aides, significantly reducing the number of individuals on the wait list, which was more than 100. But increased funding for services doesnt solve the larger conundrum of how to rebuild the home health care workforce, which is seen as essential to meeting the needs of an aging population. A variety of factors have contributed to the decline in the number of aides in the region and across the state. Low pay and the difficulty of the work itself are often cited as the primary drivers. Home health aides typically receive between $12 and $14 an hour, depending on experience, and must have their own vehicle. Around 2010 a change in Medicaid reimbursement rates had a devastating impact on the home health care industry. At one point, Medicaid rates were frozen and New York instituted a 2% cut in reimbursement funds for home care visits even as costs were increasing. According to Leahy NCHS was no longer able to give out even modest raises or seniority bonuses to its employees. Eventually the agency was forced to close its Tupper Lake office, no longer offer incentives and even discontinue paying mileage to aides who often drive hundreds of miles a week to see their clients. In 2015 they lost 40 aides in one month alone Leahy says. A rural problem In addition to low wages, the work itself can be emotionally and physically taxing. Aides are often thrust into the middle of challenging family dynamics and must help clients with bathing and toileting, not something everyone is willing to do. Attracting young workers who can get the same hourly rate in the service industry or manufacturing has led to a further decline in the workforce. It takes a very special type of person to be in peoples homes and deal with situations that arent always pleasing to be in, said Preve. The Adirondacks are not unique: Rural and urban counties across the country are grappling with the challenges of caring for the aging population. But the geographic isolation of much of the park and limited access to resources, including health care, can pose additional problems. Beal says the advocacy groups that have devoted time and resources to raising awareness about the home health care crisis are now turning their attention to possible solutions. In early November, Mercy Care hosted an educational forum at Paul Smiths College with representatives of Catholic Health Buffalo and the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, which has embarked on a new initiative aimed at increasing retention of certified nursing assistants and home healthcare workers. With $20 million in grant funding, Catholic Health, the Cleveland Clinic and Ascension Michigan are participating in a pilot program called THRIVE designed to address the decline in home health care workers. Although the program is in its infancy, Beal says some of the ideas could be adopted here in the Adirondacks. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. This is really hopeful because for the first time were seeing some potential solutions, Beal says. Mercy Care itself has become a statewide model for how nonprofits can help to meet some of the needs of an aging population. Founded in 2007 by Sisters of Mercy, the organization trains volunteers and pairs them with elderly residents who need basic care or companionship. Mercy Care now has more than 100 volunteers in the Tri-Lakes, one of the most underserved in the park, and has become an important advocate for home health care workers and the push for inclusive, age-friendly communities. In addition Mercy Care is working with other towns in the park to help them develop their own community friends volunteer programs. A government solution Preve says the home health care industry will likely be one of the fastest growing employment sectors in the state in the coming years. She sees this as an opportunity: If the state can provide the financial support and benefits to home health workers those individuals will in turn help to boost the local economies of the towns and communities they live in. NCHS recently raised its starting hourly wage and has started to pay those who take part in the agencys three to five week training session. And if state funding continues to increase as it did this past year, counties will be able to expand the services that they offer. HCR Home Care, a private-service provider based in Plattsburgh, currently has 20 aides and could easily double that number to meet the needs of Essex, Franklin, and Clinton counties. The wait list is growing, said Melinda Clark, HCRs case manager. We need to pull in more aides in order to staff the amount of referrals I currently have. But Preve says any long term solution will have to involve offering enhanced Medicaid reimbursement rates for home health care services in rural areas so that aides can earn a livable salary and the profession is able to reverse the decline of the last decade. The solution really needs to come from the government in the form of an enhanced rate, Preve says. The rate right now just isnt sufficient to retain workers. Meanwhile the home healthcare workforce itself is aging out; many current aides have worked in the field for more than 20 years. Auretta Laribee, 57, from Crown Point joined NCHS 24 years ago and before that did similar work for the county and also worked in a nursing home. She has eight or nine clients, typically works nine- to 10-hour days, and drives close to 300 miles a week to see her clients. But Laribee says she wouldnt trade the work for anything else. She finds it deeply rewarding and believes that clients benefit from being able to stay at home as they get older. If they stay home, they bloom, she says. If they go into a nursing home, forget it. Laribee had one client for 14 years. The client had multiple sclerosis, lived alone, and couldnt walk or get out of bed on her own. Toward the end of her life, Laribee was visiting four times day. She was family, Laribee said. And I know were supposed not to do that but you know what, when youre with somebody that long youre family. On Sunday, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi made it clear that the Centre would not make any changes in the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019. He called upon the Opposition and said that 'there is no rethinking on' CAA. Stressing that the law had been passed by both Houses of Parliament, he opined that it was mandatory for all state governments, including Jammu and Kashmir to implement the CAA without any pre-conditions. Read: At Meeting, Mamata Banerjee Tells PM Modi "we're Against CAA, NPR & NRC"; Claims Assurance No going back on #CAA, govt firm on it: Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 12, 2020 Read: Mamata Banerjee Skips Kolkata Port Trust Event, Minutes After PM Modis Appeal Over CAA Mamata Banerjee's refusal to implement the CAA Naqvis statement comes in the wake of West Bengal Mamata Banerjees meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday. She directly informed him that the state government was against the CAA, the National Register of Citizens and the National Population Register. Moreover, she requested him to repeal the CAA. Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee remarked, "I told him (PM Modi) that you are my guest here but still I would say that we are against CAA, NRC, and NPR. There's nationwide agitation going on against it and we are a part of it. We don't want anyone to lose their citizenship and no one should face any form of atrocity. I requested him to rethink on CAA and NRC and told him that we want them to be repealed. Read: Meenakshi Lekhi Slams Mamata For Opposing CAA; Says, 'Don't Create Hindrance To Centre' What is the CAA? The law seeks to provide citizenship to the minority communities namely Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. This will be applicable to the members of these communities having arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014. Moreover, they will not be considered as illegal migrants. Additionally, the mandatory residence period for naturalised citizenship for these communities would be reduced to 5 years. The opposition contends that the Bill discriminates on the basis of religion, which might go against Article 14, which guarantees the right to equality. Read: PM Modi Addresses Youth From Belur Math, Appeals Them To Not Get Misguided Over CAA UK's Defence Secretary Says Britain Must 'Diversify its Assets' to Reduce Military Dependence on US Sputnik News 03:37 12.01.2020(updated 03:43 12.01.2020) The minister apparently fears that if Washington actually reduces its military presence around the world, the burden will rest on other states, including Britain, particularly in the tense regional security environment of the Middle East. Britain's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace says the UK must invest in military hardware to reduce dependence on the United States, The Sunday Times reported on Saturday. "I worry if the United States withdraws from its leadership around the world, that would be bad for the world and bad for us. We plan for the worst and hope for the best. We are very dependent on American air cover and American intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets. We need to diversify our assets", Wallace said in an interview with the newspapaper. Wallace pointed out that US President Donald Trump has already taken some steps towards reducing the American military presence in the Middle East and replacing it with NATO's capabilities. Due to Britain's high involvement in the North Atlantic alliance and the large contingent of military forces it deploys around the world in general, Wallace expressed concern that if Trump fulfills his promises to put "an end to these endless wars" and diminishes the US presence in conflict regions, the main burden will lie with London and other allies. "Over the last year we've had the US pullout from Syria, the statement by Donald Trump on Iraq where he said NATO should take over and do more in the Middle East." In his Wednesday's address to the nation, President Trump said he would ask NATO to boost its involvement in the process in the Middle East. Prior to that, the US announced the withdrawal of its troops from Syria, just before Turkish President Erdogan launched its Peace Spring offensive in the north-eastern part of the country. The United States has also repeatedly urged its NATO allies to increase their investments in the military alliance, calling for equal "burden-sharing". A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address She is used to turning heads on nights out with her killer sense of style. And Imogen Thomas did not disappoint when she stepped out on Saturday night for dinner with pals at the Onima restaurant in Mayfair, London. The star, 37, drew attention to her enviable hourglass curves in the fitted denim mini dress with a zipped front. Glam: Imogen Thomas, 37, did not disappoint when she stepped out on Saturday night with friends for dinner at Onima restaurant in Mayfair, London The Welsh beauty, who is mother to Ariana, six, and Siera, three, teased a glimpse of her cleavage in the denim number. She paired the laid back dress with a pair of black thigh-high boots which upped the glamour ante and oozed sex appeal. The Big Brother star styled her chestnut tresses with a natural wave which fell above her shoulders as she stepped out for the evening. She kept her accessories to a minimum, with a small quilted Gucci bag slung over her shoulder and a collection of gold bracelets on her wrist including a Cartier Love bangle. Turning heads: She drew attention to her enviable hourglass curves in the fitted denim mini dress that featured a zip up the front After finding fame on Big Brother in 2006, Imogen modelled and launched her own swimwear brand, Chasing Summer, in 2015 after she struggled to find bikinis and costumes to fit her curves. But in April, Imogen revealed she has closed her swimsuit business after 'losing motivation' for the venture in the wake of her split from her ex Adam. She said: 'The past 11 months has been the most challenging time of my life. Becoming a single parent has changed me as a person.' Up close: The Welsh beauty, who is mother to Ariana, six, and Siera, three, teased a glimpse of her cleavage in the denim number 'When my relationship broke down so did my aspirations for my business.' 'My motivation has not returned so after thinking hard this year I've decided it's time to say goodbye to Chasing Summer.' 'It's been a great few years but my priorities now lie with my two beautiful girls and I simply just do not have the time and energy that the business needs.' The Ukrainian Boeing 737 that crashed in Tehran on Jan. 7 was accidentally downed by missile-defense interceptor, according to Hassan Rouhani, Irans president. He called it a disastrous mistake. As Quartz reports, US and Canadian governments had already said their intelligence agencies and space missile detection systems pointed to a Russian-made air defense missile operated by the Iranian military as the cause of Flight 752s destruction. Media outlets had published videos taken in Tehran that night which appear to show a flying object colliding with the aircraft. The accidental destruction of the aircraft and the deaths of the 176 people onboard highlight the challenges of managing an undeclared conflict fought with high-tech weapons, and the increasing danger presented to civilians by the spread of missile technology. That terrorist groups have obtained man-operated air defense missiles like the Stinger has worried national security analysts for years, but comparatively less attention has been paid to the spread of more elaborate air defense systems with longer ranges and complex sensor packages. While airliners rarely fly over explicit war zones, the rise of gray zone conflicts like the Middle East proxy war between the United States and Iran lead to scenarios where civilian jets pass near territories where unreliable air defense systems are on high alert. In this case, Iran had just launched a barrage of ballistic missiles against US forces in Iraq, and its defenses were likely on high alert for a potential response. US intelligence sources have claimed that Iran also fired on civilian airliners by mistake, luckily missing, during another period of high tension in 2007 and 2008. Still, American military officials were surprised that Iranian forces mistook a civilian airliner departing from Tehran for an inbound enemy aircraft or missile, given its speed, heading and the fact that civilian airliners operate on schedules and broadcast their identities on public radio channels. But such mistakes are hardly unknown in busy airspace where the military relies on remote sensors to identify targets. This week, many recalled the 1988 incident when a US Navy destroyer shot down Iran Air Flight 655 using a surface to air missile after sailors mistook it for a jet fighter. The United States ultimately apologized for the incident and paid the families of the victims a $62 million settlement. In 2001, Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 strayed too close to Ukrainian-Russian air defense exercises and was shot down by an S-200 long-range anti-aircraft missile launched by the Ukrainian Air Force, killing all 78 people onboard. More recently, in 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down while flying over Ukraine. Independent analysts assembled evidence that it was destroyed by a Russian-built air defense missile, supporting a Russian-backed insurgency against the central government in Kiev. To this day, its not clear if the aircraft was downed by mistake or as an act of terror. Sophisticated air defense systems are getting cheaper and more powerful, and smaller countries purchasing them from manufacturers like Russia or the United States may not have the level of training needed to operate them effectively. Air defense analysts wonder if automated systems in the Iranian air defense systems may have triggered the missile that brought down Flight 752. Iran says it was at least in part, human. Human error at time of crisis, Irans Foreign Minister wrote on Twitter led to disaster. Even highly-trained operators of air defense systems make mistakes. During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, US air defenses destroyed two coalition planes with friendly fire, a British Tornado fighter-bomber and an American F-18. In a third incident, a US Patriot missile battery locked onto an American F-16, causing the fighters pilot to launch a radar-seeking missile of his own that destroyed the battery. The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, began his first 2020 press conference with the following words: The New Year has begun with our world in turmoil. We are living in dangerous times. Geopolitical tensions are at their highest level this century. His words brought me back to my January 2014 visit to the provincial city of Kerman in Iran, of which I mostly remember Kermans famous cardamom flavoured Kolompeh pastry. The contrast with the huge crowd mourning Major General Soleimani in Kerman this January 2020 is staggering. The contrast mirrors developments in United States (US) Iran relations. In January 2014, Iran was preparing to sign the Joint-Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), already rolling back some of its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief from US and EU sanctions. In January 2020, the United States (US) and Iran stood at the precipice of war following the dramatic storming of the US Embassy in Baghdad on New Years Eve by supporters of Iranian-backed Iraqi paramilitary groups, the targeted assassination of Soleimani by an American unarmed drone in Baghdad on 03 January, and the retaliatory missile strikes on US bases in Syria and Iraq on 08 January. Although the immediate threat to international peace and security seems to have subsided at the time of writing and tensions have thawed, three additional facets of this geopolitical cataclysm severely undermined international law, global governance, and International Cooperation. First, a day after the assassination of Soleimani and in response to Iran contemplating retaliation, Donald Trump threatened via tweet that in preparation the US targeted 52 Iranian sites some at a very high level & important to Iran & Iranian culture. This threat immediately sparked global condemnation given that targeting cultural heritage sites is prohibited by a host of international agreements signed in the Hague and Geneva, which are a cornerstone of the laws of armed conflict. In 2017, the United Nations Security Council passed unanimously a resolution condemning the deliberate destruction of cultural heritage and unequivocally labelled it as a war crime. Even if Trump backed down a couple days later, such threats reject international legal norms, weakening global efforts to limit civilian suffering and societal destruction during warfare. Second, as part of an immediate response to the assassination, Tehran announced on 05 January that it was ending its commitment to the 2015 JCPoA limit for the enrichment of uranium. The unilateral exit by the US from the Nuclear Deal in 2018 already marked a nadir for international anti-nuclear proliferation efforts, but this decision renders the nuclear deal all but irrelevant. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell made a valiant attempt to salvage what remains of the JCPoA by stressing that it is the only place where we can sit together with the Russians and Chinese to talk on a multilateral basis about many risks that we are facing. But given the difficult position of European Union Member States, there is only very limited diplomatic space to incentivise Iran to refrain from seeking nuclear arms. As such, global anti-nuclear proliferation governance has been dealt a serious blow, further weakening common global responses to this existential threat. Third, on Monday 06 January, it also became known that the Trump administration is refusing to grant the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Javad Zarif a visa to the US to address the Security Council during its 09 January meeting. This is in violation of the terms of the 1947 US-UN agreement that requires Washington to permit foreign officials into the country to conduct UN business. As former UN assistant secretary-general for legal affairs Larry Johnson clarifies: any foreign minister is entitled to address the Security Council at any time and the US is obligated to provide access to the UN headquarters district. Refusing Zarifs visa is part of a broader effort to politicise the granting of visas for diplomats from countries deemed hostile to US interests. UN representatives from China, Cuba, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Russia, and Syria have indicated to the UN that they experience increasingly restrictive limitations. Denying their ability to participate in the UN severely undermines the contemporary foundation of multilateralism and international cooperation. So-far the tensions have already cost the lives of the 176 civilians aboard the Ukrainian passenger jet shot down above Tehran by the Iranian military due the heightened tensions, but If military escalation returns war could break out across the Middle East. This could cost the lives of tens of millions of individuals and further undermine international law, global governance, and international cooperation. The US needs to dismantle its militarized hegemony and cease its increasingly despotic use of coercive power while Iran needs to refrain from retaliation and the spinning up its Uranium centrifuges. Sustained diplomatic pressure from both US and Iranian allies will be crucial. In his New Year message, the UN Secretary-General was clear and simple about what is to be done: Stop escalation. Exercise maximum restraint. Re-start dialogue. Renew international cooperation. The alternative would entail violence on a horrific scale and potentially existential run-away nuclear proliferation risks. SAN ANTONIO (AP) Marcus Larsson scored 19 points, Keaston added 18, including a go-ahead free throw, and Incarnate Word beat New Orleans 73-70 on Saturday to end a four-game skid. Willis' go-ahead free throw put the Cardinals up 71-70 with 23 seconds left and Vincent Miszkiewicz hit two more from the foul line before Gerral Gates' 3-point try at the buzzer missed. Drew Lutz scored 17 points and made seven assists and Miszkiewicz grabbed nine rebounds for the Cardinals (4-11, 1-3 Southland Conference). Gates scored 13 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Privateers (5-11, 1-5). Bryson Robinson scored 17 points and Troy Green had 15. Incarnate Word takes on McNeese State on the road on Wednesday. New Orleans plays Houston Baptist on the road on Wednesday. ___ For more AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25 ___ Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com Mounting a strong defence of the new citizenship law, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the dispute that has arisen over it has made the world take notice of the persecution of minorities in Pakistan, which now has to answer for its 'acts of oppression'. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks at Belur Math in Howrah district. Photograph: Press Information Bureau of India Modi deplored that a section of the youth is being 'misguided' over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which is aimed at giving and not taking away anybody's citizenship. "Had we not amended the citizenship law, this 'vivaad' (dispute) would not have arisen. Had this dispute not arisen, the world would not have known the kind of atrocities that were perpetrated on the (religious) minorities in Pakistan. "....how human rights have been violated. How the lives of our sisters and daughters were ruined. It's the result of our initiative that Pakistan will have to answer for its acts of oppression against the minorities there," he told a gathering at Belur Math, the headquarters of Ramakrishna Mission. Soon after Modi had left the premises, the monastic order distanced itself from his speech, saying it is an apolitical organisation where people of all religious faiths live like "brothers of same parents". "Ramakrishna Mission will not comment on PM's speech. We are strictly an apolitical body. We cannot comment on the PM's speech on CAA. We have come here after leaving our homes to answer to eternal call. We do not respond to ephemeral call," Ramakrishna Math and Mission general secretary Swami Suvirananda, told reporters. "We are above politics. To us Narendra Modi is the leader of India and Mamata Banerjee is the leader of West Bengal," he said, adding "we are inclusive as an organisation which has monks from Hindu, Islam, Christian (faiths). We live like more than brothers of same parents". As Modi addressed the gathering, activists of the Congress and the Left continued their protest on the second day of his Kolkata visit, notwithstanding his repeated clarification that the new citizenship law will not adversely impact any Indian citizen. The protesters sat overnight at Esplanade in the heart of the city, carrying placards that read 'Modi go back' and 'Down with BJP'. Waving black flags and chanting anti-Modi slogans, protesters also collected outside Netaji Indoor Stadium where Modi addressed a function to mark 150 years of Kolkata Port Trust and renamed it after Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee. They were quickly bundled into police vehicles and whisked away. IMAGE: Protesters raise slogans during a demonstration against Modi's visit to in Kolkata, on Sunday. Photograph: Swapan Mahapatra/PTI Photo West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was not present at any of the programmes of Modi on Sunday. She had met him at Raj Bhavan as a 'courtesy call' on Saturday before joining an anti-CAA protest close by. However, she shared the dais with the prime minister at a light and sound programme of the port trust Saturday evening. "The CAA is not about taking away citizenship, it is about giving citizenship. Today, on National Youth Day, I would like to tell this to the youth of India, West Bengal, North East that this is not an overnight law for giving citizenship. "We must all know that any person of any religion from any country of the world, theist or atheist, who believes in India and its Constitution, can apply for Indian citizenship through due process. There's no problem in that," he told the gathering at Belur Math. In his speech, Modi invoked Mahatma Gandhi and said even the Father of the Nation had favoured Indian citizenship for those fleeing religious persecution and that his government has only delivered on the wishes of freedom fighters. Referring to anti-CAA protests in the North-East, Modi vowed to protect the distinct identity and culture of the people of the region, and asserted the new law will not hurt their interests. "We've only done what Mahatma Gandhi had said decades ago. Should we send these refugees back to die? Are they our responsibility or not? Should we make them our citizens or not?" he said, evoking a thunderous applause by the gathering. Modi said some people with political interests are deliberately spreading rumours about the new citizenship law, despite 'complete clarity' over the CAA. Seeking to assuage the concerns of the people of the North-East, Modi called the region 'our pride'. "Their culture, traditions and demography remain untouched by this amended law," he said. He said the citizenship law was only 'changed a little' for those who were ill-treated in Pakistan after Partition. "They were having a bitter time living there. Women were in danger of losing their pride. Young people have understood the whole thing but those who want to indulge in politics over it will not," he said. Modi said five years ago, there was disappointment among the youth of the country, but the situation has changed now. "Not just India, the entire world has a lot of expectations from the youth of the country. The youth are not afraid of challenges....they challenge the challenges," he told the gathering at Belur Math, the abode of Swami Vivekananda for several years until his death in 1902, aged 39 years. Modi, an ardent devotee of Vivekananda, spent the night at the Math. He has a long association with the Ramakrishna Mission order founded by Vivekananda in 1897. Inspired by the teachings of Vivekananda, Modi had arrived at the Mission Ashram in Gujarat's Rajkot and expressed the desire to join the order. Swami Atmasthananda, who later went on to become the 15th president of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, then headed the Rajkot branch and had advised him that sanyas (asceticism) was not for him and that he should work among people. During those days, Modi used to regularly meet Atmasthananda and sought his spiritual guidance. Although Modi went back after spending some time there, his the relationship with the Swami and Ramakrishna Mission continued. On Sunday, the prime minister paid tributes to Swami Vivekananda on his birth anniversary, which is celebrated as the National Youth Day, and spent some time in the spiritual leader's room in quietude. For the past 17 years, the United States has maintained a military presence in Iraq. On Friday, Iraq's prime minister asked the United States to send a delegation to discuss a mechanism for withdrawing U.S. troops. In response, the U.S. State Department said it was ready to "recommit to our strategic partnership - not to discuss troop withdrawal." More so than at any point since the rise of the Islamic State in 2014, foreign troop presence in Iraq is now in question. Iranian-backed militias and politicians want U.S. troops to leave to strengthen Iran's influence, and many anti-government protesters, who have been filling Iraq's streets for months, want both the United States and Iran out to overhaul the corrupt and sectarian political system set up after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Analysts warn that this impasse will only strengthen the remnants of the Islamic State, which the United States says its troops are on the ground to combat. Friday's back-and-forth between Washington and Baghdad came one week after the United States killed Iran's top military strategist, Qasem Soleimani, in a drone strike in Iraq - a move that brought Iran and the United States to the brink of war and renewed calls for the removal of U.S. forces. The United States has faced the drawdown debate before, and in 2011, President Barack Obama withdrew most U.S. troops, only to redeploy some starting in 2014 to fight the Islamic State. With withdrawal once again on the table, here's a look at some crucial moments for U.S. troops in the course of America's military presence in Iraq. - - - March 20, 2003: U.S.-led forces invade Iraq Tens of thousands of U.S. troops deployed to Iraq for the battle to oust the country's leader, Saddam Hussein. By April, U.S. forces had captured Baghdad, the capital. - - - May 1, 2003: Bush declares "Mission accomplished" in Iraq It wasn't. Between the start of the war and President George W. Bush's declaration, 138 U.S. troops were killed in military operations in Iraq, according to Reuters. In the months that followed, political grievances erupted into sectarian insurgencies across the country as Sunni and Shiite militias fought for power among themselves and against occupying U.S. troops. Iraqi civilians bore the brunt of the deaths and destruction. - - - April 2004: Images released of U.S. soldiers abusing and torturing prisoners at Abu Ghraib The photos - which "showed U.S. troops celebrating as prisoners were sexually humiliated and otherwise abused" - caused outrage around the world. Eleven U.S. soldiers pleaded or were found guilty of abusing detainees at the prison. - - - Sept. 7, 2004: U.S. military deaths in Iraq surpass 1,000 The grim milestone came as the Pentagon reported that Iraqi insurgents controlled key parts of central Iraq. - - - Nov. 7, 2004: The U.S.-backed battle for Fallujah begins Thousands of troops participated in the subsequent fighting. U.S. and Iraqi operations to retake the city were the costliest and most intense in the Iraq War period from 2003 to 2011. - - - Oct. 26, 2005: Number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq surpasses 2,000 The Washington Post reported at the time: "Since the March 2003 invasion and quick march to take Baghdad, U.S. troops have been dying at about 800 a year, with most killed in action by crude but powerful roadside bombs and in firefights against an unrelenting insurgency. More than 90 percent of the deaths have come after President Bush declared an end to 'major combat operations' on May 1, 2003." - - - Dec. 31, 2006: Death toll of U.S. military personnel surpasses 3,000 That same month, Saddam Hussein was put to death, after being captured by U.S. forces and tried by an Iraqi court. A Pentagon study from 2006 concluded that U.S. troops were losing the war. - - - Jan. 10, 2007: Bush announces troop surge Facing heavy casualties and criticisms, Bush announced a fundamental shift in war tactics: a major troop buildup, or "surge," which initially entailed the deployment of 21,500 more U.S. troops to support the embattled Iraqi government. By June, the troop buildup was complete, with around 170,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq marking the height of the surge. - - - April to June 2007: Deadliest quarter yet According to Reuters, 331 U.S. soldiers were killed in the three-month period. - - - Sept. 16, 2007: Blackwater kills 17 Iraqi civilians Guards with the private security company opened fire on civilians while accompanying a diplomatic convoy in western Baghdad. The event put a spotlight on the use of Western private security companies in the Iraq War, a sector not included in official troop counts. - - - March 28, 2008: Death toll of U.S. military personnel in Iraq exceeds 4,000 Most of the last 1,000 soldiers killed had been the victims of improvised roadside bombs, according to the New York Times. - - - Sept. 1, 2008: U.S. troops return control of Anbar province to Iraqi forces It was a major milestone in the war, as the area had been the epicenter of the Sunni insurgency. - - - Nov. 17, 2008: Iraqi parliament ratifies timeline for U.S. troop withdrawal The agreement stipulated that U.S. troops had to leave most Iraqi cities by summer 2009 and entirely pull out of Iraq by the end of 2011. - - - Feb. 27, 2009: Obama announces troop withdrawal by August 2010 The newly elected U.S. president said he planned to end combat operations by summer 2010, at which point around 50,000 troops would remain in the country to train Iraqi forces. - - - June 30, 2009: All U.S. combat troops leave Iraq's urban centers The deadline for U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraqi cities coincided with Iraq's National Sovereignty Day. - - - Aug. 31, 2010: Obama declares end to seven-year combat mission in Iraq 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. After the major drawdown, 49,700 troops remained in the country. - - - Dec. 15, 2011: United States announces formal end to military mission in Iraq The formal announcement that all troops would leave by the end of 2011 came after Washington and Baghdad failed to agree on a deal to govern U.S. deployments. Iraqi and U.S. officials did agree on 700 U.S. trainers staying on to work with Iraqi forces. Overall, more than 1 million U.S. troops had served in Iraq since 2003. - - - June 15, 2014: Obama sends first troops to Iraq to fight ISIS A small number of U.S. personnel had remained in Iraq in the intermittent years. That changed after the rise of the self-declared Islamic State, which seized large swaths of Iraq and Syria by 2014. While insisting that the United States would not be part of combat operations, Obama announced that he was sending around 275 troops to aid Iraq's battle against the group. That number soon rose to 800 - and kept climbing in the months and years that followed. U.S. officials, however, remained cagey about the exact numbers of troops deployed. In August, the U.S.-led coalition began airstrikes against the Islamic State. - - - October 2015: First U.S. soldier killed in Iraq since the resumption of combat missions By December 2015, there were 3,500 U.S. service members in Iraq. - - - April 18, 2016: Number of U.S. forces rises to around 5,000 Pentagon officials said there were 4,087 troops in Iraq. Analysts estimated that the number was closer to 5,000 when including military personnel guarding diplomatic outposts and waiting to rotate out. - - - Dec. 9, 2017: Iraq declares victory over the Islamic State Iraq's prime minister had declared victory in July after U.S.-backed Iraqi forces retook Mosul, concluding a bloody nine-month battle. During the three years of fighting, Iraqi and U.S. forces found themselves almost back where they had been a decade before: fighting Sunni insurgents - this time in the form of the Islamic State - for control of places such as Mosul, Anbar and Fallujah that had also been major battlegrounds in the mid-2000s. - - - Dec. 27, 2019: American contractor killed in Iraq At the end of 2019, more than 5,000 U.S. troops (in addition to contractors and subcontractors) remained in Iraq to help local forces contain the Islamic State and act as a counterweight to Iran's influence in the region. To cap off the year, an Iranian-backed militia, Kataib Hezbollah, fired rockets at an Iraqi base housing U.S. troops, killing a U.S. contractor. The death of Nawres Hamid, an Iraqi American, set off a deadly wave of events: a U.S. reprisal attack on Kataib Hezbollah; Iran-backed militias storming the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad in response; the U.S. killing of Soleimani; and Iran's decision to respond by firing ballistic missiles at U.S. forces in Iraq. - - - Jan. 10, 2020: Baghdad asks for pullout plan After President Donald Trump's decision to kill Soleimani, the future of the U.S. military presence in Iraq is once again an open question. Haitians on Sunday paid somber tribute to the thousands who died in the devastating earthquake of January 12, 2010, as grief mixed with bitterness over failed reconstruction efforts and continuing political instability. Thousands of Haitians flowed into churches for masses celebrated in the memory of the dead. President Jovenel Moise, accompanied by members of his government and in the presence of foreign diplomats, placed a floral wreath at a memorial to quake victims at the site, just outside capital Port-au-Prince, where thousands were buried in mass graves. After the quake struck, Moise said, "We ate together, we slept together, we cried together, we prayed together." But now, he added, "hatred and discord have filled our hearts ... Today we need that solidarity, that unity." Moise's appearance drew a small number of anti-government protesters, a reminder of the deep and widespread resentment over the failures of both the government and international aid groups since the devastating quake struck 10 years ago. Over 35 agonizingly long seconds on that fateful day, a magnitude-7 quake transformed much of Port-au-Prince and the nearby cities of Gressier, Leogane and Jacmel into dusty ruins, killing more than 200,000 and injuring some 300,000 others. More than a million and a half Haitians were left homeless, leaving island authorities and the international humanitarian community with a colossal challenge in a country lacking either a land registry or building codes. "It's a lost decade, totally lost," Haitian economist Kesner Pharel told AFP. "The capital has not been rebuilt, but our poor governance is not the exclusive responsibility of the local authorities; at the international level we have not seen a mechanism for managing aid that would allow the country to benefit." The billions of dollars promised by international donors in the weeks after the catastrophe seem to have vanished with little to show for them, fueling the bitterness of survivors who live today exposed to the same dangers as existed before the quake. - 'Back to square one' - "Ten years later, we see an even greater concentration of people in the metropolitan area," Pharel said. "If we were to have a quake of the same magnitude, the results would be the same." "The country was never rebuilt, and we're back to square one." The quake destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes, as well as administrative buildings and schools, not to mention 60 percent of Haiti's health-care system. The rebuilding of the country's main hospital remains incomplete, and non-governmental organizations struggle to make up for the state's many deficiencies. "After the quake, we saw a big influx of trauma cases because there was an enormous number of injuries. What we see today is that we had to reopen a trauma center but ... more than 50 percent of the injured we see now are gunshot victims," said Sandra Lamarque, chief of mission for Doctors Without Borders in Haiti. Japan's ambassador to Haiti, Mitsuaki Mizuno, underlined the challenge facing foreign groups trying to help Haiti. "For a good and efficient cooperation, we need security and political stability," he said. "Some Japanese companies came here and sometimes they have been threatened by gangs. We need security to do better." - Gripped by protest - Haiti meantime has been gripped by a severe socio-political crisis that has partly overshadowed efforts at properly mourning the dead. In the summer of 2018, corruption scandals implicating Moise and every post-quake government provoked a sharp backlash, mobilizing young protesters -- more than half the country is younger than 30 -- who live with little prospect for employment in a country marked by growing insecurity amid frequent clashes between armed gangs. Anti-government demonstrations paralyzed daily life across much of Haiti from September to December of last year. Moise used his remarks Sunday to again call his political opponents to engage in dialogue, saying the past decade of trouble and instability had "certainly caused more damage to our economy, and done greater harm to our society, than the earthquake." Yet, the state's weaknesses, on display for the world to see since the earthquake, have only grown worse: National Assembly elections due in November were simply not held, meaning the mandate of the lower chamber expires Monday. With no functioning legislature, Moise, who is reviled not only by his political opponents but by a large part of the civilian population, will now have the ability to govern by decree. "The past 10 years have been the toughest years for Haiti, politically, economically," entrepreneur Magalie Dresse told AFP, "and I think that people have a sense of lost hope ... The international community no longer has Haiti on their radar." But for those who have stuck with Haiti, she had a message: "We want to build with them. It's no longer about assistance, it's about ... how do we envision the future." President Jovenel Moise laid flowers on January 12, 2020 at the mass grave where many victims of Haiti's devastating 2010 earthquake are buried Protesters shouted anti-government slogans outside the mass graveyard, near Port-au-Prince, where many victims of Haiti's 2010 earthquake are buried A guard keeps watch near a commemorative ceremony at the mass graveyard near Haitian capital Port-au-Prince where many earthquake victims are buried This photo shows Boulva Verly, 42, walking with crutches on the streets of Croix des Bouquets; he lost a leg in the 2010 quake, making him one of 300,000 Haitians to be injured WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The opioid addiction crisis has hit Ohio with its full weight. Among many awful consequences, it has exposed flaws in the criminal justice system when it comes to handling drug addiction. Its time for state lawmakers to fix that. As of 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported more than 5,000 overdose deaths in Ohio. That was more than twice the national average, and at 46.3 deaths per 100,000 people, the second highest in the country. Thousands more suffer from substance-use disorders and need treatment but have not received it. Treating people who are sick and addicted to drugs as if they are criminals locking them up and tagging them with serious criminal convictions, rather than treatment is not helping. Grover Norquist is president of Americans for Tax Reform. Fortunately for Ohioans, they have a state government controlled by Republicans. While it may come as a surprise to some, Republican-led states have been leading on criminal justice reform. States like Utah, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Louisiana have enacted sentencing reforms and changes aimed at diverting people suffering from addiction toward treatment, rather than simply punishment. Republican leadership in the Ohio legislature is working to build on these successes with Senate Bill 3. The bill, sponsored by state Sen. John Eklund, is a conservative, smart-on-crime reform of drug sentencing laws to reduce recidivism and control costs. SB 3 will differentiate between criminal traffickers who prey upon communities, and addicts who need more effective treatment. There will be more avenues for addicts to receive that needed treatment, while high-level traffickers will receive the harsh penalties they deserve. Possession of very small quantities of marijuana would no longer be a crime, and small amounts would trigger a minor misdemeanor charge. Additionally, by opening up expungement to people who have already been convicted of low-level possession, SB 3 will help those who have shown they can stay on the straight-and-narrow improve their career prospects, and contribute more to Ohios economy and their communities. Beyond restoring the lives of those struggling with substance abuse issues, SB 3 will address the waste of taxpayer dollars on costly prison beds that do nothing to address addiction. Ohio spends $76 per day, or almost $28,000 per year, per prisoner, according to state data from last June. One-in-three of those individuals will return to prison within three years. Ohios taxpayers are throwing good money after bad. The state is in good company in these efforts. Just about a year ago, President Donald Trump made history by signing the First Step Act into law the most comprehensive federal criminal justice reform legislation in decades. Both parties in Ohios congressional delegation were critical to its passage, providing unanimous support. And Ohio voters agree, with 87 percent of Ohioans across the political spectrum strongly supporting reducing prison time for low-level offenders, and 84 percent agreeing judges should divert people caught with small amounts of drugs into treatment, rather than prison. That is not to say punishment or jail is never called for. In fact, it can be a vital tactic to hold someone who is abusing drugs in detention for a short period of time to save them from overdose. Senate Bill 3 unlike the failed, overly aggressive State Issue 1 in Ohio in 2018 does not interfere with this tactic. If our goal is to create more criminals and fail to improve the overdose crisis, then we should continue to throw people battling addiction into prison. But if we want to create safer neighborhoods, then offer treatment and rehabilitation instead. Now its up to Gov. Mike DeWine and legislators in Ohio from both parties to keep that momentum going. The time to act is now: Pass Senate Bill 3, provide a path to rehabilitation to thousands, and do whats best for Ohios families and taxpayers. Grover Norquist is president of Americans for Tax Reform. ************************************ Have something to say about this topic? Use the comments to share your thoughts. Then, stay informed when readers reply to your comments by using the Follow option at the top of the comments, and look for updates via the small blue bell in the lower right as you look at more stories on cleveland.com. NSW's National Parks and Wildlife Service staff prepare to air-drop supplies in wildfire-stricken areas, in Newnes, Wollemi National Park, Australia, on Jan. 10, 2020. (NSW DPIE Environment, Energy and Science/Handout via Reuters) Australian PM Proposes High-Powered Inquiry Into Wildfires Response MELBOURNEAfter weeks of criticism over the handling of the wildfires scorching Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday he will propose a national review into the response to the disaster, as the fires claimed another firefighters life. The Australian bush has been burning for nearly three months and the fires have killed 28 people, claimed 2,000 homes, and consumed millions of acres of land and wildlife. The crisis is becoming increasingly political as the country looks at the causes and the governments response. There is obviously a need for a national review of the response, Morrison said in an interview with ABC television. Asked whether it should be a Royal Commission, a powerful judicial inquiry, Morrison said, I think that is what would be necessary and I will be taking a proposal through the cabinet to that end, but it must be done with consultations with the states and territories. Morrison said that the inquiry would examine the response to the crisis, including the deployment of emergency services to battle the fires at a state and local level, the role of the federal government, and the impact of climate change. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks during a press conference on the governments wildfire response at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Jan. 5, 2020. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch via Reuters) Wildfires are common during Australias summer months, but this fire season started unusually early, often moving quickly and unpredictably, and leaving swaths of the drought-stricken land a scorched earth. Cooler weather conditions over the weekend have brought a temporary respite, but a firefighter died on duty in Victoria, where new flames sparked. Authorities said the risk was far from over and more hot weather is expected. Smoke again sheathed Sydney on Sunday, almost a new normal for the countrys biggest city, moving the air quality into hazardous territory, according to the NSW Department of Primary Industry index. A wallaby eats a carrot after NSWs National Parks and Wildlife Service staff air-dropped them in wildfire-stricken areas around Wollemi and Yengo National Parks, New South Wales, Australia, on Jan. 11, 2020. (NSW DPIE Environment, Energy and Science/Handout via Reuters) Facing increasing pressure to do more to tackle climate change, Morrison, who has so far been defiant in rejecting any links between his governments conservative climate policies and the wildfires, said his government will look into improving its performance on curbing emissions. We want to reduce emissions and do the best job we possibly can and get better and better and better at it, he said. I want to do that with a balanced policy which recognizes Australias broader national economic interests and social interest. Morrison rejected criticism that his government had not done enough before the wildfire season started, but he admitted that once the fires started, some responses could have been different. There are things I could have handled on the ground much better, he said. These are sensitive environments, there are very emotional environments; prime ministers are flesh and blood too in how they engage with people. A burnt bicycle lies on the ground in front of a house recently destroyed by wildfires on the outskirts of the town of Bargo in Sydney, Australia, on Dec. 21, 2019. (David Gray/Getty Images) Opposition leader Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that the federal government should have acted earlier to address the disaster. The fact is that bushfires dont recognize state and territory boundaries, Albanese told reporters, according to a transcript provided by his media office. And nor should the need for national leadership. NSWs National Parks and Wildlife Service staff load carrots and sweet potatoes to air-drop for animals in wildfire-stricken areas, in Wollemi National Park, Australia, on Jan. 10, 2020. (NSW DPIE Environment, Energy and Science/Handout via Reuters) Here are key events in the crisis: Since October, thousands of Australians have been subjected to repeat evacuations as huge and unpredictable fires scorched more than 10.3 million hectares (25.5 million acres), an area roughly the size of South Korea. Across New South Wales, 111 fires were still burning on Sunday, 40 of them not yet contained, but none at emergency level. More than 2,000 homes have been destroyed in the state. A number of fires burning in the Snowy Mountains region in New South Wales and across into Victoria have merged across more than 600,000 hectares (1.5 million acres) of land. They do not pose a threat, authorities say, despite being in an area hard to reach. The government said on Sunday more mental health support services will be provided to firefighters, emergency personnel, individuals and communities. The government is providing A$76 million ($52 million) in areas including counseling and healthcare consultations. Western Australia Department of Fire and Emergency Services said on Sunday an out of control and unpredictable fire that is moving slowly in the states south, poses a possible threat to lives and homes in the area. South Australia said on Sunday that more than 32,000 livestock animals, mostly sheep, have died in recent fires on Kangaroo Island, while fire services are working to strengthen containment lines ahead of expected worsening weather conditions on Monday. Thousands of Australians took to the streets on Friday to protest against government inaction on climate change, and were supported by protesters in London. Australias wildfires have dwarfed other recent catastrophic blazes, with its burnt terrain more than twice the extent of that ravaged by 2019 fires in Brazil, California, and Indonesia combined. Westpac estimated total wildfire losses to date at about A$5 billion, higher than the 2009 wildfires in Victoria but smaller than the Queensland floods in 2010/11. It forecast a hit of 0.2 percent to 0.5 percent on gross domestic product. Australias alpine resorts have dusted off winter snowmaking machines to blast ice-cold water onto dry ski slopes. The Insurance Council of Australia increased to more than A$900 million its estimate of damage claims from the fires, and they are expected to jump further. Morrison has pledged A$2 billion to a newly created National Bushfire Recovery Agency. About 100 firefighters from the United States and Canada are helping, with another 140 expected in coming weeks. The New Zealand Defense Force said on Friday it was sending more health personnel, boosting its support for Australia, which had already included helicopters, aircraft, and crew. The fires have emitted 400 megatons of carbon dioxide and produced harmful pollutants, the European Unions Copernicus monitoring program said. Smoke has drifted across the Pacific, affecting cities in South America, and may have reached the Antarctic, the U.N.s World Meteorological Organization said. ($1 = 1.4491 Australian dollars) By Lidia Kelly A Seoul court is set to review its ruling over former South Korean president Park Geun-hye, who was impeached in March 2017 in a bribery case. The former South Korean president was handed a prison term of 25 years along with a fine of 20 billion South Korean won after she was found guilty of crimes ranging from bribery to coercion and abuse of power, Yonhap news agency reported. The court is going to start the retrial on Wednesday, after the country's top court ordered for review in the case, citing procedural issues. Park, South Korea's first female leader, was charged for forcing big conglomerates, including Samsung, to donate 77.4 billion won to two foundations under the former's control. She also became the first president to be impeached when she was evicted from office and was arrested on corruption charges. In December 2016, Park was impeached by the National Assembly after the scam was unearthed. Subsequently, a Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment, thereby removing her from power in March 2017. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ajay Kanth By Express News Service KOCHI: Now that the 19-storey Holy Faith H2O apartment at Maradu here has been razed to the ground, the apartment owners have decided to take over the possession of the land and mount pressure on the government to remove debris from the land at the earliest. From H2O Residents Association, the owners have changed their status to H2O Landowners Association to decide the future course of action. We have registered a new association titled H2O Landowners Association as we are still the owners of the land. The title of the land measuring 1.5 acre is still in the name of the owners, said Shamsudheen Karunagapally, who was president of H2O Residents Association. The Supreme Court order had only specified about the illegal construction on the land and the government demolished it as per the court order. The land is ours and the government cannot stake claim to it. The compensation given is for the building which has been demolished and not for the land. The government has no claim over the land. The government has not acquired the land from us, Shamsudheen added. Jayakumar Vallikkavu, who had an apartment at H2O, said the landowners association had decided to put up a temporary construction at the plot after the removal of the debris. The remnants of Holy Faith H2O apartment which was razed to the ground through controlled implosion | ALBIN MATHEW We will take over our land and the association will call a meeting of the landowners to chalk out a plan. We will even apply for a new building permit based on the new rules specified under the Coastal Regulation Zone, he said. Binoj Chennat, another owner, said the association will now start procedures to construct a temporary building and some of the owners will also move into the building. Though the apartment owners are claiming that the land belongs to them, there is confusion regarding ownership as a few government officers are of the view that the land will automatically come under the control of the government. Officers say the payment of Rs 25 lakh compensation as per the SC order has nullified the claim of owners over the land. Further course of action A day after Indian Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane's statement on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Congress party has made a jibe on him. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Sunday has advised the army chief to "talk less, work more". However, this is not the first time that the Congress party has targeted the army and the army chief. Party's senior leaders like P Chidambaram and son of late Congress bigwig Sheila Dikshit has insulted the forces in the past. @ New Army Chief, Parliament already had adopted unanimous resolution on #POK in 1994, Govt is at liberty to take action and may give direction. If you are so inclined to take action on POK, I would suggest you to confabulate with CDS, and @PMOIndia. Talk Less, Work More Adhir Chowdhury (@adhirrcinc) January 12, 2020 READ | Pakistan rattled; tweets after COAS Naravane's 'Will get PoK if Parliament says' remark Sandeep Dikshit insults forces Sandeep Dikshit had on December 27 stated that more than half of our police force is corrupt. He also said that organisations hide their dirty secrets behind nationalistic slogans. He further accused the police of hiding corruption with nationalism and betraying their oath and pledge to the Indian Constitution. Earlier in July, 2017, Dikshit had triggered a controversy by saying that Army chief General Bipin Rawat was making public statements like he is a sadak ka gunda. Following criticism, he later apologised and withdrew his remarks. CONFRONTED: Cong's Sandeep Dikshit unapologetic after 'Police is corrupt' remark Chidambaram insults former COAS Gen Bipin Rawat Speaking at a protest rally on December 28, against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), former Union Minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday targeted the army chief. He has said that army chief should not issue political statements and interfere in politics. He also made a sharp remark saying that army chief General Bipin Rawat should mind his own business. "It s a shame that DGP and Army General are being asked to support the government. Let me appeal to Genaral Rawat, you head the Army and mind your business. It's not the business of Army to tell politicians what we should do, just as it's not our business to tell you how to fight a war," he said. READ: Chidambaram issues shocking rant at Army Chief over his 'leadership' remarks COAS said 'If Parliament says, We'll Get PoK' Earlier in the day, General Naravane made a huge statement regarding Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) stating that if the Parliament orders for the Army to reintegrate PoK, then the Army will accordingly follow the direction. While addressing the Army's annual news briefing, Naravane stated that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) can be part of India as stated by the political leadership. "There is a parliamentary resolution that entire J&K is part of India. If Parliament wants it, then, that area (PoK) also should belong to us. When we get orders to that effect, we'll take appropriate action," the COAS said. READ | Army Chief Makes Massive PoK Declaration, Says 'If Parliament Says, We'll Get It' A 45-year-old fuel station security man (Patrosol company), Isaiah Nnamkpa has been shot to death by some suspected armed robbers at Nasuan in the Yunyoo-Nasuan district of the North East region. The incident occurred around 9:00 pm Saturday evening after some gunmen stormed the fuel station 'to rob the fuel station'. In the process of the operation, the pump attendant on duty, Mahama Stephen resisted and the robbers started firing their guns, forcing him to surrender. The security man for the fuel station, Isaiah heard the gunshots and rushed to the scene with his gun to protect the life of the pump attendant and he was gunned down by the robbers after a shootout. An eyewitness Emmanuel Gulary told Adom News that, the body of the security man has been sent to Nalerigu government Hospital for autopsy while the suspected robbers scrammed the scene with some amount of money. The Bunkpurugu Police Commander in charge of the district, ASP Stephen Delaport confirmed the incident to Adom News. According to him, investigations on the incident have commenced. ---Adomonline.com Brewery 26, a nanobrewery run for the past three years out of founder, owner and brewer Andy Shaws Northeast Portland garage, plans to expand by opening its first retail space next month, followed in the spring by a production brewery and second taproom. Shaw, whose Oregon Sun Hazy IPA won best beer at the 2018 Nano Beer Fest, says he has signed a lease to take over a former coffee house. The 25-seat taproom, at 5829 S.E. Powell Blvd., will be styled as a family-friendly neighborhood spot that will pour Brewery 26 beers and offer light food options such as sandwiches and small pizzas, Shaw says. The breweries closest to the South Tabor taproom would be Assembly Brewing, which opened last spring eight blocks to the south, and Hopworks Urban Brewery, which has been operating about two miles west for more than a decade. Shaw has also signed a lease to open a seven-barrel production brewery and a larger taproom in Portlands central industrial eastside. In a former produce distribution warehouse at 818 S.E. Ankeny St., the family-friendly taproom would seat about 50, and Shaw envisions food trucks in the parking lot as a culinary option. The Buckman neighborhood spot would be smack-dab in the middle of a pub-crawl corridor that has grown popular in recent years, with Mikkeller, Natian Brewery, Mt Tabor Brewing and Base Camp Brewing nearby, with yet others a bit longer walk away. Shaw says Brewery 26 beers are handled by High Road Distribution, rotating in and out of 80-100 bars, taprooms and restaurants. High Road focuses on the states small breweries and nanobreweries outfits that run on 3-barrel systems or smaller and have low annual production. High Road also sponsors the citys annual Nano Beer Fest, a showcase for the breweries. Shaw, a homebrewer, started Brewery 26 in his Cully neighborhood garage in early 2017 with a partner, and it quickly grew past the hobby state. Working a full-time job while also making beer forced Shaws partner to step away, but Shaw, who a year-and-a-half ago quit his own full-time job to focus on Brewery 26, recently added his brother-in-law, Keith Hattori, as a partner. Shaw says the Brewery 26 name is a tribute to U.S. 26, the highway that connects many of the great aspects of Oregon. In 2019, Brewery 26 produced about 150 barrels, and Shaw hopes for about 350 this year, pulling the company out of the nanobrewery category. Brewery 26 brews a wide range of styles, including IPAs, hazies, British pub styles and lagers. Our goal is to be a Portland metro brewery, Shaw said during an interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive. I dont want to grow to the size of Gigantic or Fort George (breweries), those kinds of places. I love what theyre doing, but its just more than I want to manage. Distribution in the greater Portland area with two taprooms would be just about perfect. -- Andre Meunier Subscribe to Andres text service to get alerts about beer releases and news from the Portland and Oregon beer scene. Also, check out his beer reviews on Untappd, where hes andremeunier13, and follow him on Instagram, where hes @oregonianbeerguy. More beer coverage: Labaran Maku, the National Secretary, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), has described as fake, news reports that he met with Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar, among others, to float a new political platform ahead of 2023. Mr Maku, a former minister of information, dismissed the speculation on Sunday while fielding questions from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Wakama, Akun Development Area, Nasarawa State. Mr Maku, a 2019 APGA governorship candidate in Nasarawa State, urged his supporters and other Nigerians to disregard the reports in its totality in the interest of peace. Please disregard such report. Its the fakest news of the year promoted by some frightened detractors in Nasarawa state who are scared of the widespread popularity of APGA. I havent met Asiwaju Tinubu for years and I am in APGA by choice having considered all the other options. Just last week, there was a report on Eyewitness newspaper in Nasarawa state titled 2023: Maku, Umbugadu talks on Consensus Reaches Advanced stage. Such report is fake news targeting at scattering my supporters and my well wishers. Yesterday, another report titled Tinubu, Maku, others in talks to float new party ahead 2023. That I held meeting with Tinubu, others in my country home Wakama, such report is a fake news, he said. Maku said that his traducers in Nasarawa were scared of his bright future, while calling on APGA supporters to remain firm and support the party to enable the party come victorious in future elections. The former minister also urged his supporters and other well wishers not to be provoked by the fake news but to continue to be law abiding and respect constituted authorities for development to thrive. It would be recalled that there was a report in Nasarawa Mirror and other social media platforms that the National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Tinubu, on January 10 held a closed door meeting with Mr Maku at his Wakama country home in Nasarawa State. According to the reports, immediate past president of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, Governors Nyesom Wike, Aminu Tambuwal and Bala Mohammed also attended the meeting to float a new political party ahead of the 2023 general elections. (NAN) We are retired employees with a total of over 130 cumulative years of service in Otto Bremer Banks and feel compelled to respond to the many questions we are asked in the communities about the current situation the Banks and its employees find themselves in with the Otto Bremer foundation. As a bit of history, the IRS Tax Reform Act of 1969 established that charitable foundations could not own more than 20% of a for-profit business by the deadline of 1989. This meant that the Otto Bremer Foundation must comply with the 20% ruling or sell Bremer Financial Corporation. To meet this requirement the employees were given the opportunity to invest in class A voting stock of Bremer Financial Corporation. Employees enthusiastically embraced this opportunity. This led to employees owning 80% of the class A voting stock of Bremer Financial Corporation, comprising 8% of the economic value and the Foundation retaining 100% of the non-voting B stock and only 20% of the voting stock. It was Robert Reardon who was Chairman, President, CEO of Bremer Corporation and one of the three Otto Bremer Foundation Trustees who led the effort to keep the banks under the Bremer flag. His leadership, the support of senior management, fellow trustees, much time, expense, effort, and the employees who stepped forward to embrace his plan made acceptance by the IRS a reality. We as officers were a part of this structure that kept the banks strong and the communities benefited from grants received from these earnings. In the past 30 years, over $750 million have been given to non-profit organizations in the communities that Bremer Banks serves. We as Bank employees felt a real sense of pride in working to help the trustees meet the requirements as stated in the trust document. In the years following BFC has nearly tripled their size and added many other financial services. While we realize that selling the Banks, as intended by the current trustees, may provide additional funds to meet the grant requirements we strongly believe that Mr. Bremer wanted to build strong financial institutions in the communities that Bremer Banks served. Those banks today are strong, competitive and growing the needs of the communities in a professional manner. His story says that the Bank will be committed to support its customers and meet the needs of Agriculture, Commercial Business and individuals in the community. Because of the unique structure all employees felt ownership in Mr. Bremers statement People will benefit in the communities where we serve Furthermore, we do not believe that selling the Banks is good for our communities. We feel new shareholders (venture capital companies from out east or others) would not have the same interest in our Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin customers, as our employee owners and existing Banks do today. We sincerely believe this proposed sale of BFC is completely contrary to Mr. Bremers desire and trust instrument. We continue to stand and support the employees, for the good of the Bremer customers and the communities which are served. Duaine Espegard, Gene Sipe and Ken Nelson Espegard, Sipe and Nelson served as region presidents and executive vice presidents of Bremer Financial since its inception in the early 1980s and have since retired. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Bush fires have been raging in Australia for months now. At least 25 people are dead. News about the impact on wildlife is devastating. Residents have been forced to flee to beaches or even ships offshore to find safety. But tourism officials in Australia, the world's sixth-largest country, insist that it is still open for business - and that plenty of places that have been spared are eager to welcome visitors. "Whilst bushfires continue to impact parts of Australia, many areas are unaffected and most tourism businesses are still open," Phillipa Harrison, managing director of Tourism Australia, said in a statement. "It is more important than ever that we rally around our communities and the tourism sector who may have been impacted." With that in mind, these are some questions potential visitors might have as they consider traveling to Australia. 1. Is it safe to visit Australia? As long as visitors avoid the wildfire areas - and stay aware of air quality if they have health conditions that make them especially sensitive to smoke - they should be safe. Many of the destination's most frequently visited cities are free of fires, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. And international airports are operating normally, according to tourism officials. In a statement Friday, Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham challenged misinformation online and in some media that "exaggerates the geographical reach of these tragic bushfires." "I urge people with a booking or considering travel to ensure they have the facts and don't compound the harm to tourism operators by unnecessarily staying away," he said. 2. What's the best way to stay updated about where the dangers are? Tourism Australia has an information page that shows many of the country's most popular sites for international visitors as well as their status. On Friday, it showed a partial impact in the Blue Mountains and South Coast in New South Wales; smoke haze impact in Canberra; impact in South Australia's Kangaroo Island and in East Gippsland and Upper Murray in Victoria. The site includes links to regional tourism sites for more-detailed information, as well as regional emergency or fire service sites. 3. Are cruise ships still going to Australia? Most major cruise destinations are not in dangerous areas, though five itineraries so far have been adjusted to avoid a couple of regional ports. "To date, only minor changes have been necessary to a small number of cruises visiting specific locations in south-eastern Australia," Joel Katz, Cruise Lines International Association managing director for Australasia, said in a statement. "The country's major cities and the majority of its coastline remain open to visitors and most cruises are continuing unaffected and as scheduled." He said cruise lines have been monitoring the situation closely in case other changes are needed. 4. Does Australia even want tourists right now? Absolutely. "The best way to support Australia, Australian communities, and the tourism sector is to keep visiting," Tourism Australia says on its website. "If you cannot travel to an affected area due to bushfires, one of the many ways to help includes rescheduling instead of canceling a planned trip to support the communities in the coming months." Jarryd Salem, the Sydney-based co-founder of adventure travel blog Nomadasaurus, said in an email that anyone who is considering a visit should realize that the "vast majority" of the country is unaffected by the disaster. Any potential visitors should also understand that Australia desperately needs tourism now in light of this disaster. "While certain regions will be impacted for most of the summer, there are a plethora of other destinations to explore, all as beautiful and welcoming as ever," he said. "Any potential visitors should also understand that Australia desperately needs tourism now in light of this disaster. Many communities rely heavily on tourism to boost local economies, and by choosing to visit you will help directly contribute to the recovery." Officials are thinking about the long term as well. Winchester said in his statement that the affected regions would again become safe destinations when they recover in the months or years ahead. "Australia's fire-affected areas will rebuild and I'm confident travelers from across the globe, including from the US will continue to visit, not only to support the recovery of these regions but because they will continue to be world-class tourism destinations," he said. 5. What is the U.S. government telling its citizens about travel to Australia? The U.S. Embassy in Australia warned tourists to leave the South Coast of New South Wales on Jan. 2 after local authorities ordered a "tourist leave zone." This week, the State Department raised the travel advisory for Australia to Level 2, warning Americans to "exercise increased caution" because of the fires. "Tourists should consider postponing their trip to affected areas until the danger of natural disaster has passed," the update said, adding that fires could continue through March or April. It also noted that smoke was causing poor air quality "even in areas not directly affected by bushfires." 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 Wednesday update got some negative attention in Australia, with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation describing it as a "tourism blow." Friday, an update removed some of that language for reasons that were not immediately clear. But the advisory still kept the Level 2 status and urged Americans to have evacuation plans that do not rely on assistance from the U.S. government. The message also includes links to fire and emergency services, and suggests travelers check the air quality for their destination. "Consider postponing your travel plans to areas where air quality is significantly affected by bushfire conditions," it says. 6. What can visitors do to help? The Sydney Morning Herald reports that officials are asking potential donors to send cash rather than clothes, food or other goods. The paper put together a roundup of fundraising efforts for specific needs including firefighters in New South Wales and Victoria; hunger relief; fire victims and several wildlife organizations. 7. What is life like for locals right now? Experiences are vastly different depending on where people live, of course. Some residents have lost loved ones; others have lost their homes. Even in areas like Sydney that aren't directly affected by fires, a reminder of the blaze lingers. Lindsay Buckley, a Sydney resident who wrote about the fires on her Frugal Frolicker blog, said in an email that air quality has been terrible. "Some mornings I wake up and my apartment smells like bushfire," she said. "Some days it's so hazy from the smoke you can barely see the horizon." Still, said Salem, the reality of the disaster weighs heavily on locals, even if they aren't in any danger. "Every single Australian is feeling the emotional strain of these fires, even those not directly affected by them, but it is not changing who we are as people," he wrote. "Any traveler who decides to come and support our communities in the coming months and years will be welcomed with open arms and heartfelt appreciation." A body found tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, cardboard and duct tape inside an abandoned U-Haul at a storage facility in California was identified as a 29-year-old woman who's been missing for two months. Authorities confirmed the deceased as Ashley Manning of Anaheim, whose family reported her missing in November after traveling from Texas to California. The cause of death has not been disclosed as results from a toxicology report are pending. Ashley Manning (pictured) was identified by authorities as the deceased body found wrapped in plastic wrap, duct tape and cardboard in the back of an abandoned U-Hauk truck on Wednesday According to a Facebook post from Manning's sister, the woman flew from Dallas/ Fort Worth International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport on November 13. 'We have confirmation that she made it to LAX and are working with police to pull video footage to see what car she got into an run license plates,' Taylor Manning wrote. Manning (left and right) was reported missing by her family in November after she flew from Dallas to Los Angeles on the 13th A cause of death has not yet been determined by California authorities and they have not labeled the case as a homicide After Manning was identified as the deceased, Taylor expressed her grief in a post addressing the revelation. She wrote: 'Its is with a very heavy heart that I share with everyone here that my sisters body was found on Wednesday afternoon. As a family we are trying to navigate this tragedy and this extremely hard time.' 'Hug your family members a little closer today, and please say a prayer for mine.' Taylor Manning: 'Its is with a very heavy heart that I share with everyone here that my sisters body was found on Wednesday afternoon. As a family we are trying to navigate this tragedy and this extremely hard time' U-Haul employees made the gruesome discovery on Wednesday when they found Manning's body in the back of a truck that had been rented then abandoned on a street. Police officers were summoned to the scene near Orangethorpe Avenue and State College Boulevard in Fullerton after receiving a report of a possible body found in the trunk of a U-Haul truck. The vehicle had been rented in Anaheim and never returned. Anaheim police officers are pictured on the scene Wednesday investigating the discovery of a human body inside the trunk of a U-Haul truck U-Haul workers found the body tightly wrapped in plastic, cardboard and duct tape (pictured on a stretcher) The body, of which nothing is known as this time, was taken to a crime lab to be examined U-Haul staff tracked down the missing truck to Santa Ana Canyon Road west of Gypsum Canyon in Anaheim just before 11am and towed it to a storage facility in Fullerton. When workers opened the back of the vehicle to perform an inventory of its contents, they discovered a deceased person wrapped in plastic, cardboard and duct tape, reported CBS Los Angeles. The body was so tightly packaged that it was impossible to tell the gender, race or age of the deceased, let alone his or her identity, according to Sgt. Shane Carringer, of the Anaheim Police Department. Someone had rented the truck in Anaheim and failed to return it. It was found abandoned on a street Wednesday morning U-Haul staff towed the truck to this storage facility in Fullerton, California, to perform an inventory of its contents The human remains were then loaded into a coroner's van and transported to a crime lab along with the U-Haul truck to be examined. 'We are not calling it a homicide yet,' Carringer said. 'Its obviously a suspicious death, and the circumstances in which the body was found are certainly suspicious, but were going to treat it as if it could potentially be a homicide.' Carringer noted that even if the person in the vehicle did not die as a result of a homicide, other crimes may have been committed. 'It could be something much less nefarious than a homicide,' Carringer told KTLA5. 'It could just be a natural death in which the body was disposed of or stored improperly.' Help India! By Tanoj Meshram for TwoCircles.net The Maharashtra assembly on the initiative of its speaker Mr. Nana Patole who is also an important OBC leader of the Congress in Maharashtra has passed the resolution on January 8, 2020 demanding caste census in 2021. On January 12, 2020, the Odisha state cabinet passed a resolution to conduct Caste Census in 2021. These developments have once again raised expectations of caste census activists and started the discussion about the need of caste census. It is a good time to revisit some important issues about the caste census, particularly counting of OBCs, and the implementation process of Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC). Support TwoCircles A brief history It was UPA government which had given an assurance of conducting the caste census. Congress has mostly ruled this country since 1947 but even though the need for having a caste-based census was repeatedly brought up, they never took this seriously. Both current and previous home ministers, P. Chidambaram and Rajnath Singh were against this and they expressed this not just in internal party forums and but also publicly. However, some allies of the Congress government demanded that caste census be conducted before the 2011 census of India and social organizations have been demanding this for a long time. In the first caste-based census which happened in 1911 it was found that in this country the so called upper castes are in a minority and those who are currently called Bahujans (in those times they were called non-Brahman, Untouchables, Adivasis) are in majority. Around the same time, there was a movement for universal adult franchise going on in Europe. And in 1917 when the Montague-Chelmsford reforms for gradual devolution of power came there was a realization that if universal adult franchise was implemented prevailing upper caste identity and politics may be insufficient for generating consensus to support leadership from those communities. It was around this time that the term Hindu started being used more frequently and in a widespread manner. Thus, we find that the caste census of that time established who is a majority and who is minority and forced the so called upper castes to switch to majoritarian Hindu identity. V D Savarkars Essentials of Hindutva which inspired this new found identity movement was written around 1921-22 and published in 1923. The importance of a caste census Literature at the international level about the relationship of identity and census says there that a census plays an important role in construction of social reality and collective identities (like that of OBCs in India) in the same way that a map is essential to understand the geography of a nation. Dr. Ambedkar in his article From Millions to Fractions had also emphasized the importance of the caste census. Census is important for two reasons. Firstly in helping people to organize politically. When people realize that there is strength in numbers, that their collective identity is being recognized, that their existence is getting recognition this has a very significant impact. On the basis of this social movements can be created. In the current census scheme the OBCs are not getting this recognition. Secondly it is important for evidence-based policy making. This is a big problem in India because any data which is collected, with the exception of NSSO data, one does not find caste a variable in that data. In the US that health data is available in terms of race; you can find out whether more black people are dying than white people in the hospitals. In India, SC/STs who are admitted to hospitals may be having a higher mortality rate but you cant find out about this because no such data is available. Caste as a variable is not captured in Indias accounting system. If caste is a defining parameter of Indian social structure, then it becomes very important that the caste variable is captured in every database in India. Opposition to Caste Census There are two objections to conducting a caste census. The theoretical objection is that the caste-based census will divide the society on the basis of caste. In many US universities data is made publicly available on the racial composition of the faculty as well as students as well in governmental agencies. Since 1950, the SC/STs are being identified in the census but there is no evidence that this is leading to casteism in society. The second objection is that there are technical problems with conducting a caste census such as there are too many castes and communities. When Dr. Ambedkar had first placed the demand for universal adult franchise at the Round Table conference one of the objections to agreeing to his proposal of universal adult franchise was that it would be a logistical challenge as the number of people to be included as voters was very high. And he had replied that if we agree in principle that every human being has the right to self-govern, to determine who will rule them, then we have to overcome any difficulties in its implementation. This means that if one agrees in principle that something is important, then the technical issues with getting it implemented need to be overcome. 2013 Socio-Economic Caste Census A False Hope The 2013 Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) started by the UPA government and was supported by many OBC leaders such as Lalu Prasad Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Sharad Yadav, and DMK leaders did not even have a coding category for OBC although there were established methods for capturing this information similar to those used to document SC/ST status. Even after completion of this survey the guidelines prepared under the direction of UPA Home Minister P. Chidambaram explicitly prohibit making religion and caste/tribe information public. The SECC survey itself was conducted very poorly with a reported 8 crore errors of which the government claimed to fix 6.7 crore errors, the current official government position is that the data will be published after all errors are fixed Procedural errors where enumerators were not provided OBC caste lists also resulted in documentation of 46 lakh caste, sub-castes, surnames and gotras which are now supposed to sorted into caste categories. Finally, India has a Census Act of 1948 but the SECC conducted in 2011 did not happen according to the Census Act but more as a voluntary disclosure of information and had very few guidelines. The reluctance of ruling establishment can be gauged by media reports that when the SECC data was shown to some senior ministry officials they were startled by the lower than expected numbers of upper castes and tried to prevent its disclosure to the public. Proportion and Participation RTI inquiries have found that in central ministries there are only 12% percent OBCs; in the DOPT (Department of Personnel and Training), the ministry which takes care of all the appointments of the central government there is 13% SC, 4% ST, and 7% OBC representation. In the Presidents Secretariat, there is not a single OBC even today. And the UPSC the institution responsible for free and fair selection of civil servants, has only 9 percent OBCs (out of a total of 650 officials). OBCs comprise about 52% of population based on the Mandal Commission data calculated from 1931 census; the NSSO claims it is 46 percent. When these facts come out in the public domain there will be a comparison done about the percentage of population vs. representation as well as comparative welfare of these social groups. Discontent among the affected people is bound to increase, people will organize, a movement of social change may gather steam. In a democracy if the ruling class does not possess constitutional morality as stated by Dr. Ambedkar then citizens creating pressure on governments will make them comply. This is one of the biggest challenges for the conducting caste based census. The 2011 census has already been conducted and the next is in 2021. The demand for caste census was raised in 2010 but at that time government said it is too late to do anything. For caste census to happen a movement for this demand would need to be present along with follow up with political assurances such as through the Committee on Parliamentary Assurances. This issue of caste census is a very important one because it is about the social reality and the constitutional right of a large section of people to be recognised as a social category. The author is former civil servant, social activist and a doctoral candidate in social policy at Brandeis University, USA. http://iihs.co.in/iihs-people/team/tanojkumar-meshram/ Trump Hails 'Brave' Iranian Protesters, Warns Tehran 'World Is Watching' By RFE/RL January 11, 2020 WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump expressed support for "brave" Iranian protesters and warned the government that the "world is watching" as demonstrators took to the streets of Tehran to express anger after Iran admitted it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian airliner. "To the brave, long-suffering people of Iran: I've stood with you since the beginning of my Presidency, and my Administration will continue to stand with you. We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage," he wrote on Twitter on January 11 in English and Farsi. He added that Tehran "must allow human rights groups to monitor and report facts from the ground on the ongoing protests by the Iranian people." "There cannot be another massacre of peaceful protesters, nor an internet shutdown. The world is watching," he added, referring to a previous round of antigovernment protests in November and December that saw more than 300 people killed and a shutdown of the Internet. Trump's comments came as hundreds of protesters gathered outside a university in Tehran and other parts of the capital to call for justice and to demand that government leaders step down. Protests also broke out in Isfahan, Hamadan, Sari, Rasht, and Babol, according to posts on social media. "Resignation is not enough," protesters chanted in front of Tehran's Amir Kabir University while demanding a trial for those responsible for the Janaury 3 downing of a Ukrainian airliner that killed all 176 people on board. Amateur videos posted on social media also showed protesters chanting "dishonorable" in an apparent reference to Iranian authorities, who finally admitted after days of denials that a missile fired by its forces caused the crash. Iran's semiofficial Fars news agency said some of the protesters ripped up photos of Major General Qasem Soleimani, the powerful head of the elite foreign arm of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps who was assassinated by the United States on January 3. Fars estimated the protesters numbered between 700 and 1,000. Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) website posted a video claiming to show tear gas being used to break up the protests in Tehran. Iran early on January 11 admitted that its military "unintentionally" shot down a Ukrainian airliner outside of Tehran. The military said the plane was mistaken for a "hostile target" after it turned toward a "sensitive military center" of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). It added that the military was at its "highest level of readiness" amid raised tensions with the United States. The government said those responsible for the tragedy would be brought to justice. Although admitting its forces shot down the plane, Iran attempted to put some of the blame on the United States, with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif saying the incident occurred "at a time of crisis caused by U.S. adventurism." "A sad day. Preliminary conclusions of internal investigation by Armed Forces: Human error at time of crisis caused by U.S. adventurism led to disaster," Zarif wrote on Twitter. Amirali Hajizadeh, head of the aerospace division of the (IRGC), said on January 11 that his unit accepts "full responsibility" for the tragedy. Until the admission, Tehran had vehemently denied allegations by Western leaders and experts that evidence indicated an Iranian missile had brought down the plane. The Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight was en route to Kyiv from Tehran on January 8 carrying at least 57 Canadians, 82 Iranians, 10 Swedes, 10 Afghans, three Germans, and three Britons. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his country expects a full probe and compensation from Iran. "We expect from Iran assurances of their readiness for a full and open investigation, bringing those responsible to justice, the return of the bodies of the dead, the payment of compensation, official apologies through diplomatic channels," Zelensky said on January 11. Zelenskiy spoke later in the day by phone with Iranian President Hassan Rohani. Zelenskiy's office said Rohani apologized for the tragedy and promised that those responsible would be held accountable. The two also discussed Iranian compensation to the victims, the office said. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-hails- iranian-protesters-warns-tehran-world- watching-ukraine-plane/30372164.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 MAG Development, the real estate arm of the MAG Holding Group, has confirmed that all of its current and future projects and plans will be in line with the UAEs year of getting ready for the next 50 years plan in 2020. MAG Development is adopting a long-term strategy based on innovation and creativity to set new standards of development and modernisation in the UAE real estate sector as one of the pillars of the country's economic diversification strategy. That will put in practice by providing exceptional ideas, quality projects and innovative and unprecedented methods of payment in the market. The Mag City project, located in the city of Mohammed bin Rashid in the Maidan District 7, the cornerstone of which was recently laid, is one of the most important of these current projects that are in line with the vision of the wise leadership of the new UAE 50 years plan . The project, with investments of about Dh2 billion ($400 million), is expected to be completed between 2022 and 2024. In November, the company launched its innovative programme "Naam Dubai", with a package of facilities and easy payment choices that allow customers to own homes that suit their needs and their ability to meet obligations. The Naam Dubai programme included attractive payment plans up to 24 years, fully compatible with the requirements of the market. The various aspects of the programme were well-studied to ensure social and financial sustainability, and put them up with effective service fees and rewarding returns. Talal Moafak Al-Gaddah, senior executive vice president of MAG Development, said: Getting ready for the next 50 years represents a major platform from which the United Arab Emirates aims to enhance its competitiveness in all economic sectors, to commence a new era the goal of which is leadership and exclusivity regionally and internationally. MAG development is committed, as part of its long-term strategy, to keep pace with the rapid and continuous development movement within the UAE. Al-Gaddah added that the new 50 years plan is the largest catalyst for all UAE economic sectors and is one of the most important reasons why (Mag Development) is successful, due to the country's openness to the highest international standards with the construction and urbanization movement .That strengthened the company's ability to grow and succeed. The UAE is our state, our community and our school in the fields of economy and global relations. The visions of late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed, may Allah bless them, are the basis of our success. Al-Gaddah noted that MAG Group, the parent company of MAG Development, is considered one of the UAE oldest companies that has its roots in the history of the country. It started its activities in the seventies of the last century by participating actively in the formation of UAE honourable present and eagerly looks forward to participating strongly in a brighter future. He pointed out that the new Mag City project is a new addition to the real estate market in the region that may enhance the competitiveness of the Emirate of Dubai .The project aims at opening new markets by attracting new categories of buyers and expanding the targeted group of investors. It embraces a model city with integrated services and facilities designed to provide a sustainable social environment for the residents .It reduces the need to move to secure living requirements. The project was designed according to latest standards that ensure the best use of the spaces and reduce the cost of service fees and operational costs, which enhances the investment returns for our customers, he said. TradeArabia News Service Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-13 02:36:04|Editor: zyl Video Player Close Fighters of UN-backed government forces observe the eastern-based army in Southern Tripoli, Libya, on Jan. 12, 2020. Libya's UN-backed government and the eastern-based army on Sunday accused each other of breaching the cease-fire in southern Tripoli. (Photo by Hamza Turkia/Xinhua) TRIPOLI, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Libya's UN-backed government and the eastern-based army on Sunday accused each other of breaching the cease-fire in southern Tripoli. The UN-backed government said in a statement that the eastern-based army breached cease-fire in Salah Addin and Wadi al-Rabee in southern Tripoli minutes after the cease-fire took effect. On the other hand, the eastern-based army said the UN-backed government forces made 30 breaches of the cease-fire in southern Tripoli. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called on the Libyan rival parties to establish an immediate cease-fire by midnight of Jan. 12. Both the UN-backed government and the eastern-based army agreed to cease fire. Patna police has recovered the vehicle allegedly used in the abduction and gang rape of a college student in the city on January 6, officials said Saturday. The police have also arrested three people for allegedly selling narcotic substances to an accused. The vehicle was recovered from the Paliganj police station area in a crackdown on Friday, an official who did wish to be named said. The vehicle was abandoned after the incident.The victim had alleged in the FIR that she was abducted by the car. The police have also arrested three persons for selling intoxicating drugs without prescription to one of the accused. A joint team of Patna police and the state drug control unit raided a medicine shop near Boring road, from where the woman was kidnapped, after one of the accused said he had committed the crime under the influence of narcotic substances. The medicine shop owner Karoona Sharma, her husband, Tripurari Sharma, and employee Dharmendra were arrested late on Friday midnight and sent to judicial custody on Saturday noon. A case has been lodged at the Buddha Colony police station against the three for selling intoxicating drugs. Meanwhile, the womans family has sought police protection apprehending threat to their lives as the accused were associated with influential people in the area. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Think of it as a celestial parlor game: What is the minimum number of satellites needed to see every point on Earth? And how might those satellites stay in orbit and maintain continuous 24/7 coverage while contending with Earth's gravity field, its lumpy mass, the pull of the sun and moon, and pressure from solar radiation? In the mid-1980s, researcher John E. Draim proposed what is generally considered to be the ideal solution: a four-satellite constellation. However, the amount of propellant needed to keep the satellites in place, and the ensuing cost, made the configuration unfeasible. Now, a National Science Foundation-sponsored collaboration led by Patrick Reed, the Joseph C. Ford Professor of Engineering at Cornell University, has discovered the right combination of factors to make a four-satellite constellation possible, which could drive advances in telecommunication, navigation and remote sensing. And in an ingenious twist, the researchers accomplished this by making the forces that ordinarily degrade satellites instead work in their favor. "One of the interesting questions we had was, can we actually transform those forces? Instead of degrading the system, can we actually flip it such that the constellation is harvesting energy from those forces and using them to actively control itself?" Reed said. Their paper, "Low Cost Satellite Constellations for Nearly Continuous Global Coverage," published Jan. 10 in Nature Communications. The AI-based evolutionary computing search tools that Reed has developed are ideally suited for navigating the numerous complications of satellite placement and management. advertisement For this project, Reed collaborated with researchers from The Aerospace Corporation, combining his algorithmic know-how with the company's expertise in cutting-edge astrophysics, operational logistics and simulations. In order to sift through the hundreds of thousands of possible orbits and combinations of perturbations, the team used the Blue Waters supercomputer at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Blue Waters compressed 300 or 400 years' worth of computational exploration into the equivalent of roughly a month of actual computing, Reed said. They winnowed their constellation designs to two models that could orbit for either a 24- or 48-hour period and achieve continuous coverage over 86% and 95% of the globe, respectively. While 100% performance coverage would be ideal in theory, the researchers found that sacrificing only 5%-14% created greater gains in terms of harvesting energy from the same gravitational and solar radiation forces that would normally make a satellite constellation short lived and difficult to control. The tradeoff is worth it, Reed said, especially since satellite operators could control where the gaps in coverage would occur. Outages in these low-priority regions would last approximately 80 minutes a day, at most, in the worst-case scenario. "This is one of those things where the pursuit of perfection actually could stymie the innovation," Reed said. "And you're not really giving up a dramatic amount. There might be missions where you absolutely need coverage of everywhere on Earth, and in those cases, you would just have to use more satellites or networked sensors or hybrid platforms." Using this type of passive control could potentially extend a constellation's lifespan from five years to 15 years. These satellites would require less propellant and would float at higher elevations, removing them from the risky high-traffic zone of low Earth orbit. But perhaps the biggest selling point is the low cost. Commercial interests or countries without the financial resources to launch a large constellation of satellites could attain near-continuous global coverage very economically, with reduced long-term technical overhead. advertisement "Even one satellite can cost hundreds of millions or billions of dollars, depending on what sensors are on it and what its purpose is. So having a new platform that you can use across the existing and emerging missions is pretty neat," Reed said. "There's a lot of potential for remote sensing, telecommunication, navigation, high-bandwidth sensing and feedback around the space, and that's evolving very, very quickly. There's likely all sorts of applications that might benefit from a long-lived, self-adapting satellite constellation with near global coverage." The paper's lead author is Lake Singh with The Aerospace Corporation. Researchers from the University of California, Davis, also contributed. "We leveraged Aerospace's constellation design expertise with Cornell's leadership in intelligent search analytics and discovered an operationally feasible alternative to the Draim constellation design," said Singh, systems director for The Aerospace Corporation's Future Architectures department. "These constellation designs may provide substantive advantages to mission planners for concepts out at geostationary orbits and beyond." The research was supported by the National Science Foundation. Enjoy a free pint of beer at one of hundreds of local pubs across the country signed up to the Great British Pub website. Visit great-british-pubs.co.uk/campaign.cheer-up-january/ and tap in your postcode to find the nearest participating pub. Take a train to Paris from just 29 58 return with a special winter promotion from Eurostar Get on your bike and join an organised Ride It event with Evans Cycles starting from 10 with a three-for-two special offer by putting in the code RIDEIT342 at the Evans Cycles website link. Events are nationwide and include rides from 15 to 100 miles as well as road and off-road experiences. Take a train to Paris from just 29 58 return with a special winter promotion from Eurostar. Book by January 20 for a journey before April 1. There are also deals to other destinations on the Continent. Scroll through online booking diary at booking.eurostar.com to find the best priced seats. Pick up a free cup of coffee at Greggs by downloading its rewards app on to your smartphone, creating an account and redeeming it with the press and spend now option in the bakery. Slamming the Narendra Modi government over the recent visit of foreign envoys to Jammu and Kashmir, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi said that he would be arrested at the Hyderabad airport if he expressed his desire to go to Kashmir. The Hyderabad MP also criticised the Centre's decision to abrogate provisions of Article 370, which gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, saying that there have not been Internet services in Kashmir since then. Addressing a rally in Narayanpet district on Saturday in the run up to the municipal polls in Telangana, Owaisi termed the scrapping of provisions of the article the second biggest mistake after the arrest of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Sheikh Abdullah. "It has been 5-6 months since abrogation of Article 370 but till today Internet services remain suspended. Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) had spoken of big things and said that there will be development, as if there was nothing happening in Kashmir," the AIMIM chief said, adding the Supreme Court had to tell the government that Internet is a fundamental right. "The Modi government took foreign envoys to Kashmir and showed them that there is peace in Kashmir. But, if I say that I want to go to Kashmir then CISF personnel will arrest me at the Hyderabad Airport. I cannot go there as I have taken the oath of Indian Constitution, but Modi took envoys of America and other countries there," Owaisi said. The Supreme Court on January 10 said in a significant ruling said access to the 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 team of 15 envoys which included the US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster had gone to 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. In his speech, Owaisi further alleged that BJP government made several promises but failed to fulfil them, and when questioned over its failures on several occasions it brought in triple talaq law, abrogated Article 370 and now brought in the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) If you've tuned in to one of the newest series on Netflix, "Messiah," you may have noticed some things that are "very San Antonio" included in the show. In one scene, a television news crew is shown representing KENS 5. If you look closely, you will see an old KENS 5 Eyewitness News logo on the microphone flag, the badge of the reporter and the photographer's camera. But KENS 5 wasn't the only San Antonio station spotted in the show. READ ALSO: San Antonio celebs, landmarks and hidden gems in first season of 'Texicanas' There is also a scene in which you can spot News 4 San Antonio and KSAT-12 microphone flags. Other scenes included a man wearing a San Antonio Spurs hat and an H-E-B delivery truck. "Messiah," which is about a man who appears in the Middle East claiming to be the return of Jesus, debuted on Netflix on Jan. 1 and is partially set in Dilley, about 72 miles southwest of San Antonio. San Antonio is no stranger to being featured on television or film. In 2000, one of the most popular scenes of "Miss Congeniality" was filmed on the River Walk, where Miss Rhode Island played by Heather Burns is asked to describe her perfect date and responds with "I'd have to say April 25th. Because it's not too hot, not too cold. All you need is a light jacket." KSAT-12 was also featured in the movie. The station's live truck and microphone flag were seen in the film during a fictional live shot. While no actual KSAT reporters were used in "Miss Congeniality," many San Antonio anchors have made their way into Hollywood films, including KENS 5 anchor Phil Anaya, who played a news reporter in the comedy "Hot Pursuit," starring Reese Witherspoon and Sophia Vergara. Former KABB FOX-29 anchor Ted Garcia starred as a TV reporter in several films, including "Crank: High Voltage" and "Bruce Almighty," according to IMBD. According to the Texas Film Commission's website, the 1972 film "The Getaway" was shot on the River Walk. And who can forget the 1997 "Selena" movie? The River Walk is spotted when Chris and Selena celebrate their marriage during a romantic walk. In the 1985 movie "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure," Pee-Wee Herman's search for his bike led him to San Antonio because he believed his bike was in the fictional basement of the Alamo. Not all movies featuring San Antonio were shot downtown. The 1988 movie "Johnny Be Good," starring Anthony Michael Hall and Robert Downey Jr., was shot partly at both Thomas Jefferson and Alamo Heights high schools. One scene with Downey and Uma Thurman is shot at the University of the Incarnate Word. Pay close attention when watching your next movie, because you never know what hidden gem or what person might pop up. Candice.Garcia@express-news.net | Twitter @_candicegarcia By Express News Service BHOPAL: A political controversy has erupted over Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlots speech at a BJP workers program in support of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh on Sunday. Addressing the program, the union minister hailing from Madhya Pradesh said, Bahut saare log bolte hain ki sahab jab dharmik aadhar par Pakistan Islamic Rashtra ban gaya, toh hamne yahan musalmanon kyo rakha hai, sabko vahin bhjena thaa aur vahan ke Hindu, Sikhs, Isaiyon aur jitne bhi they unko sabko yahan bula lena thaa. (Many people question that when Pakistan was formed on religious lines as an Islamic nation, then why were Muslims allowed to live here, they should have been sent to Pakistan and all Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and other religious minorities from there should have been allowed to settle here). Gehlot further added, Ab us samay ki paristithi ke hisaab se jo hona thaa vo ho gaya. Parantu agar isi prakar ka vatavaran bana raha toh vaisi paristithi hamare saamne aa sakti hai (Whatever took place then happened as per situation of that period. But if the present situation continues then we could be heading towards a similar situation akin to that past. Taking a swipe at the Congress, Gehlot said, Congress was founded by a Briton and people often say that Congresss end too would be scripted by those from the foreign origin. And Sonia Gandhi hails from that origin only. Its upon the Congress people to understand it. Mahatma Gandhi wanted to disband the Congress organization after countrys freedom. It seems the Congress is heading towards fulfillment of Gandhijis wish, due to its present words and deeds. Sharply reacting to the union ministers speech, MP Congress leader Narendra Saluja (who is also the media coordinator to Chief Minister Kamal Nath) said the union ministers statements have exposed the BJPs real face on CAA. The BJP is hell bent at dividing the nation on communal lines, the Congress will expose the real face of the BJP among people. Congress MLA backs CAA, but opposes NRC Meanwhile, in a significant development, HS Dang, the Congress MLA from Suvasra seat of Mandsaur district has backed CAA, but opposed NRC. NRC and CAA should be viewed separately. Under the CAA if those tortured in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh are granted Indian citizenship then we shouldnt have any problem. But when it comes to NRC, then demanding evidence from Indian nationals living here since generations to prove their citizenship is wrong and cannot be supported. CAA and NRC are separate and the politics being played by mixing both is wrong, said Dang. Importantly, Dang was among those Congress leaders in Madhya Pradesh, who had also supported the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution by Narendra Modi government last year. Reacting to the significant development, former CM and BJP national vice president Shivraj Singh Chouhan lauded the Congress MLAs candid statements over CAA and added that other Congress leaders should also follow Dang by first properly understanding the real facts of CAA, instead of misleading people over it. The Russian and Turkish Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, confirmed in a telephone call on Saturday their countries willingness to help advance the political settlement process in Libya, the Kremlin said in a statement, TASS reports. "[The two presidents] continued exchanging views on the situation in Libya basing on the Russian-Turkish agreements, which the [two] heads of state achieved in Istanbul on January 8. [They] confirmed Russia and Turkey's aspiration to provide comprehensive assistance to advancing the process of political settlement of the Libyan conflict," the statement said. The Russian and Turkish presidents emphasized "their readiness to contribute so that an international conference on Libya scheduled in Berlin can bring about results". Putin informed Erdogan about his talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel held in Moscow on Saturday, and also "about phone conversations with some leaders of regional states". The two presidents agreed "to maintain constant contacts, in particular concerning the Libya and Syria issues". The phone call was requested by the Turkish side. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 12) Over a hundred flights coming from and arriving at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport have been suspended since Sunday after the Taal Volcano unexpectedly spewed ash and smoke. In a media briefing Sunday evening the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Director General Capt. Jim Sydiongco said, "In the absence of precise or reliable information...ang ginagawa ng Air Traffic Service is magbigay agad ng advisory... Pagdating sa safety mnagement, ang una nating ginagawa hangga't hindi lahat ng data pumasok, is to suspend the operations. Once nasuspend yan and we have more time to assess kung ano ang problema, then we try to isolate and find ways kung paano mamanage yung levels of exposure." [Translation: In the absence of precise or reliable information...what the Air Traffic Service does is to immediately give out an advisory... When it comes to safety management, what do first is until all data comes in, is to suspend operations. Once that has been done, and we have more time to assess the problem, then we try to isolate and find ways to manage the levels of exposure.] MIAA General Manager Ed Monreal said that as of before 9 p.m., 172 flights have been canceled, and that NAIA operations would remain suspended until Monday. He has advised passengers not to proceed to the airport until further information has been released. "From tonight until probably tomorrow morning, walang magagawang movements ngayon because of the danger and of course the safety of the aircraft that's coming in and out of the airport," he said. Monreal added inspection revealed the presence of ash on the runway, adding it would have to be cleaned before operations resume. READ: PHIVOLCS warns of hazardous explosive eruption of Taal Volcano soon A joint statement from the Department of Transportation (DOTr), MIAA, and CAAP said the suspension would remain "until further notice." Ariel Carabeo from the Manila Area Control Center, said the predicted wind direction of the ash cloud from the volcano was northeast, adding these ash clouds can severely affect planes. "Pag naingest yan ng makina, pwedeng tumigil yung makina, so hindi na makakalipad yung eroplano... Yung airborne equipment ng eroplano hindi po 'yan designed to detect ash clouds," he said. [Translation: When that gets inside the engine, it could stop, so the plane won't be able to fly... The airborne equipment of the planes are not designed to detect ash clouds.] He also said they have received reports from pilots saying they have seen ash clouds. A joint assessment will be done by MIAA and CAAP early Monday morning. This is a developing story. Please refresh page for updates. A shooting in Holyokes Jarvis Heights apartment complex late Saturday afternoon has sent one person to the hospital and police are searching for a suspect. Holyoke Police Lt. James Albert said one person, a juvenile, suffered a single gunshot wound to the leg, and was transported to the Baystate Medical Center. Albert termed the injury, a non-life-threatening wound. Initial information indicated citizen reports of shots fired in the vicinity of 28 Gerard Way. People told officers there was at least one victim. Police responded and searched a dark-colored SUV after witnesses said a dark vehicle fled the scene just after the gunfire. Albert said investigators are also looking for a single male wearing white, who witnesses said ran from the scene. Police do not know if the suspect ran to a car or into nearby woods. The incident remains under investigation. The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Saturday detained a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) along with two terrorists in south Kashmirs Kulgam district. The terrorists and the police officer were in a vehicle that belonged to the DSP, when they were arrested in a joint operation of police and Army on the national highway near Mirbazar, an official said on condition of anonymity. The police intercepted his vehicle and arrested two terrorists and recovered five grenades. Two AK-47 rifles were recovered in a subsequent raid at the officers residence, the official said. This is the first time when such a senior police officer has been arrested along with the terrorists. The official also said the police raided the house of the officer in Srinagar. The arrested commander Syed Naveed Baba was one of the most wanted commanders in south Kashmir and according to police he was involved in the killing and attacks on truckers and locals. Baba joined militancy in 2017 and carried a reward on his head. His posters were also circulated in south Kashmir after the attacks. Hailing from Nazneenpora Shopian, he was an IED expert, according to police. Another terrorist was identified as Asif Rather. According to a recent HT report, the government has been warned by security agencies of a possible spike in violence in Jammu and Kashmir after the meeting of the Financial Action Task Force concluded. This summer, at least 700 companies of the paramilitary forces was likely to be positioned in Jammu and Kashmir. Last month, news agency PTI reported, quoting the defence spokesperson, that a major terror strike was averted with timely detection of a powerful Improvised Explosive Device (IED) along the Line of Control (LOC) in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir. The IED was found planted in Keri sector and was later defused by experts, the spokesman had said. COMMUNITY REPORT FIRST BABY: Lucy James Marchetta, weighing 6 pounds, 14 ounces and measuring 18 inches long, was the first baby born in 2020 at St. Tammany health System in Covington. Making her appearance at 6:58 a.m. on Jan. 1, Lucy is the daughter of Courtney and Erick Marchetta, of Slidell. FRA GATHERING: Fleet Reserve Association Branch 222 will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday at American Legion Post 374, 2233 Carey St., Slidell. Contact Mark at (985) 788-0928 or Larry at (985) 640-0120. FINANCIAL WORKSHOP: The Slidell Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority will host a Financial Literacy Workshop and Minority Business Networking Event at 9 a.m. Monday, Mount Olive AME Church, 2457 Second St. Slidell in conjunction with the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Walk. The ASI Federal Credit Union will conduct the workshop and provide financial literature. Walk begins at 2 p.m. All events are free. Contact via email at info@dstslidell.org. TREE SPREE: Keep Covington Beautiful marks Louisiana Arbor Day at 9 a.m. Saturday with a seedling tree giveaway at the Covington Farmers Market. Event lasts til noon or until all the native bare-root seedlings of arrowwood, mayhaw, sweetshrub, basswood, longleaf pine and nuttall oak are gone. Volunteers needed to wrap and distribute seedlings. Email info@keepcovingtonbeautiful.org, visit keepcovingtonbeautiful.org or call (985) 867-3652. CASINO EVENT: Grant's Gift Foundation will hold Cards4Kids at 7 p.m. Saturday at Tchefuncte Country Club, 2 Country Club Place, Covington. Casino-themed fundraiser to benefit children with mental and or physical needs to include games, food, music and a live auction. Visit grantsgiftfoundation.org. St. Tammany top stories in your inbox A weekly guide to the biggest news in St. Tammany. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up GAME EVENT: The Northlake Newcomers Club will hold a morning of games including bunco, mahjong or canasta at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 10, Beau Chene Country Club, 602 N. Beau Chene Drive, Mandeville; $16 for members and guests; reservations required. Visit northlakenewcomers.com. CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS CHECK-IN CALLERS: Council on Aging St. Tammany needs help with the Caring Hearts program to provide "check-in" calls to homebound seniors. One-hour shifts on Fridays at 610 Cousin St., Slidell. Call Sharon Snowdy, activities and volunteer coordinator, (985) 641-1852 or (985) 774-7190, or email ssnowdy@coastseniors. VISITOR CENTER: The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service at the Southeast Louisiana National Wildlife Refuges Complex needs volunteers for the Bayou Lacombe Visitor Center at 61389 La. 434. The center is open from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Volunteers work a 3-hour shift. Contact ranger Diane Barth at (985) 882-2021 or diane_barth@fws.gov. New photos have been released showing where a missile struck a Ukraine International Airlines plane shortly after leaving Iranian capital Tehran, Ukraines top security official says. Oleksiy Danilov revealed the Boeing 737 was struck beneath the cockpit following its departure from Imam Khomeini International Airport on Wednesday. The 176 people on board, including 57 Canadians, all died on the flight headed for Kyiv. An image released by the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine shows the planes soot-covered wreckage after being shot down. The cockpit is split in two below the windscreen, with the bottom half missing. The top half of the cockpit after being downed in Tehran. Source: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via Reuters The photo shows the part where the missile hit, Oleskiy Danilov told the BBC. "It hit the cockpit from underneath. We think this is proof. It explains why we didn't hear anything from the pilots. They died immediately after the first hit. Another image shows what Ukranian officials believe is the remainder of a missile which downed flight PS752, while another shows a panel from the plane peppered with small holes. Evidence was collected from the crash site prior to Irans announcement revealing Tehran took full responsibility for shooting down the flight. Officials say they delayed release of the images publicly over fears they may be deported from Iran. Ukraine on Saturday demanded that Iran punish those guilty for the downing of the flight and compensate victims while praising Tehran for cooperating with an "objective" investigation. Several holes in a panel from the plane's wreckage. Source: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via Reuters "We expect Iran ... to bring the guilty to the courts," Ukrainian president Volodomyr Zelensky wrote on Facebook, calling also for the "payment of compensation" and the return of remains. Tehran admitted on Saturday that it accidentally downed the flight. Rouhani said Tehran "deeply regrets this disastrous mistake". Tehran has invited the United States, Ukraine, Canada and others to join the crash investigation. Kyiv said that Iran had cooperated with its experts and it expects an objective probe. Story continues Tehran has handed Ukrainian experts enough data including "all the photos, videos and other materials" to show the investigation will be carried out objectively and promptly", Zelensky's office said. "The political part of the work is finished," it added. Ukraine officials believe this is part of the missile which struck the aircraft. Source: BBC via Ukrainian Presidential Press Service Ukraine said on Friday its experts dispatched to Iran had been granted access to the flight's black boxes, debris from the plane, the crash site and to recordings of conversations between the pilot and the airport control tower. Danilov told AFP Kyiv did not yet have evidence on where the missile was produced, only that it was "launched from Iranian soil. Zelensky said earlier that Ukraine hoped the inquiry would be pursued "without deliberate delay and without obstruction. He urged "total access" for the 45 Ukrainian experts, and in a tweet also sought an "official apology". Irans actions absolutely irresponsible UIA vice president Igor Sosnovsky told a news conference in Kyiv on Saturday that Tehran should have closed the airport due to the escalation of regional tensions following the US assassination of a top Iranian general. "It's absolutely irresponsible," Sosnovsky said, accusing Iran of failing to protect ordinary citizens while "playing at war. "They were obliged to close the airport. Obliged! Then shoot as much as you like." Iran said a missile operator shot down the Boeing 737 after mistaking it for a cruise missile at a time when threats were at the highest level. The majority of passengers on UIA Flight PS752 from Tehran to Kyiv were Iranian-Canadian dual nationals but also included Ukrainians, Afghans, Britons and Swedes Many in Kyiv have compared the crash to the 2014 downing of Malaysian Airlines MH17, killing 298 people over eastern Ukraine where pro-Russian separatists are fighting government forces. Moscow has denied the findings of international investigators that a Russian BUK missile hit the Malaysian flight. "Iran has shown itself to be more civilised than Russia," pro-western Ukraine MP Volodymyr Ariev wrote on Facebook. "Tehran has admitted its guilt in three days while Russia continues to try to get out of it. With AFP 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. Former Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai met ailing Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif at his Avenfield apartments in London on Saturday. He was received by two sons of the former prime minister - Hassan and Hussain Nawaz - upon his arrival at their swanky British address, Express Tribune reported. Addressing the media following the meeting, Karzai said he visited the three-time Pakistani premier to inquire after his health. "It's good to see him in good health," said the former Afghan president, who was accompanied by PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif at the presser. "During my visits to Pakistan and Mian Sahib's (Nawaz) visits to Afghanistan, I found him extremely kind ... it is good to see him in good health," Karzai added. Nawaz had left for London on November 19 in an air ambulance to seek medical treatment, a month after he was released on bail from a seven-year prison sentence for corruption. He was in the custody of National Accountability Bureau (NAB), when a sharp and radical drop in his platelet count from over 75,000 to just about 2,000 within 24 hours worried doctors last year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh (R) visits Cham ethnic people in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA) The Cham ethnic group is the third biggest community in HCM City with around 8,000 people. The same day, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue visited needy households, Agent Orange/dioxin victims, and poor workers in the northern province of Vinh Phuc. The official along with representatives from the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, the Vietnam Red Cross Society, and local authorities presented gifts to 400 houses from disadvantaged backgrounds and social welfare policies. Also on January 11th, Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Tran Thanh Man extended his New Year greetings while visiting Lac Duong district in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong. He granted 150 gift packages worth one million VND each for poor and nearly-poor households in the district./. A volley of rockets slammed into an Iraqi airbase north of Baghdad where US forces have been based, wounding four local troops, the Iraqi military said on Sunday. Its statement said eight Katyusha-type rockets landed on Al-Balad airbase, wounding two Iraqi officers and two airmen. Al-Balad is the main airbase for Iraqs F-16s, which it bought from the US to upgrade its air capacities. The base had held a small US Air Force contingent as well as American contractors, but a majority had been evacuated following tensions between the US and Iran over the past two weeks, military sources told AFP. ALSO WATCH | In Donald Trumps warning to Iran, jibe at Obama, lethal missile threat About 90 percent of the US advisers, and employees of Sallyport and Lockheed Martin who are specialised in aircraft maintenance, have withdrawn to Taji and Erbil after threats, one of the sources said. There are no more than 15 US soldiers and a single plane at al-Balad, the source added. Military bases hosting US troops have been subject to volleys of rocket and mortar attacks in recent months that have mostly wounded Iraqi forces, but also killed one American contractor last month. That death set off a series of dramatic developments, with the US carrying out strikes against a pro-Iran paramilitary group in Iraq as well as a convoy carrying top Iranian and Iraqi commanders outside Baghdad airport. Pro-Iran factions in Iraq have vowed revenge for those raids, even as Iran said it had already responded in proportion by striking another western airbase where US soldiers are located. Rocket attacks against Baghdads high-security Green Zone, where the US and other embassies are based alongside international troops, are still taking place. Iraqis take part in a rally on Jan. 11, 2020, to mourn two reporters (image) shot dead the previous evening in the country's southern city of Basra, where they had been covering months of anti-government protests. (HUSSEIN FALEH/AFP via Getty Images) 2 Iraqi Journalists Shot Dead While Covering Anti-Government Protests Two journalists working for the Iraqi broadcaster Dijlah TV have been shot dead in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad confirmed. Correspondent Ahmed Abdel Samad and cameraman Safaa Ghali were covering protests in the city on Jan. 10, when unknown gunmen opened fire on their vehicle, killing them both. Video footage posted on Dijlah TVs website was described as showing Samad slumped in the passenger seat of the vehicle with a bullet wound to the right side of his head. Dijlah TV (or Al-Dijla), headquartered in Jordan, is one of Iraqs most-watched news channels. The video, which has been widely circulated on social media, also revealed at least three bullet holes in the right front door of the car. Dijlah TV said that Ghali was taken to Basra General Hospital but died shortly after. A separate report by Iraqs foreign-funded Al-Mirbad broadcaster said the cameraman had suffered three bullet wounds to his chest. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Jan. 11 released a statement on Twitter condemning the killings: The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad strongly denounces the deplorable and cowardly assassination of Dijla TV correspondent Ahmed Abdel Samad and cameraman Safaa Ghali in Basra last night. The ongoing assassinations, kidnappings, harassment, and intimidation of members of the press, social media activists, and pro-reform activists in Iraq by armed groups cannot continue to go unpunished. The embassy put responsibility for the loss of life on the Iraqi government, which it said should be upholding the right to freedom of expression, protecting journalists, and ensuring that peaceful activists can practice their democratic rights without fear or reprisal. This can only happen if the perpetrators are found and brought to justice, it added. Freedom of speech and freedom of expression are the cornerstones of democratic society. Respecting and upholding these rights is fundamental to the protection of democracy. Hundreds of Iraqis mourned the loss of the two reporters in a rally on Jan. 11. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide, also condemned the killings and urged Iraqi authorities to launch an investigation. No journalist should have to fear for their safety or be singled out for attack over their coverage of protests, said CPJ Middle East and North Africa representative Ignacio Miguel Delgado. We call on the Iraqi authorities to immediately open an investigation into the killing of Ahmed Abdul Samad and Safaa Ghali and to do their utmost to ensure journalists can cover the protests freely and without fear of reprisal, he said. Iraqis carry mock coffins as they take part in a rally on Jan. 11, 2020, to mourn two reporters shot dead the previous evening in the countrys southern city of Basra, where they had been covering months of anti-government protests. Ahmad Abdel Samad, a correspondent for local television station Al-Dijla, and his cameraman Safaa Ghali were shot dead late yesterday, according to a statement from the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory (JFO). (HUSSEIN FALEH/AFP via Getty Images) Local reporters have said they believe the two journalists may have been assassinated by Iraqs Iranian-backed militias for criticizing the destructive role of the Iranian regime in their country. The Epoch Times hasnt been able to independently verify that. Kurdistan 24 reported that hours before Samads death, he had posted a video on Facebook denouncing militia groups for their use of violence against protesters. Iraqi students march during ongoing anti-government demonstrations in the southern city of Basra on Jan. 8, 2020. (Hussein Faleh/AFP via Getty Images) The alleged assassinations came as thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Baghdad over the weekend to reinvigorate the anti-government protests that started in October 2019. Protesters are continuing their demands for an overhaul of a corrupt political system, and an end to foreign intervention in domestic affairs, better public services, and more jobs. Groups within Iraqs security forces, mostly Iran-backed militias, have been accused of killing more than 500 protesters since the start of the protests, The New York Times reported. The Wall Street Journal reported that anti-government protesters on Jan. 5 set on fire the local headquarters of an Iran-backed militia group in the southern city of Nasiriyah. A further 19,000 have been injured since the protests began, according to the United Nations. Online advice about expressing and storing breastmilk is often conflicting and confusing for new mothers, according to a new Australian review. The study, published in Women and Birth, explored the quality and consistency of available information, finding storage recommendations for fresh breastmilk varied between four and 10 hours at room temperature and between 72 hours and eight days in the refrigerator. The advice can be confusing for mothers who wish to express and store breastmilk. Credit:Getty The one consistent message was that thawed milk should never be refrozen. The World Health Organisation recommends new mothers exclusively breastfeed for the first six months of the babies life and continue to breastfeed, in conjunction with solid food, for two years or more. For decades, the clues to locations of long-forgotten African-American cemeteries in Bexar County lay buried in the cobwebs of history. There were hints on wrinkled papers folded in the pages of Bibles. There were leads tucked away in dusty shoe boxes. And there were indications on hand-written parchment letters dating to the mid-1800s. The grave sites languished in obscurity until the 21st century, when noted San Antonio historian Everett L. Fly began to decipher the signs that not only did the sites exist, but they were part of once-thriving black settlements. Fly, a San Antonio native, long had suspected there were settlements started by former slaves in the San Antonio area. His dilemma: a lack of African-American records, a lack of documents of certainty in city archives and many times possible traces bulldozed away by developers unconcerned with preserving history. His first verifiable confirmation came from a chance meeting with descendants of the Winters and Griffin families whose oral histories and research set him on the trail of unearthing the Hockley-Clay Cemetery at Uhr Lane and Higgins Road. Michael Fisher On Saturday, Fly, experts from the University of Texas at Austin and UTSA spoke about the progress that has been made to restore the treasured resource at a round table discussion that was part of DreamWeek, the 16-day celebration that honors the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. More than 100 people attended the forum, where descendants of the Clay family lined the front row. On the stage, District 10 Councilman Clayton Perry said the event was a testament to the reason for the talk: bringing people together. Were kind of just scratching the surface here, he said. I love learning about our forefathers and about what people back then had to go through compared to what we have today and we need to count our blessings for that. After months of research, Fly confirmed that the Hockley-Clay Cemetery was one of three African-American family cemeteries in the Wetmore area. The three cemeteries, along with two churches and two schools, were the hub of the rural black settlement there that Fly has dubbed the Griffin-Hockley-Winters enclave. Census records show more than 100 African-Americans lived in the enclave. Today, the Hockley-Clay Cemetery is bordered by Northern Hills Elementary and several residences. Fly said the group is in talks with two residents to reclaim property that had encroached on the plots southern boundary. After the event, Velmil Clay, 76, walked with relatives behind the school, past homes built on land that once was his grandmothers farm. He turned through wooden security gates onto stump-covered ground he said held the remains of three brothers and his father. He said the reason there werent any headstones was because people couldnt afford stone monuments; so funeral homes provided flat metal markers that over time were lost to age and the elements. Clay said his grandmother Easter Hockley Clay was the unofficial overseer of the cemetery. She was the one who knew what plots were open and where everyone was buried. Clay said its ironic that after years of looking over the graveyard, she wasnt laid to rest there. He remembered one thing about the graveyard he steered clear of as a child: a small marker in the northeast corner with the name, Robert Wilburn. His daughter Tracy Clay said it was surreal to walk upon their ancestors land once again. They both thanked everyone involved in the restoration project. Mr. Fly took the ball and ran with it, Clay said. Were appreciative of it. Research archaeologist Clinton McKenzie gave a presentation prepared by himself and the UTSA Center for Archaeological Research team with aerial photos from past decades, names of probable burials and the owners deed of the cemetery. Thats how we know, he said. Jane Warren told us what she wanted, and she put it in writing and she filed a deed to that effect. History Professor Daina Ramey Berry called a grave site the record and the stories of people buried there the words. Every member of that family, the descendants, has a story to teach us about a particular moment in time, she said. Thats why their stories and your stories are important, and they should be in history books. Fly said the San Antonio groups mission is to have the Hockley-Clay Cemetery rededicated and designated as a historical Texas cemetery. These families didnt live in a bubble, Fly said. Were going to continue to connect the dots and tell the whole story. According to the Texas Freedom Colonies Project, there are more than 350 verified settlements of freed slaves across Texas. Most had their own cemeteries. Founded by Texas A&M Professor Andrea Roberts, the project aims to document evidence of place by the traditions of the settlers descendants. Researchers believe there are about a dozen post-Civil War black cemeteries in Bexar County. Another San Antonio area enclave was tucked away 10 miles east of Seguin, where potter Hiram Wilson bought a large portion of land, setting aside 10 acres for a church, cemetery and school to establish an African-American community. Wilson, a former slave, and his brothers James, George and Andrew Wilson sharpened pottery skills they had learned while enslaved. The brothers formed the H. Wilson & Co., thought to be the first black business in Texas. Using clay found in the Capote Hills, the Wilsons produced high-quality pottery that is rare and collectible. It has been exhibited at the Institute of Texan Cultures, the Witte and Austins Bob Bullock Texas History Museum. According to the Texas State Historical Association online, two instances of violence against the Wilsons in 1867 may have led to the creation of their freedmans town outside Seguin. In Bexar County, the three cemeteries in the Wetmore area had to be established there because African-Americans werent allowed to be buried in cemeteries within San Antonio city limits. Over time, people in the settlements moved away; some for work, others for family reasons. Many were forced out by development and encroaching big city sprawl. As years passed, there were fewer people to tend to the cemeteries. And there were those who were afraid to lay claim to their ancestors graves for fear they might have to pay taxes on the plots. Cemeteries languished and disappeared. Hockley-Clay Cemetery: Once hidden in a Northeast Side neighborhood lot by decades of overgrowth, volunteers cleared more than 300 cubic yards of brush from the parcel of land last year. Historians are awaiting a review of surface and deep-soil scans for confirmation of remains at the site. The resurrection of the single acre goes back to retired Air Force Maj. J. Michael Wright, who wondered about the history of the overgrown plat in his Northeast Side subdivision. He sought help from archivist David Carlson of the Bexar Countys Spanish Archives office, who found clues through old deeds and records. Carlson discovered a drawing of 1.26 acres marked as a rectangle-shaped graveyard, surrounded by houses, crosswalks and cul-de-sacs in the neighborhood. The plot of land matched survey lines from a 1908 Bexar County deed and county appraisal district record that marked the property as Lot P-99 (CEMETERY). Property records revealed that former slave Jane Warren owned the property, which she bought in 1873, and signed her name to the deed as X. The matriarch of the Hockley-Freeman-Clay family had dedicated the 1.26 acres as a burial ground. In 1971, Easter Hockley Clay sold the land, except for the cemetery. The Lloyd A. Denton company labeled the property and easement access as a cemetery and built residential lots along the boundary of the original burial ground. Carlson and Wrights research led them to Fly, a nationally recognized historian known for the preservation of forgotten African-American and Native settlements. His work continued their efforts to identify and restore the cemetery. Griffin Family Cemetery: Located in the Oak Ridge Village subdivision, the burial site with the remains of 12 members of the Griffin and Winters families has been maintained as a place of respect by the homeowners association. A granite sign erected at the neatly kept gated cemetery, near Thousand Oaks and Tavern Oaks, notes the first burial took place in 1900. In 1896, Ellis Griffin purchased 300 acres of land where his family raised cattle and farmed cotton, corn and wheat. The land was sold to the Pape family in 1941, except for the cemetery, which was retained by the Griffin family. Older descendants remember as children walking with family members during funerals on a road that now is Tavern Oaks Street to the community landmark, a sprawling oak tree. Today, unrelated neighbors and family descendants work together to maintain the historic cemetery. Winters-Jackson Cemetery: In 1986, developers disinterred the remains of 72 people near Nacogdoches Road and Loop 1604 without the familys consent. The remains were reburied under one marker at nearby Holy Cross Cemetery. Amos Jackson, a former Buffalo Soldier, was among those buried at the cemetery. There no longer are any grave markers on the swath of cleared land covered in scrub brush not far from Rolling Oaks Mall. The descendants of the Winters family have a copy of the emancipation letter where E.C. Alsbury freed their ancestor Robert Bob Winters. Alsbury gave Winters two horses and helped him buy the land that Winters later dedicated for a church, school and the cemetery. Fly worked with the archaeological team at the University of Texas at San Antonio, city archaeologist Kay Hindes, Austin architect Ellen Hunt and several other historians to determine the former cemeterys perimeters. In April, funded by the Kronkosky Foundation, Fly and the archaeological team examined the land. There wasnt evidence of unmarked graves beyond the original boundary, but when team members sifted through two dirt piles they found three bone fragments, coffin hardware and personal items. 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 The elimination of Gen Qasem Suleimani heading the Al Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps in an American Drone attack at Baghdad, draws a parallel with the earlier killings of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, chief of ISIS, in a raid by US Special Forces in Syria last year and of Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in a SEALs operation at Abottabad way back in 2011. These three militant leaders, termed by the US as 'International Terrorists', represented Islamic radicals who had declared the Americans as their sworn enemy and engaged in a no holds barred 'proxy war' against the US. They belonged to the two different streams in Islam -- Sunnis and Shias -- that had produced extremists wedded to taking on the US-led West for political, ideological and historical reasons. It began with the Emirate of Afghanistan under the Al Qaeda- Taliban leadership, installed by Pakistan at Kabul in 1996, showing its fangs against the US -- its subsequent ouster by the latter, in fact, laid the turf for the 9/11 attack. In the 'war on terror' that followed under the US-led 'world coalition' against the global terror of Islamic radicals, the Pak-Afghan belt swayed by Al Qaeda-Taliban axis and the Syria-Iraq region dominated by Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIS) emerged as the battlegrounds of this combat. The Sunni extremists of Al Qaeda and ISIS carried the historical memory of the 19th Century Jehad that the Wahhabis had carried out against the Western encroachment on 'Muslim lands'. They had given a call for restoration of the Islamic fundamentals of the times of the Pious Caliphs which, they contended, had been allowed to get 'diluted' in the mix of un-Islamic practices. In the post-revolution Shiite Iran, the Ayatollahs similarly enforced the values of Caliph Ali that, among other things, intrinsically glorified the 'virtue' of poverty and detested what would become the present day Capitalism. At the same time, however, the origin of Shiism in the Kharijite revolt against Ali had produced an irreversible mutual hatred between the extremists of the two sects that is reflected in their current political relationship as well. Sunni Islamic radicals are anti-West but they also go after the Shias wherever they can find them -- reports coming in regularly of Taliban attacking Shias in Pak-Afghan region prove the point. This all makes it easy to understand that the geo-politics of West Asia is largely conditioned by the ascendancy of radical Islam in the Muslim world in the post-Cold War era. Pakistan's collaboration with Taliban in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of Soviet troops from that country, shelter provided to Al Qaeda leadership by Pakistan on its own soil and the dubious role of Pakistan in the 'war on terror' should be mentioned as the principal reasons why this rise of radical forces became possible in the first place. The US attack on Saddam Hussain heading a Baathist dispensation in Iraq in 2003 made Syria-Iraq region, with its anti-US regimes, a second theatre of radicals where ISIS would come up under al-Zarkawi, who had earlier been active in Afghanistan. ISIS attracted many combatants from the Pak-Afghan belt of Al Qaeda as well. Shiite Iran under Ayatollahs -- bracketed by US President George Bush with Iraq in his 'axis of evil' statement -- was independently rising as a force against both US and Israel with the militant Hazbollah under its patronage extending its wings in Lebanon and Iraq. On the other hand, a number of Muslim and Arab countries under the umbrella of Saudi-chaired Organisation of Islamic Conference(OIC) -- though running a harsh Islamic regime -- remained on the right side of the US. The picture in the Muslim world thus presents a three-way divide with radical Shiites and Sunnis directing their guns against US and also against each other and a significant cluster of Muslim states politically aligning themselves with America. India could be a mere watcher of the scene but for the fact that Pakistan -- a prime mover of OIC -- has been conducting a 'proxy war' against us using cross-border terrorism as its instrument and mobilising both radicals and other Islamic outfits against India for that purpose. India has stakes in the developments in West Asia, including the Gulf, for both economic and security reasons. India's foreign policy has been successful in getting US under President Donald Trump to abandon the artificial divide between 'good terrorists' and 'bad terrorists' that Americans earlier made at the cost of Indian interests. The challenge for India is to keep Indo-US friendship at a level where the American policy does not hyphenate India with Pakistan again and to build bilateral relations further with countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Israel independently of one another -- and also dis-linked from the ascendant Indo-US friendship. Under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, India is following this policy to our advantage -- what is helping in this is a certain confidence that the Prime Minister brings to bear on his projection of India as a promotor of international peace, the voice of sanity and a balancing power. Today, the broad picture is that even as the prospects of an open warfare receded post-Cold War, the world transited to an era of proxy wars, cross-border conflicts and 'covert' offensives. Conventional battle has given way to the 'asymmetric warfare' in which terrorist attacks on military and non-military targets are resorted to as a cost effective means of wearing down a superior enemy. Gen Qasem Suleimani apparently had a free run in Iraq planning such operations against the US bases in that country and the Drone strike to take him out was ordered by President Donald Trump himself after pro-Iran militants tried to lay siege of the US Embassy in Baghdad. It may be mentioned that terrorists are indoctrinated in the 'cause' they were working for and a strong motivation for standing for the cause is provided by the war cry of Jehad that Islamic radicals and other extremists have raised -- making the Muslim world a festering home ground for faith-based terror in the process. India has been at the receiving end of terror attacks carried out by Pak ISI-instigated militant outfits like Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Al Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). Indian diplomacy should work on the democratic world to get it to denounce the medievalism that used religion as a tool of war and should likewise, persuade OIC, chaired by Saudi Arabia, to take a clear stand against countries invoking Jehad for sorting out political disputes in today's times. India has the second largest Muslim population in the world and has to work for this outcome considering the fact that Pakistan had become a rogue state providing safe haven to terror outfits having linkages across the Islamic spectrum. India cannot question the right of the US to neutralise leaders of terror outfits for America's own security and defence but it can promote wise counsel for peaceful resolutions rooted in a declared rejection of terrorist violence as an instrument of combat. Strategic analysts are looking, from their own angles, at the possible turn of events after the assassination of the Iranian General -- carried out by US in what was a security operation against a leading terrorist known to be the kingpin of covert attacks on Americans. Iran has threatened retaliation on a big scale but has not gone beyond firing a few missiles on a US base in Iraq so far. It is cognisant of a crippling military response from the US -- if it crossed a line. It is significant that Iran is anti-US and pro- Syria politically -- which is reminiscent of the Cold War divide -- while it considers ISIS as an enemy in terms of religious contradiction. Gen Suleimani was reportedly acting like an advisor to President Bashar al Assad -- in parallel to Russian approach of friendship towards Syria. Iran, however, has a civilisational past and it should handle its ideological and political differences with others without getting entangled into a warfare that invoked religion for its sustenance. India has to watch out for the impact of a deteriorating Iran-US relationship on the world at large and retrieve its own economic interests in the region. India now has a say on the world stage and our diplomacy should be able to put into play India's balancing role -- helped by its non-aligned outlook. (The writer is a former Director Intelligence Bureau) Latest updates on Howdy Modi Houston 12.01.2020 LISTEN Admittedly, there are many, many things in this world that require higher-level research work, critical thinking skills, more patience, hard work, strategic planning, and the like to figure out. But certainly, rejecting or voting massively against ex-President John Mahama in the upcoming general elections in December this year, does not or should not require the mind of a rocket scientist to make that choice. Making a choice as a rational Ghanaian voter, concerning whether or not former President Mahama should be given another chance at the countrys presidency is a no-brainer, because the NDCs presidential aspirants past inefficient leadership is well documented. Indeed, this same question above was irrefutably answered or settled by Ghanaian electorate through the ballot box in December 2016; so, it is mind-boggling that a good number of people in this country still allow themselves to be manipulated by Mr. Mahama and his vociferous pack as if theyre newly-minted political team brimming with fresh management ideas to solve all the countrys problems. Ex-President Mahama is a joke! If many Ghanaians were to embrace the cold truth at this point, a large number of us most likely will wake up to the reality that former President Mahama is a spent force regarding Ghanas top job he so enviously seeks to occupy one more time. Evidently, the NDCs flag bearer is a smooth talker, who knows how to tap into, and exploitatively speaks to the frustrations and economic anxieties of millions of amnesiac and impatient Ghanaians. In the course of his I-can-do-better-than-anyone-else campaigns, hardly do many of us hear Mr. Mahama honestly admitting to Ghanaians that his then NDC government played consequential role in bringing the nations economy to its knees, a phenomenon for which Ghana is still dealing with its adverse ripple effects today. And please, lets cut off the puny reasoning that it is not necessary or disingenuous to talk about the poor performance of the previous NDC government led by Mr. JD Mahama. The striking reality here is that none of us as normal-thinking human beings can successfully dismiss an intrinsic human element of comparison or making associations with past or present events. Indeed, understanding ones past, greatly helps to guide or shape ones present and by extension, ones future. Also, significant to note is that JDM is intensely making every effort to come back to power. On that basis alone, Ghanaians, including the current government have every right to expose the abysmal record of former President Mahamas NDC administration. Based on his terrible track record when he was in the nations political saddles, it makes some of us unsettled to find out many Ghanaians are still entertaining the notion of Mahamas third presidency. Honestly, no matter the extent of Ghanaians present socioeconomic uneasiness, drawing the contrast between Nana Akufo-Addos decisive leadership so far, and Mr. John Mahamas remarkable ineptitude management style when in power, is a no-brainer endeavor. On top of the foregoing, are some more puzzling questions we need to reflect on; and that is to say: for all this matchless mismanagement of the Ghanaian economy under Mr. John Mahamas NDC, one wonders what exactly does he want at the countrys presidency again? Better yet, why do many Ghanaians appear to be warming up to get hooked onto the ex-presidents bait of psychological manipulations? Discerning Ghanaians should know by now that Mr. Mahama has no achievable vision nor any creative ideas for this country, should he become president again to have the opportunity to execute his pretentious, grand, messianic ambitions to save Ghana from the economic inferno his then regime ignited before Ghanaians booted it out from power. As Mr. Sekou NkrumahPresident Nkrumahs sonrightly but ominously reminded the forgetful Ghanaians recently, it is not like we dont know what [John Mahama] can do? We know exactly how he performed as a leader, he brought nothing new to the table, and it was business as usually! I believe this is a deadly recipe for disaster in a developing country as ours. According to Sekou Nkrumah, Former President Mahama who is seeking re-election does not deserve any shot at the presidency in that because his thinking is not futuristic. For Mr. Sekou Nkrumah, what the 20th century Ghana really needs is a dynamic leadership with the capacity to buildnot talking about the so called infrastructure the NDC touts as Mahamas legacy! I am talking about building a future with a mindset of 2020 not 1920! (See: Ghanaweb.com, Jan. 9, 2020). If Sekou Nkrumah, indeed, made the above damning but genuine assessments of ex-President Mahama, who claims to be a lifetime adherent of the late President Nkrumahs (Sekous father) ideology, then some of us need to rest our case about JDMs pretenses in that we have been vindicated. Obviously, faithful Nkrumaists know ex-President Mahama is not even a true social democrat in the practical sense. In the face of this overwhelming record of past inept leadership, it is inexplicable watching and listening to some Ghanaians (media not excluded) naively attempting to make lame excuses for ex-President Mahamas return to power so he can redeem himself of his past mistakes as if Ghanas presidency is a place for try and error experimentation. After heading the NDC governments economic team; serving as vice president under the late President Atta Mills; and eventually becoming president of the republic of Ghana, why should any reasonable-minded Ghanaian doubts or finds it difficult to understand that ex-President John D. Mahama just wants to grab back political power to enable him rehash his same old, same old ideas? Permanently retiring Mr. Mahama from the countrys presidency in December 2020 elections, is a no-brainer, folks! Bernard Asubonteng is a US-based writer and a political science lecturer at a college. 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. The Spanish Rescue group Open Arms on Friday rescued 72 migrants off the coast of Libya, including pregnant women and minors. Open Arms said the migrants were from Nigeria, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Mali and Guinea, and included 15 women, children and babies. According to Open Arms, those pulled from the unseaworthy vessel had been in a state of panic, and the rescue was carried out under the close watch of a Libyan patrol boat. Two of those rescued had thrown themselves overboard and had to be pulled to safety, it said. Earlier, Open Arms said it also saved 44 migrants from Bangladesh and Morocco off the Libyan coast off a dinghy that had run into difficulty. On Saturday, 12 migrants drowned and 21 others were rescued in the Ionian Sea near the Greek island of Paxos after their boat took in water and sank. (Image Source: AP) With barely days left for the January 15 deadline for the union ministry of electronic and information technology (MeitY) to notify the Intermediary Guidelines (Amendment) Rules 2018, tweaks in the draft could lead to changes in intermediary culpability and a redefinition of unlawful content to include terrorism and child sexual abuse imagery. An official of the IT ministry said that the culpability of intermediaries could be one of the rethinks in the draft Rules after the ministry held wide consultations. Whether the intermediary has to take suo moto action, or it takes it after a directive from the government is one of the points being discussed, said the official. Section 3(9) of the Rules states that any intermediary under the ambit of the Rules should deploy technology based automated tools or appropriate mechanisms to identify and remove unlawful content. Under the Rules, those intermediaries with more than 50 lakh users in India come under the ambit of the law and so, are necessitated to have a permanent registered office in India, and a nodal officer here. Unlawful content, too, could be redefined to include terrorism and child sexual abuse imagery, said the official. As per the IT ministrys affidavit to the Supreme Court in the Facebook transfer petition in October last year, the notification is likely to be completed by January 15. The apex court had directed the ministry in September to submit a specific timeline to notify the guidelines. Several intermediaries, who have been part of the discussions, have expressed their reservations due to the Indian governments insistence on traceability. WhatsApp, which has an estimated 400 million users in India, has said that the changes could interfere with users privacy. The proposed changes are going overboard and are not consistent with strong privacy protections that people around the world are seeking. If the government goes ahead with the regulations, it will require us to re-architect our product, Carl Woog, WhatsApps Head of Communications had said in February last year while in India. Last week, many open source platforms like Mozilla, Cloudfare and GitHub urged the government to share the draft Rules with the public before they are notified. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The EU's diplomatic chief criticised Iran on Sunday for briefly detaining the British ambassador to Tehran, calling for "de-escalation". Iranian authorities held ambassador Rob Macaire at a student protest to pay tribute to those killed when a Ukrainian airliner was shot down outside Tehran, killing 176 people including Britons. The move triggered diplomatic protests from around the world, with London calling it a violation of international law and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell added his voice to the chorus of condemnation. "Very concerned about the temporary detention of the UK Ambassador @HMATehran in Iran. Full respect of the Vienna convention is a must. The EU calls for de-escalation and space for diplomacy," Josep Borrell tweeted. Macaire denied Iranian claims he was taking part in demonstrations, saying he went to an event to pay his respects to those killed in the crash and left after five minutes when chanting started. Protests erupted in Iran on Saturday, with some students reportedly chanting "anti-regime" slogans amid concern about the authorities' handling of the disaster. Iran's armed forces admitted on Saturday that the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 was shot down, after denying for days Western claims it was brought down by a missile. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A view of Jain Coral Cove apartment, built in violation of Coastal Regulation Zone norms in Maradu Municipality, being demolished using controlled implosion, in Kochi on Sunday. PTI Kochi: Authorities on Sunday razed two more lakeside illegal apartment complexes, implementing the Supreme Court order to bring down four unauthorised buildings in Maradu municipality here. Two luxury apartment complexesH2O Holy Faith and Alfa Serene twin towers were brought down on Saturday in compliance with the last year apex court order. While the 55-metre-high Jain Coral Cove was brought down at 11 am on Sunday, another building of the same height, Golden Kayaloram, was demolished at 2 pm, official sources said. The time of implosion was based on weather conditions and safety. The blast lasted only a few seconds and the debris will be contained to the site, they said. A mock drill to condition the team of police, fire force, health officials and other experts for the Sunday's exercise was carried out at Golden Kayaloram on Saturday evening. The mock drill at Jain's Coral Cove was carried out on Friday. The two high-rises were demolished in controlled implosion by Edifices Engineering. Experts from South Africa-based Jet Demolition had arrived here to assist the Mumbai-based company in the process. Section 144 has came into force at 8 am at 200 metres around the structures. Construction is scheduled to begin this week on a project to replace two bridges that carry Darby-Paoli Road over Little Darby Creek and Wigwam Run in Radnor. Work will begin Jan. 13 with the closure of Darby Paoli Road between Newtown Road and Godfrey Road. The roadway will remain closed through early May for construction of the Wigwam Run structure. During the closure, Darby Paoli Road motorists will be detoured over Goshen Road, Newtown Street Road and St. Davids Road. After completion of the Wigwam Run structure, Darby-Paoli Road will be closed between Brooke Road and Newtown Road for construction of the Little Darby Creek structure. The posted detour will use Church Road, St. Davids Road, Newtown Street Road and Goshen Road. The entire project is expected to be completed in fall of 2020. Originally built circa 1905 and 1935, improvements are needed to enhance the safety and operations of the two bridges because of their age and state of deterioration, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. For the bridge over Wigwam Run, the new structure will be a single cell 8-foot by 6-foot reinforced box culvert. The new span over Little Darby Creek will be a single cell 20-foot by 12-foot reinforced box culvert. The new structures will carry 12-foot lanes and four-foot shoulders. Richard E. Pierson Construction Co., Inc., of Woodstown, NJ is the general contractor on the $2.3 million project, which is financed with 100 percent federal funds. * PennDOT and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission also announced this week that the required 60-day pre-enforcement period for the statewide Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement program has begun and will last until March 4, 2020. Pennsylvanias AWZSE program uses vehicle-mounted systems to detect and record motorists exceeding posted work zone speed limits using electronic speed timing devices. The AWZSE program was established by the Pennsylvania General Assembly in Act 86 of 2018. During the pre-enforcement period, automated speed enforcement units will be deployed in active work zones, but violations will not be issued. Work zones are selected to maximize the effectiveness of the systems and will be marked with signage in advance of the enforcement area. Locations are posted on the project website, WorkZoneCameras.PennDOT.gov. AWZSE systems are only operational in active work zones where workers are present. Once enforcement begins on March 4, registered owners will receive a warning letter for a first offense, a violation notice and $75 fine for a second offense, and a violation notice and $150 fine for third and subsequent offenses. These violations are civil penalties only; no points will be assessed to drivers licenses. There were 1,804 work zone crashes in Pennsylvania in 2018, resulting in 23 fatalities. Since 1970, PennDOT has lost 89 workers in the line of duty. The PA Turnpike has lost 45 workers since 1945. For more information on the Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement program, including a list of projects where the units are deployed, visit WorkZoneCameras.PennDOT.gov. * For information on projects occurring or being bid this year, those made possible by or accelerated by Act 89, or those on the departments Four and Twelve Year Plans, visit www.projects.penndot.gov Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 860 traffic cameras. 511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website. For PennDOT information, visit www.penndot.gov. Follow local PennDOT information on Twitter at www.twitter.com/511PAPhilly, and follow the department on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pennsylvaniadepartmentoftransportation and Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennsylvaniadot A Lamborghini-driving cryptocurrency founder is fighting to regain control of his souvlaki store and Bitcoin empire after being charged over his alleged role in a drug-trafficking syndicate. The legal stoush with the Australian Federal Police has prompted lawyers for Sam Karagiozis to file exclusion orders, seen by The Age, for the return of $2 million worth of items including personalised number plates MRBTC, a BMW sedan and motorbike and Reservoir property development. Auscoin founder Sam Karagiozis. Mr Karagiozis, a self-proclaimed "serial entrepreneur" with the words "self made'' tattooed across his knuckles, founded Australian cryptocurrency Auscoin in 2017 before opening a string of Bitcoin ATMs and souvlaki stores across the country. But on March 7, the 28-year-old from Bulleen was charged with trafficking about 30 kilograms of drugs, including cocaine, MDMA and methamphetamine, following a lengthy federal police investigation involving officers from the AFP and FBI. Jon Russell, former chairman of the Culpeper Repbulican Committee, urged participants to turn out at the Culpeper Town Councils Jan. 14 vote on whether the municipality should become a 2A constitutional Town. The governor, King Northam, has decreed that if you are going to buy any guns after his decree is signed, that our scary-looking rifles, you will not be able to own those and he will come and confiscate them, Russell said. King Northam has decreed that if you have scary-looking rifles now, you can keep those scary-looking rifles. Alright, weve heard that before. But you have to register them with the state. This is where we are heading. At the monument, Amissville resident Phyllis Judd said in an interview that shes a gun owner who felt compelled to attend the rally to support the Second Amendment. I felt it was important to come today because after starting with gun regulation, where will it end? she said. I feel its important to have the means to protect myself, Judd added. Im vulnerable and need that security. Qatar, Italy and other nations have also been backing the GNA, while Hifter has received considerable military and diplomatic help from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and France. If the cease-fire holds, it could pave the way for a planned summit in Berlin to curb the growing internationalization of the war and resume a peace process that was upended by Hifters April offensive. New Delhi, Jan 12 : Cheteshwar Pujara scored a record extending 13th first class double ton on Sunday as Saurashtra declared on 581/7 against Karnataka on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Group B match in Rajkot. Pujara smashed 248 while Sheldon Jackson scored 161, sharing a massive stand of 394 runs. This was Pujara's seventh Ranji double ton, the third most in the history of the tournament. He had already surpassed Vijay Merchant for most double tons scored by an Indian player in 2017 when he scored his 12th double century. Pujara faced 390 deliveries, hitting 24 fours and a six. Karnataka, who had to negotiate eight overs before stumps, lost Devdutt Padikkal to end the day at 13/1. The bowlers dominated the proceedings in Nagpur as Vidarbha, who resumed play at 89/3, sealed a nine-wicket win against Bengal. After securing a 42-run lead in the first innings, the defending champions bundled out Bengal for 99 as Aditya Sarvate scalped six wickets. Needing 58 to win, Vidarbha then chased the target in 13.5 overs to pocket six points. Mumbai, who had recovered from 129/5 to reach 284/6 on the opening day, added another 204 runs to their overnight score, putting 488 runs on the board against Tamil Nadu in the first innings. While Aditya Tare, who is leading the side in the absence of Suryakumar Yadav, notched up a hundred (154 off 253 balls), Shashank Attarde scored 58. Tamil Nadu, in reply, were guided to 66/0 as Abhinav Mukund scored an unbeaten 52. In Guwahati, Rishav Das, who got out for 99, and Gokul Sharma, who scored an unbeaten 50, guided Assam to 209/3 against Chhattisgarh, who scored 318 runs after put into bat. In the Nagaland versus Arunachal Pradesh game, hundreds from Shrikant Mundhe and Yogesh Takawale and half-centuries from Zhimomi and Sedezhalie powered Nagaland to 534/7d. Arunachal Pradesh ended the second day at 141/4, trailing Nagaland by 393 runs. Andhra Pradesh, who had bowled out Hyderabad for 225 on the first day, dominated the proceedings on the second day as their openers Prasanth Kumar (117 not out) and C.R. Gnaneshwar (73) guided the team to 237/1 before stumps. In Agartala, Manisankar Murasingh and Ajoy Sarkar shared the spoils as Tripura bundled out Uttarakhand for 90. Before stumps, Tripura had scored 104 for the loss of two wickets. Bihar, after scoring 431 runs batting first, pushed Manipur on the backfoot, reducing them to 40/4 at stumps. In Trivandrum, M.D. Nideesh scalped seven wickets as Kerala, who were restricted to 227 in the first innings, managed to take a first-innings lead after bowling out Punjab for 218. However, with Gurkeerat Singh scalping four wickets, Punjab then reduced Kerala to 88/5 before stumps. Rajasthan's Rituraj Singh picked up five wickets as Gujarat, who resumed play at the overnight score of 258/4, lost their last six wickets for 67 runs and were all out for 325. Manender Singh's unbeaten 61 and Yash Kothari's 45 then guided Rajasthan to 142/1 at stumps on the second day. Railways, meanwhile, gained an upper hand over Madhya Pradesh. After bowling out Madhya Pradesh for 124, Railways secured a 120-run lead and then picked up two Madhya Pradesh wickets, conceding 46 runs before stumps. In Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh scored 431 on the back of Mohammad Saif and Upendra Yadav's hundreds against Baroda, who ended the day at 82/1. Odisha, meanwhile, could only add 19 runs to their overnight score of 141/5 as Haryana's Tinu Kundu scalped five wickets. However, Odisha still managed to secure a 70-run lead. Haryana then put up a good show with the bat in the second innings, posting 218/5 on the board at stumps. In Palam, Parvez Rasool missed out on a double hundred, but Jammu and Kashmir, who scored 360 runs in the first innings, reduced Services to 238/9. Maharashtra coasted to 434 against Jharkhand as Azim Kazi and Vishant More scored hundreds. While the former scored 140, the latter scored 120. Jharkhand had to bat for an over and they lost two wickets in that period. In a Plate Group clash, Sikkim, who were all out for 264 in the first innings, were in with a chance to secure first-innings lead, but Bipul Sharma and Gurinder Singh dashed those plans, scoring 58 and 99, respectively, as Chandigarh recovered from 188/6 to reach 338/8 at stumps, securing a first-innings lead. In Pondicherry, Goa won the battle of securing first innings lead despite Paras Dogra's 194. Pondicherry were 157/9 but Dogra put up a tremendous fight and added 103 runs for the last wicket. Felix Alemao, who scalped six wickets, dismissed Dogra six short of a double hundred as Goa managed to bowl out Pondicherry for 260 to take a 10-run lead. In Kolkata, Mizoram's decision of electing to bowl did not work as hundreds from Dippu, D.R. Ravi Teja and Sanjay powered Meghalaya to 414/4. When a restaurant, hotel, street, town or city becomes "Insta-famous," it seems it's only a matter of time before overtourism follows behind. The Alpine village of Hallstatt, nestled in Austria's Salzkammergut mountains in the district of Gmunden, knows this only too well: a cascade of chocolate-box buildings surrounded by snow-capped mountains and lapped by crystalline water, it's straight out of a fairytale -- and straight off your social media feed. In certain shots, it looks like a snowy version of that other perennial Influencer favorite, the Cinque Terre villages. The population of this UNESCO-protected spot is just 780, but its tourist numbers reportedly reach some 10,000 visitors a day. Part of its appeal, beyond endless selfie opportunities, is Hallstatt is rumored to be the inspiration for Arendelle, the fictional setting of Disney's "Frozen" movies. And it's particularly popular among Asian tourists, fueled in part by the fact there's a Chinese replica of the village, built in the Guangdong province in 2011. Now, the village is trying to work out how to deal with the influx of visitors, with Michelle Knoll, office manager for Hallstatt's tourism board, telling CNN Travel there will be a "focus on quality tourism in the future." Fairytale setting Hallstatt, which was built up around the salt mining industry, first reached widespread prominence in the early 19th century when it was "discovered" by romantic writers and artists, as struck by the beauty of Baroque architecture as the Instagrammers are today. The first "Frozen" movie was released in 2013 but the village has been balancing on the edge of breaking point for some time. In 2017, The Local Austria reported that the village was employing "bouncers" at churches to stop tourists disturbing services. Still, as with any tourist hotspot, the influx of villagers is a double-edged sword. In 2019, mayor Alexander Schuetz told Chinese website News.cn that "the tourist dollar has become an indispensable part of the town's economy." Volodymyr Mazurok runs a network of Austria-based Instagram accounts, including @Hallstatt_Gram, that showcase traveler's shots. Mazurok tells CNN Travel that "photos of Hallstatt, compared to other cities, gather tremendous number of likes and views." Knoll says it was Hallstatt getting added to UNESCO's World Heritage list in 1997 that marked the start of the tourism influx. "Hallstatt became more and more famous," she says. "Many new shops, guest houses and attractions opened." Social media intensified the growth. "When someone posts a nice picture of Hallstatt on Instagram, his followers will also probably want to go there," says Knoll. She points out the social media effect doesn't just stem from visitors, Hallstatt's tourism boards run social-media based advertizing campaigns on Instagram and Facebook. Morgan St. Pierre, a teacher from Connecticut, visited Hallstatt with her family in Easter 2018, while she was studying abroad in Europe. They weren't aware of the 'Frozen' connection, but stopped off for lunch and to see the views. As a lover of photography, St. Pierre says she was keen to "capture the essence of the village." But that wasn't always straightforward. "It was honestly difficult to take certain photos without having other tourists in the background as well," she tells CNN Travel. Reducing tourist numbers In November 2019, a fire wrecked some buildings on Hallstatt's waterfront, with the mayor warning tourists against visiting. "They had to work to fix the damage and therefore it was better, to have less tourists here in Hallstatt," says Knoll. Still, she says, many came anyway. They wanted to see the damage. "So the mayor [said] officially that it would be great if they don't visit Hallstatt until the damage is fixed," she explains. Mayor Schuetz, recently told The Times he wanted tourism numbers to reduce by at least a third. "The situation with tourism is very controversial. It's equally a blessing and a curse for the locals," says Mazurok. "On the one hand they have a large profit from tourism. But it comes at a cost of privacy and comfort." St. Pierre says she was struck by a feeling that Hallstatt was "under-prepared for the level of tourists that were there, especially on a holiday weekend." When she visited Amsterdam and Venice, St. Pierre noticed there were lots of visitors, but they tended to be doing activities. In Hallstatt, most people were just taking pictures. "I would love to go back to Hallstatt in the summer to enjoy the lake more and see what summer in Austria is like, but I would be hesitant because I know how many people there were in the cold months," she says. "[I] can only imagine how many more people there would be in the spring or summer." Knoll says the local community center is working to address the balance. The first step? Implementing a new bus system in May 2020. It will, she says, reduce "the number of buses and also the number of guests here in Hallstatt." "The buses will book a slot in advance and then they can visit Hallstatt. Buses who have a booking at the town, either an overnight stay, or a ship cruise, a visit in a museum, get preference," Knoll explains. Quality over quantity There have been reports of angry Hallstatt locals feeling driven out by visitors in a manner not dissimilar from the dissent stemming from Venice, Dubrovnik, Amsterdam and other European centers of overtourism. Mazurok lives in Salzburg and says he probably wouldn't live in Hallstatt: "It is difficult to stay in a town which is treated as a theme park," he says. Knoll lives about six miles from the village, in nearby Bad Goisem, but she has family in Hallstatt, and she has noticed the impact. "On [the] one hand, many inhabitants of Hallstatt [make their livelihood] from the tourism here. Many of them are working in the tourism sector or rent their private rooms for tourists to stay there," she says. "On the other hand, sometimes it's a bit strenuous to have so many guests in your hometown. Also the prices at supermarkets are more expensive than in other towns nearby." The solution, she says, is a focus on "quality tourism," with the new bus system the first step. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 17:40:15|Editor: Wang Yamei Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Two government officials including a pilot were killed after a small aircraft of Pakistan's Department of Plant Protection (DPP) crashed during pesticide spray in the eastern province of Punjab on Sunday. The pilot and an engineer onboard the aircraft were spraying anti-locust pesticide after they got a signal of clear weather by the ground team, but about one hour after the operation, their plane crashed during the routine aerial spray, killing both of them on the spot, but no loss of life was reported on the ground as the operation was being done in an uninhabited desert area, Director General of the DPP Falak Naz told Xinhua. He said the crash happened far away from the main Rahim Yar Khan city, and ground teams of the DPP and provincial authorities were on their way to determine the cause of the crash and recover bodies of the victims. A pilot from the DPP told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that the department had five spray aircraft including the one that crashed on Sunday. "Though all the aircraft are old, but they are completely operational. The exact cause of the aircraft's crash is not known yet, but technical fault in the plane cannot be ruled out," the pilot said. Locust attack on crops incurred heavy financial losses to farmers in some areas of the country over the past two years. Naz said the DPP is helping Balochistan, Sindh and Punjab provinces to control locust by spraying pesticide. Nepal is drafting a new policy "to discourage" international NGOs from undertaking programmes with potential to hamper its relations with India and China, officials said on Sunday. While cross-border terrorism and criminal activities continue to be the major causes of concern for India, China has in the past complained about the Tibetans' movement via Nepal. Based on Nepal's foreign policy of keeping balanced relations, the projects that are opposed by either country will not be implemented, according to the draft of the strategy policy which is being prepared by the Social Welfare Council, The Kathmandu Post reported. "Nepal is a land-locked country and has two large countries with large populations in the north and south," according to the draft. The policy will discourage organisations from running programmes that can hamper Nepal's relations with the neighbouring countries, it said. Council officials said the policy is still in the draft stage and some of its provisions are expected to be addressed by a new law on the registration of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). Durga Prasad Bhattarai, an information officer at the council, said the proposed policy is aimed at addressing the concerns of the neighbouring countries regarding the activities of NGOs, particularly in the bordering regions. "The objective of the proposed policy is to reassert that Nepal government is concerned about the strategic mobilisation of international non-governmental organisations, particularly in the bordering regions, in the name of building madrasas and monasteries," Bhattarai was quoted by the Post. According to the council, madrasas in the regions bordering India are receiving funds from countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Rajendra Kumar Poudel, member secretary at the council, admitted that India has raised concerns, through the Home Ministry about the large presence of madrasas in the bordering region. "So we have stepped up the scrutiny of the source of funds and nature of programmes to be run in the madrasas while providing approval for foreign funding. We are in favour of addressing India's concerns, but we have not taken any opinion from the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu," said Poudel. Poudel, however, added it would be wrong to paint all the madrasas with the same brush. "Some madrasas in Morang and Sunsari are doing well in imparting education and many others are also attracting students from across the border who live in a 5km-10km periphery of the border. "We are equally sensitive about the mobilisation non-governmental organisations in the areas bordering China, so as not to have any negative effect on our relations with the northern neighbour," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Editorial: Poitier a legend on and off the screen Queen, Prince Harry, senior royals set for crisis meeting (L-R) Britain\'s Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Britain\'s Queen Elizabeth II, Britain\'s Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Britain\'s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, AND Britain\'s Prince William, Duke of Cambridge come onto the balcony of Buckingham Palace to wat Queen Elizabeth II will host a showdown meeting with Prince Harry on Monday in an attempt to solve the crisis triggered by his bombshell announcement that he and wife Meghan were stepping back from the royal frontline. Other senior royals including Harry's father Prince Charles and brother Prince William, with whom he has strained relations, will join the monarch at her private Sandringham estate in eastern England, according to British media. Meghan will join the meeting via conference call from Canada as they attempt to work out the "next steps" towards a compromise and nip the growing crisis in the bud. Issues up for debate include how much money the couple will still receive from Charles's estate, their HRH titles and what commercial deals they can strike, according to the Sunday Times. Harry, Meghan and son Archie spent Christmas in Canada, with the US former actress returning there this week. The Queen on Thursday demanded that staff work with the couple to urgently find a "workable solution" that would take into account their demands for more freedom. Several Canadian media reported Meghan had returned to Vancouver island off the country's Pacific coast, where the family spent the year-end holidays and where baby Archie had remained with his nanny. Senior royals were caught off guard by Wednesday's announcement that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex wanted to seek a "progressive new role" and divide their time between Britain and North America. The Queen's office issued a terse statement the same evening, saying there were "complicated issues that will take time to work through". Harry and Meghan said they intended to continue to "fully support" the queen and "collaborate" with senior royals. They also want to keep their home on the queen's Windsor Castle estate as their British base, while aiming to become financially independent. The younger prince, who has struggled with his role, last year revealed he has been growing apart from his brother, who as second in line to the throne is increasingly pursuing a different path. Harry has been open about his mental health issues and he 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 also lashed out at negative news coverage, some of which Harry says was racist - in light of Meghan's biracial heritage. London [UK], Jan 12 (ANI): The British Queen has reportedly called a private meeting with Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry to discuss the recent royal developments that have unfolded since Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, announced their decision last week to "step back as 'senior' members of the royal family" and work towards becoming "financially independent." The Royal family will attend the meeting on Monday at the queen's Sandringham estate, a Buckingham Palace source told CNN. Meghan is also expected to call into the meeting from Canada. The local media reported about the news of the family meeting, saying it was meant to help find "solutions" to help ease the tension of their departure. The Sussexes said last week that their decision to step back came "after many months of reflection and internal discussions." Sources told People magazine that the high-level meeting was to "talk things through" after the Sussexes' announcement. Meghan, who is currently in Canada, might call in for the meeting, as per the publication. Any change in the working life and role of a royal requires complex and thoughtful discussion. This will be the first time that any senior royals have met since Harry and Meghan made the announcement -- in defiance of the Queen's wishes -- that they would step back from their royal duties, seek financial independence and split their time between Britain and North America. The Duchess of Sussex has since returned to Canada, where the couple spent the holidays with her mother. It's unclear when Meghan will return to the UK from Canada. (ANI) A 24-year-old man has been arrested from New Delhi Railway Station with over 90 kg of cannabis which had arrived in his name from Howrah in West Bengal through the railways' parcel service, police said on Sunday. The 96.5 kg cannabis was packed in six iron cylinder typically used for storing and transporting chemicals, they said. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Railways) Harendra K Singh said the sealed cylinders, smeared with grease, were in turn packed in jute bags to give an impression that those were machine parts. Usman received the six cylinders which arrived on Poorva Express on Friday and was transporting those on a hand-pulled cart when he was held by the Railway Police Force, Singh said. During interrogation, the suspect, a resident of Bhagwanpura in Samaypur Badli, disclosed that about one month ago he met a person in Burari who lured him to work for him. All Usman had to do was to receiving parcel in his name and deliver those to that person, the DCP said. Usman was produced before a duty magistrate and sent to judicial custody till Sunday. Police will seek custody of the accused to further interrogate him and nab other persons involved in the racket, the police officer said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Last year there were news reports that Rolex wanted to buy Patek. I think I made it quite clear that I will not sell, Mr. Stern said. We should be proud of it when big companies want to buy Patek because that means we are doing something right. But we are not for sale. Instead, he said, he intends to be at the company for what he called many years before offering the keys to one of his two sons. The elder, at 18, is studying for the hospitality industry, but the younger, who is 16, has just started studying watchmaking and working part time at the factory. I didnt have two children to take over Patek, Mr. Stern said. They have to make their own choice. We will always find somebody that will take care of Patek Philippe. Looking to the next decade, Mr. Stern said that he had no plans to expand into new territories and that he was not pushing hard in China, which his competitors have identified as critical to traditional watchmakings long-term success. According to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, Swiss watch exports to mainland China rose 32.8 percent from 2016 to 2018. Patek opened its first branded showroom in Shanghai in 2005. Im not afraid to stay behind, Mr. Stern said. We are already in 74 countries. I dont have the capacity, and I would not destroy another market just to shift watches to China. But also, we go step by step. This is how we do our business. Its worked in the whole world. He said the approach had protected Pateks business when markets have declined. In December, for example, the federation reported that exports to Hong Kong, which it lists separately from mainland China, were down by 26.7 percent in November year over year, eroded by the citys continued civil unrest and related economic recession. London, Jan 12 : British Foreign Secretary Ben Wallace has warned that the UK must be prepared to fight wars without the US as its key ally, it was reported on Sunday. "I worry if the US withdraws from its leadership around the world... That would be bad for the world and bad for us. We plan for the worst and hope for the best," the BBC quoted Wallace as saying to the Sunday Times. He said the defence review should be used to make the UK less dependent on the US in future conflicts. "Over the last year we've had the US pull out from Syria, the statement by (President) Donald Trump on Iraq where he said NATO should take over and do more in the Middle East," Wallace said. "The assumptions of 2010 that we were always going to be part of a US coalition is really just not where we are going to be. "We are very dependent on American air cover and American intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets. We need to diversify our assets." Wallace's comments come as the UK prepares to carry out the "deepest review" of Britain's security, defence and foreign policy since the end of the Cold War. After returning from a long vacation in Maldives, actor Sara Ali Khan on Sunday visited the Shani Temple in Juhu to seek blessings from the lord. The actor visited the temple with her mother Amrita Singh and other relatives. During her visit to the famous temple, Sara aced the all-white look in a white sharara suit and kept her hair-do simple with a clean pleat. The 24-year-old actor has recently returned from her holiday in Maldives where she turned a water baby and was seen chilling in swimming pools and going underwater for deep-sea diving sport with her brother Ibrahim. The 'Simmba' actor during the vacation kept her fans well posted by sharing bouts of her dreamy vacation pictures. On the work front, the Pataudi scion has two films in a loop this year, one of them being the comedy remake of 1995 fame 'Coolie No. 1' along with Varun Dhawan and an untitled project with Imtiaz Ali, which is in the post-production stage. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani arrived in Tehran Sunday, Iranian media reported, amid soaring tensions following the US killing of an Iranian commander and retaliatory strikes. Qatar is close to the US and hosts Washington's largest military base in the region, but it also enjoys strong ties with Tehran, with which it shares the world's largest gas field. Sheikh Tamim arrived in the Iranian capital around midday, semi-official news agency ISNA said. The emir was scheduled to meet with President Hassan Rouhani in the afternoon, ISNA reported. Qatar's Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani reportedly called for a peaceful solution that would lead to de-escalation during a visit to Tehran in the immediate aftermath of the US strike on January 3. "Yes it's confirmed," an official at Qatar's Government Communications Office said, adding that Sheikh Tamim was flying to Iran for what is believed to be his first official visit to the Islamic republic, following a stop in Oman. Sheikh Tamim left Doha for Muscat on Sunday morning "to offer condolences on the death of Sultan Qaboos", the state-run Qatar News Agency reported. His visit follows the US killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike near Baghdad's airport, and Iran's admission it accidentally shot down an airliner near Tehran on Wednesday, killing all 176 people aboard. Iran retaliated against the US for Soleimani's death by firing missiles at American troops in Iraq, which US President Donald Trump said caused no casualties. Qatar's relationship with Shiite-dominated Iran, seen as the major regional rival to Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, is one of the major factors underpinning a crisis between Qatar and its former allies. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt all cut ties with Qatar in 2017, accusing Doha of backing extremism and being too close to Iran, charges Qatar denies. Search Keywords: Short link: Marcus Stoinis hits Big Bash League highest score for Melbourne Stars Marcus Stoinis hit the highest individual score in Big Bash League (BBL) history as Melbourne Stars scored 219-1 off 20 overs against Sydney Sixers. Australia batsman Stoinis smashed an unbeaten 147 from 79 balls, hitting 13 fours and eight sixes at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He and Hilton Cartwright shared a 207-run opening stand, which is the highest in the BBL, with Cartwright making 59. The Stars' total is the third-highest in BBL history. The previous highest individual score in the BBL was D'Arcy Short's unbeaten 122 in 2018. By Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - Meghan, the wife of Prince Harry, has gone back to Canada to be with their son after the couple provoked a rift with Britain's royal family by unexpectedly announcing they would be stepping back from their roles to spend more time in North America. Queen Elizabeth and other senior British royals were trying to calm the crisis by thrashing out a plan for Harry and Meghan after the couple blindsided the family by going public with their announcement without consultation. The couple spent six weeks in Canada at the end of last year before returning to Britain and their first official engagement of 2020 was to visit Canada House to say thank you for what they said had been an "unbelievable" welcome. Their baby son, Archie, remained in Canada as Harry and Meghan returned to announce that they would step back from royal duties and build a more "progressive" role for themselves. Meghan has now returned to Canada to be with her son, a spokeswoman said. The couple - formally the Duke and Duchess of Sussex - said they had been reflecting for months before making the decision, which would see them divide their time between Britain and North America to allow them and Archie the space they needed. They also said they intended to become financially independent. The couple, who spoke of their struggles dealing with the intense media attention in a TV interview last October, revealed their decision to step back from royal duties on Instagram, leaving senior royals hurt and disappointed. Discussions over the future had only been at a preliminary stage and neither the queen nor Prince Charles - Harry's father and heir to the throne - were consulted on the release of their statement or its contents, a royal source said. As the crisis engulfed the Windsors, aides who work for the queen, Charles, and Harry's elder brother William were trying to find a solution. The royal source said it was hoped a successful outcome would take "days not weeks". Story continues "CRISIS TALKS" "Queen fights to save monarchy," the Daily Mirror said on its front page while the Sun tabloid spoke of "Crisis talks after couple defied Queen". While other members of the royal family have had paying jobs, it was not immediately clear how Harry, 35 and sixth in line to the throne, and Meghan, 38, could become what royal biographers said was effectively "half-royal" - and who would pay for their transatlantic lifestyles. At the moment, nearly all of their income is provided by Charles's Duchy of Cornwall estate, although the cost of their security - estimated by newspapers to be hundreds of thousands of pounds a year - is currently met by the government. The Times newspaper said Charles might cut off their funding if they moved away from royal duties altogether, although public relations experts said they could use their global fame to make large sums through public speaking, endorsements or their own TV production company. Six months ago Harry and Meghan applied to the UK Intellectual Property Office to trademark the phrases Sussex Royal and Sussex Royal Foundation for items ranging from books and charity campaigns to pyjamas and socks. "The monarchy needs to be asked serious questions about what they're up to, it's not good enough to be told to wait for clarification or to be left reading the tea leaves to work out what their intentions are," said Graham Smith, from campaign group Republic, which wants to abolish the royals. A YouGov poll of 1,327 Britons found that 45% supported the couple's decision to step away from royal life but 63% believed their Duchy of Cornwall funding should end. (Additional reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Giles Elgood) More than 250 start-ups are gearing up to participate in the AIM Startup Pitch Competition, which will be held on the sidelines of the 10th edition of the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM 2020), to be held in Dubai, UAE, in March. The event will take place from March 24 to 26, at the Dubai World Trade Centre. AIM, the worlds leading investment platform, will be held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The AIM start-up pitch competition offers a great opportunity for start-up exhibitors to showcase their businesses and pitch their entrepreneurial ideas to a jury of experts in the areas of business management, entrepreneurship and technology, said a statement from the company. The pitching competition will enable start-up exhibitors to make the best use of the unique platform AIM offers them to connect and network with regional and international investors and businessmen during the three-day event. Winners will be rewarded with valuable cash prizes beside gaining key insights and advices to help them increase their chances of receiving seed funding for their start-up projects. The promotional campaign has already started in many countries and concluded in the Czech Republic and Argentina. Next stop is Chile followed by many other countries starting from February onwards. Dawood Al Shezawi, chairman of organising committee of the AIM 2020, said: AIM offers an opportunity for participating start-ups to increase their early stage venture capital or receive seed funding to start a business or expand its scope, given the crucial role start-ups play in strengthening new industries. Entrepreneurs represent a significant segment of the market due to their innovation skills and the ability to meet workplace challenges. Therefore, we are eager to conduct this competition with an aim to infuse the spirit of hard work and perseverance among them, he added. Al Shezawi pointed out that latest figures and reports show an unprecedented rise in the number of startups that are expected to ensure economic growth and sustainability, which in turn could support 9.7 billion people by 2050. Start-ups will help investors seeking new projects for investment, as well as governments looking for start-up projects to boost the economy. He noted that these figures support other findings revealing that not only start-ups have been flocking to the local and regional fintech sectors due to their promising growth prospects but that the UAE has remained a preferred destination for their operations as well regardless of their industries. AIM Startup Award includes five categories spanning growth, which selects a start-up that has achieved the highest growth rate amongst all the start-ups that pitched. The second category is social impact used to select a start-up that has the most impact on the society using a sustainable and scalable business model that serves the society. Participating start-ups will be selected on the criteria of the best use of innovation. This category is meant to choose a start-up that has leveraged the latest technology in its business. The climate and environmental impact category is to select a start-up that has the most impact in healing or protecting the environment, while the fifth category is privacy and data protection, whose award will be given to a start-up that is achieved the most scale in helping people or companies manage and protect their private data. According to H1 2019 MENA Venture Investment Report issued by MAGNiTT, there is an increase of 66 per cent in total funding for 238 investments worth $471 million, compared to 2018, which saw cash flow of $283 million pumped by regional start-ups. In terms of sectors, FinTech maintains its top position as the most active industry with 17 per cent of the deals made, followed by e-commerce at 12 per cent, and delivery and transport at 8 per cent. The report also shows that an increase of 30 per cent was made by 130 institutions invested in Mena-based start-ups, compared to the same period in 2018, while the share of foreign investors from outside the Mena region amounted to 30 per cent of the total investments registered in the period under review, like Endeavor Catalyst, Vostok New Ventures and Kingsway Capital, it stated. TradeArabia News Service A BOY fighting cancer for a third time has undergone surgery in an attempt to finally beat the disease. Charlie Ilsley, 12, of Buckingham Drive, Emmer Green, was given the all-clear for the second time in August after undergoing radiation treatment in Turkey which his family had to pay for. However, the disease has returned after a lumbar puncture showed cancer cells in his spinal fluid. On Monday, doctors at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, where Charlie originally had surgery, inserted an Ommaya reservoir under his scalp so that chemotherapy drugs can be delivered directly to his spine. The operation took three hours. Charlies parents, Mark and Toni, had feared he couldnt have any more chemotherapy after months of intense treatment at a hospital in Ankara. But they say the new procedure, which has been funded by the NHS, offers them hope without Charlie having to suffer the serious side effects he experiences when chemotherapy is administered normally. Charlie had to wait seven hours before being taken into surgery and his mother stayed with him overnight. Mrs Ilsley said: I tried to stay strong and as I walked down to surgery he said Mum, please dont let them hurt me and I just lost it. I went down to see him after surgery and they said he would be really tired. When he woke up he said, that wasnt too bad then. He wanted a packet of Quavers and to play his PlayStation and watch Family Guy. I reckon he had about 20 stitches. He didnt need any paracetamol. He was absolutely fine. Charlie, who attends Highdown School in Emmer Green, returned home on Tuesday and will now have chemotherapy drugs administered via the reservoir next week. The following week he will return to Germany for a second course of dendritic immunotherapy, which is designed to help his body to identify and fight cancer cells. He will then have further chemotherapy treatment via the reservoir. Mrs Ilsley said the treatment would continue until all the cancer cells had gone or it was no longer effective. Its just a wait and see thing, she said. Its s*** that hes got to have something again. I wish they didnt have to do this to him all the time. At least were giving him a chance. Charlies fed up with it. He said to me so Ive got to go through 2020 with cancer but he doesnt dwell on it. Hes not suffering, he hasnt got any side effects and hes still well. He asked if he can go back to school because he wants to show off his scar. The dendritic immunotherapy treatment costs 60,000 and the family managed to raise more than 40,000 in a matter of days before Charlie flew to Germany with his mother for the first session. He previously had CyberKnife radiotherapy treatment after two tumours were discovered on his spine. The variations across states seen in the implementation of India's Public Distribution System (PDS) -- which supplies food and non-food items to the country's poor at subsidised rates -- may be attributed to factors like political leadership, electoral competition, and societal pressures, according to a new study. The study, published in the journal World Development, assessed the implementation of the PDS in two relatively newly formed states in the country -- Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand -- which have similar demographic profiles, and development indicators, but different nutrition outcomes. According to the researchers, including those from the University of East Anglia (UEA), the National Food Security Act (NFSA) of 2013 made India's food security programme the largest in the world, and provided highly subsidised food grain to roughly 70 per cent of its population. While both Chhattisgarh and Jharkand expanded the PDS, the developments in coverage post-NFSA was greater in Chhattisgarh compared to that in Jharkhand, the researchers said. Chhattisgarh undertook comprehensive reforms to make its PDS a nationally lauded model, but Jharkhand's reforms were patchier in comparison, they explained in a statement. The findings revealed that three sets of interrelated factors influenced the goals pursued by the political leadership while prioritising PDS. One of the factors was the nature of political-electoral competition, the second was the kinds of pressures exerted by influential societal groups, and the third one was how the leadership enabled the uses of bureaucratic capacity. Through the study, the scientists were also able to understand a key difference between the two states. While Jharkhand's demand for statehood emerged from a strong mobilization of its tribal population, Chhattisgarh lacked a comparable movement, they said. The researchers sought to explain why Jharkhand's political elite were not able to drive the social policy agenda, and serve the interests of its core constituency the way that Chhattisgarh's upper caste leadership could. Based on the study, the researchers said the answer is rooted in the social and electoral drivers of the state's developmental orientation. In Chhattisgarh, they said, close competition between two national parties built considerable pressure on the ruling party to deliver on its poll agendas in response to the demands of powerful interest groups, like farmers. However, in Jharkhand, despite considerable Adivasi political influence, the state's repeatedly fractured political mandates, and the lack of internal party unity were not enabling in the same way as it was in Chhattisgarh. While in Chhattisgarh, stable political rule was conducive to sustained bureaucratic reform, in Jharkhand, this was never prioritised by short-lived governments, the study noted. According to the researchers, the Chhattisgarh bureaucracy's greater responsiveness to judicial intervention, and civil society pressures that followed was predicated upon this. Adding to this, they said, even though civil society mobilization in Jharkhand had a richer legacy, the state's political leaders were less effective in leveraging the bureaucracy to introduce PDS reforms. Even though the political leadership in both states engaged in high-level and high-stakes manipulation of public policy for high-profit returns, the study said the tenure stability of elected representatives in Chhattisgarh led to a steady supply of profits, particularly in the extractive sector. The researchers believe this allowed Chhattisgarh to prioritise some areas of developmental reform, which was not the case in Jharkhand, where short-lived governments indiscriminately engaged in pervasive profit-making from manipulated policies. While the functionality of PDS was greatly improved in Chhattisgarh, tackling many areas of its reform, this could not be achieved in Jharkhand to the same extent, the researchers said. According to the researchers, the findings not only confirm that political leadership is an important factor for the prioritisation of welfare, but also provide further understanding of the conditions in which the elected leaders may act to promote developmental objectives. "We hope that the analysis will be useful beyond the particular case of these states, or even the PDS system in India. We seek to advance the understanding of the many guises of the welfare state," the researchers wrote in the study. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Four Iraqi soldiers were wounded Sunday in a rocket attack targeting an air base just north of Baghdad where American trainers are present, security officials said. The Iraqi military said in a statement that eight Katyusha rockets had been fired at the site, about 50 miles north of the capital Baghdad, and that two of the wounded included officers. Military sources identified the wounded as Iraqi soldiers. They said seven mortar bombs had hit Balad air base's runway. There was no word of any US casualties among the forces at the site but the incident came just days after another rocket landed nearby. That missile was launched in the Fadhlan area of the Dujail district in Iraq's northern Salahuddin province, Iraqi police sources said. The origin of the rocket is unknown. And the two strikes at Balad also came within days of Iran firing ballistic missiles at two other bases in Iraq that also house US forces. There were no casualties. Joint Base Balad in Iraq. Seven mortar bombs fell on Sunday inside the air base and four Iraqi soldiers were wounded in the attack, two military sources told Reuters The Iraqi military statement did not say who was behind the attack Sunday and made no mention of heightened tensions between the United States and Iran. Recent heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran were sparked last month when a rocket attack killed an American contractor at a base in Iraq. The US has blamed that attack and others on Iran-backed militias. The rockets struck Balad air base, which hosts American trainers, advisers and a company that provides maintenance services for F-16 aircraft. Some rockets fell on a restaurant inside the airbase, the officials said. A statement from the Iraqi army's official media office confirmed the attack but said eight rockets hit the base, and that two officers had been wounded. The difference in accounts could no immediately be reconciled. 'There are American experts, trainers and advisers at the base,' said one defense official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media. Iran's retaliatory attack for Soleimani's death hit Ain al-Asad, pictured The U.S. and Iran recently stepped back from escalating tensions following the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Iran's top general, in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad. A senior Iraqi leader of an Iran-backed militia was also killed. Iran's retaliatory attack for Soleimani's death hit two Iraqi bases, Ain al-Asad and Irbil, where American troops are based. The limited Iranian strikes appeared to be mainly a show of force, and deescalated tensions that had threatened to turn Iraq into a proxy battlefield. More than 200 academicians, including vice chancellors of universities, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, blaming a "small coterie of Left-wing activists" for a deteriorating academic environment in the country. "We observe with dismay that in the name of student politics, a disruptive far-left agenda is being pursued. The recent turn of events in campuses from JNU to Jamia, from AMU to Jadavpur alarms us to the deteriorating academic environment due to the shenanigans of a small coterie of left-wing activists," they wrote to the prime minister. The signatories to the statement include Hari Singh Gour University VC R P Tiwari, Central University of South Bihar VC HCS Rathore and Sardar Patel University VC Shirish Kulkarni, among others, according to official sources. It is titled as "statement against left-wing anarchy in educational institutions". The statement by 208 academicians is being seen as part of the ruling dispensation's efforts to mobilise support in the academia after it faced flak from a section of the intelligentsia over protests in certain universities over a host of issues, including the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the recent violence on the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus. Taking on Left-leaning groups, the statement said it had become difficult to organise public talks or speak independently due to the "censorship imposed by the left-wing politics". Strikes, dharnas and shutdowns over maximalist demands were common in Left strongholds and personal targeting, public slandering and harassment for not conforming to the Left ideology were on the rise, the academicians wrote to Modi. The worst sufferer of this kind of were poor students and those from marginalised communities, the statement said. "They (these students) lose out on the opportunity to learn and build a better future for themselves. They also lose out on the freedom to articulate their own views and alternative They find themselves constrained to conform to the majoritarian left We appeal to all democratic forces to come together and stand for academic freedom, freedom of speech and plurality of thoughts," it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Gautham S By KOCHI: The excitement on the faces of spectators was evident as the apartments were ready for demolition on Saturday. However, there were many who travelled from other districts to have a glimpse of the implosion. From senior citizens to young ones, spectators were gushing into Maradu. Abdul Jabbar, who came from Ambalappuzha, Alappuzha, said he was excited to see how implosion was carried out in Kerala. I have seen buildings being demolished in Saudi Arabia. However, there the buildings used to be covered fully and the implosion done secretly. But, Maradu has a festive mood. As the demolition continues on Sunday, the pollution level will rise, he said. Lasar Samuel, a contractor from Thiruvananthapuram, said that the government should have handed over the building to some charity organisation rather than demolishing it. However, if the buildings were let off, it would have encouraged many to violate the rules again. It is a warning to all builders. The government should show more interest in curbing such violators. ALSO READ | Maradu demolition: Impact of implosion on air quality limited, say experts Shaji V M, a retired employee from Vadakkencherry, Palakkad, started at 5.00 am to reach Maradu before the demolition time. He said the excitement of seeing a building demolition in real had forced to visit Maradu. He had visited the Holy Faith H2O apartment when the Supreme Court verdict on demolition was issued. It is sad to see a beautiful building going down. However, the environment needs to be looked after too. I feel that the court should have imposed a heavy penalty on the builders. From what I heard, the flat owners have the right to build it again. Then what is the use of this demolition? Aravind K, a native of Manjeri, Malappuram, was of the opinion that buildings that violate the rules should be demolished. Being a real estate dealer, we find that these kind of violations affect our business also. I had a rental enquiry for a flat in this apartment some months back. Luckily I didnt take it up. Since there are many other apartments in the violation zone, I believe the demolition scene may become regular in Kochi. The demolition process was unbelievable. It was done with perfection and the people were in awe witnessing that, he said. The court should have imposed a hefty penalty on the builders so that no one will have the courage to violate CRZ norms again. Rather than demolishing, the government should have taken over the buildings and used them for some of their projects, said Thomas Mathew, an employee of Infopark. Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion curated for you. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times. All 4 Maradu flats demolished; operation successful, say officials The last of the four illegal multi-storey apartment complexes in Maradu town of Keralas Kochi was successfully demolished in the final round of controlled implosion on Sunday, officials said. Read more. A month on, new songs and poems keep anti-CAA protests in Assam kicking Its been a month since Assam erupted in protests against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). But the stir, fuelled by fear among Assamese that the legislation would encourage the flow of illegal immigrants to the region and hurt the culture, language and identity of indigenous people, has not abated one bit. Read more. Out on morning walk, Samajwadi Party leader shot dead in UPs Mau district A local Samajwadi Party leader and former village head Bijli Yadav (39) was shot dead in the outskirts of Shekhwalia village of Uttar Pradeshs Mau district, just over 100 km north of Varanasi on Sunday morning when he was out for a walk, police said. Read more. Odisha plans police helpline for women facing sexual harassment With violence against women on the rise in Odisha, the state police are now planning to start a call centre-based project in which victims of sexual harassment and other non-heinous gender-based harassments can call to report their problems without lodging an FIR in a police station, a government official said. Read more. Will be keen to redeem themselves - Ricky Ponting predicts scoreline of three-match ODI series Legendary Australia skipper Ricky Ponting has predicted the winner of three-match ODI series between India and Australia starting Tuesday. The two teams are scheduled to play three ODIs in Mumbai (Jan 14), Rajkot (Jan 17)and Bengaluru (Jan 19). Read more. Javed Akhtar on Farhan Akhtar-Shibani Dandekar marriage rumours: You never know, children can be very secretive The grapevine has been abuzz with rumours that actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar and actor Shibani Dandekar are planning to get married this year. When Farhans father and lyricist Javed Akhtar was asked to comment on the same, he said that he was completely unaware of it. Read more. Deepika Padukone, Kangana Ranaut, Alaya F, Priyanka Chopra: Best and worst-dressed celebrities this week The past week was quite an eventful affair for Bollywood celebrities, from Priyanka Chopra Jonas making headlines for her vintage-inspired look at the 77th annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California to Deepika Padukone making headlines for her movie Chhapaak. Read more. Youve got mail, but its stainless steel. Artifacts of the snail mail era are the focus of Elliot Norquists new exhibition, Mail Room, which opened at the Charlotte Jackson Fine Art gallery on Jan. 10. Theres the manila envelope, the security envelope and the ubiquitous (to some) bright orange envelope enclosing the overlooked bill, which Norquist has playfully dubbed Past Due. A resident of Carbondale, Colorado, a once-gritty mining town that is close to Aspen, Norquists ruddy face is a familiar one to Santa Fe art aficionados. He lived here for 20 years beginning in 1978 and has been showing his art in the area ever since. Norquist moved to New Mexico not long after earning his MFA from the University of Oregon in 1972. He made a stop on the way between Eugene and Santa Fe, teaching at the private Colorado Rocky Mountain School in Carbondale. He ended up back in Carbondale later in his life after his son Fred announced he wanted to attend the school. My wife and I said, Were coming with you. In New Mexico, Norquist burst onto the art scene in 1978 with an installation called Waterline at the bottom of an abandoned irrigation pond that had been leveled near the Shidoni Foundry in Tesuque. Waterline at Shidoni put me on the map, said Norquist. Norquist said Waterline was in existence for a decade until Shidoni decided to build its gallery. The work consisted of 32 8-foot-by-8-foot steel squares that resembled giant tiles. In between the squares, which were laid out in a 180-foot-by-50-foot grid, were grout lines of sand where visitors could walk through the installation. These pathways were groomed daily, Norquist remembers. Waterline was surrounded by trees that provided privacy for picnickers and lovers, Norquist said. One day, he overheard a young man telling his girlfriend, You know, the guy who built this thing was really Zen. Norquist said he responded to the man, I know the guy, and youre right. The installations location in a former irrigation pond was prescient, as Norquist would later spend time in Miami, New Mexico, acting as a mayordomo for an acequia. Despite Norquists fascination with steel fabrication and industrial-looking art, his roots lie in ranching and the many chores that come with raising livestock. A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Norquist said he spent lots of time on his fathers ranch in Council Grove, Kansas, as a youth. Asked why he has combined animal husbandry with fine art, he quipped, If you want to live on the land, you have to have a skill. Norquist said he gave up his full-time teaching position and moved to Santa Fe because he was spending more time helping his students than working on his art. Santa Fe was attractive to him because of its vibrant art market and its proximity to wilderness. Im not one for big cities, he said. Many of Norquists followers know him for big metal pieces that eerily parallel the style of the late Donald Judd, whose works are housed in a museum run by the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas. Norquist, 73, said he and Judd never met. Among his main influences is his teacher Mowry Baden at the University of Oregon. An American sculptor, Baden moved to Canada in 1975 and has lived there ever since. Norquist also credits the late Dale Eldred, a professor at the Kansas City Art Institute, where Norquist earned a BFA in sculpture, with teaching him how to weld. During his time in Santa Fe, Norquist worked part-time teaching at the College of Santa Fe and the Albuquerque Academy. Whats new about Norquists latest work is that instead of geometric figures, hes fabricated what are nearly flat pieces with intricate folds and edges out of stainless steel. He said the eureka moment for his latest body of work came when he was cleaning off his desk and tore an envelope with a glassine paper window in half in order to use it as note paper. Rather than throwing the other half in the trash, Norquist found the inspiration for his next project, Mail Room. Having a messy desk is like having a pile of scrap metal to work with, he said. For those pining after Norquists Manila Envelope, a 36-inch-by-24-inch painted steel piece that was priced at $6,000, you can still look at it. However, it sold even before his show opened. Perforated steel figures in some of Norquists pieces, such as Six Boxes of Invitations. Love Letter was originally pink and silver, and was photographed that way ahead of the show at Charlotte Jackson, but, at the last minute, the artist decided to paint the pink parts blue. I was getting tired of pink, he said. Asked how his process of creating art has changed as he has aged, Norquist said hes more conscious of his physical limitations. Im also looking at things in more detail and Im more thoughtful about what Im doing, he said. Those who used to exult in a trip to the old-fashioned office supply store or who worked in mailrooms will no doubt enjoy Norquists mastery and sense of whimsy in recreating these objects. IF YOU GO WHAT: Elliot Norquist, Mail Room WHERE: Charlotte Jackson Fine Art gallery, 554 S. Guadalupe St. WHEN: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Closed Sundays MORE INFO: 505-989-8688, charlottejackson.com The Royal Family will today gather at Sandringham to thrash out a way forward for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex The Royal Family will today gather at Sandringham to thrash out a way forward for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Here are the key issues facing them. THE HRH QUESTION Harry and Meghan wish to continue to undertake duties on behalf of the Queen and for that they will need titles. They could voluntarily relinquish their HRHs and retain their courtesy titles, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, given by the Queen. However the couples new brand Sussex Royal is built around the kudos of being a royal highness. Losing this would it signal this is an abdication in all but name and it would mean the couple being lower down the pecking order than Prince Andrews daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. But members of the Royal Family do not see any benefit in them losing their titles either. They are acutely aware of the disastrous consequences when Harrys mother, the late Diana, Princess of Wales, lost her HRH status as the public believed she had been vengefully stripped of her status. THE SUSSEX MARTYRS? The Duke and Duchess of Sussex deeply believe in the role of The Monarchy, and their commitment to Her Majesty The Queen is unwavering, the couple say on their new website. If their hope of being able to continue to support the Queen is not accepted by the rest of the family, it will give the Sussexes the martyrdom they crave and make the monarchy look old-fashioned. But the familys biggest fear is that a one foot in, one foot out approach to being a member of the Royal Family is unworkable. One option is that Harry and Meghan keep their personal patronages but also attend big set-piece family events such as Trooping The Colour. All other royal duties would be dramatically scaled back although a moot point is the Commonwealth as the Queen made them president and vice-president of her Commonwealth Trust. Can this be reconciled now? The familys biggest fear is that a one foot in, one foot out approach to being a member of the Royal Family is unworkable THIS COULD BE COSTLY Harry will be handed documents compiled after discussions with tax authorities in the UK and Canada. They include the warning he could face a double tax on commercial income and bills running into the millions from multiple authorities. Canada requires residents and some property owners to pay income tax on global earnings. Similar rules apply in the UK. This means Harry may have to give up his UK residency or limit his time in Canada if he does not want to pay taxes in both places. WILL CHARLES PAY? Harry and Meghan have made great virtue of relinquishing their funding via the Sovereign Grant, basically taxpayers money. They claim this is just five per cent of their funding and has been spent specifically on official office expenses. But they also get public money for travel for official engagements here and abroad. If they are travelling further afield, this could run into hundreds of thousands of pounds each year. Their website states for the first time that 95 per cent of their annual funding comes from the Duchy of Cornwall, the Prince of Waless private estate. The bill is estimated to be around 2.3million but will Charles want to continue to foot this? Their website states for the first time that 95 per cent of their annual funding comes from the Duchy of Cornwall, the Prince of Waless private estate. Pictured: Charles, William and Harry with Sir David Attenborough THE FERGIE FACTOR The couple claim there is precedent for holding a title and earning an income. But this is currently only Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. None received any official funding and are only asked to accompany the Queen on a handful of engagements each year. Harry and Meghan are high-profile figures who currently undertake 200-plus engagements a year between them. Other royals who have tried this route include the Duchess of York, who has made a string of disastrous business deals. CASHING IN What does the couples stated aim to work to become financially independent mean? Will they take deals to promote products or bring out autobiographies or start producing their own films and documentaries? It sends shudders down the spine and raises fundamental questions about the monitarisation of the monarchy, said one source. He added the Queen has been clear that members of the Royal Family do not benefit as a result of their position. The new so-called progressive model seems to fly in the face of that. Will the couple take deals to promote products or bring out autobiographies or start producing their own films and documentaries? Pictured: Harry talking to Disney CEO Robert Iger while Meghan embraces Beyonce HOME COMFORTS Harry and Meghan wish to keep Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor Estate, which was refurbished with 2.4million from taxpayers. The Queen still owns the property but gave it to the Sussexes to live in for as long as they wanted. It is relatively modest by royal standards and the couple have always had their eye on a country bolt-hole too. Surveys have made clear the public will not stomach them still owning Frogmore while spending most of their time abroad. Harry and Meghan wish to keep Frogmore Cottage (pictured) on the Windsor Estate, which was refurbished with 2.4million from taxpayers STAYING SAFE As royals, the couple are entitled to 24/7 taxpayer-funded protection at home and abroad, and whether on official duties or on holiday. They have made it clear they believe this should continue. The couples security bill is close to 1million a year. The Met Police has indicated it cannot write an open-ended cheque if they live abroad. The police will not turn their backs on Harry and Meghan but a compromise is needed. A koala that suffered minor burns after being caught in a bushfire was miraculously nursed back to health, but died in what has been described as a 'silent tragedy'. Arnie the koala was rescued when bushfires ravaged Victoria's East Gippsland and only suffered minor burns to his feet and hands. But it was a simple act of kindness from strangers that killed Arnie, as the people who rescued him offered the koala a drink from their bottle of water. Arnie the koala (pictured) was rescued when bushfires ravaged Victoria's East Gippsland and only suffered minor burns to his feet and hands Animalia Wildlife Shelter took to Facebook to warn kind strangers of the correct way to give water to desperate wildlife Animalia Wildlife Shelter took to Facebook to warn kind strangers of the correct way to give water to desperate wildlife. 'They were just trying to help. They didnt know that it is dangerous for koalas to drink this way,' the shelter wrote. 'They didnt know that Koalas usually get most of their water via the gum leaves that they eat and they dont often drink water, but when they do, they are face down and lapping small amounts with their tongue.' When Koalas hold their head back and take in too much water it can get into their lungs and cause Aspiration Pneumonia which can be fatal. 'This is exactly what happened to little Arnie. Despite a mammoth rescue effort involving all three emergency services and wildlife rescuers he died more specifically he drowned,' Animalia Wildlife Shelter wrote. Michelle Thomas, owner of the shelter, told Daily Mail Australia she is not trying to shame anyone for trying to help the distressed wildlife. Anna Heusler was riding into the Adelaide CBD on Friday when she came across a koala in the middle of the highway (pictured) and gave it water 'We're not saying don't give them a drink, we're saying don't pour it - it needs to be in a bowl,' Ms Thomas said. 'It is completely safe for them to have water out of a bowl.' Ms Thomas said the post was hoping to highlight the correct way to give water to Koalas as 'nobody should have to feel what we feel when we are trying to save these animals'. She is urging people to use the correct method and wrap the Koala in a blanket and take it to the nearest shelter, but be careful when handling them. 'If you are nowhere near help then the best way to hydrate koalas is to PLACE A BOWL OF WATER ON THE GROUND OR POUR THE WATER IN TO YOUR HAT/HELMET/CUP ETC AND HOLD NEAR KOALAS MOUTH SO THAT IT CAN LAP AT IT, FACE DOWN,' the Facebook post reads. Ms Donkers also said she had been forced to tape off an area where koalas were resting (pictured) as people were annoying them A koala drinks water from a bottle given by a firefighter in Cudlee Creek, South Australia on December 22 'Please remember that Koalas are arboreal and nocturnal. If you see one sitting on the ground during the day then please contact a wildlife rescue organisation.' Currumbin Wildlife Hospital senior vet Michael Pine said while koalas can be given water to drink it should not be poured down their throats. 'Normally healthy koalas don't drink but the incredibly dry conditions means they will because they aren't getting enough fluid,' Mr Pine told Daily Mail Australia. 'As long as the koala is lapping and drinking itself that's fine but forcing it into their mouth - there is a risk that koala could breathe the liquid.' He said if water gets into the animal's lungs they could develop pneumonia, which can be fatal. Mr Pine said the best way to hydrate koalas was to place a bowl of water on the ground or pour water near their mouth where they can lap at it with their tongue. He said the hospital has treated about 550 koalas this year - up about 100 from last year with the months September to December seeing particularly high numbers. 'It's easy to overlook because of the bushfires but the hot and dry conditions are a bigger problem for them.' New Delhi: The Special Investigation Team of Delhi Police has served notice to at least nine students, who are suspects in the January 5 violence at Jawaharlal Nehru University campus. The police have called the suspect for an enquiry on January 13. The girl students, who have been issued a notice by the SIT, have been asked to decide the date and time for the questioning. A lady police officer will do the enquiry with girl students on the appointed time. Others have been asked to SIT office of the Crime Branch at Delhi's Kamla Nagar for the questioning. Delhi Police, which is investigating into the matter, had on Friday released names of nine suspects, seven from Left including JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh and two from ABVP, who were recognized through the CCTV footage. However defending herself, 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. JNU Vice-Chancellor Jagadesh Kumar on Saturday appealed to the students who are out of the station to come back because the academic session is starting. ON Friday, JNU administration had issued circulars stating that academic session will start in JNU from the January 13. Kumar also interacted with students on Saturday during which he said that some ''activist students'' backed by a group of teachers are the trouble brewers who have created an atmosphere of terror forcing students to vacate the hostel. ''The terror created by some of the activist students went to such an extent that many of our students had to leave the hostels. Our campus is known as a peaceful campus," the V-C 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 vandalized campus property. Several people, including JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh, JNUSU General Secretary Satish Chandra, and many teachers received grievous injuries. It turns out that Maybe-Mom WAS Jenny's biological mother. She had gotten pregnant as a teen, and her family sent her away to have the baby in secret. While she later shared the secret with her husband, her best friend (Veronica's mom) never knew. Her son, who grew up as an only child, never knew. With one message to Veronica, I had pulled one very large cat out of the bag. This was better than a soap opera unless I was the villain in the story. Gulp. Later that night, Jenny got the phone call she'd been waiting 18 years for. Since then, they've video-chatted daily. Jenny's birth mother and family are heading to Kansas City to meet her. Her newly found half-brother is flying out next month. "It's surreal but exciting," Jenny told me. "We just instantly meshed, and it feels like we've always been a family. She told me her heart is full, and she feels like a weight has been lifted. My half-brother told me I've brought her happiness back." "I've always been searching for my real identity. Call it soul-searching, if you will. I've always felt like I didn't know who I really was. I know it sounds strange, but in a matter of days, that feeling has gone." Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 12) Controversial "healing priest" Rev Fr. Fernando Suarez has been cleared by the Vatican from accusations of sexual abuse of minors. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith informed Judicial Vicar and Retired Novaliches Bishop Most Rev. Antonio Tobias of the not guilty verdict on Suarez in a letter dated December 13, 2019. I was instructed to notify the Rev. Fr. Fernando M. Suarez of the Apostolic Vicariate of San Jose de Occidental Mindoro of the Decree of Not Guilty of the accusation lodged against him of sexual abuse of minors or delicta contra sextum cum minoribus, read the decree of notification signed by Tobias. The decree of notification was issued on January 6. The case on the alleged sexual abuse of minors was submitted by the National Tribunal of Appeals to Rome on May 8, 2019. This means that he has been falsely accused of these crimes and, therefore, nothing now stands in the way for him to exercise his healing ministry, provided it is done properly in coordination with the ecclesiastical authority of every ecclesiastical jurisdiction, read the notification. Suarez was known for conducting healing masses which also made him known outside the country. The controversial priest was also barred from four dioceses for several reasons. He was barred from conducting masses at the dioceses of Cubao, Malaybalay, Malolos, and Archdioceses of Lingayen-Dagupan. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), left, and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), House intelligence chairman, hold a press conference about the impeachment inquiry of President Trump, at the Capitol in Washington on Oct. 2, 2019. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) House Considering Subpoena for Former Trump Adviser Bolton, Schiff Says House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) says his committee may subpoena former White House national security adviser John Bolton as President Donald Trumps impeachment battle moves to the U.S. Senate. If theyre going to be the triers, and, in fact, they will be, they should hear from the witness directly. He has offered to come forward and testify, he told Face the Nation on Jan. 12, referring to the Senate and the impeachment trial. There is no reason not to have [Bolton] come forward and testify unless you just want to cover up the presidents wrongdoing. CBS anchor Margaret Brennan asked Schiff about a suggestion from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) about calling Bolton to testify in front of the House. Its certainly something that we are considering, Schiff said. But look, Americans want to see a fair trial in the Senate. They want to see a trial thats fair to the president and they want to see a trial thats fair to the American people, that brings all the facts forward. Theres little sense in bringing Bolton into the House and not allowing the senators to see his testimony. Schiffs comments come days before the House is expected to transmit articles of impeachment to the Senate, which will set up a weeks-long trial that is widely expected to result in President Trumps acquittal. The Senate needs a 67-vote supermajority to convict and remove a president, which has never been done before. The trial, however, will again highlight Democratic claims that Trump misused his power by allegedly withholding millions of dollars in aid to Ukraine in exchange for politically advantageous investigations into a political rival. Trump and Ukrainian officials have denied the allegations. John Bolton speaks during a White House news briefing in Washington on Oct. 3, 2018. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) Last week, Pelosi wrote to her Democratic colleagues in the House that she intends on sending the two articles of impeachmentabuse of power and obstruction of Congressto the Senate this week for the trial, after withholding them for several weeks following the Democrat-controlled Houses vote to approve them. No Republican in the House voted in favor of the articles and a handful of Democrats broke ranks on the vote. Pelosi said she wants to see how Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) outlines the details of the trial, including whether witnesses like Bolton will testify. Last week, Bolton indicated that he would be willing to testify in the impeachment trial if he was called under subpoena. In response, Trump said that Bolton would know nothing about what were talking about, and he wouldnt be a useful witness. Days later, Trump told Fox News on Jan. 10 that he would likely use executive privilege to block Bolton from testifying. The reason, he said, is to protect the office of the presidency. You cant be in the White House as president, future, Im talking about future any future presidents, and have a security advisor, anybody having to do with security, and legal and other things, [testify], he said. The Lone Star Glamp Inn is built for people who crave the idea of camping -- but in a strictly hypothetical, weatherproof fashion. With 18 tents and 10 trailers, the Lone Star Glamp Inn in Round Top, Texas is the only year-round indoor glamping facility in the United States. The term refers to the trend of staying in the outdoors, only with creature comforts normally associated with luxury vacations. Each trailer or tent is $199 a night during antiques week. During the rest of the year, they rent out chunks of the gigantic venue, rather than individual campers. The location can host up to 56 people. There is no risk of weather, so people actually love it when it rains its a great opportunity to sit around, drink some wine and visit, said Kaci Van Coutren, who owns the venue with her husband Sterling. Built to mimic the (shudder) great outdoors, the location features a pretend drive-in movie theater called the Starlite Drive-in, a used car shop front, a Texaco gas station imitation, construction signs and antique 1950s billboards. Green yard-like areas are topped with outdoor patio furniture and lawn flamingos. Meanwhile, the tents area stays dark, lit by string lights to mimic the night sky. But unlike traditional campgrounds, the venue comes with television, air conditioning and WiFi, providing the perfect outdoor adventure for the indoorsy type. Vintage accommodations for a tiny town A 'glamp' site at Lone Star Glamp in Round Top, Texas. Accommodations include a variety of vintage trailers, including Canned Hams, that were manufactured from 1959 through the 1970s. Kaci sourced the themed trailers pre-decorated from local antiques dealers and friends across the country. People love the vintage feel, and Round Top is all about vintage old antique junk, said Kaci. She referred to the Round Top Antiques Week, a popular antiquing event week that draw shoppers from around the country. Kaci said the Glamp Inn preserves old campers by keeping them inside. They are all road worthy, but they wont be forever, she said. Story continues Kacis favorite trailer, the Chevron Cowgirl, was painted by camper artist Angela Leachman. The award-winning trailer has chevron stripes, painted with phrases like Sister on the fly, Howdy, and We have more fun than anyone. The tents are themed, too, created by Kaci and her sister. The Outlaw tent is classic western-themed, decorated with animal hide, antlers, and lassos and a sign that reads What happens in these boots stays in these boots. And the Yee Haw tent pays homage to a bovine aesthetic: It has a cowhide floor, cow spotted-pillows, and cowboot lights. Kaci claims she cant stop adding to the tent decor. When the Antiques Show comes, its hard to stop yourself from going out and shopping for more and adding to the themes of the tents, she said. History For a town with a population of 91, Round Top, Texas is a competitive hub for antiques dealers. In 2013, the Van Coutrens bought the 33,000-square-foot set of twin warehouses, planning to open an antiquing venue during Round Top week. But the couple soon found the town had an oversupply of antiquing venues and an undersupply of accommodations for dealers and shoppers. Inspired by antiquers who brought trailers to the event, the couple decided to create one-of-a-kind, community lodging for Round Top pilgrims. During Antiques Week, the campers are all rented by people who dont know each other. We found they become friends and request trailers next to each other the following year, said Kaci. Today, the venue has become something of a destination itself, drawing a host of events that include family reunions, bachelorette parties and retreats, just to name a few. Were building a community. Its not like going to hotel. When you come out in the morning, everybody is drinking coffee together in their pajamas. Its just a better way of bonding and building community, said Kaci. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday participated in prayers with saints and seers at Belur Math, the headquarters of Ramakrishna Math and Mission, on the last day of his two-day visit to West Bengal. He also paid tributes to the 19th century saint Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Addressing a gathering after prayers, Modi said, "For countrymen, coming to the sacred land of the Belur Math is nothing less than a pilgrimage. For me, it has always been like coming home." "The last time I came here, I had taken the blessings of Swami Atmasthanandaji. Today he is not physically present with us. But his work, his path, will always guide us in the form of Ramakrishna Mission," the Prime Minister added. Modi also paid homage to Swami Vivekananda on his 157th birth anniversary today. "On the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda here in Belur Math, it is my honour and luck to spend some time in a room where he used to live. I could feel as if he's inspiring us to work harder and was helping us with more energy," he said. "Swami Vivekananda had said that we should forget everything and dedicate our life to Mother India. Let us walk on that dream," Modi said. The Prime Minister, who spent the night at Belur Math after reaching here on Saturday evening expressed his gratitude to the West Bengal government and administration for allowing him to stay at the mutt. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, who fled the country and is currently in Malaysia, has claimed that the NDA government at the Centre offered to shelve money-laundering charges against him and give him safe passage in return for his support to nullify Article 370, according to a report by news agency IANS. In a statement issued by his team on Saturday, Naik said he was approached by a representative of the Indian government who offered him the deal, which he claimed to have refused, the report said. HT could not independently verify the report. Naik has been in Malaysia since 2016. Naik made the claim in a video, according to IANS, in which he said three-and-a-half months ago, some Indian officials approached me for a private meeting with a representative from the Indian government. The person claimed that he wanted to remove misconceptions and miscommunication between him and the Indian government and wanted to provide me safe passage to India, Naik said. The representative wanted him to support the nullification of Article 370 in Kashmir to which he flatly refused, Naik said according to the report. Naik has also referred to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and criticised many Muslim leaders for supporting the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Emphatic victory underlines growing sense of identity on island that China has vowed to take back by force if necessary. Taipei, Taiwan Electoral politics in Taiwan have long reverberated across the narrow body of water that is perhaps one of the worlds greatest political and ideological divides. On Saturday, Tsai Ing-wen was re-elected as Taiwans president with 57 percent of the vote, an all-time high. Nearly three in four of the 19-million-strong electorate cast a ballot. Tsais Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) managed to hold on to its majority in the 113-seat legislature as well, giving Tsai free rein to push on with her agenda in her final four-year term beginning May 20. For most observers, both in Taiwan and abroad, the outcome was just as predicted, and the US secretary of state hailed the election as proof that Taiwan is a force for good. Across the strait, however, Beijing took it as a punch to the stomach. State news media blamed anti-China political forces for Tsais re-election, calling her victory a threat to the peaceful development of cross-strait relations. Ever since the Nationalists lost the civil war to the Communists in 1949 and retreated to Taiwan as the Republic of China, Beijing has regarded the island as a renegade province that would eventually return to the fold. Dried mango Over the years, the China-friendly Nationalists have come to be seen more as partners by the Communist rulers on the mainland, while the homegrown DPP has become a pro-independence foe. Chinas President Xi Jinping put pressure on Tsai from the time she was elected in 2016 and in a New Years address in 2019 unveiled a one country, two systems approach for reunification that worried people in Taiwan, especially when protests in Hong Kong started in June [File: Mark Schiefelbein/Pool via Reuters] Soon after Tsai was first elected in 2016 even though she maintained the status quo had not changed -China began putting the squeeze on Taiwan. Mainland Chinese tourists were barred from travelling across the strait, and its diplomatic allies pressured to switch allegiance from Taiwan to the Peoples Republic of China. Tsai called it dollar diplomacy. Barely a year ago in a New Years address to the Taiwanese, Chinas President Xi Jinping unveiled his plan to introduce the one country, two systems concept for the island, modelled on the framework under which British colonial Hong Kong was returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. Xis proclamation helped change the electoral dynamics and put the focus on Taiwans survival. Dried mango, a homophonic wordplay which belied the heaviness of the fear of losing ones nation soon caught on, especially among young voters. And then, in June, protests broke out in Hong Kong, shaking many people in Taiwan. Its very real, as Beijings design for Taiwan is very clear, Ching Cheong, a Hong Kong-based veteran China watcher, observing the elections in Taipei, told Al Jazeera. Yet, Tsai persuasively used Hong Kong in her campaign, telling her voters Taiwans democracy is what the Hong Kong protesters are fighting for. Safeguard Taiwan Even if Beijing harboured any hope, this election represented the resolute renunciation of one country, two systems, even by Tsais main rival Han Kuo-yu of the Nationalist Party. Campaigning on his common-man appeal with a touch of Trump, Han damaged his image early on by appearing to close to Communist Chinese officials and later by supporting Hong Kongs crackdown on protesters. But he soon made an about-face: One country, two systems in Taiwan would be possible only over my dead body. Han lost big, even in his base in the southern industrial city of Kaohsiung, where he was elected mayor in late 2018. Supporters of Han Kuo-yu, the pro-China KMTs election candidate; academics say Taiwans clear political identities help feed the spread of disinformation [File: Ng Han Guan/AP Photo] Elections began in Taiwan only in 1996, and dictatorship remains etched in most voters living memories with martial law under the Nationalists ending only in 1987. The loosening of the Nationalists grip has given way to a flowering of a vibrant, anything-goes political culture with nearly 300 parties from granddads to YouTubers. Nearly 20 parties contested this election. Electioneering is characteristically bombastic and rambunctious. Candidates staged momentum building rallies to fire up crowds. Chinese government upholds one-China principle and opposes "#Taiwan independence". Global community's shared consensus on one-China principle won't change: Chinese FM https://t.co/snI0nMydRC https://t.co/7mAykqiEv7 Global Times (@globaltimesnews) January 12, 2020 At Tsais rally on the eve of election day, millions of supporters swarmed the boulevard outside the Presidential Hall Plaza, chanting cold garlic (a near homophone of get elected). But in the sea of lime green flags (the partys colour), a few black banners stood out. Hope the lessons Hong Kongers learned through blood and tears tell your conscience to safeguard Taiwan, read one. As the crowds teemed, cries of solidarity rang out: Taiwan, Add Oil! Hong Kong, Add Oil! Balancing act The Taiwanese have followed the half-year of protests in Hong Kong with intense interest. The recent chaos in Hong Kong was a clear reaffirmation to the Taiwanese that unification on Beijings terms and it will always be on Beijings terms would come with undeniable costs to its political freedoms, J Michael Cole, a Taipei-based senior fellow with the Global Taiwan Institute in Washington, DC, told Al Jazeera. The Taiwanese do not need Hong Kong to know that, but developments there have certainly underscored the effects of subsuming ones sovereignty into central rule in Beijing. Tsais supporters made no secret of their opposition to China [Ritchie B Tongo/EPA] Political pundits differ as to what extent Tsai benefitted from Hong Kongs ongoing strife in reversing her partys fortunes after a stinging defeat in the 2018 local elections. But all agreed Hong Kong has emerged as the new challenge in cross-strait relations. At least hundreds, if not thousands, of Hong Kong protesters have sought refuge on the island, where a network of support has sprung up mostly on the strength of civil society. Tsai has repeatedly said she will not push refugee legislation to help handle the exodus. But with her re-election, the pressure on her administration is expected to mount, not least because there appears to be little chance that Beijing will back down over Hong Kong. If Tsai does not act, she risks losing her base. This will hurt the reputation of the DPP and the youth vote, said Lev Nachman, a political science PhD candidate at the University of California Irvine specialising in social movements in Taiwan and Hong Kong. But if she does do something to help the Hong Kong exiles, she risks fanning Chinese anger. If Beijing began to regard Taiwan as a springboard from which Hong Kong activists seek to destabilise the [city] or China proper, Beijing could, in turn, decide to retaliate against Taiwan, a turn of events which would undermine Taiwans national security, said Cole. One thing is certain in Tsais second term: The newfound solidarity between Hong Kong and Taiwan will mean rougher waves in already choppy political waters. "Following today's announcements, not only is the pivotal age not removed, but the prime minister confirms his determination to prolong the retirement age by refusing any increase in social security contributions," said an inter-union body consisting of the CGT and other hard-left unions in a statement on Saturday. Paris, Jan 12 (IANS) French unions have called for fresh protests next week to stop the government's pension reform plan, shortly after the latter announced a concession by temporarily removing the most contested measure of "pivotal age" of 64 -- two years beyond the official retirement age. The unions called for "organizing strike actions and inter-professional convergence across the territory" on January 14 and 15, and "making the 16th a new day of massive inter-professional mobilization of strikes and demonstrations", reports Xinhua news agency. It will be the sixth nation-wide action day called by hard-line unions in protest of the government's plan to merge the current 42-scheme pension regime into a single, point-based system. Among these unions that want the government to withdraw the reform plan as a whole, the CGT union said in a statement that the government's proposal to withdraw the pivotal age was nothing but "a smokescreen to get some unions to sign on" to the overall reform. In a letter to unions leaders made public earlier on Saturday, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the government was ready to temporarily remove the pivotal age, or "age of equilibrium" in his term, from the pension reform bill that will be introduced to Parliament in February. But the government stays firm with the principle of "age of equilibrium", Philippe said. As requested by unions, a conference will be set up to study the ways of pension funding, he added. If the conference ends up with an agreement by the end of April, its proposals will be taken into account by Parliament and the reform bill could be redrafted. In case of no agreement by the end of the conference, the government "will take necessary measures by order to reach equilibrium by 2027", warned the premier. ksk/ A Mumbai-bound AirAsia plane carrying 114 passengers made an emergency landing at the Kolkata airport after a woman threatened to blow up the aircraft on Saturday night, airport officials said. No bombs were found after a search of the plane and preliminary investigation said the 25-year-old woman was in an inebriated state, they said. The woman allegedly asked one of the cabin crew members to hand over a note to the pilots, some 40 minutes after Flight I5316 departed from the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Airport in Kolkata at 9:57pm. The note said there were bombs strapped to her body and she could detonate them at any moment, said a senior officer of the airport police. The pilot then informed the air traffic controller (ATC) and an emergency was declared by the ATC at 11pm. The flight, which had turned back for Kolkata, landed at the airport and was taken to the isolation bay at 11:46pm, the official said, adding that the protocol to handle such threats was followed. The passenger was taken into custody by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and later handed over to the local police. A thorough search of the plane was carried out and the aviation regulator cleared the aircraft. There was no bomb strapped to her body... A medical examination suggested that the woman was in an inebriated state. An investigation has been initiated and we are also talking to her family members to find out why she was going to Mumbai, another official of the airport police said. She is yet to divulge why she created the bomb scare, why was she going to Mumbai and why she wanted the flight to return to Kolkata, the official said. The woman, identified as Mohini Mondol, was arrested under Section 505 (public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Aircraft Act. She is a resident of Salt Lake in Kolkata and works in a press owned by her father, she told the police. An AirAsia India spokesperson on Sunday confirmed that the Kolkata-Mumbai flight made a mid-air turn back for a precautionary landing after a passenger reported carrying explosives and warned of dire consequences. The aircraft was secured after the landing with the assistance of airport security staff and all protocols were followed, the spokesperson said, adding that the airline is cooperating and providing all evidence in the investigation. (With inputs from PTI) Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Read how the murder of a journalist changed Slovakia in many walks of life: - How is the trial developing? - Government - Civil society - Political scene - Police - Judiciary and prosecution - Other criminal cases: Gorilla, promissory notes, Bonaparte - Media Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Two years have passed since investigative reporter Jan Kuciak was killed in his house in Velka Maca. His fiancee Martina Kusnirova was shot dead along with him. Very soon after their dead bodies were discovered on February 26, 2018, the police said that the murder was most likely linked to Kuciaks journalistic work. Unlike most cases of murdered journalists in the world, the police detained and charged not just the persons whom they believe to have fired the shots, but also those who ordered the murder. The trial will start within two years since the murder occurred. >>> Who was Jan Kuciak and how did he become a journalist? >>> What was the development on the Slovak political scene in the immediate days after the murder? >>> Slovakia: Timeline of events during the first year after the murder The trial with Marian Kocner, Alena Zsuzsova, Tomas Szabo and Miroslav Marcek started on January 13, 2020. Zoltan Andrusko, who has admitted to having acted as the middleman between those who ordered the murder and those who executed it, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on December 30, 2019 in a separate proceeding , based on his plea bargain deal. He has thus become an important witness in the case against the four persons. >>> Who are the people charged in the murder case? Related article Related article Kuciak murder investigation: A timeline Read more For Slovakia, the murder of a journalist was an unprecedented event and it quickly became clear that it would be a watershed moment, particularly given the immediate reaction among the public. The protests that followed forced then PM Robert Fico to step down with his third government, and major reshuffles in the cabinet followed. About 25,000 people gathered in Bratislava on March 2 in memory of murdered investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova. (Source: SITA) The movement that emerged from the protests has since had an impact on party politics in Slovakia. The protests were also seen as one of the driving forces behind the election of current President Zuzana Caputova. As the investigation of the murder progressed and as media published various materials leaked to them in the process and facts they found while working on stories, including some that Kuciak himself had been working on before he was killed, Slovakias public learned many disturbing details about how the state and its bodies had been working. Ties between ruling politicians and high state officials and judges to the criminal environment have been uncovered. Two years of disturbing revelations in the press on a regular basis have led to considerable frustration among voters. Observers believe this to be reflected in the growing support for extremist movements. On the other hand, many, including President Caputova, see the events of the past two years as an opportunity for Slovak society to cleanse itself. "The problems we are facing are far from small, but I trust that thanks to honest and professional investigators and prosecutors we are seeing a cleansing process today, Caputova said in her New Years address on January 1. The 2020 parliamentary election, taking place on February 29 (only days after the second anniversary of the murder) has thus been dubbed one of the most important votes in Slovakias 27-year history. The main trial started on Monday, January 13, 2020. All four defendants and the prosecutor repeated that they were not interested in seeking a plea bargain. This was the outcome of the preliminary session of the trial that took place on December 19, 2019. Zoltan Andrusko is the only one of the five people charged in connection with the murder who has cooperated with the investigators. He confessed to having passed the order from Alena Zsuzsova, a close collaborator of Marian Kocner, to the hitmen, Miroslav Marcek and Tomas Szabo. He cooperated with the police soon after he was detained in September 2018. As a result, he was able to close a deal on guilt and punishment with the prosecutor. The court approved the deal on December 30, 2019. Andrusko received 15 years in prison for his part in the crime and became an important witness. Targeting Planned Parenthood The feds redefine "family planning." by Eve Silberman From the January, 2020 issue In the wake of a recent federal policy change, Planned Parenthood's Ann Arbor affiliate is looking to slice half a million dollars from its budget. "It's a tremendous blow," says Angela Vasquez-Giroux, spokesperson for Planned Parenthood of Michigan. The group's two Ann Arbor clinics were the only providers of federal "Title X" family planning services in Washtenaw County, reaching some 3,200 residents last year. Vasquez-Giroux says the services will continue, but the group will find it harder to underwrite care for low-income patients, who pay on a sliding-fee scale. Title X was created to support family planning services such as birth control, treatment for sexually transmitted infections, and pregnancy testing. It can't be used for abortions--but in August, the Department of Health and Human Services announced it would no longer fund any services at groups that even refers patients to abortion providers. "That's what makes it so clearly targeted," says Vasquez-Giroux. Planned Parenthood stopped taking the money rather than comply. Who's DHSS funding instead? An article in the current issue of Mother Jones magazine recounts a reporter's visits to California clinics run by a nonprofit called Obria. They were awarded $5.1 million in March to provide contraception and family planning services to low-income women. As required, Obria doesn't refer women to providers of abortion. But it also doesn't provide birth control, or refer women to clinics that do. Founded as a religious anti-abortion ministry, Obria doesn't even dispense condoms, the first line of defense against sexually transmitted infections. "We're an abstinence-only organization," the group's founder explained to Catholic World Report in 2011. "It always works." [Originally published in January, 2020.] By Express News Service CHENNAI: THE ruling AIADMK has fared better than its arch-rival, the DMK, in the indirect elections to the rural local bodies held on Saturday. Interestingly, it was the DMK that had performed marginally better than the ruling party in the direct elections, held on December 27 and 30. Stray incidents of violence were reported in several districts, following which results were withheld or the election was stalled. The AIADMK managed to perform significantly better in southern and western zones, which may help the party perform better in a series of upcoming elections to rural bodies in 9 district and urban local bodies. According to the poll panel, of the 27 District Panchayat Chairperson (DPC) posts, the AIADMK won 13 while the DMK got 12. PMK, an ally of AIADMK, won one post. Sivaganga DPC election was postponed due to lack of quorum. Again, of the 314 Panchayat Union Chairperson (PUC) posts, AIADMK won in 140 and DMK 125. Elections for 27 posts were deferred for various reasons. Seats secured by other parties are as follows: PMK (7), Congress (5), BJP (3), CPI (3), AMMK (2) and independents (2). Though the voting pattern would be known only on Sunday, there are already allegations of cross-voting. DMK leaders led by TR Baalu met the SEC and complained of irregularities. There were also reports of violence and chaos being caused by DMK cadre. In Aruppukottai, a deputy superintendent of police was attacked by four persons during an argument at Narikudi. The officer suffered a minor injury on his hand, caused by a sharp weapon. Reports also claim that as the arguments escalated between two groups, miscreants pelted stones at the Narikudi union office. In Tiruvannamalai, results of elections for three panchayat union chairperson posts were withheld after the AIADMK members raised complaints. I admit to having very strong feelings about what constitutes good teaching. Most of my educational perspectives have come from my personal experiences as a student. I have been heavily colored by the good, the bad, and the ugly in education. And like the sensitive sponge that I am, I have absorbed it all and processed it into my educational philosophy. There were teachers who gave me encouragement and self-confidence. There were also those who showed me fairness and patience. There were some great motivators. But alas, there were some teachers in my experience who were terrible communicators of their subject matter. Some others specialized in personal criticism and had no concept whatsoever about teaching the academically struggling or the unmotivated. And finally, I had some teachers who specialized in fear and degradation of students. When I began my doctoral studies some 40 years ago as a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania, I ran smack into the ideological treatises of an avid Marxist professor. This professor blatantly condemned schooling in the USA, noting that far too many public school educators are nothing more than validators of the socioeconomic inequalities that pupils bring with them to the classroom. I adamantly disagreed (not a smart idea) with this professor at that time. I fought with him intellectually in front of classmates and eventually suffered a low grade because of my daring to do this. Ironically, shortly thereafter, I began very reluctantly to see some validity in the professors arguments certainly not his generalized condemnation of American schooling but in one of his underlying premises about education in the USA. That argument was that there has been and continues to be too much rubberstamping of students in schools. I soon came to agree with the professors premise that mediocre teachers all too often end up validating a youngster for what he or she is at that time and never pursue what that pupil might become. In the argument of this Marxist professor, students who show up with academic talent and initiative tend to do very well in USA classrooms. Average students stay lost in the middle. And pupils who arrive with personal or academic baggage are in trouble from the outset because a mediocre educator labels these young people negatively and support his/her conclusions about any student with quantified results, commonly known as tests. Such a procedure, in the professors view, destroys too many kids who have real needs and blasphemes the nature of excellent teaching. As so, I eventually came to believe strongly that great teachers must be change agents. They find a positive switch to flip on in those kids who to others seem lost. For the great teacher, where the student is at present does not matter Instead, where can I take this young person becomes his/her driving force. Encouragement and praise and positive reinforcement become the tools to turn around the life of any student, regardless of ability level or personal problems. Creating an educational success story where some thought not possible is this mark of excellence goal for the great teacher. Nothing had a higher priority for me as a school superintendent that to encourage and inspire our staff of teachers to care about and make the best effort for every student. Perhaps my most famous address to the Upper Darby School Districts approximately 1,000 staff members focused on that point. I had delivered many academic addresses, but in this unique case, my speech focused on boxes as my subject matter on the stage in front of this large audience of educators. One was a beautifully wrapped masterpiece of a gift box, set off by glittering bows and ribbons. Another plain white box was decorated with just one ribbon and a small bow. The third box was enclosed with brown paper wrap and tied with twine. And the fourth box was wrapped with an old newspaper that had been crushed and torn to shreds. I then told the large crowd of teachers, teacher assistants, secretaries and school principals that each of these boxes had dreams and hopes. But my challenge question that followed asked how many would treat each of these boxes without discrimination. How many could believe and work with each box equally? That message must have sunk in because it drew a standing ovation. And it was soon given a high priority by many staff. On numerous occasions when I visited schools in the weeks that followed my speech, teachers and principals and others would stop me and tell me that the lesson of the boxes was impacting what they were doing each day. Indeed, the lesson of the boxes had become a guidepost for the Upper Darby School Districts collective and individual thinking about its students. Paul Houston, a former executive director of the American Association of School Administrators, once defined the epitome of educational excellence in the classroom as helping all young people to dream and then to become. More than anything else, great teachers give wings to the dreams of all students. In summary, the mission of the truly heroic educator is certainly to push the high achieving student to even greater heights but also, to motivate and inspire the average pupil with higher goals and aspirations, to be the mentor and savior to that youngster whom everyone has written off, and to bring genuine caring to that kid who has no love in life. Chinese state media have accused Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen of "dirty tactics" and cheating after she was re-elected with a landslide victory in a stunning rebuke of Beijing's campaign to isolate the self-ruled island. Tsai, who has pitched herself as a defender of liberal democratic values against an increasingly authoritarian China, secured a record-breaking win in Saturday's presidential election. But Chinese state media sought to downplay her victory, casting doubt on the legitimacy of Tsai's campaign. "This is obviously not a normal election," said official agency Xinhua in an English-language editorial on Sunday. Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) used "dirty tactics such as cheating, repression and intimidation to get votes, fully exposing their selfish, greedy and evil nature", it added. Xinhua also accused Tsai of buying votes in a Chinese-language op-ed. It also said "external dark forces" were partly responsible for the election results. Beijing, which has vowed to one day take Taiwan -- by force if necessary -- loathes Tsai because she refuses to acknowledge the idea that Taiwan is part of "one China". Over the last four years, the Chinese government has ramped up economic, military and diplomatic pressure on the island, hoping it would scare voters into supporting Tsai's opposition. But the strong-arm tactics have backfired and voters flocked to Tsai's DPP, fuelled in part by China's hardline response to months of huge and violent pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. Chinese state media have accused Tsai, who frequently invokes Hong Kong's protests as a warning about a Beijing-controlled Taiwan, of fear mongering. Tsai and her party are "orchestrating tensions", wrote the nationalistic Global Times on Saturday. At the end of 2019, the Taiwanese leader "wantonly hyped up the so-called threat from the Chinese mainland while slandering Han Kuo-yu's mainland connections", it said, referring to her Beijing-friendly main opponent from the Kuomintang party. Chinese state media also dismissed Saturday's election results as an anomaly in long-term ties between Taiwan and the mainland, with Xinhua describing Tsai's win as a "fluke". "The fact that the Chinese mainland is getting increasingly stronger and the Taiwan island is getting weaker is an inevitable reality," added the Global Times. "Recognising and complying with the reality is the only feasible option for Taiwan's peaceful development. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) - The Iranian Revolutionary Guard admitted full responsibility for downing Ukrainian plane - Reports indicated at least 130 Iranian citizens died in the fatal attack - Angry protesters majority universities students took to streets to chant songs that called out the regime, demanding resignation of responsible official Protests have marred Iran's Tehran city after the country admitted it accidentally launched a missile on a plane that killed all 176 passengers who were on board. Angry protesters majority universities students took to streets to chant songs that called out the regime demanding the resignation of supreme leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei. READ ALSO: Moses Kuria freed after spending cold night in custody READ ALSO: TV journalist Anjlee Gadhvi cremated at Kariokor The Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752 which was downed by Iranian revolutionary guard air defence forces on Jan 8, 2019, shortly after taking off had at least 130 Iranian citizens. The middle East county had earlier denied reports linking its authorities to the fatal attack but shocked the world on Friday, January 10, when it claimed responsibility and apologised to families of the victims who perished in the attack. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his country has concluded investigations which found out missiles were fired due to human error leading to the horrific crash. "Armed Forces internal investigation has concluded that regrettably, missiles fired due to human error caused the horrific crash of the Ukrainian plane and death of 176 innocent people. Investigations continue to identify and we will prosecute this great tragedy and an unforgivable mistake," he tweeted. United States, Canada and the United Kingdom had earlier suspected the plane could have been accidentally brought down by an Iranian missile, allegations Tehran refuted. President Donald Trump of US said: "I have my suspicions. It was flying in a pretty rough neighbourhood and somebody could have made a mistake". 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. Please give me a job - Stephen Kinyanjui | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke Jefferson County officials plan to preserve the last remaining part of the old county jail where Martin Luther King, Jr. spent time behind bars in the final months before his assassination. In order for Jefferson County to truly move forward, we must first recognize our past mistakes, take corrective action and move forward with a sincere desire to embrace people from all walks of life, said Jefferson County Commission President Pro-Tem Lashunda Scales in a statement. Last Thursday, the Jefferson County Commission unanimously approved a resolution to preserve and memorialize the remaining jail cell from the old Jefferson County Jail in Birmingham, located on the seventh floor of what is now the Jefferson County Courthouse. Jefferson County sheriffs deputies arrested King on Oct. 30, 1967 immediately after his flight landed in Birmingham. He and others, including his brother A.D. King, were taken first to the Jefferson County Jail in Bessemer, and then to the jail in Birmingham on contempt charges related to a conviction for failing to obtain a City of Birmingham parade permit. The three days King spent in the Birmingham lockup in 1967 are believed to be the last time he was jailed before his assassination in April 1968. The Commissions resolution is the first step toward eventually creating a memorial and interpretive display in the seventh-floor jail area at the courthouse. Its not known exactly where in the old jail King was held. The county converted most of the seventh floor to storage and HVAC infrastructure in the 1990s, but left a small area with two adjoining pale green cells, an isolation chamber and some equipment. As the first African-American sheriff to be elected to represent Jefferson County, it is very important to my administration to memorialize the work of Dr. King and other Civil Rights activists, said Sheriff Mark Pettway in a statement. After Thursdays commission meeting, Pettway showed media a framed page from the Jefferson County Jail docket book that indicates King and his brother A.D. were booked into the Jefferson County Jail on Oct. 30, 1967. The page now hangs in his office. I want to educate citizens about the countys history, Pettway said. I want the general public to better understand what the movement provided for all of us and not just a few. The Jefferson County Commission plans to preserve the jail spaces in both the Birmingham and Bessemer courthouses where King was held, according to its resolution. King was jailed in 1967 after his appeal of a contempt conviction failed. Years earlier, he and others were denied a parade permit by the City of Birmingham and announced they would march anyway, after the city said it would not grant a parade permit if they applied. The city obtained an injunction from state court that forbid demonstrators from marching. Those that did, including King, were arrested. In Walker v. City of Birmingham, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the arrests, saying the civil rights activists failed to use proper procedures to test the validity of the injunction. Thats what prompted Jefferson County officials to arrest King in October 1967 as soon as he arrived in Birmingham. During an earlier stint at the now-demolished Birmingham City Jail in 1963, King wrote his now-famous Letter from Birmingham Jail. The planned Jefferson County Jail memorial fills in another piece of Kings life, Scales said. As we talk about our (state) bicentennial and our forever-evolving of how were embracing people of all races, all backgrounds, said Scales, this is a part of that story. IRGC cmdr sheds light on Ukrainian plane crash IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, Jan 11, IRNA -- The commander of the IRGC's Aerospace Force, Brigadier-General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh on Saturday took full responsibility for the Ukrainian plane crash blaming human error and "US adventurism" for the crash that left 176 people dead. Having informed about the cause of the crash, "I wished I would die and would not witness the incident", the commander added. Prior to the incident, Iran and the US were in high alert as the Americans had threatened to target 52 Iranian including cultural sites, he pointed out. The escalation in the region was unprecedented for over a week, he said adding the operator in charge had been apprised of a possible war. After the US increased tension in the Middle East by assassinating Iran's Lieutenant-General Qasem Soeimani, the country made a reaction and hit the US airbase in Iraq with missiles. Iran's military had been put on alert to counter any US adventurism. But unintentionally, a Ukrainian Boeing 373 was shot shown near Tehran minutes after takeoff. Iranian officials have admitted that human error was responsible for downing the passenger plane and expressed regret and apologized for the tragedy. Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on Saturday ordered an investigation into the likely negligence or faulty performance in the air disaster case. The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces instructed the General Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces to take necessary measures to probe the incident and make sure such events will not be repeated. 7129**1430 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address By PTI LUCKNOW: As the decade's first Magh Mela commenced in Sangam area of Allahabad, a temporary branch of the 'Ram Naam Bank' has also started banking activities for its account holders. The Prayagraj-based 'bank' neither has ATMs nor cheque books and its only 'currency' is Lord Ram. It has nearly one lakh account holders. "The beauty of this branch is that it is set up during every Magh Mela and as the Magh Mela gets over with Shivratri, the branch of the bank also ceases to exist. The branch will be set up again next year," Ashutosh Varshney, the chairman of Ram Naam Sewa Sansthan which runs the bank, told PTI. "The branch is set up mainly for kalpwasis (people observing austerity during Magh), who stay at the ashram set up by the bank in Sangam area, and write the name of Lord Ram on a 30-page booklet provided to them," Varshney said. "The Sangam branch of the bank was set up on January 5, after performing rituals," he said. The booklet given by the Ram Naam Bank, a non-profit organisation, has 30 pages, and each page consists of 108 cells, where the name of Lord Ram can be written. Varshney, who manages the bank's affairs, is carrying on the legacy of his grandfather who had set up the organisation in early part of the 20th century. The bank has no monetary transactions. Its members have a booklet of 30 pages, containing 108 cells in which they write 'Ram Naam' 108 times everyday in red ink as it is the colour of love. This booklet is deposited in the individual's account. He said people write the name of Lord Ram in Urdu, English and Bengali. "The divine name of Lord Ram is credited in the accounts. A passbook is issued like other banks. All these services are provided free of cost. Ram Naam Bank has ledgers and passbooks like any other bank, and maintains the records of its 'depositors'. "The only currency that works in this bank is the name of Lord Ram," said Gunjan Varshney, one of the trustees of Ram Sewa Trust, which is also associated with the Ram Naam Bank. She also said the size of one's account was determined by the number of times one was able to write the name of the Lord and deposit it in the bank. Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Chowdhury also criticised the PM. Kolkata/Berhampore: The Trinamul Congress, Congress and Left parties have attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his political speech on the Citizenship Amendment Act to students at a religious platform like Belur Math, the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission, on the religious occasion of Swami Vivekanandas birth anniversary during his stay there. Lashing out at Mr Modi, West Bengal power minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay said: He sounded (like) speaking on behalf of a political party. I do not think he talked like a PM there. His tone was different. We feel that the CAA directly infringes Article 14 of the Constitution, which is about the equality of the people of India. Already a case has been filed in the Supreme Court comprising of 60 petitions against it. Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Chowdhury also criticised the PM. It is very unfortunate that on Vivekanandas birth anniversary the divider of the nation used the platform of Ramakrishna Mission. I think RKM Belur Math is losing its sanctity because Ramakrishna and Vivekananda are respected for their ideology. He claimed Mr Modis dreams would be shattered by Vivekanandas followers. CPI(M) politburo member Mohammed Salim said: The unemployed need jobs. The students require education. Ordinary people ask for the return of black money to the country from abroad and security for women in view of rising incidents of rape. However, by implementing the CAA, Mr Modi wanted to send a message to non-Muslims staying outside the country that he is for Hindutva in India. He alleged: The PM used religion and a religious platform like Ramakrishna Mission unfortuantely. The Maharaj would not support it certainly because it was Vivekanandas birth anniversary. Be it Mr Modi or Amit Shah or Mohan Bhagwat, they have tried to mislead different communities separately. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 15:54:04|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KIEV, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani apologized over the downing of a Ukrainian plane and has promised that everyone responsible for the tragedy will be punished, the Ukrainian president's press service reported on Saturday evening. Following a conversation with his Iranian counterpart, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on his official Twitter page that "acknowledging the shooting down of the plane is a step in the right direction." "I insist on the immediate completing of identification of the bodies and their return to Ukraine," said Zelensky. "The perpetrators must be held accountable. We look forward to further legal and technical cooperation." The Iranian president assured Zelensky that everyone involved in the plane crash would be held responsible, and that the Ukrainian group of experts would get all the necessary support for further effective cooperation in the legal and technical fields. Rouhani said that he would give instructions so that the bodies of the killed Ukrainians would be returned home as soon as possible. Zelensky told his counterpart that the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine would immediately send a note to Iran with a clear list of all subsequent steps, including the legal aspects of resolving the issue of compensation. Rouhani said Saturday that the Iranian Armed Forces' "unintentional" missile strike due to "human error" caused the crash of the Ukrainian plane. A total of 167 passengers and nine crew members were killed on Wednesday as a result of the crash of the Ukrainian Boeing 737, which was flying from Tehran to Kiev. The airplane crashed at approximately 6 a.m. Tehran Time (0230 GMT) shortly after takeoff. Agartala, Jan 12 : The Tripura government has ordered a magisterial inquiry into death of a man in lockup. He, arrested on Friday in connection with theft of cash from ATMs using cloning devices in the state capital, was found dead on Sunday. According to a police official, Sushanta Ghosh, 38, arrested from his house in Lankamura on the outskirts of the city, committed suicide at the West Agartala police station in Saturday-Sunday intervening night. However, Sushanta's father Parimal Ghosh in an FIR claimed his son died following police torture. "My son was arrested as Bangladeshi ATM hackers had earlier bought sweets from his shop. My son had helped them exchange dollars into rupees without knowing their (Bangladeshi people) criminality," Ghosh said. While the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) has urged the Tripura Human Rights Commission to inquire into the incident, the Congress demanded a judicial probe. "The government should take action against the accused police personnel and provide financial compensation to the victim's family," the CPI-M said on Sunday. Two Turkish and two Bangladeshi nationals were arrested at Belgharia (under North 24 Parganas district) in West Bengal in November for stealing cash from ATMs with the help of cloning devices in Agartala. As per the preliminary probe, the Turkish nationals along with their Bangladeshi collaborators had stolen Rs 50 lakh from around 80 clients of different banks, mostly State Bank of India, in November through ATM cloning devices in Guwahati. Same criminals could be involved in the hacking in Agartala. MORE than 1400 years after her death, the tradition of St Itas Day lives on in Killeedy, where the woman known as the Brigid of Munster, founded a monastery in the early seventh century and where it is believed she lies buried. Each year on January 15, the date of her death in either 569 or 570, hundreds of local people remember the saint who has given their parish its name, Cill Ide. And they are joined by many others from around Limerick and further afield. It is a day on which people from Killeedy living elsewhere try to get home if they can at all, according to tradition. And it is also the day on which Christmas, for Killeedy folk, ends. Next Wednesday, St Itas Day will be commemorated in the traditional way as people will make or pay their rounds at St Itas cemetery, where the ruins of St Itas church lie and where there is a shrine to the saint. The rounds normally begin following Mass at 11am in Ashford church and continue throughout the day. There will also be a Vigil Mass, in Raheenagh at 7.30pm. A big part of St Itas Day in Killeedy is the social, where dinner is served and dancing continues late in the Raheenagh Community Hall. This year, the doors will open at 7.30pm and Michael Collins will lead the music. The story of how St Ita came to West Limerick is well known to Killeedy natives. She was born around 484AD in the Tramore area of Co Waterford and was a member of the Deise tribe. H er father, Cennfoelad or Confhaola, wanted her to marry a local chieftain but she resisted, believing she had a calling from God to become a nun. To convince her father, she is said to have fasted three days and three nights and on the third night, God appeared to her father in his dreams and scolded him. The following morning, Cennfoelad agree Ita could follow her wish and, aged 16, set off on her journey, a journey which brought her to West Limerick. Legend has it that Ita was led to Killeedy by three heavenly lights. The first was at the top of the Galtee mountains, the second on the Mullaghareirk mountains and the third at Cluain Creadhail, which is nowadays Killeedy. Her sister Fiona also came to Killeedy with her and became a member of the community which Ita established there and which was involved in fostering and in care of the young, the sick and the poor. St Brendan the navigator is also said to have spent five years in Killeedy. St Ita is sometimes called "the white sun of the women of Munster" or the foster mother of the saints of Ireland. Tickets for the St Itas Day social cost 30 and are available at Keatings shop, at 086-1649099 or any member of the hall committee. Airbase that used to house US troops north of Baghdad targeted with rocket barrage, wounding four Iraqi soldiers. At least four Iraqi soldiers have been wounded when several rockets slammed into an Iraqi airbase north of Baghdad which has housed troops from the United States, according to officials. In a statement carried by Iraqs official news agency INA, the Iraqi military media centre said on Sunday the al-Balad airbase, located some 80km away from the capital, was hit by eight Katyusha rockets. Some projectiles fell on a restaurant inside the airbase, while others hit the runway and the gate, according to Iraqi officials. So far there has been no claim of responsibility for the attack, which caused no US casualties. The US-led coalition said there were no US soldiers present at the base during the attack, which has hosted US trainers, advisers and a company that provides maintenance services for F-16 aircraft. The incident comes amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran following the US assassination of a top Iranian commander in Baghdad and Irans retaliatory missile strikes against US targets in Iraq. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the attack on Sunday . Outraged by reports of another rocket attack on an Iraqi airbase, he said in a Twitter post. I pray for the speed recovery of the injured and call on the government of Iraq to hold those responsible for these attacks accountable. These continued violations of Iraqs sovereignty by groups not loyal to the Iraqi government must end, he added. Outraged by reports of another rocket attack on an Iraqi airbase. I pray for speedy recovery of the injured and call on the Government of #Iraq to hold those responsible for this attack on the Iraqi people accountable. Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) January 12, 2020 Retaliation strike On January 8, Iran launched missile attacks on the Ain Al-Asad airbase in Anbar province and another facility in Erbil in retaliation for the killing of Qassem Soleimani, the head of the overseas wing of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in a US drone strike in Baghdad on January 3. Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a leader of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi), an umbrella group of mostly Iranian-backed Shia armed groups, was also killed in the US strike near Baghdads international airport. The limited Iranian response, which caused no casualties, appeared to be mainly a show of force, and de-escalated tensions that had threatened to turn Iraq into a proxy battlefield amid increasing fears of all-out war. But on Sunday night, the leader of the Lebanese group Hezbollah said Irans missile attacks on the two Iraqi bases housing US troops was just the beginning of actions that would be taken in response to the USs killing of Soleimani. The Americans must remove their bases, soldiers, officers and ships from our region. They should leave, Hassan Nasrallah said in a 90-minute speech. Hezbollah is closely aligned to Iran and the IRGC provides training for Hezbollah combatants who fought in Syria. They confirmed late last year that they were separating after 20 years of marriage, half of it spent in the public eye on a popular Bravo program. And Joe Giudice went down memory lane on Saturday, sharing throwback photos and speaking about putting his family first through the next steps of their lives. The 47-year-old sent a heartfelt message to the Real Housewives of New Jersey star, hinting their was still hope for them to rekindle their decades-long romance. Long-term partner: Joe Giudice spoke out about his separation from wife Teresa on Saturday in a social media post to his followers 'Dont fall in! Whatever happens in our future, remember we were friends to begin with,' he began. 'We will always stay strong. Its not distance that breaks a couple its actions! Im growing and learning more from todays generation. egocentrism was thing in baby boomer and gen x era.' He continued his deep spiel with: 'Now, Millennials believe in joint effort not separating roles. Not, that I didnt love my era I see the ego thing got in my way like a trap. one bedroom is good Today, simplicity, girls and family first, and actions speak louder than a car or big things.#familyiseverything #awakening #kids #future.' Friends forever! Whatever happens in our future, remember we were friends to begin with,' he began Family: Photos also included some with their four daughters, Gia, 19, Gabriella, 16, Milania, 15, and Audriana, 11 Joe accompanied the deep post with a slideshow of throwback photos with his wife. Photos also included some with their four daughters, Gia, 19, Gabriella, 16, Milania, 15, and Audriana, 11. The businessman also took to social media on Sunday to share an inspiring and candid post about his growth as a person. The video saw him share various photos of just himself. Family: Joe and Teresa have been married for 20 years Changing man: The businessman also took to social media on Sunday to share an inspiring and candid post about his growth as a person 'I want you to hold me really really tight and never let me go,' he wrote on the video, referring to himself. Joe accompanied the short clip with a caption that had him admit Teresa had previously 'urged' him to change. 'Picture your own! Today, I have learned growth as a person is to grow in areas that make you a better person not by my Italian mothers cries, or my dads lectures, or my wifes urges,' he began. 'I had to learn this lesson on my own when timing was right with all the trials in my way. Truth is we do learn at our own pace and time.' New Joe: He continued: 'Absorb it all, follow your own instincts, and dont let others fuck your life up. Stay in your own lane live the way you can, want, and, most of all makes only you. Happy Sunday All!' He continued: 'Absorb it all, follow your own instincts, and dont let others fuck your life up. Stay in your own lane live the way you can, want, and, most of all makes only you. Happy Sunday All!' His posts comes after the pair confirmed their split in December. 'Teresa and Joe have separated, but have no plans to divorce yet, a source told Us Weekly at the time. 'Teresa and Joe talked about their future when she and the girls were in Italy and decided it was best for them to separate.' Self-love: 'I want you to hold me really really tight and never let me go,' he wrote on the video, referring to himself Daddy daughter time: Joe has been spending the past few weeks with his four daughters in Italy Joe has spent much of the past few years behind bars in connection to his 2014 guilty plea to mail, wire and bankruptcy fraud charges. Teresa spent most of 2015 in custody in her 11-month sentence in her related conviction, while Joe in March of 2016 started serving his 41-month sentence. Because Joe was not a U.S. citizen - the reality star was born in Saronno, Italy and brought to the United States when he was a year old, never applying for citizenship - federal authorities ordered him deported due to legal statutes related to 'a crime of moral turpitude' or 'aggravated felony.' Joe concluded his sentence at Fort Dix, New Jersey's Federal Correctional Institution this past March, and was held in ICE custody until he was deported to Italy October 11 amid an appeal in the case. Further information about Jeffry Epstein's "suicide" has only increased the confusion. If the Jeffry Epstein death were a screenplay, it would be rejected for being completely implausible. Every aspect of this incident does not make sense. When your credibility is lost or damaged, the normal response is to attempt to regain it by being extremely scrupulous about matters of truth. The government has not responded in that fashion. One implausible announcement is followed by another. The latest announcements deal with the "lost" prison videos. Authorities claim they "lost" the first prison video of the supposed first jail suicide attempt by Epstein. They also claimed they "lost" the second suicide video earlier, and that was the one where Epstein "succeeded." Authorities claim that the footage contained on the preserved video during his first "suicide" attempt was for the correct date and time but captured a different cell. They were "misled" by a computer system that listed Nicholas Tartaglione's cell incorrectly. This first "attempt" took place when Epstein's cellmate was Tartaglione, a former police officer charged with murdering four people. The decision to pair Epstein with a homicidal bodybuilder is suspicious. Epstein reportedly claimed he did not attempt suicide, but was attacked by Tartaglione. Tartaglione's lawyer, Bruce Barket, wanted to view this video. He remarked, "It is mind-boggling to me that they would have preserved the wrong video, and erased the real video." The Metropolitan Correctional Center's video backup system has also not been working. Jeffry Epstein was possibly to most notorious domestic criminal in decades. There is little doubt that many powerful people would not like to have him reveal what he knew about them. Yet the two prison officials responsible for monitoring him during the night of his death have been charged with falsifying documents, claiming they checked on him when they didn't. Perhaps they were not concerned about losing their jobs and did not consider the fact that they could be prosecuted if anything went wrong. News reports frequently mention that Epstein "allegedly raped and trafficked dozens of women." There are no allegations. Jeffrey Epstein was convicted for solicitation and procurement of minors for prostitution. That is child sex-trafficking. He received a ridiculously lenient sentence for this, apparently because the prosecuting attorney was informed that Epstein was working with the Intelligence Community. Who told Alexander Acosta that Epstein was working with the Intelligence Community? It would also be interesting to know which intelligence community. Epstein's former colleague Steven Hoffenberg claimed he was working for the Israeli Mossad. A blackmail operation controlled by the Mossad would give an entirely different perspective to this case. There are no flight logs for Epstein's Manhattan townhouse. There is no record of who visited there except for possible videotapes that have not been made public. If Epstein was as effective as he appears to have been, he would have targeted prominent politicians. So far, only former Senate majority leader George Mitchell and former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson have been mentioned. The U.S. Congress has admitted paying $17 million to settle sexual harassment cases. This is only a small fraction of what they have actually paid out. Epstein would have been negligent if he had not tapped into this vast pool of powerful men. Everything about the Epstein case contributes to cynicism regarding the incompetence and moral degeneracy of our elites. Many people believe that corruption and incompetence are the norm. Information provided by the government and the media is viewed with skepticism, including all the information this article has relied upon. If people cannot trust their source of information, they are unable to make responsible decisions. The government should be conducting a thorough and objective investigation of this entire incident. However, it does not appear interested. Epstein's death was ruled a suicide by Dr. Barbara Sampson, New York City's chief medical examiner. Former New York City medical examiner Dr. Michael Baden said Epstein's injuries were more consistent with homicidal strangulation than suicide by hanging. One does not need to be a forensic pathologist to see that the wounds on Jeffry Epstein's neck do not appear to match the bedsheet he supposedly hanged himself with. John Dietrich is a freelance writer and the author of The Morgenthau Plan: Soviet Influence on American Postwar Policy (Algora Publishing). He has a Master of Arts degree in international relations from St. Mary's University. He is retired from the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. Image: CBS Evening News via YouTube. Passing laws to prevent the extension of Brexit negotiations will not force the EU to rush into a deal, Tanaiste Simon Coveney has warned. Mr Coveney said the EU felt the end of 2020 deadline set by Boris Johnson was ambitious, if not unrealistic. The Foreign Affairs Minister said he felt it would take longer than 12 months, as he highlighted the deal encompassed much more than trade and included areas like aviation, fishing and data. When people talk about the future relationship, in the UK in particular, they seem to only talk about a future trade agreement, actually theres much more to this than that theres fishing, theres aviation, theres data and so many other things, he said. I know that Prime Minister Johnson has set a very ambitious timetable to get this done. He has even put it into British law, but just because a British parliament decides that British laws say something doesnt mean that that law applies to the other 27 countries of the European Union and so the European Union will approach this on the basis of getting the best deal possible a fair and balanced deal to ensure the EU and the UK can interact as friends in the future. But the EU will not be rushed on this just because Britain passes law. Asked about the possibility of a series of side deals on specific areas if time ran out to strike a comprehensive agreement, Mr Coveney raised concern. We would certainly much rather negotiate a comprehensive deal that deals with all of these things collectively and together, he told the BBCs Andrew Marr Show. If we have learnt anything from the first round of Brexit, which has taken a lot longer than it should have, is that we have got to provide certainty for people, we cant continue to have crisis after crisis and the uncertainty and brinkmanship of Brexit negotiations. The Tanaiste also expressed concern at the tone of media coverage in the UK, highlighting attempts to frame the engagement as Britain trying to defeat or stand up to the EU. This is the language of enemies, not friends, and we need to move away from that, he said. Both sides in this negotiation in the next stage of Brexit has a vested interest in working together not to try to outmanoeuvre each other. A key issue in the negotiations will be how the financial services industry in the City of London will be able to serve clients within the EU. Amid concern the EU might limit the Citys access to its European markets, outgoing Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney has warned that it would not be appropriate for the sector to be regulated by Brussels. Mr Coveney said it would be impossible to maintain the system as it presently operates. Maybe the penny is finally dropping that when you leave a union that you have been a part of for 45 years that things dont remain the same and that is inconvenient and it has consequences for the UK, he said. The UK has decided to move in a different direction, no longer as part of the European Union and the collective shelter of that and opportunity that comes with that. That is why, from an Irish perspective, we want in all of these areas, whether it is financial services, whether it is agri-food, whether its fishing, whether its security, whether its preventing the new trade relationship resulting in barriers to trade through quotas or tariffs, we want the closest possible relations we can have. No way of the UK in this negotiation maintaining the relationship we have today while outside of the European Union, and thats the reality of Brexit Im afraid. Asked whether the EU was committed to agreeing a security partnership with the UK, regardless of the fate of trade negotiations, Mr Coveney said the bloc would approach the issue responsibly. Certainly I think security is something the EU wants to get an early agreement on with the UK and I think that makes sense for both sides, he said. But again this is something that Boris Johnson is saying he wants to do in less than 12 months and I think the European Union has constantly warned that that timeframe is ambitious if not unrealistic. So from an EU perspective we will try to approach all of these really important and sensitive areas with a sense of partnership and friendship, but at the same time they are complex and we will need to work through all of them, hopefully in parallel, but in my view it is probably going to take longer than a year, but well have to see. Medical experts have urged bold action to end sexual violence at a Paris meeting, as a scandal over well-known writer Gabriel Matzneff puts France's attitudes to abuse under the spotlight. More than 400 doctors and health professionals gathered at Paris' Unesco headquarters this week for the seventh international conference on sexual violence. While the conversation around violence against women has gained traction in the wake of the #MeToo movement and recent government consultations on the topic, campaigners point out that women, men and children continue to be the targets of physical and sexual assault. Doctor Wissam El Hage is a psychiatrist from Tours in western France and Isabelle Daigneault is a psychology professor from the University of Montreal. They share their views on what's working and what's not in tackling sexual violence and why France and Canada differ in their approach. Q. Two years after #MeToo, what has changed? A. A lot has changed in two years because of the hashtag #MeToo and different hashtags. There's been a lot of discussion in French society and this is good because the victims do not feel so alone. They may open up more easily to talk about their problems and what they experienced. Q. Victims of sexual assault often don't report it. New measures by the French government to tackle domestic abuse would ease doctor-patient confidentiality restrictions if a patient is at risk. Is this a good idea? A.It is a controversial measure because it goes against medical secrecy, which is a form of protection for both doctors and victims. Victims feel safe coming to their doctor to speak about their problems and to find help. I don't think that would be the case if they knew their doctor was no longer bound by secrecy. Also, we don't know how this will work. Is it a medical problem or is it up to the justice or the police to take control? This is something that has to be ironed out. Q. Victims of sexual assault often don't report it. New measures by the Domestic violence and sexual violence what's the difference? A.Sexual violence is one part of violence. The common part is violence and you can find domestic abuse more frequently in couples, where you have verbal, harassment and physical violence and in the end you can also have sexual violence. The thing is to tackle violence in general, to help people talk about it. Q. How difficult is it for victims of sexual assault to open up? A.It's like when you experience a film of horror. When you go through experiences of violence it is very painful, very distressing for the patients, but the job that we do is to help them to cope with it, to transform this horror into something more normal and integrate it into their lives. Q.What case has struck you the most? A.Each case is unique, sometimes you feel helpless, you feel like your job is not really improving the situation and then you discover a few months or a few years later the evolution of the patient, of his social and family situation and this is very helpful to us to continue to do this job. Q.What are the different stages of the healing process? A.When victims have experienced violence during their childhood, they go through feelings of shame, guilt, emotional distress and this can lead them to depression, post-traumatic stress, addictions and personality disorder. In other cases, they will have some kind of resilience and will seek help. The only way they can come out of their horror movie is by talking. When they accept to talk about it, to face up to it and accept their emotions. When they stop avoiding their past, an improvement can start to occur. Q. So, talking is the key to treating sexual violence? A.It's not just talking about it, it's how you do it. It has to be in a secure place and with a person of trust; and we help the person to cope and to confront their emotions in a safe way where they don't feel overwhelmed. Q.Do you have the means to do your job? A.Last year, the French government created 10-12 centres dedicated to the treatment of victims, essentially trauma centres. It's a first step. Ten centres are quite little for France but it's a good start. What's needed however is at least 30-50 trauma centres, outpatient care units across the country where victims can reach out to professionals in the trauma field. Q. One obstacle hampering efforts to tackle sexual violence has been the issue of time limits, some cases are too old to be prosecuted. What's your view on time limits? A.I think this is a justice point of view, because for a doctor there are no limits. In some cases, people who suffer sexual violence, 30 percent of them only discover their symptoms 20 years later, triggered peraps by another traumatic event. So I think from a doctor's point of view there's no limits of time, the justice has a different way of reasoning, a different way of thinking [to doctors]. Canada's perspective Things are rather different in Canada, where doctors and the police work in tandem. Q. How does Canada tackle sexual violence? A.We have a multi-tiered agreement between all the people involved in domestic violence or sexual abuse, for example doctors, police men, judges, lawyers, are obliged to work together. Everyone needs to have a way of working with domestic violence survivors, sexual abuse survivors so they have to report if there's a case of abuse that comes to their attention, especially doctors. Q. France is considering easing medical-secrecy restrictions if a patient is at risk. Is this a good idea? A. It's a good start that doctors are allowed to speak but it's not enough. One of the reasons I think that Quebec is seen as more ahead or advanced is because we have a multi-sectorial agreement, which has been in place since 2001. This has helped because everybody knows what they're expected to do. Q. Canada is often cited as an example in the fight against sexual violence, how well is it doing? A. Every year there are new budget announcements dedicated to sexual violence prevention in Quebec. What is a bit disappointing at times is that the money is always announced when the government has an incentive to do so, so when there's an issue or case that becomes public and people go to the media and talk about it and when there's an election coming up, then there's a lot of money that's available. () So there's funding but it's never stable. Q. It's been two years since the #MeToo movement, triggered by sexual allegations against Harvey Weinstein, has a lot changed? A.One good thing that has come out of this is that a lot of women have come forward and spoken about their experiences of sexual assault, and the #Metoo movement has been liberating for a lot of women and has helped them break their isolation. However, there has also been a backlash, people have started blaming women more than before and are taking the defence of the perpetrators. Q.There have been a lot of awareness campaigns to eliminate sexual violence but how do we achieve real action? A. We need to start with sexual education for children, and this will include gender equality so that men respect women regardless, and that women have a voice. We need to start younger so that these little boys when they grow up will not perpetrate sexual assault, and that women will not need to defend themselves because it's going to be eradicated. Q. In France, nearly 150 women died at the hands of their partners or ex partners last year, experts reckon early child abuse is to blame for domestic violence. What's needed to treat child abuse? A. First of all, we have to know that it happened. And it's difficult because if we're thinking about the #Metoo movement it's relatively feasible for an adult to disclose and get help but for a child it's much more difficult. Somebody has to be the child's voice, and so who will be responsible for that? Perhaps midwives, doctors and social workers, people who work closely with children could be one way. There needs to be intervention but maybe beforehand there should be an assessment of the child's needs because not every child has the same consequences from family violence or sexual assault, so it needs to be done on a case-by-case basis. Q. Out of the victims that you've treated, which one case has struck you the most? A. What a difficult question. The children or adolescents that I remember most or have marked me most are those that are resilient. It's one of the subjects of my research: the consequences of child sexual abuse and what helps some children to overcome the abuse and be resilient. Some that have impressed me the most are those that would even as young as 12 and 13 go around high schools and give testimony to what happened to them and help others to disclose and get help, that is I think the thing that touches me the most. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. WASHINGTON - Top House Democrats are teeing up a sweeping climate bill that aims to be an alternative to the Green New Deal. The so-called CLEAN Future Act aims to eliminate U.S. carbon emissions from the power, transportation and manufacturing by 2050. It's establishment Democrats' highest profile countermeasure to the Green New Deal, which calls for a more radical reduction in emissions over the next decade and captured the attention of the party's left wing. Senior members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, who outlined their proposal in a 15-page memo on Wednesday after months of hearings last year, say they have designed it to win over both left-leaning Democrats and moderate Republicans. They say that broad support is needed to pass enduring legislation. "The whole idea is to build the consensus," said Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. "Part of why I think we're going to be able to build the consensus is because there's so much input from other members of Congress." Several prominent green groups in Washington, including the Environmental Defense Fund and League of Conservation Voters, praised the outlines of the bill. The full text of the bill will be released by the end of the month. But when it comes to winning broad support, their work is still cut out for them. From the left, several other environmental organizations said the proposal was insufficient. They included the influential Sunrise Movement, which support Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal that calls for slashing heat-trapping emissions from the United States by the end of the decade. "Scientists say we must decarbonize our economy by 2030 to avert the worst effects of this crisis, but this proposal would not get us there until 2050," said Lauren Maunus, Sunrise's legislative manager. "Working on this timeline will jeopardize millions of lives, and that's not a bet we're willing to make." And from the right, Republicans on the energy panel who acknowledge that man-made climate change is real criticized the legislation for being developed without their input. "Republicans could have stood next to Democrats at their press conference today, announcing serious solutions to reduce emissions. Instead, like the Speaker's partisan approach to address drug pricing, it's another missed opportunity," said Greg Walden, R-Ore., top Republican on the Energy and Commerce Committee. Pallone himself acknowledged it will likely require someone other than President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly denied the existence of climate change, to be in the White House for this or any other climate measure to become law. "There's a problem that we have with the Republicans and with President Trump," he said. "He still denies the science." And last year, the GOP-controlled Senate rejected the Green New Deal in a 57-0 vote, with most Democrats voting "present" in a show of unity for what they saw as a politically driven vote compelled by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. The core of past Democratic efforts to tackle climate change involved making polluters pay a price for putting carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere. A cap-and-trade system was at the center of their last major legislative push - a bill that passed the House but died in the Senate during Barack Obama's first year in office. More than a decade later, House Democrats are avoiding a similar carbon-pricing approach. Instead they want to oblige electricity providers to get an increasing portion of power from clean energy sources starting in 2022. The standards would ramp up every year until 2050, when suppliers will be required to get 100% of their electricity from wind, solar, nuclear, hydropower and other sources deemed clean without being penalized. Electricity suppliers will be able to buy and sell clean energy credits every year to meet those commitments. The law would even allow some of those sources to be fossil fuels, as long as the vast majority of carbon emissions from those operations were captured. Some oil and gas companies and government-funded scientists are working on that technology, but it is not yet economically viable. The bill would also require the Environmental Protection Agency to ratchet up rules on emissions from the tailpipes of new cars and trucks, as well as mandate tougher restrictions on the release of methane, a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide, from oil and natural gas drilling. Leveraging the purchasing power of the federal government, the bill would also require that steel and cement purchased by the government meet emissions targets. Finally, the bill would create what the authors say is a first-of-its-kind climate bank, which would help finance projects from state and local governments and corporations that reduce emissions. Opposition parties will hold a meeting in New Delhi on Monday to chalk out strategies to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government on two key issues the economy and the debate over citizenship. Leaders of the Congress, Left parties, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), among others, will hold talks in the afternoon, attempting to put up a united front against the BJP on these issues. The Samajwadi Party is expected to attend the meeting, but suspense remains over the participation of Mayawatis Bahujan Samaj Party. Last week, West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee announced that she will not be a part of the meeting, dealing a blow to efforts to showcase a united Opposition. The meeting, called by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, comes at a time when there is a raging debate in the country over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR). Formulating a strategy to counter the government on CAA, NRC and NPR will top the agenda of the meeting, according to two opposition leaders who spoke on the condition of anonymity. There is no clarity on whether opposition leaders will decide to meet the President of India to hand over their memorandum against CAA-NRC on Monday. A statement is expected at the end of the meeting. The governments passage of CAA, which fast-tracks Indian citizenship for persecuted non-Muslim minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, has triggered protests across India. In the North-east, where the protests first erupted, residents fear that the law will lead to an influx of outsiders. In other parts of the country, there are fears that CAA will be used along with an all-India NRC, which would affect Muslims without the requisite paperwork in a country where most people have very poor paperwork. There are others who have objected to the exclusion of Muslims in the law, saying it goes against the secular ethos of the Indian Constitution. The government may have notified it [CAA], but we stick to our stand that the legislation must be withdrawn. And we stand firm on the issue, said Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, one of the key organisers of the Opposition meeting. The BJPs top leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah, have said CAA is aimed at fast-tracking the citizenship of refugees of Hindu, Sikh, Christian, Parsi, Jain and Buddhist faiths who entered India from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh before 2015. They have also said the law does take away an individuals citizenship, and accused political rivals of spreading misinformation on the issue. In Mondays meeting, the Opposition is also likely to discuss the economy, as a large number of leaders from the bloc thinks the government should be aggressively countered on the issue. A section of the Opposition is keen to demand a white paper on the matter, but it is not clear if there would be a consensus on this on Monday. Indias gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.5% in the July-September quarter (the second quarter of fiscal 2019-20), the slowest pace of expansion since March 2013, sparking apprehensions over the state of the economy. The government, however, maintains the economy has bottomed out and that the worst is over. This government is pushing people from one conflict to another. The agenda suits them as polarising issues divert the attention from economic and job crisis, said a third Opposition leader who did not want to be named. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 19:23:22|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close YANGON, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar police seized nearly 200,000 stimulants and some heroin in Sagaing region, said a release from the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) on Sunday. A township police force confiscated a bag filled with 188,000 stimulant tablets worth over 940 million kyats (626,667 U.S. dollars) and 60 grams of heroin from a suspicious person during their patrolling operation in Banmauk township late Saturday. The suspect was charged under the country's Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law. Meanwhile, a total of 1,432 suspects were charged in connection with 929 drug-related cases as of Jan. 4 this year since mid-2018, said a recent release issued by the Office of the President. On June. 26, 2018, the Office of the President announced formation of the Drug Activity Special Complaint Department to accept and respond to reports on drug abuses and related cases from the public. Security forces have been conducting aOperation All Outa to root out terror outfits from the Valley (Photo Credit: PTI File) New Delhi: Three terrorists were killed in an encounter security forces in Tral in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on Sunday, police said. Security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation in the Gulshanpora area of Tral in the south Kashmir district Sunday morning after receiving specific intelligence about the presence of militants there. The terrorists fired at the forces triggering an encounter resulting in death of the three militants. According to ANI, the three were identified as Umar Fayaz Lone (Hizbul Mujahideen), Adil Bashir Mir (Hizbul Mujahideen) and Faizan Hameed Bhat (Jaish-e-Mohammed). According to police, arms and ammunition were also recovered from the terrorists. Meanwhile, security forces have been conducting 'Operation All Out to root out terror outfits from the Valley. As many as 160 terrorists were killed and 102 arrested in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019. Jammu and Kashmir polices stated that 250 ultras were active in UT. Security Arrangements have been beefed up in Jammu and Kashmir post abrogation of Article 370. Since the removal of the special status from J&K, Pakistan is trying to push militias via LoC. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. One day after President Donald Trump's inaugural parade wound its way through the District of Columbia, hundreds of thousands of women poured into the city from across the country, carrying signs, pink knitted hats and an overwhelming sense of rage and grief. The first Women's March - an alliance of hundreds of nationwide marches widely considered the largest single-day protest in American history - funneled feelings into action. Women who had never carried a sign became seasoned protesters. Strangers formed letter-writing campaigns and action networks. It was, experts said, the moment the "resistance" was born. Three years later, as Trump commences the final year of his first term, the Women's March is planning to take to the streets once more. But many of the demonstrators who descended on Washington that first year, catapulting the new organization from obscurity to a household name, will not be there to see it. After overhauling its mission, structure and leadership, the organization once considered the beating heart of the anti-Trump movement seems to be on life support. Experts who follow protest movements said the group's own successes - putting more women on the front line of American politics, inspiring a new wave of progressive groups, encouraging an unprecedented number of women to run for office - have rendered the Women's March increasingly irrelevant. Others blame the failures on an organization that has struggled to find its purpose amid national controversies, financial mismanagement, accusations of anti-Semitism and a reputation for being unwilling to play nice with others. Either way, the result is the same. "Right after the election, it made sense for them to have this big march on Washington, but right now, nobody really wants another march on Washington," said Dana R. Fisher, a University of Maryland professor who studies protest movements. "Nobody needs another pink hat." Women who still describe the 2017 march as transformational have walked away from the national organization in droves. Some started their own groups. Many more joined political campaigns, local activist groups or more issue-specific efforts. Despite a looming presidential election and a cascade of events that have stoked outrage among the group's natural allies - including clashes with Iran, Trump's impeachment, raging wildfires in Australia and a GOP-led push to roll back reproductive rights - experts said they expect to see a fraction of the march's typical attendance this year. The 2020 Women's March expects about 10,000 people to attend Saturday's march to the White House, according to a permit application filed with the National Park Service. About 4,500 people have indicated on Facebook they will attend. Marching, experts said, is most effective as a means to an end. But many activists whose foray into activism began with the Women's March have evolved. "Burnout is real," said Jeremy Pressman, a political science professor at the University of Connecticut and co-creator of the Crowd Counting Consortium, which tracks attendance at large-scale protests. "Yes, there is protest fatigue, but it's also incredibly hard for people to sustain high levels of engagement with a polarized, 24/7 news environment for years at a time. You see more and more activists who are opting to do other things: donating, volunteering, running for their local school board or city council." Other factors have weakened the organization's ability to mobilize large networks of allies and activists. The group's long-standing ambition to create a "big tent" for women with different backgrounds has resulted in confusion over what the Women's March stands for. Ahead of its march last year, the organization unveiled a 10-pronged political platform intended to steer its focus and give lawmakers a list of progressive policy priorities. This year, though, the group has narrowed its focus to climate change, immigration and reproductive rights - issues most important to participants. "In an ideal world, there is always room for more groups to do more work around those issues, especially if they can bring new energy and new strengths to a cause," Fisher said. "But I'm not sure what the strength of the Women's March group is right now." The novelty of the annual march has also faded with time. Since 2017, the kind of demonstration that the Women's March pioneered on Trump's first full day in office - simultaneous nationally coordinated protests in multiple cities - has become common practice for liberal organizations trying to rally people around a cause. On Thursday, an antiwar demonstration dubbed "No War With Iran" drew protesters to more than 370 cities around the country in response to escalating tensions between Iran and the United States. Weeks earlier, protesters at more than 600 locations gathered to support Trump's impeachment. "It's so different now," said Carmen Perez, a founding member of the Women's March, who said she spent weeks cold calling nonprofits in 2017 to secure partners for the demonstration. "You can organize a march on your phone, really." Several controversies that followed the Women's March and its inaugural board members hobbled its ability to attract partners. Actress Alyssa Milano publicly distanced herself from the group. The organization's once-robust network of state partners has shrunk to fewer than 30. Many who left have been slow to return. "We were never brought into the discussions that Women's March was having, so we moved on," said Emiliana Guereca, an organizer with Women's March L.A. and founder of the Women's March Foundation, neither of which are affiliated with the national organization. "How many times can you expect your supporters to deal with negative press while being denied a seat at the table to begin with? No. We moved on." Jewish women, in particular, fled the organization en masse after its former co-chairs were accused of making anti-Semitic remarks and aligning themselves with the Nation of Islam and its longtime leader, Louis Farrakhan. Calls for board members to resign were met with little response. Guila Franklin Siegel, associate director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, said the inaction was disrespectful to Jewish women who were concerned about the direction of the group. "It was such a sad thing to see a movement that had started off with such promise get bogged down because of such problematic leadership," she said. "The fact that it took so long to make that corrective change was very energy-sapping, very aggravating, and it took a lot out of the movement. Clearly, they're in a rebuilding mode now." In September, the organization announced it added several Jewish women, one of them a woman of color, to its expanded 16-member board of directors, as well as members of the LGBTQ community. When one new appointee was found to have compared Israel to the Islamic State on Twitter, she was promptly asked to resign. Women's March leaders said they are unfazed by the group's shrunken scale. They expect this year to be a rebirth for the organization and the country. "This new board comes from such a diverse set of backgrounds, but we all truly believe in the idea that none of us are free until all of us are free," said Women's March co-president Isa Noyola, an immigration activist who joined the organization late last year. "For our own communities to actually experience freedom and liberation and have basic human rights ... we know it's not just about the march, it's about what happens afterward and how we can continue to support grass-roots organizing along the way - and not just our own." To win back activists who have lost faith in the organization, the Women's March has swapped out the highly produced demonstrations of prior years for a more conventional protest march from Freedom Plaza to the White House. Rather than hosting celebrities like Gloria Steinem and Madonna, both of whom addressed the crowd in 2017, the event will be more issues-driven, board members said. It will feature small-scale events this week leading up to the march, when leaders can chat with longtime activists in the movement, officials said. Leaders of state- and city-level organizations that began as offshoots of the 2017 march said this year they felt - perhaps for the first time - that the national Women's March group was treating them as equals. The theme of this year's march, "Women Rising," was borrowed from Los Angeles organizers, who for years have been trying to distance themselves from the national group, said Guereca, the Women's March L.A. organizer. "The leadership change, the expansion of the board - it seems like there's a lot more accountability and willingness to work together with local leaders and other groups that we only wished existed in 2017," she said. In New York, where a deep divide between the city's chapter of the Women's March and an unaffiliated group called Women's March Alliance resulted in competing marches in past years, the groups decided this year to do something unprecedented: join forces. Such collaborative efforts mark a change from previous years, when the organization regularly policed the use of its slogans and materials, issued top-down decrees regarding the march's date and messaging, and engaged in a prolonged battle to trademark the words "women's march." "They have all new leadership, we have all new leadership, and we just got together and said, 'There's no real reason to carry this division into the future,' " said Julia Fusco-Luberoff, executive director of Women's March NYC. "We want to carry sisterhood into the future. This is the year women are coming together. We don't have time to fight amongst ourselves." She's one of the most iconic television stars of the 1970s. And Suzanne Somers is using her star power to encourage health and wellness in her latest book, A New Way to Age. The 73-year-old spoke candidly about her lively sex life with Canadian entertainer and husband of 43-years, Alan Hamel. Somers admitted that her and Hamel engage in intercourse twice a day on average. Somers speaks: Suzanne Somers spoke exclusively to DailyMailTV regarding her latest book A New Way to Age Still kickin': Somers revealed that her and her 83-year-old husband have sex twice a day on average 'The reason I talk about sex is because at 73 everybody thinks it's over, and I just want women and men to know it ain't over,' emphasized Somers during an exclusive sit down interview with DailyMailTV. 'Because I've put all of my hormones back, which I explain in this book, to optimal levels, my body's operating like a young woman in that sense.' Suzanne met Hamel while working a gig as a prize model for the popular game show The Anniversary Game from 1969 to 1970. At the time, Hamel was the show's host and the two quickly fell for one another. In 1977, after years of living together, the pair would marry and Somers would land her breakout role in the hit television series, Three's Company, starring John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt. Young at heart: 'Because I've put all of my hormones back, which I explain in this book, to optimal levels, my body's operating like a young woman in that sense' explained Somers Over 40-years of marriage: The couple married in 1977 after meeting in 1969 on the set of The Anniversary Game show; the pair were photographed at Studio 54 in 1978 Many decades later and Somers is still maintaining the spark in her and her husband's longtime marriage. Adding: 'I'm just trying to explain what I know now at 73. Right now we've got a longer life but no quality and what I write about is let's live the long life but have quality.' Aside from revealing her healthy sex life, Somers shares a great deal about her journey to becoming a passionate health advocate in her new book. A major turning point in her life came about following her 2001 breast cancer diagnosis. Breakout role: Somers would land her breakout role in the hit television series, Three's Company, starring John Ritter (left) and Joyce DeWitt (center) 'Those three words: 'you have cancer' rock your world because all of a sudden you're faced with your own mortality,' Somers said. 'So, it forced me, early on, to take charge of my health 'cause I didn't want to do it their way.' She made the controversial decision to eschew traditional medical protocol and refused chemotherapy. However, she did get lumpectomy and undergo radiation. Suzanne's opinions on topics like hormone replacement therapy, toxins and alternative cancer treatments have caught her a fair amount of backlash and criticism over the years. Still, she's pushed forward with her battle to age gracefully and healthfully, penning over 20 books over the year. Her latest book, A New Way to Age, is available where books are sold or via online order on Somer's website. All the secrets: Suzanne Somers' new book 'A New Way to Age' is available now January 9, 2020 Contact: Christie Anastasia, 207 288-8806 BAR HARBOR, MAINE Maine game wardens received a call yesterday that a deer had fallen through the ice on Hodgdon Pond, outside Acadia National Park. Acadia National Park Service rangers assisted Maine game wardens and together they were able to pull the deer out of the water and onto shore. The deer appeared to be extremely cold and exhausted but alert. Both agencies would like to remind everyone to use caution before venturing out onto any ice covering a waterway. Conditions can vary greatly from one frozen lake or river to the next. Ice conditions may be safe in one area and dangerous in another. Please check ice thickness every time before venturing out for any activity on frozen water. When Shaho Shahbazpanahi went to check in on the home of his close friends while they visited Iran, no one could have predicted they would never return and that he would bear the responsibility of figuring out what to do with the pieces of their lives left behind. Razgar Rahimi, Farideh Gholami and their three-year-old son, Jiwan Rahimi, were about to return after a month in their home country and Shahbazpanahi wanted to make sure all was in order at their Whitchurch-Stouffville, Ont., home, about 40 kilometres north of Toronto. He dutifully scanned each room from the basement to the top floor, and the nursery where the couple would soon welcome their baby boy. Gholami was seven months pregnant, set to deliver her baby in March. "They painted everything very beautifully, they had a crib ready, even the blankets were ready," he said. But it was not to be. Their home now sits empty, the crib in the nursery a reminder of the life that should have been. 'We were going to plan everything together' "At 11 p.m. Tuesday, we heard the news," Shahbazpanahi said. "A flight from Tehran to Kyiv had crashed." By 3 a.m., his worst fears were confirmed when the flight manifest for Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 emerged, listing his friends among the 167 passengers who perished. Fifty-seven Canadians were killed in the incident, which Iran took responsibility for on Friday after days of denying accusations it shot down the airliner. Submitted by Ahmad Shamshiri The plane was mistaken for a "hostile target" after it turned toward a "sensitive military centre" of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, the country's military said. Iran's Prime Minister called the incident "a disastrous mistake." Shahbazpanahi said the couple's relatives told him Jiwan's stuffed animal and book were found at the crash site. Until then, the hope had been for the families' children to grow up together. Shahbazpanahi's daughter's birthday was around the corner. Story continues "We were going to plan everything together," said his wife, Nasim Kamgar. Gholami was brilliant, studied industrial design and had dreams of one day starting her own business, Kamgar said through tears as she wore the necklace and earrings her friend designed for her. A kind of spark Gholami was also a lifeline of sorts for Kamgar a big-sister figure who taught her everything she knew about parenting and encouraged her to have a child of her own to be a friend to Jiwan. "But Jiwan never came back," she said through tears. "My daughter keeps saying, 'Jiwan.' She wants her friend... she can't talk but she knows that something's happened." Akbar Tavakoli/IRNA/AFP via Getty Images Rahimi was exceedingly knowledgeable and had a doctorate in electrical and computer engineering, Shahbazpanahi said. The pair met in 2014 on Rahimi's second day in Canada while Rahimi was studying at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, and they became fast friends. Both were Iranian Kurds, first-generation immigrants, sharing jokes in their native language that they couldn't in English or Farsi, Shahbazpanahi remembered with a laugh. "We had a lot of fun," he said. Three-year-old Jiwan was whip-smart, learning four languages and had a brain like his father, Shahbazpanahi said. He adored painting, reading and building things. The family had a kind of spark that let them make friends easily, as evidenced by the many friends who considered them family and now mourn their loss. Submitted by Nasim Kamgar It was also a function of surviving in a new country, said Shahbazpanahi. "When you come as an international student... everything is new. You're starting over," he said. 'This is unknown territory' And so while Rahimi and Gholami counted many friends among their family, they have no official next of kin in Canada, meaning Shahabazpanahi now finds himself trying to sort out what happens with the pieces of the lives cut short by the tragedy. "This is unknown territory," said their town's mayor Ian Lovatt. "We have an immigrant family that moved here about six years ago for a new life, establishes themselves certainly in our community and in the academic community, and in the blink of eye they're gone." Michael Charles Cole/CBC When friends of the couple approached Lovatt for help, officials from the town leaped into action to track down their landlords to let him know what had happened to the family. "The neighbours, the friends, and even the landlords don't know what to do," he said. Shahbazpanahi says he's standing by as the couple's family in Iran processes their loved ones' loss. They aren't ready yet to broach the topic of logistics and what to do with their now-empty home and belongings. Eventually, he expects family members will make their way to Canada to handle the couple's affairs. Angelina King/CBC For now, the town intends to hold a candlelight vigil for the family, with plans to send a book of condolences to their relatives in Iran. In the meantime, the couple's car remains parked outside of Shahbazpanahi's house. He was supposed to drive it to the airport to bring them home. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 21:36:37|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- China's capital city has moved on a fast track to foster new momentums for high-quality development, gearing up toward a smarter, greener and more harmonious tomorrow. "We have ensured the success of a series of big and joyful events, maintained steady and sound economic and social progress," said mayor Chen Jining while delivering the government work report Sunday at the annual session of the municipal people's congress. The city achieved a GDP growth of around 6.1 percent to 6.2 percent in 2019 and saw its resident's per capita disposable income increase by around 6.3 percent in real terms. Significant progress was made in 2019 in building the capital city into a national innovation center, with R&D spending intensity reaching around 6 percent of GDP, and a 13.1-percent increase of applications for invention patents, according to the report. To develop high-end, precision and sophisticated industries with stronger efforts, an action plan will be implemented to boost the 5G industry, enhancing the city's 5G telecommunications network, Chen said, noting that the city will build an AI-based open-source innovation platform and introduce more application scenarios. Last year, the Chinese capital sped up efforts against air pollution by enhancing law enforcement on mobile pollution sources and the precision control over dust, bringing down its average PM2.5 density to 42 micrograms per cubic meter. With a city-wide mandatory garbage sorting system starting in May, Beijing is pushing forward waste sorting in residential communities step by step and aiming at establishing sorting demonstration zones in 90 percent of the sub-districts and townships. Landmark progress has been made in pushing for the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, further relieving Beijing of functions nonessential to its role as capital. A total of 399 companies in general manufacturing was shut down and 66 marketplaces and logistics centers relocated and upgraded in Beijing last year, the report said. The construction of Beijing's sub-center in the eastern suburb of Tongzhou District is in full swing on the first anniversary of a control plan for the area as well as the relocation of the capital's key municipal organs. As one of Beijing's "two new wings" along with Xiong'an New Area in neighboring Hebei Province, the sub-center saw smooth progress in building a 1.3 million-square-meter underground transportation hub, the largest of its kind in Asia. The hub is scheduled to be ready for traffic by the end of 2024. Priorities will be given to the sub-center in selecting venues for pilot programs, key projects, high-performance companies and technological applications, the mayor said. The city expects 6-percent GDP growth in 2020. Congress president Sonia Gandhi demanded on Saturday the withdrawal of the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, terming the law discriminatory and divisive, and asserted that the National Population register (NPR) was a benign exercise, which is in form and content, a disguised NRC. Speaking at the Congress Working Committee meeting, convened in the wake of nationwide anti-CAA protests, alleged police brutality on college students protesting the amended law, and the Iran-US conflict. The sinister purpose of the law is clear it is to divide the Indian people on religious lines. Thousands of young men and women, especially students, have realised the grave harm the CAA implementation will cause. We are inspired by their struggle, Gandhi said. The Congress president further demanded that a comprehensive high-powered commission be constituted to enquire into the incidents connected with anti-CAA protests. About the NRC exercise, Gandhi said: In form and content, NPR 2020 is a disguised NRC. As a party in government in several states, we must take a wise and uniform decision. In the resolution passed at the meeting, the Congress has extended its support to protesting students. Almost every institution in the country from Delhi University, JNU, Jamia Millia University , Banaras Hindu University, Allahabad University, AMU, and many others have seen massive protests. Modi Government is systematically attacking the culture of creative thinking and learning..., said senior Congress leader KC Venugopal, who was also present at the meeting. Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao termed the Congresss statements hypocritical. CAA has already come into effect and no force on earth can stall its implementation. In all its outreach efforts, the BJP has been highlighting the Congresss duplicity on CAA and NPR. Congress has made a similar promise in Rajasthan poll manifesto for citizenship for Hindu refugees..., Rao said. The CWC also passed a resolution on the Iran-US conflict, saying it is deeply concerned. The outbreak of hostilities between Iran and the US... will have severe consequences for the region and the world. For India, much is at stake our energy security and the well being of millions strong Indian diaspora working and living in the Gulf. It is imperative that India puts in place well thought contingency plans..., senior leader Anand Sharma said, reading out the resolution. This editorial appears in The Washington Post: - - - Since forming a government in 2015, Poland's right-wing populist Law and Justice party has systematically sought to neuter checks on its power, especially by the judiciary. Early on, it seized control of the Constitutional Tribunal; later, it revamped the system for choosing judges to give the party control, rather than judges themselves. Under pressure from the European Union, it has retreated from some steps, such as purging the Supreme Court. Yet now, having won reelection in October with 43 percent of the vote, Law and Justice is making another push to quash judicial independence. A law hastily passed by the lower house of the Polish Parliament, the Sejm, on Dec. 20 is being called the "muzzle act" because it would provide for the fining or firing of judges who criticize the government's actions against the judiciary or engage in other unspecified "political activities." But "muzzling" understates the measure's sweep. It is meant to reverse a Supreme Court ruling saying that the Law and Justice-controlled body created to appoint judges is not independent, a decision that was itself based on a judgment by the European Court of Justice, the European Union's highest court. Under the proposed law, which Law and Justice rammed through the Sejm over strong EU objections, Polish judges would not be able to overrule Polish laws that conflict with EU law or the constitution without approval from the Law and Justice-dominated Constitutional Tribunal. The respected head of the Supreme Court, Malgorzata Gersdorf, warned that the result would be "the liquidation of independent judicial power." But never mind: The legislation also changes the procedure for picking Gersdorf's replacement so that Law and Justice controls that as well. The legislation is now before the opposition-controlled Senate, which could revise or reject it. But because any such action could be reversed by the Sejm, the measure's enactment is likely unless Law and Justice and its strongman, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, reverse course. That doesn't seem likely: Kaczynski recently pilloried judges he said were "evil." Poland is already the subject of an EU sanction procedure for its assault on the judiciary, and the latest act has prompted predictions that Law and Justice will drag the country out of the union altogether. Yet from Brussels's point of view, a worse outcome is possible: that Poland dodges sanctions while remaining inside the EU. It and Hungary could constitute a defacto authoritarian caucus, using EU rules to defend each other from punishment. Poland consequently could pose a crucial test for Ursula von der Leyen, the new head of the European Commission. She ought to push a reform linking EU funding to compliance with the rule of law. The Central Europeans could find it harder to block that step - and Poland is the largest net recipient of EU subsidies paid to lower-income members. Though contemptuous of the EU, Kaczynski is deferential to the Trump administration, which has increased U.S. troop levels in Poland. President Donald Trump is no champion of the rule of law, but Congress could condition military cooperation on Poland's compliance with democratic norms. Unless the "muzzle act" is scrapped, it should. Carl Guardino has led the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, an advocacy group whose membership includes more than 360 major businesses, for more than two decades. Last week, he announced his plan to depart after his replacement is found. Guardino talked to The Chronicle about his biggest victories and what companies need to do to tackle the regions biggest problems. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Q: Why was this a good time to leave? A: While theres never a perfect time for transition, it seemed the best time in that our members just finished our goal-setting for the next three years. Its a new state legislative calendar. From an ethics perspective, I never felt comfortable that I could start searching for the next step in my career when our board members, my staff and colleagues were entrusting me to be CEO. In order to start any thought process about whats next, I needed to clearly communicate this transition. Q: Whats next for you? A: My wife, Leslie, and I spent a lot of time in the last 10 days thinking this through before making a final decision on New Years Eve. And our hope is to stay in the Bay Area region that we love. I hope its something that marries my passion for Americas innovation economy, while building stronger communities for everyone. Q: What have been the Leadership Groups biggest accomplishments? A: In 2002, we formed our Silicon Valley Leadership Group Foundation. Its through that foundation that we have formed and run the Silicon Valley Turkey Trot. Weve donated nearly $10 million to five great Bay Area nonprofits helping the most vulnerable families in our region. Our Santa Run Silicon Valley, sponsored by Google, helps three great nonprofits. Weve purchased and donated salad bars for 198 underserved public schools in the region, serving 145,000 children. Thats the community side of which Im most proud. We are one of the few business groups in the nation that actually runs, funds and leads ballot initiative campaigns. We actually go on to co-manage the campaigns, three to five months long, a hundred hours a week, no days off. Its been our pleasure to run 15 during my tenure, 14 successfully, raising more than $30 billion in local funds for transportation improvements, more than $11 billion in funds for homeless services and housing affordability, $500 million to protect and restore our bay from flooding, $1 billion for school bonds and parcel taxes. Q: Youve been working on a $100 billion bond for Bay Area transit. Whats the status? A: We still hope to be on the ballot in November of this year that will be almost four years in the making with a vision to build and operate a world-class, seamless, integrated transit system that better serves riders, while also being compelling enough to get car commuters out of their automobiles. If the Legislature agrees with that decision, we will be able to move forward. Were going to know by the end of January, which is the legislative deadline. Q: What about your work on housing? A: One of the core competencies of the leadership group is housing advocacy. Over the last two decades alone, we have endorsed and fully advocated for more than 300 affordable home developments in the Bay Area, almost every time successfully. We are the voice of the voiceless as hearing where a single development will take between three and 20 public hearings alone, and were at every single hearing, being a voice for the voiceless. Ive had death threats against me. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes Ive been chased out into dark parking lots. Ive had female staff members followed into womens restrooms and screamed at and cursed at. It is not for the faint of heart to tackle this issue. And Im proud to work for an organization of members who joins us for those efforts. Q: What advice would you give to your successor? A: Dont forget our DNA. We were created by a legendary leader named David Packard (co-founder of Hewlett-Packard). Early in his career, at a group of older, more grizzled CEOs, he said our responsibility as CEOs is as much to our employees, customers and the communities in which we do business as it is to our shareholders. They almost laughed him out. But that is the DNA of the Leadership Group: build great companies, have a caring corporate culture. Never forget communities in which you do business and your employees are located. Its what makes the Silicon Valley Leadership Group unique and adds in measurably to our credibility and our effectiveness. I was born and raised here. In my first 58 years, the changes have been far-reaching, exciting, but also challenges that we only ignore at our own peril. The Leadership Group builds bridges rather than burns them down to bring diverse constituencies together. Not just between competing companies, but the diversity of thought that is healthy for any region between unlikely allies, whether its business, labor, community, faith groups, social justice, elected leaders of all political stripes. Our goal is to build those bridges, bring people together and solve hard problems. Roland Li is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment As we begin the new year, I am deeply concerned about the dramatic increase in anti-Semitism that we are witnessing in America. The month of December began with a shooting at a kosher supermarket in Jersey City and ended with a terrible stabbing attack at a Hanukkah candle lighting ceremony in Monsey, New York. These are just two instances that signal a terrifying uptick in anti-Semitism in the US and around the world. Make no mistake about it; attacks against Jews are becoming more violent and more frequent. Aside from what we see in the media, there are tens, if not hundreds, of incidents that go unreported on a weekly basis. What We Are Doing to Fight Anti-Semitism Yet, while the situation is quickly escalating, we need not feel helpless. Just as we Christians and Jews have come together in the past to help Jews in need, we will stand together now in the face of this new challenge. Together we can save lives and let the Jewish people know that they are not alone that there are millions of Christians around the world who care about them and will help them through this latest surge of terror. I want to share with you how we, at The Fellowship, will combat the growing danger of anti-Semitism. First, as always, we will continue to strengthen Israel in the areas of security and by providing humanitarian aid. As the only haven for Jews around the world, by keeping Israel strong, we help all Jews seeking refuge. Second, we will continue and grow our aliyah program, which brings Jews home to Israel from countries where their safety is threatened. In Israel, we help them begin life anew. We bring new immigrants to Israel every single day "from the four corners of the earth," just as the prophets saw, and we will not stop until every Jew in danger is safe at home. Third, we have begun an innovative Israel awareness program on Christian college campuses across America. We know that the Jewish people need future generations of Christian friends at our side, but studies have shown that Christian support for Israel among the next generation is on the decline. Our program educates students about the Christian connection to Israel and the Jewish people, and inspires them to support Israel. Anti-Israel groups, such as the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) movement, have long been entrenched in college campuses across America. We have learned that once they indoctrinate students, it is next to impossible to undo the damage. However, there are hundreds of Christian campuses across the US that anti-Israel groups have not yet reached. As the experts in Jewish and Christian relations, it is incumbent upon The Fellowship to be at those campuses first. What we uniquely do is show the correlation between biblical Israel and the modern state of Israel and then support for the Jewish State naturally follows. We have already seen great success in 79 universities, including Regent College and Oral Roberts University, and we plan to extend this initiative to many more campuses in 2020. We believe that by investing in today's students we will ensure security for Israel and the Jewish people in the future. God Is Doing a New Thing Finally, as always, we will continue to pray and ask that you pray with us for the safety and well-being of Jewish people around the world and for the peace of Jerusalem. We know that no matter how bad things may seem, God is in control. He hears our prayers and brings salvation to His people. No one can stand in His way and nothing will stop His plan! In spite of the growing threat to the safety of Jews around the world, I declare that 2020 will be a year of blessing for the Jewish people. By strengthening Israel, bringing Jewish people home to Israel, and ensuring the continued support of Christian friends of Israel, we can overcome the challenges facing us today. In the past, rising anti-Semitism has always led to tragic destruction. But now, God is doing a new thing, and through His miraculous power, what was meant to harm us will only make us stronger than ever before. Singapore is opening up its banking industry to digital lenders in a reform that could shake up the sector across Southeast Asia, with Chinese billionaire Jack Ma and ride-hailer Grab among those seeking licences. Traditional banks are being challenged by a new generation of online-only competitors that can offer better savings and borrowing rates, as they don't need to spend money on overheads such as physical branches. The introduction of digital lenders into the Singaporean market heralds the biggest liberalisation of the financial hub's banking sector for two decades, and follows similar moves in the United States, Britain, Japan and Hong Kong, among others. With most adults in the city already having access to financial services, firms awarded licences are likely to use the city-state as a gateway to the wider region, where many consumers still lack bank accounts. "It's a total reconfiguration of the terrain -- we're talking about radical changes," Lawrence Loh, a professor at the National University of Singapore Business School, told AFP. "Singapore is the launchpad for Southeast Asia." An eclectic group of 21 applicants are vying for five digital banking licences, Singapore's central bank and financial regulator said this month. They range from Alibaba founder Ma's online platform Ant Financial, as it ramps up efforts to expand outside China, to a consortium that includes Southeast Asian ride-hailing behemoth Grab and the region's biggest telecom player, Singtel. Other bidders are Asia's biggest massage chair maker, V3 Group, and an alliance featuring computer gaming firm Razer and a supermarket chain operator. - 'Challenging old models' - Two of the licences will be for full banking operations, allowing holders to take deposits from consumers, while three will be for "wholesale" banking -- which limits a lender to mostly dealing with small and medium-sized enterprises. The winners will be announced in June, with operations starting in 2021, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said. Observers say the overhaul is unlikely to spark immediate, dramatic changes in Singapore itself -- where traditional banks such as DBS and UOB have already introduced digital services. But the future impact could be massive if the new online lenders expand across a region of more than 600 million people, which is home to booming economies and where many are getting access to the internet for the first time via smartphones. The opportunities appear huge -- nearly a third of people in Southeast Asia still do not have bank accounts, according to a report by Google, Singapore investment firm Temasek and business consultancy Bain & Company. Another 98 million individuals own bank accounts but have insufficient access to financial services, while millions of small and medium-size businesses are in need of funding, the report said. And it projected digital lending in the region would rise five-fold to $110 billion by 2025. The rollout worldwide of ultra-fast, 5G smartphone infrastructure over the next five years is also expected to accelerate the digital transformation, said Rajiv Biswas, Asia Pacific chief economist at IHS Markit. "This is fundamentally challenging the old business model of retail banks, particularly in competing for the business of younger generations," he told AFP. There could be difficulties in expanding across a region where some governments have traditionally sought to shield domestic banks from foreign rivals. But analysts say regulators have gradually been removing barriers to competition, while Loh from NUS saw a bright future for digital lending, saying: "People are very quick to adapt." "E-commerce, online supermarkets, food delivery -- they are all done online." 11.01.2020 LISTEN Humans would not have been superstitious if they could handle all their circumstances by set rules or if they were always favoured by fortune. Being frequently driven to straits where rules are useless and fluctuate pliably between hope and fear by the uncertainty of fortunes greedily coveted favours, humans are for the most part prone to credulity. It is thus understandable that most Ghanaians believe that Ghana has been established to be a peaceful country by God himself and it will be peaceful no matter what happens. What a fallacy! When state institutions favour the haves over the have nots, and fail to uphold and maintain the objectives for which they have been established, violence may not just be an expected outcome but a certain one. Under the influence of reason, experience, and principle with evidence, I denounce the automaticity of peace and the perception of it in the political terrain of Ghana as held by majority of the citizens in this write up. Mens habit of mind differ, for what moves one to pray may move another only to scoff. The violence at Ayawaso West Wuogon, the failure of the main opposition and the government to resolve the issues of the violence amicably, the regrettable dismissal of the Ayawaso West Wuogon commissions report by a government white paper, the failure of state agencies like the Ghana police service to bring the perpetrators of the violence to book will however bring a convergence of mind of Ghanaians on the need to drum home the necessity for peaceful elections this year. The need for peaceful elections is more important than the elections itself. For if there is no peace before, during and after the elections, both the victor and the competitors will have no reasons to celebrate and lessons to learn respectively. Peace in Ghana is paramount but not automatic as assumed by many. To ensure peaceful elections, the effort of all stakeholders especially the major players like the electoral commission, the political parties and government must instill trust, confidence, commitment and most importantly patriotism. Current situations in the country however show meaningless verbal assurances of peace with no commitment to same. Government even in its best state is but a necessary evil, in its worst state an intolerable one for when we suffer or are exposed to the same miseries by government which we might expect in a country without government, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer. Things might be difficult under the government, apathy might be genuine and high and the desire of individuals and groups not to care or participate in the political process understood. But where will you be when the peace in Ghana is destabilized? Even if we do not believe in the government and its agencies, we are mandated to ensure the means by which they come to power is peaceful. This is not for the benefit of the government but for our own existence and survival. We must all work towards peaceful elections in December, 2020. Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. It is a weapon unique in history which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals. Violence on the other hand, is the language of the unheard. The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind. However, nonviolence in elections is predicated on the activities of players like the political parties, the government and the electoral commission. The unfortunate posture of the two major political parties, the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party with regards to vigilante groups and the quest to disband them is worrying. The seemingly autocratic posture of the Electoral commission in their quest to introduce a new voters register even when there seem to be no need is a recipe for disaster. The daily commentary by political activists and party surrogates, inflaming tensions especially with regards to the issue of a new voters register is a powdered keg waiting to blast. The lack of trust in the Ghana police service and other security agencies to deal with politically motivated issues without fear or favour is a dagger drawn ready to strike. The inability of the judiciary to swiftly deal with political cases before them and severely punish offenders to serve as a deterrent to all is an anger in the bosom of many waiting to burst out. The comments, posts and tweets on social media by individuals and groups that portray state institutions in bad light is not helping. Anyone can become angry, that is easy. However, to be angry at the right person, to the right degree, at the right time for the right purpose and in the right way is not easy. This is the reason why in our quest to win elections, introspection is necessary to determine our true selves. Most people in Ghana are not interested in politics to serve but for the benefit that it gives. We are witnesses to young men and women who were transformed over night from poverty to riches by dint of politics. If our motivation for politics is wealth and riches, then of course, we are ready to do anything to achieve our objective. The motivation of a true leader is to help improve upon lives. Political parties who lose elections must realise that failure is a detour not a dead end. For the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), this should be succinctly clear as they have both drunk from the stream of political failure. Unfortunately, they still behave like those who are afraid of death knowing very well that once they live, they will die. State institutions should implement to the latter, rules and regulations that help better govern the country. We must all realise that if God wanted us to live in a permissive society, he would have given us ten suggestions and not Ten Commandments. We must respect our laws for, without laws, we are animals in the jungle. It is said that people who have good relationships at home are more effective in the market place, parents have a role to play in ensuring peaceful elections. We all listen to our parents no matter how old we are. Parents should speak to their children and wards to be decorous in public as the training they receive from home will be exhibited in public. As Shakespeare indicated, the world is a stage where everyone must play a part. Play your part to ensure peaceful elections in Ghana. The benefits outweigh the costs. Mr Thorat said that the BJP and organisations associated with it, including ABVP, are not working as per the Constitution. Mumbai: A day after the home ministry said in a notification that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) came into force on January 10, Maharashtra revenue minister and state Congress president Balasaheb Thorat on Saturday reiterated that the new law would not be implemented in the state. The Congress party is extending full support to the people as the Act is against the Constitution, he said. Speaking to the reporters in Nashik, Mr Thorat said, The CAA would not be implemented in Maharashtra. He said his partys politics is as per the Constitution of India, adding that the Congress is following the principles enshrined in the preamble of the Constitution. Taking a swipe at the BJP over the JNU violence, Mr Thorat said that the BJP and organisations associated with it, including ABVP, are not working as per the Constitution. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 15:11:00|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Brunei saw a 0.58-percent drop in the number of road accidents in 2019, where 1,196 cases were recorded, compared to 1,203 in 2018 and 2,684 in 2017. The number of road fatalities also dropped to 13, compared to 17 in 2018 and 29 in 2017, local daily the Borneo Bulletin reported on Sunday, quoting the latest data from the Brunei National Road Safety Council. According to the report, 358 injuries from traffic accidents were recorded in 2019, compared to 433 in 2018 and 529 in 2017. A drop in traffic accidents involving commercial vehicles was also recorded, with 46 cases in 2019, compared to 51 in 2018 and 67 in 2017. In the breakdown of road traffic accidents according to age category, a substantial number of injuries were sustained by drivers and passengers aged 18-28, followed by those aged 39-58 and 59-78. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Fadli (The Jakarta Post) Batam Sun, January 12, 2020 17:27 730 48be62e941b44f04afae568c321d7204 1 National Natuna,China,foreign-affairs Free Around 30 Chinese fishing vessels have retreated to the border of Indonesias exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the North Natuna Sea, Natuna regency, Riau islands, amid simmering tensions over Chinas controversial naval maneuvers in the maritime region. The vessels began retreating on the heels of President Joko Jokowi Widodos visit to the regency on Wednesday. Around 30 foreign vessels are currently situated on the Natuna EEZ border. They remain there as of today, Riau Islands acting governor Isdianto told The Jakarta Post alongside Joint Defense Area Command (Kogabwilhan) I commander Rear Adm. Yudo Margono on Sunday. Isdianto said the vessels, which were originally situated 130 miles from the Natuna regency capital of Ranai, had retreated to the edge of the EEZ. Despite the foreign vessels apparent withdrawal from Natuna waters, Yudo said a military operation in the region would continue throughout the year, as evidenced by the beefed up military presence that remained intact as of Sunday. Four jet fighters are still on standby at the Natuna Air Base, he said. However, when asked whether Jokowis visit to the region had directly prompted the vessels retreat, Yudo said the connection remained to be seen. President Joko Jokowi Widodo insisted on Wednesday that Indonesia had sovereign rights over the natural resources in its EEZ in the North Natuna Sea and would allow foreign vessels to pass through peacefully. I am here to ensure the enforcement of our sovereign rights over the maritime natural resources in our EEZ, Jokowi said as quoted in a press release issued by the State Palace. Jokowi and his entourage were originally scheduled to inspect the waters off the Natuna Islands. However, the field inspection was canceled as a result of strong currents and unpredictable weather. Jokowi headed to the Natuna regents office where he handed over land certificates for residents. I am handing over these land certificates so everyone may know that Natuna is [part] of our homeland of Indonesia, Jokowi said during his visit to the regents office. (rfa) Arndhuti Roy visited gate number seven of the university, which has become a site of protest against the police action On Saturday, author Arundhati Roy visited Jamia Millia Islamia to express solidarity with the students who had been protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). According to a report in The Indian Express, Roy told students, If we all get together, there wont be a detention centre big enough for us. Maybe there will be a day when this government will be in a detention centre, and all of us azaad (free). We wont back down. She also addressed the students and raised slogans of 'inquilab zindabad', 'Jamia zindabad', 'JNU zindabad'. Roy visited gate number seven of the university, which has become a site of protest against the police action and donated books to the library run by students. On 15 December, the Delhi police had barged into the library of Jamia and allegedly used force against students who were protesting against CAA, NRC. The Union government on Friday issued a formal notification on the law. Since the CAA was passed by the Parliament on 11 December, Roy, along with leading writers and artists, has described the new law as divisive, discriminatory and unconstitutional, and demanded its withdrawal. The CAA allows Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, and Parsi immigrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, who faced religious presecution, and came to India before 31 December, 2014, to get citizenship in India. With inputs from PTI Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 21:26:35|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close Pakistani Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Mohammad Azam Khan Swati and Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing visit a stall during the Pakistan Craft Exhibition at the Chinese embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan on Jan. 12, 2020. In order to further promote cultural exchanges between Pakistan and China, Pakistani artisans showcased a variety of unique handicrafts and other artistic products at the exhibition organized by the Handicrafts Association of Pakistan and the Chinese embassy. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal) ISLAMABAD, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Through the handicrafts industry, Pakistan can not only boost its economy but also show the culture and portray the positive, colorful image of the country around the world, a Pakistani minister said on Sunday. Pakistani Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Mohammad Azam Khan Swati made the remarks when addressing the Pakistan Craft Exhibition held at the Chinese embassy in Pakistan. In order to further promote cultural exchanges between Pakistan and China, Pakistani artisans showcased a variety of unique handicrafts and other artistic products at the exhibition organized by the Handicrafts Association of Pakistan and the Chinese embassy. "It is not the money that we are going to earn from this sector, but it is the impact of our culture, our tradition, our love, our affection that we are going to take from Pakistan to other countries," the minister said. The participants took a keen interest in various handmade products such as embroidered clothes, rugs, carpets, jewelry, shoes, pottery, paintings and miniatures. President of the handicrafts association Fahad Barlas told Xinhua that the aim of this exhibition is to directly connect the craftsmen to the international community through which they can further improve their craftsmanship and delicacy. Hailing the efforts made by the Chinese side, Barlas said "the exhibition would help Pakistani craftsmen to introduce their work around the globe and establish their market linkages." Barlas said his association is planning to showcase aesthetics and exquisite work of Pakistani artisans in China in the near future. On the occasion, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing said this exhibition gave people a glimpse of Pakistan's culture, its friendship, and the great hospitality shown by the people of the country. "This is also an opportunity for us (Chinese people) to learn and to understand the rich culture of Pakistan," Yao said. Rabia Fahran, who came from Rawalpindi city to display her handmade products at the event, told Xinhua that such platforms are much more suitable for artisans who do not have their big expensive outlets in main markets, or for people working at home, especially women who are not encouraged to work outside their homes on daily basis. "They can bring their products here and would get more exposure as more people come to know about their products," Fahran said, adding that once they get orders from their customers, they can work at homes and deliver them. If Amazon's botched expansion in New York City offers a cautionary tale, Google is showing there is another way. The Alphabet Inc unit has added thousands of jobs since it set up shop in the Chelsea neighbourhood in 2006, and plans to add thousands more on Manhattan's west side. The company did not take public subsidies, and has mushroomed in New York without provoking much ire. "Google did it very wisely," said Mitchell Moss, an urban planning professor at New York University (NYU). Google, a tech pioneer when it first arrived in New York 20 years ago, has established itself gradually, buying and leasing mostly older buildings, and leaving the exteriors alone. Amazon, meanwhile, flirted with cities around the US in its flashy public bid to establish a second headquarters. It ultimately negotiated government subsidies to bring 25,000 jobs to the Long Island City section of Queens. The e-commerce giant abandoned the plans a year ago after the public money became a lightning rod for criticism, partly over concerns about what a huge new campus filled with high-earning staff would do to a gentrifying neighbourhood. Google has more than 8,000 employees in New York across several buildings and could surpass 14,000 by 2028. In the past two years, it bought Chelsea Market and a building across 15th Street for a total of about $3bn (2.7bn). It also announced plans to spend more than $1bn creating a new campus about a mile south of its New York headquarters at 111 Eighth Ave. When Google bought that building in 2010, it marked a turning point in New York's bid to be a major technology hub, said Doug Harmon, chairman of capital markets for Cushman & Wakefield. Long a media and finance stronghold, New York has been tipping toward tech as companies that have outgrown California tap the city's highly skilled workforce. The city had more than 264,000 tech workers in 2018, a 20pc jump from 2013, according to real estate company CBRE Group. Facebook has expanded its presence in recent months, with a lease at Hudson Yards, while Amazon also recently took space in the neighbourhood to house more than 1,500 workers. While Amazon said in February it was disappointed that it could not build the relationships with state and local officials required to move forward with its project in Queens, the company plans to expand in its 18 tech hubs across the US, including New York. There are some parallels between Chelsea when Google arrived and Long Island City when Amazon announced its move. The Queens neighbourhood is going through its own wave of gentrification as glass apartment towers spring up for young professionals. Amazon wanted to build a huge new campus in Queens near a public housing project. And while the company said it would generate $186bn in economic activity over 25 years, opponents saw it as contributing to congestion and higher rents. In Chelsea, though, Google has mostly managed to avoid controversy. "Gentrification was under way long before Google showed its face here," said Pamela Wolff, a member of community advocacy group Save Chelsea. When Wolff moved to Chelsea from Tennessee to chase a career in dance more than six decades ago, the area was largely Spanish-speaking, with single-room apartments for dock workers. After Chelsea Piers ceased being a shipping hub in the late 1960s, the area started to draw residents priced out of Greenwich Village, making it a global capital of gay culture. Eventually, art galleries moved in and housing prices rose. Google has fuelled development in Chelsea and the nearby Meatpacking District. It showed up three years before the opening of the former High Line elevated railway as an attraction and almost a decade before the Whitney Museum relocated to the neighbourhood from the Upper East Side. Now, the area is a tourist magnet, full of high-end boutiques and fashionable brunch spots. "Google has been the hub for this renaissance," said NYU's Moss. "Once it becomes acceptable for educated workers, then it becomes acceptable for everyone else." Google faces some of the same criticism tech companies always do: that they force prices up in neighbourhoods but do not spend much of their high salaries supporting local businesses, some of which have closed in recent years due to high rent. Google employees stay inside offices with free cafeterias, then go home at night, Wolff said. "It's so attractive that it creates a cocoon around those employees," she said. Google has tried to stay active in community groups, helping it stay ahead of complaints and showing local leaders that it is at least listening to their concerns. The company has provided public internet in a Chelsea park, and helped rescue an 80-year-old mural when the bank it was located in was slated for demolition. Bloomberg Four days after Iran shot down a Ukranian jet, it has released a helpline number to assist the families of the victims. 176 people in the Ukraine International Airlines flight PS 752 were killed as Iran shot down the jet on January 8, amid escalating tensions with the US and later claimed that it was 'unintentional.' Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, in a tweet, described it as a 24/7 hotline and a 'practical measure.' This comes after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, in a strongly-worded statement, added that Iran has to prosecute those responsible for the action, return the bodies of the deads and will have to pay compensation. As part of practical measures to assist families of victims of #PS752 tragic disaster, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has set up a hotline. It is manned 24/7. Number: +98 21 61153009 Embassies have also been instructed to facilitate assistance to families/friends of victims. Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 12, 2020 Ukrainian aircraft shot down A Ukrainian aircraft with at least 176 people aboard crashed on January 8 just after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport, according to Iranian media reports. All 176 passengers on board the PS752 airliner had died. The incident occurred amid escalating tensions between the US and Iran after US airstrike killed Iran's second most important person - commander of Quds Force of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Qasem Soleimani. While Iran vowed to take "revenge" and shot a missile at US airbase in Iraq, US President Donald said that Iran and the US can work together for world peace, pointing ISIS as a common enemy. Iran's admission In a massive admission on Saturday, Iran accepted that the Ukranian jet shot down on January 8 was done by mistake. Issuing a statement, Iran's military on state television said that the incident happened due to "human error." Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, taking to Twitter, has said that it is an "unforgivable mistake." He also said that "investigation on this great tragedy continues." Trump's 'suspicion', Trudeau's 'evidence' real as Iran admits it shot down jet killing 176 What did Iran say after the attack? At a news briefing on January 10, international reports quoted Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation (CAOI) chief Ali Abedzadeh who maintained that missile was not the cause of the crash. "The thing that is clear to us and that we can say with certainty is that this plane was not hit by a missile," he had told reporters. "As I said last night, this plane for more than one and a half minutes was on fire and was in the air and the location shows that the pilot was attempting to return." On Friday, government spokesman Ali Rabiei described the reports of a missile strike as "psychological warfare". The US suspected Iran's role After the Ukrainian jet was shot on January 8, US President Donald Trump had said that he had "suspicions" about what happened to the plane. In a press briefing, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had that the United States believes it is "likely" that Iran shot down the Ukrainian passenger plane. "We do believe that it's likely that that plane was shot down by an Iranian missile. We are -- we're gonna let the investigation play out before we make a final determination. It's important that we get to the bottom of it," Pompeo had said in a White House news briefing. 'The world is watching': Canada warns Iran after plane crash Trudeau suspected Iran's role Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, issuing a statement had said that he had received intelligence from multiple sources indicating that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. He added that it was possible that this was unintentional. "This reinforces the need for a thorough investigation," he said. "Canadians have questions and they deserve answers." But he said it was too early to apportion blame or draw any conclusions, and refused to go into detail about the evidence. Full Statement: Iran says it 'unintentionally' shot down Ukraine jet amid tensions with US GOPALGANJ: State Minister for Shipping Khaled Mahmud Chowdhury MP placing wreaths at the Mazar of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Tungipara yesterday. The National Children's Hospital has said it is purchasing cameras capable of facial recognition and storing the images. The technology is similar to a system used in China for surveillance. It can count how many people are in a room, analyse people's faces and keep up to date with their movements within the facility. A spokesperson has said that 3% of all the CCTV cameras will have the features installed and that how, or whether, they will be used has not been decided. The cameras are manufactured by by Chinese state-backed Hikvision. UCD professor and chair of Digital Rights Ireland TJ McIntyre said: "This appears to show a purchase of very expensive equipment without any clear sense of what it's being used for. "We seem to have a situation where the taxpayer is buying something which probably can't be used in the way it's intended." TJ McIntyre Solicitor and Director of Data Compliance Europe Simon McGarr said: "This isn't a question of future-proofing because it won't get more legal to track children's faces in the future. This will never be legal later, if it's not legal now. The appropriate form of future-proofing was to examine whether or not facial-recognition cameras were appropriate to buy in the first place. Technology journalist Andy O'Donoghue says the EU is trying to clamp down on facial recognition software being used. He said: "The European Commission is planning regulation that will give EU citizens explicit rights over their facial recognition data. "What they're trying to stop is this, sort of, indiscriminate use of facial recognition technology when it's certainly one that hasn't been solved yet. "We have a right to say when it's used and a right to know when it's being used." The National Paediatric Hospital Development Board said all cameras in use in the 1.7bn hospital "will be fully in line with Irish and European data protection and privacy legislation and guidelines". In his first overseas tour after taking over the reins of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa travelled to India. (Photo Credit: Twitter) Colombo: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will visit India early next month and hold talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, a media report said on Monday. This will be his first trip to India after assuming office in November last year and the third high-level visit to New Delhi by a member of the new Sri Lankan government headed by the prime ministers brother and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is expected to travel to India in early February but the dates are yet to be finalised, Sri Lankan news website The Sunday Morning quoted sources in the Prime Ministers Office as saying. India is keen to establish closer links with the new Sri Lankan government and offer financial assistance to develop the country, particularly the Tamil-dominated North and East and estate community areas, the report said. In his first overseas tour after taking over the reins of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa travelled to India on a three-day visit and held talks with Prime Minister Modi. Prime Minister Modi had announced a financial assistance of USD 450 million to Sri Lanka including USD 50 million to fight terrorism after holding fruitful talks with the island nations President. Last week, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena was in India and held talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar on exploring ways to further deepen bilateral ties in a range of areas including trade and investment. The Prime Ministers visit will come as the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in Sri Lanka continues to push for a political solution for the Tamils which includes the full implementation of the Indian-brokered 13th amendment to the Constitution. During President Gotabaya Rajapaksas visit to India, Modi had highlighted the importance of implementing the 13th amendment to the Constitution. The 13th amendment forced a temporary merger of the two provinces - Northern and Eastern provinces - subject to a referendum there, but the Supreme Court, in 2006, ruled the merger as unconstitutional and said the two provinces must be separated. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. China's top banking and insurance regulator vowed to ensure greater support in terms of inclusive financing services for the country's small businesses amid efforts to boost the real economy. In 2020, greater efforts will be made to ensure lower financing costs and continued fast loan growth to small and micro firms, according to decisions adopted at an annual work conference of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission. Overall financing costs of inclusive financing services for small businesses will be lowered by another 0.5 percentage points this year, while the country's five largest banks are expected to see their inclusive loans to small firms grow by over 20 percent year on year. By the end of 2019, total outstanding inclusive lending to small businesses reached 11.6 trillion yuan (about 1.67 trillion U.S. dollars), up over 25 percent, the commission said. The regulator also pledged to step up financial services for private businesses especially those in the manufacturing sector, with a focus on supporting those advanced firms and industrial clusters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced that the Kolkata Port will be renamed after the Bharatiya Jana Sanghs founder president Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee. Modi made the announcement at the sesquicentenary celebrations of Kolkata Port Trust at the Netaji Indoor stadium which Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee did not attend. It is a significant day for Bengal and those connected with the Kolkata Port Trust. It is a historic port that saw India gain freedom and has been a witness to Indias progress. It will now be called Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee port, he said in his address at the packed stadium. Watch | PM Modi renames Kolkata Port after Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee This port represents industrial, spiritual and self sufficiency aspirations of India. Today, when the port is celebrating its 150th anniversary, it is our responsibility to make it a powerful symbol of New India, he said. He also said that his government was taking every possible initiative for development of West Bengal. Were working towards increasing the number of cruises from 150 to 1000. This growth will also help West Bengal. Every possible initiative is being taken for the development of West Bengal by the central GovernmentThe central government is also promoting cruise-oriented tourism, Modi said. Mamata Banerjee who is in the forefront of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in the state, was expected to show up at the function but did not. He criticized Banerjees government for not implementing Ayushman Bharat medical insurance programme and PM Kisan Samaan scheme for farmers. Mamata Banerjee hasnt allowed Ayushman Bharat in West Bengal. There is no middlemen in our schemes. There are no syndicates, no cut money, he said in a reference to allegations corruption that plagued the TMC last year following revelations that its members had extorted money from the poor who tried to avail of government schemes. Earlier in the morning at the Belur Math in Howrah, Modi had defended the CAA and accused the Opposition of misleading the people. At the Kolkata Port Trust function he made no mention of the CAA. Protests continued on Kolkata for the second consecutive day on Sunday against the CAA, despite Modis assurance that the new law would not harm the interests of any citizen. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 23:20:48|Editor: yan Video Player Close JERUSALEM, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Israeli public's trust in the parliament has dropped to the lowest level in 11 years, according to a survey released on Sunday. Some 63 percent of the public expressed low or very low confidence in the parliament, or Knesset, according to an annual performance index for the public sector conducted by the University of Haifa. The researchers said in a statement that the data marks a significant decline compared to 2018, where some 56 percent of the public said they have low or very low confidence in the Knesset. Meanwhile, some 67 of the public expressed little or very little trust in political parties, with only 4 percent saying they have great or very great trust in them. The researchers attributed the low level of confidence primarily to the political deadlock over the past year, and warned that the mistrust in the Knesset and lawmakers "might affect public confidence in the democratic system and its ability to lead to social welfare." Israel is to hold its national elections on March 2. The unprecedented elections will be the third time Israelis would cast their ballots in less than a year, amidst political deadlock that has paralyzed the Israeli political system over the past months. An AirAsia India flight was forced to return to the airport here after a woman passenger threatened to detonate bombs and blow up the aircraft mid-air, officials said on Sunday. The incident happened on Saturday night after the Mumbai-bound flight carrying 114 passengers took off at 9.57 pm from the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, they said. A few minutes after it took off from the airport, the woman passenger on board allegedly gave a note to one of the cabin crew, asking it to be delivered to the pilot. The note said there were bombs strapped to her body and she would detonate it any moment, an airport official said. Following this, the pilot informed the air traffic controller (ATC) which directed him to return to the city airport, he said. "The ATC had declared full emergency at that time. As soon as the aircraft landed at the airport, it was taken to the isolation bay at 11:46 pm," he said. The passenger was taken into custody by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). A thorough search of the passenger and the aircraft was carried out but no bombs were found, the official said. The woman, in her mid-20s, has been identified as Mohini Mondol who is a resident of Salt Lake area, said a senior officer of the Bidhannagar City Police. The woman was arrested and the medical examination suggested that she was in an inebriated condition, the police officer said. "An investigation has been initiated and we are also talking to her family members to find out why she was going to Mumbai," he said. A preliminary investigation revealed that the woman wanted to return to Kolkata and hence pulled off this ploy, the officer said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sky News The programme of events marking The Queen's 70th year on the throne has been revealed by Buckingham Palace. Instead, it is believed that other members of the Royal Family will take on much of the duties in her place, including Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess Of Cornwall. "But yet, because she has reigned for so long, there is a chance for the nation to celebrate her and she has through her household, and many other people who are taking part, put forward for this weekend events that people can involve themselves in, or ignore, in the true British style, just as they please." PALO ALTO (BCN) A $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of three men who robbed a Safeway store pharmacy early Friday morning and escaped with prescription drugs. Police on Saturday also released photos of the suspects in this robbery, about 12:40 a.m. at the Safeway store in the 2800 block of Middlefield Road in Palo Alto's Midtown neighborhood. When the trio entered the store, one brandished a handgun and ordered a store employee to the ground near the pharmacy. One suspect broke the pharmacy's glass door and stole an unknown amount of prescription drugs, police said. The suspects then ran from the store and left in a pickup truck that was last seen headed east on the Oregon Expressway. All three suspects are Hispanic male adults in their 20s, ranging in height from 5 feet 7 inches to 5 feet 9 inches, all with medium builds. The suspect who brandished the handgun wore a gray hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans and red sneakers. The suspect who broke the glass door wore a yellow hooded sweatshirt with a Tommy Hilfiger logo on it, dark pants and black shoes. The third suspect, the lookout, wore a red hooded jacket, gray pants and white sneakers. The suspects' vehicle is described as a full-size red two-door pickup truck. It appeared to be an early 2000s model Ford or Chevrolet. The reward is being offered by Mothers Against Murder, a charitable nonprofit based in Los Altos. For more information this group, go to www.mothersagainstmurder.org or call (650) 248-9529. Palo Alto police detectives are investigating this 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. Help India! By Hisham ul Wahab P, TwoCircles.net Transcription of the Speech by Aysha Renna, Student Leader of Jamia Millia Islamia, at Protest Public Meeting Against CAA & NRC organised by the United Muslim Action Committee on 21 December 2019 at Darussalam, Hyderabad. Support TwoCircles In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Assalamualikum I would like to extend my Salam to all martyrs who lent their life in the struggle against the terror Sangh regime across the country. On this occasion, I would also like to thank the organisers for inviting us for this mass movement and I am so happy with the support that you are showing to us. I, Aysha Renna, a post-graduate history student of Jamia Millia Islamia, am standing before you representing the thousands and thousands of students who are actively participating in the protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizenship. People call me an icon and the face of protest. But I am not the real Icon and the real face. I became the icon only because mine, Ladeeda Farzanas and Shaheen Abdullas video became viral. It was last Sunday (December 15, 2019), police stepped into our campus, attacked the students in the library, and thrashed the students who were offering Namaz in the Masjid. Have you ever in the history heard of police boots raiding inside the library? Have you ever heard of a brutal attack on the students inside the campus? But under the Modi regime, all are watching that kind of things. My salutes to all those brave hearts who are the defenders of the dignity and self-esteem of the fellows in the Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University. The Modi regime says that they are here to empower Muslim women through various acts like theTriple Talaq bill. But I want to ask the BJP leadership, by beating up Muslim women are you going to empower us? I would like to bring to your notice the hate campaign that is going against me and Ladeeda Farzana. It was mainly implemented by a well organised IT team of the Sangh Parivar. This was the same IT team who criticized the Unnao rape victim, who criticised Fatima, who criticised everybody who stood and who raised their voices against the BJP Sang atrocities. But I am sure that all their efforts are going to be in vain. Because this struggle is not that of Aysha Renna and Ladeeda Farzana, it is neither the struggle of Aligarh Muslim University nor of Jamia Millia Islamia. This is of the people of the whole India. We know that the constitution begins with we the people and the struggle is representing all the people all over India. We are here to protect the constitution against all Hindutva agendas which the BJP government is planning to implement. I met Chandra Shekhar Azad Ravan on the steps of Jama Masjid. The Bhim Army chief was leading the protest against the CAA there. He was the same guy who took to the streets outside Delhi Police Headquarters on the early hours of sixteenth December 2019 to demand justice to the students of Jamia. Now he is under the detention of the Delhi police. I, on behalf of all those who have gathered here, demand the immediate release of Chandrasekhar Azad and others who have been detained illegally across the country. It is this kind of solidarities that add fuel to this movement. The solidarity of the marginalized which defines the politics of coming generation, those marginalised includes Muslim, Adivasi, Dalit and other minorities of the country. My speech would be incomplete without speaking of the National Register of Citizenship that is NRC. During the discussion of CAA in the parliament Home minister Amit Shah reiterated a nationwide NRC will be implemented soon. The NRC and CAA are complementary to each other. There are recent news reports that the work of a countrywide NRC has already begun under the mask of National Population Register that is NPR. I request to the Chief Ministers of the non-BJP ruling states to stop the procedure of NPR since its intentions are ambiguous. I have seen folks in our struggle being suppressed. To them I say, I am coming from Delhi, a city where you can see a lot of forts and monuments. These are reminiscence of a truth. The truth that the autocratic regime even after reaching the zenith of their glory, would fall one day; the truth that the Pharaoh drowned to death, the truth that Hitler had to commit suicide, the truth that Mussolini was killed by his people. It is for this state of truth and justice our struggles are on and the ultimate success will be ours, In Sha Allah (God willing). I conclude with an Urdu poem: Haq vo insaf ki bekhouf himayat ki he Ye bagaavat he tho hamne bagaavat kee he [We have stood for truth and Justice If this is resistance then yes we have resisted] Assalamualikum. RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was in Saudi Arabia for talks with King Salman on Sunday as part of a tour of oil-producing Gulf Arab states aimed at promoting peace amid a spike in tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Japan has a deep alliance with the United States, but it also has ties with Iran, which until 2017 supplied Japan with about 5% of its crude oil imports. Japan has sought to remain politically neutral as tensions in the Persian Gulf have escalated following President Donald Trumps decision to withdraw the U.S. from Irans nuclear deal with world powers. Security in the Persian Gulfs waters and for Mideast oil supplies is a national security priority for Japan, which imports nearly 90% of its oil from the Middle East. Much of that is shipped from Arab Gulf states through the narrow Straight of Hormuz, which Iran partly controls. Japan plans to deploy naval forces, a destroyer and two patrol airplanes off the coasts of Yemen and Oman to help protect its energy supplies, while keeping away from directly patrolling the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S. does. After arriving late Saturday evening in Riyadh, Abe was given a ceremonial welcome and hosted for lunch by King Salman Sunday afternoon. Abe also met Sunday with Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman. Saudi media reported he was scheduled to meet the powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This marks Abes third visit to Saudi Arabia as prime minister. Saudi Arabia is Japans top supplier of crude oil, accounting for about 39% of Japans overall crude imports. Iran is unable to sell its oil internationally as it once did, due to U.S. sanctions by the Trump administration. Over the summer, Japanese energy supplies became a target of rising tensions when two cargo ships were mysteriously hit off the Gulf of Oman. No one claimed responsibility for the attack, although others that summer were blamed on Iran, which has denied involvement. The attacks on Japanese-related cargo in June took place while Abe was in Iran meeting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani. Hed travelled to Tehran as an interlocutor for President Donald Trump to ease tensions. Concerns of a wider conflict have grown in recent days following a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad that killed Irans powerful military commander, Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Iran retaliated, striking two military bases in Iraq where American troops are stationed, though no casualties were reported. Amid the chaos and heightened threats, Iran acknowledged Saturday it had mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing all 176 people aboard. Abe is scheduled to visit the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday and Oman on Wednesday, before departing back to Tokyo. In the UAE, he will meet with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed and other leading Emirati figures. In Oman, Abe will hold talks with the countrys new ruler, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, who was named on Saturday following the death of longtime ruler Sultan Qaboos. Abe is travelling with a delegation that includes ministers responsible for boosting trade and business ties. While in Saudi Arabia, he is scheduled to visit the desert region of Al-Ula, which the kingdom is touting as a tourism destination, and will reportedly met the Saudi crown prince there. ___ Batrawy reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to this report. That Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot are not exactly on best terms is an open secret. In an unusual move, students protesting against the new citizenship law and the National Register of Citizens have laid claim on the Indian tricolour and the Constitution. It has now become a regular feature at these protests to read from the preamble of the Constitution, wave the Indian flag and display photographs of Gandhi and Babasaheb Ambedkar. This has stumped the Narendra Modi government which has been on an overdrive to appropriate both Gandhi and Ambedkar and equally quick to dismiss dissenters as anti-nationals. Meanwhile, the Centre has also stepped up its efforts to reclaim the Constitution as its own. The culture ministry, for instance, has directed all associations and institutions attached to it to hold regular programmes on the Constitution. These could include a lecture, a discussion or a workshop. Maybe this exercise is not related to the ongoing protests but the Centres directive has acquired urgency against the backdrop of the students agitation. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi may be out on his travels but he continues to call the shots in the party through his band of loyalists. For instance, Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal, who is said to speak on behalf of the Nehru-Gandhi scion, played a key role in drawing up the list of party leaders to be included in the Maharashtra Cabinet. According to party insiders, senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, who is officially in charge of Maharashtra, was a mere token presence in these discussions. Then there is Rajiv Satav, also a member of Team Rahul, now heading the screening committee to shortlist candidates for next months Delhi elections. Furthermore, Rahul aides Meenakshi Natrajan and Sachin Rao have been instrumental in the appointment of friends Sachin Naik and Bajirao Khade in Priyanka Gandhi Vadras team. But nothing beats the appointment of Vijay Inder Singla as Congress secretary attached to treasurer Ahmed Patel, with the specific charge of properties and assets. This is an additional responsibility for Mr Singla as he is also a minister in the Punjab government. Needless to say, Mr Singla is close to Rahul Gandhi. Congress leaders are wondering if Mr Singlas appointment is an attempt to clip Mr Patels wings. Rajendra Kumar Miglani, adviser to Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath is easily the most powerful man in the state government. Known for his four-decade-old association with Mr Nath, Mr Miglani has been a permanent fixture in his office and has been the point person managing the chief ministers constituency Chhindwara. Today in Bhopal, Mr Miglani controls access to the chief minister. All those employed both in Mr Naths office and residence are handpicked by him and are popularly referred to as the Miglani Service Cadre (MSC). Predictably, Mr Miglani is kept abreast of all developments in Mr Naths office and home by MSC members who owe their jobs to the chief ministers right-hand man. As a result, no one and nothing escapes Mr Miglanis attention. That Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot are not exactly on best terms is an open secret. The two are constantly engaged in a cat-and-mouse game. So far, Mr Gehlot was forced to treat his younger colleague with kid gloves. But the CM is now comfortably placed after six legislators from the Bahujan Samaj Party crossed over. A more confident Gehlot is said to be planning a Cabinet rejig. There is talk that the newly-inducted MLAs are likely to be rewarded with ministerial berths while Mr Pilots nominees could be dropped on the pretext of accommodating the former BSP legislators. As a result, the tension between the two has resurfaced. It was, therefore, no surprise when Mr Pilot publicly criticised his own government for the infant deaths in Kota. The February 8 Delhi Assembly election has forced finance ministry officials to postpone the customary post-budget dinner for media-persons. The dinner is usually organised a day or two after the presentation of the budget and is hosted by the finance minister. Officials who are in charge of planning the ministers schedule and booking the venue realised just in time that since the model code of conduct is in place, it would have to be held after the poll results are declared on February 11. Nirmala Sitharamans last post-budget dinner became controversial as a large number of journalists did not adhere to the boycott call given by their colleagues to protest her decision to deny access to accredited correspondents to the ministry. She said allowing officers to live where they want is among several steps that her administration is taking to address St. Louis continuing problems with violent crime, underscored by the seven killings that occurred in the first two days of the new year. Under the city charter, anyone may apply for full-time jobs within city departments. If applicants arent already residents of St. Louis, they must take up residency in the city within 120 days of their initial probationary period. Applicants unwilling to move to the city cannot be considered, though there are exceptions for some police department employees and firefighters. Aldermen opposed to repeal worry that getting rid of the residency rule would result in more and more current city employees moving to the suburbs. That could especially hurt some of the citys poorer areas, they argued, and hinder efforts to draw new businesses to such neighborhoods. Hicks disagrees with that assessment. I dont think youre going to see a flood of officers leaving the city, he said. By next fall, more than $700 million in building projects that have transformed Houstons Museum District during the past decade will be complete. Near the Theater District, Stages new Gordy complex opens next weekend, further burnishing the citys reputation as a cultural mecca. But will Hispanic Houstonians see their culture represented in these new spaces consistently and profoundly? Some community leaders think not, even though the citys Latino population is 44.9 percent, a number that is expected to grow with the 2020 census. Those leaders wonder why a city with such a fierce appetite for new parks, public spaces, museums and theaters has not invested in a major facility that acknowledges their significance. Why doesnt Houston have a Latino cultural center on the scale of, say, the Asia Society Texas Center? Houstons arts are ethnically and economically segregated, said Nicolas Kanellos, a University of Houston professor and the founder/director of Arte Publico Press, the nations top publisher of Hispanic literature. The citys major arts supporters, including individuals and philanthropic foundations, have put all of their money into cultural centers for the wealthy and marginalized Latino cultural arts, he said. A number of other cities with burgeoning Latino populations are either already supporting their culture with multi-disciplinary arts centers or planning new ones. Dallas, Austin and San Antonio have had multimillion-dollar Latino centers for years. Californias Riverside Art Museum will open its Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art, Culture & Industry next year, and theres a campaign underway to build the Latino Cultural Arts Center in Denver. The point isnt just to erect another building. A well-funded center could help to equalize and elevate local Latino visual, performing and literary arts groups that have been perennially underfunded or little known in Houston. Tony Diaz, founder of the 21-year-old literary organization Nuestro Palabra: Latino Writers Having Their Say, was among those alarmed in September when the long-struggling performing arts organization Talento Bilingue de Houston, a bilingual English-Spanish theater group, lost its nonprofit status and folded. He also felt the failure was inevitable. Its appropriate that the Talento Bilingue building used to be a supermarket, he said. Basically, the community was given a building that wasnt built for art and told to have at it. Theres never been enough money to run the place, so every administration thats been there was set up for failure. The Talento Bilingue Center is owned by the city and managed by Houston First, a local government corporation that promotes the city and oversees more than 10 city-owned buildings and properties. The building holds a theater, large studios and community rooms making it Houstons most comparable facility to Latino cultural centers elsewhere. The city tapped the legacy group, MECA, Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts, to operate the Talento Bilingue Center while it creates a long-term plan for the building. Continuing to operate the building it owns in the Sixth Ward, MECA will offer its first dance, music and art classes at the TBH Center starting Jan. 21. Things are still up in the air about exactly what the community wants, said MECA founder Alice Valdez. City Council Member Robert Gallegos admires Valdezs work. The community needs both the MECA and TBH centers, he said, but he believes Houston also has room for something bigger and better. As our population grows, we will need a larger facility, he said. He already has a vision for what that might be. Gallegos worked with Mayor Sylvester Turner last year to commit $1.5 million in future capital improvement funds toward buying land for a Hispanic library and archive building in 2024. He would like to see that idea develop into a building with a theater and an art gallery as well as a library, calling it a Hispanic cultural arts and archive center a multi-service center for the arts that is also a tourist attraction. Financing such a place would require the full-philanthropic press of a major capital campaign. But what might be possible if Houston embraced the idea? Albuquerque aims for national profile The 20-acre campus of the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerques Barelas neighborhood is the gold standard. Its five simpatico buildings contain a museum with three exhibition spaces and a collection of more than 3,000 objects; a three-theater performance hall; a library and genealogy center; an education building and two restaurants. The architecture is on display, as well, designed by local firms to reflect the diverse history of Hispanic design. There are visual lessons in the powerful geometry of Mesoamerican pyramids, the curves of Spanish-inspired barrel-vaulted ceilings, the grace of Spanish-Pueblo Revival style and the drama of modern Latin minimalism. The brainchild of local artists in the late 1970s who wanted space to show their work because mainstream institutions ignored them, the campus was ultimately built in 2000 by the state of New Mexico. Construction begins this spring on a welcome center surrounding the chapel-like tower that holds artist Frederico Vigils monumental concave fresco Mundos de Mestizaje, a star attraction that depicts the history of pre-Hispanic and Hispanic civilization. The National Hispanic Cultural Center sees about 280,000 visitors annually. About 70 percent are local, although acting executive director Alberto Cuessy and his staff would like to attract more out-of-towners. Like every arts and culture organization, we struggle for money, Cuessy said. We have 32 staff for 20 acres, five buildings, 700 events a year. Its incredible what these people can do on a shoestring. The center operates on an annual budget of about $2.2 million, appropriated by the Legislature mainly for operations and staffing. The NHCC Foundation provides funds and support for its many programs through grant opportunities and sponsorships. We are always looking at our programs for ways to reach new audiences, Cuessy said. Tey Marianna Nunn, the NHCC museums director and chief curator, sees opportunities to grow. Mainstream institutions are clamoring for Latino subject matter because they dont have the expertise, and we do, she said. So there are ways to leverage. But I dont think one center can do it all because there are so many differences and nuances, layers and complexities to Latino communities and culture. Serving the Dallas community Dallas 16-year-old Latino Cultural Center is community-focused, home to two resident theater groups. Its also used by several other Latino performing-arts organizations. Designed by Mexican modernists Ricardo and Victor Legoretta, the 27,500-square-foot facility contains a distinctive and color-blocked L-shaped building around a plaza. Inside are a 300-seat theater, a community room and a gallery space. One of four community centers overseen by Dallas Office of Arts & Culture, the LCC was financed with a mix of public and private funds and built for just shy of $10 million. General manager Benjamin Espino believes that without land and a lead gift of $250,000 donated by the Meadows Foundation one of Dallas oldest private philanthropic organizations the concept could have languished indefinitely. The city recently found $4.8 million to expand the center, eliminating a public-private funding rule, so it could activate an improvement bond for the project that voters approved in 2003. Those funds will add a black-box theater. Finding what Houston wants Alice Valdez, MECAs founder, gets angry when people say Houston has no Latino cultural center. A former professional musician, she started Houstons oldest and largest Latino cultural organization 42 years ago. MECAs multi-story historic structure in the Sixth Ward the former Dow School, built in 1912 is nowhere near state-of-the art but will soon be upgraded. The city awarded MECA $800,000 in Hurricane Harvey relief funds to repair roof damage and leaks. After a two-year private fundraising effort with major support from the Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts, the Brown Foundation and the government of Qatar, MECA also is replacing its makeshift theater with a new auditorium and installing elevators. Construction begins next summer and should be complete in 2021, Valdez said. MECA presents art exhibits and performances but focuses on out-of-school programs and social services as a United Way agency. When people talk about a Latino cultural center, they can mean many different things, said Debbie McNulty, director of the Mayors Office of Cultural Affairs. Whatever is in your head right now, 10 people will have 10 different ideas. Arte Publico Press, University of Houstons Center for Mexican-American Studies, the Hispanic Forum and the Mexican Institute of Greater Houston are all well-established and respected; they, too, could be considered cultural centers. So might the Museum of Fine Arts, Houstons International Center for the Arts of the Americas. But none of them offer programs akin to the centers in Dallas and Albuquerque. McNultys office is seeking public input about the future of the TBH Center. The East End Houston cultural district and the East End District TIRZ (Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone) also have a stake in the property, which is tantalizingly close to the convention center. Hispanic community leaders want it to remain in the hands of a Hispanic organization. Hispanic cultural capital Houston has an abundance of what Diaz calls Hispanic cultural capital. That was clear last spring when the University of Houston hosted the international Latino Art Now conference. The mayor declared it a spring of Latinx arts, and for several months virtually every arts institution in the city showcased Hispanic talent, much of it local. The stereotype is theres not enough interest or talent. Thats not true, Diaz said. But there are a lot of structural barriers to Latino art institutions prospering. According to a study commissioned by the community and released in late 2018 by the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures, only 7 percent of Houstons hotel-motel tax funds the biggest local source of public funds for the arts were awarded to Latino organizations from 2010-2015. Houstons four largest philanthropic foundations scored even worse: Less than 1 percent of a total $110 million they gave to arts during that period went to Latinos. Funds from Houstons hotel-motel taxes are still skewed toward large institutions in the Museum and Theater Districts that attract tourists. In December, the city approved approximately $128 million of those funds, to be distributed by the Houston Arts Alliance through 2024. McNultys office and the arts alliance have recently improved the transparency and fairness of the grants processes, resulting in a dramatic increase of applications from all over the city, especially from individual artists and more competition for the funds. MECA typically receives the most of any Houston Latino organization about $75,000 a year which is less than one-tenth of its annual budget. Lets put it in context, Diaz said. In San Antonio, two of the three highest-funded nonprofits are Latino: the Guadalupe Theater is getting $500,000 this year, and the Esperanza Center, which does hardcore community activism, is also in the six-figure range. Arte Publico flourishes because the University of Houston gave it a home, said Kanellos, the founder of Arte Publico. Through a partnership with the Smithsonian Institution, he is able to present literary programs and exhibits around the United States; but Arte Publico stopped working with its hometown schools after local funding for those programs was cut. A dearth of Hispanic political power at City Hall and a lack of awareness dont help, said Kanellos. If a new Latino center were to materialize, it should be built in the Museum District, where it could be prominent and not a poor stepchild, he added. It would be a phenomenon. McNulty noted that in Houston, such facilities typically arise through public-private partnerships driven by philanthropists who see a need, build consensus, raise a lot of money, put something in place and then donate it to the city, collaborating with government entities on sustainability and long-term operations. The parks renaissance of the past decade is a perfect example. Theres certainly a large number of Latinos in Houston, and a lot of Latino wealth, she said. If a group of Latino civic leaders and funders, high net-worth people, wanted to get together and say, We need a cultural center, wed have one. I think thats the question: Is a certain amount of need being satisfied (already), or have people just not thought of this before? Diaz doubts that a new building will solve all of the inequities he sees, but he is optimistic about changes that more awareness will bring. I think theres a lot of goodwill. I think everyone wants to help, he said. We just havent looked at it this way. molly.glentzer@chron.com A shoplifter banned from every store in England has been jailed after she nicked goods from a Boots next to a court - minutes after she was bailed for a previous offence. Anna Burns's appalling record for shoplifting saw her banned from every shop in the UK except a single Tesco Metro. She appeared at Swindon Crown Court, in Wiltshire, for another offence, and when she was bailed she walked 750 yards to a Boots shop. Anna Burns, pictured outside court, has an appalling record for shoplifting that saw her banned from every shop in the UK except a single Tesco Metro In the shop she pinched 60 of make up and was caught. Burns was four hours late for her court appearance on Monday, January 6, and had to be woken up by police officers. She was being sentenced for two shop theft sprees in August and November. An unimpressed Judge Crabtree said he was inclined to sentence the shoplifter, telling the court: 'Enough is enough.' John Upton, for Burns, said his pale-faced client was ill, having been released from custody before Christmas without the right medication. She had arranged to pick up a new prescription on Tuesday. After her doctors' surgery confirmed she was indeed due to pick up her prescription, Judge Crabtree agreed to consider bailing the woman. But he remanded her in prison overnight and asked court staff to check that she had been released from custody without her medication. The judge added: 'Miss Burns has failed to attend on so many occasions I am starting to have a degree of scepticism.' The following morning he granted Burns bail ahead of a sentencing hearing in early February. Presciently, Judge Crabtree told the court: 'Miss Burns has got an appalling record for attending courts and going out immediately committing offences..' Burns was released after the 10am court hearing, but she was back in the cells on Wednesday morning after pleading guilty to stealing 58-worth of cosmetics from Boots. Kate Prince, prosecuting, said Burns had gone to the town centre store at around 3pm and stolen the make-up items. Burns was remanded in custody, and is next due before the magistrates' court in early February. A 65-year-old woman suspected of practising witchcraft was beaten to death by a man in Jharkhands Simedga district, days after a report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) said the state recorded the highest number of such killings in India in 2018. Police said 22-year-old Manoj Bilung allegedly killed Ashrita Bilung with sticks after branding her a witch on Friday, a day before his wedding at Sarkhutoli village under Pakartand police station, around 140km from capital Ranchi. Suspecting Ashrita of practising black magic, Manoj went to her house in the village on Friday midnight and beat her to death. This is what Manoj said during interrogation, Pakartand police station in-charge Hiralal Mahto said. Mahto said Manoj was arrested on Saturday and sent to jail on Sunday. Despite a drop in witch-hunt murder cases in Jharkhand, annual figures released by NCRB last Wednesday show the tribal state witnessed the highest number of such killings in the country in 2018 at 18. The country witnessed 63 such murders in 2018. Madhya Pradesh recorded 10 witch-hunt murders, Andhra Pradesh nine, Chhattisgarh eight and Odisha saw five such killings in 2018, as per NCRB. An analysis of NCRBs data since 2001 shows 560 women were lynched in Jharkhand after being branded witches between 2001 and 2018. The state saw the highest or 54 witch-hunting murders in 2013, 52 in 2008 and 50 in 2007. Jharkhand has seen a decline in such killings since 2014 when 47 women were lynched, which dropped to 32 in 2015, 27 in 2016, 19 in 2017 and 18 in 2018. Four people in their 60s, including two women, were killed in July last year after around a dozen angry villagers dragged them out of their houses and attacked them with sticks and sharp weapons while accusing them of practising witchcraft at Siskari village in Gumla district. Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha are the worst affected states of the social evil. Hundreds of women have been persecuted, tortured and killed after being branded as witches in the past few decades in these four states. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sanjoy Dey Sanjoy Dey is principal correspondent in Jharkhand and writes on government, urban development, forest and environment, tourism, rural development and agriculture. He likes to write human interest stories. ...view detail Top Trump administration officials struggled to defend an airstrike that killed a senior Iranian general Sunday morning, acknowledging that they could not confirm President Donald Trump's Friday assertion that Iranians planned to attack four embassies. On CBS' "Face the Nation," Defense Secretary Mark Esper said he "didn't see" evidence of an Iranian plan to attack four U.S. embassies. But he said he "share(s) the president's view that probably - my expectation was they were going to go after our embassies. The embassies are the most prominent display of American presence in a country." On Friday, Trump said that senior Iranian general Qasem Soleimani killed by a U.S. drone strike had been planning attacks on four U.S. embassies, a claim made to justify the decision. That assertion was at odds with intelligence assessments from senior officials in Trump's administration. On Friday, a senior administration official and a senior defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss classified information, told The Washington 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. Neither official said there were threats against multiple embassies. On CNN's State of the Union Sunday, Esper defended the strike on Soleimani, saying it "disrupted attacks" and "reset terms with Iran." White House National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien also defended the strike, saying the Iranian regime is "having a very bad week" and that the United States would continue a "maximum pressure campaign" against the regime on ABC's "This Week." He also said the president has shown "incredible restraint" in the face of regular provocation from Iran and has also been "modest in his dealings" with other countries. But O'Brien did not confirm Trump's claim that the White House had received intelligence that Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force, was planning "imminent" attacks against four U.S. embassies. "What the president said is consistent with what we've been saying. We had very strong intelligence that they were looking to kill and maim Americans in American facilities in the region," O'Brien said on "Fox News Sunday." Even with America's "exquisite intelligence" it is difficult "to know exactly what the targets are," O'Brien said. He added that it was fair to anticipate a future Iranian attack "would have hit embassies in at least four countries." Pressed on why the White House has not revealed more details on the alleged threat they say precipitated the Iranian strike, O'Brien said, "I would love to release the intelligence," but "those same streams and channels" are important to protecting Americans. Top Democrats have also pushed back on Esper's claim that the Gang of Eight - the bipartisan Congressional group that traditionally is read in on classified intelligence and military maters - was given information on the threat to attack the embassy in Baghdad. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a member of the Gang of Eight, contradicted Esper's assertion on "Face the Nation" about the briefing to Congress, saying it lacked "specificity" about a potential embassy threat. Schiff said he and several members of the Gang of Eight were dissatisfied with the evidence laid out as a basis for the strike. Trump and Esper are "fudging" the details, Schiff added, and "overstating and exaggerating what the intelligence shows." When it comes to information that could lead to a potential war in Iran, he said, "that's a dangerous thing to do." Trump's claim about threats against embassies was also not part of a Senate briefing earlier this week, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said on CNN's "State of the Union." "That was news to me," he said. "It certainly wasn't something I recall being raised in the classified briefing." Lee also savaged the Trump administration for failing to sufficiently justify the strike. He earlier called the briefing the "worst" he's received in nine years in the Senate. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., also speaking on "Fox News Sunday," criticized the administration for failing to disclose more specific intelligence during the closed-door briefing. "We got less detailed information there than President Trump shared with (Fox News host) Laura Ingraham," Coons said. Killing Soleimani did eliminate "one of our worst enemies in the Middle East ... But the larger question is, did it make us safer?" Coons said. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on NBC's "Meet the Press" said administration officials were "dismissive of Congress" throughout the briefing. He also criticized the administration for relying on a George W. Bush-era authorization for military force to justify the attack. "We need to have a full-throated debate in Congress," he said. "I want to have that debate and bring our kids home." Sen. Michael Bennett, D-Colo., said on "Meet the Press" that Trump's actions "strengthened the hardline wing of the Iranian government." "This is a moment when heightened congressional scrutiny of the president is important no matter who the president is," said Bennett who's also a long-shot contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. GAZA, Nov. 12, 2019 (Xinhua) -- Militants in the Gaza Strip fire rockets to Israeli cities on Nov. 12, 2019, following its killing of a senior Islamic Jihad commander. Baha Abu al-Atta, a senior militant and leader of al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing Seven Katyusha rockets on Sunday hit the Balad airbase, which previously housed US troops, in Iraq's central province of Salahudin, wounding two Iraqi soldiers, a provincial security source said. The airbase is located some 90 km north of Baghdad. Besides the injuries, some nearby buildings were also damaged, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. Washington, Jan 12 : Just three days into his internship, little did 17-year-old Wolf Cukier realise that he is going to make history -- in helping NASA discover its first Earth-size planet resting in its star's habitable-zone -- the way our Earth rests in its Goldilocks zone. In 2019, when Cukier finished his junior year at Scarsdale High School in New York, he joined NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, as a summer intern. His job was to examine variations in star brightness captured by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and uploaded to the Planet Hunters TESS citizen science project. "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," he said in a NASA statement. NASA last week announced that its Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) found a planet in a habitable zone, the range of distances where conditions may be just right to allow the presence of liquid water on the surface. "I noticed a dip, or a transit, from the TOI 1338 system, and that was the first signal of a planet," Cukier told NBC 4 New York. According to NASA, TOI 1338 b is 6.9 times larger than Earth and is located about 1,300 light-years away from Earth. The planet orbits in almost exactly the same plane as the stars, so it experiences regular stellar eclipses. A paper, which Cukier co-authored along with scientists from Goddard, San Diego State University, the University of Chicago and other institutions, has been submitted to a scientific journal. Meanwhile, Cukier is now planning about his future in college. "My top three choices are Princeton, MIT and Stanford," he told News 12. As the church debated last year whether to allow the ordination of married men in the Amazon, traditionalists warned about the destruction of the priesthood. There are already some celibacy exceptions within the church: married Anglican ministers, in some cases, can join the Catholic priesthood after conversion. But some conservatives worry that the rationale for the Amazon could also be applied to other parts of the world, including Europe and North America, that have shortages of priests. Congress youth wing took out a "peace march" in Delhi on Sunday to express solidarity with those who have raised their voices against various issues despite facing police "brutality". The Indian Youth Congress organised the march in Lutyens' Delhi to commemorate Swami Vivekananda's 157th birth anniversary, which is also observed as the National Youth Day. Some of the volunteers were dressed as Swami Vivekananda during the march, which began at Mandi House and concluded at Youth Congress office on Raisina Road. Several tableaus depicted the life and messages of love, peace, harmony spread by Swami Vivekananda. According to Youth Congress, the march was in solidarity with the "brave citizens" who have been raising their voices against various contentious issues even in the face of police "brutality" across the country. The march was led by IYC President Srinivas BV, who said, "Swami Vivekananda held up the idea of nationalism based on oneness and unity of people and today, there are elements in the country who are trying to dilute his idea by breaking this unity." "People of this country are witnessing a dictatorial regime where the British policy of divide and rule is seen being imposed. Leaders have forgotten the core philosophy and idea of these masters," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Diego the tortoise mates with a female in a breeding centre at the Galapagos National Park on Santa Cruz Island, located around 1,000 km from Ecuador: Rodrigo Buendia/AFP via Getty Images A tortoise who helped save his species from extinction by having hundreds of children will be released into his homeland after spending eight decades away, conservation authorities have said. Diego earned a reputation for having lots of sex during a captive breeding scheme for giant tortoises in the Galapagos Islands, and the 100-year-old has now reportedly fathered over 800 children. He will soon be released into the wild on his native Espanola Island after officials said the programme which recruited Diego from San Diego Zoo four decades ago has been a success. Around 40 per cent of the new tortoises on the island are Diegos descendents, according to Galapagos Conservancy. Diego, who is over 100 years old, will return to his home island almost eight decades after being extracted from it, the conservation body said. The population of the Chelonoidis hoodensis species has gone from 15 to 2,000 since the scheme started around 40 years ago, according to Jorge Carrion, the Galapagos National Park director. The islands ecosystems currently have adequate conditions to support the growing population of tortoises, he added. The national park service believes Diego left the Galapagos Islands 80 years ago during a scientific expedition, the BBC reported. He became one of three male tortoises involved in the breeding scheme which involved 12 females after being recruited from the US zoo where he had been living for 30 years, Galapagos Conservancy said. Diego is currently in quarantine before he returns into the wild on Espanola Island along with other tortoises in March, according to authorities. The island has sufficient conditions to maintain the tortoise population, which will continue to grow normally, said Washington Tapia, the director of the Giant Tortoise Restoration Initiative. A species of giant tortoise that was believed extinct was discovered on another Galapagos island earlier this year, Ecuador's government said. Story continues The Fernandina Island tortoise had previously only been seen once before at the start of the 20th century. Read more What would have happened if the Diego tortoise hadnt been so sex-mad By PTI NEW DELHI: People of different faiths came together on Sunday to participate in a 'sarva dharma sambhava' ceremony at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, where anti-citizenship law protestors have been demonstrating for almost a month now. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor also joined the protest as thousands of people descended at the site in solidarity with those opposing the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and a proposed pan-India National Register of Citizens (NRC). "Heartwarming to meet and address the courageous women of Shaheen Bagh whose resistance is now legendary. 'Aap is sheher ki shaan hain, Bharat desh ki jaan hain' I told them in my address (sic)," Tharoor later tweeted. Heartwarming to meet & address the courageous women of Shaheen Bagh whose resistance is now legendary. Aap is sheher ki shaan hain, Bharat desh ki jaan hain I told them in my address. pic.twitter.com/nPg467w46J Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 12, 2020 The inter-faith ceremony, where there was a traditional Hindu-style 'hawan' and chants of Sikh 'kirtan', saw participants also reading out the Preamble of the Constitution and taking oath to preserve its "socialist, secular" values. "Scriptures from the Geeta, the Bible, the Quran were read and Gurbani held. Then the Preamble of the Constitution was also read out by people from varying faiths who are supporting this movement," said Syed Taseer Ahmed, one of the initial organisers of the protest. Being a Sunday and the weather relatively warmer, more people could join the protest, he added. The crowd swelled from hundreds in the morning to thousands by evening. The concept of 'sarv dharm sambhav' (equal respect for all religions or peaceful co-existence of all religions) was popularised by Mahatma Gandhi during India's freedom struggle against the British rule to promote inter-faith harmony. Hundreds of protestors, including women and children, stayed put at Shaheen Bagh on Sunday, as their movement for withdrawal of the CAA and the NRC was set to complete a month on Monday. Zainul Abidin, 44, of Ghaffar Manzil had started a hunger strike on December 16 to press the demand for repealing the CAAand after a fortnight was joined by Mehrunissa, 40, of Sarita Vihar. Besides them, three elderly women now popular as the 'Dabang Dadis' of Shaheen Bagh too have been a constant sight at the centre stage of the protest venue since day one. A replica of the India Gate has also come near the protest site with names of the people who have lost their lives during anti-CAA protests across the country inked on it. Over two dozen such names are written on the replica including those from states like Assam, Karnataka, Bihar and most of them from Uttar Pradesh. People have been protesting at Shaheen Bagh and nearby Jamia Millia Islamia here to oppose the CAA and the NRC. Besides Delhi, protests have unfolded in several parts of the country over the contentious law since it was passed on December 11 and have led to clashes at several places including Uttar Pradesh, where nearly 20 people have died. According to the amended law, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 and facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship. The law excludes Muslims. Those opposing the law contend that it discriminates on the basis of religion and violates the Constitution. They also allege that the CAA along withe the NRC is intended to target the Muslim community in India. However, the central government has dismissed the allegations, maintaining that the law is intended to give citizenship to the persecuted people from the three neighbouring countries and not to take away citizenship from anyone. The mouse-sized dunnart is not as iconic as the koalas or platypuses that draw tourists, but it is arguably the most special mammal on Australias Kangaroo Island. Now the Kangaroo Island dunnarts days may be numbered. Before bush fires struck, it was already endangered, so rare that even researchers who studied them had never seen one. Now they fear they never will. One-third of the 4,400-square-kilometre island has burned, including the entire area where these dunnarts are known to live. One hundred per cent all of our records since 1990 are within the burned fire scar. The entire range of the species has been burned, said Rosemary Hohnen, an ecologist who spent more than two years surveying the Kangaroo Island dunnart. Theyre in true peril, real peril of extinction. More than one billion mammals, birds and reptiles nationwide some of them found nowhere else on Earth may have been affected or killed by the fires sweeping across Australia, according to a University of Sydney estimate. The potential toll is far greater when other types of animals are included. Were not just talking about koalas, were talking mammals, birds, plants, fungi, insects, other invertebrates, amphibians and bacteria and microorganisms that are critical to these systems, said Manu Saunders, a research fellow and insect ecologist at the University of New England in Armidale. Individual animals might survive, but when their habitat is gone, it doesnt matter, Saunders said. Theyll die anyway. Although dead and scorched koalas and kangaroos have become the symbols of wildlife suffering in the worst blazes ever to hit fire-prone Australia, conservationists note that koala populations are not at risk of extinction. A greater ecological concern are the unusual animals that could disappear from a continent with the worlds highest rate of mammal extinction. Extinction of endemic species means, of course, irrevocable loss, said Christopher Dickman, a University of Sydney ecology professor. Dickman initially estimated that half a billion animals were affected before doubling that number in an update. While one billion is clearly a large number, the expectation is that the number contains examples of many species that are ecologically important. Among the most vulnerable: the long-footed potoroo, a marsupial that lives in damp forest habitat that scientists say may not recover from the fires, and the Kangaroo Island glossy black cockatoo, which eats nothing but the seeds of she-oak trees that have gone up in flames. And then there are all the insects, the foundation of a living forest. They make up half of all animal biomass and are the major food source for virtually anything that moves. Bugs also break down organic matter and help pollinate plants. Inside branches, under leaves, within hollowed logs and in pockets on the ground, tens of millions of bugs are being burned alive. Some may vanish without ever being discovered. Only about 20 to 30 per cent of Australian insects are known to science, said Katja Hogendoorn, a researcher at the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine at the University of Adelaide. A single bee species shows how grim the outlook is for many. Fires and land clearing had already driven the green carpenter bee to extinction in Victoria and South Australia. Now, said Hogendoorn, fires are threatening them on Kangaroo island. The banksia plant, which the bees use for nests, have burned. It takes 30 years for it to grow to the right size and softness for the picky bees. It is difficult to assess the situation, Hogendoorn said, because there is no access to the burned sites, but the species is likely to be in dire straits. Climate change, invasive species, overuse of farm chemicals and human development also threaten insects. The fires could be the last straw that drives fragile populations over the brink, said Tanya Latty, an entomologist at the University of Sydney. Wild animals arent the only creatures suffering. Federal agriculture officials say at least 100,000 cattle will die before the fires end. Farmers say their livestock are keeling over from burns. Cows have stopped feeding calves because their teats are scorched. An army of veterinarians has been assembled to assess those left standing. Theyre also weighing how to dispose of the dead. Stephen Shipton lost 50 cows when fire struck his farm in Coolagolite, a town in New South Wales, on New Years Day. He knows because he killed dozens of wounded animals himself. Weve lost a third of our herd, Shipton said. Theyre still dying. Theyre just getting sick and other things at this point. Starvation and disease is part of the damage fire leaves behind. Animals that survive may struggle to find food in an ashen landscape devoid of plants that provide nutrients or shelter. Without trees to nest in, birds may fail to breed. Prey, including insects, may be scarce. Studies have shown that two of Australias deadly invasive predators, cats and red foxes, move into burned terrain and slaughter animals whose protection vegetation is gone. At most risk are the Kangaroo Island dunnart and other small animals in the cat and fox snack range, said Euan Ritchie, an associate professor of ecology and conservation at Deakin University in Melbourne. This week, flames continued to whip across Kangaroo Island, where conservationists have worked for years to shore up fragile animal populations. Efforts to protect the nests of the islands subspecies of glossy black cockatoos from deadly attacks by brushtail possums helped the population reach about 400 by 2018, but they are still considered endangered, said Daniella Teixeira, a University of Queensland doctoral student who studies the birds. The cockatoos strikingly goth, with harsh calls and large black bodies marked by red or yellow feathers are favourites of locals, she said. Now, fires appear to have burned as many as six of eight known flock regions, she said. Even if we lost a quarter of the birds ... that could potentially put us back a decade in terms of conservation work, Teixeira said. The situation looks even more dire for Kangaroo Island dunnarts. Theyve been detected just 48 times since their discovery in 1969, and theyve been seen only in a small western pocket of the island since 1990, Hohnen said. Last week, Kangaroo Island Land For Wildlife, which works with private landowners to protect the dunnarts, said many of the remote cameras it uses to monitor the marsupials were melted by fires. On Wednesday, though, the group said some photos of survivors were captured, offering a bit of hope for the species. After the fires end, Hohnen and other experts said, the focus must turn to helping animals that remain. That will mean removing invasive predators, and possibly captive-breeding for some species. Replanting trees and other vegetation will be crucial, they said. So will bolder government action on climate change, some said. Theres a feeling among the scientific community here that the eyes of the world are on Australia. Its been called the climate canary in the coal mine. The predictions of climate change were expected to be manifest first and most obviously in Australia, because its already a dry continent, Dickman said. Theres a sense of even greater responsibility, in some ways. That responsibility should extend to the dunnart, Hohnen said even if its not a national icon. Biodiversity is part of what makes planet Earth planet Earth. Its our heritage; its our richness, she said. They might be just another number that were adding to a list of species that are going extinct. But that number is important. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 07:52:29|Editor: ZX Video Player Close SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. state of Alaska has sent eight firefighters to Australia to assist in fighting the raging mega wildfires in the country, the Alaska newspaper Anchorage Daily News (ADN) reported Saturday. Six of the eight Alaska firefighters are working in managerial positions in Australia, who have been dispatched under an agreement signed in 2001 between the Unite States and Australia on mutual assistance in case of massive fires, said the ADN. They are part of 159 U.S. federal firefighters deployed to the burning areas of Australia since December. The United States last time sent firefighters to Australia to help with wildfires in 2010. About 10 million hectares of land had been burned across Australia in this bushfire season and at least 27 people have died. The current wildfires are the worst fire disasters that Australia has ever seen in decades, which devastated many parts of the country since the fire season began in late July last year. A 37-year-old man was recently sentenced by a court in Thane in Maharashtra to three years in jail for molesting a minor girl in 2014. In his order on January 8, Special (POCSO) Judge HM Patwardhan convicted Nabiulla Samani under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and also fined him Rs 2,000. "Samani sexually assaulted the girl, 10 at that time, on November 4, 2014 when she was alone at home. He does furniture polishing on contract basis and is a resident of Rabale in Navi Mumbai," Additional Public Prosecutor Varsha Chandane said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Another confrontation may be brewing between the FBI and Apple, after the US domestic intelligence agency asked the company to help decrypt data on two iPhones which belong to a man named Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani who is suspected of carrying out a shooting that killed three people at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida last month. The American website NBC News reported that the FBI's general counsel Dana Boente sent a letter to her counterpart at Apple on Monday, pointing out that though a court had given it permission to examine the phones' contents, it could not do so as the data was encrypted. Boente's letter said: "Investigators are actively engaging in efforts to 'guess' the relevant passcodes but so far have been unsuccessful." Apple said in a statement that it had been working with the FBI to resolve the issue. We have the greatest respect for law enforcement and have always worked co-operatively to help in their investigations," the company said. "When the FBI requested information from us relating to this case a month ago, we gave them all of the data in our possession and we will continue to support them with the data we have available. The last time the FBI approached Apple for help in decrypting data on an iPhone was in 2016, with the device in question belonging to a terrorist who had been involved in an attack in San Bernardino in California in December 2015. In March 2016, the agency obtained a court order, asking the company to supply a new version of its mobile operating system, iOS, which did not have certain locking functions, so that it could attempt to guess the passcode on the iPhone 5C by using a brute force method. When Apple resisted, the FBI came back with an order compelling the company to fall in line. After some to-ing and fro-ing, in March 2017, the FBI ended the stoush, saying it had gained access to the iPhone in question. The current case has been made a mite more complicated than the 2016 one, as Alshamrani fired a round into one of the iPhones before he was killed. The 2016 stoush led to a debate over the use of encryption and both the UK and Australia subsequently passed laws that allow for the creation of software solutions to gain access to encrypted data. The debate was given a fresh lease of life last year when the US Attorney-General William Barr, Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and UK Home Secretary Priti Patel wrote to Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, asking him not to extend end-to-end encryption, which is available through WhatsApp, to Facebook Messenger. In December, during a speech to a global summit to tackle child sexual exploitation, Dutton hit out at Zuckerberg and Apple chief executive Tim Cook, accusing them of being "morally bankrupt on the issue of encryption and protecting children". The Australian law, officially known as the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Bill 2018, was passed on 6 December 2018, after a number of hearings conducted by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. Several amendments were proposed, but none were adopted before the Labor Party voted along with the government to pass the bill. Soon after, a review of the law by the PJCIS was announced with a reporting date of 3 April. But the only thing that this committee did was to put off any decision on amendments, instead asking the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor Dr James Renwick to review the law and report back by 1 March 2020. Recently, Reliance Jio announced the launch of their voice and video calls over WiFi service. The Jio WiFi calling service can be enabled in a few easy steps on your Android and iOS devices. Here is a detailed step by step guide on how to enable wifi calling on Android and iOS devices: How to enable WiFi calling? As soon as Jio WiFi calling feature was announced to the public, many users have started searching for a guide on how to enable wifi calling on their devices. If your devices software supports calling over WiFi and you own a Jio sim connection, enabling the Jio WiFi calling feature on your device is quite simple. Here is a step by step guide on how to enable wifi calling on a supported device. ALSO READ: Jio Announces Voice, Video Over Wi-Fi Calling Across India How to enable WiFi calling for Android To enable Jio WiFi calling on your Android device, you first need to open your device settings. You can get into your device settings by scrolling down your notification shade and tapping on the gear icon or simply by looking out for the settings app from your app drawer and opening it. Then, you need to select your SIM card's settings from the Network and Wifi menu under your settings app. After you have opened your SIM card's settings, you need to look out for your Jio SIM and tap on the Jio number. Once you are at the Jio connection settings for your device, and if your device supports Jio WiFi calling, you will be able to spot an option that says Make Calls Over Wifi. (Note: The title of the Wifi Calling option might differ depending on the manufacturer of the smartphone) How to enable WiFi calling for iOS To enable Jio WiFi calling on your iOS device, you need to open the Settings app on your home screen. Then, you need to locate the settings for the Phone app in the Settings screen of your iPhone, and once you find it, you need to open the Phone app's settings. Under the Phone app settings, you will able to spot an option that says Wi-Fi calling under the main category of Calls; open the Wi-Fi Calling settings. In the Wi-Fi Calling settings, the feature Wi-Fi Calling on this iPhone will be disabled at first. Tap on the setting once, and the Jio Wifi Calling feature will be enabled on your iOS device. ALSO READ: Set Jio Caller Tune On Your Phone With MyJio Application In 4 Easy Steps What if I am not able to spot the Wifi Calling feature on my Android or iOS device? Sometimes it might happen that you are unable to view the Make Calls Over Wifi setting in the SIM card settings of your device. There might be two primary reasons why you might be facing such an issue. The reasons behind you encountering the problem of not finding the Make Calls Over Wifi option are: Your smartphone might not support the Wifi calling feature yet Your device might not have been updated to enable calling over Wifi. If you are facing the issue of not finding the Make Calls Over Wifi option due to the first reason, it might take longer for it to make it to your device in the near future. However, there is a possibility that your manufacturer might have pushed out an OTA (Over the Air) update inclusive of the software required to support the feature. How to use Wifi Calling on Android and iOS devices? Many users also have the query Once enabled, how to use Wifi Calling on their device. You do not need any particular app to use Wifi Calling on Android and iOS device. All you need to do is enable the Jio Wifi Calling feature on your device through the steps mentioned above. You can then make and receive calls from your Android and iOS device using the Wifi Calling function. What is WiFi calling? WiFi calling or VoWifi as Jio calls it, is a cellular feature that is being opted by many leading carrier networks. The Wifi calling function allows the users to make and receive calls via Wifi (when they are connected to Wifi networks) while using their existing cellular connections. ALSO READ: Jio Fiber Migration Plan Offers 50GB Free Data At 100 Mbps Speeds Is there a cost attached to using Wifi Calling? Jio is offering its Wifi Calling service at no extra costs. Users do not have to bear additional charges for using Wifi Calling. Jio's free Wifi Calling service can be used on the existing tariff plans. Is Wifi Calling better than regular calling or VoLTE? With support for Wifi Calling, users can expect better cellular reception and call connectivity even in the most remote locations. Not only does Wifi calling enable the users to make voice calls over Wifi (like in the Voice Over LTE (VoLTE) feature), but it will also allow users to make and receive video calls over their cellular networks via Wifi. Will WiFi calling affect the battery life of my Device? As of now, there is no conclusive impact of the effects of Wifi Calling on the battery life of smartphones. No reports have been made claiming battery drain issues after enabling the Wifi Calling feature on smartphones. ALSO READ: NCLAT Dismisses IT Dept Plea Against Reliance Jio On Demerger Of Tower, Fiber Units Will my device overheat while I use WiFi calling? The scenario of a device overheating specifically due to Wifi Calling is unlikely. At the time of writing, no reports have surfaced about smartphones overheating while Wifi Calling is used extensively. Wifi Calling Supported devices According to Jio's website, the following is a confirmed list of devices that support Jio's Wifi calling service: Apple: All the iPhones that are running on iOS 10.3 or higher have support for the Jio Wifi calling feature. Samsung: Galaxy Note 10, Note 10+, Note 9, Note 8, Note 6, Note 5, Note 5 Duos, Note 4, Note 4 Edge. Galaxy S10, S10e, S10+, S9, S9+, S8, S8+, S7, S7 Edge, S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge Plus. Galaxy A10, A10s, A30, A30s, A50, A50s, A70, A70s, A80. Galaxy M10, M20, M30, M40. Galaxy A8 (2018), A8+, A8 Star, A9 (2018), A9 Pro, A7 (2018), A7, A7 (2016), A6, A6+, A5, A5 (2017), A5 (2016). Galaxy J8, J7, J7 Duo, J7 Pro, J7 Prime, J7 Prime 2, J7 Pro, J7 Max, J7 Nxt, J7 (2016), J6, J6+, J5, J5 Prime, J5 (2016), J4+, J4 (2018), J3 (2016), J3 Pro (2016), J2 Ace, J2, J2 (2016), J2 Pro, J2 Hybrid Tray, J1 (2016). Galaxy On 5 Pro, On 6, On 7 Prime, On 7 Pro, On 8. Galaxy C9 Pro, C7 Pro. Galaxy Core Prime 4G. Coolpad: CoolPlay 6, Mega 5, Mega 5C Google: Pixel 3, Pixel 3XL, Pixel 3A, Pixel 3A XL Motorola: Moto G6 Vivo: V11, V11 Pro, V15, V15 Pro, V9, V9 Pro, Y81, Y81i, Y91, Y91i, Y93, Y95, Y15, Y17, Z1 Pro Xiaomi: Poco F1, Redmi K20, Redmi K20 Pro ALSO READ: Reliance JIO 2020 Offer: JIO Is The New Santa In Town With Its Exciting New Offers ANNE DRAGO, Stonington, Girls Basketball, Senior; Drago was named to the all-tournament team at the WCCU Holiday Basketball Tournament. In two games, she scored 38 points and had eight rebounds. DANTE WILK, Westerly, Boys Basketball, Senior; Wilk was named MVP of the WCCU Holiday Basketball Tournament after the Bulldogs beat Chariho in the title game. Wilk had a combined 35 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists and eight steals in two tournament victories. TYLER LABELLE, Chariho, Boys Basketball, Junior; LaBelle scored 41 points in two games to earn all-tournament honors at the WCCU Holiday Basketball Tournament. LaBelle had 22 in a win against South Kingstown and 19 in a loss to Westerly. ADDIE HAUPTMANN, Wheeler, Girls Basketball, Senior; Hauptmann scored 32 points in two games in the Montville Christmas Tournament. She also had 20 rebounds, seven assists and eight steals. Vote View Results Immigration authorities on Sunday barred the executive director of Human Rights Watch from entering the semiautonomous territory, where he was about to launch a report reviewing rights practices around the that focused heavily on actions of the Chinese government. Kenneth Roth, the group's executive director, said in a report on its website that immigration officials told him he could not enter Hong Kong when he landed at the airport, with no explanation provided. "I had hoped to spotlight Beijing's deepening assault on international efforts to uphold human rights," Roth said. "The refusal to let me enter Hong Kong vividly illustrates the problem," he added. Human Rights Watch was scheduled to release its 652-page Report 2020 at a news conference on January 15. In the report, its 30th edition, the group reviewed human rights practices in nearly 100 countries. Roth's introductory essay, which each year highlights a major human rights theme, warns that the Chinese government is carrying out an intensive attack on the global system for enforcing human rights. He will now launch the report at a news conference on January 14 at the United Nations in New York. Earlier this month, the group co-wrote an open letter to the city's Chief Executive Carrie Lam, urging her to set up an independent commission of inquiry to investigate alleged excessive use of force by police in the more than seven months of anti-government protests in Hong Kong, according to South China Morning Post. In December, Human Rights Watch was one of five US-based non-profit groups that were sanctioned by Beijing in its response to Washington's endorsement of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which could pave the way for diplomatic action and economic sanctions against the city's government. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After a week of extreme turmoil in the Middle East, due to the killing of Iranian IRGC leader Soleimani, Irans 2nd in command, and the Iranian missile retaliation, global media and analysts are getting convinced that there is room for negotiation. U.S. President Trump stated that he is open for dialogue with Iran, a move that calmed markets worldwide. Oil prices, which had spiked on the risk of an all-out war between the US and Iran and the possible fall-out for oil and gas production in the region, are now falling back to pre-Soleimani assassination levels. OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo and UAEs Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei added to this bearish sentiment by saying that there is no risk of an oil shortage if hostilities do flare up. Al Mazrouei also reiterated that he doesnt see any risk that Iran will close the Strait of Hormuz. This was confirmed by his Iranian colleague Zanganeh, who claimed that the crisis is profitable for Iran as oil and gas prices increased. These official statements need, however, to be taken with a truckload of salt. OPECs confidence that there is enough spare capacity in the market, and that there is ample supply, is a political statement to quell existing fears. The spare capacity of OPEC is at present almost totally in the hands of two main players, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, while the rest of the members are struggling to reach even their own set targets. In case of a military confrontation between Iran (or proxies) and the US, a real possibility exists that total OPEC spare capacity is taken out. No other producer could substitute a possible loss of Saudi oil production. (Click to enlarge) In reality, the crisis in Iran and Iraq will have a much larger impact than experts at Top-5 banks and trading houses are currently anticipating. At the same time, media reporting is biased, looking for possible light at the end of the tunnel, while taking any positive statement made by Washington, Riyadh-Abu Dhabi or Tehran as fact. The conflict is not over, you could even say that the current status of the conflict is like a smoldering peat-fire. You can feel the heat but you dont see the flames. Related: Iranian Cyberattack Hits Bahrain Oil Company Assessments of last weeks developments have been largely looking at conventional military reactions. The Iranian missile attack on US forces in Iraq has been without casualties, reported in the media as a low-intensity retaliatory strike by Iran. The reality is more diffuse. Tehran has understood at present that an all-out military reaction, leading to a lot of US or Western casualties, was not going to be beneficial to the cause of the Mullahs. However, a reaction to Soleimanis killing was demanded by extremist forces inside of Iran and its proxies. To expect that this will be the only reaction by Iran is naive. Trump has upped the ante, and Iranian leader Khamenei and his IRGC compatriots will almost certainly react in kind. Several scenarios need to be addressed by analysts and be integrated in their oil and gas assessments. Forget the Strait of Hormuz as the risks for Iran are likely higher than for its direct opponents. Other options are more likely. (Click to enlarge) A proxy response via Hezbollah, Hamas or the pro-Iranian Shia militias in Iraq, against the main oil and gas operations of Western and Arab national oil companies now seems the most likely reaction. This type of response can be executed by proxies at a low cost, as these targets are easily accessible and high profile. Even without the direct involvement of Iran (IRGC), Tehran can put immense pressure on its Arab neighbors while at the same time hitting Western and Asian economies. Next to this, Tehran could escalate the proxy war by Hezbollah or Hamas against Israel. (Click to enlarge) Even if no direct war is expected, as indicated by UAE Energy Minister Suhail today at the UAE Energy Forum in Abu Dhabi, experts expect that energy and water sectors in the Arab countries could be targeted. As shown by the Abqaiq attack, all these operations are very vulnerable to drones or possibly cyberattacks. By striking critical infrastructure, Iran and proxies will be able to destabilize not only the economies of the GCC region, but deal a blow to global economies too. Related: Bearish Sentiment Returns To Oil Markets A real asymmetric war threat is the use of cyberattacks to bring down specific or nationwide assets, such as oil-gas assets, desalination and power plants (IWPP). Tehran already has threatened to start a cyberwar against the U.S. and its allies, but at present no actions have been reported. Saudi Aramco, ADNOC or BAPCO could be targeted. Qatars energy installations are less vulnerable, looking at the reasonably strong relations between Doha and Tehran. Qatar, however, could get caught in the crossfire because of its large U.S. and Western military presence. More worrying could be a cyberattack or even missile attack on energy-water projects, as this type of infrastructure is crucial for the entire region. A proxy or asymmetric war strategy by Iran is the most feasible and will be hard to counter by the West or Arab states. The Mullah regime understands its options. A full-scale attack on Saudi Arabia or Abu Dhabi, or a military confrontation in Iraq will be met this time by a large military reaction by U.S. President Trump, with possible support of his NATO partners. Looking at the current situation, Iranian leader Khamenei and his cohorts will need to react soon. A long delay will be considered a sign of weakness. WWIII can be virtually ruled out as Iran is too weak and the Western-Arab alliance has not yet got enough men on the ground. Proxy wars will continue to plague the region, and these conflicts could escalate further if Iran continues its current nuclear program. The above scenarios could all have a detrimental impact on oil and gas production and exports from the worlds most important hydrocarbon region. Taking out Saudi or UAE oil infrastructure will remove spare capacity with a bang. Just the disruption of Iraqi oil supply could cause a shock in the worlds oil markets. Geopolitics are real and even if the risk premium in oil prices seems to be fading, analysts should not ignore the current risks in the Middle East, The East-Mediterranean and Libya. By Cyril Widdershoven for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The Syrian quagmire is not enough for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He is apparently unfazed that Bashar Al-Assad, whom he had vowed to overthrow in a matter of months so that he could pray in Al-Umayyad Mosque, is still in power in Damascus all these years later, that the meagre gains from Ankaras policies in Syria are dwindling, that its military interventions have backfired and actually bolstered his even more hated foe across the border, the predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Erdogan now wants to repeat the bloody exercise further afield, in Libya. Why? Turkish intervention in Libya is the product of the confrontational foreign policy that Erdogan has pursued both as prime minister and president, veteran journalist Hediye Levent told AhvalNews website. It has alienated virtually every country in the Middle East and caused his own country no end of difficulties. As a consequence of its Syrian policy in particular, Turkey has a difficult relationship with many countries, such as Iran, Iraq, Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. It doesnt even have the minimum level of diplomatic channels with most of these countries. In this sense, Turkey is pursuing a very troublesome regional policy. But Erdogans Ankara refuses to see things this way. Or more precisely, it is determined to keep Turkish public opinion from seeing the bleak picture. So, it boasts successes and victories (where there are none, according to the opposition), and this ostensibly glorious record gives Turkey the right to send its troops to other countries overseas, if need be, according to Erdogans spokesman Ibrahim Kalin. Perhaps this is Erdogans way of retroactively reproaching his Islamist mentor and spiritual leader Necmettin Erbakan for not upbraiding Colonel Gaddafi during his visit to Libya in the 1990s not for mocking Ataturks famous adage Peace abroad and peace at home, but because Gaddafi said that the Ottoman Empire was the cause of the scourge of Arab backwardness and underdevelopment and that Turkey should formally apologise and compensate the Arabs for four centuries of tyranny, oppression and decay. Erdogan now plans to set the record straight, using Libya as another cornerstone for the resurrection of the Ottoman Empire in the pursuit of a neo-imperialist dream, like Enver Pasha, the Ottoman minister of war during World War I, as Ahval columnist Ergun Babahan observed. Erdogan now has the handy pretexts. After all, Libya is no longer some backwater country in Africa; it is a neighbour of the Turkish coastal city of Antalya, as pro-Erdogan opinion pundits would have it. Also, Turkish national security, in this day and age, stretches beyond its borders, according to Kalin on behalf of his boss. Opposition voices have pointed out how provocative and impractical Ankaras policies are. Some of them made reference to rumours that began to circulate five years ago that Ankara was sending jihadists to Libya. Such rumours have begun to increase rapidly in tandem the images circulating on social networking sites of allegedly Turkish-sponsored takfiris in Libya and the growing frequency of flights from Turkey and Tunisia to Tripoli and Misrata. Erdogan already has developed the ideological, intellectual, moral, strategic and political infrastructure for moving his jihadist allies into Libya, according to the journalist Burak Tugan. Referring to the Russian-affiliated Wagner militias, he said: Just as the Wagner militias have gone to Libya, Turkey can take similar steps. But Erdogan is taking this further and turning a chunk of Misrata into a Turkish military base, like the ones it has in Qatar and Somalia. Already it has thousands of religious extremists based there, the majority made up of the Turkmen and Uyghur fighters it used in Syria. With the addition of such paramilitary groups as the Sadat, this force might eventually evolve into a Sunni version of the Lebanese Hizbullah, a force of jihadists brought in from the battlefields of Syria and elsewhere to sustain the warfare even if the Libyan National Army (LNA) succeeds in winning Tripoli. The Turkish president is clearly in a race with time and his recent visit to Tunisia falls in this context. True, the recently elected Tunisian president, under pressure from civil society organisations and numerous political forces, was forced to declare that Tunis does not support the government based in Tripoli, contrary to Erdogans claim. However, there remain unanswered questions. One is raised by the arrival in Libya of the Sultan Murad Brigades, made up of Arabic and Turkish speaking Turkmen. Did Ankara make some kind of deal with Tunis to make this possible? What other avenues are available to circumvent the barriers created by the rivals of the forces fighting for the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA)? Another question involves Algeria. According to the pro-Erdogan press, the GNA has forged an alliance with Tunisia and Algeria. On 7-10 January, two Turkish warships sailed to Algeria to commemorate the liberation of the Ottoman seaman Oruc, the elder brother of Hayreddin Barbarossa. Could this be the prelude to a major build up? According to reports circulating across Algerian social networking accounts, Turkish forces and Turkish-backed groups from Syria have already arrived at Algerian ports and headed towards Libya. Algiers, itself, has made no official statement acknowledging either its support for the GNA or its support for Erdogans military venture into a neighbouring Arab country. It does seem odd that Ankara is strutting around like a superpower at time of severe economic straits and social disintegration, as Ergun Babahan wrote in Ahval. Apparently Erdogan sees the era when the world is no longer mono-polar as a fortuitous moment to realise his Islamist fantasies. But the fact is, Turkey is not a superpower and overseas wars cant be fought with drones. Expelled from the F-25 project, Turkeys aircraft carrier has been rendered non-functional. According to experts, the tanker aircraft are outdated and unsuited to the mission. Ultimately, Ankara only has two choices with regard to its military intervention in Libya. Either it can keep it limited to a few Turkish advisers because the political situation is not conducive to more. Or it can do the opposite, and plunge in with an intensive military presence. The latter is, of course, extremely risky. Much depends on the extent to which Erdogan is in the thrall of his irredentist mission. Perhaps, ultimately, despite his bravado and his governments propaganda, he will yield to Moscows dictates, as occurred in Syria. This was one of the salient results of President Vladimir Putins visit to Turkey. *A version of this article appears in print in the 9 January, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly. Search Keywords: Short link: New Delhi: Tihar Jail authorities on Sunday conducted dummy execution of Nirbhaya gang-rape convicts ahead of their execution on January 22. The dummy execution was conducted in Jail 3, the place where they will be executed on January 22, according to the reports. "Tihar to conduct dummy execution in the coming days but not today. It will be done in jail 3, where the execution will take place," said Tihar Jail administration in a statement earlier. At the time of the dummy execution, the executive engineer of PWD, superintendent and other jail officials will be present, it said. All four convicts in the Nirbhaya case will be executed on January 22 at 7 am in jail cell 3 in Tihar Jail, the same place where Afzal Guru, the terrorist convicted Parliament attack case, was hanged. The officials said they will be hanged together. Also Read: Need To Have Exclusive Special Public Prosecutors For POCSO Cases: Supreme Court A court in Delhi issued death warrants against all four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape case. The convicts -- Pawan Gupta, Akshay, Vinay Sharma, and Mukesh Singh -- will be hanged at 7 am on January 22. The hangman will be called from Uttar Pradesh Prison Department. The Supreme Court had in 2017 upheld the capital punishment awarded to them by the Delhi High Court and a trial court. One of the six accused in the case, Ram Singh, allegedly committed suicide in Tihar Jail. A juvenile, who was among the accused, was convicted by a juvenile justice board and was released from a reformation home after serving a three-year term. On July 9, 2018, the apex court had dismissed the review pleas filed by three of the convicts in the case, saying no grounds had been made out by them for review of the 2017 verdict. SC To Hear Curative Petitions Of 2 Death-Row Convicts On January 14 A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court will hear on January 14 curative petitions of two of the four death-row convicts in the Nirbhaya case. A bench of Justices N V Ramana, Arun Mishra, R F Nariman, R Banumathi and Ashok Bhushan will hear the curative petitions filed by Vinay Sharma (26) and Mukesh Kumar (32) at 1.45 pm on Tuesday. Also Read: Nirbhaya Convicts To Be Executed In Jail No. 3, Tihar To Seek Services Of Meerut Hangman Curative petitions are decided in-chambers by the judges. It is the last and final legal remedy available to a person. Mukesh Kumar and Vinay Sharma had filed curative petitions in the apex court on Thursday. Two other death-row convicts, Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25), against whom death warrants have been issued by a Delhi court, have not filed curative petitions. A 23-year-old paramedic student, referred to as Nirbhaya, was gang-raped and brutally assaulted on the intervening night of December 16-17, 2012, in a moving bus in south Delhi by six people before being thrown out on the road. She died on December 29 at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Belur Math in Howrah district on Sunday. Photograph: Kind courtesy @narendramodi/Twitter The Ramakrishna Math and Mission on Sunday distanced itself from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, contending that it was a strictly apolitical body which did not respond to 'ephemeral' calls. The prime minister, during his address at Belur Math -- the headquarters of Ramakrishna Mission -- said that the new law would not take away anybody's citizenship, and a section of the youth was being misguided about the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA. Addressing a press meet, Swami Suvirananda, the Ramakrishna Math and Mission general secretary, said, "The organisation will not comment on the prime minister's speech on CAA. We are a strictly apolitical body. We have come here after leaving our homes to answer eternal calls. We do not respond to ephemeral calls." He said Modi was a guest and the onus was on him on what he had spoken at the Math. "But when you have a guest... Atithi Devo Bhava is the Indian culture. And you must extend all kinds of courtesies, decencies to him. And if something you feel ought not have been told, the onus lies on the person who tells it but not on the host -- by no logic," he added. Swami Suvirananda further said that both Modi and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee are not politicians but leaders holding constitutional posts. "They represent the Constitution of India as they have a statutory post. Mamata Banerjee is the leader of West Bengal and Modi is the leader of India," he noted. Asked whether Modi's speech on the CAA was an attempt to 'saffronise' the Mission, Swami Suvirananda said, "We are already saffron but that doesn't mean that we are saffron in the sense that is being interpreted in politics today." He said the Mission believes in inclusivity and is the only order in the world where the monks do not cast their votes. "We are apolitical to that extent that our monks do not cast votes. The only order in the world which does not cast votes. "We are inclusive as an organisation, only order in the world which has monks from Hindus sects and from even Islam... Islamic people from Iran and Iraq. Ours is the only organisation which has Christian monks, hundreds in numbers, Buddhist monks and we live like brothers, more brotherly than the brother born to same parents... What more inclusiveness do you want?" he said. Modi, who came to the city on Saturday evening on a two-day trip to attend 150 years celebrations of the Kolkata Port Trust, spent a night at the Math in Belur. The prime minister described his visit to the Math as a 'homecoming'. CBS gave several updates about current and upcoming projects during this weeks Television Critics Association press tour. One of the updates is that a Silence of the Lambs sequel series is in fast-tracked development at the network and will focus on one character in particular. Actor Anthony Hopkins and actress Jodie Foster on set of the movie The Silence of the Lambs, circa 1991 | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images What is Silence of the Lambs about? The original film was released in 1991, based on the 1988 novel. The film starred Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. The film followed FBI newbie Clarie Starling as she sought the help of the imprisoned Dr. Hannibal Lecter to catch another serial killer. The film is considered to be one of the greatest movies of all time. It is one of only three films to win the top five Oscar prizes: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It is also the only horror film to win Best Picture. The series in development at CBS is called Clarice, focusing on Fosters character in the movie. Who is bringing Clarice to CBS? The project is written and executive produced by Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet. Kurtzman and Lumet already have deep ties at ViacomCBS as they produce and write for both Star Trek Discovery and Star Trek: Picard. Our old friend, Clarice Starling, is backand not just for dinner Picking up a year after "The Silence of the Lambs," "Clarice" is coming to CBS. Learn more here: https://t.co/HQU7qCVcEE pic.twitter.com/obthkiXf61 CBS (@CBS) January 12, 2020 In a press statement, Kurtzman and Lumet said, After more than 20 years of silence, were privileged to give voice to one of Americas most enduring heroes Clarice Starling. Clarices bravery and complexity have always lit the way, even as her personal story remained in the dark. But hers is the very story we need today: her struggle, her resilience, her victory. Her time is now, and always, they continued. Heather Kadin of Secret Hideout also executive produces and Aaron Baiders will be a co-executive producer. The project hails from MGM and CBS Television Studios in association with Secret Hideout. What is the series about and when should we expect it? The series is set in 1993, a year after the events of Silence of the Lambs. According to CBSs official description of the series, it is a deep dive into the untold personal story of Clarice Starling as she returns to the field to pursue serial murderers and sexual predators while navigating the high stakes political world of Washington, D.C. While the series hasnt been officially ordered, it does have a series commitment at the network. A lot of networks are moving to off-cycle pilot development, but given the current timeline, we should know by May if the series is officially a go. Of course, this isnt the first series from Hannibal canon to hit television recently. An NBC series starring Hugh Dancy as the titular character aired from 2013-2015. Clarice Starling was not in the series as MGM has the rights to Silence of the Lambs. by Gage Skidmore on Flickr 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 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 the White House. But the countries that would be affected if it moves forward are blacked out, according to two of the people, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the measure has yet to be finalized. Its unclear exactly how many countries would be included in the expansion if it proceeds, but two of the people said that 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. With violence against women on the rise in Odisha, the state police are now planning to start a call centre-based project in which victims of sexual harassment and other non-heinous gender-based harassments can call to report their problems without lodging an FIR in a police station, a government official said. The call centre project to be built on the lines of Women Power Line Project of Uttar Pradesh in which women victims of harassment call a toll free number to lodge their complaints of harassment on streets, phone harassment or other kinds of sexual harassment has been scheduled for launch on March 5, the birth anniversary of former chief minister Biju Patnaik. A proposal in this regard has been sent by the police to the home department for approval. As girls and women do not normally report such harassments at the nearest police station fearing social stigma, the call centre-based strategy is being adopted as it would ensure anonymity of the victim. The harasser would be counselled and reprimanded initially and if that fails then an FIR would be lodged. The focus will be on relief to the victim than punishment to the offender, said the official. Odishas Director General of Police (DGP) Abhay said it would be too early to comment on it till it gets approval from home department. Once it is approved, we would let everyone know, he said. According to the latest statistics released by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), crimes against women are on the rise in Odisha as 20274 cases were registered in 2018, 20098 cases in 2017 and 17837 in 2016. The State reported a rise of 2,261 cases in 2017 than the previous year. Assam recorded the highest crime rate of 143 per lakh population, Odisha came second with a crime rate of 94. Odisha recorded 1241 cases of sexual harassment in 2018, 1134 cases in 2017 and 979 in 2016. Concerned over the rise in crime against women, chief minister Naveen Patnaik in November last year said it will be one of his topmost priorities and he will leave no stone unturned to ensure justice. The Odisha project is likely to have a toll-free number in which the victims of harassment may call up for registering their complaint. Like UP, the Odisha projct may have three layers. The first layer consisting of a group of women would listen in to the grievance of the woman caller and transfer the matter to the second layer consisting of a group of male counsellors. The counsellors, if required, would confirm the genuineness of the complaint and then ascertain the actual identity of the perpetrator and counsel and if necessary can reprimand him if he doesnt mend his ways on counselling. In the third layer, there would be all-women police personnel who remain in touch with the victim at regular intervals continuing up to three months or till resolution of her complaint. Sources said the home department is also considering whether it would be integrated with the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) that would be rolled out this year. The ERSS started with funding from Nirbhaya Fund has a special facility for women in distress who can press a button in mobile phone for immediate assistance. Former director general of police Sanjiv Marik said the move to start a call centre was a good idea as police stations are normally wary of lodging new cases of crime, particularly those against women. Normally policemen dont like to register new cases as it would add to their work burden. More often the policemen discourage women victims from lodging cases of sexual harassment. I think it is a good effort and would lead to registration of more and more cases of sexual harassment, said Marik. Women activists too welcomed the move, but said it should be executed well. The Domestic Violence Act enacted in 2005 is still a work in progress as police stations hardly work on the complaints of women. For any woman who has faced sexual assault, getting a copy of the FIR is a huge task. Besides, the police stations are ill-equipped to handle the rising cases of atrocities against women. The call centre project is fine, but it has to work on ground, said Tapasi Praharaj, a leading woman activist in Odisha. But Barnes' optimism and his conclusion that the five-day week has become obsolete in the 21st century has been met with scepticism by Australian business. Loading Earlier this week, Australian Industry Group chief Innes Willox dismissed the idea of employees effectively working part time for a full-time wage as having "no merit". His comments came as foreign media reported on comments Finland's new Prime Minister Sanna Marin, 34, made last year in support of more flexible working hours. She has reportedly welcomed debate on the four-day week. "Any reduction to the standard 38-hour work week in Australia without a commensurate increase in productivity or a matching reduction in weekly pay would be very damaging for jobs, investment and productivity," Willox says. Economist and director of the Australia Institute's Centre for Future Work Jim Stanford also expressed doubts about whether the benefits of the four-day week, including increased productivity, would be enough to pay for itself in the eyes of employers. "I don't think many will think that is a profit-enhancing shift," he says. Some academics, including professor of gender and employment relations at the University of Sydney Marian Baird, also worry that the four-day week can be used to get five days of work in four. As many women who return to work from maternity leave have learned, the trade-off for getting more flexibility can often mean doing many hours of unpaid work at home. But Barnes insists that his model based on "100 per cent compensation for 80 per cent time at work on the condition that 100 per cent of agreed productivity is achieved" does not compromise business. "Had we not been able to prove the four-day week made the business more efficient and more profitable, it would not have been a viable proposition," he says. "The assumption that if you drop the time worked by a day, productivity will drop 20 per cent is factually incorrect. It assumes that people are 100 per cent productive 100 per cent of the time." And the potential extends beyond just improving productivity and the work-life balance of employees; a shorter week can also help narrow the gender pay gap and the environment by reducing the number of commutes to work. If everyone worked fewer hours, this would allow men to take on more unpaid domestic labour, which would help women work more paid hours. Eating food at an office desk is against the rules, as is having a meeting there, to avoid disturbing colleagues. "We are increasingly allowing work to intrude into people's lives, having emails arrive any time of the day or night and not recognising the environment in the way we work," Barnes says. At Perpetual Guardian, the "prize" of getting a free day off has been enough to motivate staff to make big efforts to remove distractions, including mobile phones, which are now stored in lockers. Eating food at an office desk is against the rules, as is having a meeting there, to avoid disturbing colleagues. Barnes says getting distracted at work is equivalent to a significant drop in IQ. Loading "We want time to socialise, but there is also a time of day when you put your head down and concentrate," he says. "Staff cry when they talk about what they do on their day off. You can't put a price on having more time with your grandchildren and your family. We are giving people the gift of time." Even in work-obsessed Japan, Microsoft found the four-day week improved productivity by 40 per cent after running a one month trial last year. A 2019 research paper from the Henley Business School at the University of Reading in the UK found that 250 businesses operating on a four-day week on full pay made an estimated annual saving of $175 billion (92 billion). Almost two-thirds of employers offering a four-day week reported an increase in staff productivity and an improvement in the quality of work produced. The researchers say the benefits included higher job satisfaction, less stress and a drop in absences related to sickness. The research highlights positive impacts on family life, mental health, physical fitness and the environment. "Fewer journeys to and from work provides a potentially large 'green' dividends with less fuel consumption and a reduction in pollution." But a four-day week may not work for all, according to the researchers, who found some businesses were concerned about the practicalities of ensuring they are available to customers across five days. Keith Pitt, founder and chief technology officer at software design company Buildkite, has a mix of staff working five days and four days, ensuring customers get service on any day. Pitt, based in Perth and his Melbourne-based business partner employ 17 staff who develop software in Sydney, Adelaide, the UK and Canada. "You have to think about your customers who are working five days a week," he says. Keith Pitt, founder and chief technology officer at software design company Buildkite. Unlike the New Zealand example, staff are paid for four, not five days of work. It has to be that way in fairness to staff who work five days. The constraints of a four-day week on computer programmers have eliminated a lot of wasted time and produce a different response to creative problem solving says Pitt, who built his own business while working four days for an employer and the fifth day for himself. "I was more productive for those four days a week and on the one day a week I spent building up the business," he says. Michael Honey, from Australian digital design business Icelab, has allowed staff to opt into a four-day week for a decade. Honey, who previously worked in the advertising industry, known for long hours and burn-out, says each work day at Icelab is eight hours, not 10. Icelab director Michael Honey said he simply wanted a three-day weekend every weekend for himself and his employees. Credit:Jay Cronan "We don't think people should come to work on a Friday. We've got enough productivity to make it possible," Honey says. "We are fresher and have more opportunity to think about things and can have better lives. "It can't be done for everybody. Our particular business model makes it possible." Emma Dawson, executive director of the think tank Per Capita, has reviewed a range of research studies that support the view that the four-day week generally does not result in a decline in productivity. In response to coal industry strikes in 1974, the UK government under Edward Heath enforced a three-day workweek from January to March, which had the unexpected result of boosting productivity. Economic reports from HM Treasury for the first quarter of 1974 showed Britains industries experienced a much lower downturn in productivity than feared. "Against a predicted productivity fall of 40 per cent, the actual drop was just over 10 per cent," Dawson says. "Managers reported that the unexpectedly high level of output was due to a significant increase in labor productivity which meant they were getting the equivalent of 4.5 days of work out of three." Dawson believes a four-day week could potentially spread available work more evenly through the economy. A quarter of Australian workers want to work fewer hours, and one in five are underemployed and would like more. "By reducing the standard full-time week, the number of productive hours could be shared more evenly among workers," she says. Loading Despite improvements in productivity, workers have been unable to bargain for a fairer share of capital and labour. Wages growth is stagnating and technology, while making us more productive, has equipped us to work longer hours from home. "It is 90 years since John Maynard Kaines predicted that we would all be working 15 hours per week by the end of the century," Dawson says. "We are a lot more productive and standards of living have increased, but we are still working really long hours and the share of profit has been split unevenly. Profits have increased for shareholders much more than has the return to labour in wages. Mexico's president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has visited the site where three Mormon mothers and six children were slaughtered by cartel gunman last year, as authorities revealed two more suspects have been arrested for the attack in the US. Lopez Obrador said Sunday that a monument will be put up to memorialize the nine US-Mexican dual citizens who were ambushed and slain last year by a suspected drug gang assassins along a remote road in the northern border region near New Mexico. The small town of La Mora was shattered by the November 4 killings of Rhonita Maria Miller LeBaron, and her four children, eight-month-old twins, Titus and Tiana, her 10-year-old daughter Krystal and 12-year-old son Howard. Other victims murdered were Dawna Ray Langford, 43, and her two sons, Trevor Langford, 11, and Rogan Langford, 2. Christina Marie Langford Johnson, 32, was also killed. During a speech given to La Mora residents, Lopez Obrador said the first goal is to bring those responsible to justice. Scroll down for video Mexico's president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (pictured Sunday), has visited the site where three Mormon mothers and six children were slaughtered by cartel gunman last year, as authorities revealed two more suspects have been arrested for the attack in the US Lopez Obrador (pictured shaking hands) said a monument will be put up to memorialize the nine US-Mexican dual citizens who ambushed and slain last year by a suspected drug gang assassins along a remote road in the northern border region near New Mexico While making remarks to La Mora residents, Lopez Obrador (left and right) said the first goal is to bring those responsible to justice Lopez Obrador said an agreement had been reached with municipal and Sonora state officials to establish a monument of some sort 'here where these lamentable and painful events took place,' and also for special recognition of those who risked their lives to rush to the aid of victims and survivors. 'So that we exalt this, the true solidarity: He who is willing to give his life for another,' Lopez Obrador, who was later seen shaking hands with residents, said. He promised to meet with family members in two months to give them another in-person update on the investigation and to return in four to six months to present a plan on regional development including road improvements. The mostly bilingual American-Mexicans have lived in northern Mexico for decades and consider themselves Mormons, though they are not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Beyond the sympathetic hand extended to the victims' families, Lopez Obrador's one-year-old government has struggled to tame rampant drug violence nationwide as homicides are at a record high and several spectacular security setbacks have played out on his watch. Lopez Obrador said on Saturday that his security strategy aims to address root causes of violence such as poverty, inequality and lack of opportunity, particularly for young people, rather than the military offensive launched in 2006 by then-President Felipe Calderon and continued under Lopez Obrador's predecessor, Enrique Pena Nieto. 'Deprive the fish of water,' the president said 'so there are no longer young people who want to be cartel killers'. The gangland ambush by cartel gunmen in November on a dusty road in northern Mexico left the three mothers and six children dead and their charred vehicles riddled with bullets. On November 4 Rhonita Maria Miller LeBaron, her four children, Titus, Tiana, Krystal and Howard were killed alongside Dawna Ray Langford, 43, and her two sons, Trevor, 11, and Rogan, 2, as well as Christina Marie Langford Johnson, 32 The gangland ambush by cartel gunmen in November on a dusty road in northern Mexico left the three mothers and six children dead and their charred vehicles (pictured) riddled with bullets This image shows the inside of the burned out car where the victims were killed Since the attack, the Mexican government has arrested seven suspects to date as part of the investigation into the massacre, but the reasons behind the killings remain shrouded in mystery. Officials have suggested the attack may have been linked to a turf battle between two rival cartels known to fight over lucrative smuggling routes between Sonora and Chihuahua states, which both border the United States. Last week, relatives of the victims said US authorities told them they have two suspects under detention. Bryan LeBaron said American officials told the family that two suspects had been detained in the US, but did not specify what role they had played in the attack. Prosecutors said that more than 40 suspects have been identified in connection with the killings of the families The prosecutors' office did not offer any further details on the 40 suspects, many of whom are apparently known only by their nicknames. Two weeks ago, prosecutors reported that three men were arrested and charged with organized crime for drug offenses, though none apparently yet faces homicide charges in the case. They said four other suspects are being held under a form of house arrest. The most recognized suspect among the group is Fidel Alejandro Villegas Villegas, the police chief of Janos, Chihuahua. Last week, Bryan LeBaron (center) said American officials told the family that two suspects had been detained in the US, but did not specify what role they had played in the attack Local media reported the police chief had been in the pay of the La Linea drug gang. Julian LeBaron, who lost relatives and friends in the ambush, confirmed the police chief had been arrested, and added, 'That should be very worrying to everyone.' 'Who vets them?' LeBaron asked. 'He (the police chief) was there for 13 years', he said, questioning how state authorities could not have known the man was working for a drug cartel. Two other men identified by the AG's office as Juan Carlos and Javier were also nabbed and linked to organized crime, according to local media. Fidel Alejandro Villegas (pictured), the head of public security in Chihuahua, Mexico, was arrested in connection with the massacre in December, according to news reports Their last names were not publicly revealed because of Mexico's due process laws. Nearly all of the family members in the area are both US and Mexican citizens, meaning they can easily travel, or relocate, between both countries. The large families that have populated this part of northern Mexico, nestled among rolling hills and gurgling rivers, stem from breakaway Mormon communities that began fleeing the US more than a century ago in search of safe havens for their polygamist beliefs. They built ranch-style homes with orchards where the young children of growing families could ride their bikes and play all day outside. There are also those who argue against leaving. 'I'm not going anywhere,' said Mateo Langford, whose sister was killed in the attack. 'Bad things happen in every corner of the world, including in the United States. We just can't run away,' he said. As he sorted pecans from last year's harvest, Mateo's brother Steve Langford, whose sister Christine was killed, said he will stay put as well. He said his immediate plans are to help his cousin David with the harvest, and try to convince him to stay too. David lost his wife Dawna and two of their children in the attack. Another remains hospitalized with a gun shot wound to the jaw. 'I'll never leave here,' said Langford. Drivers are urged to not travel Saturday due to icy roads, bridges, ramps and overpasses, INDOT said. If drivers must travel, they should drive slowly with caution. After declaring an emergency for lakeshore erosion in Portages Lakefront and Riverwalk, Portage Mayor Sue Lynch said what she saw on the beach Saturday was tragic. She said she and many others were lined up in cars taking photos and video of the lakeshore. The lake is really beating the shoreline today, Lynch said. Today is living proof that the lakeshore cant take the beating without us stepping in and taking action. We need to stay on this. Lynch said after the storm has passed she plans to do a reassessment of the damage and plans to call national lakeshore officials Monday to emphasize the need for assistance. Until then, Lynch cautioned park visitors to exercise great caution and to keep a fair distance between them and the lakefront. Dont go too close, its very dangerous, Lynch said. Stay in your car. The last thing we want is to have to have our emergency responders out in conditions like this. Successful urban places are often in sites such as public transit stations, markets or waterfront areas. Could public toilets be a model for good space design in urban development? The words 'public' and 'toilet' are near antonyms. One will find it difficult to relate a place to fulfil our private bodily needs with the word 'public.' Hence when put together, public toilets are often linked to the sort of filth and unpleasantness that almost makes it uncomfortable to think about. This unfortunately leads to public toilets being less attractive in placemaking. In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, an odd development of public toilets may change perspectives that public restrooms could perhaps be anchor points for placemaking. For a city of nine million, there are only about 200 public toilets with many of them failing to meet hygiene standards. On top of that, shops and restaurants do not always allow public access to toilets. Most of these shops are also private residences where the bathroom is part of their private dwelling areas. A series of quality public toilets were introduced in 2014 as a push to improve the citys image and meet the increasing demand for them by tourists. Interestingly, as with many elements in a city, the actual users changed as time passed. Today, these toilets service more locals than tourists. These toilets, referred to as '5-star' toilets in the media, are equipped with a full range of amenities. They all have disabled access, benches, air conditioning, music and can be used for free. To the locals on the street, these toilets are more commonly known by the bank which sponsored them, Sacombank. In return, they also come equipped with an ATM booth. There are currently 13 of them located around the city, particularly at September 23 Park, Tao Dan Park and Le Van Tam Park. The five-star' toilet. Photo: Alex Lee Street culture In an unpublished academic study on the toilet, close to 40 percent of visitors to the toilet and adjacent areas were ridesharing drivers. Ridesharing was introduced into the city around the same time the toilets were built back in 2014. Since then an explosion of companies and drivers has led to new demands in the city. The increase of workers working from the public realm created a demand for public restrooms. One of them is Mr. Van, a full-time GrabBike driver. Although he is aware of these five-stars toilets, he mentions the need to pee on the street as there are not enough of them. Furthermore, as his bike is important to his job, he is often worried about leaving the bike at public toilets, lest it gets stolen. The five-star toilet at Le Van Tam Park saw a real need lead to a coexisting relationship between rideshare drivers, the caretaker and vendors. The rideshare drivers who frequent the toilet undertand that the caretaker would watch over their bikes as they use the facility. Also the drivers' congregating led to the presence of vendors and drink stalls. One famous vendor selling 'goi kho bo' (Vietnamese dried-beef salad) can also be found on the corner of one of these public toilets. These vendors have access to a hygienic toilet and water supply, an important factor in densely populated urban areas. Drivers like Mr. Van rely on the convenience and low cost of food vendors like this and are concerned about food hygiene. Falling sick will mean a loss of income. Busy mornings at the toilet. Photo: Alex Lee Gender In placemaking actions, the topic of gender is often not discussed. When speaking about public toilets the allusion to gender is obvious. Public toilets carry hints of a societys views on gender. In the case of Vietnam, although more legally relaxed towards gender than many other peers in the region, the toilets remain binary, with males and females separated. One can argue that this reflects the current public opinions on gender issues. Unsurprisingly, in the same study mentioned above, a large number of female users of the 'five-star' toilets are street vendors. Street vendors in Ho Chi Minh City are predominantly women who prefer these toilets as they are safe and hygienic. Unlike many other public toilets in the city, the five-star toilets are cleaned and surveilled by a caretaker, plus they are well lit at night. Although men and women alike enjoy a safe and hygienic toilet, the latter menstruate, groom and use the toilet differently and unlike men, it is also less acceptable for women to pee in public. Hence greater importance should be placed on ensuring the toilet caters to womens needs. The new automated toilets. Photo: Alex Lee Replicating the model In 2018, the race to modernise the citys amenities saw a plan to build automated public toilets around the city. These toilets went on to be affectionally known as the mirror toilets as they came clad in reflective stainless steel. Like before, they were based on standards that were focused on tourists. These toilets incorporated some features of the earlier five-star restrooms such as bike theft prevention and perception of safety through installed screens and cameras. In retrospect, it is not known what the user can do if a crime happens while answering the call of nature. These toilets are fully automated, self-cleaning and are free to use. I asked some vendors and rideshare drivers but they did not mention this toilet. Located at bus stops in the city, they are often out of service. The installed screens and pre-programmed voices are unable to match the service provided by the caretaker found at the older five-star toilets. In fact, most of the five-star restrooms, although significantly older, are in better shape than most of the mirror ones. From this, we can learn that public toilet design should not be reduced to mere technical requirements. Their potential as catalysts for placemaking should be explored more often. Regardless of what the next iteration of public toilets in the city will be, they will still remain as honest indicators of how a society functions, holding cues in plain sight. Iran's admission that it accidently shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet carrying 176 people this week has sparked unrest in the country. Protesters including many students gathered in Iran on Saturday and Sunday, criticizing the government and demanding the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei step down. Iran initially denied involvement in the incident, but later said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, fearing retaliation from the U.S. for a strike Tuesday against an American military base in Iraq, mistook the plane for hostile aircraft and launched a missile that brought the plane down, killing everyone on board. A candlelit vigil in Tehran for the victims Saturday evening morphed into a protest before police broke up the gathering with tear gas. Iranian security forces deployed in large numbers in Tehran on Sunday, patrolling the city on motorbikes and stationing at various landmarks in anticipation of more protests. Iran has also faced criticism outside its borders. The United Kingdom's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab condemned Tehran for briefly detaining British Amabassador to Iran Rob Macaire after he attended the vigil (Macaire said he wasn't aware it would turn into a protest.) Raab said Iran was on its way toward "pariah status." Officials from Ukraine, Canada, and the United States also expressed dismay over how Iran handled the situation. More stories from theweek.com MLB issues historic punishment for Astros following sign-stealing investigation White House press secretary claims Democrats are 'almost taking the side of terrorists' after Trump tweet Jennifer Lopez, Frozen 2, and more shocking snubs from the 2020 Oscar nominations iran protests Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images Thousands of protestors flooded the streets of Tehran to demand the resignation of the country's leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Demonstrators had first turned up for a vigil for the 176 passengers who were killed when Iran shot down a Ukrainian commercial airliner. Fiery chants and marching triggered a response from the city's riot police, and videos on social media show tear gas launched at the crowds. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Thousands of protestors flooded the streets of Tehran days after Iran shot down a Ukrainian commercial airliner, killing all 176 passengers on board. Emotional vigils for the passengers who were killed in the attack devolved into fiery demonstrations that saw Iranians marching with signs to demand the resignation of the country's leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In video captured by The New York Times, angry protestors chanted "death to the dictator," and "shameless," with protestors on university campuses reportedly calling the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps "incompetent" and "the people's shame." Video posted to social media showed the protests triggered violent clashes with riot police, who responded with tear gas. Tensions in the country reached a breaking point when Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752, which was carrying at least 130 Iranian citizens, was shot down on January 8 by Revolutionary Guard air defense forces after it took off from Tehran. The country initially denied responsibility for the plane crash, suggesting it was a mechanical problem. However, in a statement released by military officials early January 11, Iran admitted to hitting the plane with a missile. Story continues Despite the statement, foreign minister Javad Zarif immediately pointed some blame at the US, saying the crash was caused by "human error at a time of crisis caused by US adventurism." US-Iran relations quickly devolved as the countries have traded barbs since Iran's attacks in retaliation to the US killing of Qassem Soleimani, a top military official, who was killed by a drone strike ordered by President Donald Trump. Read more: An Iranian commander said 'I wish I could die' after Tehran accepted responsibility for shooting down Ukrainian Airlines flight 752 Ukraine's president wants a 'full admission of guilt' and compensation from Iran after it shot down a commercial plane Trump doesn't want to go to war, he just wants to look tough, even if it puts US troops in danger Read the original article on Business Insider Natalie Lund: Will sign and discuss We Speak in Storms, in conversation with Anthony Sutton, 6:30 p.m., Brazos Bookstore, 2421 Bissonnet; 713-523-0701, brazosbookstore.com. Nic Stone: Will sign and discuss Clean Getaway, 7 p.m., Blue Willow Bookshop, 14532 Memorial; 281-497-8675, bluewillowbookshop.com. TUESDAY Kate Milford: Will sign and discuss The Thief Knot, 6:30 p.m., Brazos Bookstore. WEDNESDAY Octavio Solis: Will sign and discuss Retablos, 6:30 p.m., Brazos Bookstore. THURSDAY Rebecca Roanhorse: Will sign and discuss Race to the Sun, 5 p.m., Blue Willow Bookshop. Charlaine Harris: Will sign and discuss A Longer Fall, 6:30 p.m., Murder By The Book, 2342 Bissonnet; 713-524-8597, murderbooks.com. JP Gritton: Will sign and discuss Wyoming, 6:30 p.m., Brazos Bookstore. FRIDAY Nick Petrie: Will sign and discuss The Wild One in conversation with J. Todd Scott, 6:30 p.m., Murder By The Book SATURDAY Jeanette Weiland: Will sign and discuss Beignets for Breakfast, 11 a.m., Blue Willow Bookshop. Nathan Hale: Will sign and discuss Major Impossible, 3 p.m., Brazos Bookstore. Mutabilis Press Poetry Reading: Poets will read from and sign Enchantment of the Ordinary, 4 p.m., Blue Willow Bookshop. June E. Rives: Will sign and discuss Peril in Paris, 4:30 p.m., Murder By The Book. Ana Khan Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-13 04:22:10|Editor: zyl Video Player Close by Tan Jingjing LOS ANGELES, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- At the just-concluded 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, many U.S. tech companies have expressed their hopes for closer exchanges and cooperation with China despite bilateral trade tensions. Qualcomm President Cristiano Amon told Xinhua he is "super excited" about Qualcomm's business in China, and applauded the win-win cooperation between Qualcomm and its Chinese partners, such as Xiaomi, OPPO, OnePlus and vivo. Amon called the cooperation an example of successful relationship between the two countries, adding that it allows Chinese partners to not only grow in domestic consumption, but also expand outside China. "We are not backing down on our China cooperation. We're increasing our cooperation in resources towards or partnerships in China in the 5G transition," he said. Ford Motor also plans to step up its business in China. The company's new all-electric Mustang Mach-E SUV, will be on show in the Chinese market in April this year, and be available in the Chinese market next year, according to the company. Amy Huo, vice president of communications at Ford Motor Greater China, told Xinhua China has attached great importance to technology innovation and new energy development, which are highly compatible with Ford's strategy emphasis in the technologies such as electric vehicles and internet of cars. "Ford plans to further enhance cooperation with China in the five years to come, explore local strategic partners for joint innovation," she said. Some tech companies value China's huge market, manufacturing and labor costs, while some others value China's innovation technologies, and its geological location which can be considered as a logistics hub towards southeast Asian countries. Josh Cross, founder and CEO of American power and tracking technology company Elios, told Xinhua the company's cooperation with China dates back to 2015. Elios' software design is done in the United States and the hardware part is done in China. Currently it is cooperating with three Chinese companies in GPS products, power and GPS products, and sourcing, Cross said. China has very good infrastructure, years of experience and high efficiency, he said, adding Elios expects to cooperate with more Chinese partners in the near future. The 2020 CES, the world's premier tech show, was held in Las Vegas from Tuesday to Friday. The four-day show drew more than 4,500 exhibitors from over 160 countries. Nearly 20,000 new transformative tech products were on show, encompassing 5G connectivity, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, smart cities and resilience, sports, robotics and more. Deadwater Fell Friday, Channel 4 Rating: White House Farm Wednesday, ITV Rating: Two new crime dramas this week, one fictional and one factual, and both involving the murder of small children, so thats a nice start to the New Year. But our fascination with crime will likely make us take the plunge anyhow. Actually, the best of them all at present is the true-crime documentary Dont F*** With Cats on Netflix. I refuse to say what its about as it will put you off, just as so many were put off when informed that Unbelievable was about rape. I will only say it is three hour-long episodes, and if you dont find it compelling, whatever you earn per hour at your work I will pay you back. (Not really, but the sentiment is fully there.) David Tennant and Anna Madeley in Deadwater Fell. This is set in a small Scottish village where the people of interest are all above-average looking, which makes it feel generic somehow Deadwater Fell is the fictional offering set in a small community nursing big secrets. (I blame Broadchurch for this.) It stars David Tennant at his most sinisterly bearded and relies heavily on our old friend: flashbacks. It opens with a car swerving off a road, which itself, it turns out, is a flashback from which, later, we will flash back to from a flashback. (Seriously.) We then fast-forward and visit a primary school where children are happily painting, until they are shepherded out of the classroom to excitedly cheer a cycle race passing though their small Scottish village. So joyous, these kiddies! (Oh God.) One primary-school teacher is Kate (Anna Madeley), who is married to the local GP, Tom (Tennant), and they have three small children. Their best friends, meanwhile, are Steve (the local policeman, Matthew McNulty) and his partner Jess (Cush Jumbo). This is set in a small Scottish village where the people of interest are all above-average looking, which makes it feel generic somehow, and everyone has such fun at the local highland dance you know its all going to come crashing down. As it does. There is a fire at Tom and Kates, which we know will happen because of the flash-forward to their burned-out house. Kate and the children are killed. Tom survives. Meanwhile, we see a pathologist working on the victims bodies. Why are pine needles discovered in the childrens pyjama pockets? Why was the childrens bedroom padlocked from the outside? What were Kates mental-health problems exactly? Are Tom and Jess carrying on? It hits the marks for this genre without ever proving immersive or even plausible. Steve appears to be solely in charge of the investigation, which seems a lot to put on the shoulders of the local plod, and also, wouldnt there be a conflict of interest? Further, that CCTV footage of Kate buying the padlock? Why would he be looking at the CCTV from a DIY store in the first instance? But even if we ignore the plot holes, it always felt as if the characters were serving the plot rather than vice versa. The first episode (of four) ended with Tom regaining consciousness, although given the number of flashbacks and flashbacks from flashbacks that are surely still to come, he may well wish hed stayed in a coma. The better prospect is the factual drama White House Farm, which stars Stephen Graham, who has become almost like a kitemark of quality these days. In August 1985, five members of the same family were shot to death in an Essex farmhouse. The horrific killings, which included six-year-old twin boys, shocked the nation, as it would, and maybe you remember it. I do, vaguely. Ive since looked it up, as I couldnt help myself, and if you dont look it up, you are made of stronger stuff than I. But even if you know the outcome, this is still gripping and tense and disturbingly beautiful. (Those fields.) Freddie Fox as Jeremy Bamber in White House Farm. This is sensitively handled and it never felt exploitative It opened with a shot of the farmhouse at night and then a local copper taking a call from Jeremy Bamber (Freddie Fox). He lived in the village but had just taken a call from his father, Nevill, to say Jeremys sister, Sheila, was going crazy with a shotgun at the farm. There is just the one flashback (thankfully), to four nights earlier when we see that Shelia was in a fragile state (well captured by Cressida Bonas) and was at odds with their mother (Amanda Burton), who was oppressively religious. The tension, in this first episode (of six) was in knowing what the police had yet to find out, and the horror of it. Particularly when it came to entering the farmhouse. And there were some cleverly subtle details, as with the drop of the police officers shoulders on discovering the twins, for instance. Nothing else needed to be said. Because Sheila was schizophrenic, the police waste no time in apportioning blame. Murder-suicide, insists DCI Jones (a terrific Graham), who has his career to think of. But family liaison officer DS Stan Jones (Mark Addy, also terrific) is worried. If Sheila went on a rampage and then shot herself, why was she shot twice? Did she even know how to use a gun? This is sensitively handled and it never felt exploitative. If you think otherwise, Ill pay for your time in this instance, too. (But not really; sorry.) The parallel seems to end there as there is a difference between a state of high alert which existed in Iran on 8 January and a battle which brought down the Iran Air aircraft. by Dr. Ruwantissa Abeyratne MSN News has announced that Iran's president has finally acknowledged what Canada, Britain and the United States have strongly suspected for days that it was indeed an Iranian missile that downed a Ukrainian jetliner operating Flight 752 from Teheran to Kiev on Wednesday 8 January. All on board were killed. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has issued an unconditional apology saying: The Islamic Republic of Iran deeply regrets this disastrous mistake. Flight 752 (PS752) was carrying 176 people who died in the crash, including: 82 Iranians, 57 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three British nationals. CNN reported on Saturday 11th January that Irans explanation for the human error was that the plane was shot down while Iran was on high alert at the time of shooting and was in a sensitive state. Furthermore, the Iranian authorities are reported to have stated that the Ukrainian aircraft was misidentified as it turned to the direction of an Iranian Revolutionary Guard base. The exact statement of the Iranian authorities is reported to be that Under such sensitive and critical conditions, the Ukrainian Airlines flight 752 took off from the Imam Khomeini airport and while rotating, it was placed completely in the position of approaching a sensitive military center in the altitude and trajectory of an enemy target. They must have thought the plane on their radar, flight PS752 was a foreign air force plane about to blow up. A curious parallel comes to mind where, on 3 July 1988 The United States accidentally downed Iran Air Flight 655 which was operated by an Airbus A-300B aircraft, killing 290 passengers and crew The U.S fired two surface-to-air missiles launched from the U.S.S. Vincennes, a guided-missile cruiser on duty with the United States Persian Gulf/Middle East Force in Iranian airspace over the Islamic Republic's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. The incident occurred in the midst of an armed engagement between U.S. and Iranian forces, in the context of a long series of attacks on U.S. and other vessels. The parallel seems to end there as there is a difference between a state of high alert which existed in Iran on 8 January and a battle which brought down the Iran Air aircraft. In the wake of the shooting down of the Ukrainian aircraft, an interesting statement came out in ETN (eTurboNews) that also responsible for the Ukraine International Airlines crash may be Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways, and Aeroflot to the parties responsible for the Ukraine International Airlines disaster in Iran? This is on the basis that the following flights had departed Tehran at times in proximity to the Ukrainian aircrafts departure: Turkish Airlines TK 875 on 08 January took off at 3.35 am to Istanbul; Austrian Airlines OS 872 on 08 January t00k off at 3.45 am to Vienna; Lufthansa LH 601 on 08 January took off at 4.23 am to Frankfurt; Aeroflot SU431 on 08 January took off tr 4.31 am to Moscow; Qatar Airways QR 491 on 08 January took off at 5.01 am for Doha; Turkish Airlines TK 873 on 08 January took off at 5.07 am to Istanbul; Turkish Airlines TK879 on 08 January took off at 8.23 am to Istanbul; Qatar Airways QR483 on 08 January took off at 12.50 pm to Doha; Turkish Airlines TK871 on 08 January took off at 3.29 pm to Istanbul; Qatar Airways QR 499 on 08 January took off at 11.08 pm to Doha. The question then arises: who really was responsible for the death of the 176 passengers on board the ill-fated flight? The airlines which departed Tehran in contemporaneous chronology, which should not have taken off as they owed a responsibility to the Ukrainian airline to set an example by not flying that day, or was it the State from which the aircraft took off? To determine this issue in its aeronautical context one has to go back to history. Malaysian Airlines Flight MH 17, operated by a Boeing 777 -200ER aircraft flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on 17 July 2014, and carrying 283 passengers and 15 crew, was shot down by a BUK surface to air missile over Donetsk Oblast in Eastern Ukraine, while at an altitude of 10,000 meters. Two thirds of the passengers on board were of Dutch origin. All those on board perished. A similar event had occurred in September 1983 when a Russian SU-15 Interceptor plane shot down a Korean Airlines Boeing 747 aircraft operating flight KE 007 bound from New York City to Seoul via Anchorage. The plane was destroyed over Sakhalin Island while navigating over prohibited Russian airspace. All 269 passengers and crew on board died. Consequent upon the 1983 shooting down of KL 007, and amidst a vociferous international outcry, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) convened a special Assembly of ICAO member States which adopted article 3 bis to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention) which now provides that ICAO member States undertake to refrain from using force against civil aircraft, and, in the case of interception, the safety of lives of those on board should be the paramount consideration. Additionally, according to Article 28 of the Chicago Convention, Iran was required to provide in its territory air navigation facilities inter alia to facilitate international air navigation. This provision imputes to Iran the obligation to provide air traffic services that is calculated to ensure an aircrafts navigational safety. A more compelling provision in the Convention is Article 9 which states that each contracting State may, for reasons of military necessity or public safety, restrict or prohibit uniformly the aircraft of other States from flying over certain areas of its territory, provided that no distinction in this respect is made between the aircraft of the State whose territory is involved, engaged in international scheduled airline services, and the aircraft of the other contracting States likewise engaged. Such prohibited areas must be of reasonable extent and location so as not to interfere unnecessarily with air navigation. Descriptions of such prohibited areas in the territory of a contracting State, as well as any subsequent alterations therein, are required to be communicated as soon as possible to the other contracting States and to ICAO. One could argue that Iran had an obligation to adhere to the aforementioned provisions and close its airspace in the wake of hostilities between Iran and the United States. The only instance where these provisions would not apply is when a State invokes Article 89 of the Chicago Convention which provides that in a state of war or national emergency the provision of the Convention would not affect the freedom of action of a State so involved provided that State advises the Council of ICAO. The final question would then be, considering the fact that Iran was not at war with the United States, was it under a state of national emergency? Would high alert qualify as a national emergency? And did Iran advise the ICAO Council? Dr. Abeyratne is Senior Associate, Air Law and Policy at Aviation Strategies International. He is also Visiting Professor in Air Law and Policy at McGill University. Prior to his current engagements he was Senior Legal Officer and Coordinator, Air Transport at The International Civil Aviation Organization. Among his recent publications are Aviation Security Law and War and Peace: The Aviation Perspective His latest book, to be released shortly, is titled Aviation in the Digital World. A murder case accused from Bihar has been arrested in Pune for allegedly trying to dupe the police posing as an officer working for India's intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), officials said on Sunday. The 26-year-old accused, identified as Sonu Suraj Tiwari, who hails from Bihar, was arrested on Saturday by Kondhwa Police in Pune. "Tiwari was found lingering around the Kondhwa police station on Saturday. When the police personnel confronted him, he introduced himself as Akhand Kumar Shukla, an Additional SP rank officer working for the R&AW," an official said. "When he was asked whether he had come for any specific work, he told us that he has received a tip-off that some weapons were being smuggled to Pune from Bihar in a train and he wanted to meet some senior officials in this connection," he said. "When he met senior officials at the police station, he was asked to show his identity card, but he failed to do so. As his overall behaviour and body language looked suspicious, he was thoroughly questioned," the official added. During his questioning, he revealed his real identity and also told the police that he was from Aurangabad district of Bihar. "During the investigation, it came to light that Tiwari is wanted in a murder case registered against him at Rafiganj police station in Bihar. Police from that state have been intimated about his arrest and their team is coming here to take his custody," the official said. Kondhwa police have booked Tiwari under IPC sections 419 (cheating by personation) and 417 (cheating). Following the arrest, he was produced in a local court, which sent him in judicial custody. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dropping yet another hint, amid nationwide protest against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Vice president of JD(U) and polls strategist Prashant Kishor on Sunday has thanked Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra. With Bihar elections scheduled later this year, his praise for Congress - who is a part of opposition's Mahagathbandhan in the state raises many speculations. Kishor had earlier offered his resignation after he faced flak from within the party for speaking against NRC and CAA. However, sources told that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar rejected it. He has also reiterated in his tweet that NRC will not be implemented in Bihar. I join my voice with all to thank #Congress leadership for their formal and unequivocal rejection of #CAA_NRC. Both @rahulgandhi & @priyankagandhi deserves special thanks for their efforts on this count. Also would like to reassure to all - CAA-NRC Prashant Kishor (@PrashantKishor) January 12, 2020 Kishor's tweet comes two days after the government issued a gazette notification declaring that the CAA has come into force with immediate effect granting citizenship to six non-Muslim minority communities -- Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian -- who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014. Prashant Kishor responds to rumours of working for multiple parties, gets sarcastic Kishor had in an exclusive interview to Republic TV, said that JDU is the big brother in the state and will contest on more seats than the BJP in the upcoming polls. His remark had led into a war of words between him and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, with the former reminding him that the BJP lost the election in Bihar in 2015. Meanwhile, many leaders from JDU and BJP has said that Kishor is not the one to take a decision on seat sharing and the final decision will be taken by the top leadership of the NDA. Prashant Kishor reminds Bihar's Dy CM of BJP's 2015 defeat amid tussle over seat sharing Who is Prashant Kishor? Kishor, a poll strategist heading a team called I-PAC, first came into limelight when he worked for Narendra Modi's campaign in 2014. He then engineered the poll campaign in Punjab for Captain Amarinder Singh. In 2015, Kishor worked for the JD(U) when the party was a part of Mahagathbandhan in Bihar and led the grand alliance to their landslide victory in the assembly elections in Bihar. He also worked for the Congress party in the assembly polls of Uttar Pradesh, however, BJP won the election. Get ready!: Delhi election dates out, Prashant Kishor blows AAP bugle; warns opponents In the Lok Sabha election earlier this year, he worked for YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh and led the party to a massive victory in both assembly and general election. Recently Kishor worked with Shiv Sena in Maha-dramatic Maharashtra polls and is currently working with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's AAP for Delhi assembly election. Notably, Kishor first hit headlines after helping Narendra Modi win the 2012 Gujarat assembly election. CM Nitish's close confidant snubs Prashant Kishor- 'none allowed to speak on seat-sharing' Zarif profoundly regrets human error behind air disaster IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, Jan 11, IRNA -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a message expressed his profound regret and apologized for the human error which caused crash for the Ukrainian passenger plane. "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," Zarif wrote in his Twitter account on Saturday. The plane belonging to Ukrainian airlines crashed near Tehran minutes after the take-off from Imam Khomeini Airport after its engine caught fire. All the 167 passengers and nine crew members were killed in the crash. The General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces offered explanations for the crash of the Ukrainian aircraft which happened near Tehran on Wednesday. The statement further assured that the repetition of such errors will be impossible as the body will follow fundamental reforms in the process of operations and refer to those responsible for the tragedy to the Judiciary. The General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces hereby extends its condolences to the bereaved families of the victims of the incident as well as those foreign nationals aboard the flight. It also offers its apology for the human error which caused the crash. The related officials in the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) will elaborate on the details in media. 9376**1416 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-13 05:45:16|Editor: yan Video Player Close DUBAI, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Sunday welcomed visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with an official reception. "Today, I received my friend Joko Widodo, president of Indonesia, and discussed bilateral ties with him as well as regional and international issues," Sheikh Mohammed said on Twitter, adding that "We share a common desire to promote mutually beneficial bilateral action." Widodo stressed his country's keenness to enhance relations with the UAE in various aspects, especially economic, investment, trade and development fields for the benefit of the two friendly countries and peoples, according to UAE's official WAM news agency. We all love superheroes and their costumes, don't we? But have you ever tried one? If you have, you would know how embarrassing that is to wear, especially when you have to wear the tights. How do these actors manage to pee? But did you know actors, directors and costume designers take special notice of how big the bulge should be? biggaypictureshow.com For instance, Batman actor Burt Ward, who played the role of Robin in Sixties TV series, recently revealed that he was told to take pills to shrink his penis. Why? Because the makers of the show thought that he had a very large bulge for television unlike Batman actor Adam West who reportedly had Turkish towels in his undershorts. cbrimages.com Burt Ward said that he was sent to a doctor to shrink his penis. He was given medication for that. He took the pills for three days. However, he quit taking them soon because he thought "they can probably keep me from having children. I stopped doing that and I just used my cape to cover it. tvinsider.com He also said that he could have become a nuclear physicist if he had not taken up the role in the show, which ran between 1966-1968. sun.com I was a straight-A student at UCLA. In fact, the Dean at UCLA was upset with me when I left in my third year to do Robin because she said I should have been a nuclear physicist. I was in the top 3 per cent in the United States in science and math," he was quoted as saying by Page Six. Is it really necessary for all superheroes to show their crotch bulge in those extra-tight costumes? Ethiopia will hold a parliamentary election in May or June despite concerns about security and logistics, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Sunday. The election will be the first under Nobel Peace Laureate Abiy, who took office in April 2018 and launched political and economic reforms. His reform agenda has also stoked violence and highlighted ethnic divisions in the country of about 105 million people, and the election board said last June that the security situation could delay the 2020 election. "On the schedule, I am not sure whether it is May or June, because the schedule will be declared by the election board but I think we will conduct an election this year because it is a constitutional mandate," Abiy, who is visiting South Africa, said in response to a question at a media briefing with President Cyril Ramaphosa. "There might be lots of challenges, not only logistics but also peace and security ... It is better for Ethiopians and for Ethiopian parties to conduct the election on time in a very peaceful and democratic manner," he said. Opposition politicians have warned against any delay in the election, and critics have said that postponing the vote could cause an adverse social reaction, fuel regional conflicts and damage Abiy's democratic credentials. Ethiopia has regularly held elections since 1995 but, with the exception of the 2005 election, no election has been competitive. Abiy also said Ethiopia hoped Ramaphosa, who next month assumes a one-year chairmanship of the African Union continental body, would help broker a deal with Egypt over deadlocked talks to develop a new $4 billion dam on the Nile River. Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan are due to convene on Monday in Washington with the aim of resolving their disagreements by Jan. 15 over the massive hydroelectric dam that Ethiopia is building. "He (Ramaphosa) is a good friend for both Ethiopia and Egypt, also as incoming AU chair he can make a discussion between both parties so as to solve the issue peacefully," Abiy said. The dam dispute has sparked a diplomatic crisis between Egypt and Ethiopia. "I believe a solution is possible," said Ramaphosa. Search Keywords: Short link: A local union branch of New Hampshire state and local employees said Sunday that it had voted to endorse Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont for the Democratic presidential nomination, another labor endorsement for a candidate whose political stock continues to rise less than a month before the Iowa caucuses. The endorsement, which will officially be made on Monday, is particularly notable because the union chapter, SEA/SEIU Local 1984, has acted separately from its national affiliate organization, the Service Employees International Union. That group, which represents about two million workers nationally, has remained neutral in the endorsement process up to this point, balancing relationships with multiple candidates and regional concerns that differ across local chapters. But the New Hampshire chapter wanted to use its political firepower to back Mr. Sanders in time for the states first-in-the-nation primary, Rich Gulla, the local president, said in a statement. About 10,000 workers across the state are represented by the unions collective bargaining contract. The chapter also voted to endorse Mr. Sanders during the 2016 presidential election even as the national organization backed his rival and the eventual Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Julia Benarrous with Issam Ahmed in Washington (Agence France-Presse) Houston, United States Sun, January 12, 2020 18:08 730 48be62e941b44f04afae568c321d7a67 2 Science & Tech NASA,space,united-states,astronaut,moon,Canada,Diversity Free NASA on Friday celebrated its latest class of graduating astronauts at a public ceremony in Houston, honoring a diverse and gender-balanced group now qualified for spaceflight missions including America's return to the Moon and eventual journey to Mars. After completing more than two years of basic training, the six women and seven men were chosen from a record-breaking 18,000 applicants and represent a wide variety of backgrounds and specialties, from pilots to scientists, engineers and doctors. The group included two candidates from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), which has participated in a joint training program with the United States since 1983. "They are the best of the best: They are highly qualified and very diverse, and they represent all of America," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. The class included five people of color, including the first Iranian-American astronaut, Jasmin Moghbeli, who flew helicopter combat missions in Afghanistan and holds an engineering degree from MIT, and geologist Jessica Watkins, who joins only a handful of black women to complete the program. The group, known as the "Turtles", wore blue flight jumpsuits and took turns approaching the podium to receive their silver astronaut pins, as their fellow classmates paid tribute to their character in the first-ever public graduation ceremony. The tradition of handing out pins dates back to the Mercury 7 astronauts who were selected in 1959, with participants receiving their gold pins once they complete their first spaceflights. After being selected in 2017, the class completed training in spacewalking at NASA's underwater Neutral Buoyancy Lab, robotics, the systems of the International Space Station and piloting the T-38 training jet, plus Russian language lessons. They are the first to graduate since NASA announced the Artemis program to return to the Moon by 2024, this time on its south pole, as the United States plans to place the next man and first woman on lunar soil and set up an orbital space station. Part of the group's training therefore included studying the building blocks of that program, which are still being developed: the Space Launch System rocket, the Orion crew capsule and the gateway space station. But NASA has already said that the crew of the first return Moon mission, Artemis 3, will be selected from previous graduates. Read also: Space milestones: Here are the missions to look forward to in 2020 Elite group Astronauts play an active role in the development of spacecraft, and the current group will eventually join the ranks of the approximately 500 people in history who have ventured into space. The 11 US astronauts bring the total number of NASA's corps up to 48. Their diversity stands in contrast to the early years of space exploration, long dominated by white men (including all 12 people who have walked on the Moon), until Sally Ride became the first American woman in space in 1983 and Guion Bluford the first black astronaut the same year. It also includes Indian-American Raja Chari, an Air Force colonel and aeronautical engineer; Frank Rubio, a medical doctor and Blackhawk pilot; and Jonny Kim, a decorated Navy SEAL and emergency physician, who holds both a doctorate in medicine from Harvard and a mathematics degree. "When I heard about possibly being a NASA astronaut I thought that was a platform like no other where I could leave a huge impact on the next generation and also contribute to our nation's space exploration," Kim told AFP. Watkins praised what she called NASA's emphasis on diversity. "I think cultural and social change can be slow, even when it's trending in the right direction," she said. The CSA's newest astronauts are Joshua Kutryk, a Royal Canadian Air Force lieutenant colonel, and Jennifer Sidey-Gibbons who holds a doctorate in engineering from the University of Cambridge where she was working as an assistant professor in combustion in the Department of Engineering. Asked about the difficulties she faced in her career, Moghbeli said some had questioned her choices when she decided to join the military after graduating from MIT. "In a post-September 11 world, did my parents think I was crazy? Yes, I'm pretty sure they did," she said, but added that her family then gave her their full support. "It's because of that that I'm here today, and I think everyone feels similarly, but -- that being said -- there will always be people out there that doubt. "When I was a sixth grader and said I was going to become an astronaut, do you think everyone was like, 'Yep, she's going to become an astronaut'? Probably not." She's set to return to her hosting duties alongside Phillip Schofield for the upcoming second episode of Dancing On Ice on Sunday. But Holly Willoughby treated herself to some downtime as she enjoyed lunch at Barnes' Oka Restaurant with her daughter Belle, eight, in London on Saturday afternoon. The presenter, 38 - who also shares sons Harry, 10, and Chester, five, with husband Dan Baldwin - wrapped up in a monochrome tartan-inspired coat as she strolled hand-in-hand with her mini-me. Just the two of us: Holly Willoughby treated herself to some downtime as she enjoyed lunch at Barnes' Oka Restaurant with her daughter Belle, eight, in London on Saturday afternoon Holly was every inch the doting mother as she held onto Belle's burgundy shoes while her daughter opted for comfort by walking on the ground in her white tights. Looking typically stylish, the TV host teamed her patterned outerwear with a cream jumper, indigo jeans and sturdy black boots. The ITV star carried her belongings in a designer black handbag, while injecting a hint of springtime chic into her look with a pair of black sunglasses. With her shoulder-length tresses worn in a tousled ponytail, her naturally radiant complexion was enhanced with minimal make-up. Fashion savvy: The presenter, 38, wrapped up in a monochrome tartan-inspired coat as she strolled hand-in-hand with her mini-me Turning heads: Looking typically stylish, the TV host teamed her patterned outerwear with a cream jumper, indigo jeans and sturdy black boots Too tight? Holly was every inch the doting mother as she held onto Belle's burgundy shoes while her daughter opted for comfort by walking on the ground in her white tights All in the details: The ITV star carried her belongings in a designer black handbag, while injecting a hint of springtime chic into her look with a pair of black sunglasses Watch her glow: With her shoulder-length tresses worn in a tousled ponytail, her naturally radiant complexion was enhanced with minimal make-up In addition to her jobs on DOI, This Morning and Celebrity Juice, busy bee Holly is currently working on a mystery project with Dunelm. Earlier this week, the blonde took to Instagram to tease the production as she posed while a make-up artist touched up her look and member of the wardrobe department adjusted her outfit. Giving a hint to fans about the project, Holly wrote in the caption: 'Have a little news coming soon and its the stuff of dreams.' To the grind: She's set to return to her hosting duties alongside Phillip Schofield for the upcoming second episode of Dancing On Ice on Sunday What's over there? The blonde appeared to point at an object in the distance as she altered her daughter about something Her social media post comes after she recalled the moment her dress split open at 10 Downing Street in 2016 on Thursday's episode of This Morning. The TV star made the embarrassing confession during a candid fashion fail segment on the show with RHOC star Dawn Ward and journalist Dawn Neesom, where she admitted she was left hiding in the toilets wearing her 'huge knickers'. Holly added that she had to ask someone in the bathroom to get her husband Daniel Baldwin and she was left covering her broken dress with a coat the rest of the evening. The mother-of-three confessed: 'One of the most embarrassing moments of my life was when I went to 10 Downing Street and when you go in you have to give your phone and coat in for security. I was wearing a dress that had a zip top to bottom at the back. 'I went to the loo and as I went to pull my skirt up the zip just went bang and the dress just split in half. There was nothing I could do about it. 'Luckily I was wearing huge knickers but I couldn't ring anyone to come and help me. I had to wait until a lady came in and I had to say can you go and find my husband and ask him to bring my coat?' Working hard: In addition to her jobs on DOI, This Morning and Celebrity Juice, busy bee Holly is currently working on a mystery project with Dunelm Enjoying herself: Earlier this week, she took to Instagram to tease the production as she posed in front of a bed while smiling brightly for the camera Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday rechristened Kolkata Port Trust after Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee, drawing criticism from the opposition camp, which said he was more of a "name-changer" than a "game-changer". Modi, while addressing the 150th anniversary programme of Kolkata Port Trust, invoked Mookerjee and BR Ambedkar and said their contributions had led to the development of the country post Independence, but suggestions made by them were not implemented after they resigned from the government. "I announce that the Kolkata Port Trust will now be known as Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port. He was the father of industrialisation in India, a man who made sacrifices for one nation and one Constitution," Modi said, while addressing the ceremony at Netaji Indoor Stadium here. Hinting at a change of guard in 2021 Assembly polls, he said the West Bengal government was not implementing central schemes as it did not help "syndicates" (cartels), but people in this state would not have to miss out on the benefits for long. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was scheduled to attend the port trust programme, was conspicuous by her absence. None of the Trinamool Congress ministers were also present at the event. "When there is no syndicate or cut money involved, why would someone implement central government schemes? I don't know whether they (state government) would give approval for central schemes such as Ayushman Bharat Yojana, PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, but if they do, people of Bengal will be able to enjoy their benefits," he said. The prime minister also claimed that he was pained to see that the poor in the state was not getting the benefits of the Centre's welfare schemes. "Eight crore farmers across the country are getting benefited (due to the central schemes). But there will always be pain in my heart (about the schemes not being implemented in Bengal). I will always pray to god for the welfare of farmers and poor patients. May god give them (Bengal government) good sense... "However, I have a feeling that the people of West Bengal will not remain deprived of central schemes for long," he insisted. Modi, who released a commemorative stamp on the occasion, said his government at the Centre was making every possible effort to develop Bengal, its poor, underprivileged and exploited sections. He also inaugurated and laid foundation of infrastructure projects for the expansion and modernisation of the Kolkata Port. "Development of waterways has improved Kolkata Port Trust's connectivity with industrial centres in east India, made trade easier for our neighbouring countries, Bhutan, Myanmar and Nepal. "Our country's coasts are gateways to development, the (central) government has started the Sagarmala programme to improve connectivity," Modi added. Criticising the prime minister's move to rename the port, CPI(M) politburo member Mohammed Salim said Modi had turned into a "name-changer" rather than being a "game- changer", contrary to what the saffron camp had claimed when it came to power in 2014. "When Narendra Modi came to power, we thought his government will be a game-changer. Now we see that the government is more of a name-changer. This name-changing, however, will not have any material impact on the port's performance," Salim said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Jerri-Lynn Scofield, who has worked as a securities lawyer and a derivatives trader. She is currently writing a book about textile artisans. Just about every days brings yet more grim news about threats to the natural world: the horror of climate change, the scourge of plastic, the collapse of biodiversity, and the insect apocalypse, to list only some calamities thatve popped into my mind. Science on Friday published some good news: the discovery of five new species and five new subspecies of songbirds on some tiny islands near the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. This is an unusual find; typically, only about a half dozen new bird species are discovered each year, worldwide, dding to the known aggregate of nearly 10,000 species across the globe. As Science News reports in A bonanza of new bird species was found on remote Indonesian islands Evolutionary biologist Frank Rheindt at the National University of Singapore had an inkling these remote, forested islands with mountain highlands held an unrecognized wealth of bird life. The islands Taliabu, Peleng and the Togian group sit in the middle of Wallacea, a geologically and biologically complex region of Southeast Asia. But deep waters separate the islands from the nearest large landmass of Sulawesi, limiting opportunities for many animals to intermingle across the region. This includes tropical forest birds, which rarely venture out from the shady cover of the forest, let alone fly kilometers over open ocean. In searching for new species, its very important to pick deep-sea islands, Rheindt says. Those are the ones that are likely to have endemic species that are not shared with other landmasses. Even more encouraging, the islands interior highlands hadnt received much attention from European explorers or naturalists, who instead had focused on the coasts, he says. Alfred Russel Wallace Indonesia figures large in the history of our understanding of the natural world, for it was during travels through the Malay Archipelago in the 19th century that the British explorer Alfred Russel Wallace interpreted his observations and developed what later came to be known as the theory of evolution. Darwin garnered most of the credit for that breakthrough in human thought, although Wallace and he independently developed the theory. According to The Guardian, Alfred Russel Wallace, the forgotten man of evolution, gets his moment: Alfred Russel Wallace is far from a household name, but he changed the world. Recovering from a bout of malaria on the remote Indonesian island of Halmahera, the young British biologist came up with an idea that would transform humanitys view of itself: he worked out the theory of natural selection. Wallace wrote down his idea and sent it to Charles Darwin, who had been contemplating a similar theory of evolution for more than a decade. Both versions were read to members of the Linnean Society in 1858. Today Darwin is the man who gets the lions share of the credit for a theory that provides the mechanism to explain how a species can be slowly transformed into another. Wallace has been forgotten I was on a trip to Malaysia a few years ago and discovered there was a huge group of Indonesian islands known as Wallacea, named after Wallace, [comedian Bill Bailey, a committed fan of the biologist] told the Observer. He is still considered to be a hugely important figure there but has been ignored in Britain. I got interested and became absorbed by the man, like so many other individuals have been. There is a sort of secret society of Wallace fans. Mention his name and you create a frisson of interest among these people. I, too, am a big Wallace fan, and I can recommend his book, The Malay Archipelago, highly. Part travelogue, part scientific tome, the book chronicles Wallaces adventures during eight years of exploration through what is now Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Wallace traversed more than 14,000 miles and collected more than 125,000 samples of birds, plants, animals, and insects. I first read his book whilst traveling in Indonesia, and I found it far more readable than anything Darwin had written. Click on the Project Gutenberg link below, included in The Guardian article about Wallace, and see for yourself. Wallace formulated what came to be known as Wallaces line, a biogeographic border that separates distinct distributions of flora and fauna. According to an article in Discover magazine, Mr. Wallaces Line: As Wallace described it, the line runs between Bali and Lombok, then continues north between the larger islands of Borneo and Celebes. Wallace recognized that on the west side of his line, Borneo and Bali, although they are islands, are home to representatives of most major groups of Asian mainland species. Many or most of those same groups, however, are absent on Celebes and Lombok, the islands just to the east of his line. Celebes is now known as Sulawesi, so its fitting that this latest songbird discovery should have occurred where it did. And as the New York Times reports, Trove of New Bird Species Found on Remote Indonesian Islands: Andrew Berry, a lecturer on evolutionary biology at Harvard University, said via email that Wallace would have loved the new study, because it targeted the same types of locations remote and geologically unusual that Wallace favored during his exploration of Southeast Asia from 1854 to 1862. Wallace described nearly 2 percent of all known bird species during his time there, Dr. Berry said, conducting the kind of basic descriptive biology that undergirds this new research. Identifying new species might seem unsexy, the scientific equivalent of stamp collecting, Dr. Berry said. Wallace was extraordinarily prescient about this, he said, complaining as early as 1863 that his fellow Victorians were hypocrites in their insistence, as creationists, that each species was the handiwork of God, yet all the while failing to lift a finger to conserve them. In an essay, Wallace wrote that: Future ages will certainly look back upon us as a people so immersed in the pursuit of wealth as to be blind to higher considerations. They will charge us with having culpably allowed the destruction of some of those records of Creation which we had it in our power to preserve; and while professing to regard every living thing as the direct handiwork and best evidence of a Creator, yet, with a strange inconsistency, seeing many of them perish irrecoverably from the face of the earth, uncared for and unknown. Allow me to share a bit more about Wallace, Darwin, and who got the credit for the theory of evolution, as its a story that should be more widely known, but isnt, as well as mention some details about other admirers of Wallaces book. Over to The Guardian again: In 1858, in Halmahera, Wallace wrote his essay on natural selection and posted it to Darwin. Darwin and his friends, the botanist Joseph Hooker and Charles Lyell, were horrified. Darwin had been working on a similar theory for several years and now faced the prospect of being robbed of glory. Lyell and Hooker arranged a reading for Wallaces paper and for a hastily written one by Darwin at the same meeting of the Linnean Society. It was a rather shabby trick, said Bailey. Wallace had sent his paper to Darwin to help get it published. Unluckily for him, he sent it to the one person in the world who had a vested interest in not seeing in print. Lyell and Hooker intervened and a reading was arranged instead. Darwins paper was read first and he is the one we now remember as the man who came up with the idea of natural selection. Wallace should have got priority, but it was Darwin, the man with the connections, who got the glory. In fact, Wallace did fairly well when he came back to Britain and he produced an extremely popular book, The Malay Archipelago, which provides a vivid, highly readable account of his travels in the East Indies. At one point he admits to sleeping comfortably one night with half-a-dozen smoke-dried human skulls suspended over my head. Joseph Conrad kept a copy of the book on his bedside table and drew on it for his own works, including Lord Jim. More recently, David Attenborough has admitted reading the book as a schoolboy and credits it with stimulating his interest in the natural world. New Songbirds Back to the matter at hand: the discovery of these previously unknown songbirds. As Science News tells the story: Most of the birds in the study were found on Taliabu, the largest and highest of the islands. Based on the birds physical features, DNA and variations in their songs, the researchers identified the five new species and five new subspecies. Some were visually striking, such as the fiery red-orange male Taliabu Myzomela honeyeater (Myzomela wahe) and the yellow-bellied Togian jungle-flycatcher (Cyornis omissus omississimus) with a cap of iridescent blue feathers on its head. This is an amazing discovery, and it brought a smile to my face in a month when much of the nature news has been so deeply depressing. Alas, even this songbird news isnt all positive; these new birds are subject to the same stresses that have wiped out other species. As Science News reports: Many of the newly described bird species and subspecies are threatened by habitat loss driven by logging and increasingly frequent and severe forest fires (SN: 10/13/11). Of particular concern is the Taliabu grasshopper-warbler, which has been squeezed into tiny vestiges of highland habitat. The species might not survive beyond a few decades, Rheindt says. But conserving species requires first knowing whats out there, so studies like these are important, he says. Time is limited, and biodiversity is going down the drain. The lack of appreciation of the need for conservation is something Wallace well recognised. Plus ca change Former army ranger and military medical officer, Dr Cathal Berry, will stand in the general election campaigning for better defence forces pay and conditions, he has confirmed. Dr Berry will field as an Independent candidate in a newly expanded four-seat Kildare South constituency which gains an extra TD for this election. He argues that, with 3,000 serving soldiers and ex-army members registered as voters there, plus their extended families in the constituency, he can cause an upset and take a seat. Im getting messages of support from former colleagues in Lebanon, from Syria, Mali and elsewhere. Theyre contacting their families, friends and neighbours at home already canvassing for me, the candidate said. Dr Berry said he was very proud of the Defence Forces and all the men and women serving there. But the appalling rates of pay are blatantly wrong and illegal. For example they get 3 per hour for night duty and 4 per hour for weekend duties. Its in breach of the minimum wage act, he said. Irish people are basically fair-minded and they need to know the facts in full. The minimum wage is set to go to 10.10 per hour on February 1. The only exemptions in law are if youre employed by a close relative or youre under 18 years, he continued. The candidate argues that soldiers, sailors and flight personnel are taken advantage of by the Department of Defence. They know those guys cant strike, they know they cant speak out. So, they say lets turn the screw here, he added. The Independent candidate became a member of the elite commando ranger wing in 2002. Later he took a career break and completed medical studies at his own expense before re-joining the Defence Forces as a medical officer. He argues that he can appeal to voters beyond the army community in Kildare South. I have a huge interest in education, in health and housing. I served as army housing officer in the Curragh Camp for some time, he added. Dr Berry pays tribute to some other politicians, notably Fianna Fail TD for the constituency Fiona OLoughlin for her support on better pay. The other current sitting TDs are Fine Gaels Martin Heydon and the Ceann Comhairle, Sean O Fearghail who will be returned automatically. Because of the extra seat, there is an opening, and we are not out to take anybodys seat. We believe we can win, he said. Dr Berry contrasted the treatment of former Fine Gael Cork North-Central TD, Dara Murphy, with that of serving Defence Forces members. He got two salaries and a golden parachute when he broke his contract with the people of his constituency. A soldier who wishes to leave early has to buy himself or herself out. Imagine somebody with a low-paid job in Tesco having to pay to move to McDonalds? he asked. Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) vice-chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar should be dismissed and investigated for his role in January 5 violence in the campus, the fact finding-committee of the Congress has recommended. The five-member panel has also called for an independent judicial enquiry into the events of January 5. The panel also recommended that an independent inquiry should be set up to look at all appointments made from January 27, 2016, when Jagadesh Kumar was appointed. It also said that all other financial and administrative decisions which were taken during his tenure should also be probed. It has said a criminal investigation must also be initiated against the company that provides security on campus and faculty member, who conspired with the attackers to unleash the violence at Sabarmati and Periyar hostels and other places. The security companys contract must be immediately terminated, it said. Fix accountability of the Commissioner of Delhi Police and other police officials because of police failure to act on the emergency calls by the students and faculty members on 05/01/2020 and in light of the overwhelming prima facie evidence that they facilitated the criminal elements on campus, its report says. Another key recommendation is an immediate rollback of the fee hike as implemented by the university authorities and recognition of JNUSU as an elected body so that proper consultation can take place between the administration and the students on the fee and other issues. The committee, comprising Mahila Congress chief Sushmita Dev, Congress MP Hibi Eden, former JNUSU president Syed Answer Hussain and former NSUI and DUSU president Amrita Dhawan, spent time with students, teachers and officials of JNU on January 8. A mob of masked people armed with rods and sticks had stormed the JNU campus on January 5 and assaulted students and faculty members, and vandalised property, leaving several people injured. Before that, two students groups allegedly clashed over the semester registration process on January 3. Violence was again reported on January 4. Left-backed students bodies and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) have blamed each other for the violence. Delhi Police have 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. She has denied all allegations. First, let us stipulate that Qassem Soleimani was an evil man. He led the Quds force in Syria to protect dictator Bashar al-Assad. The amount of force needed to keep Assad in power resulted in the deaths of half a million Syrians a well as many others in the region. Soleimani was the mastermind of Irans offensive strategies and directed it from the control center and on the battlefield. Still, killing General Soleimani was a high-stakes gamble that will have repercussions that may last for years. The New York Times reported that the action was ordered after an array of other options were considered in the aftermath of the attack on our embassy. Several of the presidents own advisors admitted that they were taken aback at the decision. General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was asked about the dangers to the United States after killing Soleimani. Is there risk? he asked reporters at the Pentagon. Damn right. Removing Soleimani was the equivalent of taking out the presidents Chief of Staff or our Secretary of State or both. Iran is not likely to stand down after they launch a few protest missiles. There will be reprisals. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was quick to take a victory lap on the Sunday talk shows and tossed an insultingly simple message to us: We took a bad guy off the battlefield, he said. Sorry, Mr. Secretary, its not that simple. The president also chirped in with the completely ludicrous claim that retaliatory Iranian missile attack was funded by the Obama administration. Lets be honest about it: much of the turbulence with Iran is a direct result of President Trumps unilateral withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement. A dozen allied nations were party to that deal. It had already achieved its objective of halting Irans nuclear weapons program and showed promise for turning an enemy into a long-term trading partner. Given his ongoing obsession with destroying any progress made by his predecessor, though, Trump blew up the deal. Instead of progress with Iran, we are now looking at long term hostility and a renewed possibility of more nuclear weapons in the powder keg of the Middle East. The death of General Soleimani has already spurred anti-American sentiment across the region. The Iraqi Parliament voted to expel more than five thousand American troops, bringing our six-year campaign against ISIS to a standstill. Taking direct aim at high value targets has consequences. It is no wonder that Congress and the American people are asking for details. In the classified after-action report to Congress, even Republican lawmakers were taken aback when Trump officials confirmed that the threat of an Iranian attack was not imminent, and the Trump administration continues to withhold information even from Senators with top security clearances. The fact is that both Bush and Obama had similar opportunities to take out Soleimani. Both believed that making a martyr of the man would be worse that containing him. While the president and his minions claim that Iran is standing down, tell that to one million Iranis who took to the streets shouting death to America in the wake of Soleimanis death. Who really believes that there will be no further attacks on our troops or on American targets abroad and on our own soil? Yes, Soleimani is dead. Yes, this is a good thing. But let us remember that America did not become the shining light on the hill by raining hellfire on its enemies. The new Trump doctrine to impose pain as a negotiating tool is the stuff of tyrants, not thoughtful leaders. In the classic movie Ben Hur, Charlton Heston commands his powerful horses and chariot as he competes in the Coliseum. He must contend with adversaries who employ every devious means to destroy him and his cause. In the modern-day version of the movie, we have a protagonist who is only too willing to be first to shatter the spokes of the other chariots wheels. Winning seems to justify first strikes. America is the land of the free and the home of the brave because it has used its power selectively. We have extended the hand of friendship to friend and vanquished foe alike. Up until now, that has been the formula for Americas true greatness. It is a far cry from leadership that obliterates targets with a touch of a button and then brags about American strength at mindless political rallies. Mark S. Singel is a former Democratic Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania. He and Republican Charlie Gerow can be seen at 8:30 a.m. each Sunday on CBS21s Face the State DAKAR, Senegal France has called five African presidents to a meeting on Monday to disavow rising anti-French hostility in their countries, work out how to stop the rapid advance of armed Islamist extremists in their region and determine whether France will remain deeply engaged in that fight. France could withdraw its 4,500 soldiers, President Emmanuel Macron has said, if the leaders of Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mauritania do not answer questions to his satisfaction. That warning came as the United States also considers pulling troops from the region. Many analysts say the French and Americans are making empty threats when they talk about leaving the Sahel, a semiarid area stretching more than 2,000 miles across West and Central Africa that is plagued by violent groups loosely affiliated with the Islamic State and Al Qaeda. But their warnings illustrate the allied nations frustration with extremist gains, and with one another. France, the five countries former colonial ruler, initially intervened in 2013 to oust rebels and Islamist militants who had taken control of northern Mali in the wake of Libyas descent into chaos. The militants regrouped, and now extremist-related violence is rising fast, doubling every year since 2015. He was even outspoken of the benefits of nuclear power after the Fukushima accident. All this led to fights with Cuomo and some environmental groups, which Bloomberg then was able to tough out. Today, Bloombergs extensive campaign website plan for addressing climate change omits mentioning nuclear power. There is simply no credible way to address climate change without keeping and expanding Americas nuclear power generation. And with many coal plants continuing to be retired, 24/7 consistently generated nuclear power is important for grid reliability. In October 2019 the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that nuclear accounts for 53% of Americas non-emitting electricity. Hydro plants, most of which were developed decades ago, account for 19%. Further, nuclear plants are bought and paid for and typically able to generate low-cost electricity. The capital expenses for vast renewable generation are substantial and will be especially burdensome to the poor. Rather than trying to hide from his previously strong support of nuclear power, a fools errand in the digital age, Bloomberg should double down on nuclear by emphasizing the following. One morning, back in August of 2017, the gang on Fox & Friends, President Trumps favorite news program, was in the midst of a feverish MAGA panic over nothing less than the eradication of history, as Laura Ingraham called it. It was just days after the Charlottesville, Va. protests, a violent and, in one tragic case, fatal clash between white supremacists and counter-protesters in which many of the former chanted slogans like white lives matter and Jews will not replace us. Nevertheless, Trump had insisted, Many of those people were there to protest the taking down of the statue of Robert E. Lee. When you see bands of criminals, which is what they were yesterday, ripping down public property and being celebrated in the American media for doing so, we have a real problem on our hands, seethed Ingraham on Fox. How long, she continued, before they show up at Monticello, where I spent three years in law school at Charlottesville in Virginia? How long before they show up at Mount Vernon? Or Mount Rushmore, added Pete Hegseth. The lefts persistent efforts to supposedly rewrite Americas sometimes ugly history has become such a cornerstone of Foxs culture war coverage that more than a year later, Ingraham was talking about the destruction of Confederate statues again, this time, using even stronger language. This recalls the kind of destructive mindset of lets say, ISIS, she said in December 2018. Think about ISIS, what they did, they pillaged and they wiped away irreplaceable historical and religious monuments. From Palmyra remember, in Syria? simply because they could. In the wake of the U.S. killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Iraq, President Trump has threatened to target 52 Iranian sites if that country retaliates, some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, he tweeted. Even as administration officials distanced themselves from the threat, he then reiterated it. Never mind that the intentional targeting of cultural sites is an unambiguous war crime under the 1954 Hague Convention which is likely why Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Sec. of Defense Mark Esper have publicly attempted to rule that out. At least one Fox friend was suddenly unconcerned with this particular culture war. I dont care about Iranian cultural sites, and Ill tell you why, Pete Hegseth said Monday night. If you understand the Islamic Republic of Iran, of Islamists, if they could come, if they had the power, they would destroy every single one of our cultural sites and build a mosque on top of it. Trumps propagandists are known for many things. Intellectual consistency is not one of them. (Just ask them what they now think of American intelligence now that Trump is using it to justify the drone strike.) What we are genuinely being asked to believe is that when the American left destroys cultural sites like Confederate monuments, its bad. When ISIS destroys cultural sites in Syria, its really bad. When Iran might do it, its triple-dog bad. But when Trump proposes it, it is right and just. There are many reasons why destroying a cultures important and unique history is an abominable idea. For one, as the late British scholar Paul Connerton wrote in How Societies Remember, the erasure of cultural memory is a technique perfected by totalitarian regimes, an act of mental enslavement and forced forgetting perpetrated against myriad societies throughout history, from the Jews in Nazi Germany to the Caucusus in the 2000s. We should not align with this worldview. For another, destroying the sites, some of which are revered by perhaps 1.9 billion Islamic people around the world or 25% of the population is not only illegal and undemocratic, but likely a very bad political idea. If the president claims to love the Iranian people, bombing their shrines and statues hardly conveys that to them, or other Iranians and Muslims around the world. Finally, the Islamic extremism espoused by Soleimani, as well as any other kind of extremist ideology, is dangerous and odious not just because of its indiscriminate violence, but because it attempts to erode and erase entire cultures. Trumps explicit interest in attacking Iranian culture reeks of the very same extremism he and his cohorts routinely and rightly denounce. Its also antithetical to his promise to end forever wars and reverse George W. Bushs interventionism. The opposite of nation-building is leaving a nation to its own cultural, political and structural affinities, not obliterating the ones America deems irrelevant or inherently malignant. Here at home, what Trumps proposal reveals is just how disingenuous his domestic culture war is. Trumps supposed belief in the importance of national identity is a self-serving racket, a cheap trick he plays on his voters, many of whom do actually believe the parts of American culture they care about are being diminished. Preying on those anxieties wins him fans and voters, and so he does it. But destroying culture cant only be bad when it belongs to us. And anyone who believes that cares little for the intrinsic value of culture Americas or anyone elses. S.E. Cupp is the host of S.E. Cupp Unfiltered on CNN. S-Oil CEO Hussain Al-Qahtani, right, gives an employee a high five during the company's hiking event to commemorate the New Year on Mount Cheonggye in southern Seoul, Saturday. During the event, Al-Qahtani said the refiner plans to expand desulfurization facilities and ongoing petrochemical projects this year to comply with strengthening international regulations on sulfur content in fuels and respond to changing market conditions. Courtesy of S-Oil US telco Sprint is getting set to launch its Curiosity IoT platform in the Australian market through a new relationship with Telstra. Sprint says its announcement is the first in a series of efforts by the company to enable international IoT solutions, and that going beyond roaming, the relationship with Telstra will allow for local breakout in Australia, helping to improve roundtrip time and enabling better performance of customers IoT applications The telco says Curriosity IoT service is expected to be available in Australia in the first half of this year (2020). "Curiosity IoT will add a new layer of capability to customers IoT needs in Australia," said Ivo Rook, senior vice president of IoT and product development for Sprint. "We are thrilled to be working together with Telstra to extend our access with full visibility across deployments, helping our customers benefit from the Curiosity IoT platform when their business takes them to Australia." Gerhard Loots, head of Global IoT solutions for Telstra said: "Our agreement with Sprint makes it effortless for IoT customers with international needs to implement solutions in Australia, with access to local in-country profiles. "Our local profiles will provide Curiosity IoT customers with a local point-of-presence in Australia which will be very helpful as a service differentiator, especially for latency sensitive applications." To cement the Telstra and Sprint relationship, Sprint says that one of the first customer deals has been inked with Wagz, an animal-loving connected pet company that offers smart tracking and feeding solutions. Wagz now has access to the Telstra network in Australia to extend its global reach through the Curiosity IoT platform. "We are excited to continue with our mission to bring the connected pet lifestyle to families across the globe thanks to connectivity that enables our innovative technologies with Sprint Curiosity IoT," said Wagz CEO, Terry Anderton. From device and connectivity management to international expansion, Curiosity IoT continues to demonstrate true partnership with existing capabilities and plans." The Volta Regional branch of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Sunday, January 12, 2020 ended a three-day fasting and prayer session to start its 2020 electioneering and political activities. Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in Regional and constituency executives of the party and some Members of Parliament last Friday joined Muslims at Old Zongo Mosque, Ho Workers Estate, to pray for the party. According to a report by Ghana News Agency(GNA), the party members also worshiped with the Xorla Seventh Day Adventist Church before climaxing with Sunday worship at the Winners Chapel International at Ho Dome. READ ALSO: 13 political parties endorse move for new voters' register The Regional Secretary of the Party, James Gunu revealed that the spiritual activity was to seek the face of God ahead of the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections. The Volta Regional Vice Chairman of the NDC, George Loh, said the exercise had cleared all barriers for the Party to win the 2020 polls. It is good we are here at the Winners Chapel because we are winning this years elections. 2020 is indeed a year of breaking limits and enough is enough for the challenges facing Ghana. We are breaking those limits for victory in 2020, he said. The Church prayed for total peace for Ghana before, during and after the elections. READ ALSO: Ghanaians heavily descend on lady for 'senselessly' leaking her convo with Kan Dapaah In other news, thirteen political parties have endorsed the Electoral Commissions decision to put together a new voters' register ahead of the polls in December 2020. According to the 13 political parties, the EC has made a good case for their decision to compile a new register. The coalition of political parties at a press conference in Accra on Thursday, January 9, 2020, said they are all voting YES for the new register. READ ALSO: Kan Dapaah: Video of National Security Minister and his girlfriend leaks online Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page. Source: YEN.com.gh Ottawa, Jan 12 : Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the phone after Tehran admitted to have "unintentionally" downed a Ukrainian airliner last week, killing all 176 people on board. Addressing the media here on Saturday, Trudeau said he told Rouhani that Iran's admission was an important step in providing answers for families, but more must be done, reports Xinhua news agency. "A full and complete investigation must be conducted," Trudeau said. "We need full clarity on how such a horrific tragedy could have occurred." During their conversation, Rouhani promised further investigation into the circumstances surrounding the plane crash. Rouhani said that the investigation by the Iranian military found that the missiles that caused the downing of the plane were fired due to "human error". He said Iran welcomes any international cooperation in the framework of international regulations to shed more light on the incident. The talks comes after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) admitted earlier on Saturday that one of its missiles had downed the Kiev-bound Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight PS75 on January 8. It said Iran was on "high alert" that day because of the US threats of possibly hitting 52 spots in the country, the operator of the missile launch site was concerned about a possible "US cruise missile". The passenger plane was mistaken for a "US cruise missile". The crash occurred on the same day 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. One of the 16 pangolins rescued in Thanh Hoa Province in north central Vietnam on January 10, 2020. Photo by Vietnam News Agency. Thanh Hoa Police said Saturday that 16 pangolins being taken in a car to be sold in Hanoi have been seized. Traffic police found the live pangolins, weighing 71 kilos in total, after they stopped a four-seater car on National Highway 1A in the north central province of Thanh Hoa for violating traffic rules. The driver, Nguyen Van Phu, 37, and another man in the car failed to provide any legal documents for the animals. They told the police that theyd been paid to take the scaly anteaters to Hanoi. They also said the pangolins were to be sold to consumers in Hanoi and other northern localities. Provincial police are working with forest rangers to investigate the case further. Local reports did not mention if the men have been detained or the pangolins transferred to a conservation center. Trafficking of pangolins is not uncommon in Vietnam, where they are legally protected and classified as endangered. The defenseless animals are sought after within the country and in neighboring nations for their meat and the alleged medicinal properties of their scales. New Delhi [India], Jan 12 (ANI): Tihar jail officials on Sunday said that dummy execution of the convicts of the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case was performed here. According to the officials, the dummy was created in sacks filled with debris and stones, as per the weight of the convicts. They also added that hangman Pawan Jallad was not called for the dummy execution, however, a jail official performed it. All four convicts in the Nirbhaya case will be executed on January 22 at 7 am in cell 3 in Tihar Jail, the same place where Afzal Guru, the terrorist convicted for Parliament attack case, was hanged. The officials said they will be hanged together. A court in Delhi issued death warrants against all the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape case. The convicts -- Pawan Gupta, Akshay, Vinay Sharma, and Mukesh Singh -- will be hanged at 7 am on January 22. (ANI) Air Asia flight operating from Kolkata to Mumbai made mid-air turn back for an emergency landing after a passenger reported carrying explosives and warned of dire consequences. The airlines, in a statement, said: "AirAsia flight operating from Kolkata to Mumbai made a mid-air turn back for a precautionary landing after a passenger reported carrying explosives and warned of dire consequences." It said that the AirAsia India operations coordinated with Kolkata Air traffic control (ATC) to initiate an immediate landing in Kolkata. "Post landing, the aircraft was secured with the assistance of airport security staff and all the protocols were followed by the concerned agencies and the individual in question was detained," AirAsia said. The airlines added that all the guests were taken care of and were provided with an alternate arrangement of aircraft to Mumbai again. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) CNN has agreed to a settlement worth $76 million with the National Labor Relations Board, in a backpay dispute battle involving union workers that had been going on since 2003. The $76 million is the largest monetary remedy in the history of the National Labor Relations Board. The backpay amount, larger than what the Agency collects on average in a typical year, is expected to benefit over 300 individuals. The settlement demonstrates the Boards continued commitment to enforcing the law and ensuring employees who were treated unfairly obtain the monetary relief ordered by the Board, General Counsel Peter B. Robb said. A representative for CNN did not immediately respond to TheWraps request for comment. Also Read: CNN Settles Defamation Lawsuit With Covington Student Nicholas Sandmann The dispute first started in 2003 after CNN terminated its contract with Team Video Services, which provided CNN video services in Washington D.C. and New York. CNN then hired new employees for the same job without bargaining with the two unions that represented TVS employees. The NLRB said that CNN was trying to operate as a nonunion workplace, telling workers that their prior employment with TVS and union affiliation disqualified them from employment. In 2008, an administrative law judge found that CNN violated the National Labor Relations Act. In 2014, the NLRB agreed and ordered CNN to bargain with the unions and provide backpay. In 2017, a panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, including Chief Judge Merrick Garland and then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh (now a Supreme Court judge), adopted the majority of the Boards findings, and enforced the Boards order that CNN cease and desist from refusing to recognize and bargain with the unions. All parties agreed to resolve their dispute through the Boards Alternative Dispute Resolution program. On Friday, a spokesperson for CNN told TheWrap, After more than a decade of litigation, negotiation and appeals we are pleased to have resolved a longstanding legal matter. Read original story CNN to Pay Record $76 Million in Settlement With National Labor Relations Board At TheWrap The obvious requirement is building trust and confidence while winning hearts and minds between the two peoples. Has this happened after The War was officially declared to be over a decade ago? by Gamini Weerakoon Efforts made through 72 years with three constitutions the last with 19 amendments to find a legal formula to bring political and economic stability to Lanka have been futile and now, once again, the country is making an effort to find that elusive formula. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, addressing the Ceremonial Opening of Parliament on January 3, noted that the 1978 Constitution which has been amended on 19 occasions has given rise to many problems at the present time because of its inherent ambiguities and confusions. To safeguard the security, sovereignty, stability and integrity of our country, it was essential that changes be made to the existing constitution, he contended. Even though elections can be won through numbers, an unstable parliament that cannot take clear decisions and remains constantly under the influence of extremism is not one that suits the country. He claimed that this problem can be resolved through constitutional reforms with a strong executive, legislature and independent judiciary that can ensure the sovereignty of the people. Certainly, some provisions of the constitution as they are today left by the Yahapalanaya government need to be amended. If President Rajapaksa intends a drastic overhaul of the constitution as what happened to the first constitution and the United Front government constitution, both of which were stood on their heads the fallout of such changes need intense deliberations. Constitutions, however wonderful they may appear to be to their makers and their supporters, may not only fail to produce expected results but could make matters far worse for the country. A reflection on the state of affairs during the period of the first constitution and of today will be food for thought. The Soulbury Constitution enabled good governance for eight years until the vital clause protecting minorities was bypassed and the Sinhala Only was adopted as the state language. The then ruling United National Party that backed the Sinhala Only move split up immediately with Tamil members leaving the party and when the 1956 General Election was held it suffered an ignominious defeat with S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike riding the crest of the wave of Sinhala nationalism sweeping the polls. The UNPs decision to go along with Sinhala Only did not result in an electoral victory and instead brought ruination. It took 9 years for the party to return to power. In 197O, the United Front government led by Sirima Bandaranaike and allied with Trotskyites and Stalinists swept the polls obtaining more than a two-thirds majority in Parliament. They threw out the White Mans Constitution, changed the name of Ceylon to Sri Lanka , drew up a truly Sri Lankan constitution and went along not only with Sinhala Only but even enacted a special constitutional provision giving Buddhism the foremost place over other religions. The Tamils boycotted sittings of the Constitutional Assembly and the estrangement of the communities drew further apart. The Marxist politicians who had vehemently opposed Sinhala Only and strongly advocated parity of status for both languages for reasons best known to themselves went along with the Sinhala Buddhist line of Sirima Bandaranaike. In a few years time, the Marxists fell out with the Bandaranaikes SLFP and she went to the polls in 1977, with her party being wiped out to a point of near extinction by J.R. Jayewardenes rejuvenated UNP. Her Sinhala Buddhist nationalism failed to stall the onslaught of J.R. Jayewardene who bagged a record five-sixth majority in parliament giving him absolute power. JR, too, enacted a new constitution a Gaullist Constitution with himself as Executive President vested with immense executive powers and a parliament subservient to him. During his two term tenure, he accomplished many of the tasks he set before himself but failed in establishing good relations with Tamil political parties, including the TULF, and his relations with Tamil youth groups deteriorated alarmingly. This took relations with Tamils and India to rock bottom in 1986 with the arrival of Indian troops uninvited by him. The government of Sirima Bandaranaike had absolute power with a two- third majority in Parliament. The governments of J.R. Jayewardene (two terms) were vested with strong powers of the Executive Presidency and he had a parliament in the palm of his hand. And both rulers had constitutions made to their desires. But these did not result in creating political stability and economic prosperity in the country they had hoped for. Where both rulers failed was in meeting the aspirations of the Tamil people and having a continuous dialogue with the democratic Tamil politicians and their parties, when possible. Chandrika Kumaratunga was a president different to all others. She started on a note of friendship flying to Jaffna on being elected and greeted by the Tamil people and welcomed by Tamil parties but that honeymoon ended soon when Prabhakaran out of the blues sank two navy gun boats in Trincomalee harbour. He nearly missed murdering her at a Colombo Town Hall rally. Innumerable political solutions in the form of constitutional proposals were tried out by the regimes of J.R. Jayewardene, Chandrika Kumaratunga and Ranil Wickremasnghe as the prime minister of the Kumaratunga presidency. But all these efforts came to naught. Thus can the new Constitution thought out by Gotabaya Rajapaksas think tanks over four years work out and bring about communal amity? Will the backing of a preponderantly strong determined majority as expressed in the presidential election, and parliament backing with a two thirds majority which the president hopes for make Tamils change their minds? Or have both Sinhala governments and Tamil parties and groups been looking away from the elephant in the room the mutual distrust and even hatred that exist between members of the two communities after the events of the past 30 years? If this mistrust prevails, all the cosmetic legal devices and proposals are bound to fail as they have failed before. The obvious requirement is building trust and confidence while winning hearts and minds between the two peoples. Has this happened after The War was officially declared to be over a decade ago? Constitutions produced by academics and politicians must necessarily embody the consensus of all significant sections of the populace. Ignoring a significant communitys desires or worse suppressing such desires because of conflicts of opinion of the majority cannot obviously bring about political stability or foster economic progress. The 1972 constitution of Sirima Bandaranaike and the 1978 Constitution of J.R. Jayewardene should be seen in that light when thinking about a new constitution. The view of the people being embodied in the constitutional proposals has been elegantly expressed by Robert Kennedy. The glory of justice and the majesty of the law are created not just by the constitution nor by courts nor by lawyers but by men and women who constitute our society, who are the protectors of the law as they themselves are protected by the law. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has called the December 15 police action on the students of Jamia Millia Islamia, a blot on the nation. Tharoor made the comments on Sunday in New Delhi while addressing a group of students from the university, protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Whatever happened on December 15, is a blot on nation. Without any provocation, without any intimation to the vice chancellor, they (police) entered hostels and attacked women students. Students studying in library were attacked, which is a shame, shame, shame and not acceptable at all, he told the cheering crowd. Hundreds of students and teachers have been protesting outside the varsity gate no-7 since December 15, when several students were injured in violent clashes with the Delhi police. Tharoor said the CAA was discriminatory and against the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, who sacrificed his life for the unity of the nation and for the unity of Hindus and Muslims. WATCH | Anti-CAA protest: Congress Shashi Tharoor joins stir at Jamia, Shaheen Bagh India, which Mahatma Gandhi wanted to see, will not be the India after the introduction of religion in the CAA, he said, before launching a stinging attack on the Narendra Modi government. What has been done by the government is discriminatory and is an effort to marginalise one community in India. That is why we had opposed the introduction of the bill in the Parliament, as it brought for the first time religion in the Citizenship Act, he said. Tharoor said Indian citizenship cant be decided on the basis of religion. Religion was nowhere mentioned in the Citizenship Act until the BJP-led government incorporated it in the CAA. This is not something we can accept, he said. Tharoor, was accompanied by Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Subhash Chopra, who said the CAA will be followed by all-India National Register of Citizens, which he claimed singles out one community for proving its citizenship. Tharoor said the protesting students of Jamia were the hope of the nation. He reminded the students about Jamias history of resistance to the British rule and its association with Gandhis Khilafat Movement. You all should know that when Gandhi came here, he had said Jamia should continue fighting and if it needs money, I will go with a begging bowl and I will save Jamia. Today Jamia is one of the great universities of our country, Tharoor said. Tharoor said the spirit of resistance shown by Jamia was an inspiration to all who believed in democracy. We stand with you. We stand with the courage you have shown and the faith you have shown in the Constitution of India, he said to loud cheers. The police had entered the varsity library on December 15 and forcibly evicted students protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act. The students alleged they were roughed up, while the police claimed that several miscreants who had attacked police with stones were hiding among the students. On the occasion of the 157th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took to Twitter to express her wishes to the revered monk. In her post, Vadra posted a picture of Vivekananda's quote from his Chicago speech, with the hashtag" #SwamiVivekanandaJayanti." The picture had Vivekananda's famous quote: "I am proud that I am from the country that gave shelter to all religions and the persecuted people of all countries." "Just as different rivers from different sources finally meet in the sea, in the same way, man chooses different paths according to his will, which might seem good or bad, but they all go to God," the post further reads. Swami Vivekananda was the chief disciple of the 19th-century Hindu saint Swami Ramakrishna Paramhans. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Getty Images A majority of Americans said they think Donald Trumps airstrike in Iraq responsible for killing Iranian General Qassem Soleimani has made the United States less safe, according to a new poll. The ABC News/Ipsos poll published on Sunday also showed a majority of Americans disapproved of the presidents handling of the current situation with Iran, with 56 per cent of those surveyed saying they disapproved of Mr Trumps actions, compared to 43 per cent who said they approved. Attitudes sharply differed along party lines in the poll conducted over the weekend. While 52 per cent of respondents said the airstrike has made the US less safe, a majority of Republicans (54 per cent) said they felt safer after the strike. A staggering 90 per cent of Democrats said they disapproved of the presidents handling of the Iran conflict, while 87 per cent of Republicans approved of Mr Trumps actions. Still, majorities from both Democrats and Republicans said they were either very concerned or somewhat concerned about another potential full-scale war in the Middle East, including 94 per cent of Democrats and 52 per cent of Republicans. Soleimani, who led the Islamic Revolutionary Guards elite Quds Force, was killed in a 2 January airstrike after the US linked him to attacks on its embassy in Baghdad a week earlier. The US Department of Defence said in a statement about the killing that Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region," without sharing evidence about the alleged plans. US forces in Iraq were then the subject of a ballistic missile attack carried out by Iran nearly a week later, damaging two Iraqi bases housing US and coalition troops. No casualties were reported in the attack, and Irans Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said the move was not meant to escalate the conflict into a full-scale war. Iran took & concluded proportionate measures in self-defense under Article 51 of UN Charter targeting base from which cowardly armed attack against our citizens & senior officials were launched, the foreign minister wrote on Twitter: We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression. Story continues Iran took & concluded proportionate measures in self-defense under Article 51 of UN Charter targeting base from which cowardly armed attack against our citizens & senior officials were launched. We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression. Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 8, 2020 The same poll also reflected deep divisions across party lines when it comes to the domestic impeachment saga plaguing the White House. A majority of Democrats responded to a question about the House Speaker withholding articles of impeachment from the Senate by saying she was abiding by a constitutional duty to ensure a full and deliberate trial in the Senate, ABC News reported. Meanwhile, 81 per cent of Republicans agreed with a statement saying the move showed Ms Pelosi and the Democratic Party were just playing partisan politics by not transmitting the articles to the Senate. Read more Trump claims Soleimani planned to attack four US embassies Jennifer Lawrence recently said 'I do' in a close-knit ceremony with Cooke Mulroney. Jennifers simple wedding event only included few close friends at the Belcourt of a beautiful Newport mansion located in Rhode Island. Here is a list of close celeb friends of Jennifer Lawrence over the years in Hollywood, some of them were also in attendance at the wedding. Also Read | Jennifer Lawrence Is The Funniest, Be It On Camera Or Off Camera! Chris Pratt Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence have been friends since a few years now according to reports. The Passengers co-stars are always seen taking a dig at each other at any chance they get. Chris Pratt once cropped her out of a picture. To this Jennifer Lawrence spray-painted a giant bus billboard of Chris Passengers poster. She blackened his face on the poster and also turned his last name to rat on the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show. Chris Pratt constantly gets back at Jennifer Lawrence at several instances. Also Read | Jennifer Lawrence And Cooke Maroney To Get Married In Rhode Island Emma Stone Emma Stone was in attendance at the wedding of Jennifer Lawrence. According to reports, the two became friends after meeting through Woody Harrelson. He was a common factor than in Jennifers Hunger Games and Emma Stones Zombieland. They have become close friends after texting each other initially. Since then they have attended many events together. Adele Jennifer Lawrence and Adele met during Oscars in 2013. Since then multiple reports suggest that they have been hanging out together. In 2019, Adele and Jennifer were spotted by the paparazzi while they enjoyed in a night club in New York. They have been friends for over five years now. Also Read | Jennifer Lawrence And Cooke Maroney's After-party Details Revealed Amy Schumer Amy Schumers budding relationship with Jennifer Lawrence cannot go unseen. The comedian often posts with Jennifer. The two got to know each other in 2015 and since then, they have attended events and award shows together. They have also presented together at the Golden Globes in 2016. Jennifer attended Amys wedding and vice versa. Emma Watson Jennifer Lawrences list of Hollywood friends also include Emma Watson of the Harry Potter franchise. Although they are not close friends, but the two have been mentioning each other in several instances. According to multiple media reports, one such event was in 2014, when the duo attended a Dior fashion show in Paris. They were seen talking and chit-chatting during the red carpet interviews. Emma Watson reportedly tweets about the Hunger Games actor frequently. Also Read | Jennifer Lawrence Says 'I Do' To Cooke Maroney In Rhode Island 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. Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA via Reuters These accounts also appear on IranWire, a partner publication of The Daily Beast, and will continue to be updated. Saturday, January 11, the first day of the week in Irans calendar, has been a very long day for Iranians. I write these lines as the morning after has already dawned. The day started with the Iranian armed forces publicly accepting responsibility for shooting down the Ukrainian airliner, Flight 752, as covered by IranWire earlier today. Trump Tweets Out Support for Iranian Protestersin Farsi The governments shocking announcement has led to a mass outpouring of anger. Much of the anger was aired on social media before leading to mass protests in Tehran later in the day. The shooting down of the passenger plane is already being billed as Irans Chernobyl moment, the 1986 disaster in the Soviet Ukraine which exposed all the incompetence, state deception and rot in that regime. The plane crash saga has done the same for the Islamic Republic and users on social media have been pointing to some of its possible implications. There is a widespread sense that Irans government was only forced into admitting its responsibility under pressure from governments such as Canada, which lost more than 60 of its citizens in the crash, most of them dual citizens of Iranian background. What makes me cry more than anything is that, if many of the passengers didnt hold other citizenships, this horrible truth wouldnt have been exposed,one user said. Pointing to the red flags that were raised for the slain Revolutionary Guards general Qassem Soleimani, during the public demonstrations and funeral following his assassination in a US airstrike on January 3rd, and Irans promises of revenge, another user posted a picture of those who died on the flight and asked: Who will take revenge for these beautiful people? Where can we raise red flags for them? Many tweets were more overt in their anger. One user used expletives and dared the government to do what it recently did to quell nationwide protests: Cut the internet! Send the IRGC and Basij forces against the people! Story continues More prominent figures and commentators inside and outside Iran have also been adding their criticism to the rising chorus. From his detention in Tehran, Mehdi Karroubi, a leader of the 2009 opposition Green Movement, called on the commander-in-chief, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to resign, arguing that he lacks the basic qualifications to be the countrys leader.. Yaser Mirdamadi, an Islamic Studies scholar in London who happens to be Khameneis cousin, has offered a number of arguments suggesting that the Islamic Republic cares more for the lives of foreigners than its own citizens. For instance, the fact that the Revolutionary Guards missile attacks on US bases in Iraq last week carefully avoided causing any US casualties. Or the fact that the civilian flights of many countries in the region (Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain) seem to have been cancelled during the Middle East crisis whereas flights in Iranian airspace itself were allowed to continue. ON THE STREETS A vigil for the victims of Flight 752 had been called for 5:30 p.m. in front of Tehrans Amir Kabir University, an institution with a history of dissent. According to an eyewitness account shared with IranWire from Tehran, people started gathering even before 5 p.m. and the vigil quickly led to mass protests. The chants became radicalized and political as the protests went on. Incompetent authorities must resign! was one of the early chants; in turn, it was quickly followed by a question from the crowd: Who is their resignation good for? They should be tried. Chants of Resignation is not enough, trials should be held were the result. But where should the buck stop? Many beyond Karroubi have dared to go all the way to the top, to the countrys Supreme leader. All these years of crimes! Down with this Supreme Leader! was a slogan that rang out late in the protest. We didnt lose lives to praise the murderer leader, was another. Plainclothes officers were seen around the protests and they were met with massive jeers and expletives from the gathered people. With hundreds killed during last years Iran-wide November protests, Iranians are aware of the high stakes involved in any fresh demonstrations. IranWires eyewitness report some of the conversations on the streets today. This time, even if they kill us all, we wont go home, they must resign, one protester said. A young man accompanied by his concerned mother bitterly likened himself to Pouya Bakhtiari, the 27-year-old man who had gone to the protests with his mother and was shot dead by security forces, becoming a symbol for demonstrators around the country. Unlike those protests, which were led by people suffering economic hardship, many of them in smaller cities, this time the middle classes have ignited the protests. Many speak of the need for unity between the working and middle classes to lead a viable and representative opposition movement. Flight 752 has instantly become a national tragedyand a source of national shamethat has caused even Iranian celebrities to join the vigil and to voice their anger through social media. The banned director Jafar Panahi, widely recognized as one of Irans most important and internationally renowned filmmakers, attended the vigil today along with actresses such as Hedye Tehrani, Parastoo Salehi and Hanie Tavasolli. As the crowd of the Islamic Republics victims grows larger and larger, the rank of those standing against it also grows. LEADERS WITHOUT A CONSCIENCE Report from an Iranian citizen journalist: The crowd grew bigger minute by minute and the slogans got more and more radical. Under Hafez Bridge near Amir Kabir University of Technology, people gathered, calling for an end to murder and incompetence and accusing the countrys leaders of being bi sharafs people with no conscience, morals or values. The rally had been planned for 5:30 p.m., but people began gathering before 5:00 p.m. Security and plainclothes agents were out in force from the outset, but when peoples chants became angrier, harsher and more critical, special forces pushed through the crowds on motorcycles. The crowd shouted at them: Shame on you! Security forces became more heavy-handed as the chantsincluding We wont praise the murderous leader! and People didnt die so we could live like thiscontinued. Police tried to stop people from filming the rally so they could share it online. One demonstrator said to a girl filming, "Chant but don't film; filming makes them wild." One university student told me the mood started off very tense all around the university area in the morning, and that the tension mounted throughout the day. And while agents tried to prevent people from recording events, they took footage of events themselves. "The university security forces are filming the students to crack down on them later in the rallies," he said. "They had done this before; they followed up on students and even university professors in the rallies based on the videos they had taken." Then the protester shouted to the crowd, "Death to the dictator, before turning back to me and saying, "Why should I try not to be expelled? Getting excellent grades, passing everything, getting a scholarship and going abroad and then coming back, only one day and get on a plane... He stopped, tears welling up in his eyes. As night fell, security forces closed off access to the university, but it made no differencethe protests continued. "Don't call us seditionists youre the seditionists! people called out, referring to the regimes term for people who take part in anti-government protests or movements. One person called out: "Please don't go home tonight; we have to stay out in the street. If we go home, just like in the November protests, they will kill us." Russia to Iran: Dont Admit GuiltBlame the U.S. Instead Amnesty International reported that more than 300 people were killed and thousands more were injured during the crackdown in November, when security forces used violence to stop nationwide protests, which began as a response to a hike in gas prices and soon turned into an outcry against the government. Reuters quoted an anonymous source as saying that the death toll for November's death was actually 1,500. During Saturday's protests, one demonstrator told me, repeating a common theme in the crowd: "This time we will all get killed. We won't go home. They have to resign. They have to resign." He added: They have mocked the world during recent days. They lied about the reason for the plane crash being a technical flaw. If citizens of other countries were not on the plane, they would have covered up the whole story." Away from the university, on Somaya Street, it was less crowded. I came across a woman crying uncontrollably, her young son beside her. "Don't go far, stay here." The boy nodded his head and stayed by her side. "This morning he told me there were protests at the university. I told him not to go in the crowds. He said if something happened to him, it will happen. Remember, Pouya's mother was next to him when it happened to him a reference to Pouya Bakhtiari, who was shot dead during November protests in Karaj. His mother also took part in the November protests and told IranWire: "I was chanting," she said. "I suddenly saw a flood of people coming down the boulevard where I was standing, screaming, We will kill those who killed my brother.' They were carrying Pouya's body. Pouya's face was covered in blood, and this is the last image I have of him in my mind. We immediately took him to Karaj Ghaem Hospital, where we realized it was too late. On that day in November, security forces used tear gas to disperse the crowds, and even against people trying to take refuge in the surrounding streets. So far there have been no reports of police using such force against crowds in the January 11 protests, but peoples stories of the demonstrations will undoubtedly emerge in the coming hours and days. 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. [January 12, 2020] Jumei Announces Receipt of a Preliminary Non-Binding Proposal to Acquire the Company at $20.0 per ADS BEIJING, Jan. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Jumei International Holding Limited (NYSE: JMEI) (Jumei or the Company), a fashion and lifestyle solutions provider in China, today announced that its board of directors (the Board) has received a preliminary non-binding proposal letter (the Proposal), dated January 11, 2020, from Mr. Leo Ou Chen, chairman of the Board, chief executive officer and acting chief financial officer of the Company, to acquire all of the outstanding ordinary shares (the Shares) of the Company, including Shares represented by American depositary shares (the ADSs, each representing ten Class A ordinary shares), that are not already owned by Mr. Chen and his affiliates (the Buyer Group) for a purchase price of $20.0 per ADS in cash (the Proposed Transaction). The Proposed Transaction, if completed, would result in the Company becoming a privately-held company owned by the Buyer Group, and the Companys ADSs would be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. A copy of the Proposal is attached hereto as Exhibit A. The Company has formed a special committee of the Board, composed of Mr. Sean Shao and Mr. Adam J. Zhao, each an independent and disinterest director, to consider the Proposal and the Proposed Transaction. The special committee has retained Hogan Lovells as its United States legal counsel in connection with its review and evaluation of the Proposal and the Proposed Transaction. The Company cautions that the Board has just received the Proposal and has not made any decisions with respect to the Proposal and the Proposed Transaction. There can be no assurance that the Buyer Group will make any definitive offer to the Company, that any definitive agreement relating to the Proposal will be entered into between the Company and the Buyer Group, or that the Proposed Transaction or any other similar transaction will be approved or consummated. The Company does not undertake any obligation to provide any updates with respect to this or any other transaction, except as required under applicable law. About Jumei Jumei (NYSE: JMEI) is a fashion and lifestyle solutions provider with a diversified portfolio of products on offer in China. Jumei sells branded beauty, baby, children and maternity products, light luxury products, as well as health supplements through its e-commerce platform. Jumei has invested in adjacent fashion and lifestyle businesses such as Jiedian, a mobile device power bank operating company, and TV drama series production, to expand its service offerings. These investments will further expand and strengthen Jumeis ecosystem as it seeks to benefit from Chinas transition into the new retail era. Safe Harbor Statement This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. hese forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as will, expects, anticipates, future, intends, plans, believes, estimates and similar statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Jumeis beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and Jumei does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law. For more information, please contact: Christensen In China Mr. Christian Arnell Phone: +86-10-5900-1548 E-mail: [email protected] In United States Ms. Linda Bergkamp Phone: +1-480-614-3004 Email: [email protected] Exhibit A January 11, 2020 The Board of Directors Jumei International Holding Limited (the "Company") 20th Floor, Tower B, Zhonghui Plaza No. 11 Dongzhimen South Avenue, Dongcheng District, 100007 Beijing P. R. China Dear Sirs: I, Leo Ou Chen, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of the Company, am pleased to submit this preliminary non-binding proposal (this "Proposal") to acquire all the outstanding ordinary shares (the "Shares") of the Company, including all the Shares represented by American depositary shares ("ADS", each representing ten (10) Shares), that are not already owned by me and my affiliates in a going-private transaction (the "Acquisition"). I believe that the Acquisition provides an attractive opportunity to the Company's shareholders. My proposed purchase price of US$20.0 per ADS in cash represents a premium of approximately 15% over the closing price of the Company's ADSs on January 10, 2020. The terms and conditions upon which I am prepared to pursue the Acquisition are set forth below. My affiliates and I beneficially own approximately 42.9% of all the issued and outstanding Shares of the Company, which represent approximately 88.3% of the aggregate voting power of the Company, based on the Companys latest outstanding number of shares as publicly disclosed. I am confident in our ability to consummate an Acquisition as outlined in this Proposal. 1. Buyer. My affiliates and I will be the sole purchaser in the Acquisition. As the controlling shareholder of the Company, I am interested only in pursuing the Acquisition and am not interested in selling our Shares or in participating in any other transaction involving the Company. 2. Purchase Price and Acquisition Structure. My proposed consideration payable for the Acquisition is US$20.0 per ADS (the "Offer Price"), in cash. Each ADS represents ten (10) Shares. I expect to form a special purpose acquisition vehicle ("Newco") and implement the Acquisition through a statutory merger under the Cayman Islands company law of the Newco with the Company. 3. Financing. I intend to finance the Acquisition with a combination of debt and equity capital. Debt financing is expected to be provided by third-party loans, if required. I am confident that I can timely secure adequate financing to consummate the Acquisition. 4. Due Diligence. Parties providing financing will require a timely opportunity to conduct customary due diligence on the Company. We would like to ask the board of directors of the Company (the "Board") to accommodate such due diligence request and approve the provision of confidential information relating to the Company and its business to possible sources of equity and debt financing subject to a customary form of confidentiality agreement. 5. Definitive Agreements. I am prepared to negotiate and finalize definitive agreements (the "Definitive Agreements") expeditiously. This proposal is subject to execution of the Definitive Agreements. These documents will include provisions typical for transactions of this type. 6. Confidentiality. I will, as required by law, promptly file an amendment to my Schedule 13D to disclose this proposal. I am sure you will agree with me that it is in all of our interests to ensure that our discussions relating to the Acquisition proceed in a confidential manner, unless otherwise required by law, until we have executed the Definitive Agreements or terminated our discussions. 7. Process. I believe that the Acquisition will provide value to the Company's shareholders. I recognize of course that the Board will evaluate the proposed Acquisition independently before it can make its determination whether to endorse it. In this regard, I believe it would be in the best interests of the Company for the Board to establish a special committee of independent directors to consider and evaluate this Proposal and the Acquisition. 8. No Binding Commitment. This letter constitutes only a preliminary indication of my interest, and does not constitute any binding offer, agreement or commitment with respect to an Acquisition. Such a commitment will result only from the execution of Definitive Agreements, and then will be on the terms provided in such documentation. In closing, I would like to express my commitment to working together with the Board and its special committee to bring this Acquisition to a successful and timely conclusion. Should you have any questions regarding this Proposal, please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely yours, Leo Ou Chen [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Ukrainian plane tragedy unacceptable, Iran urged to punish culprits Global Times By GT staff reporters Source:Global Times Published: 2020/1/11 18:22:22 Last Updated: 2020/1/11 22:20:31 No reason is acceptable for the Ukrainian plane tragedy, which caused the loss of 176 lives; Iran must take responsibility and punish those accountable for downing the Ukrainian jetliner, experts said, after Iran admitted to accidentally shooting down the jetliner because of a terrible "human error" on Saturday. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the aerospace commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), said Saturday that the IRGC accepts responsibility for the crash of Ukrainian plane over Iran's airspace. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani tweeted earlier on Saturday that "Armed Forces' internal investigation has concluded regrettably that missiles fired due to human error caused the horrific crash of the Ukrainian plane that killed 176 innocent people." "The Islamic Republic of Iran deeply regrets this disastrous mistake," Rouhani wrote. "Investigations continue to identify & prosecute this great tragedy & unforgivable mistake." Iran pledged to hand over those responsible for the plane tragedy to the country's military court. Song Zhongping, a military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Saturday that the reason behind this tragedy may be because the Iranian military's readiness is very much strained facing a possible war, and the discipline there was lax. "This kind of accidental attack is unthinkable." Song said that Iran should send relevant officers to the military court and Iran should also explain to the international community what had exactly caused the air tragedy. Iranian Armed Forces Staff assures the nation it will make re-occurrence of such incidents impossible by fundamentally modifying operational processes of the Armed Forces and that it will hand over the culprits to the military court, Tehran-based Mehr News Agency reported. "Iran ought to shoulder the responsibility for this tragic accident. However, several underlying factors leading to the tumultuous situation in the Middle East are also to blame," Niu Xinchun, a research fellow at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations in Beijing, told the Global Times on Saturday. It's wrong to assume Iran would shoot down the plane for political reasons, Niu noted. According to the investigation report released by the Iran Armed Forces on Saturday, the mistake happened after threats "made by the American President (Donald Trump) and its military commanders to attack 52 targets on the soil of the Islamic Republic in the case of Iran's retaliation. Due to the unprecedented movements in the region's airspace, Iranian Armed Forces were thrust to an utmost level of readiness and alert." Hours after the retaliatory Iran missile strikes against US military bases in Iraq, "aircraft presence of US terrorist forces" increased near Iranian borders and some targets were seen on radars, which triggered the beefing of air defense, said the report. "In such sensitive and critical situations, flight No 752 of Ukraine International Airlines departed from Imam Khomeini Airport and while changing direction, it completely resembled a hostile target approaching a sensitive center of IRGC." As a result, the plane was wrongly targeted and shot down, it said. Wang Ya'nan, the chief editor of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times on Saturday that Iran will be held accountable and compensation for the tragedy will be sought as this is an error committed by Iran. Usually, the airline should be held responsible first, as it is in direct contact with the passengers, and the airline will then investigate the actual reason behind the incident and find the person or organization who is ultimately responsible for the incident, Wang said. However, as Iran has now accepted its ultimate responsibility, so the relatives of the passengers may demand compensation directly from Iran, Wang said, noting the compensation must be huge. "Compensation of $145, 000 for each person, an amount set by the International Civil Aviation Organization, is sought under normal circumstances. In this particular case, the amount should be higher," Wang said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Saturday his government is demanding to fix accountability on those responsible for the airline crash victims, vowing to continue working with its partners to ensure a complete and thorough investigation, according to media reports. Those on board included 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three German residents, and three British nationals. "This morning brings the truth. Ukraine insists on a full admission of guilt. We expect Iran to bring those responsible to justice, return the bodies, pay compensation and issue an official apology. The investigation must be full, open & continue without delays or obstacles," Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in twitter on Saturday. Peace and stability in the Gulf region and the Middle East must be ensured as it serves the interests of all countries and is of vital importance to the whole world, said Geng Shuang, spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry, during a routine press conference on Thursday. China called on all sides to judge issues on their own merits, stick to political settlement, take concrete actions to cool off tensions, and make joint efforts to safeguard peace and stability in the Gulf region, Geng said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address EDMONTON - The increasing frequency of wildfires in Canada's boreal forest may be permanently changing one of the largest intact ecosystems left on Earth, research suggests. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 12/1/2020 (729 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A convoy of evacuees from Fort McMurray, Alberta drive past wildfires that are still burning out of control as they leave the city Saturday, May 7, 2016. The increasing frequency of wildfires in Canada's boreal forest may be permanently changing one of the largest intact ecosystems left on Earth, new research suggests.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz EDMONTON - The increasing frequency of wildfires in Canada's boreal forest may be permanently changing one of the largest intact ecosystems left on Earth, research suggests. "We feel pretty confident these effects will persist," said Ellen Whitman, a forest ecologist at Natural Resources Canada and the University of Alberta. Whitman is a co-author on a recently published paper examining what happens when stands of boreal forest the huge belt of green that stretches over the northern reaches of most Canadian provinces are burned over more often as a result of climate change. She and her colleagues paired up forest areas that had similar climate and soil conditions and had last been burned by the same fire. One half had been previously burned no more than 17 years before, while the other half's last fire had been at least 30 years ago. The differences were striking. The short-interval stands were far more open with fewer trees. Aspens dominated instead of conifers. Growth beneath the trees shrubs and grasses that cover a normal forest floor was far less luxuriant with many fewer species. Areas of exposed mineral soil, where all organic material had been burned off, were larger and more common. They felt completely different. "You have a landscape where you're surrounded by short, stunted trees," Whitman said. "You have a crust of lichen or some sparse grasses. It's almost like walking through the edge of a prairie where you're shifting from a grassland into a forest edge. "At a lot of the long-interval sites, you've got quite dense conifers, closer together. You've got moss on the ground and flowers and shrubs. It's more what looks like a young forest." The boreal forest has evolved for fire. Many of its tree species need it to germinate. Normally, fires don't come around more often than every 30 years and often much longer. The lack of fuel in recently burned stands helps regulate that frequency. Climate change is breaking those rules, Whitman said. "We're experiencing more hot, dry windy days the main trigger for large fire years. As more years experience more extreme fire weather, (the blazes) are able to overwhelm that resistance that recently burned sites have." Nor are the parkland-like areas likely to evolve into a conventional boreal forest. Previous studies have found that the look of a forest is set early after a fire. "Immediate post-fire condition is an extremely strong predictor of what the stand will look like further down the road," said Whitman. Whitman emphasizes that short-interval stands in her research are still small and most stretches of boreal forest burned in recent wildfires are regrowing normally. Wetlands are also less affected by short-interval fires than drier regions. She said the forestry industry is unlikely to be affected any time soon although forest-dependent animals such as caribou and songbirds will feel impacts. And those impacts are growing. "With a longer fire season, larger fires, more of the landscape burning each year, the likelihood of encountering a recently burned area increases. We're undergoing a shortening of the fire frequency in the boreal forest." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 12, 2010. Follow Bob Weber @row1960 on Twitter Theres certainly no love lost between 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way castmates Deavan Clegg and Laura Jallali. While Deavan is still married to her South Korean husband Jihoon Lee, Laura went through a nasty, public breakup with her Tunisian-born ex, Aladin Jallali. The two women have had several public arguments on social media, starting when 52-year-old Laura claimed to be pregnant with Aladins baby and later to have had a tragic miscarriage after an ectopic pregnancy (which he denied). Deavan, who had recently gone through a miscarriage herself, thought Lauras claims were insensitive. It seems like the drama between the two 90 Day Fiance stars is far from over. They recently fought on Instagram over some confusing claims about Lauras private messages. Deavan Clegg | Deavan Clegg via Instagram Deavan seemed to make bombshell accusations against Laura on social media, but said they were misconstrued Deavan claimed at one point to know that Laura was messaging minors on social media (which Laura vehemently denies she has ever done in any way, shape, or form). The 90 Day Fiance star told Laura she was being inappropriate and even mentioned grooming. Thats where the trouble began. The mom of two took to her Instagram stories to explain what was going on. Im getting lots of messages about said cast member calling me out for certain stuff, Deavan said in a video on her Instagram stories. First of all, I never called this person a child molester, I dont know what the f*** theyre talking about. The 90 Day Fiance star, who splits her time between South Korea and the U.S., continued: I just said them messaging a 12-year-old without the parents knowing is highly inappropriate for a 54-year-old to doIm not gonna change my opinion. In a now-deleted Instagram post, Deavan tried to clarify her position once again. Laura [I] never called you a child molester, she wrote. How about you stop lying. I said it was highly inappropriate for you to be private messaging a 12 year old boy. Without his parents knowing. As well [as] a 17 year oldI live by it, it is inappropriate. But never once called you a child molester. Unsurprisingly, both Deavans and Lauras followers were shocked and confused. 90 Day Fiance fans swarmed both cast members Instagram posts to ask, What did I miss? and Huh? Whats going on? No one seemed to be clued in on the backstory, and Deavan has since deleted the post. Laura vehemently denied Deavans claims Laura, meanwhile, wasnt about to take Deavans claims lying down. Aladins ex clapped back in a now-deleted Instagram post, writing: To have @DeavanClegg call me a child molester because I married a younger man is despicable get a life little girl I am tired of your bull**** and constant insecurities over a 52 year old woman! Grow up! The post also revealed that even Laura and Deavan didnt seem to know exactly what they were fighting about. After all, Laura thought Deavan was insulting her for marrying her 29-year-old ex. Lauras responses to Deavan got even harsher in her Instagram caption. Enough is enough! Now it is slander which is a criminal offense! the 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way star declared. I am done with your false accusations grow the f*** up you little insecure girl [youre] all sick if you think I message a 12 yr old boy! Get a life. Laura continued to push back against Deavan in a series of posts on her Instagram stories, calling her sick and asking for proof. Her fans, like Deavans, swarmed her comments asking what the heck was going on. While neither of the women clarified in the comments, they did both make Instagram Live videos hashing out the whole debacle. This isnt the 90 Day Fiance castmates first feud This is far from the first time Deavan and Laura have argued with one another. After Laura was caught in what is widely believed to have been a lie about her miscarriage, Deavan appeared on 90 Day Fiance blogger John Yates Instagram Live with Lauras ex Aladin. Both Deavan and Aladin claimed Laura was a scammer and a pathological liar. The latest drama isnt Lauras or Deavans first conflict with another castmate, either. Another 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way cast member, Evelin Villegas, with whom Laura moved in for a short time in Ecuador, also feuded publicly with her. Meanwhile, 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days star Avery Mills took issue with Deavan for publicly supporting President Trump and claiming racism wasnt a problem in the U.S. R ebecca Long-Bailey has vowed to abolish the House of Lords if she were to be elected Prime Minister. The Labour leadership hopeful said she would unveil a radical package of constitutional measures if she succeeded Jeremy Corbyn. Speaking to Sky Newss Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme, the shadow business secretary said: I do want to abolish the House of Lords and well be rolling out as my campaign progresses how we intend to really shake up that constitutional package. She added: There would need to be checks and balances in place, but to have a set of completely unelected people doing that I dont think is right. Ms Long-Bailey has been seen as the candidate most likely to continue Jeremy Corbyns hard left leadership of the opposition party. Labour's shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey deputised for Mr Corbyn at Prime Minister's Questions / PA On Saturday she received support from parts of the Momentum activist group, which campaigns for Mr Corbyn. Ms Long-Bailey also indicated that, were she to be in charge of the country, she would allow another referendum on Scottish independence. She said: Im fully committed to the union and I dont think that should be shaken in any way, but ultimately the people of Scotland need to make the case. Theyve got their own Parliament to determine whether they want to push that and that will be for me as a prime minister to review and to look at. I wouldnt want to inhibit the democracy of people because thats one of the most fundamental pillars that were proud of in this country. Ms Long-Bailey said she would work very hard and very robustly to tackle anti-Semitism in the party and she was unhappy at the way the issue had been dealt with. I wasnt happy with the way our process was being run, Ill be honest, I dont think we were dealing with complaints quickly enough and I think thats quite clear, Ive been quite vocal about that, she said. I spoke to Jeremy about it, I spoke to the various members of the team, I spoke to various members of the NEC (national executive committee) about that. Asked if Mr Corbyn bore personal responsibility, she said: He does and hes apologised. Kiran Narayanan By Express News Service KOCHI: Amid awe, tension and tears, the two remaining high-rises in Maradu Jains Coral Cove and Golden Kayaloram were razed on Sunday as the state completed the demolition of the five complexes in the municipality following a Supreme Court order for violating CRZ norms. The two 16-storey high-rises Coral Cove (122 flats) and Golden Kayaloram (40 flats) were razed at 11.01am and 2.28pm, respectively. Holy Faith H2O and Alfa Serenes twin towers were brought down on Saturday. The apex court had directed the state to demolish the five complexes overlooking the Vembanad Lake in a landmark order on May 8 last year. After dilly-dallying initially and then taking extra time to prepare, the state government has completed the demolition, without causing any major damage to the properties in the neighbourhood. Now the task on its hand is to see off the huge heaps of debris, again without causing much harm to the environment. VIEW GALLERY: With 'Golden Kayaloram', 'Jains Coral Cave' razing, two-day illegal apartments demolition spree ends Other than the delay caused in order to ensure pitch-perfect fall of Golden Kayaloram by securing an anganwadi building in the compound, the entire demolition process went as scheduled, said Fort Kochi Sub-Collector Snehil Kumar Singh, who is in charge of the demolition. It was possible due to the collective effort of the technical committee members, different departments and contracting firms. Its immensely satisfying to say the entire execution rose to public expectation. R Venugopal, Deputy Chief of Explosives, Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation, echoed his view.Without causing any mishap or damage to the environment, weve successfully executed the demolition. Active participation of every official and cooperation of the public were key to it, he said. City Police Commissioner Vijay Sakhare said the mission was completed with clockwork precision. SC ORDER The Supreme Court had directed the state to demolish the five complexes overlooking the Vembanad Lake in a landmark order on May 8 last year NEW TASK Now the task on state governments hand is to see off the huge pile of debris, again without causing much harm to the environment The 55-meter Golden Kayaloram was brought down by just 15 kg of explosives at 2.29 pm, after Jains Coral Cove, also 16-storey but having a height of 60 meters, was brought down at through controlled implosion using 395 kg of explosives at 11.03 am on Sunday. The final illegal apartment of Maradu apartment complex (Photo | BP Deepu, EPS) WATCH DEMOLITION OF JAINS CORAL CAVE BELOW Emma Watson wearing a dress by Alice Temperley in 2009 One of the Duchess of Cambridge's favourite frock designers, Alice Temperley, is promising to turn around her firm despite huge debts and the revelation that it has had to raise more cash. The news that Temperley Holdings has issued more than 4million of shares comes as its 2018 accounts are four months overdue. Temperley, 44, has legions of famous clients, including Keira Knightley, Emma Watson and Scarlett Johansson, drawn to her bohemian flowing dresses, which can cost 2,000 or more a piece. Chief executive of Temperley London, Luca Donnini, said: 'We're looking to approach breakeven in 2020 and profitability in 2021'. But this echoes Temperley London's 2013 accounts, hailing a five-year growth plan that predicted 'profitability in 2015'. Since 2015 the firm has lost four chief executives and, despite repeated share allocations, has failed to register a profit. Donnini told The Mail on Sunday that he joined late last year when the company 'was coming out of a very difficult year in 2018, in which reported losses were more than expected, with a double-digit increase'. He added: 'Since joining, I have set in place a new business model to grant a recovery, which already, in the outlook of 2019 year-end, is proving to be efficient and solid.' The last set of published accounts in 2017 show a 1.7million loss despite an 8 per cent rise in sales to 12.6million. He made his modelling debut earlier the year, with his proud dad Jeff Brazier sharing behind-the-scenes snaps. And Bobby Brazier, 16, made his runway debut walking for Dolce & Gabbana at Milan Fashion Week Men's show at Teatro Metropol on Saturday. The son of late Jade Goody looked every part the professional as he strutted down the catwalk in items from the fashion house's Fall/Winter 2020 collection. Model behaviour: Bobby Brazier, 16, made his runway debut walking for Dolce & Gabbana at Milan Fashion Week Men's show at Teatro Metropol on Saturday Bobby was dressed in a pin stripped over-coat which stopped above his ankles and matching suit trousers. He donned a crisp white shirt with an embroidered D&G logo on its collar. The young model carried a briefcase in his hand and a pair of lace up black boots on his feet as he sauntered down the runway. Strutting his stuff: The son of late Jade Goody looked every part the professional as he strutted down the catwalk in items from the fashion house's Fall/Winter 2020 collection Memories: The teenager bares a striking resemblance to his mum which was especially prevalent in the modelling shots (pictured in 2004) The teenager bares a striking resemblance to his mum, which was especially prevalent as he took to the catwalk. Speaking to MailOnline about his experiences in the modelling world, Bobby said: 'Modelling has been great fun, I'm loving it: you get a chance to do something exciting. 'I'm modelling alongside my apprenticeship; I'm not sure if it will be full time yet, we will have to see how it goes!' It comes after proud dad Jeff, 40, discussed how Bobby and Freddie, 14, had grown into 'wonderful young men' after adjusting to the trauma of their mother Jade's death. Looking back: Jeff Brazier dated Jade for a few months before the pair fell pregnant (pictured together in 2003) Jade passed away on Mother's Day, 10 years ago, but was able to speak with Bobby and Freddie, who were just five and four years old at the time, before her death. After her cervical cancer diagnosis, Jade's cancer spread to her bowel, liver and groin and she died on Mother's Day in March 2009. Speaking to Barrow-in-Furness based paper The Mail, Jeff said the last 10 years had been 'tremendously difficult - that's the only way I can really put it. There's been ups and downs, but we've come through it together.' The star - who wasn't in a relationship with Jade at the time of her passing - went on that to say that his sons were 'coming of age' and 'have grown into wonderful young men. I'm hugely proud of them.' Teams from the National Weather Service fanned out across Alabama on Sunday to assess storm damage from Saturdays severe weather. As of Sunday night five tornadoes have been confirmed: Three in north Alabama and two in central Alabama -- including the deadly Pickens County storm. The National Weather Service in Birmingham said its survey team confirmed a tornado hit Pickens County near Carrollton and gave it a preliminary rating of EF2 with top winds of 134 mph. The Pickens County storm is being blamed for three deaths and seven injuries on Settlement Road near Carrollton. The survey team from Pickens County has sent back a preliminary report that the damage they are seeing is rated at least EF2, at 134 mph. The survey is still ongoing, and more details will be shared when it is available. #alwx pic.twitter.com/rPecIRWPne NWS Birmingham (@NWSBirmingham) January 12, 2020 That tornado touched down at 11 a.m. less than 2 miles east of Pickensville and was on the ground for 6.33 miles, according to a preliminary report from the weather service, lifting just less than 7.5 miles southwest of Reform. It was 1,056 yards wide at its peak. Several homes were damaged along the path, but the tornado likely peaked in intensity along Settlement Road. The weather service said numerous homes were damaged or destroyed on the west side of Settlement Road, while homes on the east side of the road received minimal damage. According to the weather service, of the homes destroyed, six were site-built homes. Four manufactured homes were completely destroyed, three of which had anchoring systems that failed. All four manufactured home frames were found considerable distances from the home sites. Three fatalities occurred in two of these manufactured homes on Settlement Road." All of the injuries occurred on Settlement Road, according to the report. However, other homes not on that road were also damaged. A total of 22 homes were damaged in some way, according to the weather service. The National Weather Service in Huntsville also had meteorologists out in the field on Sunday. They confirmed a tornado hit the Brindlee Mountain School area in Marshall County and gave it a preliminary rating of EF2. The tornado was on the ground for 0.22 miles, and was 150 yards wide at its peak. It touched down at 1:19 p.m. on Saturday and was on the ground for only 5 minutes, but it did a lot of damage in that short time. The tornado touched down just southwest of Brindlee Mountain Primary School and destroyed the gym, 10 classrooms and the lunchroom. If that wasnt bad enough several trees were snapped or uprooted and a set of bleachers was thrown more than 150 yards from one side of the school to the other, the weather service said in a preliminary report. Several Dumpsters were moved and power poles were snapped, which fell onto the schools awning and roof. The weather service also confirmed the tracks of two other north Alabama tornadoes. One was an EF1 that started in Cullman County near Joppa and moved to the Hog Jaw community in Marshall County. It had maximum winds of 100 mph, a path length of 1.85 miles and a path width of 60 yards, according to a preliminary report from the weather service. EF1 tornado damage was found in Joppa, with trees downed near or on houses. The weather service said witnesses in the city of Joppa reported a rain-wrapped tornado along the tornados path, noting that damage ended almost as quickly as the heavy rain began and ended. The other was an EF0 that hit Holly Pond in Cullman County and had maximum winds of 80. It touched down Saturday at 1:03 p.m. near the center of town and was on the ground for 0.21 miles. The tornado damaged the roof at the old Waterbrook Restaurant, the weather service said, and also did some roof damage to Holly Pond High School. The Birmingham office said storm damage in southern Greene County near Forkland was not caused by a tornado but by straight-line winds that were estimated as high as 75 mph. The area with the most concentrated damage began near Parkers Fish Camp Road and the Tombigbee River and stretched northeastward for just over 6 miles. Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped along that path, and five to 10 homes had varying degrees of damage, according to the weather service. Two vehicles were also damaged by falling trees. Another tree broke the water main to the city of Forkland and thousands of gallons of water spilled from the water tower. The weather service in Birmingham on Sunday night added another tornado to its count, an EF1 in Barbour County in east-central Alabama. That tornado had top winds of 88 mph, a path length of 5.8 miles and a path width of 275 yards. It touched down at 4:30 p.m. Saturday near Threatt Road just southwest of Bakerhill. It did mostly tree damage before lifting 4.71 miles northeast of Bakerhill. However it did damage to an outbuilding and flipped a basketball goal, the weather service said. A potent storm system generated multiple severe storms on Saturday that caused damage statewide. Most of the damage was caused by strong straight-line winds. The storms also caused damage across the Southeast and are being blamed for at least 11 deaths. A trophy hunter who filmed himself stabbing a dear has been jailed for seven months for causing unnecessary suffering to two dogs in his home. Jimmy Price, 25, from Loose, Kent, was found guilty just a month after the gruesome video emerged of him knifing a deer. The shocking video shows the father-of-two puncturing the deer's throat before his friend grabs the blunt knife and saws through the helpless animal's neck. Two brothers have been convicted for mistreating animals after one repeatedly stabbed a deer and the other let a bay horse starve to death Jimmy's brother, Danny Price, was sentenced in the same court after he let a bay horse starve to death. The qualified jockey told magistrates' he thought the animal was the responsibility of the person he was selling it to at the time. Jimmy Price, 25, (pictured holding a dead hare) from Loose, Kent, was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to two dogs just a month after a gruesome video emerged of him knifing the deer Jimmy Price, a convicted thief, was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to the dogs and a horse, which had belonged to his late father. A video played to the court showed the dogs, Scout and Tramp, untethered and unfed at his home, Forstal Farm, in Loose, Kent. A voice in the video was heard to say: 'If they run away good luck to them, I tell you what, you're the wickedest fella I've ever seen in my life.' Tramp and Scout gained 25 and 45 per cent in body weight respectively within seven weeks of RSPCA staff feeding them properly. Price was jailed for seven-and-a-half months and will spend half of that time in custody. He was also banned from keeping dogs for five years and ordered to pay 5,115. The jail term followed Price's grisly deer stabbing in December. Commenting on the footage, RSPCA prosecutor Rowan Morton said: 'It's very difficult to even explain the gravity of what the video shows. 'There is a group of four males that can be seen with a deer. Jimmy Price is seen stabbing the deer multiple times in the throat while others shout at him to stab it. Jimmy Price, a convicted thief, was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to the dogs and a horse, which had belonged to his late father A video played to the court showed the dogs, Scout and Tramp, untethered and unfed at his home 'It's very graphic and upsetting, there was no doubt that animal was caused significant pain and suffering.' Jimmy's brother Danny was convicted after his bay horse was found dead next to a hay bale during the RSPCA raid in March 2019. It had starved to death. Magistrates heard the 29-year-old had stopped looking after the horse because he was in the process of selling it and thought the new owner was responsible for its care. He was given a 12-month community order, will have to do 150 hours unpaid work and pay 1,585. A third man, horse salesman Samuel Powell, was also convicted on Friday alongside the two brothers, after four of his horses were found emaciated in the same RSPCA raid. Jimmy's brother Danny was convicted after his bay horse was found dead next to a hay bale during the RSPCA raid in March 2019. It had starved to death Powell told the court the horses were in that state because he was rehabilitating them. He also claimed to 'save lives' through his work in which he would buy the horses to sell on 'for profit.' RSPCA agents seized three of Powell's horses in the March raid, just two months after officials rescued a mare and its foal from the 34-year-old. He was convicted last year of causing unnecessary suffering to a foal which was seen hauling a cart of people at a horse fair. Four of the horses were emaciated and the foal had breathing problems, fleas and was described as 'very thin.' A Shetland Pony was also found with a deep cut across the nose. Four of the horses were emaciated and the foal had breathing problems, fleas and was described as 'very thin' Addressing Magistrates on Friday, Powell said: 'I will buy horses that have not been treated properly. When I get them I feed them, look after them and rehabilitate them. Then I sell them for profit.'I like to think I sometimes save lives when I buy horses.' Powell tried to get his trial postponed because his wife grew up with 'big fat' gypsy twins Joe and Billy Smith who hanged themselves. Commenting on the footage of the deer being stabbed, RSPCA prosecutor Rowan Morton said: 'It's very difficult to even explain the gravity of what the video shows Mr Morton said: 'There is a group of four males that can be seen with a deer. Jimmy Price is seen stabbing the deer multiple times in the throat while others shout at him to stab it' The brothers, who were both tree surgeons, were found hanging side-by-side in woodland down a Kent country lane on December 28. Magistrates took over an hour to consider the request, but eventually ruled against an adjournment. Powell was jailed for 26 weeks after previously pleading not guilty to five counts of causing unnecessary suffering to horses. He was also banned from owning horses for five years and fined 5,000. The cases for all three men were heard together at Medway Magistrates' Court on Friday, because they arose from the same RSPCA raid on Forstal Farm, in Loose, Kent, which took place March last year. The charges related to different animals and each man was individually represented. WASHINGTON - Defence Secretary Mark Esper and other administration officials joined President Donald Trump in trying to draw attention to dissent in Iran instead of lingering questions about the scale of the threat used to justify a drone strike on Irans top military leader. Esper added to the uncertainty over the intelligence behind this months killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani when he said Sunday that he had seen no hard evidence that four American embassies had been under possible threat. Trump said last Friday that Soleimani had been planning such an attack. In appearances on Sunday news shows, both Esper and national security adviser Robert OBrien said they agreed that Iran might have hit more than just the U.S. Embassy in the Iraqi capital. It is certainly consistent with the intelligence to assume that they would have hit embassies in at least four countries, OBrien said. But Esper, when asked whether there was a specific piece of evidence, replied: I didnt see one with regard to four embassies. And in response to a question about whether Trump was embellishing the threat, Esper said, I dont believe so. In a tweet both defiant and dismissive, Trump turned his attention again to supporting Iranian protesters and warning the Iranian government not to attack them or to pursue nuclear weapons. He tweeted: National Security Adviser suggested today that sanctions & protests have Iran choked off, will force them to negotiate. Actually, I couldnt care less if they negotiate. Will be totally up to them but, no nuclear weapons and dont kill your protesters. OBrien had suggested the United States sees this moment as an opportunity to further intensify pressure on Irans leaders, with whom the U.S. has been at odds for four decades. Irans leaders already are under enormous strain from economic sanctions that have virtually strangled Irans main source of income oil exports. Esper said street protests in Tehran show the Iranian people are hungry for a more accountable government after leaders denied, then admitted shooting down a Ukrainian passenger plane. You can see the Iranian people are standing up and asserting their rights, their aspirations for a better government a different regime, Esper said. Trumps order to strike at Soleimani came as he was already under pressure ahead of an impeachment trial in the Senate. Many in Congress complained that the administration did not consult them in advance and did not adequately brief members afterward. After the U.S. killed Soleimani in Baghdad, it appeared the backlash in Iran and elsewhere had helped Tehran by shifting the focus away from its internal problems. The strike also seemed to divert attention away from domestic unrest in Iraq over government corruption, and it intensified efforts by Iraqi politicians to expel American and other foreign forces. But the shootdown of the Ukrainian plane on the night of the Soleimani strike, killing all 176 people aboard, opened a new avenue of pressure for the Trump administration. I think the regime is having a very bad week, OBrien said. This was a regime thats reeling from maximum pressure, theyre reeling from their incompetence in this situation and the people of Iran are just fed up with it, he said, adding that regime change is not U.S. policy. The people of Iran are going to hopefully have the ability at some point to elect their own government and to be governed by the leaders they choose, OBrien said. In Tehran, Irans security forces deployed in large numbers on Sunday. Demonstrators defied the heavy police presence to protest their countrys days of denials that it shot down the Ukrainian plane. Videos posted online showed protesters shouting anti-government slogans and moving through subway stations and sidewalks. Iranians have expressed anger over the downing of the Ukrainian flight and the misleading explanations from senior officials in the immediate aftermath. Later the government took the blame for the shootdown, saying it was caused by human error. Reviewing the dramatic sequence of events that preceded the downing of the Ukrainian jetliner Wednesday, Esper justified the U.S. killing of Soleimani as an act of self defence, and he said the U.S. foresees no more Iranian military attacks in retaliation for that. Even so, the leader of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which is closely aligned with Iran, said Sunday that Irans missile attacks on two bases in Iraq housing U.S. forces last week were only the start of the retaliation. Hassan Nasrallah described Irans military response, which caused no casualties, as a slap at the U.S. He called it the first step down a long path that will ensure U.S. troops withdraw from the region. Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he was concerned that Iran has lots of ways that they can take action against us, both overt and covert, and I dont think theyre done trying to seek revenge. Esper spoke hopefully of getting the NATO alliance more involved in Iraq to help train Iraqi security forces. He said this could allow him to reduce the number of American troops in Iraq, currently numbering more than 5,200, but he did not say any reduction was in the works yet. Esper appeared on CBS Face the Nation and CNNs State of the Union. OBrien appeared on ABCs This Week, Fox News Sunday and NBCs Meet the Press. Coon was on Fox. ___ This story has been corrected to show the generals killing was this month, not last week. A suspected mentally-deranged man in Surulere, Lagos, on Sunday, set a resident of the area ablaze after pouring petrol on him. The man, known in the area as Badejo Adewale, was said to have carried out the act on one Bolatito Kadara of 13, Aiyeleto Street, Surulere. Bala Elkana, Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos police command, said in a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday, that after dousing Kadara with petrol, Adewale then set his victim ablaze at Hogan Bassey Street, Surulere. Mr Elkana said that the sister of the burnt victim, Adeola Kadara, reported at Surulere Police Station that she received information that her brother had been set ablaze. The victim has been taken to the Lagos Island General Hospital and he is recuperating. He made a statement to the police and narrated how Adewale, the mentally-deranged man, poured petrol on him and ignited it. The police extended their investigations to the Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, where the suspect is admitted, Elkana said. He, however, said that all efforts made to interview the suspect were unsuccessful, as he did not utter a word. The police spokesman said that investigation was ongoing on the matter. (NAN) PORTLAND, Ore. --- A Multnomah County jury has awarded $3 million to a young woman who said the principal of her public elementary school sexually abused her in his office when she was in second, third and fourth grade. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Jurors found 11-1 that she was molested more than a decade ago by Jeff Hays, who was principal of Deep Creek Elementary School in Damascus from 2005-2009. The school is a part of the Gresham-Barlow School District, which is responsible for paying the verdict. Int'l travellers who test COVID positive at the airport will not be allowed to go to their destinations Who is Firhad Hakim? Know Kolkata's New Mayor Age, Education, Family and Other Details At Kolkata Port Trust event, Modi takes dig at Mamata for not implementing schemes India oi-Madhuri Adnal Kolkata, Jan 12: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a two-day official visit to Kolkata in West Bengal, took a dig at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during Kolkata Port Trust event, saying that the state government is the hindrance for the people who are losing out on the benefits of the central health schemes. "As soon as the West Bengal Government allows the Ayushman Bharat Yojana and PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, people here will also get the benefits of these schemes," PM Modi said. Black flag shown to PM Modi, Mamata Banerjee skips at Kolkata Port Trust event PM Modi in West Bengal: renames Kolkata Port Trust after Shyama Prasad Mukherjee | OneIndia News Beginning his address at the Netaji Indoor stadium, Modi greeted the gathering in Bengali. Referring to Kolkata Port, he said it is a privilege to be part of the celebrations of this historic infrastructure. ''It is unfortunate that visions of Babasaheb Ambedkar and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee were not taken seriously after they resigned from the government, said PM Modi. "The country has been benefitted from inland waterways. Haldia and Benaras has been connected through waterways," he said. "This (Kolkata) port represents industrial, spiritual and self-sufficiency aspirations of India. Today, when the port is celebrating its 150th anniversary, it is our responsibility to make it a powerful symbol of New India," says PM Modi "Government is endorsing cruise-based tourism now. This will benefit West Bengal too. We are putting all our efforts for the uplift of the poor, tribals, dalits of this state," PM Modi. Kolkata Port Trust renamed after BJP icon Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee The Prime Minister said,''As soon as the West Bengal Government allows the Ayushman Bharat Yojana and PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, people here will also get the benefits of these schemes.'' While speaking about his government's initiative to boost coastal connectivity through inland waterways, Modi said about 575 projects worth over Rs 6 lakh crore have been earmarked. Over 200 projects worth Rs 3 lakh crore are already under development and about 125 projects have already been completed. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, January 12, 2020, 13:35 [IST] Experts warn there could be unexpected health risks from eating foods containing the drug cannabis. Those risks include accidental overdose, children eating them accidentally and unexpected effects in older adults. The commentary by doctors Lawrence Loh and Jasleen K. Grewaland appeared in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Loh is with the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. He said, What we really want the public to know is that legal doesnt mean safe. People need to know that how they react will depend on the manner cannabis is consumed, the amount that is consumed and the persons own metabolism... Loh said it can take hours for the cannabis high to take effect if the drug is eaten instead of smoked. So, he said, people might eat more of the cannabis as they wait for the high to happen. While a cannabis overdose will not kill you, it can be unpleasant, Loh said. He added, We suggest people start with a low dose and go slow. Loh and Grewaland also advise older adults be extra careful with edible cannabis. They could be at greater risk for falls and injury, especially those who are not used to the drugs effects. Loh also warns that adults should be mindful that edible cannabis products might interest children. Loh said the drugs should be stored carefully to make sure kids cant get into it. Loh and Grewaland also suggest that doctors add questions about cannabis to those they usually ask a patient, so they can offer education and advice. A warning such as this one is really important, said Dr. Michael Lynch. He is medical director of the Pittsburgh Poison Center and with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pennsylvania. Lynch said the risk of dying from an overdose is low. But he added that the risks of medical problems or injury is very real. The greatest risk is to the young and the old, he said. Lynch said those who overdose would be at risk for falls, vomiting and weakness. An increase in heart rate and blood pressure could also be more of a problem for older people, Lynch said. He added, People need to be educated about the risk so these outcomes can be avoided. Im Caty Weaver. Linda Carroll reported this story for the Reuters news agency. Jonathan Evans adapted it for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story consume -v. to eat or drink (something) metabolism -n. the chemical processes by which a plant or an animal uses food, water, etc., to grow and heal and to make energy dose -n. the amount of a medicine, drug, or vitamin that is taken at one time vomit -v. to have the food, liquid, etc., that is in your stomach come out through your mouth because you are sick outcome -n. something that happens as a result of an activity or process ed finkler OSMI Distill In 2013, developer Ed Finkler founded Open Sourcing Mental Illness (OSMI), an organization that promotes mental health in tech through online resources, handbooks, research, and speaking at tech conferences. OSMI data suggests that developers face higher rates of mental health issues than the general population. The group attributes this to how developers often find themselves working long hours with little sleep, leading to serious health risks and a heightened possibility of burnout. Volunteers at OSMI hope to break down the stigma of talking about mental health, encourage people to reach out for help, create a more supportive environment at tech companies, and provide free resources that anyone can use. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. There's a toll that can come with the "move fast and break things" mentality of Silicon Valley. While developers may work late into the night to hack the next big thing into existence, that also comes with the risk of long-term effects to their health and burnout. That's why developer Ed Finkler wants to raise awareness about mental health issues to the tech community and encourage people to talk about it. He started the organization Open Sourcing Mental Illness (OSMI) in 2013 after he gave a talk at a conference for PHP, a programming language that has been used for building websites like Facebook and Yahoo. Rather than speaking on a technical topic, as was usual at the conference, Finkler opened up about mental health issues he struggled with since middle school, including depression, anxiety, and ADHD. After his talk, many people reached out to him, and Finkler realized he could do something more. "I felt like I struck a nerve, hit something that was important to talk about," Finkler told Business Insider. "I thought about what I wanted to do about that...Eventually what I sort of settled on is, hey, I like doing talks. I like doing technical talks, but what if I did a talk about mental health?" Story continues Since then, he's gone on to do 10 to 15 talks a year about mental health. OSMI was initially funded via Indiegogo campaigns, but is now a registered non-profit powered by donations and a team of volunteers. Its members create resources like online forums and handbooks, conduct research, and speak at tech conferences, including the prominent KubeCon. It also performs an annual survey of the IT industry to gather information on mental health issues in the developer community. That survey's findings are released under a Creative Commons license that allows anyone to reuse that content in their own conference talks, presentations, and research. The idea is to make it accessible to anyone. "It's in the tradition of collaborative learning and sharing in open source culture. We would talk openly about those kinds of issues," Finkler said. "There's something natural to that." 'There's nowhere to go for support' OSMI's research suggests that people working in the tech industry experience mental health issues at a much higher rate than the general population. According to OSMI data, 51% of tech professionals have been diagnosed with a mental health condition. By comparison, 19.1% of U.S. adults experience mental illness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Stigma around mental health issues certainly isn't limited to the tech industry, Jen Akullian, psychologist and OSMI advisory board member, told Business Insider. But there are factors within the tech industry that might exacerbate the problem. "There are still those who believe that people who struggle with mental health are lazy and incapable and dangerous and shouldn't need to take treatment, or it's their fault," Akullian said. "We know from research that it leads to people not reaching out for help. It's more complicated for people in tech. There's a higher level of expectation that you function really highly." Some of that comes from the still-pervasive idea of "move fast and break things," the motto once championed by Facebook. "Tech seems to attract high-functioning motivated people that have high expectations of themselves," Akullian said. "When you pair that with an industry that expects a lot from you and an industry that's innovative, it means that for innovation to happen, there needs to be a lot of failure, and a lot of things have to break." Jen Akullian CMX 'They don't know where to go' Akullian says that tech workers are often put in high-stress situations where they don't have the opportunity to sleep, work regular hours, or go on vacation. Tech workers often find themselves isolated, as they spend a fair chunk of their day working alone, or work from their home or other remote locations. And many startups, especially earlier-stage ones, don't have an HR department to offer support or help when things go wrong. "A lot of them find themselves in companies where this area isn't given attention," Akullian said. "There's nowhere to go for support. People tend to keep it to themselves, and they don't reach out for help. They don't know where to go. It seems like a pervasive problem." The problem is serious enough that it can end careers, she says. "Sometimes it leads to burnout," Akullian said. "Sometimes it leads to people quitting their jobs or quitting their careers or being very unhappy and not feeling the best they can and being the best professional that they can." Exacerbating the issue, she believes, is the way that some tech companies focus so much on the outcome that they ignore the human cost of building their businesses. "There's a lot of real problems there," Finkler said. "There's also a tendency for plugging in people and looking at people as sort of a set of skills as opposed to a whole human being. That tendency to look for that and treat people as resources, I think, is really problematic. I think it's not good for employees and it's not good for employers." 'Companies are starting to get it' Akullian says that if there's any good news here, it's that the tech industry is slowly but surely coming around to understanding the scope of the problem and take steps to address it, by working with the OSMI and undertaking other mental health support initiatives. "Companies are starting to get it," Akullian said. "If they want their employees to be most productive, most effective, most successful, this is an area that needs to be supported and at least a conversation where they feel comfortable approaching it and asking for help." OSMI's programs are so in-demand in the industry, Akullian says, as tech event organizers look for ways to help fight the stigma around mental health issues and encourage attendees to get whatever help they need, and employers look for ways to offer their own institutional forms of support. "As tech events are realizing how mental health is impacting their audience and professionals in the field, they're showing interest in bringing the conversation into their events," Akullian said. The goal is that by opening the platform everywhere, perhaps the OSMI can start conversations in places where they're most needed. "That's what OSMI is trying to do, break down the stigma," Akullian said. "When people start talking about it, we can refer our colleagues to someone, ask HR to put something in place for support, or at the very least, encourage people to reach out when they need help." Read the original article on Business Insider A 'slum' landlord has been fined for illegally cramming 30 tenants into a disused crumbling care home. Desperate residents were packed into the Grade II listed site in leafy Colchester, Essex, which had blocked fire escapes, drains overflowing with sewage, exposed wiring and collapsing staircases. Shockingly one room in the property even had bins labelled 'clinical waste' which inspectors say gave off a 'foul odour'. Pictures from inside the century-old converted rectory - which residents paid up to 315 a month for - show peeling floors next to tiny beds in stark rooms full of broken furniture. A 'slum' landlord has been fined for illegally cramming 30 tenants into a disused crumbling care home in Essex. Pictured: tiny beds in stark rooms full of broken furniture Confidential documents were also littered across the overgrown site including correspondence about the conditions in the damp-blighted care home, where tenants were forced to share one kitchen. They were exploited by Camelot Guardian Management Company as part of a property guardianship scheme - where people live in empty commercial buildings for reduced rents. The firm also ignored residents pleas for repairs and did not fix a faulty fire alarm system, sealed doors, blocked toilets, and bathrooms with no hot water. Drains were overflowing with sewage and the floors were peeling at the property in Colchester After repeated calls to the firm about the Old Rectory outraged residents went to Colchester Borough Council and it emerged the company did not have a House in Multiple Occupation licence. When the breaches were uncovered in January 2018 the tenants were evicted and forced to find a new home as a prosecution was launched. Camelot was found guilty of 15 offences relating to the licence and the dangerous condition in March. But the company has since gone into administration and escaped with minimal fines for what officials dubbed 'serious' offences. They are now trading under a new name, Watchtower Security Solutions, also known as Watchtower Property Management, with the same company director. On Friday District Judge Barron had no alternative but to issue a nominal fine of 1,500 - 100 for each of the 15 offences - and ordered the company to pay the council's full costs of just under 10,000. University research assistant Nicola Gillin , 34, lived in the property for several months and slammed the sentence. She said: 'It is rubbish, it is not a deterrent at all, but it is what these companies do - it is an absolute scam. Desperate residents were packed into the Grade II listed site in leafy Colchester, Essex, which is seen from the outside 'The conditions were really bad it was like a slum, it is not what I signed up for. 'When I turned up it was smelly and dirty but improvable - I was living there on my own when I first moved in. 'I was very clear what I was signing up for, however it was the overcrowding issue that was the problem. 'They just started putting loads of us in there until there were 30 people living there and the house started deteriorating. 'We had sewage leaks, we had 30 people sharing one kitchen - it was appalling. 'A lot of people in that house had social issues too and problems with alcohol and drugs, what you would class as vulnerable members of society.' She added: 'It is not just the slum conditions I had a problem with, it was also about the violation of my privacy. Confidential documents were also littered across the overgrown site including correspondence about the conditions in the damp-blighted care home, where tenants were forced to share one kitchen (pictured) One resident said: 'We had sewage leaks, we had 30 people sharing one kitchen (pictured) - it was appalling' 'They treated us like we didn't have any housing rights, they feel like they have the right to come into your room at any time if they have a key. 'It was disgraceful behaviour, from the top to the bottom they were absolutely rotten people.' Camelot managed the property as a HMO for eight months without a licence between June 2017 and February 2018. Left: Shockingly one room in the property even had bins labelled 'clinical waste' which inspectors say gave off a 'foul odour'. Right: Leaks from the gutter at the site Despite the company escaping with a light sentence officials at the council have pledged to crack down on criminal landlords. Councillor Adam Fox, portfolio holder for housing, said: 'Property guardian companies have a duty to licence HMOs and follow the regulations to protect residents. 'Camelot Europe's failure to do so in relation to the Old Rectory in Lexden left 30 tenants living in unsafe living conditions, which put them at risk in their homes. 'It is unfortunate that the company went into administration during the legal process leaving minimal assets, such that the Judge had no option but to issue nominal fines for what were serious offences. 'Colchester Borough Council is committed to improving standards of private sector housing accommodation across the borough. 'When accommodation is not being responsibly managed and regulations are breached, we will work with those involved to resolve the issues - but, if this proves to be unsuccessful, we will take legal action to remedy the situation and ensure tenants can enjoy a safe and healthy home which meets regulations.' Last week, Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) introduced a bill that would ban intelligence sharing with countries that use Huawei 5G networks. Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) has introduced this week a new bill that would ban the sharing of intelligence with countries that use Huawei equipment on their fifth-generation (5G) networks. Since November 2018, the US Government has invited its allies to exclude Chinese equipment from critical infrastructure and 5G architectures over security concerns. The United States always highlighted the risks to national security in case of adoption of Huawei equipment and is inviting internet providers and telco operators in allied countries to ban Huawei. Chinese equipment is broadly adopted in many allied countries, including Germany, Italy, and Japan. Many countries are going to build 5G infrastructure, but the approach of their governments is completely different. The U.S. has banned the use of Huawei products in federal agencies and In November Federal Communications Commission voted to cut off funds for Chinese telecom equipment from Huawei and ZTE. The US regulators consider the Chinese equipment in US telecommunications networks a threat to homeland security. Now, the new bill (PDF) would prohibit the sharing of United States intelligence with countries that permit operation of Huawei fifth-generation telecommunications technology within their borders. The United States shouldnt be sharing valuable intelligence information with countries that allow an intelligence-gathering arm of the Chinese Communist Party to operate freely within their borders. I urge our allies around the world to carefully consider the consequences of dealing with Huawei to their national interests, Senator Cotton said. The United States shouldnt be sharing valuable intelligence information with countries that allow an intelligence-gathering arm of the Chinese Communist Party to operate freely within their borders, Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), the lawmaker who introduced the bill on Wednesday, said in a statement. I urge our allies around the world to carefully consider the consequences of dealing with Huawei to their national interests. Pierluigi Paganini Turkey, like all other regional players, is trying to adapt to the profound geopolitical shift in the Middle East after a US drone attack killed Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Irans elite Quds Force and the spearhead of Iranian paramilitary operations in the region. In the two days after the Jan. 3 attack in Baghdad, Ankara followed a wait-and-see approach, reeling from the shock, as evidenced by the words of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Curiously, I had a conversation with [US President Donald] Trump that evening, and this incident erupted four or five hours later. Evidently, it was all planned. We were shocked by the news, Erdogan said in a Jan. 5 television interview. During that period of shock, Tehran made diplomatic efforts to draw Ankara to its side. The Iranian Embassy in Ankara tweeted that Erdogan had a phone call with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and quoted him as saying, The passing of the martyr Soleimani is deeply saddening. I am aware of how furious the Iranian people, you and the supreme leader are. In a low-profile denial soon after, Ankara said Erdogan did not call Soleimani a martyr. So far, the Turkish government appears to have skillfully fended off Tehrans moves to pull Ankara to its side. Nevertheless, Soleimanis killing has created a new geopolitical reality that requires Ankara to make some critical decisions. First, Turkey has come to the end of the road in its policy of playing in the gray area between the official government and the parallel pro-Iranian power quarters in Baghdad. It must now choose a side. The outcome of Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglus talks with Iraqi officials during his Jan. 9 visit to Baghdad will be important in this context. Ankara will likely opt for the official Baghdad government, given its key security parameters, which require Iraq to preserve its territorial integrity and not shift to a federate structure. In other words, Ankara will seek to minimize its ties with Shiite tutelage quarters in the coming months. Another critical decision looming for Ankara is a choice between the United States and the Russia-Iran bloc. Thus far, Ankara has succeeded in strategically balancing the two sides in Iraq and Syria, making use of the power struggle and gray areas between them. This strategy, too, is coming to an end. Both the United States and the Russia-Iran bloc are expected to turn up pressure on Ankara to choose its side. The US special envoy for Syria, James Jeffrey, visited Turkey Jan. 10, following the Jan. 8 visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Turkeys choice between the United States and the Russia-Iran bloc will not be an easy one. As the United States steps up cooperation with the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) against pro-Iranian militias, will Ankara try to dissuade Washington from collaborating with the YPG or move closer to the Russia-Iran bloc? The answer will also indicate how Turkish foreign policy evolves and whether Turkey will turn to face the West or Asia. Another crucial issue to emerge after Soleimanis death is the future of the Astana process, which has played a key role in efforts at de-escalation, political transition and constitution-drafting in Syria. The process, led by Russia, Turkey and Iran, has survived various crises thus far, but might stumble in the coming days due to potential tensions between Russia and Iran amid US-Iranian proxy warfare in Syria and Iraq. What will Ankara do in such an event? Will it opt to mediate between Moscow and Tehran, or will it choose sides? This will be another important decision to make. Obviously, the United States would partner with Baghdad, Iraqi Kurds and Syrian Kurds in any low-intensity conflict with pro-Iranian militias in Iraq and Syria. Reports from the field already indicate that the United States is stepping up a military buildup in Syria, especially in Deir ez-Zor, and seeking to reinvigorate its ties with the YPG. This will inevitably raise eyebrows in Ankara. In short, the US need for support from the YPG in Syria and the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq will grow as it moves into active confrontation with pro-Iranian militias in the two countries. Security sources in Ankara contacted by Al-Monitor are already wondering what will happen if tensions escalate and America says that it is closing its embassy in Baghdad and that the consulate in Erbil will be its new embassy. Clearly, this is something that Ankara fears might happen down the road. Also, amid the escalation in the region, the Turkish-Qatari alignment with Iran could become impossible to sustain without harming bilateral ties with the United States. Whether Turkey and Qatar choose the United States or Iran will be another important element to watch. Finally, an escalating proxy war between the United States and Iran will bear on oil prices and energy markets. Such volatility will inevitably have an adverse impact on the already fragile Turkish economy. That said, the killing of Soleimani is presenting diplomatic opportunities for Ankara as well. The United States and the Russia-Iran bloc are both likely to court Ankara in the coming weeks, offering carrots that Ankara might convert into diplomatic gains. Russia, for instance, might offer gestures such as acknowledging the legitimacy of the Ankara-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Libya, slowing the advance of Khalifa Hifters forces and pushing the GNA and Hifter to the negotiating table, or taking some stands in favor of Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean to pressure Turkeys rivals, Egypt and Greece. The United States, for its part, might come up with proposals to ease the myriad crises in bilateral ties, including the threat of sanctions over Turkeys purchase of Russian air defense systems, Turkeys expulsion from the F-35 stealth jet program for the same reason and the bitter rift over US collaboration with the YPG in Syria. Yet such an approach by Washington will require Ankara to move to a sharply anti-Iranian stance, which appears unlikely at present. In any case, sustaining the policy of balancing will become harder for Ankara in the coming months as both the United States and the Russia-Iran bloc step up pressure on Ankara to choose sides. In other words, Ankara will find it increasingly difficult to keep up its ties with the United States and Iran at the same time, now that the two adversaries have stepped into active confrontation. After the killing of Soleimani, the Middle East has become a highly unpredictable place, fraught with fresh uncertainties. The region is a chaotic ship, with the United States, Russia, Iran, Israel, Turkey and other actors all trying to bend the rudder to their favor. Where the ship is headed is anyones guess. Though it could be sad news for business owners, it promotes the safer environment for Hanoi citizens as risks may be derived from just a beer glass. Keg spots along the streets in Hanoi become deserted after the fining on drunken drivers taking effect. Fewer revelers are going to bia hoi or keg spots across the capital city after a new regulation stipulating more severe fines for drunken drivers and cyclists took effect earlier this month. Decree 100 provides that bicycle and electric bike riders, motorbike and car drivers with alcohol in their blood face heavier fines and may even have their driving licenses revoked for up to 24 months. Some beer shop owners estimated that they have lost 50% of daily revenues due to the sudden plunge in the number of revelers over the past week. The street keg spots in Hanoi remain deserted despite the hospitable waving of waiters. Some restaurants and diners even offer a lot of attractive promotions including 'buy two get one' or discounts but their beer places have not been able to return to the splendor of before January 1, 2020. Since the decree became effective, the police forces have handled as many as 2,000 cyclists and four-wheeler drivers driving under the influence of alcohol. Therefore, people are more cautious about drinking beer and alcohol. Though it could be sad news for business owners, it promotes the safer environment for Hanoi citizens as risks may be derived from just a beer glass. Stricter punishments are imposed on drunken riders as the past years witnessed many regrettable accidents due to excessive drinking among drivers. Hanoitimes Restaurants lack customers after drink driving law tightened Restaurants are reporting a sharp fall in the number of customers after a few days the new fines on drink driving took effect. Amid growing rifts within Ethiopias ruling elites on whether to stay as federalists or to join the ranks of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmeds centralist approach, Jawar Mohamed, the most popular Oromo activist and founder of the powerful Oromo Media Network, has become a member of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC). The move has ended speculation among Oromo nationalists and others in the ruling elites on whether Mohamed would align himself with Ahmeds new Prosperity Party. Right from the beginning, Jawar, who has led an effective campaign in exile against the former Tigrayan hegemony over the Ethiopian polity, has blatantly opposed the incumbent Ethiopian prime ministers Medemer philosophy that is bent on marginalising the regions power in favour of an all-powerful centralised government. His objection to Medemer (Amharic for synergy), which Ahmed heavily promoted in his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize, was the first nail in the coffin for this philosophy among his fellow Oromos, particularly as Jawar explicitly accused Ahmed of being authoritarian and showing early signs of dictatorship. Ahmed now has to face the music as the defiance coming from Jawar, given the latters popularity in Oromia, threatens the young leaders political career. While Ahmed was a member of the now-defunct Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) cabinet under former Ethiopian prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn, Jawar was engaging in active mobilisation among his fellow Oromos in exile against Tigrayan rule. Jawars bold actions against the Ethiopian government under strongman former prime minister Meles Zenwai and the ineffective Desalegn also gained him publicity beyond measure among his fellow Oromos and within other nationalities that suffered under EPRDF rule. Having joined the OFC, Jawar will run for a seat in the upcoming general elections in Ethiopia slated for May this year, and if his party gains a majority he may be picked as the head of the next government, as stipulated in the countrys constitution. In practice, the OFC has plans to field candidates in all 180 of the registered constituencies in Ethiopia in other words, it will challenge the incumbent prime ministers new party across the country, particularly as the OFC is expected to form a coalition with another federalist Oromo party, the Oromo Liberation Front, once labelled a terrorist organisation under the EPRDF-led government. Ahmed has presented himself to the West as a reformist leader who has freed prisoners, tolerated dissent, and empowered women to the extent of picking a woman as president for the first time in the countrys history, let alone allowing for the freedom of expression and leaving no journalist behind bars. Such a recipe has appealed much to Western circles, and it secured Ahmed the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, even if it has fallen on deaf ears in Ethiopia itself. Decades of ethnic politics have put down roots in the Ethiopian community, and the kind of paradigm shift that Ahmed wants cannot happen overnight. It is true that the EPRDFs notion of federalism was more a matter of form than of substance, as the leaders of the regions were picked based on their allegiance to the former ruling coalition, and the regions influence in decision-making never crossed the role of yes-men. But it is also true that the regions adherence to staying as federalists can be traced back to their panic at the prospect of returning to the old days of Ethiopian history under the rule of the former emperors when they had almost no say in their countrys political structure and only slight representation in the government. Above all, introducing a federal system to Ethiopia in the wake of the demise of the Marxist-led government of Mengistu Hailemariam did, except in the Eritrean case, maintain the lesser evil, namely the facade of a united and undivided Ethiopia, though one that had a restive and turbulent shape. Mohamed, on the other hand, has based much of his confidence as a potential successor to Ahmed on the fact that his defence of federalism as the administrative structure of Ethiopian politics appeals to nationalities that are afraid of losing their gains, particularly autonomous rule, in favour of Ahmeds centralised form of governance. Jawars appeal also goes beyond his home Oromia region as he has deftly embraced people in Amhara through a reconciliatory discourse, in Afar when he visited the region wearing national dress, and even stretched hands as far as archrivals the Tigrayans, who, like Jawar, defend federalism, though for different purposes. Jawars main objective remains in harmony with that of the Oromos: greater self-rule through which the Oromos can have wide control over the wealth that is abundant in their region and that has been used to sustain the federal republic but not the Oromos themselves. He is widely seen in the region as a messiah who can spread Oromisation in its broader sense, socially and culturally in particular. Such an ideology appeals to average Oromos who have been neglected for decades and have sustained one blow after another, particularly after their leaders collaborated with Zenawi in the guerrilla warfare against the Marxist government of Mengistu Hailemariam, dreaming at the end of an independent state just like current president of Eritrea Isaias Afwerki did with his country following the collapse of the Derg (Amharic for committee) regime in Ethiopia in 1991. But the Oromos request was then met with a resounding refusal, and they saw their leaders scattered in exile or labeled as terrorists, or, in the best-case scenario, being spared only to be sentenced to long terms in prison or vaguely disappeared. This was the time in which Mohamed was raised, and it was also the time when every Oromo bore the brunt of a ruthless campaign, both in the media and among the community, that Oromia wanted the disintegration of a happy and stable Ethiopia. No wonder, Jawars tone looks to some as ultranationalist, something he does not conceal, particularly as the Oromos believe it is now or never if they are to flex their muscles over the political and administrative system in Ethiopia. At first, the Oromos were jubilant when one of their own reached the helm of politics in the country, and they all, including Jawar himself, did provide support for him. But Ahmed has been busy turning his dream as a seven-year-old boy into reality: getting to the palace, as he said his mother predicted he would, and embarking upon imperial-like rule. The Ethiopian nationalities, small or large, have legitimate concerns that Ahmed will turn into a dictator and that they will once again lose what they gained with sweat and blood. By joining the Oromo Federalist Party, Mohamed has reshuffled the cards, particularly as another close ally of Ahmed, his defence minister, has left him between the devil and the deep blue sea by standing alone on his new political agenda. Should Ahmed manage to win the next elections and get the popular mandate he seeks, Ethiopia will enter into a new era of Abiyism by introducing amendments to the 1995 constitution and changing the countrys political system into a presidential one. But things will surely not be better if the other camp wins the race, because then secessionist calls could ruin an already ailing building. The writer is a former press and information officer in Ethiopia and an expert on African affairs. *A version of this article appears in print in the 9 January 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Outgoing Indian Ambassador to the US Harsh Vardhan Shringla called on US President Donald Trump at the Oval Office in White House on Saturday and thanked him for his "steadfast support" for strengthening the India-US strategic partnership. (Photo: ANI) Washington DC: Outgoing Indian Ambassador to the US Harsh Vardhan Shringla called on US President Donald Trump at the Oval Office in White House on Saturday and thanked him for his "steadfast support" for strengthening the India-US strategic partnership. Shringla is set to be the next Foreign Secretary of India. Ahead of his visit to New Delhi, Ambassador Alice Wells, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, described Mr Shringla as the "Captain of India-US relationship." Wells also said that Shringla would play an important part in the India-US relations to achieve its potential. US Chief of Protocol Can Henderson hosted a rare reception for Shringla at the Blair House. A reception at this venue for an outgoing envoy is normally reserved only for a few countries and India became one of them. On December 23, Shringla was appointed as the next Foreign Secretary of India. He will succeed Vijay Keshav Gokhale who completes his two-year term on January 28. Shringla will assume his new post the next day. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 03:47:12|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close OTTAWA, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had phone talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday after Iran admitted its missile "unintentionally" downing the Ukrainian plane, killing all 176 people on board, including 57 Canadians. In a news conference on Saturday, Trudeau said he told Rouhani that Iran's admission was an important step in providing answers for families, but more must be done. "A full and complete investigation must be conducted," Trudeau said. "We need full clarity on how such a horrific tragedy could have occurred." In their conversation, Rouhani promised further investigation into the circumstances surrounding the plane crash. Rouhani said that the investigation by the Iranian military found that the missiles that caused the downing of the plane were fired due to "human error." He said Iran welcomes any international cooperation in the framework of international regulations to shed more light on the incident. The plane crashed early Wednesday local time just minutes after it took off from Teheran Imam Khomeini Airport. It happened hours after Iran launched a missile strike on two U.S. military bases in Iraq after a U.S. airstrike killed Iran's Major General Qassem Soleimani near Baghdad International Airport. Texas will reject the resettlement of new refugees, its governor said Friday, becoming the first state to publicly do so since a Trump administration executive order granted such unprecedented veto power. In a letter announcing the decision, Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, argued that Texas has "carried more than its share in assisting the refugee resettlement process" and said the state's government and nonprofit agencies have also been strained by "a broken federal immigration system." "Texas continues to have to deal with the consequences of an immigration system that Congress has failed to fix," he wrote in the letter, which was addressed to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Under the order, refugees could still make their homes in Texas - but only after settling in another state first, Abbott said. But critics said the policy change underscores a growing hostility to the country's refugee resettlement program - especially in some conservative states and the White House. In September, after slashing the annual national refugee cap to a historic low, President Donald Trump also gave states and localities sweeping authority to block refugee admissions by requiring their governments to consent in writing before people are allowed to arrive. So far, 42 states have agreed to accept refugees, according to a tracker maintained by the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. Texas is the first state to refuse them. Human rights advocates and the state's Democratic lawmakers condemned Abbott's decision, calling it cruel and antithetical to Texas' history of welcoming those who flee their home countries. "This is a disgraceful move by Texas Governor Greg Abbott," Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Democrat whose district includes San Antonio, said on Twitter. "He has completely submitted to bigotry and xenophobia." Texas has long been among the country's leaders in refugee resettlement. Last fiscal year, it took in more refugees than any other state, according to federal data. This year, of the nearly 3,350 refugees resettled nationally, Texas has taken in about 260, putting it third behind Washington and California. "Texas is one of the most welcoming states for refugees seeking to escape dangers abroad," Abbott wrote, adding that 10 percent of all refugees resettled in the United States have come through his state. And mayors from Texas' largest cities had lobbied Abbott to continue that policy of embrace, praising the resettlement program for spurring economic growth and introducing their communities to new cultures. "Regardless of where someone is from, who they are, or what they believe, there is a home for them in Houston," the city's mayor, Sylvester Turner, a Democrat, said in a statement. "Our welcoming spirit has led to our city becoming the national leader in refugee resettlement. We remember Exodus 22:21, 'Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner.' " But in announcing his executive order, Trump said he was empowering local governments to refuse something that has for years has been imposed on them. At an October rally in Minneapolis, Trump boasted of the change, telling the crowd "no other president would be doing that." "You should be able to decide what is best for your own cities and for your own neighborhoods," Trump said as images of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who came to the United States from Somalia as a refugee, flashed across jumbo screens. "And that's what you have the right to do right now." Shortly after, three refugee resettlement agencies sued the administration, saying the order violates long-standing federal policies to welcome refugees. The consent requirement, the organizations argued, has caused confusion and could threaten the extensive network that has helped refugees find housing and jobs for decades. A preliminary decision in the case is expected later this month. The Texas decision demonstrates the urgency of that lawsuit, said Rev. John L. McCullough, the president of Church World Service, one of the plaintiffs in the case. "This decision will devastate refugee communities, lead to family separation for refugee families and leave refugees, former refugees and United States citizens without supportive services," he said in a statement. Abbott has opposed refugee resettlement in the past, trying to stop those fleeing Syria from entering Texas in 2015, after Islamic State militants carried out a series of attacks in Paris, killing 130. That year, he directed resettlement groups to cease accepting Syrian refugees, a move blocked by the federal government. The next year, Abbott withdrew Texas from the resettlement program altogether, but even that couldn't stop the federally-funded effort from placing refugees there. Then, as now, critics argue, Abbott's decision was more about sending a hard-line message. Because the Trump administration is allowing just 18,000 refugees into the country this year, the number that would have ended up settling in Texas would not have made much of an impact, said Eric Schwartz, president of Refugees International. "The number of refugees resettled in Texas would have been very small," he said in a statement, "revealing that Governor Abbott's announcement is more politics than about policy." - - - The Washington Post's Maria Sacchetti and Ann E. Marimow contributed to this report. January is that time of year when people think ahead and start to plan their summer holidays. I saw some advertisements in this newspaper last week and they got me thinking some more about the industry. So I did a little digging and spotted some good learnings in the case study below, particularly about fighting your corner in an evolving online world. The internet has significantly disrupted the travel industry, as consumers have become experts in booking their own flights, accommodation and activities. I was invited to speak at an Irish travel industry conference in Spain, on the topic of growing sales in a changing world. When I was researching the industry in advance of the conference, I was struck by the growth enjoyed by some travel agents, despite the changes. They have fought back, reinventing themselves with tailored packages, and as specialists with great expertise and knowledge. Consumers might well be able to book transactions themselves online but a travel agent offers significant added value with their advice. For example, imagine if you were planning a vacation and money was no object, what would be your dream travel experience? What about an authentic stay in village huts with a north Kenyan tribe - or an intimate dinner with an Irish lord or an English duke? What about a whiskey tasting facilitated by a member of the Jameson family in their own home? These are just part of the day job for Dublin-based Adams & Butler. There is a global trend emerging where wealthy people are spending more of their money on personalised experiences, not just things. Adams & Butler is a tailored private travel designer capitalising on this. Having facilitated travel experiences in Ireland for Taylor Swift, US senator Paul Ryan and the Kardashian honeymoon, it's no surprise that founder Siobhan Byrne Learat and her team enjoy what they do. There is no ambitious dream left unfulfilled by them when it comes to personalised and tailored travel experiences. Recent Challenges While the celebrity business gives Adams & Butler high profile and is, of course, profitable, it also requires hand-holding. Scaling up with such a personalised business has limits, especially given that Siobhan herself is so hands-on. The company has identified a scalable opportunity for growth with business sourced in Ireland. There is a lot of potential for luxury experiences, starting at the 10-12,000 market segment. Well-off Irish customers also want tailored experiences, albeit at a different price level to the Kardashians! Price perceptions can be difficult to break through, as Brown Thomas, for example, knows only too well. From my work with Brown Thomas, I know that it does not knowingly charge higher prices for products that are available elsewhere. For example, a 16cm Le Creuset saucepan is the same price in BT as it is in Ryan's of Galway. But because BT also stocks a wide range of high-end goods across all departments in its stores, there is sometimes an undeserved perception that it is more expensive. BT copes with that as it caters very effectively for the high-end customer, alongside the mid-range customer. How should Adams & Butler position itself appropriately? Can it attract a new mid-market customer segment or will that customer close their minds to the brand? Is this link to the celebrity market an asset or a deterrent? Tips on Scaling Up: 1 Let it be known who your customers are (if appropriate) Noel Toolan is a marketing guru with lots of experience in travel, tourism and luxury. He believes it is possible for Adams & Butler to achieve its goal, provided it delivers a carefully managed marketing strategy. That strategy should focus on experiences that are authentic and credible. The link to the celebrity market is actually a plus for Adams & Butler, in his view, as it gives comfort and reassurance to other customer segments. Wouldn't you feel more confident in engaging with it if you knew that it had successfully managed trips for the great and the good, and yet was affordable? 2 Build the Product Suite "Adams & Butler should take care to build and protect the DNA of the brand and consider replicating this through semi-automation," says Noel. While high-end celebrity travel experiences might always start from a blank sheet of paper, the company may consider building basic high-end travel packages that can then be customised accordingly by the consumer themselves. What about creating standardised packages with a menu of options that can be selected and deselected at will? The company already claims that due to tailoring, it has never sold the same package twice. This doesn't have to change. It's just that more control is given to the consumer to self-select their own options and preferences. In the same way that Apple sells an iPhone as a standard device, each one of us has the control to customise the screen and apps to suit our own tastes and preferences. 3 Get the messaging right This should be possible to present and partly sell online - with less need for hands-on attention by individuals, thereby facilitating scale. Such messages are all about the experience being offered. Quality video on social media and the company website is critical when conveying the message. Telephone back-up is also critical. In a recent project with a team at BT Telecom, they told me that their research showed the telephone was still key as a back-up and comfort, even for online customers. This is particularly important for this mid-range market. The Last Word The perception that customers have of your brand is their reality. Do you know where customers position you in the competitive mix? Is there a risk that your own intention for your brand is different to their reality? If you suspect that you have a perception issue, what are you doing about it? If you don't know, consider doing some research. With the market near all-time highs, it isn't as easy as you might like to find stocks that are on sale. Generally you have to look at companies that are out of favor for some reason. When looking at investment opportunities of this kind, however, careful investors will focus on safety. Here are three stocks that appear to be on sale, but have the financial strength to live through the troubles they are currently dealing with: ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM), Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG), and A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS). 1. Oil is long from dead The big knock against energy stocks like Exxon today is that they are part of the global warming problem. While that is true, oil is still in high demand, and likely to remain a key part of the energy market for decades to come. The problem investors have with Exxon specifically is that its production has been weak, and fixing the issue is going to cost a lot of money -- as much as $35 billion a year through 2025. That said, Exxon's efforts to turn production around are starting to bear fruit, so it looks like it is spending wisely. Meanwhile, Exxon's stock looks pretty cheap today. The stock's 4.9% dividend yield is near the highest levels it has seen since the mid 1990s, and the company's price to tangible book value is the lowest it has been since the late 1980s. Thus, Exxon also appears to be on sale today. The best part, however, is that Exxon is a historically conservative company with a rock-solid balance sheet. For example, financial debt to equity sits at about 0.15 times. That's toward the low end of its peer group. And while it is spending heavily right now, which means leverage will likely increase over the next few years, it is also selling less desirable assets to help fund its capital investments. So it is taking a balanced approach to repositioning its portfolio for growth. All in, investors looking for stocks that are on sale should like what they see here. 2. The mall isn't dead, either Next up is real estate investment trust (REIT) Simon Property Group. The average REIT was up nearly 25% over the past year or so, using Vanguard Real Estate ETF as a proxy, but Simon was down roughly 13%. What gives? Simon owns a global portfolio of roughly 200 enclosed malls and factory outlet centers. The growth of online retail has led to ongoing troubles at brick and mortar retailers, in what has come to be known as the retail apocalypse. The big-picture trend is obvious, but the fire and brimstone is likely to be hyperbole. It is more likely that retail will shift to accommodate new consumer trends, and that the strongest retailers will survive with a mix of online and physical stores, the latter located in the most desirable malls. On that score, Simon has one of the strongest portfolios in the mall sector. It ranks among the top in its peer group in sales per square foot and rent per square foot. Its occupancy, despite all the doom and gloom, is nearly 95%. Both of these facts make sense given that its malls tend to be located near large and wealthy population centers. It isn't the only mall REIT that can make claims like this, but that brings up the second reason to like Simon: financial strength. Simon's funds from operations (FFO, like earnings for an industrial company) payout ratio is among the lowest in its peer group at roughly 70%. Its financial debt to equity ratio is well below that of its closest peers, and it has stronger interest coverage. Backstopping these facts is roughly $7 billion of liquidity, consisting of cash on hand and a credit line. That should give the REIT ample room to adjust to the changes taking shape in the mall space. The yield, meanwhile, is a hefty 5.8% or so (the highest it has been since the 2007 to 2009 recession). To be fair, that's not the highest in the mall REIT space, but it appears to be among the most secure. Moreover, unlike most competitors (which are simply trying to muddle through the retail apocalypse), Simon also comes with a growth component via ground-up construction projects in foreign markets. All in, Simon looks like a financially strong play in the out-of-favor mall REIT space. 3. Expanding beyond China The last name here isn't quite as rewarding dividend-wise, since A. O. Smith, which makes water heaters, only offers a yield of roughly 2%. However, that's the highest the dividend yield has been in a decade. Since stock price and dividend yield move in opposite directions, it shouldn't be too much of a surprise to hear that the stock is currently around 30% below its early 2018 highs. That drop, meanwhile, has left the company's price to sales, price to earnings, price to cash flow, and price to book value ratios below their five year averages. So what's going on? The answer, in a nutshell, is China. Roughly 65% of the company's business is in the slow-growth North American market. This region is doing just fine. The rest of Smith's sales come from overseas, however, largely China. After years of strong growth, that business has been weak of late as China's economy has slowed down. Investors fear that this water heater maker's growth days are over. But it's too soon to make that call. A. O. Smith is taking action to right-size its Chinese operations, of course, but the market is still large and important. And hot water is still a luxury that everyone wants as soon as they can afford it. Equally important, Smith it is currently pushing into India using the same plan that was so successful in China for so many years. The company expects its target market in India to more than double by 2030. Meanwhile, the company's financial debt to equity ratio is an incredibly modest 0.05 times, and it covers its interest expenses by a robust 50 times. This water heater maker has what it takes to survive China's slowdown and thrive again in the future. Value and safety To be honest, it's actually pretty easy to find down-and-out stocks even with the market near all-time highs. What's hard to do is find out-of-favor stocks worth owning. Exxon, Simon, and A. O. Smith are all out-of-favor, and still worth owning. Sure, there are reasons for their stocks being in the dog house, but they all appear financially capable of dealing with the problems they face. Add in relatively high dividend yields, and you'll be paid well to wait for better days. If you have a value bent, this trio is worth a deep dive today. Thousands of people, including judges and lawyers from many EU member states, marched through Warsaw on Saturday to protest against what they say are government attempts to curb the powers of the judiciary in Poland, Trend reports citing Reuters. Last month Polands lower house of parliament approved a draft law that would allow judges who question the governments reforms to be disciplined. The European Commission has said the planned legislation would imperil the rule of law, deepening a standoff with the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party. In 2017 the European Parliament invoked Article 7 of its governing treaty against Poland for persistently flouting democratic rules, the first time it had used the procedure. The latest legislation was drawn up after some judges questioned the independence of peers nominated by a panel set up by the PiS-dominated parliament after nationalists won the 2015 elections. PiS says the new law is necessary to make the judiciary more efficient. But critics say it will curb the judges independence, putting pressure on them to rule in favor of government policies. Polands Supreme Court said in December Warsaw could end up leaving the EU over the dispute. Saturdays protest, tagged as 1,000 Robes March, was headed by a group of judges wearing robes and carrying banners that read The right to independence and The right to Europe. It is not usual for us to go out in robes to protest against depriving people from their right to courts, said Krystian Markiewicz, President of the Polish Judges Association Iustitia, one of the march organizers. We are doing this for the citizens. Judges from 22 European countries, including Germany, France and Spain, participated in the protest, Iustitia said. The march started in front of the Supreme Court, passed the presidents office and ended at the parliament building to symbolize the principle of separation of powers, which the organizers say is now under threat. The situation is very serious, at least in our judgment, and thats why we are here, Jose Igreja Matos, President of the European Association of Judges, told Reuters. A government spokesman told Reuters: We believe that the bills that are being adopted in Poland regulate stability of the legal system. Ahead of the march, a PiS spokesman was quoted by private broadcaster TVN24 as saying that judges should not get involved in politics. Weve come here to support Polish judges. We are here for the rule of law, not for politics, John MacMenamin, a judge of the Supreme Court of Ireland, told a press conference ahead of the protest. The upper house of parliament where the opposition has a slim majority, could reject the draft legislation, but the PiS-controled lower house would still have the power to overturn any changes. (This story corrects para 16 to say John MacMenamin is a judge at the Supreme Court of Ireland ,not England). New Delhi [India], Jan 13 (ANI): Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said that passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act is the first time a religious test has been introduced into the definition of Indian citizenship. The problem with the Citizenship Amendment Act is that it is wrong in principle. This is the first time that a religious test has been introduced into the definition of Indian citizenship. Never before, in our country has it mattered what your religion was to qualify to be an Indian citizen," Tharoor said addressing a group of students at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). As many as 36 students were injured after a masked mob had entered the varsity on the night of January 5 and assaulted the students and professors with sticks and rods. "What happened on January 5 was inexcusable. As a parent I feel the anguish that your parents must have suffered seeing the way in which all of you students were assaulted with impunity by masked thugs and goons brought here in some cases from other campuses," Tharoor said. "What they did, with the police waiting outside the gates, with a reticence that they could not show in Jamia on December 15. The police stood by while others came and did the dirty work of assaulting you," he added. He said that this is not what our country is about and this has never been allowed to happen before. "The worst things are, that it reminded students of history like myself of events in Nazi Germany in the 1930s when sadly the same tactic was employed as young troopers of the ruling party marched into several campuses and assaulted several students," Tharoor said. Earlier in the day, the Congress leader from Thiruvananthapuram had visited Jamia Millia Islamia University and nearby Shaheen Bagh area to express solidarity with protestors. The MP later tweeted about his visits to the two universities: "Glimpses of today's crowds at the three #CAA_NRC_Protests I addressed. Let there be no doubt, this is a people's upsurge, going well beyond any political party. We should applaud the courage &determination of ordinary people without seeking to appropriate their movement. JaiHind! (ANI) Improvement in load factors, coupled with an increase in seat capacity after Jets slots were allotted to low-cost airlines, has resulted in an increase in daily passenger traffic. IMAGE: Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. Photograph: B Mathur/Reuters Passenger traffic at the Mumbai and Delhi airports is picking up after witnessing a fall last year, the first such decline since 2008. The primary reason for the dip in annual passenger traffic was the closure of Jet Airways. In Mumbai, the airlines closure on April 17 led to a reduction of 142 flights a day for about two months. But improvement in load factors, coupled with an increase in seat capacity after Jets slots were allotted to low-cost airlines, has resulted in a 4 per cent increase in daily passenger traffic over past two months, sources said. Mumbai International Airport executives expect growth to continue through the year. On an average, the airport handled 142,000 passengers each day in November and December, which was 4 per cent higher on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. Delhi airport, too, has seen monthly traffic grow since October and expects it to rise further as better navigation procedures have resulted in an increase in daily flight movements. At present, Delhi is handling around 1,300 flights daily, which is around 100 movements more compared to last January. The good news is the increasing number of aircraft available and low fares. We have 646 aircraft flying in the country now. "Three ATR aircraft were added to the fleet on Friday. Demand will pick up. "It is just a matter of time. Hopefully, we will be back to double digit growth in 2020," said Arun Kumar, Director General of Civil Aviation. The suspension of Jet Airways operations in April hit passenger traffic at Mumbai and Delhi - the two busiest airports in the country. The airports were also hubs for Jet Airways. According to aviation consultancy CAPA, Jet accounted for 28-30 per cent of all domestic and international seat capacity in Mumbai and 14-16 per cent in Delhi. Nationwide domestic air traffic was hit, too, as it grew only 3.8 per cent after four years of double digit growth. Annual passengers handled in Delhi fell to 68 million in 2019 from 69 million in 2018. In Mumbai traffic dipped to 47 million from 49 million in the same period. Sources said Jets slots in Mumbai were allotted to other airlines by July and airlines began utilising them around same time. In Delhi utilisation was not as quick. Around 70-75 per cent of slots in Mumbai have been taken by no-frills airlines, which operate all economy Airbus or Boeing planes. While Jet Airways operated Boeing 737 with 168 seats, other low cost airlines operate planes with 180-189 seats. The number of flights handled daily is around 960, which is back to the levels seen before Jet closure, but now there is 3-4 per cent increase in seats deployed by airlines. "Also, load factors of airlines have improved resulting in increase in passengers at Mumbai in last two months, sources said. Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said closure of Jet Airways coupled with grounding of Airbus A320Neo and Boeing 737 aircraft and closure of Pakistan airspace affected flights and led to reduction in traffic. During calendar year 2019 IndiGo, SpiceJet, and GoAir faced issues because grounding of their aircrafts by the regulator. "The closure of Jet Airways, which had 16 per cent share in Delhi impacted traffic. "Cross-border tension between India and Pakistan prompted the latter to shut its airspace for India. "This affected operations to and from Europe, the US and the Gulf countries. "This resulted in a few airlines temporarily closing operations on some international routes, a DIAL spokesperson said. MEXICO CITY - Stiletto heels. Clogs. Trainers. Tiny, child-size Crocs. Activists placed hundreds of painted-red womens shoes on Mexico Citys sun-drenched main square Saturday to call attention to gender-based violence in a country where, on average, 10 women and girls are murdered each day and less than 10 per cent of the cases are ever solved. As residents and tourists milled about the plaza, or Zocalo the historical, political, cultural and religious heart of the country demonstrators marched to the massive front door of the colonial-era National Palace and placed five pairs on the paving stones as a uniformed guard looked on. Not one more killed! they cried to the beat of a drum. The shoes represent absence, visualizing absence, said 60-year-old artist Elina Chauvet, who first realized the piece of performance-protest art in 2009 after her sister was killed by her husband in a domestic violence case in the northern border city of Juarez. The red is for the blood that has been spilled, but it is also a work that speaks of love. The performance was the latest in a string of public demonstrations in recent months over violence against women, including angry anti-rape protests in which demonstrators tossed glitter and defaced monuments; thousands of women in blindfolds chanting the feminist anthem A Rapist in Your Path, a viral phenomenon across the Americas and around the world; and more low-key marches and even knit-ins. The common thread running throughout: Authorities inability to solve the problem of gender-based violence in one of the worlds most dangerous countries to be female. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has been office a little over 13 months, and allied officials have pledged to make femicide and other gender-related crimes a priority. In November, Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum declared a gender violence alert for the capital, meaning that 20 of Mexicos federal entities have now done so. Sheinbaum said the measure would raise awareness of the problem and deliver better results. But for those at Saturdays protest, little to nothing has been seen as far as results. There were 3,662 femicides, or gender-related killings of women, in 2018, before Lopez Obrador took office, and the rate continued apace in 2019 though there are not yet final figures for the year. On the contrary. They keep on killing us, said Elizabeth Machuca Campos, a 39-year-old artisan and womens rights activist from Ocoyoacac in the neighbouring State of Mexico, whose sister was murdered there in 2017. She said a suspect was detained and sentenced but at the last minute the charge was changed from femicide to homicide something that activists and groups such as Amnesty International say is frequently done by Mexican governments at multiple levels to juke the stats on gender violence. Machuca brought to the Zocalo a photo of her sister and the shoes she was wearing when her body was found. Those pairs of shoes are missing their owners, she said, fighting back tears, the women who have been torn from us. The capitals new chief prosecutor, Ernestina Godoy Ramos, acknowledged Friday that she faces an enormous challenge in delivering public security for the city and promised justice in femicide cases. May it be heard loudly and from afar: There will be no impunity in the matter of femicides, Olga Sanchez Cordero, Lopez Obradors interior secretary, said the same day. Violence against women is a problem that well predates the current government. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Ciudad Juarez was notorious for the unpunished killings and disappearances of hundreds of women and girls. Today activists often point to the State of Mexico, the countrys most populous, as a flashpoint for femicides. Sacrisanta Mosso Rendon wore a T-shirt with the names and photograph of 17-year-old daughter, Karen, and 12-year-old son, Erik. Karen was raped and murdered are their house in Ecatepec, State of Mexico, in 2016, she said, and Erik was also home at the time and was strangled. Mosso, who now leads the activist group Voices of Absence, said the killer was caught but sentenced to just five years. She called for tougher sentences in the few femicide cases that are actually solved the near-total impunity for killings of women reflects a broader pattern of crimes generally going unpunished in Mexico. Unfortunately women are not safe anywhere, Mosso said. Governments come, governments go, and we remain in the same situation because there is no progress. But Chauvet, the artist, said that even if concrete results are scant so far, this and the other demonstrations are turning what was once a taboo subject into an issue of national public concern. Even though it would seem there is no immediate change, I think there is or rather that eventually there will be, she said Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 09:03:33|Editor: ZX Video Player Close TRIPOLI, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- About 60 migrants have been rescued by a commercial ship off Libyan coast, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Saturday. "Some 60 migrants picked up by a commercial ship were returned to Tripoli," IOM tweeted. More than 300 immigrants, including women and children, have been rescued off Libyan coast over the past few days, IOM said. "IOM is onsite providing assistance and reiterates the need for a safe and predictable disembarkation mechanism in the Mediterranean," IOM added. Libya has become a preferred point of departure for thousands of immigrants, mostly Africans, who attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea towards European shores, due to the insecurity and chaos that have plagued Libya since the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. According to IOM, more than 110,000 migrants made their way to Europe through the Mediterranean in 2019, while 1,283 died on the way. IOM has repeatedly stressed that Libya is not a safe port for disembarkation of migrants, due to the deteriorating security conditions in the country. The eastern-based army has been leading a military campaign since early April last year in an attempt to take over the capital Tripoli from the rival UN-backed government. Thousands of people, including immigrants, have been killed and injured in the fighting, while more than 120,000 civilians have been displaced. Hyderabad: After details of his salacious phone conversation with a woman staffer were made public, actor Balireddy Prudhvi Raj resigned as chairman of the Sri Venkateswara Bhakti Channel (SVBC) that telecasts devotional progra-mmes based on Lord Balaji. The channel belongs to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) board. Prudhvi Raj tendered his resignation after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy ordered his removal. The actor was embroiled in another controversy last week when he called agitating farmers in Amaravati paid artistes. On Saturday, Kandarapu Murali, a leader of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), released two audio clips in which a male voice, purported to be that of Prudhvi Raj, is indulging in sleaze talk with a woman who is believed to be an employee of the channel. In the first audio clip, which runs for 5 minutes 11 seconds, Prudhvi Raj tells the female employee: I wanted to hug you from behind at the office earlier. However, I couldnt do it. Im unable to gather some courage, as I was afraid that you might scream and raise an alarm if I did it. In the second audio clip which runs 17 seconds, the man says he really liked the female employee and was in love with her. He also asks her to send good photographs. She asks him if he was drunk. He replies, No, Im not drinking nowadays. Ill start drinking from March. To this, the woman says, Okay sir, but after hearing your voice, its like you had alcohol. The man says, I will start drinking again only in your presence. Ill sit with you and start drinking. She then asks him what happened at a meeting earlier in the day. He insists she listen to him. You are in my heart. Its true, you are really in my heart. I am saying this from bottom of my heart. The woman replied, You are saying it well. After hearing this from you, I am feeling so happy. The audio clips went viral on social media platforms and vernacular television channels. Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy sought a report from TTD chairman Y.V. Subba Reddy. On receiving the report, the Chief Minister is said to have directed Prudhvi Raj to resign. Following this, Prudhvi Raj held a media conference at the Press Club on Sunday night and announced his resignation. He claimed it was not his voice in the audio clips, and said he was being targeted by Opposition parties. He also denied the allegation of Murali that he had collected bribes from 36 persons on the pretext of giving them jobs in Sri Venkateswara channel. He also denied he was an alcoholic and said he was ready to take a medical test. Earlier in the day TTD chairman Y.V. Subba Reddy ordered the TTDs Vigilance and Security wing to probe the issue and submit a report. He told the media no one would be spared if they damaged the reputation of the TTD. In areas damaged by wildfire, cutting down the burnt trees and re-seeding the site may help reduce flooding, and return water levels to normal faster, according to a study which may lead to better restoration strategies for areas affected by forest fires. According to the study, published in the journal Hydrological Processes, water levels are still increased up to 40 years after a forest fire. "Trees work like straws, pulling water up out of the ground. When you remove them, the water has to go somewhere. Flooding is common after a wildfire, as is elevated stream flow in subsequent summers," said study co-author Ryan Niemeyer from Washington State University in the US. "But seeing that the effect lasts for up to 40 years is a little surprising and certainly a new finding," Niemeyer said. As part of the study, the scientists looked at the US Forest Service's Entiat Experimental Forest in north-central Washington, which burned in 1970, likely due to a fire started from a lightning strike. They assessed three areas of the forest, with the burnt trees in two of them cut down and removed. According to the researchers, these two areas were fertilised and native seeds dropped on the area, while the third area was left untouched. Based on studies conducted in the early 1970s, the scientists said the water levels in the region's watershed increased significantly after the fire. However, the measurement equipment in that study was removed after a few years, they said. In the current research, the scientists used a new stream flow monitoring equipment and observed the water levels after roughly 40 years. They found that 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. The trees in the re-seeded sections are much bigger, and water levels are back to normal," Niemeyer said. According to the researchers, increased water levels can be both positive and negative. If there is more water coming down a stream offering increased access for irrigation, then salvaging any of the burnt logs, or re-seeding the area may not be required, the scientists said. However, they added that the extra water may impact the land. Since trees help hold soil in place during rains, erosion is higher in areas that aren't re-seeded, the study noted. Under this scenario, the sediment going into the watershed from the rains increases, impacting fish and other wildlife. "It's really a complex set of interactions, and each wildfire situation effects water and water usage differently. But now we know how long a fire impacts nearby water, and that those impacts can be reduced faster," Niemeyer said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) No one can criticize the Trudeau government for its sharp focus in its first term almost to the exclusion of the rest of the world on Trump management. Times have changed. NAFTA2 is nearly done, retiring the existential threat to the Canadian economy that hovered over us for three years. Trump, whether he returns to office next year or not, is no longer merely a threat to his neighbours. He is an escalating threat to the rest of the world. When a foolish British government nearly provoked a regional Middle East war by seizing the Suez Canal, it was Canada that helped find a path to peace. When its architect, Lester Pearson, became prime minister he achieved a permanent commitment to development assistance by rich nations even if his Canadian successors have always failed to meet it. Pierre Trudeau and several European leaders played important roles in rallying financial support for African and Caribbean nations throughout the 70s and 80s. Canada also played essential roles in ending apartheid and rallying support for the unification of Germany. We have a long history of being the convenor of middle powers to bring pressure on the superpowers when their arrogance or xenophobic blindness puts the world at risk of major confrontation. Some tentative steps at forming such a club have taken place in recent years, with little impact. The list of those who could play such a role today might include Tunisia, the only democracy in the Arab world; South Africa, despite its internal struggles; and Chile, one of the most important voices in Latin America. And players who have made common cause with us in recent decades like Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Mexico. Donald Trump has pushed us to the brink of a new Suez. His bellicose response to Irans restrained missile attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq, makes it almost inevitable that Iran will strike at America again, perhaps using proxies. Trump will need to be constrained from a disproportionate response such as joining Israel in attacking Irans nuclear infrastructure. Some experts have expressed concern that Ottawa is looking at every international move through the lens of our Security Council bid. That would be dumb. Each policy choice can move votes, away from us with some nations, closer with others. Canada is being pushed to take a louder and more hostile position toward China. We would be very unwise to let our tensions with Beijing take our eyes off the more urgent and dangerous challenges to global security: U.S vs. Iran and the Middle East more broadly. When Ottawa feels it has the tragic Iranian air disaster investigation underway, it will be time to turn back to the wider instability issues. The PMO and Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne report they have made a flurry of calls to world leaders. But it is what they do next that matters more. A meeting with like-minded leaders, agreement on the steps required to deliver more long-lasting stability, and commitment to pursue them jointly are required. Champagne needs to find a role that he can call his own, that will persuade skeptics that he is up to raising Canadas profile on a global stage. Convening a group of nations, with respect in their own neighbourhoods, each with a demonstrated commitment to the rule of law internationally, and with leaders willing to stand together publicly against those would escalate threats to peace and stability, surely has greater potential. In recent years, beginning with Stephen Harper, some Canadian politicians have succumbed to delusional dreams of Canadas global importance. In reality, our voice alone will always carry little authority on a global stage. Successfully helping to rebuild a multinational voice for negotiation not war is something we have done, and we can do again. Trump would be dismissive. Serious leaders would welcome Canada seeking their support. In leading such a project, Trudeau and Champagne would be reviving the role of Canadian leaders going back 75 years. Like Paul Martins pioneering the creation of the G-20, a new forum of middle powers with a shared international policy agenda, would have an impact far longer than winning a temporary Security Council seat. Robin V. Sears is a principal at Earnscliffe Strategy Group and was an NDP strategist for 20 years. He is a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Twitter: @robinvsears is a principal at Earnscliffe Strategy Group and was an NDP strategist for 20 years. He is a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Twitter: @robinvsears Read more about: Severe thunderstorms knocked down trees and power lines across the Mountain Empire on Saturday. The National Weather Service office in Morristown, Tennessee, issued multiple thunderstorm warnings at about 7 p.m. Strong, gusty winds and heavy rainfall accompanied the storms, according to the NWS. Thousands of local customers in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia lost electricity during the storms. The BVU Authoritys power outage map showed thousands of customers without power late Saturday. BVU spokesman Chris Hall said the utility sent out crews to assess damage. About 12 locations were identified where damage occurred, including trees on power lines. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Hall said more than 3,000 customers lost power and it was unknown when all power would return. He said crews were working as quickly and safely as possible. Melbourne's skyline will be blanketed in a thick haze again on Monday, with experts saying smoke is being pushed towards the city from the East Gippsland fires once more. The city's air quality was considered "moderate" on Sunday, as 20 fires burnt in Victoria's north-east, but will drop significantly on Monday. The Environment Protection Authority's state agency commander Marleen Mathias said while air quality remained "pretty good" across the state on Sunday, it wouldn't last. Air quality in East Gippsland will drop to "hazardous" levels on Tuesday and Wednesday, after being considered "very poor" on Sunday. Editors note: The Journal-Courier has been working with a group of business and community leaders to shine a light on the importance of the sometimes behind-the-scenes work taking place to improve the present and build for the future of our hometown. As we were busy celebrating the end of 2019 and making resolutions for the new year, the U.S. Census Bureau released its estimation that Illinois has lost more than 51,000 people in the past year or 0.4% of its population because of declining birth rates and out-migration. This is the sixth straight year the bureau has reported a population loss in the Land of Lincoln. As the states population decreases, its political and economic power erodes, as well. Not exactly the inspiring news we long to hear as we begin our new year. While the U.S. Census Bureaus estimations are discouraging, this news should empower Illinois residents especially those in our region to make certain they are counted in this years census effort. Every 10 years, the U.S. Census Bureau undertakes the task of counting all people who live in the U.S. This official count is extremely important, because it affects the allocation of funding for the Jacksonville region with regard to roads, hospitals, schools and more; it also determines how local government plans for the future and the number of representatives we are allocated in Congress. In addition, businesses use census data to decide where to locate industry, offices and stores thereby creating jobs and real estate developers use this information to decide where to build new homes or revitalize neighborhoods. The financial impact of the census cannot be understated. The distribution of more than $675 billion in federal funds, grants and support to states, counties and communities is based on census data. In fiscal year 2016, Illinois received more than $34 billion through 55 federal programs guided by data derived from the 2010 census. This allocation works out to approximately $2,700 per person in federal assistance. Put another way, Illinois lost $122 million in federal funding for every 1% of the population not counted in the last census. Technology will render the 2020 census process much more efficient than any previous count. Local city and county leaders report that the Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) project has provided them important information regarding new homes and residences built since the last census. In addition, this years census can be completed online for the first time in census history, making it simple for most people to complete it. Of course, responses also will be collected traditionally by mail, phone and in person. No matter how you respond to the census, the 10 questions asked of you will remain secure and confidential. In fact, it is against the law for the Census Bureau to release your responses in any way that could identify you or members of your household. Responses to the census can only be used to produce statistics. As we near Census Day on April 1, you will begin to learn more about the effort through local public awareness campaigns and mailings from the U.S. Census Bureau. You first will begin receiving invitations by mail to respond online to the U.S. Census in early March. For those households in the Jacksonville region without internet connectivity, various local entities including the Cass-Morgan Farm Bureau, Jacksonville Public Library and the city of Jacksonville will offer assistance to complete the census online. For those unable to respond electronically, a paper questionnaire will be delivered to your mailing address by mid-April. Taking part in the 2020 census is your civic duty. It is a way to participate in our democracy and proudly declare, I count. . Kristin Jamison is vice president of marketing and communications for the Jacksonville Regional Economic Development Corp. The members of Bhim Army Students' Federation on Sunday held a protest at the Jantar Mantar here, demanding the release of Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad, who was arrested by the Delhi Police from the Jama Masjid area during anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protest last year. "It is a genuine demand. Chandrashekhar Azad was arrested from the Jama Masjid. Many others were detained from the India Gate and other places. All have got the bail, but Azad is still in the jail. Why? It is a clear act of injustice because he is a Dalit leader," Ladida Farzana, a student from the Jamiya Millia Islamia (JMI), told ANI. The Bhim Sena chief is currently in judicial custody till January 18. "Chandrashekhar Azad was arrested only because he was protesting, which is our Constitutional right. Our demand is that he should be released unconditionally and at the earliest," said Aayush Raj Singh, a member of Bhim Army Students' Federation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Peter Radich is the new chief digital officer at New Zealand Health Group, the countrys largest provider of home and community services, including home support, nursing, rehab and behavioural support. Radich wraps up more than eight and a half years stint as CIO at Abano Healthcare Group. Radich led the migration of the groups brands Abano, Maven and Lumino support offices to the public cloud using Microsoft 365 and Azure. The goal, he told CIO New Zealand, was to allow the business to scale easily, with IT facilitating this growth. Pressed for pointers for success, Radich turns to the famous mantra of Steve Jobs of keeping technology simple. The golden rule is to try to make technology easy to use, to make the complicated simple, he says. They dont have to ask for the information, or find the right analyst to tell them what their revenue is for that day. It is all available on their fingertips. Desperate defence chiefs are trying to recruit a Grandads Army of veterans to plug manpower shortages in under-strength regiments. As part of a New Year recruitment drive, service personnel are being urged to seek out veterans as old as 57, including ex-soldiers who retired on medical grounds or who left the Forces for disciplinary reasons. An Army briefing notice seen by The Mail on Sunday says: Service personnel are encouraged to contact those who have left and to pass on the information below. Dads Armys Private Godfrey is pictured above as defence chiefs are trying to recruit a Grandads Army of veterans. The appeal to recruit veterans was spelled out in written orders soldiers received on their first day back after the Christmas holidays Rejoiners can apply to enlist up to their 57th birthday. They are also eligible for consideration to return in their previous rank and seniority. Rejoiners can join their old cap badge [regiment] or apply to join a different cap badge providing there are vacancies. If a former soldier wishes to rejoin the Army within 12 months of leaving, there are opportunities for fast-track entry. The campaign was ordered to tackle a manpower crisis in frontline units, some of which are 40 per cent short. Soldier numbers in many historic regiments are in steep decline, with recent figures showing the Scots Guards 257 soldiers below the target of 697, while many infantry units are more than 20 per cent under-strength. While the size of the Army has shrunk for nine successive years, from 102,000 to 74,440 full-time, fully trained troops, commanders are confident recruitment has turned the corner [File photo] The appeal to recruit veterans was spelled out in written orders soldiers received on their first day back after the Christmas holidays. Ministry of Defence officials have also set up a hotline for rejoiners and are contacting veterans associations to encourage retired troops to pick up a rifle again. Former reservists are also being approached. The notion of a Grandads Army is best encapsulated by the elderly Private Godfrey, played by Arnold Ridley in the BBCs 1970s television sitcom Dads Army. The age limit for former soldiers wanting to rejoin the regular Army and reserve units has crept up in recent years amid controversy that targeting those in their late 40s and 50s smacked of desperation. In 2014 the ceiling was raised from 43 to 52. Now it is 57, the highest ever, even for infantry units in which troops are expected to march and run long distances while carrying heavy packs. It comes after the Army launched its latest campaign to attract teenage recruits by persuading them that a military career gives them more confidence than social media likes. Last night an infantry soldier in his early 40s said: Im struggling to keep up with guys in the regiment who are half my age. I cant see how guys in their late 50s are going to cope. While it is good to recognise that middle-aged people have a lot to offer the Army in specific roles, soldiering is definitely a young mans game. It is just too physically demanding for the guys theyre looking at bringing back now. While the size of the Army has shrunk for nine successive years, from 102,000 to 74,440 full-time, fully trained troops, commanders are confident recruitment has turned the corner. It comes after the Army launched its latest campaign to attract teenage recruits by persuading them that a military career gives them more confidence than social media likes In 2019, online applications to join the Army increased by 46 per cent, while in September 2019 more than 1,750 recruits started training the highest number for a decade. These successes followed the Armys controversial snowflake advertising campaign which focused on how the Army sees beyond stereotypes to spot young peoples potential. But the campaign was also criticised for antagonising its target audience, while the guardsman who appeared on the snowflake poster quit the Army just days afterwards over abuse he received. Last night, an Army spokesman said: We value the diverse experience and skills that former service personnel can gain in the civilian world or from previous time in the Army, which is why we have improved our system for those wishing to rejoin. Former personnel will still need to meet the required high standards, but we hope to streamline the transition through condensed basic training and dedicated advice. Rare wood smuggled from Africa is discovered by customs officials in HCMC on January 10, 2020. Photo by HCMC Customs. Customs officials in HCMC have discovered over 1,000 cubic meters of timber worth over $430,000 illegally imported from Africa with fake declarations. In the declarations, the shipment, which arrived in District 9's SP-ITC Port, was listed as imported by Inbe Asia Co. Ltd., a company in Binh Thanh District and containing Afzelia xylocarpa wood, a species of tree native to Southeast Asia. According to customs anti-smuggling and investigation department, the shipment had already been cleared but a representative of Inbe Asia who had come to apply for the clearance refused to cooperate when the authorities asked to inspect the consignment. The representative then refused to accept the shipment and attempted to change the name of the importer in the manifest. Anti-smuggling and customs officers then decided to check it on Friday. Inside they found wood from the African kino tree (Pterocarpus erinaceus), an endangered species of tree that is native to West Africa and listed as protected in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. African kino is used medicinally for wound healing, as treatment of fever, coughs, diarrhea, eye complaints, ulcers, sores, intestinal worm infections, gonorrhea, leprosy, hemorrhage, anemia, and as aphrodisiac. It is also used for woodworking, charcoal and as fuel wood. According to international regulations, import of this wood requires permission from authorities in both the countries of origin and destination. The shipment is thought to have passed through many countries before arriving in Vietnam in an attempt to hide its origin. Authorities also found Inbe Asia's registered address to be fake and found instead a general store there. The investigation is continuing. Update: Portland family was on an off-beach trail when pulled out to sea by sneaker wave Update: Girl, 7, who died on Oregon coast was a Portland elementary student; district providing counseling for classmates Jeremy Stiles, 47, of Portland is expected to survive after he and his two young children were swept out into the ocean near Cannon Beach, Oregon State Police said Sunday. Stiles 7-year-old daughter died Saturday and his son, 4, is still missing after the three were hit by a wave onshore at Falcon Cove, state officials said. U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier said Sunday that the incident took place south of Cannon Beach near the Cape Falcon Shoreside Marine Protected Area. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, rescuers pulled Stiles and his daughter from the water. Both were unresponsive and taken to Providence Seaside Hospital, where the girl was pronounced dead. Officials said Saturday that Stiles was onshore holding the children around 1 p.m. when they were hit by a wave. A Manzanita Police Department officer arrived and found the man struggling and his daughter further out in the water. The officer was able to pull the girl from the water. The incident unfolded at Falcon Cove Beach, between the unincorporated community of Arch Cape to the north and Oswald West State Park to the south. Private homes are perched on a rocky shelf overlooking the beach, where at high tide the shore is covered with rocks. Theres no developed beach access, and the area is mostly served by gravel roads. Saturdays high tide hit the area around 11:40 a.m. and was 8.3 feet. At 12:45 p.m., the tide had dropped down to 7.7 feet. Surfline reports that the water temperature at nearby Short Sands on Sunday was 48 to 50 degrees. Saturdays search for the boy was conducted by helicopter and onshore crews, the Coast Guard said. After nearly five hours spent searching for the child, the effort was called off after dark. Strohmaier said Sunday morning that the search had been suspended indefinitely. Weve exhausted our resources, Strohmaier said Saturday. "Were obviously hoping for the best, but at this point its very challenging. The National Weather Service issued high surf warnings over the weekend as the Oregon Coast was hit with massive waves and king tides. Mark Graves contributed to this report. -- Lizzy Acker 503-221-8052 lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the second day of the State Continuing Education Arts Festival coming to a close, host Thiruvananthapuram is leading with 97 points. Thrissur and Malappuram districts are in second and third spots with 58 and 55 points respectively. As many as 40 of the 144 competition items were held on Friday and Saturday at University College, the venue of the fest. Transgender students dominated the Class X/Higher Secondary category. Though Thrissur was leading in the initial stages, stellar performa n c e s by transgender students tilted the scales in the capital districts favour. Transgender participants alone won 38 points in the Class X/Higher Secondary category, of which, 33 points were bagged by participants from Thiruvananthapuram. Competitions for transgender people were held in 15 categories, including group dance, Oppana, Thiruvathira, Mapplilapattu, folk song, Bharatanatyam and folk dance. The district also topped the pageantry competition, organised as part of the festival. Kasaragod and Pathanamthitta districts clinched the second and third spots respectively. General Education Minister C Raveendranath distributed the trophy to the winners. He also gave away trophies to winners in the Literacy/Class IV/Class VII categories. Big two give green light to restoration of Stormont The Stormont institutions are set to be restored over the coming days with both the DUP and Sinn Fein endorsing the agreement tabled by the two governments. Assembly speaker Robin Newton last night wrote to the whips from each of the main parties outlining details of how the executive will be restored. MLAs could sit as early as today though last night it appeared more likely that devolution would be officially restored on Monday, a matter of hours before legislation giving civil servants decision-making powers expires. The DUP is expected to nominate Arlene Foster as first minister, while Sinn Fein confirmed to the Irish News that Michelle ONeill will be its nominee for deputy first minster. Sinn Fein had previously stated that it would not re-enter the executive if the DUP leader was first minister, however, that condition fell away soon after the institutions collapsed. The New Decade New Approach deal was unveiled by the two governments on Thursday night, on the third anniversary of Martin McGuinnesss resignation as deputy first minister. Secretary of State Julian Smith last night welcomed the parties support, saying a devolved government can now start delivering the reforms needed in our public services. Irish News Johnson celebrates restored Stormont Sunday Times Sandringham showdown to decide the Sussexes future The Queen is to hold a summit with the Duke of Sussex, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge on Monday in the first face-to-face discussions since the royal family was plunged into crisis over Prince Harry and his wife Meghans plans to step back from royal duties. The 93-year-old monarch convened the urgent meeting at Sandringham to thrash out a deal that will provide a blueprint for the Sussexs progressive new role which will see them spend more time in North America. It will be the first time Prince Harry has seen the Queen and the two direct heirs to the throne since the couple made the bombshell announcement that they wanted to step back from life as senior royals, leaving other senior members of the family deeply disappointed. Buckingham Palace sources said the Queen, her son and two grandsons, will have been presented with a range of draft written proposals compiled by a team of aides and private secretaries ahead of the crunch meeting. The Duchess of Sussex is expected to dial into the talks from Canada, having flown back to the country on Thursday evening to be reunited with her eight-month-old son Archie. Sunday Telegraph Duke and Duchess face backlash as Canadian taxpayers face prospect of paying millions for their security Sunday Telegraph Comment Everything must change if the monarchy is to stay the same, Leader Sunday Times Why the stability of the Crown now rests on the shoulders of Camilla and Kate, Simon Heffer Sunday Telegraph British ambassador to Iran arrested Britains ambassador to Iran, Rob Macaire, has been arrested and held for several hours after attending a vigil for the victims of the Ukraine plane crash which turned into a demonstration. Details of his arrest were announced by the countrys semi-official Tasnim news agency and prompted an angry response from Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab. The arrest of our Ambassador in Tehran without grounds or explanation is a flagrant violation of international law, he said. The Iranian government is at a crossroads moment. It can continue its march towards pariah status with all the political and economic isolation that entails, or take steps to de-escalate tensions and engage in a diplomatic path forwards. It is understood that the event which Mr Macaire attended had been advertised as a vigil at Amir Kabir University for the 176 victims of the Tehran plane crash last week. He and another member of the embassy staff left once the vigil turned into a protest. Mr Macaire was arrested on his way back to the embassy after getting a haircut. He was held for three hours before being released, following the intervention of the Iranian foreign ministry. Sunday Telegraph Iran must take full responsibility for horrific act, says Trudeau Observer Corbyn: Iran has no excuses for shooting down airliner Observer Protesters take to the streets over shooting down of Ukrainian airliner Sunday Telegraph Wallace warns that UK must fight wars without US Sunday Times Comment Theres a chance for change in the Middle East and Britain has a role to play, Alistair Burt Observer Raab: It is time for Iran to come to the negotiating table A turbulent week in the Middle East brought Iran and the US close to the brink of war. Amid the most perilous regional climate for a decade, we have demonstrated the value of British diplomacy. Our objective throughout has been clear. We need to de-escalate the situation. But we must also stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. No one wants a Middle Eastern war. That would create the kind of chaos that terrorist groups like Isil thrive on. So the PM dispatched me to Brussels to discuss the situation with our EU partners, including France and Germany, and then on to the US and Canada. We agreed on the need to persuade all sides to de-escalate the tensions, and the PM engaged in an intensive round of international calls, drawing on the relationships he built up in the Middle East as foreign secretary to help defuse the crisis. Iran responded to Soleimanis death by firing ballistic missiles at two US bases in Iraq albeit with no loss of life. An uneasy lull followed, as the UK and our allies helped bring the Middle East back from the brink. The UK effort relied on the quiet professionalism of our diplomats. This was a moment for composure and focus, not megaphone diplomacy. Sunday Telegraph Gove to be de facto deputy PM Michael Gove looks set to be given a wide ranging role running the entire Cabinet Office and Brexit talks after next months expected ministerial reshuffle. Whitehall sources say Mr Goves new role is likely to make him the de facto deputy Prime Minister, despite the fact that Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, is the official first secretary of state. Mr Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, was given a major role ensuring that the UK was ready for a no-deal exit from the EU in the run-up to the last deadline, October 31. The elevation of Mr Gove could distract from what is known as Mr Johnsons women problem at next months expected reshuffle. Talk is widespread of Boris Johnson having to sack female Cabinet ministers who are seen as underperforming and replace them with male colleagues. Business secretary Andrea Leadsom and Environment secretary Theresa Villiers and even Liz Truss, the Trade secretary, are being mentioned as candidates in next months cull. Sunday Telegraph Could Gove become CEO of Government? Mail on Sunday Cracks appear in cabinet over No 10s war against civil service Sunday Times Northern Tory women at front of queue for promotion Mail on Sunday Race to replace Grieve as chairman of Intelligence and Security Committee hots up Mail on Sunday BBC received more than 60,000 complaints over General Election coverage Mail on Sunday Comment >Today: >Yesterday: PM could address both houses of Congress Allies of US President Donald Trump are weighing up the offer to Mr Johnson as a way of cementing the links between the UK and US just days after Britain leaves the European Union on Jan 31. Sources in London and Washington said that the visit is scheduled for the second or third week of February before Mr Trump starts his campaign for this Novembers Presidential election in earnest. Mr Johnson would become only the sixth British Prime Minister to be given the honour, matching Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, who gave speeches to Congress in 2003 and 2009. Winston Churchill, Clement Attlee and Margaret Thatcher also addresses both houses while Prime Minister. The event sees elected members from both chambers of Congress the Senate and the House of Representatives gather in a single room where they are addressed by the visiting foreign leader. Invitations are usually issued in consultation with the White House but ultimately the decision lies with Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker, who is a Democrat, and so a political opponent of MrTrump. Sunday Telegraph US delegation flies to UK in last-ditch bid to stop Huawei Sunday Telegraph Starmer vows to build on Corbyns work Labour leadership contender Sir Keir Starmer has declared that factionalism has to go as the left-wing grassroots Momentum group urged its members to back his rival, Rebecca Long Bailey. Speaking at the launch of his campaign at the Mechanics Institute in Manchester, birthplace of the Trades Union Congress, the shadow Brexit secretary issued a call for unity as he promised not to trash the last Labour government nor the partys current leader. Jeremy Corbyn was right to make us the party to fight austerity, Starmer said. We build on that, we dont trash it going forward. He said Labour should treat the 2017 manifesto as its foundation and that a future manifesto must give hope to people that the next 20 years can be better with a Labour government. Responding to the divisions within Labour, Starmer, who is one of six candidates running to succeed Corbyn, said factionalism has to go for the party to succeed as he warned: We cant fight the Tories if we are fighting each other. Yesterday, in a boost to Rebecca Long-Baileys campaign, the pro-Corbyn campaign group Momentum said she was the only viable candidate to continue the Labour leaders socialist agenda. Sunday Times And favourites team confident but expect rivals surge Observer Long-Bailey under fire for CV discrepancies Sunday Times Corbyn loyalist determined to keep Labour on the far left FT Phillips forced to suspend aide Mail on Sunday And she wanted to be world queen Sunday Times Labour urges delay to Bailey becoming BoE governor FT Comment Labours task is not to make itself feel better its to win power, Tony Blair Observer Three Labour women but my bets on a man, Sarah Baxter Sunday Times Starmer is no hard Left zombie, but as leader hed still be a Momentum marionette, Janet Daley Sunday Telegraph More French PM makes major concession to unions over pension age Observer And finally, Tory MPs stage last-ditch attempt for Big Ben to mark Brexit Dozens of Tory MPs are staging a last-ditch attempt to persuade Parliament to allow Big Ben to bong at the moment Britain leaves the European Union later this month. In a letter to todays Sunday Telegraph, 60 MPs say that the Great Bell must sound at 11pm on January 31 to provide Remainers and Leavers with closure after three years of Brexit bitterness. The decision could be made as early as tomorrow when MPs and officials on the House of Commons Commission which meet for its last scheduled meeting before Brexit day. However, the Commission was reluctant to allow Big Ben to sound when Brexit was mooted on two previous occasions March 29 and October 31 and signs were not hopeful last night. A spokesman told The Telegraph last night that it could cost at least 120,000 to prepare the Great Bell to chime while contractors needed 14 days to carry out the work ahead of January 31. Nevertheless Brexiteer MPs are desperate for Big Ben which has been silenced since 2017 due to refurbishment work to chime to mark the UKs exit. Todays letter, signed by MPs including Mark Francois, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Sir Bill Cash and Sir John Redwood, urges the Commission to reverse its a previous ruling that Big Ben will not sound. Sunday Telegraph By Arthur I. Cyr Up close and personal that describes targeting individuals in wartime, even when impersonal unmanned drone aircraft are employed. The lethal remotely guided aircraft have become extremely popular with the United States military and intelligence agencies. The dramatic killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, a highly influential senior Iran military officer, on Jan. 3 by a U.S. drone has punctuated an already escalating confrontation with Iran. Soleimani, a member of Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards, was the commander of the Quds Islamic Militia. The targeted killing took place in Iraq, not Iran, near Baghdad airport. Nine other passengers in a two car convoy leaving the airport were also killed. On Jan. 5, the parliament of Iraq voted to expel U.S. forces from their country, a revealing if largely symbolic gesture. The U.S. government has declared that Soleimani represented an imminent serious military threat. He was involved in directing attacks on U.S. personnel. On Dec. 27, an American contractor was killed during a militia attack against the K-1 Air Base in Iraq. In reply, the U.S. launched air strikes across Iraq and Syria. The government of Iran has vowed "revenge" against the U.S. for killing Soleimani. President Donald Trump in turn threatens further attacks on Iran. Periodically, U.S. drone attacks have generated controversy. In April 2015, President Barack Obama announced and took responsibility for a U.S. drone strike which killed two innocent hostages. Giovanni Lo Porto of Italy and U.S. citizen Warren Weinstein were inadvertently killed in an attack on an al-Qaida camp near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. In 2011, the killing in Yemen of al-Qaida leader Anwar al-Awlaki, his young son Abdulrahman and associate Samir Khan by U.S. drones sparked controversy. They were American citizens. Targeting individuals in war is defensible. Early in World War II, a special U.S. intelligence force was given the mission of locating and killing Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the brilliant architect of the Pearl Harbor attack. In early 1943, he was confirmed flying near New Guinea, a special squadron of fighter planes was dispatched and his aircraft shot down. During the initial part of that war, the British began a sophisticated intelligence program to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Later, the effort was abandoned, not for reasons of morality but because Hitler's serious mental deterioration led planners to conclude he was more useful to the Allied efforts alive than dead. The Vietnam War included the Phoenix program, focused on neutralizing individuals on the other side through various means, including but by no means limited to killing. Publicity about this program fueled anti-war sentiment. After that war, careful realistic analysis confirmed CIA estimates that thousands of Viet Cong revolutionaries had been neutralized. Madame Nguyen Thi Dinh of the National Liberation Front testified the program was extremely effective and "very dangerous." Americans prefer technological means, yet drones reinforce radical Islamic arguments that invaders from the West are truly alien. When possible, terrorists should be captured rather than killed. The capture of terrorists both eases moral ambiguities and provides important opportunities for interrogation. Additionally, drones cannot duplicate the flexible, subtle information gathering skills of talented human operatives. The U.S. government has dramatically expanded the use of drones for killing as well as information gathering. The Obama and Trump administrations have both greatly increased their use. There has been no serious, sustained public debate regarding drones. Americans also deserve a clear presentation of a disciplined strategy. So far, there has been none. Arthur I. Cyr (acyr@carthage.edu) is Clausen distinguished professor at Carthage College and author of "After the Cold War." LA MORA, Mexico - President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Sunday that a monument will be put up to memorialize nine U.S.-Mexican dual citizens ambushed and slain last year by suspected drug gang assassins along a remote road in the northern border region near New Mexico. In remarks to members of the small town of La Mora, which was shattered by the Nov. 4 killings of three women and six children from the extended Langford, LeBaron and Miller families, Lopez Obrador said the first goal is to bring those responsible to justice. Speaking after meeting with victims relatives, the president said an agreement had been reached with municipal and Sonora state officials to establish a monument of some sort here where these lamentable and painful events took place, and also for special recognition of those who risked their lives to rush to the aid of victims and survivors. So that we exalt this, the true solidarity: He who is willing to give his life for another, Lopez Obrador said. He promised to meet with family members in two months to give them another in-person update on the investigation and to return in four to six months to present a plan on regional development including road improvements. The mostly bilingual American-Mexicans have lived in northern Mexico for decades and consider themselves Mormons, though they are not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The communitys origins in Mexico date to the official end of polygamy over a century ago by the LDS church, which prompted many families that continued the practice to establish colonies elsewhere. Many of those in northern Mexico have by now, over the generations, abandoned polygamy as well. La Mora is a hamlet of about 300 people in Sonora state while Colonia LeBaron is a larger town of over 2,000 on the other side of the mountains in Chihuahua; the two are linked by a bone-jarring and treacherous dirt road where the attack occurred as the women and children were travelling to visit relatives. The areas lie in the territory of rival drug gangs with the Sinaloa cartel of convicted kingpin Joaquin El Chapo Guzman holding sway in Sonora and the Juarez cartel dominant in Chihuahua. The killings sowed grief and fear in the tightly knit communities, and dozens fled La Mora for the United States in the subsequent days out of concerns for their safety. What was once a tranquil and even idyllic life in a fertile river valley surrounded by mountains and desert scrub had grown increasingly tenuous as criminal gangs exerted their influence and fought each other, some said. Broken hearts, defeated, and through the fault of crime. I personally do not understand how so many people continue to die in such a beautiful country, such good people and with such richness, community member Margaret Langford said at Sundays ceremony. I was born in Chihuahua but I have been living for 20 years here in La Mora, a place that was so tranquil and neighbours we treasure so much. I love this country and it pains me to my soul to think of not being able to live here, Langford said. This massacre has left us lost and destroyed. I ask God that it not be what defines our community.. Mexico has been posting homicide totals in recent years at all-time highs since comparable records began to be kept in the 1990s. Lopez Obrador repeated Sunday that his security strategy aims to address root causes of violence such as poverty, inequality and lack of opportunity, particularly for young people, rather than the military offensive launched in 2006 by then-President Felipe Calderon and continued under Lopez Obradors predecessor, Enrique Pena Nieto. Deprive the fish of water, the president said so there are no longer young people who want to be cartel killers. Victims relatives said Thursday that U.S. authorities told them they had detained two suspects in the killings, and Mexican prosecutors said earlier in the week that more than 40 suspects had been identified. Previously, Mexican prosecutors said three men were arrested and charged with organized crime for drug offences, though none apparently yet faced homicide charges in the case. Four other suspects were said to be under a form of house arrest, and the name of one suspect partially matched the police chief of the town of Janos, Chihuahua, near the eastern terminus of the connecting dirt road. Local media reported the chief had been on the payroll of La Linea drug gang, which is allied with the Juarez cartel. I know there are things that do not take away the pain, that the pain remains in our hearts, but without doubt, justice, Mr. president, ... will relieve a little bit the pain of these families, Sonora Gov. Claudia Pavlovich Arellano said Sunday. ___ Peter Orsi reported from Mexico City. Amanat Holdings, GCCs largest healthcare and education investment company, has announced that it is assessing a potential acquisition of a strategic stake in the Middle East operations of VPS Healthcare. Established in 2007 and founded by Dr Shamsheer Vayalil, VPS Healthcare is one of the largest integrated private healthcare service providers in the UAE with a growing foothold in Oman. Amanat considers this potential transaction as fully aligned with its strategy to invest in leading healthcare service providers and establishing platforms to grow and scale profitably. This potential transaction will further consolidate the firms position as a key healthcare investment company and partner of choice with fully-fledged operational capabilities to build long-term value for shareholders, it said. Dr Shamsheer holds the position of vice chairman and managing director at Amanat Holdings, and as such he will not be participating in any discussions related to this transaction. Amanat has robust governance processes, measures and risk management in place to ensure that any conflict of interest is managed. Any definitive agreement will require formal approvals from Amanats board of directors, its general assembly and its regulators and will be done in full compliance with the UAE regulations, it said. Amanat has appointed J P Morgan as its financial advisor on the transaction. The transaction is still at an early stage and is contingent upon commercial and business due diligence as well as internal and regulatory approvals. Amanat focuses on core defensive sectors of education and healthcare that are set to benefit from sustained growth across the Middle East. The GCC Healthcare sector is expected to grow at a 6.7% CAGR by 2022 with government spending expected to rise to $30.5 billion by 2021 from $2.4 billion in 2016. Such fundamentals support Amanat to build long-term value for shareholders through a combination of scale, synergy and expertise when the right opportunity is presented, said a statement. Amanat will continue to update the market if and when there are any material developments in relation to this Transaction, in accordance with the disclosure and transparency rules. - TradeArabia News Service New Delhi: US President Donald Trump told the people of Iran Saturday that he stands by them and is monitoring protests that broke out after Tehran admitted it shot down an airliner, killing 176 people. "To the brave, long-suffering people of Iran: I've stood with you since the beginning of my Presidency, and my Administration will continue to stand with you," Trump tweeted. "We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage," he added He tweeted the same message in Farsi as well. Iran on Saturday admitted that it shot down the Ukrainian passenger plane on January 8 killing 176 onboard. The confession will trigger more trouble for Tehran. Regretting the crash, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani offered condolences to the families of the victims. Armed Forces internal investigation has concluded that regrettably missiles fired due to human error caused the horrific crash of the Ukrainian plane & death of 176 innocent people. Investigations continue to identify & prosecute this great tragedy & unforgivable mistake. #PS752 (sic), Rouhani said on Twitter. The Islamic Republic of Iran deeply regrets this disastrous mistake. My thoughts and prayers go to all the mourning families. I offer my sincerest condolences, he said in another tweet. Irans Foreign Minister Javad Zarif termed the development as sad day. Using a heartbreak emoji, 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. Denial And Admission Iran had denied for several days that a missile caused the crash. But then the US and Canada, citing intelligence, said they believed Iran shot down the aircraft with a surface-to-air missile, a conclusion supported by videos of the incident. The plane, en route to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members from several countries, including 82 Iranians, at least 57 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians, according to officials. The Canadian government had earlier lower the nation's death toll from 63. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Ex-coal CEO accused of stealing from company: Attorneys for bankrupt coal company Blackjewel and its creditors are asking a federal judge to let them examine the finances of former CEO Jeff Hoops, alleging that he took millions of dollars for personal gain, according to court documents. Hoops said he had been advised by his attorney not to comment on the allegations. The bankruptcy filing, followed by the loss of a crucial creditor, shut down operations at Blackjewel's 32 coal mines in Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming. Howell Furniture, a Beaumont-grown home furnishing chain, has punched above its weight and netted a national award usually given to some of the largest furniture retailers in North America. Representatives from the Home Furnishings Association, which represents about 8,500 storefronts nationwide, visited Howells Beaumont store off Folsom Drive last week to present the staff and leadership with a 25-pound acrylic trophy reserved for the top large retailer of the year. When we learned Howell has won retailer of the year for the large category, we started asking what differentiates it from other companies, said Mark Schumacher, HFA executive vice president of membership and marketing. It was very simple: Not only did they treat their customer really well, and we know they treat their employees very well, but the thing to me that is absolutely outstanding is they treat their community well. Retailers across the country sent nomination applications and a thorough information packet about their company, which was reviewed and voted on by other furniture companies. The association splits its yearly awards categories into companies with fewer than 50 and more than 50 employees, pitting Howell Furniture and its three stores in Beaumont, Nederland and Lake Charles, Louisiana, against companies like last years winner, Badock Home Furniture and More, which has more than 370 stores in eight states. Howell Furniture was founded in Beaumont in 1959 by W. Thurman Witt, who named the store after a friend due to his distaste for the limelight, according to his granddaughter and co-owner Shawn Hanley. The store started out in a former church on Gulf Street but moved west to a 70,000-square-foot showroom on Folsom Street in 2005. Hanley said her grandfather cared more about putting in an honest days work than for awards, but the company recognizes what it means to land this kind of recognition from the industry. Its a huge deal for us obviously. Were kind of a little fish in a big pond, Hanley said. To be recognized as one of the best among some of these huge retailers across the United States is kind of unbelievable. Like the rest of the furniture industry in the last several decades, Howell Furniture has seen its own transformations as retailers went from gallery stores to competing with online companies. Hanley said Howell still mostly deals with in-store purchases at its three locations and as much as 40% of its business is special orders, but it has introduced online orders for its local markets. Along with changes in the industry, Howell has had to adapt to the series of natural disasters that has buffeted Southeast Texas. Harvey impacted our business overnight; our sales tripled in the wake of the storm, Hanley said. A lot of businesses would look at that as a good thing, but thats not the way I wanted to sell furniture. The company donated $200,000 worth of furniture to the United Way of Beaumont and Northern Jefferson County and to the local Catholic Charities organization in the wake of Tropical Storm Harvey. It also hosted several supply drops of water and goods in its Beaumont parking lot while waiting for water and electricity to be restored. Schumacher said Howells business acumen and customer service earned it plenty of points in the judging for the award, but the way it served its community in the aftermath of disaster possibly tipped the scale. All the nominees are terrific business people who balance customer experience and how they treat their employees but its the intangible that shows you the fabric of who they are and how they fit into this community, he said. jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com twitter.com/jdickjournalism Imperial Valley News Center Grand Jury Indicts Grafton Thomas for Attacking Victims Because of Their Jewish Religion New York - Eric Dreiband, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and William F. Sweeney Jr., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the FBI announced Thursday that Grafton Thomas has been indicted by a federal grand jury with five counts of willfully causing bodily injury to five victims because of the victims religion and five counts of obstructing the free exercise of religion in an attempt to kill, federal hate crimes, related to his alleged machete attack during Hanukkah observances at a rabbis home in Monsey, New York, on the night of December 28, 2019. Since before our founding as a nation and ever since, this country has provided refuge for people from other parts of the world who suffered violence and other forms of persecution because of their right to believe and worship as they see fit, said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband for the Civil Rights Division. The United States remains today a beacon of freedom for persecuted religious people all over the world, and violent attacks against anyone because of religion is both illegal and against everything our nation stands for. The United States Department of Justice will continue to prosecute anyone who engages in such conduct to the fullest extent of the law. On December 28, 2019, Grafton Thomas allegedly came armed with an 18-inch machete and entered a rabbis home, where dozens had gathered for the holiday, said U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman for the Southern District of New York. We now allege that he did this with the intention of targeting his victims because of their religion. As alleged, with his face concealed beneath a scarf, he slashed and stabbed the assembled congregants, fled, and left at least five victims in his wake. Thomas faces life in prison for his alleged violent acts of prejudice and intolerance. When an individuals actions cross the threshold of a federal crime, as we allege Mr. Grafton did here, we will act swiftly, said FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. The message from todays charges should be crystal clear the FBI wont tolerate violence against anyone. Working with our partners, we will hold anyone who commits a crime like this accountable for their actions. The federal penalties for this type of attack are severe and justified. In this instance, the local community was engaged, and their actions were essential to saving lives and led directly to Mr. Graftons capture. Its the rest of our communitys joint responsibility to step up and engage as well dont give hate a platform to propagate and dont dismiss this type of behavior as someone elses problem, address it and immediately report suspicious activity to authorities. According to the allegations in the Indictment and the Complaint: On Dec. 28, 2019, Thomas entered a Rabbis home in Monsey, New York, which is adjacent to the Rabbis synagogue, during observances related to the end of Shabbat and the seventh night of Hanukkah. Thomas declared to dozens of assembled congregants, no one is leaving, and attacked the group with an 18-inch machete. At least five victims were hospitalized with serious injuries, including slash wounds, deep lacerations, a severed finger, and a skull fracture. Following the attack, Thomas traveled in a car to New York City, and he was stopped in Harlem by members of the New York City Police Department. The responding officers observed what appeared to be blood on Thomass hands and clothing, and smelled bleach coming from his vehicle. A search of Thomass vehicle led to the seizure of, among other things, a machete that appeared to have traces of dried blood on it. Law enforcement subsequently searched Thomass residence and cellphone pursuant to warrants. The residence contained handwritten journals with several pages of anti-Semitic references, including references to Adolf Hitler and Nazi Culture. Thomass cellphone contained Internet searches dating back to at least November 2019 for terms such as Zionist Temples in Staten Island and New Jersey, why did Hitler hate the Jews, and prominent companies founded by Jews in America, as well as a webpage visit on the day of the attack to an article titled, New York Increases Police Presence in Jewish Neighborhoods After Anti-Semitic Attacks. Heres What to Know. Thomas, 37, is charged with five counts of willfully causing bodily injury to, and attempting to kill, five victims because of their religion in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 249, and five counts of obstructing the free exercise of religion in an attempt to kill, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 247. Each of the 10 counts carries a maximum prison term of life. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge. Assistant Attorney General Dreiband and Mr. Berman praised the outstanding efforts of the FBI, the Rockland County District Attorneys Office, the Ramapo Police Department, the Rockland County Sherriffs Office, the New York State Police, the Clarkstown Police Department, and the New York City Police Department. This case is being handled by the Offices Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit, its White Plains Division, and the Civil Rights Unit of the Offices Civil Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael K. Krouse, Lindsey Keenan, and Lara K. Eshkenazi are in charge of the prosecution. The charges in the Indictment are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. France, Germany and Britain on Sunday called on Iran to return to "full respect" of its commitments under Tehran's 2015 nuclear accord with world powers. The three European signatories to the deal have sought to salvage the accord intended to limit Iran's nuclear ambitions after it began unravelling when President Donald Trump pulled out the United States in 2018. "It is essential that Iran return to full compliance with its commitments under the agreement," a joint European statement said. "We have expressed our deep concern at the actions taken by Iran in violation of its commitments since July 2019. These actions must be reversed." All three European parties to the pact have maintained their commitment to saving the deal, despite a call by Trump this week to join him in walking away. The joint statement confirmed their position after Iran's admission early Saturday that it had accidentally shot down the Ukraine International Airlines plane, killing all 176 people aboard. The three signatory countries and their EU partners shared "fundamental common security interests", said the statement. One of those interests "is upholding the nuclear non-proliferation regime, and ensuring that Iran never develops a nuclear weapon. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) plays a key role in this respect." It pointed out that all the remaining parties to the agreement -- China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and Iran, with the EU as coordinator -- were still committed to preserving it. "We must address -- through diplomacy and in a meaningful way -- shared concerns about Iran's destabilizing regional activities, including those linked to its missile programme. "We reiterate our readiness to continue our engagement for de-escalation and stability in the region. "We note Iran's announcement with regard to the shooting down of UIA Flight PS752 and commit to working with Iran on next steps." The joint statement came as protests broke out in Iran after the Iranian authorities admitted to downing the Ukrainian civilian passenger plane. Search Keywords: Short link: New Delhi: A nine-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court is scheduled to commence hearing a batch of pleas on the issue of allowing women of all ages to enter Kerala's Sabarimala temple on Monday. The bench will hear the matter along with other contentious issues of alleged discrimination against Muslim and Parsi women. The nine-judge bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde will hear a batch of 60 petitions. The other judges on the bench are Justices R Banumathi, Ashok Bhushan, L Nageswara Rao, M M Shantanagoudar, S A Nazeer, R Subhash Reddy, B R Gavai and Surya Kant. According to India Legal, the two major questions of law that the top court is likely to address in the reference are: 1) Whether the essential religious practices of a religious denomination or even a section thereof are afforded constitutional protection under Article 26, and 2) What would be the permissible extent of judicial recognition to PILs in matters calling into question religious practices of a denomination or a section thereof at the instance of persons who do not belong to such religious denomination? The nine-judge bench has been set up after a five-judge bench headed by then CJI Ranjan Gogoi, by a 3:2 majority verdict, referred the matter to a larger bench while examining the review petition filed against the historic September 28, 2018 judgement which had allowed women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala temple. Besides Justice Gogoi, Justices A M Khanwilkar and Indu Malhotra (the lone woman judge on the bench) were in majority while Justices R F Nariman and D Y Chandrachud had penned down a minority verdict on November 14, 2019. While referring the matter to a larger bench, the five-judge bench had however said that the debate about the constitutional validity of religious practices like bar on entry of women and girls into a place of worship was not limited to the Sabarimala case. The top court said such restrictions are there with regard to entry of Muslim women into mosques and 'dargahs' and Parsi women, married to non-Parsi men, being barred from the holy fire place of an Agyari. It said it was time for the apex court to evolve a judicial policy to do "substantial and complete justice". Of the nine-judge bench, which will hear the matter from Monday, there is no judge from the previous bench. The top court had on January 6 issued a notice informing about listing of the batch of petitions seeking review of the 2018 judgement. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 19:16:21|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close Volcanic lightning lights up the sky as the Taal Volcano erupts in the Philippines, Jan. 12, 2020. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) has raised the alert level to 3 over Taal Volcano after it rumbled back to life and spewed a column of ash one kilometer into the sky on Sunday. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali) MANILA, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) has raised the alert level to 3 over Taal Volcano after it rumbled back to life and spewed a column of ash one kilometer into the sky on Sunday. The institute said that communities around the Taal Lake shore, which is located about 90 km south of Manila, are advised to take precautionary measures and be vigilant of possible lakewater disturbances related to the ongoing unrest. In an advisory, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said that all flights, both arrival and departures, have been put on hold, following the eruption of the Taal Volcano. "Passengers are advised to coordinate with their respective airlines for flight updates," the advisory said. Taal volcano is the second most active volcano in the Philippines. The PHIVOLCS urged the public to stay away from the volcano's main crater due to a possibility of steam explosion. "The public is reminded that the main crater should be strictly off-limits because sudden steam explosions can occur and high concentrations of lethal volcanic gases can be released," the institute added. It said the public is also reminded that the entire volcano island is a permanent danger zone (PDZ), and permanent settlement in the island is strongly not recommended. "In view of the ongoing phreatic activity in the main crater, PHIVOLCS advises precautionary evacuation of Taal volcano Island pending observation of the volcano's condition within the next 48 hours," the institute added. Since March 28, 2019, the institute said Taal volcano seismic network has manifested moderate to high level of seismic activity. Mark Timbal, spokesman for the National Risk Reduction and Management Council, said up to 10,000 residents of three towns around the volcano will be evacuated as a result of the explosion. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday that she was counting on Romania to help the European Union's digitization efforts because the country had an "excellent reputation" in this field MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th January, 2020) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday that she was counting on Romania to help the European Union's digitization efforts because the country had an "excellent reputation" in this field. Von der Leyen will meet with Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic Orban for bilateral talks later on Thursday. "We are going to discuss ... [how] to make the European Union fit for the digital age. In this topic I count very much on Romania because [it] has a very excellent reputation where that is concerned," Von der Leyen said during a joint news conference ahead of the talks. The EC president added that she would discuss with Orban Romania's plans to reform its justice system and the EU green deal. In March, as part of its six-month presidency of the EU Council, Romania held two large-scale events devoted to Europe's digital sector the Informal Meeting of EU Telecom Ministers and the Third Eastern Partnership Ministerial Meeting on the Digital Economy. Communications and Information Society Minister Alexandru Petrescu, who chaired both events, said ahead of the events that he wanted to see Europe become a global leader on all digital levels, including 5G technology, artificial intelligence, cyber security and big data. Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) agreed on Sunday to a ceasefire urged by Moscow and Ankara, several hours after rival strongman Khalifa Haftar announced a cessation of hostilities. The head of the GNA, Fayez al-Sarraj, announced in a statement "a ceasefire from (Sunday) January 12 at midnight (2200 GMT)", underlining however the "legitimate right" of GNA forces to "respond to any attack or aggression that may come from the other camp". Sarraj said the ceasefire had been accepted in response to a call from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who have emerged as key players in the Libyan arena. Late Saturday, forces of the eastern Libya-based Haftar announced a ceasefire starting Sunday at midnight in his months-long battle to take the capital Tripoli from the UN-recognised GNA, but warned of a "severe" response to any violation by the "opposing camp". Erdogan and Putin had called for a ceasefire at a meeting on Wednesday in Istanbul, and Turkey on Saturday asked Russia to convince Haftar to respect it. Haftar had initially vowed to fight on. Europe and North Africa have launched a diplomatic offensive to try to prevent Libya, with the increased involvement of international players in its conflict, from turning into a "second Syria". Artillery fire was heard a little after midnight from the centre of Tripoli, seat of the GNA, before quiet settled over the southern Tripoli suburb where pro-GNA forces have been resisting Haftar's offensive launched April 4, 2019. Ankara deployed military support to the GNA in January, while Russia, despite denials, is strongly suspected of supporting pro-Haftar forces, which are also backed by the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. The North African state has seen an escalation of the turmoil that erupted after a NATO-backed uprising killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011. The Ludhiana central jail witnessed a four-fold increase in HIV positive cases just in a span of two years, as per the record of the district antiretroviral treatment (ART) centre of the civil hospital. As per the record, a total of 57 inmates (all male) were confirmed positive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in 2017, the number rose to 132 in 2018, and 218 in 2019, of which seven were women. Also, an inmate each had died of AIDS caused by HIV in 2017 and 2018. The ART centre that carries out counselling and treatment of jail inmates has established that the primary reason for HIV among them was due to administering drugs via a used syringe. Among the seven women infected, five had contracted the virus by injecting drugs, while two through their partners. All the HIV positive inmates are in the age group of 20 to 40 years. Centre officials said most of them were drugs users before being jailed while others injected drugs while being out on bail. They were then diagnosed for HIV by the integrated counselling and testing centre (ICTC) that periodically carried out a diagnosis of HIV in jails. Currently, over 3,350 inmates are lodged in the jail. From a high to HIV Varinder Sharma, a counsellor at the ART center, who has been observing jail inmates since 2015, shared that earlier where the cases were both due to unprotected sex and injecting drugs, the latter now remains a primary reason. Sharma said it was not due to lack of awareness among the inmates, but the misconception about reuse of the syringe. During the counselling session, I spoke to many jail inmates, most of which said they believed that if they sterilised the used syringe with boiling water, they will not get infected with HIV virus, said Sharma, adding that many of them said where heroin is easily available, the addicts shared syringes instead of purchasing one from chemists to avoid any kind of suspicion. One of the inmates told me that where it takes five minutes to get alcohol, it takes only two to get heroin but purchasing new syringe every time is seen as a risk by many so they prefer sharing the syringe, he informed. In July 2018, the state government had imposed a ban on the sale of syringes at chemist shops, which was lifted the same month. Dr Shabnam Bansal, senior medical officer (SMO), ART centre, said the Punjab State Aids Control Society (PSACS) was monitoring the treatment of HIV positive inmates and counsellors who give a regular report on their status. Our doctors and counsellors visit the jail every week and provide them with medicines, she said. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 00:33:59|Editor: ZX Video Player Close Chinese artists perform during the Chinese New Year celebrations to mark the Spring Festival at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, on Jan. 11, 2020. A Chinese troupe from Sichuan Province on Saturday staged a captivating performance here at Uganda's top university, Makerere University as part of celebrations to mark the Spring Festival. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua) KAMPALA, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese troupe from Sichuan Province on Saturday staged a captivating performance here at Uganda's top university, Makerere University as part of celebrations to mark the Spring Festival. The Sichuan Province Song and Dance Theatre troupe performed Chinese folk songs, acrobatics, dancing among others to an audience, which included students, business people and members of the Chinese community in Uganda. Chinese kung fu, a happy clown-acrobatic and magic show, and a group opera dance, were some of the show's major highlights. The show was sponsored by China's ministry of culture and tourism and the Chinese embassy in Uganda. Chen Huixin, a Chinese diplomat, said the bilateral relations between the two countries continue to grow. "Our mutual political trust has been enhanced significantly and our cooperation in the field of Belt and Road, industrial parks and investment has also yield substantial benefit to the people of both countries." Barnabas Nawangwe, vice chancellor of Makerere University, said as an academic institution, Makerere needs to continue studying China, one of the oldest surviving civilizations in the world and also the world's second largest economy. Nawangwe said as an intuition of learning, the knowledge acquired can be used to transform Uganda. The cultural performance was held ahead of another grand show that will be held at Kololo Independence grounds in the capital Kampala. "What intrigued most about this show were the dances, they were so fast and interesting," Mark Tumusiime, one of the Makerere University students who attended the show told Xinhua. The celebrations are held ahead of the upcoming Chinese Spring Festival, or Lunar New Year. The Chinese Lunar New Year falls on Jan. 25 this year. Charles Dickson has pubs in his blood. He is directly descended from Peter Yates, who opened the first Yates Wine Lodge in 1884. The oldest pub chain in the country, Yates still exists today and was run for almost 20 years by Dickson's late father, a scion of the founding family. So it is perhaps fitting that Dickson is now at the helm of pubs and property firm Barkby Group. Inviting: Barkby Group owns quality pubs and was last week admitted to the Aim market Barkby was set up as a cluster of gastropubs, offering high-quality but reasonably priced food and rooms. Initially listed on London's growth-focused NEX exchange, the company was last week admitted to the Aim market, following a reverse takeover (when a private firm buys a quoted one) by Dickson's family business Tarncourt. Dickson now chairs the combined group and Barkby's former chief executive, Rupert Fraser, is managing director. The shares are 29p and should increase materially, as both men are ambitious, they have proven entrepreneurial skills and operate in fast-growing sectors of the market. Dickson, an accountant by training, established Tarncourt in 2006, following the untimely death of his father. Initially a family investment business, Tarncourt has been transformed into a successful mini-conglomerate, with a property development group, a wholesale coffee firm and investments in two promising start-ups. Transcend makes compostable straws, coffee cups and lids. VivoPlex has developed a medical device that can help women with fertility issues. Fraser spent more than 25 years in banking and private equity, including several years investing in firms that owned and managed hotels, offices and shopping malls. Dickson and Fraser have known each other for at least a decade and talks between the two started in spring last year, so they have had ample time to form a robust strategy for growth at the enlarged Barkby Group. Today, the company operates seven popular pubs in Sussex and the Cotswolds, including the award-winning Five Alls at Filkins in Oxfordshire. With their focus on food, welcoming service and decent accommodation, the pubs are popular venues for cosy meals and minibreaks. Barkby is run by Charles Dickson, left, and Rupert Fraser, right Looking ahead, Dickson plans to double the portfolio over the next couple of years, with outlets strategically located in areas that are both relatively affluent and are attractive tourist destinations. The coffee business, Workshop Coffee, was founded by Dickson's brother in 2011, and today operates four cafes in London and a flourishing wholesale business, specialising in luxury coffee. Customers include five-star London hotel Claridge's, trendy club group Soho House and Qatar Airways. Turnover has been increasing by about 25 per cent a year and the aim is to create one of the UK's largest speciality coffee brands. The commercial property business is the largest division within the group, it is highly profitable and should deliver substantial growth as well. Many parts of the commercial property sector have been associated with tough times, but Barkby's business is rather different. It finds and develops sites but only starts work once tenants have been secured and the sites have been pre-sold to long-term property investors. So Barkby incurs minimal risk, especially as Dickson has developed strong relationships with firms such as Greggs, Aldi and McDonald's, which are always on the lookout for good new properties. Most of Dickson's sites are along the Oxford-Cambridge corridor, an area of significant investment from the Government and private firms, and there is a robust pipeline of projects in the years ahead. The synergy between the property business, pubs and coffee division is fairly clear. Location is a crucial ingredient for success in pubs as Dickson's father used to tell him when he was young and it is also a critical element in the commercial property trade. The coffee and pub businesses also share a focus on quality and service and could benefit from joint sourcing. Transcend Packaging and VivoPlex do not fit naturally into this mix. They were opportunistic investments made by the Dickson family before the Barkby deal, but they could yield significant rewards to current shareholders. VivoPlex has developed a wireless device designed to improve IVF success rates. It has made encouraging progress and further updates are expected in the next few months. Transcend has already signed a deal to supply McDonald's with compostable paper straws and is expected to start producing coffee cups and lids soon (which could be used in the Workshop cafes). Barkby will probably sell its holdings in these firms over the next few years, which could generate substantial returns for investors. Dickson has also amassed a highly experienced board, including Jonathan Warburton, famous for appearing on TV to advertise his family firm's wares. Warburton is not just a media man. He built the Warburton business into the second-biggest grocery brand in the UK behind Coca-Cola and still chairs the group. Midas verdict: Some observers may find Barkby hard to understand, but Dickson is highly driven, and determined to turn it into a sizeable, prosperous and dividend-paying business. At 29p, the shares could provide an exciting ride for the adventurous investor. Dickson is also highly incentivised to make this venture work, as he and his family own more than 60 per cent of the stock. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has convened a meeting of industry representatives from IT and e-commerce sectors on January 14 to discuss the merits and de-merits of draft e-commerce policy on data storage, sources said. Representatives from different companies including Accenture, Adobe, Facebok, Genpact, Google, HCL, Infosys, Intel, Microsoft and TCS are expected to participate in the deliberations, they said. Besides, officials from Nasscom, E-commerce Council of India, Informational Technology Industry Council, CII and FICCI would also attend the meeting, they added. The meeting will be chaired by an additional secretary level officer of the DPIIT. The meeting assumes significance as the department is working to release the national e-commerce policy by the end of the current financial year. The government in February last year released a draft national e-commerce policy, proposing setting up a legal and technological framework for restrictions on cross-border data flow and also laid out conditions for businesses regarding collection or processing of sensitive data locally and storing it abroad. Several foreign e-commerce firms have raised concerns over some points in the draft pertaining to data. The department has received huge response on the draft and it is examining all the views and comments. As the draft policy includes several provisions related to data, the department is also looking at the Personal Data Protection Bill approved by the Cabinet last month. Further, sources said that issues which needs to be looked upon include whether India should allow free flow of data across the border or inhibit or regulate it in some manner; and whether data localisation is required or not. "These are the issues which have lot of pros and cons," they added. The Personal Data Protection Bill spells out a framework for handling of personal data including its processing by public and private entities. A company may have to pay a penalty if found violating norms under the Personal Data Protection Bill. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Phoebe Burgess and her estranged husband Sam sold their Maroubra family home in December, three months after their highly-publicised spit. And on Saturday, Phoebe, 30, looked positively carefree stepped out with the former couples' two young children Poppy, two, and son Billy, one, in Double Bay. Joined by her gal pal Bree Kirkham, the proud mother looked effortlessly chic in a summery frock and sandals with her youngsters in tow. Keeping busy! Phoebe Burgess, 30, enjoys outing with her two children, Poppy, two, and Billy, one, and gal pal Bree Kirkham in Sydney's Double Bay after selling family home with estranged husband Sam The blonde wore her cropped locks down in the wind, and shielded her eyes with a stylish pair of shades. Phoebe pushed her little boy in a pram as she held onto her girl's hand for the short stroll. The former journalist's lithe frame was highlighted with a wicker-look belt that cinched in at her slender waist. Stylish mama! Phoebe looked effortlessly chic in a summery Zimmermann frock and sandals All smiles! Phoebe pushed her little boy in a pram as she held onto her girl's hand for the short stroll with pal Bree She completed the breezy summer look with a wicker basket tote. Perking up for the day ahead, Phoebe juggled two takeaway coffee cups while also pushing the pram. Phoebe took to Instagram on the day to joke about 'wrangling two kids under three', but it was clear she had a lovely time out with her youngsters. Day out: Phoebe took to Instagram on the day to joke about 'wrangling two kids under three', but it was clear she had a lovely time out with her youngsters They attended the KFE (Kristin Fisher Eyebrows) Market in Sydney's Double Bay, which helped raise funds for victims and volunteers of the Australian bushfire crisis. She wrote on the day: 'It was heartwarming to see so many people turn out, and even more lovely to see how many gave their time to help.' Three months after their highly-publicised split in October, Phoebe and Sam reportedly sold the sprawling property for $5million on December 24. 'It was heartwarming to see so many people turn out': The family attended the KFE (Kristin Fisher Eyebrows) Market in aid of victims and volunteers of the Australian bushfire crisis According to The Daily Telegraph, the South Sydney Rabbitohs star and his glamorous ex-wife pocketed a $1.2million profit from the sale. Sam and Phoebe purchased the home for $3.8million in 2016, a year before welcoming their first child, Poppy Alice, in January 2017. They welcomed second child, son Billy, in December 2018. It's really over! Phoebe looked confident without estranged husband Sam, who she has now sold her joint home in Sydney's Maroubra with Sam and Phoebe ended their marriage in October 2019, following a brief separation earlier that year. Since splitting, Phoebe has been staying at her parents' country home in Bowral, in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. Meanwhile, Sam is believed to be renting in Coogee. The former NRL player ended his 12-year rugby league career in October last year when he retired due to a shoulder injury. The British Queen has reportedly called a private meeting with Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry to discuss the recent royal developments that have unfolded since Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, announced their decision last week to "step back as 'senior' members of the royal family" and work towards becoming "financially independent." The Royal family will attend the meeting on Monday at the queen's Sandringham estate, a Buckingham Palace source told CNN. Meghan is also expected to call into the meeting from Canada. The local media reported about the news of the family meeting, saying it was meant to help find "solutions" to help ease the tension of their departure. The Sussexes said last week that their decision to step back came "after many months of reflection and internal discussions." Sources told People magazine that the high-level meeting was to "talk things through" after the Sussexes' announcement. Meghan, who is currently in Canada, might call in for the meeting, as per the publication. Any change in the working life and role of a royal requires complex and thoughtful discussion. This will be the first time that any senior royals have met since Harry and Meghan made the announcement -- in defiance of the Queen's wishes -- that they would step back from their royal duties, seek financial independence and split their time between Britain and North America. The Duchess of Sussex has since returned to Canada, where the couple spent the holidays with her mother. It's unclear when Meghan will return to the UK from Canada. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Gabriel Sherman is a widely published writer of articles in some of the countrys leading mainstream magazines. Currently, hes a Vanity Fair special correspondent in addition to being a frequent NBC News/MSNBC contributor. Shermans favorite target for his screeds, aside from President Trump, is Fox News, its management, and its on-air personalities. In 2014, Sherman wrote a sensational, best-selling unauthorized biography of Fox News co-founder and CEO Roger Ailes, The Loudest Voice in the Room: How the Brilliant, Bombastic Roger Ailes Built Fox News and Divided a Country. Last year, the book was the basis for a seven-part dramatic miniseries on Showtime, starring the bombastic Australian actor Russell Crowe as Ailes. On Friday, it appears that Sherman was finally hoisted on his own petard or, in the current vernacular, punked. Appearing on fellow Vanity Fair special correspondent Nick Biltons podcast Inside the Hive, hosted on the magazines servers, Sherman told an anecdote that he and Bilton gleefully agreed summed up the latest evidence of the presidents mental decay. In the article at Vanity Fair about the podcast, titled You Wont Believe What Trump Said About His Middle Name, Bilton writes: In the midst of the Golden Globes, as celebrities strolled the red carpet, smiling for the paparazzi, it felt like outside the confines of Tinseltown the world was boiling. Iran had struck an American air base in Iraq, Donald Trump was twittering away stirring the pot, and Australia was feeling the brunt of decades of disastrous climate change decisions. On this weeks episode of Inside the Hive, Vanity Fair special correspondent Gabriel Sherman, who was attending the Globes for his show, The Loudest Voice, relayed a story that sums up the Trump presidency and the mess were currently living in. Standing near the bar, Sherman ran into Frank Luntz, the Republican pollster, and the two started chatting. Sherman asked Luntz when he last saw the President. Last week, at the White House Christmas party, Luntz said. Sherman asked what the two men talked about, to which Luntz replied that he had asked Trump what his middle initial J stands for. Genius, Trump responded. Gabriel Sherman appearing on CNN, July 25, 2016 when he was an editor at New York Magazine / CNN YouTube screen shot At 6:54 P.M. E.T. on Friday, Bilton tweeted a link to his article and podcast to the delight of his 260,000 Twitter followers. On Inside the Hive this week @gabrielsherman tells this short hilarious and sad story about Trump that pretty much sums up his presidency. Biltons tweet included a screen shot from the article hyping the sensational claims about Trump made by Sherman. It has been retweeted over 2,000 times. Obviously proud of his and Biltons efforts, Sherman has retweeted Biltons tweet linking to the podcast and the article at least twice. Their fake news story has been picked up by numerous other Trump-hating mainstream media outlets. Frank Luntz in 2015 // Photo by Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 3.0 Shortly after Frank Luntz, the purported source for the story, got wind of the claims in the Vanity Fair article and podcast, he responded in a tweet of his own on Saturday at 11:30 A.M. E.T.: Ive been telling this joke at parties for years, and @GabrielSherman is the first person to think it was real. Thats what happens when the media wants to spin anything as Orange Man bad! Gonna be a long 5 more years Despite Luntzs clarification that his oft-repeated comment about Trumps middle name being Genius was a joke, no corrections have been issued. Vanity Fairs article, podcast, and Shermans and Biltons tweets remain online. A seasoned observer of the mainstream media landscape commented that this is an example of Gabe Shermans ongoing credibility collapse. Touche. It could also be said that its another prime case history of the making of Fake News in the Era of Donald Trump. Peter Barry Chowka is a veteran journalist who writes about politics, media, popular culture, and health care for American Thinker and other publications. Peter's website is http://peter.media. His new YouTube channel is here. Follow Peter on Twitter at @pchowka. By Michael Reagan The shortest world war in history is history. Did you miss the news? Im talking about the big war between the U.S. and Iran that Democrats and the liberal media were hoping and maybe even praying would explode in the Middle East this week and prevent the re-election of President Trump. The war never really happened, though. President Trump called it off before it started just before noon on Wednesday. Actually, he never planned a war with Iran or wanted one in the first place. But I suspect some desperate Democrats did. I think they were secretly hoping Irans feeble missile attack in response to the obliteration of its terrorist-in-chief Qasem Soleimani by a drone really had killed a few American soldiers in Iraq and ignited a full-scale U.S.-Iran war. (It would have been a very short war, too, and the Iranian mullahs know it. They are thugs, but they arent stupid or suicidal, and they now understand the penalty for crossing one of Trumps bright red lines.) Its a cynical thing to say, but a new war in the Middle East with Iran was the last hope Democrats had to achieve their dream of unseating President Trump. The Russian Collusion Hoax was a dud. The Trump Recession didnt happen. Trump didnt lose the trade war with China. And impeachment which Democrats claimed had to be hurried through the House because Trump was a mortal danger to the Constitution and Americas national security has turned into a prolonged partisan dirty joke with no punchline. As anyone over 40 knows, or should know, the hysterical fear of a Republican president starting World War III is nothing new for Democrats and the liberal media. Its the same dumb stuff Democrats tried when my father ran for president in 1980, a year after Jimmy Carter abandoned the Shah and basically handed Iran over to the mullahs. If you elect that warmonger Ronald Reagan, they claimed, the first thing hell do is turn Iran into a parking lot. And dont forget, Hes a dangerous anti-communist just itching to start World War III with the Soviets. Youd think the Democrats would have learned something when their dire predictions about my fathers foreign policy didnt pan out, but 40 years later fearmongering about war and other calamities is still one of their favorite go-to political weapons. For them the sky is always going to fall the day a conservative Republican is elected president. Grandma is going to die. The KKK will make a comeback. The economy will crash. World War III will start at noon on Inauguration Day. Another major forever-war didnt arrive in the Middle East this week because President Trump had the sense not to use Irans token, face-saving response to the droning of General Soleimani as a pretext to level Tehran. Once again he has turned out not to be as reckless or clueless as deranged Democrats and Rachel Maddow and her MSNBC/CNN pals continue to believe he is. As long as Donald Trump is president, which looks increasingly like it will be until 2024, Democrats and the liberal media will see World War III lurking around every foreign corner. I seriously doubt the president will get us into a real war with Iran or anyone else, including North Korea. But to make sure WWIII doesnt start in Iran, House Democrats and a few non-interventionist Republicans like Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida passed a resolution on Thursday that specifically limits President Trumps ability to strike Iran militarily without first getting the approval of Congress. The resolution, which still has to pass in the Senate, is highly partisan and largely symbolic. Putting a presidents war-waging powers back in their proper (but long ignored) Constitutional shackles is never a bad thing for Congress to do. In this case, though, its at least two presidents too late. Michael Reagan is the son of President Ronald Reagan, a political consultant, and the author of Lessons My Father Taught Me: The Strength, Integrity, and Faith of Ronald Reagan. Send comments to Reagan@caglecartoons.com. Body of beaten man found floating off Phuket PHUKET: The body of an unidentified man, his face badly beaten, was found floating in the sea off Thalang district yesterday morning (Jan 11). deathpolice By Bangkok Post Sunday 12 January 2020, 03:52PM Police look on as the body is brought ashore yesterday (Jan 11). Photo: Achadtaya Chuenniran / Bangkok Post The body was found off Koh Naha, off the east coast of Phuket, said Thalang Police Investigation chief Lt Col Pathiwat Yodkwan, who was notified of the discovery of the body at about 11am. The body had been discovered by the driver and staff of a tour boat taking tourists to visit Koh Khai. The body was brought back to Thiam beach. Dressed in a brown shirt and black underwear, the man, who was about 170cm tall, had his face beaten and teeth broken. Police found no identification documents on the body, which was taken to Thalang Hospital for a post-mortem examination. Investigators initially believed the dead man might have been a boat crew member who was assaulted and then thrown into the sea. The investigation is continuing. Read original story here. The Canadian province of Ontario sent out an emergency alert reporting an incident at a nuclear plant in error on Sunday morning, sparking widespread confusion. Several Ontario residents posted screenshots showing the emergency alert they received on their phones around 7:30 a.m. ET. The warning detailed an incident being reported at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, located in Pickering, Ontario, and said the alert applied to people within 10 kilometers of the facility. The warning stated that there has been NO abnormal release of radioactivity from the station and emergency staff are responding to the situation. It added the people near the plant DO NOT need to take any protective actions at this time. Ontario Power Generation tweeted about an hour later that the alert was sent in error and there was no danger to the public or environment. Important update: the alert regarding #Pickering Nuclear was sent in error. There is no danger to the public or environment. Ontario Power Gen (@opg) January 12, 2020 Pickering Mayor Dave Ryan said he was very troubled and upset upon receiving the emergency alert and demanded a full investigation take place. Like many of you, I was very troubled to have received that emergency alert this morning. While I am relieved that there was no actual emergency, I am upset that an error such as this occurred. I have spoken to the Province, and am demanding that a full investigation take place. Mayor Dave Ryan (@mayordaveryan) January 12, 2020 Ryans request for a full investigation was supported by Toronto Mayor John Tory who noted that many of Torontos residents, especially those who live near Pickering were unnecessarily alarmed by this alert. Story continues Weve been advised there was no emergency at Pickering Nuclear this morning and the province-wide alert message was sent in error. I know many @CityOfToronto residents - especially those who live near Pickering - were unnecessarily alarmed by this alert. John Tory (@JohnTory) January 12, 2020 I join Pickering @MayorDaveRyan in calling for a full investigation into why this error occurred because there are far too many unanswered questions. John Tory (@JohnTory) January 12, 2020 The Pickering Nuclear Generating Station opened in 1971 and was supposed to be decommissioned this year but Ontarios government pledged to keep the site functioning until 2024, the Associated Press reported. This is not the first time things have gone awry at the plant. In 2011, a pump seal failure led to more than 19,200 gallons of demineralized water being spilled into Lake Ontario, according to the AP, which noted that local authorities had said there were no significant negative risks to public health. In 1994, the plant automatically shut down after a faulty valve caused the spillage of 132 tons of heavy water, according to the AP. (CNN) President Donald Trump on Saturday tweeted his administration's support for Iranian protesters who took to the streets after Tehran admitted it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet and killed all 176 people on board. "To the brave, long-suffering people of Iran: I've stood with you since the beginning of my Presidency, and my Administration will continue to stand with you. We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage," the President tweeted in both English and Farsi. In a separate tweet, Trump wrote that Iran's government "must allow human rights groups to monitor and report facts from the ground on the ongoing protests by the Iranian people." "There can not be another massacre of peaceful protesters, nor an internet shutdown. The world is watching," Trump wrote. Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 crashed Wednesday after takeoff from Tehran's airport. The crash came hours after Iran fired missiles at Iraqi military bases housing US troops in retaliation for a US drone strike at Baghdad airport that killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani. Thousands of anti-government protesters gathered on Saturday outside the gates of Amir Kabir University, near the former US embassy in Tehran, to denounce the plane crash the government had blamed on human error and "US adventurism." In a video posted on social media, protesters chanted for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to step down and for those responsible for downing the plane to be prosecuted. "Death to the dictator," some chanted. In one video, demonstrators chanted, "Khamenei have shame. Leave the country." US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday tweeted, "The voice of the Iranian people is clear. They are fed up with the regime's lies, corruption, ineptitude, and brutality of the IRGC under @khamenei_ir's kleptocracy." "We stand with the Iranian people who deserve a better future," Pompeo continued. This story was first published on CNN.com, "Trump tweets support for Iranian protesters after Tehran admits to unintentionally shooting down Ukrainian plane" As Foxx fights for a second term, the race has gotten heated. She is one of few prosecutors who has been publicly slammed by Trump, and law enforcement has marched in protest in front of her office. Both, she says, are evidence of the cultural change that is underway not just in Cook County, but across the United States. Federal officials say Pacific Gas and Electric Co. owes the government nearly $4 billion, and if they cant get the payment request resolved as part of the utilitys bankruptcy case, they may later have to ask wildfire victims for a portion of the money instead. The Federal Emergency Management Agency wants reimbursement from PG&E to cover costs from the governments response to fires in 2015, 2017 and 2018. Under PG&Es current plan to resolve its bankruptcy, any payment to FEMA would have to come from the $13.5 billion the company intends to reserve primarily to settle claims from fire victims. Victims lawyers are battling FEMAs claim, which would consume nearly 30% of the settlement. But FEMA told The Chronicle that it is compelled to seek compensation from PG&E. Otherwise, individual victims would be on the hook if they get settlement money that duplicates funds already paid by the federal government, according to Bob Fenton, the agencys regional administrator. Fenton said FEMA has no interest in reducing the amount of settlement funds available for fire victims. What we are interested in doing is holding PG&E responsible and accountable for the billions of dollars taxpayers provided to assist individuals and communities affected by the wildfires, he said. The last thing I want to do is have to go after these individuals that have received claims from the bankruptcy where certain parts of that claim may duplicate funding that weve already given them. ... Its much easier up front to go ahead and simply deal with PG&E directly. Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle The FEMA dispute is one of several major unresolved issues in the PG&E bankruptcy, which began one year ago this month. PG&E has already won court approval of its deal with victims attorneys and a separate $11 billion settlement to resolve claims from insurance companies. But the company must clear a series of other hurdles as it works to get the rest of the case, including a broader bankruptcy exit plan, wrapped up in the next six months. FEMA has asserted about $3.9 billion in bankruptcy claims against PG&E because of the 2015 Butte Fire, the 2017 wildfires in Wine Country and the 2018 Camp Fire. Court papers show that only about $282 million of the total relates to individual assistance FEMA gave to victims of the disasters the rest is for aid provided to other government agencies and administrative costs. The maximum amount of funding FEMA could possibly seek to recoup from individual victims would be even less than $282 million, according to FEMA spokesman David Passey. He said the individual assistance figure includes nonfinancial help, such as temporary housing, that the agency provided to disaster victims and would not try to recoup. FEMAs attempt to recover from PG&E was sharply criticized by 40 members of Congress in a letter to the agencys acting administrator last week. The letter, whose signatories were led by North Bay Reps. Jared Huffman and Mike Thompson, cited great dismay and concern at FEMAs decision to litigate claims to the settlement fund for wildfire victims established by PG&E. Representatives said they believe the agencys request jeopardizes the intended purpose of the fund and puts at risk the possibility that the thousands of families still struggling to rebuild their lives will not receive the restitution they deserve. FEMA leaders appreciate the letter from the congressional delegation and intend to respond this week, Passey said. FEMAs efforts also have drawn criticism from James Lee Witt, a former director of the agency, who told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat newspaper last month that it was an unusual and inappropriate request. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali is expected to consider the FEMA issue at a hearing next month. Eric Goodman, an attorney for a committee of fire victims involved in the PG&E bankruptcy case, said FEMAs defense of its $3.9 billion request doesnt hold any water with him. Goodmans firm is asking Montali to reject FEMAs claim, in part because he says the relevant section of a federal law cited by the agency would apply only if the company intentionally started fires. They havent alleged that PG&E is an arsonist, Goodman said. Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle 2019 Federal law does bar FEMA from providing financial compensation that disaster victims receive somewhere else. But Goodman said the agencys right to get any money back from victims generally doesnt arise until those individuals have recovered from another source. FEMA could potentially address that issue once victims actually begin to get money from the $13.5 billion trust PG&E plans to establish when it exits bankruptcy, Goodman indicated. The amount the victims get from the trust should be dramatically more than they get from FEMA, Goodman said. At that point, maybe its not the hardship theyre making it sound to be. In a statement to The Chronicle, PG&E said it agrees with the victims committee that FEMA does not have a valid legal claim against the company. PG&E is continuing to work on its broader bankruptcy exit plan and is engaged in active and constructive dialogue with stakeholders, the statement said. We are committed to a safe and financially stable PG&E going forward. The company has plenty of other obstacles to resolve in bankruptcy this year. For one thing, a rival group continues to push its own plan to resolve the bankruptcy. Bondholders backing that competing plan are asking Montali to reconsider his approval of PG&Es deal with victims attorneys. UC Hastings law professor Jared Ellias, who has been following the PG&E bankruptcy, said the bondholders request is doomed. But just because they lose that skirmish doesnt mean they cant win the war, Ellias said. Bondholders could seek to persuade victims to vote against PG&Es bankruptcy exit plan when the time comes. They could also convince the judge that PG&Es plan to resolve the case does not pass legal muster, Ellias siad. Fire Tracker Follow wildfires across the state Latest updates on wildfires burning across Northern and Southern California Will Abrams, who lost his Santa Rosa home in the 2017 Tubbs Fire, is deeply concerned about PG&Es settlement with victims lawyers. He said he believes individual victims were not consulted enough before the agreement was inked. Abrams sent a survey to survivors of the 2017 fires and the Camp Fire and asked, among other questions, whether they told their lawyers to support the settlement agreement. Out of nearly 140 responses, the vast majority said no. Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle Whats really aggravating to me is that wildfire survivors are absolutely just being disregarded by everybody in this proceeding, Abrams said. But Frank Pitre, one of the lead attorneys for fire victims who have sued PG&E, said lawyers did discuss the settlement with a sampling of the tens of thousands of people with claims against the company. The settlement was reached with attorneys for the 11-member fire victims committee that is involved in the Bankruptcy Court proceedings along with lawyers representing about 70% of victim claims filed before the case began. Pitre said he and his colleagues did not have enough time to survey every single client and still secure the $13.5 billion while avoiding a lengthy trial about whether PG&E started the Tubbs Fire. The deal also averts the need for another trial where a U.S. District Court judge was supposed to estimate all of PG&Es wildfire liabilities. Avoiding both proceedings puts victims on a faster track to be paid the greatest amount possible by PG&E, Pitre said. After reaching the deal, Pitre said, lawyers also held a few town hall meetings, with hundreds of people in total, where they discussed the settlement. Virtually everybody was in favor of this, he said of the reception at the meetings. Despite all the unresolved issues, Pitre said he is optimistic about the rest of the bankruptcy case. We have to start with the proposition that PG&E was a company in crisis, Pitre said. You cannot squeeze blood out of a turnip. We have squeezed all the blood that is left out of PG&E, and that blood is the $13.5 billion. PG&E has to resolve its bankruptcy case by June 30 to tap into a new state fund that can shield the company from any future wildfire costs. The California Public Utilities Commission must also sign off on a plan for PG&E to exit bankruptcy by then. J.D. Morris is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jd.morris@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thejdmorris Melbournes Greek Orthodox bishop has condemned the actions of three men who broke the rules to grab the coveted wooden cross during the Blessing of the Waters swim. Bishop Ezekiel of Dervis said he was very upset, and the act was disrespectful and uncivilised. 'I caught the cross first': Mikes Legkos (left) grabbed the cross before the official pack at the Greek Orthodox Blessing of the Waters swim at Princes Pier. Credit:Wayne Taylor The annual swim, the high point of the Theofania, or Epiphany festival at Princes Pier, in Port Melbourne, turned into a Greek drama on Sunday after the trio dived off the pier to chase the cross the bishop had thrown into the bay. The 25 registered swimmers, who had dived from a boat 100 metres away, paused in confusion as first interloper Mikes Legkos, 33, of Oakleigh, reached the cross before them and held it triumphantly. A former Royal Marine is "disgusted" at his captain general Prince Harry's behaviour and said Harry would lose all military respect if he attempts to "privatise the monarchy to earn millions." Nigel Farage observed that Prince Harry is shirking his duty to the country by stepping back as a senior royal; "he is of course your captain general, James." Former Royal Marine James Glancy said on LBC: "Duty is the right word. That is why we've had so much respect for the Royals because they've dedicated their lives to the country and they serve and they never ask for any commercial opportunity. "Harry's been a great public servant," James said, citing Harry's two public tours of Afghanistan, brilliant charity work especially Invictus Games and conservation charities, "but his behaviour in the last year is not becoming of somebody that holds these important positions...including that of the captain general. "Now I've spoken to other Royal Marines and other people in the military and they're very upset if not disgusted at the disrespect to the Queen by not discussing this. "If he wants to leave those positions, if he wants to go abroad with his wife, he's absolutely entitled to have another life and he's entitled to live overseas. But you can't do this half and half. You're either in or you're out." "And what's even worse is the thought of this privatisation of the monarchy. Everyone was up in arms when the Americans talked about privatising the NHS, well of course the public is up in arms about a Canadian wanting to privatise the monarchy. "It's not acceptable. Either do one or the other. You don't sit as captain general or in any other position and make millions of pounds because that opportunity is not available to a soldier, to a marine who is on 20,000 a year. "They can't turn up to their commanding officer and say 'do you know what, boss, I'm going to go and live in another country, but would you mind still paying me.'" Harry and Meghan visit Canadas High Commission19 Jenny Edwards didn't want to go back home to Canberra, the Australian capital. She added seven days to a five-day family vacation "specifically to stay out of the smoke." But it didn't matter. Within a day of returning, her eyes were irritated, her chest felt tight, her head hurt and a small but persistent cough couldn't clear a tickle in her throat. Three massive fires were still burning about 60 miles away, and even though the heaviest smoke had momentarily lifted, the misery of living in a brownish haze remained. Air quality in Canberra on New Year's Day was among the worst of any major city in the world. Australia's bush fires have blanketed parts of the continent with pollution, affecting hundreds of thousands of people who are not in immediate danger from the flames. Government agencies and medical officials say distress calls, ambulance runs and hospital emergency room visits have surged. Even some federal departments in the capital had to temporarily shutter offices and tell nonessential staff to stay away. Stores have seen an overwhelming demand for smoke filtration masks, and in recent days government officials have begun rationing them to particularly vulnerable people, including pregnant women, the elderly and those with chronic heart and lung conditions. On Facebook, residents have posted pictures of doors and windows sealed with thick tape in an effort to keep smoke out their houses. And 7News Sydney posted a "Ciggie Index" - the equivalent number of cigarettes each resident consumes daily from inhaling smoke. In east Sydney, it's 19. A key question lingers as the fires that began last year continue to burn, in some cases merging into megafires: What are the long-term health implications of so many people exposed to thick smoke for so long? Wildfire smoke that lingers for weeks doesn't just get into people's eyes and the pores of their skin, researchers say. It enters their minds, settles in their thoughts and affects their mental health. That was a finding from studies following the deadly Black Saturday fires in Victoria in 2009, when both firefighters and residents suffered from post-traumatic stress. "I'm predicting that the effect is going to be far greater than before because the fires have been burning for such a long time," said Mirella Di Benedetto, a researcher and clinical psychologist at RMIT University in Melbourne. The 2009 fires were isolated to Victoria, but the current fires are burning nationwide, near Australia's largest cities. "Even where there are no fires, smoke is moving down to these areas," Di Benedetto said. "The air quality is really bad in Sydney. I think the mental health and physical health impact will be huge in the months to come." Little research exists about the long-term consequences of exposure to wildfire smoke, but Kari Nadeau and Mary Prunicki, scientists at Stanford University, are working to change that. They're closely following hundreds of people affected by devastating wildfires in California, taking blood samples and asking them about everything from their use of air filters to their psychological responses to the experience. Earlier research has linked air pollution from wildfires to a range of acute conditions, including asthma, heart ailments and strokes, but Nadeau and Prunicki hope to solve a deeper mystery. "Are there irreversible consequences over time?" said Nadeau, director of Stanford's Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research. The work is urgent, Prunicki said, not only because existing research is limited, but also because the rapidly warming climate is likely to make the unprecedented fires in Australia only more common there and elsewhere around the globe. "They are not going to go away," she said. In Australia, the smoke is affecting cities in unexpected ways. At one of Canberra's public hospitals, workers kept the hospital's exterior doors shut to keep smoke from clouding the hallways and patient rooms, said David Caldicott, an emergency room physician. Some nurses wore breathing masks, and the smoke temporarily incapacitated some local MRI machines, he said. At his own house, the smoke detector kept blaring one day until Caldicott finally muffled it with a towel at 3 a.m. In an arid country where residents are accustomed to a wildfire season, he said, the past weeks have been unlike any he has experienced. "It's sort of like medicine meets 'Mad Max,' " Caldicott said, referring to the vintage Australian action movie about a dystopian, post-apocalyptic future. In the state of New South Wales, home to Sydney, health officials said emergency room visits for asthma and breathing problems increased more than 34 percent in the period from Dec. 30 and Jan. 5 compared to a year earlier. Ambulance calls for respiratory issues were also higher, about 2,500 compared to the five-year average of about 1,900. Similarly, hospital admissions increased to more than 430, surpassing the five-year average of 361. Four of Australia's five largest population centers are experiencing the effects of the fires. At least 25 people have died, nearly 2,000 homes have been destroyed and more than 14 million acres have burned. So much smoke has been produced, there's evidence that some is circumnavigating the planet and has reached South America, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Bush fires are a known trigger for asthma attacks, said Bruce Thompson, dean of the School of Health Sciences at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne. "This is a very significant health concern. Here in Australia, we're making sure people are moving themselves from the outdoors as best they can," Thompson said. Inside bush-fire smoke, water vapor intermingles with tiny particles measured in micrometers. It also contains gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide. Wood dust from exploded trees and chemicals from melted tires and scorched steel also hitch a ride. Particles as large as 5 micrometers "stick in your nose; you wake up with a runny nose and itchy eyes," Thompson said. Particles as small as 2.5 micrometers - known by researchers as PM 2.5 - are scarier, he said. "They can get to the very edges of the lungs," Thompson said. "We had a coal mine fire a few years ago and it's been demonstrated that four years after, children close to the plume had worse lung function. So this is bad." Smaller particles in smoke can hinder cardiac function in adults. Thompson said the developing lungs of children can be permanently damaged in varying degrees. "The lung becomes inflamed, and you cough as the lung tries to adjust," Thompson said. "The lung is bad at repairing itself. It tries to get rid of particles by making you cough, but it produces scar tissue, and you don't want that in the lung because it changes the efficiency of the lung." Fay Johnston, an environmental health professor at the University of Tasmania's Menzies Institute for Medical Research, said most people exposed to the smoke won't be harmed - as long as the fires end soon. "If the smoke goes away, a healthy person can withstand it," said Johnston, who specializes in the health effects of bush-fire smoke. "Healthy people will come through it without any long-term harm." But relief from the yearly rainy season isn't expected until February. Like other researchers, Johnston worries about what will happen if the fires continue, particularly for old and young asthma sufferers. "What's the long-term legacy of it?" she said. "We really don't know." Few studies have delved into the consequences of long-term exposure to bush fires. Johnston and other researchers conducted the study Thompson referenced, on health impacts on children and mothers in the wake of a 2014 fire at a Victoria coal mine that burned for more than a month, blanketing the nearby town of Morwell with smoke. Young children exposed to the smoke were more likely to get an antibiotic prescription in the year after the fire, and pregnant women were more likely to develop gestational diabetes, Johnston said. Bin Jalaludin, a professor at the University of New South Wales and chief investigator at the Centre for Air Pollution, Energy and Health Research, said government officials and academics in Australia already have been brainstorming ways to study the long-term health implications of the "truly unprecedented" fires. "What we want to look at is things like ER visits, deaths, hospitalizations, ambulance call-outs for respiratory problems, birth outcomes - do women who are pregnant and exposed to high levels of smoke, does it have an impact on the newborn?" he said. "It will take time, although we are trying to expedite it and get some of this work done quickly." Meanwhile, south of Sydney in Bowral, Peggy Stone said she's fighting off feelings of depression. "We haven't seen the sun for weeks," she said. The sky is sometimes fiery orange, sometimes smoky gray. The day she spoke, she said, "The sun is trying to penetrate the smoke. Occasionally it might try to get through and we get a little ray." Farther south in Canberra, Jenny Edwards, who has asthma, made an appointment to see a doctor. "I'm quite worried about the next couple of months," Edwards said. "Air quality is so hard to predict with so many large fires in our region and the possibility of new ones starting." She's thinking of leaving Canberra - again. But she knows that option is also risky because it's hard to escape the reach of the fires. "I am considering returning to stay with my mother-in-law near Lake Macquarie," she said. "Mind you, there are big fires inland from there, and while staying there last week we had three small fires break out within 10 kilometers of us." Janata Dal-United's Prashant Kishor on Sunday thanked Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for 'formal and unequivocal' rejection of the National Register of Citizens and reassured the people of Bihar, ruled by his party, that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 and NRC will not be implemented in the state. The Bharatiya Janata Party, an ally of the JD-U headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, got rankled by the commendation of the opposition party by the former election strategist. The saffron party came out with a statement criticising 'over intelligent and super knowledgeable people' for their propaganda on NRC and asserted that the CAA was passed in Parliament with JD-U's support and 'it will be implemented in all concerned states, including Bihar'. 'I join my voice with all to thank #Congress leadership for their formal and unequivocal rejection of #CAA-NRC. Both @rahulgandhi & @priyankagandhi deserve special thanks for their efforts on this count,' Kishor tweeted reacting to the Congress Working Committee (CWC) resolution. The CWC has demanded that the CAA be withdrawn and the process of NPR stopped forthwith, accusing the BJP-led government at the Centre of using its brute majority to impose a 'divisive and discriminatory' agenda. 42-year-old Kishor, whose first claim to fame was the management of Narendra Modi's election campaign in 2014, said, "Also would like to reassure to all -- Bihar mein CAA-NRC laagu nahin hoga (CAA-NRC will not be implemented in Bihar)." Kishor had joined the JD-U in September 2018 as a full-time member and has been elevated to the post of national vice president of the party. His relationship with the BJP has remained uneasy since the 2014 Lok Sabha polls after which he has offered his professional services to parties like the Congress (in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab), Trinamool Congress (West Bengal) and the Aam Aadmi Party (Delhi) -- all bitterly opposed to the saffron party. Kishor's recent tirades against his party for supporting the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and his vociferous opposition to NPR and NRC had raised the hackles of the BJP. The saffron party's Bihar unit spokesperson Nikhil Anand came out with a statement in response, dripping with sarcasm but without mentioning Kishor by name. "Some over intelligent and super knowledgeable people are creating propaganda on NRC. But the fact is that there is no initiative by the central government on the issue. We thank the PM, the HM for bringing such much-needed legislation of CAA. "We appreciate the support of our NDA (National Democratic Alliance) allies including CM Nitish Kumar ji in passing the Bill in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The CAA will be implemented in all the concerned states including Bihar and there is no question on this matter. Bihar government has already notified start of the NPR in May 2020," Anand said. The BJP spokesperson said that those opposing CAA must know that India is not like the United States of America which has dual citizenship. "The right to enact legislation related to Census and Citizenship comes within the ambit of Union Govt only and every state has to follow the law created by parliament on these issues. "Do these people want the state governments to take independent decisions on issues related to citizenship and Census which is the sole jurisdiction of the union government and Parliament as per the Constitution of India?" he said. Anand said such thought is a disrespect to the federal structure and Constitution of India. The Students' Union (JNUSU) has alleged that the varsity administration has blocked the registration of 300 students on the basis of 'fake Proctor inquiries'. The union had on Saturday asked students of the university to pay their academic tuition fee but not the hiked hostel fee. "Today the Vice Chancellor first blocked the fee payment portal and then blocked the payment of tuition fees. It is clear that the VC was lying through the teeth when he said students want to register but are not being allowed to by protesters," JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh said. She said the VC has also blocked the registration of 300 students based on fake proctor enquiries which are not even completed. "The truth is that it is the administration which does not want students to register and is blocking their registration," she said. JNUSU vice president Saket Moon said that in the meetings held in HRD ministry, it was decided that the administration would take a lenient view on the students' protest and not take action against them. He said many students, who opened the portal for registration found they had been academically suspended and could not register. He said the JNUSU had softened its stand by saying that they would register by paying the old fees but that has been kept on hold. On Sunday, the administration extended the date for the winter semester registration till January 15. (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.) BLOOMINGTON Gusty winds and falling temperatures made an otherwise rainy Saturday into one that became downright nasty. Forecasters said up to 2 inches of snow were possible in McLean County throughout the night, with a winter weather advisory in effect until midnight. An inch or less of snow was expected in Macon and Coles counties. By 10 p.m., radar indicated most of the snow had left the area. The National Weather Service in Lincoln received reports of a half inch of snow in both Bloomington and Normal through 10 p.m. Lincoln reported 1 inch of snow. "We haven't seen any significant changes" in the forecast, NWS meteorologist Ben Deubelbeiss said earlier Saturday. He cautioned roads would be "pretty slippery," particularly on bridges and overpasses. Rain fell through much of the day in central and east-central Illinois, with some areas reporting more than 4 inches of rain by mid-morning. A flood warning for the Mackinaw River near Congerville is in effect from Sunday morning through Monday evening. In addition, minor flooding is expected along the Sangamon River at Monticello by early Sunday. In Shelby County, almost 6 inches of rain caused an 8-foot hole in a county road, the National Weather Service said. In Bloomington, a 100-foot stretch of road at Morris Avenue and Butchers Lane was underwater and crews put up barricades, city police said. Elsewhere in the county, a couple of secondary roads were covered with water, the McLean County Sheriff's Department said. Grain fields were flooded along county roads near Danvers. Flight schedules were expected to return to normal Sunday at Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington, where some Chicago flights were canceled Saturday. Ameren Illinois and Corn Belt Energy Corp. both reported scattered outages throughout the day. Sunday is expected to be sunny with a high temperature of 32. The weather service said 1.51 inches of rain were recorded at Peoria, 1.92 inches at Decatur, 2.04 inches at Springfield, 2.8 inches in Normal, 2.97 inches near Bloomington, 3.3 inches at Champaign, 3.75 inches at Pana and Arthur, 4.25 inches in Charleston, and 4.34 inches in Watson in Effingham County. The weather service warning near Congerville said moderate, widespread flooding is expected when the Mackinaw rises above its 13-foot flood stage Sunday morning. It was at 6.2 feet Saturday morning. In Springfield, a dam operator said water was released from Spaulding Dam at Lake Springfield, causing a "substantial flow of water" in Sugar Creek downstream of the dam. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 3 The Algeria-backed polisario separatist group is furious to see the 12th edition of Africa Eco Race Rally going ahead as planned without a glitch despite their threat to disrupt this annual off-road rally race. After arriving in Tangiers (Northern Morocco) coming from Monaco on Januray 7, the 688 competitors with their 266 vehicles (trucks, cars and motorbikes), crossed several Moroccan cities including Kenitra (North), Mhamid, Assa, Smara and Dakhla, in Moroccan Sahara. They are now heading for Southern Moroccan Guerguarate crossing point on the borders with Mauritania where the racers will go through some challenging desert stages before crossing the finish line on Jan.19 in Saint Louis, Senegal. As usual, the polisario leaders sent to UN Chief a protest letter which had no impact on the Africa Eco Race Rally, part of the F.I.A & F.I.M. international motorsports events. The race was launched 12 years ago. In response to the Polisarios threats to harass the racers, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres stressed, in a statement issued Saturday, the importance to allow for regular civilian and commercial traffic to proceed and to refrain from any action that may constitute a change to the status quo of the Buffer Strip in Guerguarate. He also reiterated the United Nations commitment to support the parties to reach a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution to the Sahara conflict in accordance with Security Council resolutions. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 14:48:59|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close WELLINGTON, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese New Year Cultural Workshop: Symbols of China was held in Johnsonville Library, Wellington, capital of New Zealand on Sunday. Wellington citizens, including the local Chinese community were presented with the opportunity to try a variety of traditional cultural practices, such as engraving and paper cutting, Beijing Opera face painting, Gongfu tea ceremony, Spring Festival couplets calligraphy, Chinese lanterns and fortune ball making. There was also a traditional Chinese medicine stall in the event, which offered free consultation and herbal tea bags as gifts. Traditional Chinese therapist Natalie Floyd of New Zealand descent received attention as she appeared by the stall. "I have been practicing acupuncture and Chinese massage for more than two years," Natalie said. Aside from demonstrating the system of meridians and collaterals of human beings, she also brought some herbal tea bags which aid in digestion. Engraving and paper cutting artist, 80-year-old Liu Changwu was the highlight of the event. Over 100 people queued for his "mouse" and "Character Fu" paper cutting during the course of two hours. Children were happily involved in the Beijing Opera Face Painting and Chinese Lantern Making workshop. "The upcoming Chinese New Year is our first one spent overseas. I am so appreciated that my four-year-old daughter received the chance to practice our cultural customs here," a new immigrant from China said. The workshop was jointly organized by the Wellington Chinese Cultural Center and the Yafeng Group, a local Chinese cultural community. During his surprise visit to Syria last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin urged his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad, to invite President Trump to Damascus, according to a video of a short conversation between the two leaders aired Sunday on Russia-1 television channel. What's happening: The video shows the leaders speaking to each other during a visit to the Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary in Damascus. Assad tells Putin about the apostle Paul who became a Christian at the gate of Damascus and adds jokingly: "If Trump arrives along this road, everything will become normal with him too." Putin laughs and tells Assad: It will be repaired invite him. He will come. Assad answers that he is ready to invite Trump, to which Putin responds, smiling: I will tell him." A tweet previously embedded here has been deleted or was tweeted from an account that has been suspended or deleted. Go deeper: Read Axios' two-part special report on "20 Years of Putin" AUSTIN, Texas Migrating animals that live in Earth's oceans may have a closer relationship with the sun than we thought. New research shows that healthy gray whales are nearly five times more likely to strand when there is a high prevalence of sunspots, and therefore high levels of radio waves emitted from solar storms. The researchers presented their findings here at the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology meeting on Tuesday (Jan. 7). "It's a fascinating finding," Kenneth Lohmann, a biologist who studies magnetoreception (or how animals detect Earth's magnetic field) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told Live Science in an email. "There have been several previous reports linking magnetic storms to whale strandings, but this is a particularly well-done and convincing analysis," said Lohmann, who was not involved in the study. Scientists are unsure if whales use magnetoreception to navigate, but migratory whales, such as gray whales, are likely candidates because the ocean provides few other navigational cues, said study lead author Jesse Granger, a conservation biophysicist at Duke University in North Carolina. Related: Whale Album: Giants of the Deep From March to June, gray whales swim north from the coast of Baja California, Mexico, to the cool, food-rich waters of the Bering and Chukchi seas, north of Alaska. Whales make their return trip south beginning in November. Occasionally, a seemingly healthy gray whale strands while en route. Although there are myriad reasons why a whale might strand, one possibility is that the whale made a navigational error when something was disrupting Earth's magnetic field or the whale's ability to detect it like a solar storm, for example. Aerial view of a gray whale mother and calf swimming. (Image credit: Kyle Munson/Shutterstock) Granger and her colleagues reviewed gray whale stranding data from the U.S. West Coast between 1985 and 2018 and found that live and otherwise healthy gray whales were stranding far more often when there were a high number of sunspots. But that finding alone doesn't explain how a sunspot could possibly cause a gray whale to get lost. Although sunspots cause a large increase in electromagnetic radiation, most of that radiation doesn't make it to our planets surface, because that light is blocked or scattered by Earth's atmosphere. "However, there's a huge chunk in the radio frequency (RF) wave range that does make it all the way to the Earth," Granger said. "And, it's been shown in several species that RF noise can disrupt a magnetic orientation ability." The researchers found there was a 4.8-fold increase in the likelihood that a whale would strand on days when there was high RF noise (because of solar storms) compared with low RF noise. This suggests that the whale's magnetic receptor, or ability to read its map of the area, could be what's causing the whale to take a detour not that the map is incorrect, Granger said. But scientists still don't know for sure if whales even have a magnetoreceptive sense or not. All we know, Granger said, is that "whales are stranding a lot more often when the sun is doing crazy stuff." Magnetic storms are also known to cause other issues for animals unrelated to navigation, Lohmann said. "So, more work will be needed to determine whether the storms are affecting whale navigation or having some other effect." One of the team's next steps, Granger said, is to see if this is a phenomenon that's seen in other migratory species and in other parts of the world where the magnetic field may not be as easily detected. Originally published on Live Science . Disputes triggered by Indias amended citizenship law have helped the world community take note of the persecution of minorities in Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday, opening a new front in a raging debate that has triggered widespread protests, including those he faced on his two-day visit to West Bengal. Addressing a gathering in Howrah districts Belur Math, the headquarters of Ramakrishna Mission, Modi sought to allay apprehensions over the contentious legislation, reiterated that the law was not aimed at taking away a persons citizenship, and stressed that a section of youth was being misguided. Had we not amended the citizenship law, this vivaad [dispute] would not have arisen. Had this dispute not arisen, the world would not have known the kind of atrocities that were perpetrated on [religious] minorities in Pakistan, Modi said at the monastery, where he paid tributes to spiritual leader Swami Vivekananda on his 157th birth anniversary. ...how human rights have been violated. How the lives of our sisters and daughters were ruined. Its the result of our initiative that Pakistan will have to answer for its acts of oppression against the minorities there, added Modi, who says he is inspired by the teachings of Vivekananda and spent the night at the Math. His remarks drew sharp reaction from rival parties that accused him of politicising Ramakrishna Mission, which was founded by Vivekananda in 1897. Belur Math is not just a spiritual centre, it is a seat of learning. I have seen many prime ministers, including Indira Gandhi, coming here, but nobody did politics like Modi [did], Bengal Congress president Somen Mitra said. Criticising Modis pitch for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, Partha Chatterjee, the general secretary of the states ruling Trinamool Congress, said, After what Modi did at Belur, my head hangs in shame. The monastic order said it will not comment on Modis speech. We are above politics...To us Narendra Modi is the leader of India and Mamata Banerjee is the leader of West Bengal, Ramakrishna Math and Mission general secretary Swami Suvirananda said, adding: We are inclusive as an organisation which has monks from Hindu, Islam, Christian (faiths). We live like more than brothers of same parents. Praising Modi, Suvirananda said, Narendra Modi is popular and dynamic. He is one of the best prime ministers. He has derived his inspiration from Swamiji [Vivekananda]. CAA fast-tracks the citizenship process for refuges of Hindu, Sikh, Christian, Parsi, Jain and Buddhist faiths who entered India from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh before 2015. Opponents say the act is unconstitutional because it links faith to citizenship in a secular country and discriminatory because it leaves out Muslims. A fierce debate on citizenship has dominated Indias political discourse ever since Parliament passed CAA on December 11. Protests first erupted in the North-east, especially in Assam, where residents feared the law could result in an influx of outsiders. The demonstrations gradually spread to other parts of the country, and at least 21 people died in Uttar Pradesh in a flare-up of violence on December 20 and 21. Critics say CAA, if combined with an all-India NRC, could result in the expulsion or detention of Muslims unable to provide the documentation required. At Belur Math, Modi sought to assuage concerns of North-east, calling the region our pride. Their culture, traditions and demography remain untouched by this amended law, he said. Modi also addressed young people on the National Youth Day, which is celebrated on Vivekanandas birthday. Indias youths are conscious, but some have become victims of rumours. I would like to tell our youth, particularly those in Bengal and the North-east ,that the Indian government did not come up with the law overnight. It is not meant to take away citizenship but to give it. On Sunday, the Congress and Left parties continued their protests in Kolkata on the second day of Modis visit to the state. Demonstrators carried placards opposing Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and sat overnight at Esplanade in the heart of the city. They waved black flags and shouted slogans against Modi outside the Netaji Indoor Stadium, where the Prime Minister addressed a function to mark 150 years of Kolkata Port Trust and renamed it after Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee. At this event, held hours after the one at Belur Math, Modi took a dig at the Trinamool Congress and criticised chief minister Banerjees government for not implementing the Centres flagship schemes such as health insurance programme Ayushman Bharat Yojana and PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, a cash transfer plan for farmers. When there is no syndicate or cut involved, why would someone implement central government schemes? I dont know whether they [state government] would give approval for central schemes such as Ayushman Bharat Yojana, PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, but if they do, people of Bengal will be able to enjoy their benefits, he said. He was apparently referring to West Bengals infamous cut money controversy that shone the spotlight on several Trinamool Congress leaders who allegedly took commission, or bribes, from people to get government schemes implemented. West Bengal CM Banerjee, a staunch critic of Modi and an opponent of CAA, was not present at any of the programmes of Modi on Sunday. She met him at the Raj Bhavan on Saturday, calling it a courtesy call, before joining an anti-CAA protest. She shared the dais with the Prime Minister at another programme on Saturday evening. Trinamool Congress general secretary Chatterjee took exception to Modis cut money comment. Children talk like this. It is not befitting of a Prime Minster to talk of cut money. People are tired of hearing these [allegations]. Wikimedia Commons Kabul/IBNS: A key Taliban commander, who was a citizen of Pakistan, was killed during an airstrike in Kunduz province of Afghanistan, media reports said on Sunday. The deceased Taliban commander was identified as Muhibullah. According to the Afghanistan Ministry of Defence statement, Muhibullah was a citizen of Pakistan and was targeted when he was driving in Imam Saib district of Kunduz province, Tolo News reported. The Taliban did not comment on the issue so far. US President Donald Trump expressed his condolences Saturday over the death of Sultan Qaboos of Oman, calling him a friend to America who worked for peace in the Middle East. "As the longest-serving leader in the Middle East, Sultan Qaboos brought peace and prosperity to his country and was a friend to all," Trump said in a statement as he joined other world leaders in remembering the ruler, whose death was reported earlier Saturday. "His unprecedented efforts to engage in dialogue and achieve peace in the region showed us the importance of listening to all viewpoints. Sultan Qaboos was a true partner and friend to the United States, working with nine different American presidents," Trump said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dr Tsai Ing-Wen waves after addressing supporters in Taipei following her re-election as President of Taiwan on 11 January. (PHOTO: Getty Images) SINGAPORE Singapore offered its congratulations to Taiwans President Tsai Ing-wen on Sunday (12 January), following her landslide victory in the islands elections the day before. We welcome the successful conclusion of the elections in Taiwan on 11 January 2020 and congratulate Dr Tsai Ing-wen and her party on their victory. Singapore and Taiwan share a close and friendly relationship, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in response to media queries. We will continue to grow this relationship based on Singapores One China policy, the ministry added. Alluding to China, the MFA noted that it has taken wisdom and pragmatism on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to achieve the peaceful and stable development of cross-strait relations and that both sides have benefited from such relations. Efforts to secure the well-being of future generations and contribute to the peace and prosperity of the region will continue to be welcomed by Singapore and the international community, said the ministry. On Saturday, Dr Tsai swept to victory over her Beijing-friendly rival Han Kuo-yu by garnering 57 per cent of the popular vote with over 8 million ballots. The result secured her another four-year term in office, while her Democratic Progressive Party also captured a majority in Parliament. Dr Tsais victory is widely seen as a sharp rebuke of Beijings efforts to isolate and assert its authority over the island, which it considers as part of China. More Singapore stories: Singapore congratulates Taiwan's Tsai Ing-wen on election victory Man slapped mentally impaired job seeker at coffee shop, causing broken skull A rendering of the north facade of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's new inpatient facility in King of Prussia. Construction is expected to be finished by late 2021. Read more The Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, which has announced plans to build its first inpatient facility in King of Prussia to alleviate crowding at its main campus in the city, is considering expanding the number of beds in the new suburban hospital to accommodate an expected high demand. The 250,000-square-foot, seven-floor hospital will be the center of its medical complex in King of Prussia, which has had a busy outpatient center since 2015. Stockholm-based Skanska, the fifth-largest construction and development company in the world, signed a construction contract with CHOP worth $186 million, the company said. Skanska expects construction to be done by late 2021. The hospital, which is being built at the bustling Village at Valley Forge, falls in line with a wave of commercial development in King of Prussia. We know that we need to expand and a lot of our patients come from our western suburbs," Madeline Bell, president and chief executive of the nonprofit CHOP, said Friday. Its really a big deal for us. When the hospital revealed it would build the inpatient facility last year, it intended to install 52 beds, 16 of which would be for pediatric intensive care. Now, considering the prospective demand at the new facility, Bell said there could be as many as 108 beds, the maximum allowed amount. The hospital among the largest and oldest pediatric care facilities in the world has steadily expanded its footprint over the years, branching into New Jersey and Philadelphias collar counties. It is near Delaware-based Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children and St. Christophers Hospital for Children in Philadelphia. The new facility could employ around 500 workers, Bell said, some of whom would be new hires while others would be staffers from the main University City campus. Medical residents will remain in Philadelphia. Despite dense commercial and residential construction in King of Prussia, Bell said, building a sprawling hospital there would be easier than in Philadelphia, where buildings are packed together and parking is often limited. King of Prussia is a green space," she said, and township employees have just been really terrific." Frankly, we can build much quicker there. Its a growing location," she said, adding that the hospital took a no-regrets strategy expanding further into the suburbs. BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi on Sunday said that because of the dirty politics of Congress, asylum seekers from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan were compelled to spent half of their lives as refugees in the country. Hitting out at Congress, Lekhi said, "People who are opposing CAA and NRC are standing with anti-nationalist forces. Also, they are confusing the citizens of the country." "We can clearly see they are trying to help intruders by their statements against CAA. Because of their dirty politics, asylum seekers from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan have spent half of their lives as refugees in the country," she added. A huge number of women supporters gathered today at Delhi BJP office and marched to Connaught Place with BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi in support of CAA. "We are marching together in support of CAA. Women are way ahead in the support of CAA," Lekhi said. In response to opposition's stance on CAA, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said in Kolkata that a section of the youth is being misguided about the Citizenship Amendment Act and asserted that it will not take away anybody's citizenship. CAA grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh and who 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.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-13 05:55:17|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HARARE, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Sunday that the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which marks the 20th anniversary of establishment this year, has maintained a leading position in international cooperation with Africa. Wang said the FOCAC has become an important platform for collective dialogue and an effective mechanism for practical cooperation between China and Africa over the past 20 years. Wang made the remarks when answering questions from journalists on the achievements made since the establishment of the FOCAC and its role in promoting the development of China-Africa relations, at a joint press conference with the Zimbabwe Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Trade Sibusiso Moyo in Harare, capital of Zimbabwe. "The 2018 FOCAC Beijing Summit was a great success, as Chinese and African leaders unanimously decided to build a closer China-Africa community with shared future, which defined the general direction of joint efforts," Wang said. According to him, the results of the Forum can be seen across Africa. In terms of infrastructure, China has built more than 6,000 kilometers of railways and roads, respectively, as well as nearly 20 ports and more than 80 large power plants. These have boosted the process of industrialization in Africa and enhanced Africa's ability for independent development. In the field of people's livelihood, China has so far assisted in the construction of more than 130 medical facilities, 45 gymnasiums and more than 170 schools. In the past five years, China has also trained more than 200,000 personnel in various professions in Africa, which made important contributions to promoting the vital interests and welfare of the African people, Wang said. In terms of trade and investment, the volume of trade between China and Africa exceeded 200 billion U.S. dollars in 2019, and China has become Africa's largest trading partner for 11 years in a row. China's stock of direct investment in Africa has reached 110 billion U.S. dollars, and more than 3,700 Chinese enterprises have invested and started businesses in various parts of Africa, providing a strong driving force for the sustained economic growth in Africa, Wang added. "Driven by China-Africa cooperation, other foreign countries have also paid more attention to Africa, bringing more opportunities for Africa's development," Wang said. The Chinese official noted that over the past 20 years, China has maintained consistency in cooperation with Africa, and is committed to mutually beneficial cooperation and common development. "We have always insisted on non-interference in Africa's internal affairs," Wang said, adding that China has always respected Africa's will, and never imposed its will on African countries or attached political strings. Wang also emphasized China's medical assistance to Africa, saying that China has sent a total of 21,000 Chinese doctors and nurses over the years, who have so far treated 220 million patients in African countries. "These are what those countries that intend to discredit China-Africa cooperation cannot do at all and what they are unwilling to do. This is also why China-Africa cooperation is welcomed by African countries and appreciated by the African people," he said. Wang said a new session of the Forum will be held in Africa next year. Together with Senegal, the co-chair of the Forum, China will conscientiously listen to the views and suggestions of all the FOCAC's African members, so as to further improve the Forum and benefit Africa and the world. Democrats just wont give up on the cause of Iran getting nuclear weapons. We had President Barack Obama spending months and more months on a deal that shoved all kinds of obstacles out of the way. Then we had President Donald Trump yanking the United States out of the deal and actually fighting back with deadly force against a general specializing in terrorism who had killed 600 Americans. Democrats have been outraged, worrying about a war thats not exactly likely while, with some qualifications, presidential candidates say they will get us back in the Obama deal if Trump is defeated in this years election. That promise might not tell the Iranians they will get all of Obamas gifts again, but it certainly sends hints to the dictators that they need not worry too much, that they can get rid of sanctions wrecking their economy and maybe still grin their way to mushroom clouds. In the interim, the horror of the left at what Trump did is itself close to a horror, a message to Iranians that they have cheerleaders across the Atlantic. Their tale has been that Trump acted recklessly, that he may have cheated the Constitution, that war is a done deal with him in office and that Congress must rise up by way of rescue. Such concerns were hushed to the degree of applause when Obama and five other powers started dropping sanctions after Iranians agreed to talk because of them. With the United States leading the way, these negotiators amazingly agreed that Iran could keep the means of producing enriched uranium crucial for nuclear weaponry. Iran did agree to turn over its most highly enriched uranium to Russia, which has returned some of it. Without consequence, Iran has violated the treaty 32 times by trying to buy nuclear technology from Germany. We agreed not to inspect military bases just maybe involved in nuclear trickery. An Obama aide later admitted he fed naive reporters hooey as a way of selling the deal, and, look, Iran has since gotten away with tests of ballistic missiles ever expanding in numbers. It has joyfully sent terrorists to kill and wound and destroy. It has rather obviously been aiming to revolutionize a Middle East that it will direct with nuclear weaponry facing down objections. Theres a problem, though, because we have this Trump guy who thinks deterrence outdoes appeasement as a strategic model. He has let all kinds of things go, such as Iranians shooting down a U.S. drone, but the story is not over. Major General Qassem Soleimani, a genocidal madman with a gentlemanly demeanor, crossed a Trumpian red line by killing an American, following that up with violence encircling an American embassy. Trump relied on another U.S. drone to in effect return fire, eliminating a cause of hellish effects. This was not a violation of the Constitution, as some Democrats have said, although it would be if Trump went to war without getting a declaration from Congress, something no president has done since World War II. Iran threatened retaliation, Democrats in our homeland sounded as if they themselves had a revolution in mind and then there were the Iranian missiles and something remarkable: Almost certainly as a matter of intention, they did not kill anyone and did precious little damage. Trump did vow more sanctions, but repeated his often-stated offer of negotiation without preconditions. He made it clear he would not hit back. We may now really, truly be on the way to victory, of restoring Iran to economic health and affording it a respected place among nations as Iran quits hiding anything and rids itself of the means of developing nuclear weaponry, terrorism, bullying the Middle East in every way it can and testing missiles. Thats not for sure, of course, but it could happen if the Democrats would quit holding out hope that it can return to evil. We will see. Jay Ambrose is an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service. Readers may email him at speaktojay@aol.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 A public campaign is calling for koalas to be shipped from their bushfire-ravaged habitats in Australia to vast eucalyptus plantations in New Zealand. The horror bushfire season has decimated native populations of the marsupial species - with one third of the koalas on New South Wales' mid-north coast believed to have been wiped out. With nearly eleven million hectares of land now razed by the fires, a petition has been launched urging the Australian government to transfer some of its koala population across the Tasman Sea. A dehydrated and singed koala is pictured at Jirrahlinga Koala and Wildlife Sanctuary at Barwon Heads south of Melbourne on December 28. A campaign is now calling for Australia's koalas to be shipped to New Zealand to protect them from bushfires 'Koalas are functionally extinct in Australia, and could thrive in New Zealand, as many other Australasian species do,' the petition by the Koala Relocation Society reads. Functionally extinct means when a species is no longer viable or able to play a significant role in the eco-system. The Australian Koala Foundation meanwhile estimated early in 2019 there were fewer than 100,000 koalas left in the wild - a number weakened even further by the 2019/2020 bushfire season. The change.org campaign addressed to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the country's more than 28,000 hectares of eucalyptus plantations could come to the rescue of the maligned species. 'Most are located in the central north island, and are similar to much older forests from Australia, as they grow fast here,' the petition's author said. A spokesperson for Ms Ardern told 1 News the main focus was providing support to Australia in the form of firefighters to help get their neighbours get the bushfires under control. Arnie the koala is pictured with a mask over his face. He has tragically died during this year's bushfire crisis and campaigners want to avoid more deaths by moving Australia's koala population to eucalyptus-abundant New Zealand 'Our focus is getting the fires under control so they [the koalas] can stay in their natural habitat,' the spokesperson said. 'Ms Ardern is currently on leave while Parliament is shut for the holidays but has been maintaining an active watch on the situation with the fires, including keeping in contact with the Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison.' More than one billion animals are now believed to have been killed this bushfire season. The change.org campaign addressed to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the country's more than 28,000 hectares of eucalyptus plantations could come to the rescue of the maligned species It comes after a charity looking after animals injured in ferocious bushfires revealed it was able to share its donations with other states. WIRES - the Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service - was only legally allowed to share donations with other organisations around NSW. On Friday, they announced they will be sharing more than $13.5million in donations with other bushfire affected states. 'The allocation of donations received by WIRES will be used to assist as many animals as possible across our nation,' WIRES CEO, Leanne Taylor said in a statement. Vets and volunteers treat Koalas at Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park, on Kangaroo Island, southwest of Adelaide, Friday, January 10, 2020 An estimated one billion animals have been killed as massive bushfires ravage across Australia 'We can and will allocate funding and support to all states and territories where needed to assist animals affected by this crisis.' 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. Adelaide wildlife rescuer Simon Adamczyk is seen with koala rescued at a burning forest near near Cape Borda on Kangaroo Island, southwest of Adelaide, Tuesday, January 7 Vets and volunteers treat Koalas at Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park, on Kangaroo Island, southwest of Adelaide, Friday, January 10, 2020 WIRES staff are currently working on ensuring all animals affected by the massive bushfires are cared for with ongoing care, supplementary food and recovery. This includes koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, possums, echidnas, birds, reptiles and more. Twenty-eight 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. Bahrain FinTech Bay will host OpenX 2020 an Open Banking conference held under the patronage of the Central Bank of Bahrain. The conference will take place at the Four Seasons Hotel, Bahrain Bay on Thursday, February 27th from 8:00am - 3:30pm. The conference will host 25+ speakers, and aims to attract over 300 delegates and will cover pertinent topics such as regulations, monetisation of open banking, APIs and data protection. The platform will bring together leaders and innovators from top banks, payments, FinTech and big Tech companies to discuss the latest insights in Open Banking technologies and trends. Attendees will have an opportunity to meet potential clients, partners and suppliers. In addition, the platform will host networking sessions creating an environment to connect with peers and discuss crucial topics. The agenda includes keynote speeches and various panels highlighting the emergence of a new regulatory banking landscape, the global perspective and adoption of open banking, Open Banking in Practice, and more. The panels will address several points such as how to maximise the strategic opportunities of open banking: new products, business models, and services, differentiating in an increasingly competitive market, with new, non-financial players, mitigating against the potential vulnerabilities of opening up access, and more. Additionally, successful case studies on building and using APIs at scale will be shared. CEO of Bahrain FinTech Bay, Khalid Saad stated As part of its continued efforts to develop world class and forward-looking FinTech regulations, Bahrain has become the first country in the Middle East to embrace Open Banking at a national level. Open Banking is transforming the way financial institutions operate and interact with their customers. OpenX aims to be the platform that brings together different stakeholders to shed light on this new paradigm and explore collaborative opportunities.-- Tradearabia News Service Advertising continues to reinforce gender stereotypes from the 1950s, a study of magazines has found, with brands overwhelmingly depicting women seeking knowledge to cook, care and clean "correctly". A study of advertisements published between 1950 and 2010 in Australian Women's Weekly and Britain's Good Housekeeping found images of the "knowing mother" whose primary role was to care for family members rather than advance her career or fulfil personal ambitions. An advert for the Finish cleaning product features a male expert telling a woman how to clean her dishwasher. Researchers including Teresa Davis, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Sydney Business School, found adverts over the 60-year period of the study told women to prioritise their family. "Despite shifts in attitudes that appear to share the role of caring within a family, there exists an enduring assumption that mothers should be responsible," she said. You are here: World Flash The head of the UN-recognized government in Libya will pay a visit to Turkey on Sunday, local media reported on Saturday evening. According to the state-run Anadolu agency, Fayez al-Sarraj, head of the Government of National Accord (GNA), is expected to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul. The North African country has been torn by a raging civil war between the GNA based in the capital Tripoli and the Libyan National Army and its allies based in the east. Following a meeting in Istanbul on Wednesday, Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin called on all parties in Libya for the establishment of an immediate cease-fire as of Jan. 12. Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Saturday said Ankara expects Moscow to convince Khalifa Haftar, commander of Libyan National Army, to comply with the cease-fire. Cavusoglu added that Ankara has done its part by persuading the GNA for the truce. Ankara and the GNA had signed a security and military cooperation agreements as well as a controversial maritime boundary memorandum at the end of November. Last week, Erdogan said that Turkey is "gradually" sending troops to Libya in line with the deal. By Mark Peterson Last week I wrote about a specific document I would like to tell you more about. It is a petition and shows a degree of democratic action in that it was signed by numerous people of the county involved in the action. Last time I wrote about the uniqueness of the signatures, and the fact that Koreans only used the dojang (stamp or seal) after the Japanese period, but in the Joseon Kingdom, they would sign documents. That was last week. This week I want to write about the content of the petition and look at what it reveals about Korean cultural values, many of which are alive and well in Korea today. The petition was drawn by the "scholarly community" within the county and it was addressed to the county magistrate. It recommended that a monument or gate be erected for a certain family for their exceptional character and exemplary behavior, not for one individual but for 10 individuals over a five generation period. Eight were exemplary filial sons, one was a faithful widow and one was a loyal subject. Any one of these could have been the cause for erecting a stone monument honoring the righteousness of the person's actions, but here, there were eight filial sons, one loyal subject and one faithful widow being honored all at once. Any village that has any claim to fame will have at least one monument to a prominent former resident of the village, an ancestor of current residents who distinguished themselves in one of three ways filial piety, loyalty or female fidelity. And only these three values were the basis for erecting such monuments. These were primary Confucian values. The first of the five generations, the progenitor of all the others, was one Jeong Su-jing who was described as particularly respectful to his parents, and was also loyal to the court in that he helped put down an insurrection in 1728. He stood loyal to the king against of a group of rebels who challenged the legitimacy of King Yeongjo, who in the fourth year of his reign was accused of the poisoning death of his brother, the former king. Gyeongjong died young, after only four years on the throne, and the rumors began to multiply that Yeongjo had poisoned his brother. The rebel group wanted to depose the king, but in the end, the rebellion was suppressed and the rebel leader was drawn and quartered with body parts posted around the countryside to show what happened to rebels. Jeong Su-jing's foundation in morality was said to have started with his loyalty to the king. His son, Jeong Se-gwan, was also notably respectful of his father. And grandson, Jeong Chi-yeop was said to be as good an example of filial piety that "everyone in the county called him Jeong Hyoja" literally Jeong, the filial son. And the great grandson was such a good example that he was compared to the great filial sons of Chinese folklore a real honor to be compared to the classic heroes of filial piety. In the next generation, two brothers were heroic in serving their father, and then in the fifth generation, each of those two brothers had a son who serve their fathers heroically. In addition, in the third generation, there was a woman who was widowed young, and served her parents-in-law to the end, and provided medicine heroically, for a dying father-in-law. What kind of heroic action? Most often it had to do with efforts to try to save a dying or ill father or mother. The heroic action often involved trying to find curative medicines. Sometimes this meant finding herbs. At other times, it might involve cutting some of one's own flesh from the thigh or the glutes to provide healing medicine. At other times, the son or daughter-in-law would cut their finger and bleed into the mouth of the ill parent, providing them with living blood, in the belief that this was the best, though desperate medicine. A kind of pre-modern blood transfusion. Now comes the twist in the story. The family being so honored, or proposed to be honored, was not a yangban family they were hyangni. The hyangni were the clerks, the hereditary class of administrators at the local county office. There was a similar class in Seoul, called the jungni who provided clerking skills for the central government. I use the word "class" advisedly. It was a class of people who only would marry within that class. They could not marry upward with yangban and they would not marry downward with commoners. The petition to honor this family was truly unusual because generally, the yangban did not like the clerks. The yangban officials would always be assigned to places away from their own homes, but the hyangni clerks were always there, at the county office and knew everyone and everything about the past and present. And they would often get the bribes. This petition says in the first line, that it is a petition from the "scholars in the county", meaning the yangban of the county. And they were asking that one of their clerk class be honored. If it had been a yangban family, it would have been honored numerous times already. But here, with a surplus of virtue, even in a lesser class family, it was time to petition a monument for them. The county magistrate wrote on the petition, that he agreed and would forward the petition to Seoul for action. Mark Peterson (markpeterson@byu.edu) is professor emeritus of Korean, Asian and Near Eastern languages at Brigham Young University in Utah. Foreign ministers from 13 countries, including Russia, Iran and Australia, will attend the fifth edition of the geo-political conference, 'Raisina Dialogue', beginning here on Tuesday. The three-day event, co-hosted by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), will also witness the participation of many deputy foreign ministers, former prime ministers, former presidents, national security advisors, military chiefs and other high level policy-makers, scholars and officials, a statement by the ORF said. Over 180 delegates from 105 countries are taking part in this edition, themed '21@20: Navigating the Alpha Century', the statement said. In all, the conference will see 116 speakers, it said. Besides, Externally Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, the other foreign ministers participating in this year's conference are from Russia, Iran, Australia, Maldives, South Africa, Latvia, Uzbekistan, Estonia, Denmark, Hungary, Rwanda and Tanzania. Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai and prime ministers of Sweden, Republic of Korea, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand and Bhutan are also participating in the conference. Iran's foreign minister Javed Zarif visit to India next week assumes significance as it comes following the killing of Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani. Union ministers Smiriti Irani, Hardeep Singh Puri and V Muraleedharan, as well as members of Parliament Jayant Sinha, Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari and Swapan Dasgupta will also speak in different sessions. More than 2,000 participants, including over 600 delegates and speakers, are taking part in the conference. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karanbir Singh, besides US Deputy NSA Matthew Pottinger, Afghanistan NSA Hamdullah Mohib and Commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral Phil Davidson will speak at the event. Chief of Staff, Joint Staff of the Japan Self-Defence Forces, General Koji Yamazaki, Vice Chief of Australian Defence Force, Vice Admiral David Johnston and Chief of Naval Staff of UK, Admiral Tony Radakin will also speak at the conference. The valedictory address will be delivered by Vice President of the European Commission and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, European Union, Josep Borrell. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 12 By Elnur Baghishov - Trend: Iranian Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) apologizes for the wrong information in connection with the crash of a Ukrainian passenger plane on January 8 near the city of Parade in Tehran Province, reads the statement by ICAO, Trend reports. ICAO said it has published the information that it had and which it believed was true. The statement reads that the decisive and right decision of the Iranian Armed Forces to declare and accept responsibility for human error has revealed the root cause of the incident. The statement said that despite this, the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization categorically rejected the hypothesis of firing the plane with a rocket and provided facts proving its position. The Ukrainian International Airlines Boeing 737-800 crashed in Tehran province on Jan. 8, killing all 176 people on board. Iran's Armed Forces General Staff issued a statement on Jan. 11 saying that the aircraft was shot down by the Iranian Air Defense System. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have gained over 500,000 followers on Instagram in the four days since announcing their plans to quit as senior royals. Meghan Markle, 38, and Prince Harry, 35, celebrated the New Year by hitting 10 million followers on the platform, gaining a further 100,000 followers in the next week. But after they announced their plans to step down as senior royals on Wednesday, fans have flocked to the @SussexRoyal account, boosting their following by another 500,000 in just four days. It means the couple now have 10.6 million followers and are quickly closing the gap between them and Kate Middleton, 38, and Prince William's Kensington Royal account, which boasts 10.8 million. Prince Harry, 35, and Meghan Markle, 38, have gained 500,000 Instagram followers since announcing their plans to step back as senior royals on Wednesday night In March 2019 it was announced Harry and Meghan would split their household from Kensington Palace, setting up their own at Buckingham Palace with a separate head of communications and a new Instagram presence, SussexRoyal. The Duke and Duchess' Sussex Royal account broke a Guinness World Record when it launched on April 2 last year. It became the fastest Instagram profile to reach one million followers in less than six hours. At the time, the couple said the account would be used for 'important announcements' and for sharing the work that 'drives' them. The couple are now closing the gap on Prince William, 37, and Kate Middleton's, 38, Instagram page, which boasts 10.8 million followers It perhaps comes as no surprise to discover that the top three most liked pictures on the account are dominated by baby Archie. The most popular among royal enthusiasts proved to be a black and white photo of Harry, Meghan and Archie greeting the Queen, Prince Philip, and the duchess' mother Doria Ragland. With 3million likes, it was closely followed by the couple's post announcing the birth of their son a few days before - which received 2.9million likes. A photograph of the duke and duchess with their little one in the Great Hall at Windsor Castle took third place. Having celebrated the New Year reaching 10 million followers, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex now boast 10.6 million fans on Instagram Their Instagram page is quickly catching up to the Kensington Royal account, which has 10.8 million followers Gaining 2.8million likes, it was the family's first photo call, two days after Archie's birth on May 6. Among the SussexRoyal followers are celebrities David Beckham and Gwyneth Paltrow, as well as Princess Eugenie. The couple announced their plans to step down as senior members of the royal family to their 10.1 million followers on their social media account on Wednesday night. The post, which has since gone on to be liked 1.7 million times, outlined their desire for 'financial independence' as well as their hopes to 'step back' as senior royals and divide their time between the UK and North America. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex issued a bombshell statement on Instagram on Wednesday night saying they plan to 'step back' as senior royals and divide their time between the UK and North America The message about their future plans was posted on the couple's official Instagram page and referred readers to their new website, sussexroyal.com, for information. The couple were accused of deleting criticism from the post after some claimed their negative comments had been removed from the page. Ex-Suits star Meghan used to have her own personal Twitter and Instagram accounts, as well as a lifestyle website The Tig, but closed them down ahead of her wedding to Harry in 2018. MANILAThe Philippines is bracing for a major eruption from one of its most active volcanoes amid escalating agitation on Sunday that sent ash spewing as far as the capital and prompted the evacuation of thousands. The column of ash released from the Taal volcano in Batangas province, almost two hours south of the capital by car, rose 10 to 15 kilometers. Two hours later, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised the alert status to Level 4, which means that a hazardous explosive eruption was expected within hours to days. The highest alert is set at Level 5, reserved for ongoing magma eruption. The agency also warned that surrounding areas were at risk of a volcanic tsunami. A volcano can displace a great volume of water and generate extremely destructive tsunami waves in the immediate source area, according to the International Tsunami Information Center.Waves will impact the coastline, said Renato Solidum, director of the volcanology institute. Sometimes, if there are boats or structures there, these can be destroyed. Tens of thousands are expected to evacuate from nearby cities and towns. The Philippine Red Cross deployed thousands of volunteers and at least nine ambulances in three surrounding provinces. Senior citizens must be taken care of, especially those with respiratory diseases, said Richard Gordon, a senator who serves as chairman of the Philippine Red Cross. Ash clouded visibility on highways and coated cars and streets as far as Manila. Flights to and from the capital were cancelled as ash accumulated on the runways. Drugstores quickly run out of face masks. From her residence in Lipa City in Batangas, Kristienne Amante, 22, said the air smells like sulphur and theres a constant rumble in the distance. She said her family had just evacuated from a lakeside municipality and had noted that there were only minutes between quakes. Yvette Herras, 54, said her house in the town of Silang in Cavite province was right in the danger zone. By the time she, her husband and three of their children left, there was no electricity or clean water. Our umbrellas are filled with mud. It was scary, the air was orange (and) grey, Herras said, speaking in English. We could hear explosions, thunder-like We decided to leave because it was impossible to get out if we decide to go later. It took the family four hours to reach Manila, hitching a jeepney ride and then catching a bus. Herras said her daughter lives in the city, and they were spending the night with her. Its still shocking for us, she said. When it erupted, we were watching a postapocalyptic movie. According to the NASA Earth Observatory, Taal consists of multiple stratovolcanoes. Its primary feature is the five-kilometer-wide Volcano Island, which has 47 craters and sits in a lake. The volcano has 33 recorded eruptions, the latest of which was in 1977. BAGHDAD - Four members of Iraqs military were wounded Sunday in a rocket attack targeting an air base just north of Baghdad where American trainers were present until recently, Iraqi security officials said. The attack by at least six rockets came just days after Iran fired ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq that house U.S. forces, causing no casualties. There are no Americans currently at Balad air base and there were none during the the attack, according to a coalition spokesperson. The base had hosted American trainers, advisers and a company that provides maintenance services for F-16 aircraft, according to an Iraqi defence official who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. Recent heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran were sparked last month when a rocket attack killed an American contractor at a base in Iraq. The U.S. has blamed that attack and others on Iran-backed militias. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a tweet Sunday that he wasoutraged by the attacks. Outraged by reports of another rocket attack on an Iraqi airbase, he tweeted. I pray for the speed recovery of the injured and call on the government of Iraq to hold those responsible for these attacks accountable. These continued violations of Iraqs sovereignty by groups not loyal to the Iraqi government must end, he added. Sundays attack wounded an Iraqi air force officer and three enlisted men, Iraqi security officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. Some rockets fell on a restaurant inside the airbase, the officials said. No group claimed responsibility for the attack. The base is located some 50 miles (80 kilometres) miles north of Baghdad. A statement from the Iraqi armys official media office confirmed the attack but said eight rockets hit the base, and that two officers had been wounded. The difference in accounts could no immediately be reconciled. The U.S. and Iran recently stepped back from escalating tensions following the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Irans top general, in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad. A senior Iraqi leader of an Iran-backed militia was also killed. Irans retaliatory attack for Soleimanis death hit two Iraqi bases, Ain al-Asad and Irbil, where American troops are based. The limited Iranian strikes appeared to be mainly a show of force, and deescalated tensions that had threatened to turn Iraq into a proxy battlefield. MELBOURNE (Reuters) - A firefighter died while on duty on Saturday in Australia's state of Victoria, raising the toll from this season's devastating bushfires to 28 deaths as the government deploys mental health services to aid those in affected areas. MELBOURNE (Reuters) - A firefighter died while on duty on Saturday in Australia's state of Victoria, raising the toll from this season's devastating bushfires to 28 deaths as the government deploys mental health services to aid those in affected areas. "It is with great sadness that we confirm that a ... firefighter from Parks Victoria has been involved in an incident while working on a fire in the Omeo area resulting in a fatality," Forest Fire Management Victoria Chief Fire Officer Chris Hardman said in a statement. For a graphic illustrating the size of Australia's bushfires, click: https://tmsnrt.rs/2tE7FwD Since October, thousands of Australians have been subjected to repeat evacuations as huge and unpredictable fires scorched more than 10.3 million hectares (25.5 million acres), an area roughly the size of South Korea. Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who has been heavily criticised by the opposition and environmental groups for his handling of the bushfires and his stance on climate change, was set to address the crisis on Sunday morning on ABC News television. Meanwhile, his office released a statement saying that more mental health services will be provided for those affected by the fires. "We need to ensure the trauma and mental health needs of our people are supported in a way like we never have before," Morrison was cited as saying. (Reporting by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Warnings of Volcanic Tsunami After Volcano Erupts in Philippines The Taal volcano in the Philippines erupted on Sunday and prompted warnings of a so-called volcanic tsunami as numerous villagers were evacuated in the vicinity, according to officials. A volcanic tsunami might take place in caldera lakes such as Taal Lake when water is displaced due to rising magma, said the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. Eruptive activity at Taal Volcano Main Crater intensified as continuous eruption generated a tall 10-15 kilometer (6-10 mile) steam-laden tephra column with frequent volcanic lightning that rained wet ashfall on the general north as far as Quezon City, the agency said in an alert. The volcano is located about 40 miles from the capital, Manila. People watch as Taal Volcano erupts Sunday Jan. 12, 2020, in Tagaytay, Cavite province, outside Manila, Philippines. A tiny volcano near the Philippine capital that draws many tourists for its picturesque setting in a lake belched steam, ash, and rocks in a huge plume Sunday, prompting thousands of residents to flee and officials to temporarily suspend flights. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) The agency said that residents on Taal Volcano island needed to be evacuated. About 6,000 people reportedly live on the island. Areas in the general north of Taal Volcano are advised to guard against the effects of heavy and prolonged ashfall. Civil aviation authorities must advise aircraft to avoid the airspace around Taal Volcano as airborne ash and ballistic fragments from the eruption column pose hazards to aircraft, the agency wrote. The Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised its alert level for Taal Volcano to a four out of five. An official told The Associated Press that a hazardous eruption may occur again at the volcano over the coming days. Plumes of smoke and ash rise from as Taal Volcano erupts Sunday Jan. 12, 2020, in Tagaytay, Cavite province, outside Manila, Philippines (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) Tens of thousands of locals were evacuated from nearby areas, AP also reported. We have asked people in high-risk areas, including the volcano island, to evacuate now ahead of a possible hazardous eruption, Renato Solidum, the chief of the volcanology institute, told the news agency. Manila was also affected by the eruption as fallen ash covered the runways of the citys international airport on Sunday, prompting authorities to suspend flights due to the ash, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said. Taal, which is one of the smallest volcanoes on Earth, is among a few dozen active volcanoes in the country. The entirety of the Philippines is located along the Ring of Fire, a seismically active region that encircles the Pacific Ocean, stretching from Southeast Asia up to Japan and Russias Far East before jutting to Alaska and the western coasts of the United States and South America. A young man has been charged with assault causing harm to his father in Co Waterford at the weekend. John Butler, aged 48, was found with fatal head injuries at his home on Brown Street in Portlaw in the early hours of Saturday morning. Emergency services were alerted and took him to University Hospital Waterford where he was pronounced dead. His son, Stephen, was brought before a special sitting of the district court at Carrick-on-Suir, Co Tipperary, this morning. The 21-year-old year old, with an address at Ramsgrange, New Ross, Co Wexford, was charged with assault causing harm to his father on Saturday. He did not speak during the brief hearing. He was arrested on Saturday and detained at Tramore Garda Station, Co Waterford, for questioning. Garda Sharon Ryan, based at Tramore Station, gave details of arrest, charge and caution before Judge Terence Finn. Stephen Butler was charged with assault causing harm under Section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Persons Act, 1997. Garda Ryan said the defendant made no reply when cautioned. The court was told that the State would be objecting to any application for bail based on the seriousness of the charge and the likelihood of a more serious charge. Solicitor Ken Cunningham, representing the accused, said he was not making any application for bail at that sitting of the court and sought an adjournment to this Thursday. Judge Finn remanded Mr Butler in custody to appear again before the court on January 16 at Carrick-on-Suir. An application for free legal aid was also granted. The deceased was found inside his house at around 2.30am on Saturday. He was taken by ambulance some 20kms to University Hospital Waterford, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. A section of Brown Street in Portlaw town was cordoned off pending the arrival of the Garda Technical Bureau. A team was dispatched from Dublin and carried out an extensive examination inside and outside the property. The deceased was originally from Carrick-on-Suir and had been living in Portlaw for a number of years. (Newser) After an FBI investigation, the US is moving to deport more than a dozen Saudi trainees at the Florida base where three Americans were shot to death last month. No one in the group is accused of being involved in the Pensacola attack by a member of the Royal Saudi Air Force, CNN reports, but official suspect some of having ties to extremist groups and supporting extremism in online discussions. Other findings involving the Saudis include possession of child pornography and the failure to report the gunman's concerning behavior before the shooting, per the Washington Post. The Defense Department launched a security review of the 850 Saudi military trainees in the country after the attack, and limited them to classrooms. No one has been charged in the attack, in which the gunman was killed. story continues below The Saudi government has helped with the FBI investigation, including tracing social media accounts. The FBI said in a letter that it had court permission to search two phones owned by the gunman but "unfortunately" has been unable to crack them. It asked Apple for help. Apple answered that it had already provided relevant information from the phones that was in cloud storage. Courts haven't ruled on whether Apple and other companies can be compelled to open their devices for law enforcement. (Flight training was halted for Saudis almost immediately.) One of the terrific things about the National Park Service aside from its incredible duty to serve as the caretaker of Americas greatest outdoor spaces is the annual designation of five days during the course of the year that are free to the public. Those five days have been announced for 2020. Jan. 20: Martin Luther King Jr. Day April 18: First day of National Park Week (a weeklong celebration of all parks) Aug. 25: National Park Service Birthday Sept. 26: National Public Lands Day Nov. 11: Veterans Day On those five days, you can visit any national park across the country without paying an entrance fee. Full disclosure three-quarters of Americas national parks are already free, according to Travel+Leisure. Of the 419 National Parks, 308 do not require an entrance fee. That said, the remaining 111 are among the most popular and most visited think Yosemite National Park and charge anywhere from $5 per car to $35 per vehicle as an entrance fee. Travel+Leisure also noted that the 111 parks that do charge fees use that money to benefit the parks themselves 80% of the money stays with the park where you paid the fee, and 20% goes to the other 308 parks that do not charge an entrance fee. The magazine also made a great point that if you plan to visit several national parks in 2020, consider getting the America the Beautiful pass for $80. The pass allows you to visit hundreds of national parks and federal recreational lands for a year without paying entrance fees. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The same storm system that spawned deadly tornadoes in the Mississippi River Valley will continue to push eastward across the South into Saturday night. A line of violent thunderstorms and tornados brought down trees, toppled trucks, created power outages, and damaged buildings across parts of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi into Friday night. Tornadoes spread into Alabama through the day on Saturday. Click here for the latest storm reports on the ongoing severe weather outbreak. Crews from Bossier Parish Police Jury and Haughton Police Department on the scene assessing storm damage in Bossier Parish, Louisiana. (Bossier Parish Sheriff's Office). Into Saturday night, an AccuWeather Local StormMax wind gusts of 80 mph are predicted as storms shift east across the Tennessee Valley and the Southeast. Brief spin-up tornadoes could touch down along the squall line through the evening hours. The strongest storms will continue to cause damage, toppling trees, triggering power outages and causing property damage. Even outside of the most volatile storms, blinding downpours could create dangerous travel conditions for motorists. The threat of damaging storms will not end at sunset on Saturday, and the cover of darkness will add to the danger of the situation, making it difficult to spot when storms are approaching. CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP Into Saturday night, cities likely to be in the path of the advancing line of severe thunderstorms include Knoxville, Tennessee; Birmingham, Huntsville and Mobile, Alabama; Atlanta; and Pensacola, Florida. Strong storms may also extend to Augusta, Georgia; Greenville, South Carolina; and Asheville, North Carolina. AccuWeather meteorologists are urging people in the storm's path to keep alert for rapidly changing weather conditions and heed all severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings and seek shelter as soon as they are issued. Flights may be grounded, and landings could be delayed as the thunderstorms approach major airport hubs. The storms are likely to arrive in the Atlanta area toward sunset or shortly thereafter on Saturday evening. The potential for damaging wind gusts will also exist outside of where severe thunderstorms erupt as the dynamic storm system moves along farther north through Saturday night. Gusts as high as 85 mph are expected to affect portions of the Ohio Valley, southern and central Appalachians and the piedmont areas of the Carolinas and Virginia. Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios. Some Nigerians have reacted to report of Founder and General Overseer of the Living Faith Church a.k.a Winners Chapel, Bishop David Oy... Some Nigerians have reacted to report of Founder and General Overseer of the Living Faith Church a.k.a Winners Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo dismissing his senior church officials for looting the church's treasury. Though he did not disclose the number of officials dismissed while speaking at an empowerment summit organised for the churchs ordained workers, he however disclosed that one of the affected senior officials refused to confess until the last minute. Bishop Oyedepo said We had no choice but to dismiss them. You can imagine top church officials engaging in doubling figures and other dubious practices. After we dismissed them, we discovered more fraud. Those who should discover the fraud were the ones involved in it. One of them refused to confess until the last minute. Can you imagine accountants perpetrating fraud in the house of God? Dont employ them, dont sympathise. Whoever sympathises with the wicked is wicked himself. Dont sympathise with any perpetrator of fraud, otherwise, you are a partaker of the evil act. However reacting to the report, some Nigerians lashed out at Bishop Oyedepo for not seeing the said act in a vision before it was uncovered and also for not forgiving the officials 70 times 70, just like the Bible said. Others however defended him. Here are some tweets below; 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. The family of murder victim Glenn Quinn have thanked the people of Carrickfergus for their "overwhelming support" following his death. Mr Quinn was beaten to death at his Ashleigh Park flat in the town's Woodburn area on January 4. A main line of enquiry for detectives is that Mr Quinn was attacked a short time after clashing with a senior UDA figure. Following a vigil in Carrickfergus the Quinn family released a statement through the PSNI. It read: "The entire Quinn family would like to thank the good people of Carrickfergus for all of the overwhelming support and love that has been shown to them. Over the past week since Glenn's murder your kindness and prayers truly have meant so much to them. "Glenn was a Carrick man through and through, he was a granda, husband, son, brother and uncle who showed nothing but kindness to everyone he met. "Glenn hated to see anyone enduring any form of hardship and would have gone out of his way to help anyone, he was just a true gentleman. Expand Expand Previous Next Close Public vigil in memory of murdered Carrickfergus man Glenn Quinn at Castle Green in Carrickfergus. (Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX) Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX Public vigil in memory of murdered Carrickfergus man Glenn Quinn at Castle Green in Carrickfergus. (Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX) Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Public vigil in memory of murdered Carrickfergus man Glenn Quinn at Castle Green in Carrickfergus. (Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX) "We fully support the on-going police investigation and would ask anyone who has any information relating to Glenn's murder to search their hearts and come forward to the PSNI. Our town does not want to see this happen to another one of their loved ones. "Once again we offer our heartfelt thanks at this difficult time. "The Quinn family." The funeral of the 47-year-old will take place in Carrickfergus on Wednesday. Police arrested three people on suspicion of murder, who have all been released pending further investigation. Stella Maxwell is one of the most recognized faces in the fashion world. And the 29-year-old looked as flawless as ever when caught by shutterbugs on Saturday afternoon grabbing coffee with her stylist, Marc Eram, in Los Angeles. Maxwell was one of several models, influencers, and entertainers to receive criticism for attending the MDL Beast Festival in December. Since the backlash, Maxwell has yet to speak on the controversy. Saturday hang: Stella Maxwell stepped out on Saturday afternoon to grab coffee with her stylist Marc Eram Slender: The 29-year-old showed off her slender physique in a pair of peach biker shorts Fashion friend: Stella is often styled by Eram for events, but even for personal matters such as Halloween Stella showed off her enviable stems in a pair of electric peach toned biker shorts. She styled the eye grabbing shorts with a grey hoodie that featured a purposely worn-in exterior. The Max Factor model let her blonde mane flow freely in the LA breeze as she strolled down the block. She concealed her stunning blue eyes with a pair of tortoise shell cat-eye sunglasses. To finish off her 'athleisure' look, she slipped into a pair of Adidas sneakers with black socks. The model appeared to be wearing some minimal makeup, but nothing more than lipstick and some minor complexion enhancers. Athleisure: Maxwell opted for comfort over style for her off-duty model look Adoring friend: Eram shared this picture of Maxwell on his Instagram story MDL Beast Festival: Stella Maxwell attended the MDL Beast Festival in Saudi Arabia on December 21st She was enjoying a mid-day hangout with her longtime friend and stylist, Marc. Eram also acts as a stylist for fellow model and friend of Stella's, Irina Shayk. Though he hasn't had to style for either as much recently due to Maxwell and Shayk keeping a relatively low profile. Maxwell and Shayk were one of several to receive criticism for attending the MDL Beast Festival in December, including Sofia Richie, Winnie Harlow, Alessandra Ambrosio, Luka Sabbat, Armie Hammer and Ryan Phillippe. Many in attendance have faced some backlash on social media from fans calling out the tone-deaf nature of such an event in Saudi Arabia. They cited last year's government-sanctioned murder of journalist Jamal Kashoggi, the arrest of womens rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul and the outing of gay journalists, where homosexuality is illegal and punishable by death. Model posse: Fellow models, Irina Shayk and Joan Smalls, were also in attendance at the controversial festival Ouch: Maxwell's comment section was instantly filled with criticism from social media users The music festival is seen by many to be an attempt at changing Saudi Arabia's image. Stella shared photos of herself, Shayk, and fellow model Joan Smalls, enjoying the event on her Instagram. This prompted keyboard warriors to bombard the Max Factor model with a barrage of angry comments. 'You feel good supporting such a bad regime?' commented one user. Another user simply labeled Maxwell's attendance as 'disappointing.' Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday conceded he's made some mistakes since the worst season of bushfires ever recorded in Australia broke out, The New York Times reports. He said he wouldn't have taken a heavily criticized family vacation to Hawaii in December while firefighters battled the blazes if he knew what he knows now, while acknowledging there were things he "could have handled on the ground much better." He also called for a government inquiry into its response to the natural disaster. At least 28 people have been killed in the fires, including a firefighter who died overnight in the state of Victoria. But despite the government now having a "new appetite" to take on a more direct role in the reaction to the fires, Morrison's words won't be of much comfort to everyone. David Speers, the journalist who interviewed the prime minister Sunday, said his commitments will still likely fall short of many Australians' hopes. Many feel Morrison, who leads the conservative Liberal Party, has implemented weak policies that have failed to curb the country's carbon emissions, and his plan in wake of the fires doesn't appear to be a dramatic shift toward combating climate change. Instead, he reiterated he doesn't want to put jobs at risk or raise taxes to lower emissions, and would rather enhance the country's policies for disaster management and relief, which he believes is just "as much a climate change response as emissions reductions." Read more at The New York Times and BBC. More stories from theweek.com U.S. commander: Iranian missile attack designed to 'inflict as many casualties as possible' Bernie Sanders fires back on CNN report saying he told Elizabeth Warren a woman can't be president: 'Ludicrous' More sources are confirming Sanders told Warren a woman can't be president, saying they heard it directly from Warren Hyundai Motor America CEO Jose Munoz speaks during a press conference at the company's headquarters in Fountain Valley, Calif. Jan. 10 (Korea Standard Time). Courtesy of Hyundai Motor 2025 sales to reach 1 mil., defying market downturn By Nam Hyun-woo FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif. Hyundai Motor set its mid-term sales target in the U.S. market at 1 million vehicles by 2025, which is an aggressive number compared to its delivery of 710,000 vehicles last year and the slowing growth of the U.S. car market. According to Hyundai Motor America CEO Jose Munoz, however, this is not just hype. He referenced the company's performance in closing the gap between Japanese rivals as well as a series of new SUVs and new luxury vehicles from the Genesis brand in the pipeline, which will help the company to "buck the trend." "So we could just simply say we're gaining momentum in the market, which has been declining but is still healthy," Munoz said during a press conference at Hyundai Motor America headquarters in Fountain Valley, Calif, Jan. 10 (KST). "We need to say loudly and proudly that we are ahead of direct Japanese competitors and domestic competitors who have been a strong force in this field." Last year, Hyundai Motor America sold 710,007 vehicles in the U.S. market, up 4.7 percent from a year earlier. During the same period, U.S. light-duty vehicle sales totaled almost 17.1 million vehicles last year, a 1.6 percent decline from a year earlier, according to research firm Edmunds. Munoz attributed the growth to more balanced mix between sedans and SUVs, following the debut of new SUVs such as the Palisade, the Kona and the Venue. "Our mix is better than ever before," he said. "We raised SUV's share to 55 percent from 44 percent a year earlier, and this contributed to a 32 percent growth year-on-year in SUV retail sales. This is a reassurance that we are on the right track." The Hyundai Palisade / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor TOKYO, Jan. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Seeing Machines Limited, the advanced computer vision technology company that designs AI-powered operator monitoring systems to improve transport safety will be exhibiting its FOVIO Driver Monitoring Chip technology (FOVIO Chip) at Automotive World in Tokyo, the world's largest exhibition for advanced automotive technologies. Seeing Machines is demonstrating its world leading technology on the Xilinx booth (A16-48), its silicon supply partner. Seeing Machines and Xilinx have announced a renewed supplier agreement where Xilinx will supply the FOVIO Chip directly to automotive Tier 1 customers that are pre-approved by Seeing Machines. This solution includes Driver Monitoring System (DMS) software, acceleration IP and application interfaces on Xilinx silicon which forms a cost-effective and power-efficient DMS Application Specific Standard Product (ASSP). The FOVIO Driver Monitoring Chip solution enables customers to seamlessly integrate DMS into their advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and semi-automated driving systems. Visit Seeing Machines on the Xilinx booth (A16-48) at Automotive World in Tokyo from 15 through 17 January 2020. *** About Seeing Machines Seeing Machines (LSE: SEE), a global company headquartered in Australia, is an industry leader in computer vision technologies which enable machines to see, understand and assist people. The Company's machine learning vision platform has the know-how to deliver real-time identification and understanding of drivers through Artificial Intelligence (AI) analysis of heads, faces and eyes. This insight enables Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS), which monitor driver/operator identification and attention and can detect drowsiness and distraction across multiple transport sectors. Seeing Machines develops DMS for the Automotive, Commercial Fleet, Aviation, Rail and Off-Road markets. The Company has offices in Australia, USA, Europe and Asia, and delivers multi-platform solutions to industry leaders in each vertical. DMS is becoming a core safety technology integrated into ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) offerings for the automotive industry, particularly with the development of semi-autonomous and self-driving cars. DMS is also increasingly seen to be an integral safety feature across the Commercial Transport & Logistics industry globally. www.seeingmachines.com A farmer has painstakingly described the ferocious blaze 'full of fireballs' that swept through his town and killed both his brother and his father. Dairy farmer Patrick Salway, 29, and his father Robert, 63, both lost their lives when a bushfire tore through Cobargo in the south-east of New South Wales on New Year's Eve. Robert's sick mother Edna Salway then tragically died within 30 hours later, meaning Patrick's brother Timmy had lost three generations of his family in the space of a week. Dairy farmer Patrick Salway, 29, (pictured right) and his father Robert, 63, (left) died trying to defend their home from bushfires in Cobargo. Patrick's brother Timmy Salway has described the heart-wrenching moment the out-of-control flames advanced towards them Timmy Salway told The Daily Telegraph he was fighting to protect his own property from the deadly flames when he saw the inferno approach Patrick and Robert's farm. 'I felt numb, I was defending my own property, it was a tornado of fireballs ripping up trees,' he said. 'I heard a roar like never before - it sounded like five jumbo jets - and I looked over the hill at Dad and Patrick's farm it was a freak of nature, the perfect storm, they had no chance.' While Patrick was overcome by the flames, Robert suffered a fatal heart attack as he installed fire breaks as the blaze closed in. Adding to the tragedy, Patrick was expecting a second child with his pregnant wife Renee - who Timmy said had been left broken by losing her husband. In the face of unimaginable loss, Timmy said he was determined to keep going. Patrick Salway, 29, pictured with his wife Renee - who was tragically pregnant with their second child at the time of Patrick's death - died fighting the fires with his dad The remains of burnt out buildings are seen along main street in the New South Wales town of Cobargo on December 31 - the same day Robert and Patrick lost their lives in the town to a ferocious bushfire 'I'm focused on getting back on my feet - Dad would have wanted that. He taught us "no matter what, carry on", thats what farmers do,' he said. The Salway's were earlier this month dealt another devastating blow when fraudsters tried to capitalise on their loved ones' deaths. The fundraiser, started the day after the men died, raised almost $4,000 from nearly 60 people before it was reported and shut down. Patrick Salway (pictured with his wife Renee) was found by another family member after trying to tackle a bushfire attacking his family home Kellie-Ann Hancock, Patrick's sister, and her husband Dean Hancock learned about the scam from their niece, Megan, whose name had been used to begin the fake campaign. Mr Hancock reported the scam to New South Wales Police and said those behind the fundraiser 'will be held to account'. 'There will never be a GoFundMe Page issued by this family,' he said. The remains of burnt out buildings are seen along main street in Cobargo on December 31 Ms Salway discovered the account after receiving unexpected messages from wellwishers before warning others over Facebook to be wary. Her revelation sparked outrage among commentators, who offered their condolences on yet another misfortune. 'That is disgusting! How can someone be so heartless especially at a time like this! Deepest condolences to you & your family we are thinking of you and your family at this heartbreaking time,' one person wrote. The fraudulent campaign had almost reached the target goal set by the scammers before it was shut down Dean Hancock (right), Robert's son-in-law and Patrick's brother-in-law, shared the sad news to friends earlier this month Another said: 'This is bloody awful! What scumbags would do this!' Last week, Mr Hancock shared the sad news of his brother-in-law and father-in-law's passing with friends. 'We have been dealt the most horrific and devastating blow to our family, imaginable,' he wrote. 'Robert and Patrick were two of the most amazing and genuine pair of blokes that I have ever had the honour of meeting!' The remains of burnt out buildings are seen along main street in the New South Wales town of Cobargo on December 31, 2019 Mr Hancock told of their heroic actions before they were hit by a fireball in the moments before they were about to leave their property. 'These two heroes were hit by a fireball less than ten metres from the back door of Rob's house, so hard that Patrick was still seated on the four wheeler...On a 260 acre property that had less than 3 acres of bush land,' he continued. 'They were in the final stages of preparing their property before leaving... Rob had been ripping his beloved paddocks up, to remove as much fuel in the path of the fire as he could. 'As a grass and turf farmer, this would have been his last ditch effort - his final card to play. 'Shortly before 5am, on Tuesday morning, they were gone - Rob in his tractor on one side of the fence, Pat on the bike, the other side - facing each other. 'We are so f**kin' heartbroken!!! 'About 30 hours later, Rob's mother, Nanna Salway, passed away peacefully in Bega, without even knowing about her beloved son and grandson. 'Three generations in 30 hours.' STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The City University of New York (CUNY) has launched an emerging tech mentoring program targeting small businesses owned by veterans, minorities and women. A $100,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation will fund the creation of the program that targets 250 small businesses throughout New York City, enabling entrepreneurs to take courses at five CUNY colleges, including the College of Staten Island (CSI). The grant was awarded to the Lehman College School of Continuing and Professional Studies Bronx Tech Incubator, which serves local entrepreneurs and will enable Lehman to partner with a CUNY senior college in each borough, including CSI. The courses will introduce local entrepreneurs to the practical application of 5G technologies, artificial intelligence for small businesses and cloud computer, as well as other web-based tools and applications. The 12-hour introductory classes will be taught over four evenings or two days at each of the colleges, with the aim of training 50 small business owners in each borough. This innovative program, which involves a CUNY college in every borough, is another illustration of the integral role the university plays throughout New York City, said CUNY Chancellor Felix V. Matos Rodriguez. This generous grant from the Verizon Foundation will enable CUNY to continue its goal of helping city-based veteran-, minority- and women-owned small businesses become more competitive, a responsibility we take very seriously as the countrys most diverse public higher education institution. The Bronx Business Tech Incubator was established in 2017 to foster technological development for small businesses, tech freelancers and entrepreneurs from underserved communities in the Bronx by providing access to technology and training they might not be able to afford. The Incubator is also home to the only virtual reality/augmented reality lab in the Bronx. In October, an announcement was made that CSI will participate in New York Citys CUNY (City University of New York) 2x Tech initiative, which seeks to double the number of career-qualified tech graduates in the city by 2022. The Willowbrook campus, along with Brooklyn College, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Medgar Evers College and Queens College, will participate in the initiative that brings together CUNY senior colleges and NYC tech employers to better align tech education with industry needs and expand access to quality tech teachers. CUNY is the nations largest urban public university founded in 1847 as the United States first free public institution of high education. CUNY has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City, serving 275,000 students and awarding 55,000 degrees each year. FOLLOW ANNALISE KNUDSON ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER. HOLYOKE Two men have been killed and another man and a teenager have been injured in separate shootings that have occurred between Thursday and Saturday night. All three victims were male and are between the ages of 17 and 22. Two men live in Holyoke and one was last known to be living in Springfield, Lt. Michael McCoy said. Police have not said where the fourth victim lives. The Springfield resident was killed in a shooting that occurred shortly after 7 p.m. on Saturday near the intersection of Sargeant and Maple streets. When police arrived, they found the victim had died at the scene, McCoy said. Less than two hours earlier, a 17-year-old was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield by ambulance after being shot and injured at about 5:20 p.m. on Gerard Way. He suffered a wound to the lower leg or foot and is expected to recover, McCoy said. Police returned to Gerard Way two hours later after receiving reports of more gunfire at 7:27 p.m. Detectives found multiple bullets had been fired at an apartment but there were no victims, he said. When they entered the apartment they found no one was inside, McCoy said. Police are investigating the homicide and the shooting of the teenager as separate incidents. But detectives believe the shootings on Gerard Way were related and the second one may have been retaliation for the shooting of the 17-year-old, he said. This is the second homicide and fourth shooting with injuries that have occurred in the city in three days. On Friday, the body of a 21-year-old man from Holyoke was found at 9:53 a.m. near 593 South Bridge St. Officials for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner later ruled the death was a homicide and determined the man was killed sometime Thursday night, he said. He died of multiple gunshot wounds, McCoy said. We believe it happened the evening prior and he had been there overnight. Another man was shot in the leg and injured at about 6:45 p.m., Thursday, about a quarter-mile away at the intersection of Main and Sargeant streets, Lt. James Albert said. The victim of that shooting, who is 22, was driven to Baystate Medical Center in a private car and is recovering from his injuries, he said. They do not have any evidence that they are related but detectives are looking into the possibility because of the proximity, McCoy said. Anyone who may have witnessed any of the shootings or has any other information about them is asked to call the Holyoke Police criminal investigations Bureau at 413-322-6940. Police are also seeking any video or photographs of the crime scenes and are asking anyone who lives in the area to check their footage if they have any type of home security cameras, McCoy said. The Massachusetts State Police assigned to Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni are working with Holyoke Police detectives to investigate the shootings. Vietnamese soldiers practice shooting at the International Army Games in Russia, August 2019. Photo courtesy of the International Army Games. Vietnam is ninth in a list of 10 countries with the largest active military manpower in service as of 2019, a report says. The countrys total available active military manpower is 482,000, according to latest estimates from Global Firepower, a U.S.-based non-governmental military website that assesses the military power of countries around the world. The ranking measured militaries around the world based on the number of personnel in the army, navy, air force and other armed forces combined. China has the largest active military in the world with 2.18 million members, followed by India with 1.36 million members and the U.S. with 1.28 million members. North Korea came in fourth and Russia rounded out the top five. The rest of the top 10 were Pakistan, South Korea, Iran and Egypt. Compulsory enlistment has existed in Vietnam since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, and thousands of young people join the army every spring. Men aged between 18 and 27 have to serve two years, while women can volunteer to serve. Enlistment has become stricter in recent years after legislators accused many wealthy families of paying bribes to have their children evade service. Vietnam has 1.65 million people reaching military age every year. The Vietnamese army is now equipped with six submarines, Su-30 MK2 strike fighters, anti-aircraft missile systems, surface-to-shore missiles, radar systems, technical reconnaissance, and armored tank units. The White Paper on Vietnam National Defense released last year states that the nation's current defense spending is commensurate with its economic development, increasing from 2.23 percent of GDP in 2010 to 2.36 percent in 2018 to approximately $5.8 billion. Global Firepower last year ranked Vietnam's military the 23rd most powerful in the world. Members of the Asian American community, Bernalillo County officials and others gathered for the dedication of View From Gold Mountain on Saturday morning at the county courthouse at Fourth and Lomas NW in Downtown Albuquerque. The 16-foot tall monument commemorates the landmark Chinese American civil rights case Territory of New Mexico v. Yee Shun. Artists Cheryll Leo-Gwin and Stewart Wong, both of Washington state, designed the piece. They ask you to approach the sculpture, look up and see the rule of law in the three branches of government the real pot of gold on Gold Mountain, the event program read. Libyan strongman General Khalifa Haftar on Saturday announced a ceasefire in his months-long battle to control the capital Tripoli after calls for a truce from Russia and Turkey. The North African state has seen an escalation of the turmoil that erupted after a NATO-backed uprising killed dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, with Haftar trying to capture Tripoli from Libyas UN-recognised government. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan this week called for a truce in Libya starting Sunday from midnight, but Haftar had initially vowed to fight on. Haftars forces on Saturday agreed to the ceasefire from midnight on Sunday (2200 GMT), but warned of a severe response to any violation by the opposing camp, a reference to the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) led by Fayez al-Sarraj. Before Haftars statement, Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met earlier on Saturday in Moscow and called for international efforts to address the crisis in Libya. Germany and Russia are both acting as mediators in a conflict Berlin has warned could become a second Syria and the topic topped the agenda as they met for talks at the Kremlin. I am really counting on the opposing sides in Libya ceasing fire, ceasing armed combat... within a few hours, Putin said. Its important to bring an end to the armed confrontation. Merkel, making her first visit to Russia since 2018, said she hoped the Turkish-Russian efforts will be successful, calling a ceasefire a first step in a peace process. Hafters forces, who began their offensive on Tripoli in April, did not give any details in their short statement on how the ceasefire would come into effect. Speaking in Rome after meetings with Italys premier, Sarraj had earlier welcomed the Turkish-Russian initiative, but said any ceasefire would be conditional on a withdrawal of Haftars forces. Western powers and Northern African states have been working to prevent a widening conflict in Libya with the increasingly involvement of international players backing opposing forces in the conflict. Libya is now divided between the GNA in Tripoli and Haftars forces in the east and the south and European governments are concerned about Islamist militants and migrant smugglers taking advantage of the chaos. Putin and Merkel both backed a Libya peace conference in Berlin being organised by UN special envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, which could be held in the coming weeks. Putin called the initiative timely and a very good step in the right direction. The conference must include countries that have a real interest in promoting a peace settlement and decisions must be agreed preliminarily with the Libyan sides, with the involvement of Salame, he said. While Turkey has sent troops to support the UN-backed Tripoli government, Moscow is accused of backing mercenaries supporting Haftar in his fight against the government. Putin reiterated Moscows denial of this, saying: if there are Russians there, they do not represent the interests of the Russian state and do not receive money from it. In Libya, unfortunately large-scale military action is continuing and terrorist activity is growing, said Putin, who is keen to stress his role as a regional powerbroker. All this undermines stability not only in the region itself but has a negative influence on Europe, he added, citing smuggling of drugs and weapons. He stressed the need to restart the political process with the final aim of overcoming the split inside the country and forming single state institutions. The talks that Putin praised as substantive also covered other flashpoints in the region, including Iran, with the leaders stressing the need to save the 2015 nuclear deal that the US withdrew from unilaterally in 2018. Merkel said it was necessary to keep (the deal) alive to prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, while Putin said it was necessary for Instex, a barter mechanism to allow Iran to circumvent sanctions on trade backed by major European powers, to finally start working. The talks also covered the Syria conflict where a fresh ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey is expected to go into effect after midnight in the last major opposition bastion of Idlib. Putin warned that large-scale military conflicts in the Middle East would be a catastrophe not only for the region, the Middle East, but for the whole world, leading to new flows of migrants to Europe and other regions. This would also cause huge damage to the global economy, he said. The leaders also discussed the war with Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine. Putin in December took part in talks on the Ukraine conflict in Paris in the Normandy format hosted by Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron. This was his first face-to-face meeting with his recently-installed Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, relaunching the stalled peace process. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON They became husband and wife less than one month ago, and celebrated their nuptials with a once-in-a-lifetime safari honeymoon in South Africa. And Hilary Duff is ready to be back home in Los Angeles with the ones she loves the most as she snapped an airport selfie with Matthew Koma before traveling back to the states. The 32-year-old actress and her rockstar beau pouted at the gate as they boarded an airplane for the arduous trip back home after enjoying a few weeks away together. Up, up and away! Hilary Duff is ready to be back home in Los Angeles with the ones she loves the most as she snapped a selfie with Matthew Koma before traveling back to the states Hilary frowned in a relatable selfie as she lamented the end of her incredible honeymoon across the world. 'Long journey home after the most insane trip of my life,' Hilary captioned a snap. 'We cant wait to squeeze the babbbbies and rub their skin offffffffff.' The couple have a one-year-old daughter named Banks and share co-parenting responsibilities of her seven-year-old son, Luca, with ex Mike Comrie. Do we have to leave? The 32-year-old actress and her rockstar beau pouted at the gate as they boarded an airplane for the arduous trip back home after enjoying a few weeks away together Picture perfect: The couple enjoyed a dreamy adventure in South Africa that began with a safari and ended with a hike across Table Mountain in Cape Town Matthew looked equally as tired and ready to be back in his own bed as the pair waited for their plane. The couple enjoyed a dreamy adventure in South Africa that began with a safari and ended with a hike across Table Mountain in Cape Town. The Winnetka Bowling League frontman boasted that the trip was made complete with his 'best friend turned wife' by his side. A dream: The Winnetka Bowling League frontman boasted that the trip was made complete with his 'best friend turned wife' by his side Vacation all I ever wanted: Hilary soaked up the sun while snacking on ice cream Making a list: Earlier in the week, the pair shared pictures from Kruger National Park where they witnessed 'the big five' in a matter of days while trekking through Sabi Sands. Earlier in the week, the pair shared pictures from Kruger National Park where they witnessed 'the big five' in a matter of days while trekking through Sabi Sands. Matthew and Hilary said 'I do' in the backyard of their home in Los Angeles on Dec. 21, with a host of family and friends on hand to witness their commitment. She wore a gorgeous Jenny Packham dress which featured a high neckline and an open back, with 100 delicate buttons draping down to the floor. The Younger star later changed into a gold sequin two-piece as she danced the night away with her new husband. Bliss: Matthew and Hilary said 'I do' in the backyard of their home in Los Angeles on Dec. 21, with a host of family and friends on hand to witness their commitment Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau The Canadian Press Iran must provide financial assistance to the families of those killed in the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) plane crash in Tehran. Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau announced this at a press conference in Ottawa, as Ukrinform news agency reported. When asked about the advisability of Iran to pay compensation for a plane crash, Trudeau replied that "This aspect should definitely be part of a package of measures." He noted that he had already spoken to several families of the victims. "They are completely devastated due to the death of loved ones. In addition to incredible sadness, they also face financial difficulties, so we need to make sure that these families will receive the justice that they deserve," the head of the Canadian government stated. As we reported, Boeing 737 of Ukraine's International Airlines, flight PS 752 with 176 passengers aboard crashed in Tehran, not far from Imam Khomeini airport. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani expressed his regret that missiles launched by his army by mistake led to the crash of the Ukrainian plane in Tehran. "Armed Forces internal investigation has concluded that regrettably missiles fired due to human error caused the horrific crash of the Ukrainian plane & death of 176 innocent people," said Rouhani. He called a mistake that caused the tragedy unforgivable, and promised that the perpetrators would be identified and prosecuted. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky responded to Irans statement about a missile strike at Ukrainian Boeing 737, demanding to bring those responsible to justice, return the bodies of the dead, and emphasized that families of those killed in the Iran crash are eligible for financial compensation under aviation law. The BBC received more than 60,000 complaints over its General Election coverage, according to a Corporation insider. News and politics shows including Question Time, The Andrew Marr Show and BBC Breakfast were among the targets of viewer criticism, with many of the objections about anti-Tory bias. Andrew Neil issued an astonishing monologue aimed at the Prime Minister as he finished interrogating Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage. More than 900 viewers took issue with Andrew Neil's on-air challenge to the Prime Minister, according to reports by the BBC The BBC source believes the flood of complaints, said to be unprecedented and a massive increase on previous Elections, could lead to a fundamental rethink over the way in which the Corporation covers politics. The Mail on Sunday has been able to verify that there were approximately 45,000 complaints over Election coverage detailed in reports published by the BBC. Boris Johnson's interview on the Andrew Marr show saw him constantly interrupted and clashing over issues like terror, prisons, the NHS and social care during an interview. There were 12,000 complaints alone However, a BBC spokesman did not dispute that the source's higher figure of more than 60,000 was correct, although he declined to give an exact figure. In contrast, the BBC's 2015 Election coverage attracted 5,000 complaints, while the 2017 poll received 7,000, according to the BBC insider. They said in a statement: 'The BBC's election programming was viewed by 26.5m people. As the UK's most-watched news broadcaster, it is normal for the BBC to see a significant rise in contacts from audiences from all sides of the political spectrum during an election period. 'Analysing this limited data doesn't give a complete or accurate picture of all audience reaction and no assumptions can be made about how the audience may have perceived our coverage or about perceptions of political bias from these figures. 'Our approach to reporting elections is to be independent and impartial and we're proud the BBC remains the UK's most trusted news source.' Programmes covering politics on December 13, the day after the Conservatives won an 80-seat majority, were also considered as part of the campaign coverage, and the complaint figures take into account these shows. Andrew Marr's interview in which he repeatedly interrupted Boris Johnson on Sunday, December 1 received 12,000 complaints alone. More than 900 viewers also took issue with Andrew Neil's on-air challenge to Mr Johnson a week before polling day, when he publicly criticised the Prime Minister for refusing him an interview. Mr Neil's interview with Jeremy Corbyn attracted 1,300 complaints over bias against the Labour leader. And 15,000 viewers took exception to BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg claiming on the eve of the poll that the results of postal voting were already making 'grim' reading for Labour. In an email to staff the day after polling, BBC director-general Lord Hall admitted the Corporation had made mistakes with some of its coverage but had 'held up its hands'. Trinh Xuan Giap, owner of the business, said he started to search for a way to create a "culinary fusion" using the square sticky rice cake three years ago. He finally succeeded by replacing the pork filling with salmon. "It retains familiar ingredients like sticky rice, mung beans and black pepper, and is wrapped with dong leaves, which guarantees the traditional look and taste. The only difference is that the pork fillings are replaced with salmon." Demond Reid, 43, was taken into custody by the Cook County Sheriffs Office on charges of theft over $10,000 after Gurnee investigators used social media to help identify him as a suspect in the case and then worked with several agencies in Chicago to locate him, according to a news release from the Gurnee Police Department. Protests erupted across Iran after Iranian officials admitted they had accidentally shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane that had taken off from Tehran hours after Iran launched missiles at US bases in Iraq. President Hassan Rouhani issued a Jan. 11 statement saying the Jan. 8 Ukraine International Airlines crash, which killed 176 people, was due to human error, adding that it was unforgivable. He ordered all of the relevant agencies to compensate the families of the victims and said investigations would continue, adding, This painful event is not an issue that we can painfully put to the side. After Iranian officially accepted responsibility, protests erupted at Amir Kabir University in Tehran. Security forces eventually arrived and shot tear gas into the crowds. Many of the protesters chanted anti-government slogans against both the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, chants that had been heard during the November protests that were sparked by cuts in fuel subsidies. British Ambassador Robert Macaire was briefly detained Jan. 11 as a result of the Amir Kabir protest. After his release, he tweeted in Persian that he had attended a vigil for the plane crash victims and that as soon as people started chanting anti-government slogans he left. He added that he was detained 30 minutes after he had left the protests. At least three Britons died in the crash, as well as at least 82 Iranians, 57 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians Other protests were reported at Sharif University of Technology. Students set up vigils at other universities, including Tehran University, who lost a student in the crash. Other protests were reported to have taken place also in Esfahan, Rasht, Yazd, Kerman, Shiraz, Hamedan and Boroujerd. According to videos posted online by social media users, protests continued a second night in other cities as well. Many protesters and even members of parliament said that accepting responsibility was not enough and that individuals needed to resign and be punished. Mohammad Reza Aref tweeted, As a representative of the people in parliament I want the resignation, removal and punishment of those responsible, who dissembled, and were untruthful with people. Another member of parliament, Mahmoud Sadeghi, also tweeted, In the November [protests] you hid the number of deaths and wounded, if you could have you would also have hidden the reason for the plane crash. Despite requests and complaints, Iranian officials have never released official numbers of those killed from the November protests estimates have ranged from 200 to 600. Many protesters and individuals were angry that immediately after the crash the government was not forthcoming and waited days before accepting responsibility. Other members of parliament said that they would summon Rouhani to parliament, as head of the Supreme National Security Council, to answer questions about the incident. Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the council, denied that there had been intent to hide the truth. He said officials needed to conduct an investigation to make sure there had been no hacking or jamming of their systems in addition to other factors such as infiltration. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC's Aerospace Force, conducted a press conference Jan. 11 in which he spoke of finding out about the IRGC's responsibility for the downing, which took place after Iran had conducted retaliatory strikes against US bases in Iraq. These came after the United States had killed IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani in a Jan. 3 airstrike in Baghdad. Hajizadeh said he was so upset about Iran's accidental downing of the Ukrainian plane that I wish I could die. IRGC officials said the plane had been mistaken for a cruise missile. Hajizadeh said Irans air defense systems were on high alert due to rising tensions with the United States and President Donald Trumps threat to strike 52 Iranian cultural sites. The commander added that there were rumors the United States had launched cruise missiles into Iran and air defense systems were not only added to Tehran but that they were all ready to launch with the push of a button. He continued that the communications systems were down, either due to jamming or congestion, and the operator of the air defense system had 10 seconds to decide. Hajizadeh added, We accept all responsibility and any decision officials make, we are committed to implementing it. State of economy is a temporary phase: Amit Shah India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Gandhinagar, Jan 12: Union home minister Amit Shah said on Saturday that the present state of economy was a "temporary phase", and India will become a $5 trillion economy by 2024. He was addressing a convocation of Gujarat Technological University (GTU) here. "Don't get disheartened. This is just a temporary phase. I want to tell you that India will become a $5 trillion economy by 2024," he said. Delhi election 2020: BJP shortlists over 1400 probable candidates; Shah to take final call The Union minister made the claim even as India's second quarter GDP growth slowed to 4.5 per cent, weakest in over six years. J&K cop caught with 2 Hizbul & Lashkar terrorists in Kashmir|OneIndia News "In the first 70 years, our economy grew to $2 trillion. In the first five years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, it was taken to $3 trillion," he said. "Don't be confused by false propaganda. You will be the biggest beneficiaries when India becomes a $5 trillion economy," Shah told students who passed out of the university. "Some people say that poverty, hunger and illiteracy still exist in the country. But the youth should not get carried away by these claims. No one can stop a country which has a market of 130 crore people," the Union minister said. He urged the graduating students to set up research-oriented start-ups to solve problems specific to India, such as farmers being compelled to burn crop stubble. "Activists blame the farmers who burn crop residue, saying they do not understand the problem of pollution. The farmer stays with nature and he understands the problem, but he does not have any solution," Shah said. End tax terror, economy in dire times: Swamy "Our youngsters should find a technological solution to the problem," he said. Technology can also change how we manage our natural resources, the Union minister said. "The government is using space technology to map and manage our minerals and it will give a boost to the mining sector," he said. "There was a proposal to build posts on our borders. Prime Minister Modi suggested that satellite technology be used. Forty-five such posts have been built using the space technology to map the area on our as well as our neighbor's side. "Now, the security agency says we will not need to set up new posts for next 20 years in that area," Shah said. Lower consumption, less credit led to decline of growth to 5%: World Bank The BJP president also urged the youth to speak in mother-tongue. "The media will brand me as regressive tomorrow, but I advise you to speak in our own languages. Talk to your friends in Indian languages. It will save our culture and knowledge," he said. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Sunday, January 12, 2020, 8:40 [IST] Christopher Dunn finds the ancient town of Hoi An a true haven where he has helped both local farmers and the environment. While a great many Westerners might choose big cities like Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi as their new home, considering job opportunities and living standards, others have sought out their peace in the serene town. An inspiration for local farmers Dunn lives alone in a small flat in Cam Kim Commune, Hoi An. Here he consults local farmers on best farming practices and partners with them in producing eco-friendly products. He is also an active member of organic farm groups. Back in Australia, Dunn practiced in healthcare, but he got keyed up by the negative effects humans were inflicting on the environment. Ive seen how we have damaged our own world, so I want to make a change, he said. Ive come to the farmers. Ive shown them best practices in vegetable farming and fish farming. We have found a win-win solution. Since his arrival in Hoi An in mid-2015, the Australian man has extensively researched local agricultural practices. He realized the growing trend of organic farming and saying no to plastic waste. Vietnamese was a tough language, but I got myself to learn it, he said about his first obstacles. Then I taught myself how to ride a motorbike for daily trips to the farms. For years, the Aussie has frequented nearly all organic weekend markets as well as environmental talks, not just to share his concern for the environment, but also to sell his products. It was these products that have inspired the farmers to take on an extra path. Displayed on his shelf were fruit trays, tea cups, and tooth brushes, all made from palm spathe, banana leaves, tree bark and bagasse, the dry residue after extraction of juice from sugarcane. There were also handbags that the man knitted himself, with a picture of the iconic Japanese Covered Bridge of the ancient town on them. This idea sprang to his mind from a field trip with local farmers in 2017, when he took a sudden interest in a piece of palm spathe lying on the field. The seemingly dead thing was wondrously transformed into objects both durable and eye-catching. Christopher Dunn partners with local farmers to produce organic coffee. Photo: B.D. / Tuoi Tre His first product over a sleepless night was a palm-spathe food tray. This simple thing answered his burning question on how to profit from agricultural practices. Dunns proposal was warmly welcomed by his fellow farmers, and contracts were soon nailed. Together, Dunn and associates crafted items to be sold at public markets and on the Internet. They even reached the tourists. 'I have so much fun and all' The 59-year-old man has only been back to Australia twice since he came to Hoi An. Though my family is not here, I truly feel this is where I belong, he said. I miss this place every trip I make. In 2014, Dunns psychological problems urged him to leave Australia in search of balance in life. The traveler set foot in Vietnam in 2015 and started off as an English teacher, working evening shifts at language centers. He soon found out that his Australian accent was causing Vietnamese learners a hard time. I got really depressed. You know, I was old. I simply wanted some peace. I wanted to go to a place without all the hustle and bustle. I wanted to live alone, he said. In mid-2015, he got to know Hoi An on a trip with an American friend. He was mesmerized by inner town alleys and the surrounding rice fields. The foods. The smiles. Everything here is different. I said to myself, This is the place.' In Australia, you can make a lot of money, but you spend a lot too. But in Hoi An, I have so much fun and all. The most important thing to him is how his environmentally-friendly ideas have supported local farming communities. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 15:27:02|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- The international community has called for restraint and a de-escalation in the Middle East and the Gulf region amid rising U.S.-Iran tensions following the U.S. killing of a top Iranian general and ensuing Iranian attacks on U.S. military bases. The situation was further complicated when Iran's state TV on Saturday quoted the Iranian military as saying that it "unintentionally" shot down the Ukrainian jetliner on Wednesday, in which all the 176 passengers and crew members on board were killed. "This tragic accident only reinforces the importance of de-escalating tensions in the region. We can all see very clearly that further conflict will only lead to more loss and tragedy," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Saturday. "It is vital that all leaders now pursue a diplomatic way forward." "Iran's admission that Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was shot down by mistake by its own armed forces is an important first step," Johnson said. "This will be an incredibly difficult time for all those families who lost loved ones in such tragic circumstances," said the British prime minister. "We will do everything we can to support the families of the four British victims and ensure they get the answers and closure they deserve." "We now need a comprehensive, transparent and independent international investigation and the repatriation of those who died," Johnson said. "The Britain will work closely with Canada, Ukraine and our other international partners affected by this accident to ensure this happens." Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Saturday that the country welcomes any international cooperation concerning the plane crash, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. "Iran welcomes any international cooperation within the framework of international regulations which is aimed at clarifying dimensions of the incident," Rouhani said in a telephone conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. At a news conference on Saturday, Trudeau said that "a full and complete investigation must be conducted," adding that "we need full clarity on how such a horrific tragedy could have occurred." In another phone talk with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, Rouhani said that "all those involved in the air disaster will be brought to justice." He said that the joint investigations between the Iranian and Ukrainian experts over the incident will continue and the judicial measures will "soon" start. At an open debate on upholding the United Nations (UN) Charter, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres lamented that this year began with fresh turmoil and long-standing suffering and geopolitical tensions reached "dangerous levels," most recently in the Gulf. China's Permanent Representative to the UN Zhang Jun 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 society. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, called on Wednesday for dialogue instead of war in the Middle East, saying that "the use of weapons must stop now." Von der Leyen, head of the European Union's executive arm, also said that "we are called upon to do everything possible to rekindle talks," adding that "there cannot be enough of that." Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called for restraint and diplomacy to avoid "a new cycle of instability" in the Middle East. In a joint statement issued following their meeting, the two leaders urged both the United States and Iran to act with restraint and prioritize diplomacy. "The use of force does not contribute to finding solutions to complex problems in the Middle East, but would lead to a new cycle of instability," the statement said. Kathmandu: A 24-year-old man studying in India has been killed for opposing illegal mining of construction material from a riverbed in southern Nepal's Dhanusha district, police said on Saturday. Dilip Kumar Mahato, 24, who was pursuing his mechanical engineering from a college in Bhopal, was run over by a lorry. On Friday, Dilip, who had been protesting against the illegal mining for the last two years, heard the clamour of loaders and tippers coming from the Aurahi river near his house, police said. As he began to quarrel with the extraction crew, a tipper ran him over, dragging him under its carriage and killing him on the spot, they said. Four persons have been arrested in connection with the murder, including Bipin Mahato, the owner of the lorry. Dilip had returned from Bhopal late last month after his final examinations. He had told locals that illegal mining would put his village at risk of flooding. Dilip had received death threats and was even offered inducements, but he continued to protest against the illegal operation. "When he returned home two weeks ago, he wanted to stop the illegal mining permanently and once again got into fights with the crusher owners. Even our father was threatened by one of the owners -- Bipin -- on Wednesday," Dilip's older brother Birendra Kumar Mahato was quoted as saying by the local media. AAP's Punjab unit president Bhagwant Mann and some party legislators from the state have been booked on charges of rioting, assault and obstructing police from performing their duties during a protest here against power tariff hike, a police official said on Sunday. Around 800 unnamed AAP supporters have also been booked. The FIR was filed on Saturday against the Sangrur MP, around seven-eight legislators and others on the statement of a woman constable here, who complained that AAP activists had pelted stones and assaulted her and some other cops during the protest on Friday last. SHO of Sector 3 Police Station, Inspector Jaspal Singh said an FIR has been registered here against Mann and others under various Sections of the IPC including rioting, voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant in discharge of his duty, disobedience to order promulgated by public servant, The protesters created law and order problem and violated the district magistrate's order under Section 144 in the area, police said. Police had used water cannons on Friday last to stop the Aam Aadmi Party leaders and workers protesting against the hike in power tariff in Punjab from moving towards Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's residence here. The main opposition party in Punjab was also seeking scrapping of power purchase agreements signed during the previous SAD-BJP regime with private plants. Police said at least six of their personnel were injured when unknown AAP supporters allegedly started throwing stones on them during the protest. Police had detained and released AAP functionaries who were trying to march towards the official residence of the Punjab Chief Minister here. Leader of the Opposition and senior AAP leader from Punjab Harpal Singh Cheema slammed the Chandigarh Police for registering the case. Rubbishing the claim that AAP workers had assaulted the police personnel on duty, Cheema said, "We will continue to raise the voice of the people of Punjab. We do not fear from going to jail. Being in opposition, we have to play our role and raise people's voice". After the protest here, the AAP in a statement here had claimed that more than two dozen party leaders and volunteers including MLA Aman Arora sustained injuries because of water cannon and two of them were admitted to the PGIMER. As part of their protest, the AAP had planned to 'gherao' the official residence of the CM here. Heavy police force was deployed by the Chandigarh Police to stop protesters from going towards the CM's residence. Barricading was done near MLAs hostel where AAP leaders and workershad assembled to proceed towards the CM house. When protesters tried to climb the barricades, Chandigarh Police used water cannons to disperse them. The massive protest was led by Mann. Party MLAs including Harpal Singh Cheema, Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Manjit Singh Bilaspur, Baldev Singh, Meet Hayer, Baljinder Kaur and other state unit leaders also participated in it. Power rates in Punjab were hiked by 36 paise a unit with effect from January 1 for domestic consumers. 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. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The safety certificate for the 11 km stretch between Jubilee Bus Station and Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station on corridor-II of the elevated Hyderabad Metro Rail project has been issued, officials said on Sunday. The government will decide the date of inauguration of the route soon, Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) Managing Director N V S Reddy said, an official release said. The certificate was issued by Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) Janak Kumar Garg who inspected the corridor along with Reddy, L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Limited Managing Director K V B Reddy and other senior officials over the last three days. It has cleared the way for the introduction of passenger services on the last corridor of Hyderabad metro rail project phase-I, the release said. The corridor has nine stations, it added. HMRL officials had earlier said that it would take 16 minutes to cover the stretch between JBS to MGBS on the metro as against 45 minutes by road. The trial runs on the route had commenced on November 25 last year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the 30 km stretch (between Miyapur and Nagole) out of the 72 km long elevated Hyderabad Metro Rail project, in November 2017. Subsequently in September 2018, another 16-km stretch of Hyderabad Metro between Ameerpet to L B Nagar was commissioned. In March 2019, a 10-km stretch of Hyderabad Metro Rail between Ameerpet and Hi-Tec City was inaugurated. In November 2019, another 1.5 km stretch of Metro Rail Corridor-III between Hitec City station and Raidurg was inaugurated. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A family has been left in shock after the sudden death of a 19-year-old woman who suffered a fatal asthma attack believed to have been triggered by smoke from the NSW bushfires. Courtney Partridge-McLennan, from Glen Innes, died on the night of November 28. Her body was found the next morning in the granny flat she was living in at the back of her parents Chris and Tammys home, The Sunday Telegraph reported. Asthma Australia posted about Ms Partridge-McLennans death on their Facebook page, saying: Courtney lost her life in late November when bushfire smoke from nearby fires is thought to have triggered a fateful asthma attack. In a statement sent to Yahoo News Australia, the teenagers family said our lives changed forever with the sudden and shocking passing of Courtney. Sister Cherylleigh Partridge, 27, told The Sunday Telegraph the night Ms Partridge-McLennan died the smoke came in so heavy you could not even see the hospital across the road. Police said it must have been quick because she had her phone torch on and her Ventolin [inhaler] on the bed. It must have been so quick because she would have gone to mum and dad, Cherylleigh said. The 19-year-olds family said they didnt want her passing to go unnoticed against the backdrop of the fires. With the support of Asthma Australia, Courtneys story has opened a necessary dialogue, the family said. Our hope is that an ongoing conversation now begins about the serious and often unpredictable nature of asthma. Smoke from the Gulf Road fire fills the early morning sky on November 11, 2019 in Glen Innes. Source: Brook Mitchell/Getty Images Asthma can set on quickly and aggressively and often comes without warning. With a large portion of our state shrouded in bushfire smoke, our hope is that greater consideration is given to air quality monitoring and reporting, particularly in regional areas as well as accurate representation of the far spread, catastrophic health impacts our nations bushfire crisis is really having. Story continues Social media users responded to the teenagers death, leaving heartfelt messages of support for the family. Condolences to you and her family and people do need to take asthma seriously, one social media user wrote. Tragic, my heart goes out to this family, and to anyone who has lost a loved one to the bushfires, another said. Bushfire smoke triggering asthma attacks Asthma Australia cautioned it was not just those diagnosed with asthma who could be affected by smoke. One in nine Australians are affected by asthma yet due to high levels of air pollution found in bushfire smoke, people who previously did not have such health problems could be experiencing symptoms, its website reads. Some people applauded the warnings of the health body who have been vocal about the effects of prolonged and intense exposure to bushfire smoke on the public. Other people take breathing normally for granted and really dont understand how the current air issues we are having affect us, one person wrote on Facebook. Asthma Australia CEO Michelle Goldman urged people impacted by poor air quality bushfire smoke to take part in the recently launched smoke impact survey, which would help to provide more information for the future. We are in the grips of a public health emergency with continuous inundation of bushfire smoke, she said. 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. The hub of Freemasonry in Texas, the 150,000-square-foot building contains a 3,700-seat auditorium used for Masonic conventions and some local events, along with several other meeting spaces and offices. But it remains an enigma for many Wacoans, said Robert Marshall, manager of Waco Lodge 92 and a historian of Freemasonry. Marshall, a graduate of Baylor University, comes from a line of local Masons but did not appreciate the building until he was an adult. Even living in Waco with connections to Masonry, it was a giant mysterious building to me, like it was to everyone else, which is a shame, he said. Heres a giant museum full of some of the most incredible history, typically Texas-related, but it was not even on my radar growing up in Waco. B.J. Greaves, an architect involved in historic preservation projects such as the Dr Pepper Museum, agreed that the building deserves more recognition. Its an exquisitely done building with all its details, inside and outside, Greaves said. People who live in Waco are aware of the building but not necessarily all the features inside, like the library and auditorium. A lot of people would be shocked to know how big the auditorium is. A 40-year-old man has moved the Bombay High Court against his biological mother and sought a compensation of Rs 1.5 crore from her for abandoning him in Mumbai when he was two years' old and later refusing to accept him as her son. (Photo: File) Mumbai: A 40-year-old man has moved the Bombay High Court against his biological mother and sought a compensation of Rs 1.5 crore from her for abandoning him in Mumbai when he was two years' old and later refusing to accept him as her son. The petitioner, Srikant Sabnis, a make-up artist, has said he underwent a life full of agony and mental trauma after being intentionally abandoned in an unknown city, for which his mother Aarti Mhaskar and her second husband Uday Mhaskar (Sabnis's step-father) need to compensate. As per the plea, Aarti Mhaskar was earlier married to one Deepak Sabnis. The couple had a child, Srikant Sabnis, in February 1979 while residing in Pune. As per the plea, the woman was ambitious and wanted to move to Mumbai to work in the film industry. In September 1981, she took the child along with her and left for Mumbai. Once they reached Mumbai, the woman abandoned her son in a train and left, the plea alleged, adding that the child was found by a railway officer and sent to a children's home. In 1986, Srikant Sabnis' maternal grandmother succeeded in getting his legal custody. He initially lived with his grandmother, but was later brought up by his maternal aunt. The plea stated that in 2017, Srikant Sabnis learnt about his biological mother. After procuring her number, he contacted her in September 2018 when she accepted he was her son and that she had to abandon him due to unavoidable circumstances, the petition said. He later met his mother and her second husband, but they asked him not to disclose his real identity in front of their children, it said. "The plaintiff, who has already undergone a dreadful life seeking shelter at relatives' place and wandering from fake parents to observation home, was totally devastated by this unacceptable condition," the plea said. In his plea filed before the high court recently, Srikant Sabnis sought a direction to his mother to declare he is her son and that she had abandoned him when he was two years old. "The defendants (Aarti and Uday Mhaskar) have disturbed the mental peace of the plaintiff, for which they are bound to compensate the plaintiff," the plea said. "The plaintiff has undergone a life full of agony, mental trauma, inconvenience, mystery about his own parents and his existence. The plaintiff was forced to live like a beggar till his grandmother got his custody," it added. The petition will come up for hearing on January 13 before Justice A K Menon. Raghottam Koppar By Express News Service GADAG: Known as the Walking God, this Gadag doctor has carved a special place in the hearts of anyone who crosses his path. A man who is famous for treating patients 24X7, Dr C Solomon, his patients say, never says no to anyone who comes to him for help. The patience he has shown in the last 40 years of his career is also spoken about. Solomon came to Gadag in the late 1970s, and for the past four decades, he has been treating locals at Gadag CSI hospital, popularly called German Hospital. People from near and far come to Gadag to consult him, as many believe that Dr Solomon has a magical touch that can cure any disease. Solomon completed his MBBS and MD from Vellore Christian Medical College. The hospital, run by a German trust, charges patients just Rs 50 for a months consultation. During this period, a patient can visit the hospital as many times, without being charged extra. In a limited budget, Solomon also managed to build good rooms for the poor. They are charged just Rs 200-300 per day. After seeing Dr Solomons passion, the CSI mission gave him the responsibility of running the hospital. And he has changed the way the hospital functions, giving special attention to healthcare for the poor. In fact, nurses who work here are also trained accordingly. A view of the hospital Dr Solomons day starts early in the morning, he visits the wards and patients standing in queue. These rounds end around 4 pm, after which he breaks for lunch, resuming his work by 4.30pm. A regular day ends at midnight, but Dr Solomon is available 24/7, which is why his patients call him a walking God. I had never thought of my job as a commercial one. I have never prescribed costly medicines, unless absolutely necessary. Our hospital is for the poor, and my patients love me because I understand their problems. I may not be the best doctor, but I am a human being, he says. Mallavva Madiwalar, a patient from Lakkundi village, told TNSE, I had liver issues, which were wrongly diagnosed. I spent a lot of money on this. But when I went to Dr Solomon, he correctly diagnosed it as jaundice and prescribed medicines that cost just Re 1 per tablet in 1995. I barely spent Rs 30 and was well in 30 days. All my family members have been consulting him for the last 25 years. Another one of Dr Solomons patients, B R Jalihal, a retired professor, says, We have been going to Dr Solomon for the last 30 years. He has been kind to us and always has a smile on his face. He doesnt even charge extra when he makes home visits. While there are two other doctors at the hospital, patients insist on meeting Dr Solomon only, so he tries to meet them all, even if its at 1 am.Many attempts by the hospital to increase Dr Solomons consultation fee have gone in vain. After Dr Solomons retirement in 2017, the number of patients reduced, so Basel Mission authorities convinced him to stay on for two more years. While he has decided to resign in May, pressure from patients has forced him to keep working, and he will be taking an honorary payment. Dr Solomons patient, Chetan Bhajantri from Betageri, says, My home is near the hospital where Dr Solomon works. Many patients come here asking for him. I have seen hundreds of patients who have been treated by him, who have had only positive things to say. Manjunath N from a private blood bank told TNSE, Dr Solomon is a kind-hearted man. When his patients need blood and we do not have stock, the doctor always makes sure we get it, and even refers people who can donate blood. VIP VISITOR Late President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam visited Gadag district in 2009. When he heard of Dr C Solomon and his work, Kalam visited him and, praised his service. The hospitable doctor offered Kalam vada-sambar and tea HE DONATED BLOOD 96 TIMES Dr Solomon has donated blood 96 times! When there is a need, he never hesitates to donate blood. This editorial appears in The Washington Post: - - - The House of Representatives' adoption of a resolution Thursday barring military action against Iran without congressional authorization is a welcome development, as is the impending Senate debate of a similar measure, spearheaded by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. We hope this is only the beginning of a wider reassertion of congressional prerogatives relating to the use of U.S. military force abroad. President Donald Trump's sudden order to kill Iran's top general, Qasem Soleimani, brought the United States to the brink of war with Iran on the basis of no consultation with Congress, or even prior notification of Capitol Hill's top leaders. The administration says no such heads-up was called for, in the face of what it describes as the "imminent threat" Mr. Soleimani posed. The administration cited a threat of leaks and even now refuses to share much more than sketchy intelligence. Yet there is no indication that Congress has leaked in such situations in the past, or that even a Democratic-controlled House that recently voted to impeach Trump would try to thwart a good-faith presidential effort to defend U.S. interests or U.S. personnel from an imminent Iranian threat. Indeed, the resolution the House adopted explicitly permits the use of force "to defend against an imminent armed attack." In the 21st century, unfortunately, many potential threats will be of the imminent sort; in theory, we are probably seconds away from a Russian cyberattack, and minutes from a nuclear one. This technological and political reality, coupled with the United States' global role, challenges the pure constitutional ideal, already undermined by the events of centuries, according to which Congress first authorizes war and then the president, as commander in chief, conducts it. We find this reality especially discomfiting now that the occupant of the White House is an impulsive political neophyte, exuding contempt for legal and political constraints. Yet presidents of both parties, including figures far more thoughtful and qualified than Trump, have sent the armed forces on consequential operations - President Bill Clinton's airstrikes against Serbia in 1999; President Barack Obama's on Libya in 2011 - without clear permission from Congress. Congress has more often than not acquiesced, in part because it would rather not accept the responsibility itself. In recent years, Congress has passively allowed a variety of new anti-terrorism missions for U.S. troops - in conflicts well-known (the war against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq) and obscure (a battle against Islamist militants in Niger). The ostensible statutory authority for much of this, the 2001 authorization for the use of force against the authors of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, does not clearly apply to these new situations and is overdue for a legislative update, as Kaine has maintained for years. Possibly now he will find more allies in the Senate. More broadly, the task for Congress is to establish clearer limitations on the unilateral presidential use of force except against imminent threats that cannot be dealt with otherwise. Admittedly, defining those limits would oblige lawmakers to enter a politically difficult gray area, one that they have until now found it politically expedient to avoid. The alternative, however, is to abdicate their constitutional role as a check on executive power. Some Socialists say those failings still leave them an opening. The optimists cast the partys move from Pariss Seventh Arrondissement a year ago because of financial constraints not as a retreat but as a chance at rebirth an opportunity to shed their image of being limousine liberals and the gauche caviar. Their new home in Ivry-sur-Seine, an eastern, working-class suburb, gentrifying in pockets, which remains a stronghold of the French Communist Party, represented that aspiration, they say. The symbol we sought was to be able to say that we are, once again, among those were called to represent, said Olivier Faure, the partys secretary general, adding that the partys former supporters had sometimes felt abandoned once we were in power. In an interview in his glass-walled office, Mr. Faure, 51, unfurled a map to bring back his party to relevance. He said his party would focus on the destructive effects of globalization and free markets on people and the environment. Just as his party had represented workers in the past, it needed to address the needs of those toiling in an Uberized economy, who in reality are slaves of algorithms and management methods that are extremely brutal. Like all parties in France, from the extreme left to the extreme right, the Socialists were keenly aware of the rising importance of the environment as an electoral issue. To Mr. Faure, the biggest victims of climate change were globalizations losers, and his party must make it its mission to defend them. From Big Ben to Hyde Park, there's plenty to see and do in London. But while shopping on Oxford Street makes for a fun day, no stop in London is complete without exploring the charming and historic streets of the city's East End. Home to many immigrant communities, this part of London has a huge range of food to sit back and savor. The East End flourishes with colorful street art, great shopping, and of course, delicious grub. Here, seven must-stop spots for delectable food in the East End. %image1 Poppies Fish and Chips Courtesy of Poppies Fish and Chips Arguably the most iconic dish in England, fish and chips is a must-try while in London, but especially in the East End. At Poppies Fish and Chips, born and bred East-End owner Pat Pop Newland has been in the business since he was a kid cutting up newspapers to wrap the greasy meal in. Poppies serves up tender, golden-fried servings of fish in their own Poppies newspaper, which is printed with edible ink. Poppies has its own in-house fishmonger who prepares the fish on site daily, which ensures the freshest fish and chips in town. For even more English tradition, order mushy peas to go along with your fish and chips for a salty side dish. The English Restaurant Walking into this seventeenth-century establishment is like stepping straight into a Charles Dickens novel. With dark wood accents, dim lights, and squeaky wooden floors, The English Restaurant oozes with British charm. Keep with tradition and sample a classic British dessert bread and butter pudding. Originally made from stale bread and leftover ingredients, this version raises the bar and is decadent and silky, made with bread soaked in a rich vanilla cream, topped with a hot rum custard. Aladin Curry has been served in London since the eighteenth century, when men from the East India Company were returning home from India and wanted a taste of the curries they had during their travels. Its now a staple in London, and Aladin at Brick Lane serves some of the best in the city. Situated in the heart of the famous curry mile, Aladin is known for its spicy curries. Story continues Beigel Bake Also on Brick Lane, Beigel Bake is a great stop for a late-night snack. Open 24/7, Beigel Bake is a Jewish bakery and an East End staple that makes over 7,000 bagels a night. But these arent just simple bagels. Try the salt beef on a soft bagel, served hot with English mustard and a pickle. Or, go classic with the smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel. St. John Bread and Wine Elliot Sheppard/Courtesy of St. John After a night of too many gin cocktails, head to Fergus Hendersons St. John Bread and Wine for a bacon sandwich one of Londons favorite hangover foods. The legendary sandwich here is simple yet divine, with bacon made from top-class Old Spot pigs, fresh, toasted bread thats baked in house, and a special house-made ketchup with a hint of apple. Its a salty, buttery, tender, juicy experience that will (almost) bring you to tears. Pride of Spitalfields On a cobblestone street near Brick Lane youll find Pride of Spitalfields, a boozer (British slang for a place to drink) that serves the best English beer and cider. There are no frills here, only fair-priced suds, a lively crowd, and a good ol' British time. Old Spitalfields Market Courtesy of Old Spitalfields Market To taste an array of cuisines, a stop at Old Spitalfields Market is a must. The market has 44 retailers and restaurants, 88 market stalls, and 25 street food traders all under one roof in the East End. Open seven days a week, Old Spitalfields Market is a great place to start a food tour and sample cheese, dumplings, burgers, noodles, seafood, Ethiopian food, and much more. Courtesy of Old Spitalfields Market You can experience many of these eateries on a food tour with Eating Europe or other organized tours. For an extended journey, experience many of these eateries on a London cruise extension with Viking Cruises. The cruise line offers multiple extensions in London after cruises that stop in Norway, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Ireland, and England. A Limerick migrant group has welcomed the closure of a direct provision centre, but urged the Government to ensure minimum standards in all such facilities. The Department of Justice has confirmed the closure of the Mount Trenchard direct provision centre in Foynes, Co Limerick at the end of next month. In a statement, it said: The contract with the service provider for Mount Trenchard ends in February. The Department will not be renewing the contract and will be re-accommodating all remaining residents in some of our other centres in the coming weeks. Migrant support group Doras said it had highlighted the inhumane conditions at the centre over the last six years and cited a report they published last December. "It is regrettable that it has taken so long for this to happen," said Doras director John Lannon. So many people have suffered in Mount Trenchard, both mentally and psychologically while the Department of Justice did nothing. He called on the department to ensure minimum standards in all centres. Moreover, he urged officials to replace the for-profit, broken system of direct provision with a not-for-profit system. He said time on asylum decisions had to be addressed: Spending an indeterminate amount of time, often several years, effectively segregated from society, can negatively impact a persons mental health and wellbeing, and creates barriers to integration and inclusion. He said there is compelling evidence to indicate the conditions at the Foynes centre were replicated in many other centres. We reiterate calls on the Department of Justice to ensure standards are immediately met in all centres, said Mr Lannon. South Africa must implement deep structural economic reforms to avoid being downgraded to junk status, according to finance minister Tito Mboweni. In a series of statements on Twitter, Mboweni said that if these reforms are not implemented, then it is game over for the countrys economy. If you cannot affect deep structural economic reforms, then game over! he said. Stay as you are and you are downgraded to Junk Status! These reforms are outlined in the finance ministers economic strategy paper, which he submitted in October last year. Speaking to the Sunday Times, ANC national executive committee member Enoch Godongwana said the ANC has already made its decision on the reforms, with the final decision resting in the hands of the government. The ANC made its decision on the structural reforms in the NEC in September and therefore the ball is in the court of the government to implement the NEC resolutions of September, Godongwana said. Effects of a junk downgrade If South Africas credit rating is downgraded to junk status, this could result in a sell-off of up to R118 billion in bonds. Moodys cut its outlook on South Africas rating to negative in November 2019, following an extended period of load-shedding and problems at state-owned companies including Eskom and SAA. The economic effect of load-shedding is a major risk factor in South Africas potential junk downgrade, and the early return of rolling blackouts does not bode well for the countrys standing with credit ratings firms. Moodys Investor Services, S&P Global Ratings, and Fitch Ratings are also all concerned with the debt of state-owned companies and the state of government finances. S&P and Fitch have already downgraded South Africa to junk, with Moodys current rating being the lowest investment grade above junk status. Load-shedding threat Load-shedding poses a major threat to the economy, and the return of regular outages is not good news for South Africas business environment, particularly after President Ramaphosa promised there would be no load-shedding until 13 January 2020. Ramaphosa said in December that from the 17th of December right through to the 13th of January we should not be in a position to have any form of load-shedding. However, load-shedding returned only four days into the New Year and made another unwelcome return on 8 January. The most economically dangerous impact of load-shedding is its effect on industries such as manufacturing, where sentiment is expected to worsen as power cuts continue. Absa previously said the manufacturing sector subindex tracking business activity fell to the lowest level in almost three years in December, with companies blaming electricity disruptions for lost production time. Load-shedding can also damage expensive machinery which can be costly to replace and severely reduce the productivity of affected plants. If you cannot effect deep structural economic reforms, then game over! Stay as you are and you are down graded to Junck Status!! The consequences are dire. Your choice. Yep!! Askies!! Tito Mboweni (@tito_mboweni) January 10, 2020 Now read: What happens if South Africa is downgraded to junk (CNN) Days after President Donald Trump claimed the US killed Iran's top military general because he was targeting four American embassies, two of the President's top national security officials are declining to provide evidence of the intelligence used to justify the US drone strike. In interviews that aired Sunday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and national security adviser Robert O'Brien both did not cite specific intelligence information when pressed by their interviewers. Trump said in an interview Friday that he approved the military attack earlier this month that killed Qasem Soleimani because he believed the Iranian general was targeting the embassies. "The President never said there was specific intelligence to four different embassies," Esper told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union." But Esper said he shared the President's belief that the embassies were threatened by Soleimani. "What the President said with regard to the four embassies is what I believe as well. He said that he believed that they probably, that they could have been targeting the embassies in the region,"Esper said. And in an interview with CBS that aired Sunday, Esper said he "didn't see" a specific threat against four embassies in the intelligence. Similarly, O'Brien conceded in an interview on Sunday with ABC that it was unclear whether embassies or US military bases would be targeted, but insisted Trump's claim about four embassies being threatened was "consistent with the intelligence." The messaging this weekend from the top officials adds to an already complicated explanation of the intelligence the Trump administration claims was behind the US attack that killed Soleimani. In recent days, Trump's national security officials have contradicted each other about how imminent a threat the Iranian general posed, whether they had specific intelligence on the threat and even what that threat was, with Trump saying one thing then another, while officials offered varying explanations. Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told CNN last week that the administration's "public messaging has raised all kinds of questions about whether or not there was sufficient motivation to launch an attack to kill arguable the second most powerful and important man in Iran." Both O'Brien and Esper continually pointed on Sunday to the concerns about the US Embassy in Baghdad, indicating the most specific intelligence was in regard to a threat there. But neither official provided intelligence indicating an imminent attack on all four. "We were very concerned about the situation. We had exquisite intelligence," O'Brien told NBC's "Meet the Press." When O'Brien appeared on "Fox News Sunday," he said the administration knew there were threats to American facilities. "Look, it's always difficult, even with the exquisite intelligence that we have, to know exactly what the targets are but it's certainly consistent with the intelligence to assume that they would have hit embassies in at least four countries," he said. O'Brien continued: "But again, we knew that there were threats to American facilities. Now whether they were bases, embassies -- you know, it's always hard until the attack happens, but we had very strong intelligence they were looking to kill and maim Americans at US facilities in the region." The messages from the Trump administration have taken some lawmakers by surprise, with Democrats and Republicans saying they were not informed of the threat to four embassies during an intelligence briefing last week. "I didn't hear anything about that. And several of my colleagues have said the same. So, that was news to me," Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah told Tapper on Sunday. Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, wrote in a tweet last week that "if there was evidence of imminent attacks on four embassies, the Administration would have said so at our Wednesday briefing." "They didn't." For the past number of years Intel employees in Leixlip have spent the month of December supporting a variety of fundraising activities and collections in support of their local St Vincent de Paul organisations. One of the key activities supported by employees was the donation of over 450 specially assembled gift boxes as part of a shoebox appeal for St Vincent de Paul. The shoeboxes were assembled for children of a variety of ages and typically contain practical items, such as toiletries, along with toys, books and treats etc. for the recipients. Intel also donated a number of Christmas hampers to the organisations. In addition to these donations, this year, to coincide with the 30th anniversary celebration of Intel in Ireland, a donation of 15,000 was made to the organisation. This donation was split between 3 local branches of the SVP Leixlip, Celbridge and Maynooth with representatives of each of the charities visiting Intel recently to receive the donations. The work of St. Vincent de Paul is so important in our communities and I am delighted and proud that our employees have been able to support the local societies again this year, said Lisa Harlow of Intel. I hope that our contribution will help make a difference to the wonderful work that you do. Fiction 1. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. In a quiet town on the North Carolina coast in 1969, a young woman who survived alone in the marsh becomes a murder suspect. 2. The Guardians by John Grisham. Cullen Post, a lawyer and Episcopal minister, antagonizes some ruthless killers when he takes on a wrongful conviction case. 3. The Institute by Stephen King. Children with special talents are abducted and sequestered in an institution whose staff seeks to extract their gifts harshly. 4. Criss Cross by James Patterson. The 27th book in the Alex Cross series. Copycat crimes make the detective question whether an innocent man was executed. 5. The Testaments by Margaret Atwood. In a sequel to The Handmaids Tale, secrets bring three women together as the Republic of Gileads regime shows signs of decay. 6. Blue Moon by Lee Child. Jack Reacher gets caught up in a turf war between Ukrainian and Albanian gangs. 7. A Minute to Midnight by David Baldacci. When Atlee Pine returns to her hometown to investigate her sisters kidnapping from 30 years ago, she winds up tracking a potential serial killer. 8. The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates. A young man with a mysterious power becomes part of a war between slavers and the enslaved. 9. Twisted Twenty-Six by Janet Evanovich. The 26th book in the Stephanie Plum series. A New Jersey gangsters associates go after a bounty hunters widowed grandmother. 10. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. A sibling relationship is impacted when the family goes from poverty to wealth and back again over the course of many decades. Nonfiction 1. Becoming by Michelle Obama. The former first lady describes how she balanced work, family and her husbands political ascent. 2. Educated by Tara Westover. The daughter of survivalists, who is kept out of school, educates herself enough to leave home for university. 3. Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell. Famous examples of miscommunication serve as the backdrop to explain potential conflicts and misunderstandings. 4. Me by Elton John. The multiaward-winning solo artists first autobiography chronicles his career, relationships and private struggles. 5. Sam Houston and the Alamo Avengers by Brian Kilmeade. The Fox & Friends host gives an account of the battle against the Mexican Army in 1836. 6. Finding Chika by Mitch Albom. Lessons learned by the Alboms when they bring a Haitian orphan with a life-threatening illness into their family. 7. A Warning by Anonymous. A senior official in the Trump administration offers an assessment of the president and makes a moral appeal. 8. Triggered by Donald Trump Jr. Forays into politics and views on liberals from the executive vice president of the Trump Organization. 9. The Body by Bill Bryson. An owners manual of the human body covering various parts, functions and what happens when things go wrong. 10. The Book of Gutsy Women by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton. Profiles of women from around the world who have blazed trails and challenged the status quo. New York Times By Mark Di Ionno Here is a headline we have yet to see. Newark becomes model city for eradicating lead threat in water When the city is done replacing all 18,720 lead service lines, it can claim that no city in America has changed as many lines as quickly, through its own financing, with no cost to residents in capital outlay, tax increases or water rate hikes. And yet I recently asked a reporter from a large state media outlet why that story hasnt been written. Because its not true, he said, without hesitation. It was explained to him that the handful of America cities that even bothered to replace lead lines relied on rate raises, homeowner contribution or federal funding. Newarks main financing came from state-approved City and Essex County bonds, a reflection of the citys financial health. The $120 million county bond will be paid off with a $155 million amended lease agreement between Newark and the Port Authority. Those payments will come over the next 30 years and is essentially money the Port Authority owes the city -- whether lead lines were being replaced or not. That fact didnt stop one news outlet from reporting that commuters were picking up the lead line tab, fueling the divisive, race-baiting narrative that suburbanites carry the cities on their backs. The story was retracted when the news outlet was confronted with facts. With that county bond money, Newark now has 20 crews working around the city. They have ripped out 4,300 lead lines since March and are knocking out 85 a day. At that pace, all 18,720 city lead lines will be replaced in 2 years. Flint, Mich., for example has replaced 9,500 lines in four years and is entering the fifth year of its program. The inevitable comparisons to Flint came when the city began to hand out bottled water this summer, despite the clear differences. Newark never changed its water supply or cut corrosion control to save money. The city followed all federal EPA and state DEP protocols. Still, the words poisoned water and crisis dominated headlines. Lost in the hysteria was that Mayor Ras Baraka acted with an over-abundance of caution, after testing of three filters showed lead levels werent being reduced as hoped. Further testing of a much larger sample proved the filters were 99% effective when used properly. Those filters now about 40,000 were paid for and distributed by the city when the lead exceedances proved not to be anomalies in October of 2018. Here is another ignored fact: Mayor Baraka has lobbied for solutions to this national infrastructure problem. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Rep. Frank Pallone pushed for federal bills to free up $100 million in clean water funds to abate lead in drinking water. President Trump signed the bill in October. Around the same time, Gov. Phil Murphy proposed a $500 million comprehensive program to replace lead lines throughout the state and to step up lead paint abatement and education. The irony is that Newark may not get much, if any, of either funding, because it will have solved most, if not all, of its problem before money becomes available. And yet A New York Times reporter went on national TV and said the NRDC was the hero of this story, buying into the Natural Resources Defense Councils self-serving narrative. The NRDC injected itself into the situation and sued the city, demanding oversight of the lead abatement program. But the city already has plenty of government oversight (the EPA and DEP) and it hired CDM Smith, one of the worlds most respected environmental companies. In the 1970s, CDM Smith created the EPAs first blueprints and standards for the development and maintenance water pollution control plants and has engineered major international infrastructure projects to improve water quality and distribution in places like Colombia and Pakistan. And yet A recent editorial in the Star-Ledger urged Newark to settle with the NRDC, ignoring the warp speed of the lead-line replacements while questioning whether Newark could do the job right without the NRDCs guidance. Mayor Baraka talks about inherent paternalism, which leads groups like the NRDC to believe minority-run cities cant fix their own problems -- and they find a complicit partner in some members of the media. Of course, media members will deny inherent biases, but some of their headlines prove differently. Mark Di Ionno is the interim communications director for the City of Newark and a former Star-Ledger columnist. 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. In the article I wrote the other day I said that Iran is under many illegal attacks. Now today I will make it clear that a rouge US is now putting Iraq under extreme illegal attacks The Trump administration warned Iraq this week that it risks losing access to a critical government bank account if Baghdad kicks out American forces following the U.S. airstrike that killed a top Iranian general, according to Iraqi officials.The State Department warned that the U.S. could shut down Iraqs access to the countrys central bank account held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a move that could jolt Iraqs already shaky economy, the officials said. Source: U.S. Warns Iraq It Risks Losing Access to Key Bank Account if Troops Told to Leave WSJ I wrote a week ago about Iran and Iraq needing help Therefore, I am saying it again: Iran and Iraq both were put under then gun as we say it. Iraq lost important men, along with Iran in the illegal attack to assassinate Qasem Soleimani. It was done in total disregard for life limb and property. Iran and Iraq both need the rest of the world to pull together and put a stop to this rogue Empire that has decided that flaying and slashing is the best way to make friends and keep on top the world It is time to start organizing and gathering resources too weather a serious altercation, be it physical, mental and or or financial well being. It is time to sever the strings that are being used antagonistically towards and against many countries by the USA. It has become a serious issue and if we do not start acting like we are a one world in peace? We will find ourselves a one world under the gun forever What are your choices when someone puts a gun to your head? What are you talking about? You do what they say or they shoot you. WRONG. You take the gun, or you pull out a bigger one. Or, you call their bluff. Or, you do any one of a hundred and forty six other things. Harvey Specter Suits We have to something and get it under control WtR A giant plume of ash has erupted from a volcano in the Philippines, prompting villagers to flee their homes and airport chiefs to suspend flights. The Taal volcano spewed ash, steam and rocks more than half a mile into the sky after tremors and rumbles. About 8,000 villagers on an island in the middle of a lake, where the volcano lies, were ordered to leave their homes, officials said. Taal, nearly 40 miles south of Manila, draws many tourists for its picturesque setting but the entire island is considered a permanent danger zone. Its feared the volcanos restiveness, which began last year, could lead to a more dangerous eruption within weeks. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised the alert level to three out of five. Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Show all 44 1 /44 Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Lightning strikes as a column of ash surrounds the crater of Taal Volcano as it erupts in Tagaytay, Philippines Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Pacific Press via Sipa/Rex Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Local authorities have begun evacuating residents near Taal Volcano as it began spewing ash up to a kilometer high Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Pacific Press via Sipa/Rex Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos People take photos of a phreatic explosion from the Taal volcano as seen from the town of Tagaytay in Cavite province, southwest of Manila AFP Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Billows of smoke with lightning is seen from the eruption Pacific Press via Zuma Wire/Rex Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Residents stand lakeside as the volcano erupts behind them Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos A family rides their motorcycle through clouds of ash as they evacuate to safer grounds AP Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Lightning streak over Batangas Pacific Press via Sipa/Rex Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos The tiny volcano near the Philippine capital draws many tourists for its picturesque setting, however as it belched steam, ash and rocks in a huge plume thousands were forced to flee and officials to temporarily suspend flights AP Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Ashfall after the eruption of the Taal volcano Jerome Austria Abuan via Reuters Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Villagers evacuate EPA Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Taal volcano erupts Reuters Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Lightning flashes as Taal Volcano erupts The Philippine Institute of of Volcanology and Seismology has raised the alert level to four out of five, warning that a hazardous eruption could take place anytime AP Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos A dog left in a garage covered with ashes barks nearby the erupting Taal Volcano Reuters Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos A volcanic lightning caused by eruption @DERRICKQUIBAEL via REUTERS Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Ash from the Taal volcano in the air, with a church in the foreground Renz Lejarso Guevara/AFP Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos A column of ash surrounds the crater of Taal Volcano Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Residents stand lakeside as the volcano erupts behind them Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Lightning strikes over Taal Volcano AP Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Residents walk along a road covered in ash mixed with rainwater Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Lightning strikes over Taal Volcano EPA Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Villagers take shelter inside a church during the eruption EPA Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos A volcanic lightning caused by eruption @DERRICKQUIBAEL via Reuters Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Taal volcano erupts AFP via Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Lightning strikes over Taal Volcano Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos A policeman walks past a police vehicle covered in ash Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos A fishing boat sails along a lake as Taal Volcano erupts Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos A vehicle covered in ash Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos An ash column from erupting Taal Volcano looms over Tagaytay city EPA Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Lightning strikes over Taal Volcano Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos A resident splashes water on a vehicle covered in ash Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Taal volcano spews ash and smoke AP Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos A person on a canoe while the volcano spews ash AFP via Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Residents walk along a road covered in ash mixed with rainwater Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Taal volcano erupts JPL YEN via Reuters Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Lightning strikes over Taal Volcano EPA Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos A worker hoses down plants covered with mud and ash AFP via Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Residents evacuate Reuters Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Taal volcano erupts AP Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Taal Volcano erupts with a massive plume of ash and steam Xinhua/Rex Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos Residents fleeing wait for a ride on the side of a highway Getty Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos People travel along a road covered in ash EPA Philippines Taal volcano: Eruption in photos A massive plume of ash and steam erupts AP We have asked people in high-risk areas, including the volcano island, to evacuate now ahead of a possible hazardous eruption, said Renato Solidum, head of the institute. He advised communities around the lake to take precautionary measures and be aware of possible lake water disturbances, adding that the entire island should be strictly off-limits to all residents. People take cover under a plastic sheet as ash settles (EPA) Flight operations at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport have been temporarily suspended due to the volcanic ash from the eruption of Taal Volcano, the Manila International Airport Authority tweeted. Roads, buildings, cars and people were covered in a film of ash and rainwater for miles around after the eruption. Renelyn Bautista, a 38-year-old housewife from Batangas province, who fled her home with her two children, said: We hurriedly evacuated when the air turned muddy because of the ash fall and it started to smell like gunpowder. Ash also reached the province of Cavite, prompting the provincial government to suspend classes on Monday and urge residents to stay indoors. 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. A 38-year-old man, arrested in ATM hacking cases, allegedly committed suicide at a police station in West Tripura district on Sunday, officials said. Sushanta Ghosh, who was in police remand since Saturday, committed suicide inside the lavatory of the West Agartala Police Station, officer-in-charge Subrata Chakraborty said. He was arrested from his residence at Lankamura on Saturday by sleuths of the cybercrime team and produced before a local court, which remanded him to two days' police custody, the officer said. "His body was found hanging inside the lavatory of the police station around 5 am. He went to the lavatory around 3.54 am, but did not come out. It came to the notice of a guard that he was missing and later found him hanging from the ceiling of the lavatory," Chakraborty told reporters. Sushanta was allegedly involved in an international racket that hacked 60 bank accounts in Tripura recently. His name surfaced, following interrogation of four Turkish cybercriminals arrested in November last year for their role in ATM hacking cases here, the officer said. Tripura Human Rights' Organisation (THRO) demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident. "We have the apprehension that it might be a case a custodial torture and death. Police might be trying to frame it as a case of hanging but we don't trust them, so we demand a judicial enquiry into the incident," THRO president Purushottam Roy Barman told reporters. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi: Swami Vivekananda, the most celebrated spiritual leader, a fierce monk was born in Kolkata on January 12, 1863, as Narendra Nath Datta. In 1984, Indian Government first declared to celebrate the birthday of Swami Vivekananda as National Youth Day. Since then this day is being celebrated as the National Youth Day all over the country. The prime disciple of 19th century Indian mystic Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Swami Vivekananda reintroduced the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world. The ultimate goal is to achieve freedom of the soul and that encompasses the entirety of ones religion, according to Swami Vivekananda. Vivekananda travelled to the West bearing Hindu philosophy and introducing Indian heritage, culture, and philosophy to the West. Of his many lectures, the one in Chicago at the Parliament of the World's Religion is the most revered. Here, he gave a brief speech representing India and Hinduism. He took the stage and stunned everyone with his opening line My brothers and sisters of America. He received a standing ovation from the audience for the opening phrase. Swami Vivekananda spent the next two and a half years in America and founded the Vedanta Society of New York in 1894. He also travelled to the United Kingdom to preach the tenets of the Vedanta and Hindu Spiritualism to the western world. On his birth 157th anniversary, lets take a look at Swami Vivekanandas top 5 inspirational quotes. The Vedanta recognizes no sin it only recognizes the error. And the greatest error, says the Vedanta is to say that you are weak, that you are a sinner, a miserable creature, and that you have no power and you cannot do this and that. The will is not free it is a phenomenon bound by cause and effect but there is something behind the will which is free. The moment I have realised God sitting in the temple of every human body, the moment I stand in reverence before every human being and see God in him that moment I am free from bondage, everything that binds vanishes, and I am free. Earth is enjoyed by heroes, this is an unfailing truth. Always say I have no fear and say this to everybody have no fear because fear is sin, fear is death, fear is un-righteousness and all the negative emotions in this world have originated from the evil spirit of fear. The old religion said he who doesnt believe in god is an atheist. While the new religion says that, the person who doesnt believe in himself and believes in all the gods existing in the world and those newly created then he is considered as an Atheist. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New rules that would have extended curfews for older, more-polluting trucks in Melbourne's inner-west, making residential streets cleaner, quieter and safer, have been shelved. The move is a major blow to unlikely bedfellows who pitched the Australian-first initiative two years ago: the state's truck lobby group, the Victorian Transport Association, and the Maribyrnong Truck Action Group, comprising residents campaigning to remove trucks from residential streets. The state government told the two organisations in a pre-Christmas meeting that it would not go ahead with the Smart Freight Initiative, which would have extended curfews for the dirtiest diesel-engine trucks on key residential streets surrounding the Port of Melbourne. Under the proposed changes, trucks that were more than a decade old, and did not have a low-emission Euro 5 engine or better, would have faced longer curfews, starting at 6pm (instead of 8pm) and ending the following day at 8am (instead of 6am). An accused in Tripura ATM hacking cases was found dead in police custody in state capital Agartala on Sunday, a day after his arrest. Police have, however, ruled out custodial torture and are calling it a case of suicide. 38-years old Sushanta Ghosh was arrested from his Lankamura residence at the outskirts of Agartala on Saturday over suspicion of involvement in a series ATM hacking cases in November last year. Four Turkish cybercriminals were also arrested then for their suspected involvement. The Cyber Crime officials arrested Sushanta in connection to the ATM hacking case. He was sent to police custody on Saturday. He was discovered hanging at lavatory of the custody this morning, said officer-in-charge of West Agartala Police Station, Subrata Chakraborty. Chakraborty added that Sushanta was last seen entering the lavatory at 3:54 AM. A guard found him missing in the custody and later discovered him hanging in the lavatory. Chakraborty ruled out the possibility that Sushanta may have been tortured while in custody. There is no question of custodial torture. This is a suicide case, he said. Cyber Crime department, which has been probing some of these cases, had earlier said that the hackers used skimmer devices at ATMs at Indranagar, Battala and Kaman Chowmuhani in Agartala. It claimed the hackers used cloned cards to withdraw money. According to West district police reports, over Rs. 10 lakhs were stolen from different bank accounts including from State Bank of India (SBI) in four days in November. The SBI received as many as 50 complaints of ATM thefts. So, as precautionary measures, the bank blocked several ATM and debit cards of its customers. According to a cyber-technology expert, the ATM card cloning system comprises a spy camera, a memory card and a small data device to gather ATM and account details of bank customers. Portuguese motorcycle rider Paulo Goncalves died after a crash in the seventh stage of the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, organisers said. The 40-year-old Hero Motorsports entrant, taking part in his 13th Dakar Rally since making his debut in 2006, fell after 170miles of the special stage from the capital Riyadh to Wadi Al Dawasir. 'The organisers received an alert at 10:08 and dispatched a medical helicopter that reached the biker at 10:16 and found him unconscious after going into cardiac arrest,' organisers said in a statement. Portuguese motorbike rider Paulo Goncalves (pictured) has died following a crash in the seventh stage of the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia 'Following resuscitation efforts in situ, the competitor was taken by helicopter to Layla Hospital, where he was sadly pronounced dead. 'The entire Dakar caravan would like to extend its sincere condolences to his friends and family.' Goncalves was the first competitor to die in the gruelling endurance event since Polish motorcycle rider Michal Hernik in Argentina in 2015. The Portuguese finished in the top 10 at the Dakar Rally four times and was runner-up in 2015 to Spaniard Marc Coma, who is competing this year as co-driver to double Formula One champion Fernando Alonso. Goncalves, 40, who is a Hero Motorsports racer taking part in his 13th Dakar Rally since 2006, suffered fatal injuries after a fall 170miles into Sunday's special stage from Riyadh to Wadi Al Dawasir (pictured) Goncalves suffered mechanical problems on Friday, having to change his bike's engine to stay in the race, and dropped to 46th overall after the sixth stage. 'The target now is to do my best, because the result at the end...there is no way to get a good result. Instead Iall try to do good stages every day possible and that's what I'm looking for,' Goncalves said then. The experienced Portuguese had competed in the Dakar on three continents, from its origins in Africa to South America and this year's debut in the Middle East. The 2013 cross country rallies world champion was representing the Indian Hero Motorsports team, along with his brother-in-law Joaquim Rodrigues, after five years racing with Honda. Goncalves crashed out on the fifth stage in Peru last year. Rodrigues broke his back in a Dakar crash two years ago but returned after extensive surgery and was 27th after stage six. Sunday's 546km stage, the longest of the event, was won by Spaniard Joan Barreda with American Ricky Brabec extending his overall lead in the category. Portuguese Joaquim Rodrigues reacts after the death of his team member Goncalves on Sunday Australian Toby Price, the defending champion, finished an hour and 20 minutes behind Barreda but organisers said he stopped to try to help Goncalves and will have his position recalculated. Spaniard Carlos Sainz, a two-times Dakar winner driving a Mini buggy, took his third stage win of the event in the cars category to extend his lead over Toyota's reigning champion Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar to 10 minutes. Mini have now won six of the seven stages. 'Following resuscitation efforts in situ, the competitor was taken by helicopter to Layla Hospital, where he was sadly pronounced dead. Hero Motosports Team Rally's Goncalves is pictured during stage 5 of the race on Thursday 'The entire Dakar caravan would like to extend its sincere condolences to his friends and family.' Goncalves finished in the top 10 at the Dakar Rally four times and was runner-up to Marc Coma in 2015. He was 46th overall after the sixth stage on Friday. More than a decade ago, the federal government in a bipartisan move created rules for improving household energy efficiency by targeting one simple device: the light bulb. Spurred by those rules, manufacturers today offer lighting options that use far less energy, save consumers money on utility bills and last years longer. Its the wrong time for the U.S. Energy Department to block further rules that were set to go into effect this year. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette announced that the department would block a rule designed to phase out older, inefficient incandescent bulbs. Contrary to some reports, it would not eliminate the use of incandescent bulbs, but it would require that they meet efficiency standards of using 65% less energy than older types. Brouillette said the new rule was unnecessary because manufacturing technology has already increased the efficiency and affordability of light bulbs without federal government regulations. What he overlooks is the fact the regulations passed in 2007 were the impetus for the better, more affordable bulbs on the market today. The Energy Independence and Security Act took aim at the inefficiency of the more than 3 billion light bulbs in American homes, particularly the pear-shaped incandescent bulbs. The federal Environmental Protection Agency estimated that incandescent bulbs at the time were only 10% efficient, with the remaining 90% of electricity used being lost as heat. The EISA established a phase-in period under which manufacturers needed to produce bulbs that used less energy while providing the same amount of light. There were some bumps in the road as consumers complained about the lighting quality of early compact fluorescent bulbs those twisty-shaped CFL bulbs that took longer to warm up but ongoing innovation led to todays newer generation of halogen-incandescent and LED bulbs. A traditional 60-watt incandescent bulb has an annual energy cost of $4.80, according to the Energy Department, while a 60-watt LED bulb costs only $1 a year to operate. The LED last 25 times longer, and the cost has dropped dramatically over the years, down to about $1.25 for a non-dimming bulb. Despite the notable success of the EISA program, the Energy Department announced in September it would roll back efficiency standards on specialty bulbs three-way, flame-shaped and globe-shaped bulbs and would likely do the same for traditional bulbs. Some states California, Colorado, Nevada, Vermont and Washington responded by passing standards matching the EISA requirements. Environmental groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Council and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy condemned the rollbacks, saying the move could cost consumers an extra $14 billion on annual energy bills. Several environmental and consumer groups, as well as attorneys general in several states, have already filed legal challenges to stop the rollbacks on specialty bulbs, and will likely take similar action to stop rollbacks on traditional bulbs. Government regulation often gets a bad rap for imposing restrictions on consumers, but the EISA rules have succeeded beyond expectations. American homes are using less energy and consumers are saving on their utility bills. The Energy Department should keep the energy-efficiency standards in place and allow continuing innovations to further improve the ubiquitous light bulb. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Profit dial turned up to maximum Hurry! You have until March 2 to make RRSP contributions if you want to reduce your taxable income for 2019. Here are three discounted dividend stocks you can consider for your RRSP. They can boost your retirement income and provide above-average price gains prospects. Freehold Royalties Freehold Royalties (TSX:FRU) acquires and manages oil and gas royalties. Its royalty production is about 10,200 barrels of oil equivalent per day coming from 6.7 million acres of land. Its net-debt-to-funds-from-operations ratio has nudged higher since 2016. However, its still manageable at about one. Freehold Royaltiess trailing 12-month (TTM) free cash flow yield is about 11%. In the period, it paid out about 71% of its free cash flow as dividends, which is roughly the midpoint of its target payout ratio. During this time, the WTI oil price ranged essentially from US$52 to US$63 per barrel. With the WTI at greater about US$60 today and expected to stay within US$50-70, Freehold Royaltiess dividend should be safe for 2020. At writing, the stock offers a high yield of 8.3%, which is paid out as a monthly eligible dividend with an annualized payout of $0.63 per share. An investment of $5,000 will result in an annual income of $415. Analysts have an average 12-month price target of $10.50 per share on the stock for near-term upside potential of 38%. Nutrien Nutriens (TSX:NTR)(NYSE:NTR) TTM revenue totaled more than US$20 billion. It is the biggest retailer of crop inputs and services in the United States and North America with a market share of about 21%. Its about three times the size of the next largest competitor! Additionally, it has global operations with leading positions in Australia and South America. Nutrien just acquired a tuck-in acquisition in Brazil, which will complement its retail operations in the country and add US$60 million of annual sales. In 2019, there was a trade war, great weather, and swine flu (which destroyed roughly half of the swine population in China). These factors negatively affected the demand for Nutriens fertilizer products. Yet, in this atypical year, the company still managed to increase its EBITDA by about 10%. Story continues Nutrien generates roughly a third of its earnings from its retail business, which is pretty stable. This business unit drives organic growth via its international supply chain across seven countries. The rest of its businesses are in potash and nitrogen production. Management does not expect much supply to come online, which should be positive for the company going forward. The company offers a yield of about 3.6%. Its TTM free cash flow payout ratio is 65%. Therefore, it has a good buffer to protect its dividend. It has only been about two years since Potash Corp and Agrium merged into Nutrien. So, theres little trading history to examine. However, analysts have an average 12-month price target of about US$58 per share on the stock for near-term upside potential of 22%. CIBC Whenever the big Canadian banks are relatively cheap, investors can buy their shares for long-term price gains while locking in a high yield. Right now, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (TSX:CM)(NYSE:CM) is the cheapest Big Six Canadian bank, trading at a dirt-cheap price-to-earnings ratio of just 8.8, roughly a 20% discount from its long-term normal multiple! A cheap stock price implies a bigger dividend yield. Currently, CIBC offers the largest yield roughly 5.4% of the Big Six Canadian banks. Its dividend is protected by a payout ratio of under 50%, which aligns with its peers. The near-term growth of the bank has slowed, but it aims for an earnings-growth rate of 5-10% in the long run on a per-share basis. The investing communitys low expectations of CIBC can lead to incredible total returns down the road should the bank do the right things, such as making strides in the United States, growing its core Canadian business, and optimizing its operations. Food for thought These three dividend stocks have different risk profiles. So, size your positions accordingly. More reading Fool contributor Kay Ng has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends FREEHOLD ROYALTIES LTD. and Nutrien Ltd. 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 Thousands of residents evacuated and Manila airport closed amid fears the Taal volcano is about to erupt. A volcano south of Manila gushed red hot lava on Monday, as thousands of people in communities nearby moved to evacuation centres and flights from the Philippines capitals international airport were cancelled amid fears of a violent eruption. There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage. Evacuations from arouind the Taal volcano began on Sunday after the volcano sent a column of ash and steam as high as 15km (9 miles) into the sky. Lightning crackled inside the smoke and tremors shook the ground. The governments disaster-response agency reported about 8,000 villagers had moved to at least 38 evacuation centres, but officials expect the number to swell with hundreds of thousands more being brought out of harms way. Some residents could not move from ash-blanketed villages because visibility was low and they had no transport. Some refused to leave their homes and farms, officials said. We have a problem, our people are panicking due to the volcano because they want to save their livelihood, their pigs and herds of cows, Mayor Wilson Maralit of Balete town told DZMM radio. Were trying to stop them from returning and warning that the volcano can explode again anytime and hit them. Taal, one of the worlds smallest active volcanoes, sits in the middle of a lake about 70km (45 miles) south of Manila and its picturesque lake is a popular getaway for people who live in the city. We were having lunch when we heard rumbling. We saw the volcano erupting. It rained and some small pebbles fell to the ground, Jon Patrick Yen, a restaurant customer in Tagaytay, a nearby city, told Reuters news agency. I did not expect to see such spectacle. We just went by to eat, Yen added. Authorities warned there was a risk an eruption could cause a tsunami in the lake. Taal is a very small volcano but a dangerous volcano, said Renato Solidum, head of The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. It is unique because it is a volcano within a volcano. The institute on Sunday raised the danger level posed by the volcano to 4 out of a possible 5 meaning hazardous explosive eruption is possible within hours to days. Alert level 5 means a magmatic eruption is under way. The Philippines lies on the Ring of Fire, a belt of volcanoes circling the Pacific Ocean that is also prone to earthquakes. One of the most active volcanoes in the Philippines, Taal has erupted more than 30 times in the past five centuries, most recently in 1977. The area around the Taal volcano has been cloaked in volcanic ash, which also forced the closure of Manilas international airport to shut down [Aaron Favila/AP Photo] An eruption in 1911 killed 1,500 people and one in 1754 lasted for a few months. That is the worst case scenario, Solidum said. Flights grounded The ash from the volcano forced the cancellation of more than 240 international and domestic flights from Manilas airport. An alternative airport north of Manila at Clark freeport remained open but authorities said they would close that facility as well if the ash threatened flight safety, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said. President Rodrigo Dutertes office ordered the suspension of government work in the capital, as well as all school classes in Manila and other areas affected by the ash. A statement advised private companies to follow suit. In Manila, long queues formed in shops selling face masks as health officials warned of possible breathing problems for people with respiratory ailments and urged the public to stay indoors and use dust masks when going out. When I went to my car to bring my groceries, I saw it was covered in ash. So I hurriedly went back inside to buy a mask from a drugstore but they had run out, said Angel Bautista, 41, a resident of Paranaque city, south of the capital. The warning by the anti-trust watchdog has come days ahead of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos India visit, about which the Seattle-headquartered company has been tight-lipped. Sources in the know indicated that Bezos, coming on a short trip, has sought a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has sent out a strong warning to e-commerce players against unfair practices, saying its keeping a close watch and will investigate the phenomenal online sale of mobile phones. Pointing out that the opaque behaviour of dominant e-commerce companies was hurting the fate of brick-and-mortar stores, CCI chairman Ashok Gupta indicated on Saturday that he meant action. The warning by the anti-trust watchdog has come days ahead of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos India visit, about which the Seattle-headquartered company has been tight-lipped. Sources in the know indicated that Bezos, coming on a short trip, has sought a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Coinciding with the hardening stand of the CCI, small traders too have intensified their protest against e-commerce majors, mainly Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), representing thousands of small businesses, has threatened to protest across 300 cities in the country when Bezos arrives. Gupta, while addressing a PHD Chambers conference, asked e-commerce platforms to put their house in order amid growing concerns from the retail sector, which fears further erosion of business due to the deep discounts offered by technology-driven online market players. Specifically, exclusive tie-ups between the online market players and certain sellers have been a bone of contention. This has been building up for sometime. The CCI had earlier taken cognizance of a complaint filed by Delhi Vyapar Sangh, a trade body, against sale of mobile phones on e-commerce platforms. In fact, in a recently released study on the market place model, it advised self-regulation for e-commerce players, while asking them to remove deficiencies that gave them an unfair advantage vis-a-vis others. Gupta said the Commission was working with all the stakeholders to remove information asymmetry and improve transparency to positively increase competition. He said that while time should be given to e-commerce players to carry out the necessary steps to remove such deficiencies, the CCI can take suo moto action if any such concern came to its notice. The CCI is keeping a close watch...Competition law as it stood had provisions that were adequate to deal with the emergence of e-commerce as also technology-driven products thrown up by innovations from time to time, Gupta said. He said that the proposed changes to the Competition Law by the review committee would strengthen the legislation further and bring it in tune with current day requirements. The e-commerce sector is estimated to touch $200 billion in market size by 2026 from $38.5 billion at present, according to CCI. In its study released on Wednesday, the watchdog had said that the issues it had identified may have a bearing on competition, or may hinder the realisation of the full pro-competitive potential of e-commerce. Some of the issues in specific circumstances may have a potential to contravene the provisions of the Competition Act, 2002 (the Act), which shall be the subject matter of case-by-case determination by the Commission. Last October, CCI had launched an investigation against Oyo Hotel & Homes and MakeMyTrip (MMT-Go) on charges of predatory pricing, creating a monopoly and deep discounting. The marketplace platforms should bring out a clear policy on discounts, CCI has argued. This would include the basis of discount rates funded by platforms for different products or suppliers and the implications of participation or non-participation in discount schemes. They've been loved-up for almost a year. And Emma Roberts and her actor boyfriend Garrett Hedlund still can't seem to get enough of one another as they were spotted leaving a breakfast date in Los Feliz Saturday morning. The 28-year-old stayed close to her man as they crossed the street on the way back to their parked car. Breakfast date: Emma Roberts and her actor boyfriend Garrett Hedlund still can't seem to get enough of one another as they were spotted leaving a breakfast date in Los Feliz Saturday morning Careful crossing: After their meal, the couple carefully crossed the busy Los Feliz street and made their way back to their vehicle Stylish pair: Roberts and Hedlund are known for stepping out in trendy ensembles Emma pulled her signature blonde locks into a messy ponytail. She looked visibly make-up free behind her RayBan sunglasses, as she braved the LA sun with Hedlund. The Scream Queens star dressed her slender physique in a silky, red, ankle-length dress layered over a black, long-sleeved shirt that hung off one shoulder. Her black leather cross-body bag perfectly draped across her chest, as she carried her coffee back to the couple's vehicle. Garrett sported a black denim jacket thrown over a plain white tee paired with dark-wash denim jeans. The Four Brothers star showed off his trendy green sneakers as he walked beside Emma. It was revealed that the pair were dating when a picture of them holding hands while out in New York City made its way to the press in March of 2019. The beginning: They went public with their relat Prior to Hedlund, Emma was in an intense on and off again romance with American Horror Story costar, Evan Peters, since 2011. Roberts has become the de facto muse and final girl of Ryan Murphy's American Horror Story universe, having headlined the most recent season AHS: 1984. She also is potentially returning to the Murphy crowd favorite Scream Queens. Emma has several other titles in various stages of development, including RRR, Now I See You, Betches and Anya's Ghost. Roberts also recently wrapped two feature films, Holidate opposite Kristin Chenoweth and The Hunt with Hilary Swank. As for Garrett, he will next appear in the biographical music drama The United States Vs. Billie Holiday, directed by Lee Daniels. Muse: Roberts has become the de facto muse and final girl of Ryan Murphy's American Horror Story universe, having headlined the most recent season AHS: 1984 Samson Ayokunle, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), has asked the federal government to secure the release of Chr... Samson Ayokunle, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), has asked the federal government to secure the release of Christians in captivity if it does not want to be regarded as a persecutor of the faith. CAN had alleged that Christians were being persecuted in the country. Speaking in an interview with the PUNCH, Ayokunle asked the government to ensure that all hostages held by Boko Haram are released. We have spoken again and again that the moral burden is on the government to get Leah Sharibu, in particular, released, he said. She refused to abandon her faith and because of that, the terrorists said they were not going to release her and the government allowed it to be. That was not fair. The moral burden is on the government, if we would not see them as part of those persecuting Christians, to get Leah Sharibu and all other people who are held captive out of captivity, whether they are Christians or Muslims. He also said farmer/herder clashes have led to the deaths of many people in Christian-dominated areas like Benue, Taraba, Southern Kaduna and Plateau states. He said to ensure peaceful coexistence, herders should be made to buy land in their host communities to rear their cattle. This, he said, would solve the issue of trespassing and make the herders responsible. The CAN president also asked the federal government to be sincere with the security of the people in order to avert clashes. I once met with the leadership of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria and we told them that if they really wanted peace in this country, migrating about on the land of other people could no longer be tolerated, he said. What they needed was to get their own land. If you want to settle down in a community, approach the community (leaders) and buy the portion (of land) that you want to use. Raise your pasture and graze your animals there. They should begin to buy land. We buy land to build houses, establish farms and do many other good things. Why cant they also buy land? They need to be responsible. Ayokunle also said there could be war if the government does not address the complaints of assaults on farmers. He said: That is why we appeal to the government to do the needful because if the herders continue to take law into their own hands, the people they are trespassing on their lands or assaulting will turn back to fight them. It may become a free-for-all; a state of disorderliness and war if we are not careful. People are reporting them now but a time will come when people will begin to retaliate and that would not do anybody any good. A member of the Iranian parliamentary commission on national security and foreign policy, Alaeddin Bruerurdi called for the expulsion from the country of UK Ambassador Robert Macaire, who had taken part in the protest amid the Ukrainian plane crash near Tehran, Tasnim reported. According to him, the MFA must make the arrangements to expel British Ambassador Rob Macaire from the country. As reported earlier, the UK Ambassador has been detained for several hours on suspicion of involvement in provoking some radical actions among the protesters. The envoy was detained at the scene of an rally held amid the Ukrainian plane crash, leaving 176 people killed. The US State Department called on the Iranian authorities to apologize for the detention of the diplomat, noting that the incident is a violation of the Vienna Convention. Istanbul: In Iran's account, the missile operator had 10 seconds to decide whether the plane was a threat. The decision was made. And a surface-to-air missile streaked toward the passenger jet. Iran's admission on Saturday that "human error" brought down Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 after it was mistaken for a cruise missile, added fresh details to what Western officials had already concluded: a missile was to blame for Wednesday's disaster that killed all 176 people aboard the Kiev-bound flight. Iran is now under pressure to respond to demands to allow a full and open investigation and for authorities in Tehran to bring the perpetrators to justice. Pressure was not just from Ukraine and other nations whose citizens were aboard the Boeing 737-800. Police intervene during a vigil in Tehran in honour of the victims of a Ukraine International Airlines flight shot down in Iran. Credit:Bloomberg Protests flared on the streets of Tehran, where apparent student-led rallies decried the missile mistake and chanted rare denunciations against military chiefs: "Resign, resign, resign." Riot police deploy to the streets of Tehran ahead of further demonstrations on Sunday after authorities admitted downing a jet. The British ambassador to Iran has denied taking part in demonstrations after he was held by Iranian authorities during protests over a fatal plane crash. Iranian authorities detained Rob Macaire on Saturday on suspicion of organizing, provoking and directing radical actions, Sky News reported. It came as riot police fired tear gas at thousands of Iranians who had taken to the streets to direct their anger at Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, hours after the country's Revolutionary Guard admitted shooting down a Ukrainian passenger plane near the capital. The Iranian authorities had initially denied being responsible for bringing down Ukrainian International Airlines flight PS752 on Wednesday but backtracked in the face of growing evidence to the contrary. Read alsoU.S. to isolate Iran through diplomacy, sanctions until they 'behave like a normal nation' media Mr. Macaire tweeted in Farsi and in English: "Thanks for the many goodwill messages. Can confirm I wasn't taking part in any demonstrations! Went to an event advertised as a vigil for victims of #PS752 tragedy. "Normal to want to pay respects some of victims were British. I left after 5 mins, when some started chanting. "Detained half an hour after leaving the area. Arresting diplomats is of course illegal, in all countries. See comments by Foreign Secretary @DominicRaab". The largest share of the 176 people aboard the flight who died were Iranians, many with dual citizenship, 57 were Canadian and four were British. On Saturday evening, Mr. Raab had issued a statement which said: "The arrest of our ambassador in Tehran without grounds or explanation is a flagrant violation of international law. "The Iranian government is at a cross-roads moment. It can continue its march towards pariah status with all the political and economic isolation that entails, or take steps to deescalate tensions and engage in a diplomatic path forwards." UK security minister Brandon Lewis told Sky's Sophy Ridge on Sunday that the government was calling on Iran to co-operate with investigations and to de-escalate tensions. Earlier today, riot police and plainclothes officers massed in Tehran's Vali e Asr Square as calls circulated for further protests. A large black banner was unveiled in the square bearing names of those who died in the crash. Overnight, Iranian protesters and newspapers piled pressure on the country's leadership. The police has filed a case under sections 332 and 353 as per the Indian Penal Code. Mumbai: In another incident of medical practitioners being attacked by patients relatives, two resident doctors were allegedly assaulted at Nair Hospital on Saturday. The doctor was attacked after a 13-year-old patient from Bhiwandi died in the presence of his father during an ongoing treatment. The officials said that the deceased, identified as Pawan Patil (13), was suffering from a chronic disease and was being treated at ward no 33 of Nair Hospital. The doctors informed his family at around 5 am that he had succumbed to his disease, after which Patils parents and relatives held the medical staff responsible for his death and mounted an attack on them. His parents blamed the resident doctors who were on duty for the boy's death and started abusing them, the official said. Pawan's father Datta Patil (45) allegedly assaulted doctor Kartik Asutkar and his colleague K Prajwal Chandrakant. The resident doctor on night duty was attacked stating his laxity led to the patients death. The parents have been booked in the case and further probe is underway, said an officer of Agripada police station. The police said that the CCTV camera footage of the hospital captured the attack by the boys father Datta Patil and his wife. Other medical officers on duty soon informed the police about the attack. The police has filed a case under sections 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) as per the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under the provisions of the Maharashtra Medical Practitioners Act. Further probe is underway. No arrest has been made so far. The police is now recording the statement of the staffers and will take further action soon. Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) condemned the attack and demanded adequate security for doctors. According to MARD President Dr Kalyani Dongre, the patient had been admitted to the hospital for the past one month. His condition worsened on Saturday, following which the doctor wanted to put him on a ventilator. The relatives, the MARD alleged, refused permission to do so, and the patient died in the early hours of Saturday. Following the attack on the two resident doctors, the doctors staged a protest, demanding action against the attackers, and better security measures for the doctors. They also demanded adequate security for the wards, an increase in manpower, fixed visiting hours, and counsellors for relatives of patients. The OPD services from the residents side of the hospital were also stopped following the attack. This is not the first time that the hospital has come under the line of fire. In July last year, three resident doctors of the hospital were attacked by the relatives of a patient. The incident had taken place after the patient, Rajkishore Dixit (50), who was critically ill, died during treatment. "As the resident doctors declared the patient dead, 13 to 15 of his relatives stormed into the ward and attacked the doctors and the security guard as well," officials had said. The relatives had also damaged the hospital property. In September 2019, group of six had launched an attack on doctors at the district hospital in Palghar and shot a video of the same. The attackers had alleged that the doctor had been asking patients to go to a private hospital for treatment. The group had come seeking answers from the hospital over patients not being treated, probe revealed. The group of men had hurled abuses and also manhandled hospitals security and the ward boys before leaving from the spot. There were no Ukrainian army casualties in the past day. Russia's hybrid military forces on Saturday mounted four attacks on Ukrainian positions in Donbas, eastern Ukraine. Read alsoOSCE spots tanks transported by freight train in occupied Donbas "The armed forces of the Russian Federation violated the ceasefire four times on January 11," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation said in a Facebook update as of 07:00 Kyiv time on January 12, 2020. The enemy opened fire from proscribed 120mm mortars, automatic grenade launchers, heavy machine guns, and small arms near the town of Krasnohorivka and the village of Pisky. There were no Ukrainian army casualties in the past day. "Since Sunday midnight, Russia-led forces have attacked Ukrainian positions once near the village of Novotoshkivske, using 82mm mortars," the update said. A new limited-edition watch has a tourbillon swirling in what appears to be a deep, infinite black hole. But, in fact, the mesmerizing dial is covered with what the National Physical Laboratory, Britains measurements standards institute, has verified as the darkest material on Earth. The concept seemed perfect to Edouard Meylan, chief executive of the watchmaker H. Moser & Cie. where the words very rare are part of the company logo. We produce every single component, even hairsprings, Mr. Meylan said. I knew if we wanted to make black watches we would have to do something unique. A friend, Pierre Jacques of the De Bethune watch company, told him about the material, generically called carbon nanotube film and Mr. Meylan reached out to Surrey NanoSystems. In 2015, Surreys chief technical officer, Ben Jensen, finalized a spray-on version of the substance he had trademarked as Vantablack. The companys website describes the material as a collection of carbon nanotubes that are 3,500 times smaller than the diameter of the average human hair, with one square centimeter containing as many as 1,000 million nanotubes. Light becomes trapped between the nanotubes, the site says, because the tubes are so long in relation to their diameter and there is so little space between them. (The site uses the example of a forest with trees almost 2 miles high, noting that little light would reach the forest floor.) U.S. slaps fresh sanctions against Iran after missile attacks People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 14:03, January 11, 2020 The U.S. government said Friday that it has imposed fresh sanctions on Iran, days after Iran's missile attacks targeting U.S. forces in Iraq. The latest move included sanctions on metal manufacturing and other sectors of the Iranian economy, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin told reporters at a White House press briefing, noting that the sanctions are both primary and secondary. Mnuchin also said the Treasury had designated eight senior Iranian officials, including Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, deputy chief of staff of Iranian armed force, and others. "The United States is targeting senior Iranian officials for their involvement and complicity in Tuesday's ballistic missile strikes," Mnuchin claimed in a statement issued by the Treasury. Also on Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump said in a White House statement that the punishing measures aimed at denying Iran's revenue that "may be used to fund and support its nuclear program, missile development, terrorism and terrorist proxy networks, and malign regional influence." The Pentagon confirmed that Iran had launched 16 ballistic missiles against two military bases housing U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq earlier this week. Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) had claimed responsibility for the missile attacks, saying that they were meant to retaliate the U.S. killing of Qassem Soleimani, former commander of the Quds Force of the IRGC. Trump said Wednesday in an address to the nation that "the United States will immediately impose additional punishing economic sanctions on the Iranian regime. These powerful sanctions will remain until Iran changes its behavior." Since its unilateral exit from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, Washington has been mounting pressure on Tehran through a series of sanctions. Iran has maintained a tough stance and scaled back its nuclear commitments in response. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev is scheduled to make an official visit to Russia in February and one of the top items on the agenda is certain to be Uzbekistan's possible membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EES). It is a topic that Russian officials have raised several times since Mirziyoev became Uzbekistan's leader in late 2016. Most recently, The chairperson of Russia's Federation Council, the upper house of parliament, was in Uzbekistan in early October telling the media Uzbek officials had signaled their interest in joining the EES. Uzbek officials have been more circumspect though they do admit the idea is under consideration. What are the signs Uzbekistan might be leaning toward joining the EES? And what are the advantages and disadvantages of joining? RFE/RL's media-relations manager, Muhammad Tahir, moderated a discussion on Uzbekistan's possible entry into the EES. Joining from Washington was Umida Hashimova from the Strategic Studies division of the Center for Naval Analysis and author of a recent article about Uzbekistan and the EES. From India, Samten Bhutia, an economist who writes often about Central Asia and in fact, just published an article about this topic, participated in the discussion. And taking part from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Medet Tiulegenov provided some insight on how Kyrgyzstan has fared since being admitted to the EES in 2015. And I've been following this organization as it has rebranded itself over the course of some 25 years, so I had a thing or two to say also. Listen to the podcast above or subscribe to the Majlis on iTunes or on Google Podcasts. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday paid tribute to Swami Vivekananda on his birth anniversary at the Belur Math, the headquarters of Ramakrishna Mission. Modi, who became the first prime minister to stay overnight at the Math in neighbouring Howrah district, woke up early on Sunday and visited the temple of Swami Vivekananda to pay respect to the spiritual leader, Mission officials said. Swami Vivekanandas birth anniversary is also observed as the National Youth Day. Here Are The Highlights: 10:01 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Pakistan has to answer the world why minorities were persecuted on the basis of religion there for the last 70 years, says PM Narendra Modi. 09:53 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In You understood this very clearly. But those playing political games purposely refuse to understand. People are being misled over CAA: PM Modi 09:52 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The resolution of the new India has to be fulfilled by the youth. It is the youth that teaches us to not avoid problems, face them and solve them: PM Modi aaaa aaa, aaaa aSaaaa aa 21aaa aaa aa aa aaa aaa aaaa aa aaaaa aa aaaa aaa aa aaaa aa aaaaaa, aaaa aaaaaa aa aaaa aaaa aaaa aaa aa aaaa aaas aa aa aa aaaa aa aa aaaaaaaa aa aYaaa aaaa, aaaa aYaaaa, aaaaaa aaaaaa: PM @narendramodi PMO India (@PMOIndia) January 12, 2020 09:49 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In After independence, Mahatma Gandhi ji and other big leaders of the time all believed that India should give citizenship to persecuted religious minorities of Pakistan: PM Modi 09:47 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The resolution of the new India has to be fulfilled by the youth. It is the youth that teaches us to not avoid problems, face them and solve them: PM Narendra Modi at Belur Math 09:46 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Since few days, there is a lot of discussion on CAA. Youths have been served a false narrative. Its our duty to explain them what the Act is and why it is necessary: PM Modi 09:43 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Not just India, the entire world has a lot of expectations from the youth of the country: PM Modi 09:42 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In We must always remember Swami Vivekananda ji 's iconic saying 'give me 100 energetic youth and I shall transform India'. Our energy, and passion to do something, is necessary for change: PM Modi 09:42 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Swami Vivekananda inspires the youth of India: PM Modi 09:35 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In The last time I came here, I had taken the blessings of Swami Atmasthanandaji. Today he is not physically present with us. But his work, his path, will always guide us in the form of Ramakrishna Mission: PM Modi 09:35 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In PM Modi remembers Swami Vivekananda on his Jayanti 09:39 (IST) Facebook Twitter Whats app Linked In Belur Math is no less than a pilgrimage, but for me it is always like coming home: PM Modi For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. The United States has expelled over a dozen Saudi servicemen who were training at various US military bases following the deadly December shooting at a Naval Air Station in Pensacola Florida, sources told CNN. A Royal Saudi Air Force personnel second lieutenant Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani opened fire at an air station killing three people. Sources informed that the Saudi officers those expelled aren't accused of being a part of Alshamrani's plan, but have been linked to other extremist movements. Additionally, a group has been accused of possessing child pornography, according to CNN. Spokespeople for the FBI and Justice Department declined CNN's request for comment. The Pentagon has temporarily suspended the operational training for Saudi military students in the United States. Saudis have received training at the Pensacola site since the 1970s. As of early December, there were 852 Saudis in the US for Pentagon-sponsored training related to security cooperation, representing 16 percent of the 5,181 students from 153 countries in these programs, the Defense Department spokesman Chris Garver said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The number of lives lost in house fires has fallen dramatically in Northern Ireland, senior fire officer Alan Walmsley said (Liam McBurney/PA).Previously unreleased imaged of Alan Walmsley, Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service. The number of lives lost in house fires has fallen dramatically in Northern Ireland. Two people who died this year were vulnerable, the fire and rescue service said. The public safety organisation has carried out almost 5,000 checks on the homes of those most at risk. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday December 18, 2019. See PA story ULSTER Fire. Photo credit should read: Liam McBurney/PA Wire The number of lives lost in house fires has fallen dramatically in Northern Ireland. Two people who died this year were vulnerable, the fire and rescue service said. The public safety organisation has carried out almost 5,000 checks on the homes of those most at risk. Assistant chief fire and rescue officer Alan Walmsley said: Every year we are growing, we are getting more embedded in these organisations, we are getting more embedded into the community themselves. During the first three years of the People At Risk strategy the number of house fire fatalities dropped by a third. The fire service is also reducing the number of accidental dwelling fires. That involves checking the structure of houses. Where people would find it difficult to exit at speed, like the elderly and those with dementia, the fire service can refer to other agencies. The number of fire instances we are dealing with has dropped significantly over the last 10 or 15 yearsAlan Walmsley Mr Walmsley added: The number of fire instances we are dealing with has dropped significantly over the last 10 or 15 years. We have almost been victims of our own success because we have been driving down the number of fires that are occurring, which is what we want to achieve. But with that comes a wider role for us within society and the community. Christmas is a particularly risky time for vulnerable people. Use of alcohol and social deprivation are also risk factors. A fire service annual report said: As the population lives longer and with more emphasis on providing support and care in the community and allowing people to live independently at home for as long as possible, the numbers of people falling within the people at risk category in Northern Ireland is set to increase. Reporter Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk). 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. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. 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." Martin Scorsese is the most alive hes been in his work in a long time, brimming with renewed passion for filmmaking and invigorated by the reception that has greeted his latest gangland magnum opus, The Irishman. And what he wants to talk about is death. Just to be clear, hes not talking about the deaths in his movies or anyone elses. You just have to let go, especially at this vantage point of age, he says one Saturday afternoon. The 77-year-old director is stretched out in a comfortable chair in a living room of his Manhattan townhouse, a seat he rises from several times when a whimsical mood strikes him during a spirited conversation about mortality and its inevitability. As he explains, Scorsese is talking about setting aside his expectations for The Irishman. But he also meant relinquishing physical possessions: The point is to get rid of everything now, he says, in his trademark mile-a-minute clip. Youve got to figure out who gets what or not. And the last step in this process is to let go of existence itself, as we all must. The best films of 2019 Show all 20 1 /20 The best films of 2019 The best films of 2019 20. Minding the Gap One of the years biggest cinematic curveballs occurs at the midway point of this stirring documentary. Billed as a film about small-town US skate culture, Bing Lius Minding the Gap grows into a haunting depiction of class and masculinity, and how once inseparable groups of friends tend to untangle and diverge as they come of age. Few of 2019s films cast quite as long a shadow. Adam White Hulu The best films of 2019 19. The Farewell The Farewell rips your heart out of your chest. Then it hands it back to you, wrapped gently in cotton wool. Director Lulu Wang loosely adapts a chapter in her own life, as we follow a young woman (Awkwafina) travelling back to China to say goodbye to her terminally ill grandmother. Delving into all the intricacies of immigrant identity and family politics, its a comedy of warmth and bracing honesty. Clarisse Loughrey A24 The best films of 2019 18. Us An opportunity for Jordan Peele to cement his status as one of horrors modern maestros, Us reels us in with old-fashioned thrills. Then it leaves us with the terrible dread of realising weve been looking into a mirror this whole time. Lupita Nyong'o delivers two of this years best performances in one film, both as our hero and as her sinister doppelganger one of an army of Tethereds that emerge from underground seeking vengeance. Clarisse Loughrey Universal Pictures The best films of 2019 17. Pain & Glory All of Pedro Almodovars films feel autobiographical in one way or another, but Pain & Glory couldnt be more lived-in if he stepped out in front of the camera to introduce every scene. A lushly romantic ode to cinema, shared history and cruelly interrupted love, it features a career-best performance from Antonio Banderas Zorro at his most tender and vulnerable. Adam White Sony Pictures The best films of 2019 16. Vox Lux Vox Lux is 2019s most damning filmic portrait of American culture. We begin with a teenage girl (Raffey Cassidy), who survives a school shooting and ends up a pop star. As an adult, shes played by a breezy, vicious Natalie Portman. Her strut is one part Sia, two parts Lady Gaga. Its an ugly, despairing film that comes gift-wrapped in sequins, presenting art as the cavernous pit we throw our traumas into. Clarisse Loughrey Neon The best films of 2019 15. Under the Silver Lake A paranoid puzzle box of a mystery, Under the Silver Lake is far more interested in the directions down the rabbit hole than allowing star Andrew Garfield to crawl his way out of it. Thats also the most pleasurable aspect of David Robert Mitchells film, a sunny LA noir which is sinister, hilarious and (potentially ruinously) male. Its probably 2019s most polarising film, adored and reviled in equal measure, but undeniably a work of striking creative autonomy. Adam White Mubi The best films of 2019 14. High Life High Life has its silly sub-Barbarella moments (Juliette Binoche testing out the spaceships very own orgasmatron machine) and clearly wasnt made on a Hollywood budget. Nonetheless, veteran French auteur Claire Deniss first English language film is a typically provocative and subversive affair. Binoche plays Dr Dibs, a scientist on board a ship full of criminals and trying to harvest healthy foetuses. Geoffrey Macnab A24 The best films of 2019 13. Ad Astra Ad Astra is a space movie with an Oedipal undertow. Brad Pitt gives a fine, understated performance as the introspective astronaut trying to save the world and find his father at the same time. Writer-director James Gray throws in references to Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now. This is a slow-moving but beguiling film with an unexpected emotional kick. Geoffrey Macnab Fox The best films of 2019 12. Happy as Lazzaro A bee keepers daughter, Italian director Alice Rohrwacher is one of European cinemas visionary young talents. Happy As Lazzaro, her best film yet, is a magical realist fable that combines hard-hitting social comment about the exploitation of rural workers with flights of astonishing lyricism. The film also has one of the best performances of the year from newcomer Adriano Tardiolo, an 18-year-old economics student who plays the holy innocent, Lazzaro, with an ingenuousness which rekindles memories of Peter Sellers in Being There. Geoffrey Macnab Simona Pampallona/Netflix The best films of 2019 11. Burning Based on a Haruki Murakamis short story, Burning from South Korean maestro Lee Chang-dong is a meditation on dealing with isolation and the tricks being alone might play on your memory. Jong-su (Ah-in Yoo) is forced to play detective when Steven Yeuns affluent bachelor rolls into town an event that coincides with the disappearance of a schoolfriend. Burning is a searing drama whose central unanswered mystery unnerves long after the credits role. Jacob Stolworthy Thunderbird Releasing The best films of 2019 10. For Sama News coverage has hardly been short of harrowing, violent footage of the Syrian Civil War. But too often missing are the human moments inbetween the bombings and the bloodshed. In Waad Al-Kateabs first person account of the uprisings aftermath, her cameras gaze never flinches from the horrors it sees as she and her husband try to maintain a rebel hospital amid a reign of bombing from President al-Assad but nor does it stop rolling while she falls in love, has a baby, and jokes around with her friends and neighbours. This is the story of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. It is an important, powerful, astonishing documentary. Alex Pollard Republic Film Distribution The best films of 2019 9. Can You Ever Forgive Me? It feels almost blasphemous to be glad of Julianne Moore stepping down from a role, but Lee Israel the cantankerous, lonely literary forger who found herself the target of an FBI investigation in the Nineties feels like a part Melissa McCarthy was born to play. Nimbly directed by Marielle Heller (who was shunned by the Oscars in the Best Director category), Can You Ever Forgive Me? is a sharp, funny and deeply compassionate examination of loneliness and self-destruction. Richard E Grant and Dolly Wells give wonderful supporting performances, too. Alex Pollard AP The best films of 2019 8. Booksmart As deeply indebted to the teen movie genre as it is formally and narratively rebellious, Booksmart grounds its traditional night-before-graduation plot (teenagers eager to crash a party) in touching character-driven drama. Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever, both instant stars, convey the ever-shifting dynamics and heightened dramas of adolescent best-friendship perfectly. Behind the camera, meanwhile, actor-turned-director Olivia Wilde demonstrates a staggering amount of emotional empathy and technical mastery for someone so green. Adam White Annapurna Pictures The best films of 2019 7. The Irishman Comparisons to Martin Scorseses previous films (Goodfellas, Casino) are unfounded considering The Irishman is unlike any other gangster film youll see. With his three-hour-30-minute-long opus, Scorsese places the harsh spotlight on mortality. Instead of tracking the rise of Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) from regular family man to seasoned hitman with glitzy panache, we see him shamefully confess his crimes as an elderly man ruminating on his past in a nursing home. The result is an unsettlingly moving character study unafraid to ask the big questions.Jacob Stolworthy Netflix The best films of 2019 6. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood With his ninth feature, Quentin Tarantino took a breath and crafted an unhurried, oddly heartwarming fable, one that came with a career-best performance from Brad Pitt. Its release rolled around with the usual smattering of discourse-steering controversy but, for all the complaints about the directors depiction of his film star subjects, including the scant usage of Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate, the fact remains that Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is one of the filmmakers most accomplished films a freeneasy sun-soaked delve into Sixties Hollywood, whose much-discussed final 20 minutes provided topics of conversation all summer long. Jacob Stolworthy Andrew Cooper/Sony-Columbia Pictures via AP The best films of 2019 5. Eighth Grade For too many years the internet was exclusively evil in movies, something for tech boffins to hack, or used to steal Sandra Bullocks identity. Bo Burnhams Eighth Grade felt so comparatively real because it felt like the real internet, which has been as toxic and terrifying as it has been helpful to a generation of young people. Elsie Fisher, as a 13-year-old girl chronicling her confidence and anxieties in a vlog, is an adorable delight here, in a film that is devastatingly, heartbreakingly and endearingly human. Adam White Rex The best films of 2019 4. The Favourite Yorgos Lanthimoss delightful, subversive vision has shaken the cobwebs out of costume drama. Set in the 18th century, it follows a trio of women two cousins, Sarah (Rachel Weisz) and Abigail (Emma Stone), and the ruling Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) as they vie for power over each other and England. Desire, savagery, and manipulative vulnerability all become weapons in the hands of those who have no choice but to fight dirty. But, then, Colmans childless, gout-ridden Queen Anne tenderly reveals her shattered soul its an Academy Award-winning performance that brings a slice of tragedy to an otherwise sublime farce. Clarisse Loughrey AP The best films of 2019 3. If Beale Street Could Talk The marriage of disparate talents united to ensure If Beale Street Could Talk is worthy of mention alongside Barry Jenkins previous film, Moonlight The Independents film of the decade. With his film, Jenkins takes the words of James Baldwin and translates them into visual poetry. From Nicholas Britells mesmerising score to Regina Kings towering supporting performance (that Oscar was well deserved), the result is a creative tour de force. Jacob Stolworthy Photos Annapurna Pictures The best films of 2019 2. Marriage Story Here is a love story about divorce. Noah Baumbach writes and directs this aching, empathetic depiction of a couple whose marriage has fallen apart. As ruthless divorce lawyers driving a wedge between two people already hanging by a thread, Ray Liotta and Laura Dern are magnificent, while Scarlett Johansson gives her best performance in years as a woman trying to do the right thing without knowing what that is. But the real star is Adam Driver, who hulking as he is makes himself seem small and fragile. For his rendition of Sondheims Being Alive alone, Marriage Story deserves all the awards coming its way. Alex Pollard Netflix The best films of 2019 1. Little Women Greta Gerwigs adaptation of Louisa May Alcotts 1868 novel the story of four Massachusetts sisters coming of age during the American Civil War may be a period piece, but there is nothing staid or stuffy about it. The girls, played by Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Emma Watson and Eliza Scanlen, talk and clamber over one another, their hair messy, their dresses scorched, their ambitions unfettered. It is a lively, profound adaptation. Alexandre Desplat provides the exuberant score, and Yorick La Sauxs cinematography is lush and textured. I didnt want it to be beautiful at the expense of being real, said Gerwig. But I did want it to feel like you wish you can jump inside and live in there or eat it. I remember trying to explain that to the gaffer, who was like, You want what? I was like, I want them to want to eat it. And how delicious it is. Alex Pollard Sony Pictures Entertainment Often, death is sudden, he continues. If youre given the grace to continue working, then youd better figure out something that needs telling. He found that inspiration in The Irishman, his mammoth dramatisation of the life of Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro), a mob enforcer who claimed to have killed Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). It was not an angst-free undertaking for Scorsese his movies never are as he struggled with the idea of making another film set in the world of organised crime and hesitated about pursuing the project with Netflix instead of a traditional studio. But what compelled him to abide these uncertainties was a story that went well past the scope of Goodfellas or Casino, to the waning days of Sheerans life, when he is left alone to contemplate the morality of his deeds. In words that Scorsese knew would resonate beyond the framework of The Irishman he says, Its all about the final days. Its the last act. He may occasionally talk like someone with nothing left to lose, when he is candidly holding forth on comic book movies, the treatment of women in his films or what he feels is his tenuous place in the current film industry. Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up But Scorsese remains deeply invested in his career, after more than half a century, and while The Irishman could easily provide a fitting coda, he has no intention of stopping here Robert De Niro as Frank Sheeran in The Irishman (Netflix) What motivates him now, he says, is not fear of death but acceptance that it happens to everyone, an understanding that provides him with perspective. As they say in my movie, Its what it is, he says. Youve got to embrace it. Like the man himself, Scorseses home is a monument to filmmaking. Aside from the stately fireplace portrait of Gouverneur Morris, a Founding Father and ancestor of the directors wife, Helen, the most prominent decorations surrounding him are oversized posters of beloved films by Jean Cocteau and Jean Renoir, including three for Grand Illusion in this room alone. Across the hallway is the dining room where he had edited portions of The Irishman, Silence and The Wolf of Wall Street. Scorsese is perpetually reliving this history, telling tales of revelling in Citizen Kane when he watched it on a butchered TV broadcast years ago or being awestruck when John Cassavetes, a hero and mentor, was given what seemed like the princely budget of $1m to make Husbands, his 1970 comedy-drama about men in midlife crisis, for Columbia Pictures. Being an avid film fan is no guarantee that youll be a great filmmaker. But Leonardo DiCaprio, who has starred in five of Scorseses features, says that the directors cinephilia never causes him to lose sight of what his performers need. Hes learned as much as he can about the history of his art form and hes brought that all into his filmmaking process, DiCaprio says. But hes always focused on what the actor gives, and that one-on-one dynamic. Plot to him is secondary. His focus is finding the heart of the story through the actors that he works with. Scorsese has equally vivid memories of his childhood, growing up in Little Italy where his formative influences included his parents, his Catholic priests and the local hoodlums who would inspire films like Mean Streets. If his past movies tended to glamourise criminals and the violence they perpetrate, Scorsese says, Well, it is glamorous and attractive, is it not? Its glamorous at first if youre young and stupid, which a lot of people are. I was. His youth was also an initiation into the culture of death: serving as an altar boy for requiem masses at St Patricks Old Cathedral (Dies Irae was my favourite song, he says), helping a friend deliver floral arrangements to funeral services. As a teenager, he lost two friends in close succession one died of cancer, another in an accident and one of the burials, at a graveyard near a factory, left a lasting impression on him. I said, This is what it comes to? Scorsese recalls. To squeeze us in a little plot of land in Queens somewhere, against this ugly, destructive backdrop? It was a shock and an awakening an awakening to what, Im not sure, but a change. An eye for macabre details and an unflinching willingness to depict them have served Scorsese well, but somewhere around the making of his Vegas mob saga Casino (1995) particularly the scene in which Joe Pescis character is beaten to death and buried in a cornfield the director began to wonder if he had pushed this skill set to its limit. I said I cant go any further with it, he recounts. Over the next two decades, he largely avoided projects in the crime-drama genre. (An exception was The Departed, for which he finally won an Academy Award.) But whatever the subject matter, Scorsese says he felt drained by these films, usually near their conclusions, when he inevitably found himself butting heads with studio executives who wanted the running times shortened. The last two weeks of editing and mixing The Aviator, a co-production that included Warner Bros and Miramax, among others, I had left the business from the stress, he recalls. I said if this is the way you have to make films then Im not going to do it anymore. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as director and aviator Howard Hughes in Scorsese drama The Aviator (IMDB) He did not quit, of course, but he has increasingly turned to independent financiers to back his projects, believing that he and the studio system had become mortal enemies. Its like being in a bunker and youre firing out in all directions, he says. You begin to realise youre not speaking the same language anymore, so you cant make pictures anymore. When De Niro approached him with the source material for The Irishman, in the midst of work on another potential Paramount film they would ultimately walk away from, Scorsese did not necessarily see it as an opportunity to make a grand pronouncement on his body of work or the mafia milieu. I saw it as a danger, he says, fearing that it would be dismissed as yet another mob drama on his CV. The only reason to do The Irishman, Scorsese says, was if it addressed ideas he hadnt previously confronted. Is it going to be enriching? he asked himself. Are we going to learn about the invisible, the afterlife? No, were not. But the film could say something about the process of living and existence, through the work we could do you could depict it, the actors could live in it. And he could not resist the story of criminals whose lengthy life spans become a curse that burns their misdeeds into their souls. He quotes a lyric from the Bruce Springsteen song Jungleland: They wind up wounded, not even dead, Scorsese says. And thats even worse, in a way. The Irishman, he says, was not a repudiation of his previous crime dramas nor an expression of regret for how hed depicted their swaggering characters. I dont think its regret, he says. This is different. Here, its the dead end, and everybody has to reckon at the end. If theyre given the time. And thats where were headed. Pacino, Scorsese and De Niro attend the international premiere of The Irishman at the BFI London Film Festival on 13 October 2019 (AFP/Getty) (DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images) The Irishman took more than a decade to make, and as its cast grew to include Harvey Keitel, Pesci and Pacino (who had never worked with Scorsese), the director could feel the stakes getting higher. That anxiety of influence was palpable, too, for collaborators like Steven Zaillian, the Irishman screenwriter, who strove not to duplicate other Scorsese films. Its very hard to get all his movies out of your head and not write a scene thats reminiscent of another scene Oh, oh, thats what I did in Goodfellas or thats what I did in Casino, Zaillian says. But such pressures also led to innovations like the captions that appear throughout The Irishman, describing how various criminals eventually met their fates. Pacino, though a novice to Scorseses process, says he nonetheless developed an easy shorthand with the director and found him unafraid to express his opinion, in his own unique manner. After one take, Pacino recalls, I have a memory of Marty looking at the scene on a computer and sticking his head out of the tent that he was in, as if to say, What the f*** are you doing? He didnt actually say those words, but it felt like it. And I got the message. With a laugh, Pacino adds that he welcomed such indications that a director was invested in his performance. Actors like that, he says. You think, Im glad youre seeing me and Im glad youre actually evaluating what Im doing. Its saying, were not alone here. De Niro, who has starred in nine features for Scorsese, says the directors openness to experimentation and in-the-moment discovery has remained a constant throughout their decades-long collaboration, dating back to Mean Streets (1973). Directors who have made cameos in films Show all 21 1 /21 Directors who have made cameos in films Directors who have made cameos in films Steven Spielberg in The Blues Brothers (1980) Hes had some cameos in his own films including the voice of the radio operator in Jaws and as a man watching the news in The Lost World: Jurassic Park. He's turned up in other peoples films too, such as Cameron Crowes Vanilla Sky and Barry Sonnenfelds Men in Black. But in John Landiss The Blues Brothers, he is unforgettable as a bureaucrat who stamps a receipt for the Blue Brothers, played by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. Universal Pictures Directors who have made cameos in films John Huston in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) John Huston played a background blackjack player in his Marilyn Monroe-starring film The Misfits in 1961 and as a barman in Moby Dick in 1956. But perhaps most memorable is his cameo as a well-dressed American tourist who is pestered for money by drifter Fred C Hobbs (Humphrey Bogart) in his Oscar-winning drama The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Apparently, Humphrey Bogart directed the scene and took pleasure in making Huston perform it over and over again. Warner Bros Directors who have made cameos in films Quentin Tarantino in Little Nicky (2000) The director has had roles in many of his own films: his voice was the answer machine message in Jackie Brown; he plays one of 88 masked ninjas in Kill Bill and Jimmy Dimmick in Pulp Fiction. But his intermittent appearance in Steven Brills film as a blind deacon, who recognises Adam Sandlers character as the son of the devil, is perhaps the weirdest. Rex Features Directors who have made cameos in films Peter Jackson in Hot Fuzz (2007) Like Hitchcock, the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit director is known for making cameos in his own films. Though his most notable cameo was carrot man in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, more surprising was his brief turn in Edgar Wrights police comedy. Dressed up as a Father Christmas, he stabs Simon Peggs Sergeant Angel in the hand at the beginning of the film. Universal Pictures Directors who have made cameos in films Wes Craven in Scream (1996) Principal Himbry (Henry Winkler) is working late at school when he hears a knock at his door. The only person he sees when he goes to open it is the janitor, played by director Wes Craven, who is dressed as Freddie Krueger, his own creation. Dimension Films Directors who have made cameos in films Terrence Malik in Badlands (1973) The famously reclusive director made a brief and unexpected cameo in his film Badlands. The actor he hired to play caller at rich mans house where Kit (Michael Sheen) and Holly (Sissy Spacek) are hiding out, didnt turn up, so Malik played the part himself. Warner Bros Directors who have made cameos in films Stanley Kubrick in Eyes Wide Shut (1999) Hes not credited, but Stanley Kubrick is sitting in a booth at the Sonata Cafe in this thriller starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. When Dr Bill Hartford (Cruise) is invited to an orgy by Nick Nightingale (Todd Field), Kubrick understandably glances twice at Bill. Moviestore Collection/REX/Shutterstock Directors who have made cameos in films Alfred Hitchcock in North by Northwest (1959) The director was known for his signature cameos, and found ingenious ways to insert himself into his own films. In North by Northwest, he plays a man missing a bus just after the credit directed by Alfred Hitchcock passes on screen. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Directors who have made cameos in films Rob Reiner in Misery (1990) The When Harry Met Sally director makes a cameo in his psychological-horror film, Misery, about a psychotic fan (Kathy Bates) who holds an author (James Caan) captive and forces him to write her stories. Reiner plays a helicopter pilot helping the local sheriff Buster search for Pauls car. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images Directors who have made cameos in films Martin Scorsese in Taxi Driver (1976) The director makes cameo appearances in nearly every film he makes. But playing a twisted passenger in the taxi driven by Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) has to be one of his best. When the cab stops at an apartment, the silhouette of the passengers wife can be seen. He then describes to Bickle how he would like to kill the woman with a 44 Magnum pistol. Columbia Pictures Directors who have made cameos in films Clint Eastwood in Breezy (1973) He has directed himself in many of his films, including Million Dollar Baby and Unforgiven, but Eastwood also gave himself a cameo role in his third film Breezy. In the romantic drama, starring William Holden and Kay Lenz, he can be seen briefly, leaning on a pier in a white jacket. Getty Directors who have made cameos in films Roman Polanski in Chinatown (1974) Roman Polanskis cameo in Chinatown as man with knife is memorable. He slashes the nostril of leading man Jack Nicholson, who plays snooping detective Jake Gittes. Polanski pulls out the knife and says: You're a very nosy fellow, kitty-cat, huh? You know what happens to nosy fellows? Huh, no? Want to guess? Huh, no? OK. They lose their noses. Paramount Pictures Directors who have made cameos in films Oliver Stone in Platoon (1986) The director has a small cameo role in his film Platoon, as an officer at the US bunker which gets destroyed by a suicide bomber. Its not the first time he has made appearances in his films: he was an investor in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and a UCLA film professor in his biographical film The Doors. Directors who have made cameos in films David Cronenberg in The Fly (1986) Most of the directors cameo roles are in other peoples films, including John Landiss Into the Night and Gus van Sants To Die For. But he makes a brief appearance as an obstetrician delivering a giant larva in his film The Fly, after Martin Scorsese observed that he resembled a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon. Cronenberg delivers a maggot-baby to Geena Daviss Veronica, the girlfriend of Jeff Goldblums scientist Seth Brundle. Directors who have made cameos in films George Lucas in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith After 28 years behind the camera, the Star Wars creator made his one and only cameo appearance in Revenge of the Sith, as Baron Papanoida, a blue-coloured alien statesman who appears in the opera house scene. He gave three of his children Jett, Amanda and Katie Lucas cameo roles in it, too. Getty Images for AFI Directors who have made cameos in films Cameron Crowe in Minority Report (2002) Cameron Crowe had already put Steven Spielberg in his film Vanilla Sky, so perhaps this was a return favour? Crowe can be seen as a passenger on a train, along with another extra, the actor Cameron Diaz. Getty Images Directors who have made cameos in films Hal Ashby in Harold and Maude (1971) The Shampoo director had several cameos in his films, including playing a passenger in a Porsche who is flashing a peace sign in Coming Home, his Oscar-nominated 1978 film. But in the darkly humourous love story Harold and Maude, in which Harold, a lonely teenager intrigued by death, has a romantic relationship with a 79-year-old Holocaust survivor, Maude, Ashby pops up as a bearded man watching model trains. Saboteur Media/Rex Directors who have made cameos in films M Night Shyamalan in The Sixth Sense (1999) M Night Shyamalan's parents are doctors, while the director considered becoming one as well. So it is perhaps no surprise that he cast himself as Dr Hill in his supernatural horror The Sixth Sense. He plays a psychiatrist who talks to young Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) after he is locked inside a closet by bullies at a birthday party. Getty Images Directors who have made cameos in films Todd Philips in Old School (2003) The director has some creepy cameos in his films, including as a suspicious man in an elevator in The Hangover, and a man with a foot fetish in Road Trip. But he really comes into his own as gang bang guy, who turns up late to an orgy in Old School. When Luke Wilsons character finds out his wife is into group sex, he opens the door to Philips who says: Im here for the gang bang. DreamWorks Pictures Directors who have made cameos in films David and Jerry Zucker in Airplane! (1980) All three directors of this spoof aeroplane disaster movie make cameos in their film. The Zuckers play two distracted air traffic controllers who accidentally guide a jumbo 747 jet into the LAX airport terminal. Jim Abrahams turns up as one of the religious fanatics in the Chicago airport terminal. Paramount/Rex Directors who have made cameos in films Francis Ford Coppola in Apocalypse Now (1979) The director plays a TV news director, with cinematographer Vittorio Storaro playing the cameraman by his side, in his film Apocalypse Now. As they film mock news footage of the combat, Coppola shouts at Michael Sheens character Captain Benjamin L Willard, who is fighting in the Vietnam War: Don't look at the camera! Just go by like you're fighting. Like you're fighting. Don't look at the camera! This is for television. Just go through, go through. Rex Features If he feels that somethings not within the parameters, that its too out-there, he might say no, or he might even say, Try, lets see, says De Niro, who is also an Irishman producer. He can always cut it out. That gives you freedom to try things and it makes everybody comfortable. But De Niro says he and Scorsese also share a kind of fatalism the expectation that any time their work is celebrated, a barrage of rejection will swiftly follow, even in the case of The Irishman, which has been widely acclaimed. Youre waiting for, whats the bad? De Niro says. Whats the downside? Whats going to happen? The other shoe to drop. Youre saying, yeah, this is great, but lets not all get too excited. In ways both subtle and substantial, Scorsese sees the world changing and becoming less familiar to him. He gratefully accepted a deal with Netflix, which covered the reported $160m (122.7m) budget for The Irishman. But the bargain meant that, after the movie received a limited theatrical release, it would be shown on the companys streaming platform. That means some viewers are watching the three-and-a-half-hour movie incrementally, instead of in one sitting, as its director would prefer. But Scorsese says hed rather the film be available somewhere, in some form, than nowhere. Even if its going to be shown on a street corner, maybe someday itll be shown in a theatre as part of a retrospective, he says. I really thought that. Netflix said The Irishman was watched by more than 26.4 million accounts in its first week on the site, but the realm of smartphones, tablets and streaming devices is largely invisible to Scorsese Sarcastically describing his day-to-day reality, he says, I go out, they put me in a car, they take me somewhere, they take me out, put me back on a table, take me in. I go in a room, somebody talks to me, I say, Yes. Then I come home and try to get in this door without the dogs going crazy. He is capable of adapting and evolving: in his fifth marriage (he and Helen wed in 1999), this former one-man tempest recast himself as a homebody and family man. They have a daughter, Francesca, and he has two daughters, Cathy and Domenica, from his first two marriages. But you also know that Scorsese is hardly a wallflower if youve followed his recent remarks against Marvel movies, which he said were not cinema and closer to theme parks in an October interview with Empire magazine. (He expanded on these remarks in a November op-ed in The New York Times.) That prompted Robert A Iger, the chief executive of the Walt Disney Co (which owns Marvel) to tell Time magazine that Scorseses remarks were nasty and not fair to the people who are making the movies, adding that he was seeking a meeting with the director. Scorsese tells me that he had reached out to Iger several months earlier, on behalf of his nonprofit Film Foundation, which is seeking to restore and preserve movies in the 20th Century Fox library that Disney now owns. Then all this came up, Scorsese says with a chuckle. So, well have a lot to talk about. (A Disney spokeswoman said the company was trying to set up the meeting between Scorsese and Iger.) Scorsese has also been faulted by critics and others who have said that the female characters in The Irishman are not fully realised and exist only to react to the male characters; as their prime example, these critics often point to Anna Paquin, who plays the adult incarnation of Sheerans daughter Peggy and who has almost no dialogue. But the director argues that Paquins character whose wordless rejection of the ageing Frank devastates him was in no way diminished by her silence. As Scorsese explains, Dont go for the surface. The surface says, Im going to say something and theres going to be two or three big scenes between me and my father. She doesnt need to. She saw what he did. She knows what hes capable of. The director believes Anna Paquins character wasnt diminished by her silence (Netflix) Scorsese says he was aware of the wider debate about the representation of women in his films, acknowledging that The Irishman is a more sequestered movie but not solely representative of his body of work. Emma Tillinger Koskoff, who is president of production at Scorseses Sikelia Productions company and has made films with him for more than a decade, vehemently rejects the notion that Scorsese has historically overlooked women. Its silly, she says, adding that Scorsese is responsible for some of the greatest female characters in cinema history. She cited the roles played by Ellen Burstyn in Alice Doesnt Live Here Anymore, Lorraine Bracco in Goodfellas, Jessica Lange and Juliette Lewis in Cape Fear and Sharon Stone in Casino, among others. Koskoff also notes that Scorsese has supported female directors by helping to produce films like Joanna Hoggs The Souvenir. I could go on and on and on, she says. Hes not making Lady Bird but its not like hes opposed to that. Scorsese is circumspect when asked about movies from the past year that he had enjoyed, pleading modesty and the fact that he still needed to watch a lot of films, though he says he had seen and liked Bong Joon-hos dark satire Parasite. And he is well aware that Joker, the hit comic-book thriller, contained many homages to his own work he had passed on an offer to help produce it, though Koskoff worked on the movie but does not seem to be in a hurry to view it. I saw clips of it, Scorsese says of Joker. I know it. So its like, why do I need to? I get it. Its fine. Despite his professed aversions, Scorsese is going back to the Hollywood studios for his next movie, Killers of the Flower Moon, which is adapted from David Granns nonfiction book about the murders of Osage Indians in 1920s Oklahoma and which will be financed by Paramount. Scorsese has other aspirations but they have nothing to do with filmmaking. I would love to just take a year and read, he says. Listen to music when its needed. Be with some friends. Because were all going. Friends are dying. Familys going. The Irishman: Official Trailer Premiere One impediment, Scorsese admits, is himself and a disposition that compels him to tell stories in the medium he knows best. Ill read a book or Ill meet a person and Ill say, Ah! Im going to make a film on this, he explains. Over the years Ive been able to do it. Now its narrowing way down. Then there is the other boundary you know, death. But just because its unknowable and non-negotiable doesnt mean it isnt worth contending with every day. The problem is, time is limited and energy is so limited the mind, also, of course, he says. Thankfully, the curiosity doesnt end. The Irishman is available to watch on Netflix New York Times But advocacy groups say that Hershey is still an unknown as to whether it would strongly support U.S. regulations in Washington. U.S. and European chocolate companies source their cocoa from the same area in West Africa. The optimistic view is that child labor is at the same level it was 20 years ago, said Antonie C. Fountain, the managing director of the Netherlands-based VOICE Network, an association of advocacy groups involved with sustainable cocoa farming. Fountain said that the agreement with the three companies and groups that inspect cocoa farms for violations is a big deal. Companies will generally try to deregulate instead of asking for regulations. The companies are beginning to realize that all these voluntary promises are not enough. Todd Larsen, a top official with the advocacy group Green America, said that deforestation in West Africa has accelerated in the last decade because of cocoa farming and that there has been no improvement with child labor. A 2015 U.S. Labor Department report estimated that two million children still worked in dangerous jobs in cocoa-growing regions in West Africa. A new report could be released within a few months. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 11) Relatives of Martial Law victims have rejected the call of former senator Bongbong Marcos the son of a late dictator, whose rule was tainted by human rights violations and corruption to change the contents in Philippine history textbooks that might have tarnished his familys reputation. Erin Tanada, the grandson of Lorenzo Tanada, who was detained for speaking against the Marcos regime, slammed the proposal of Bongbong, saying this is yet another move of the Marcoses to rewrite and erase history. This is a clear move at historical revisionism and another desperate attempt by the Marcoses to erase the memory of the horrors of Martial Law and absolve the sins of their father, Erin Tanada, said in a statement on Saturday. For his part, human rights lawyer Chel Diokno, whose father Jose "Pepe" Wright Diokno was arrested by the dictatorship in 1972, advised Filipinos to be wary of some people who are allegedly abusing the justice system to revise history. The lawyer also noted that there are court records, showing Marcoses wealth was ill-gotten, as well as laws to compensate Martial Laws human rights victims, including the one authored by Tanada, the Martial Law Compensation and Recognition Law. Tanada and Diokno were reacting to Marcos claim on Friday that he and his family are victims of prolonged political propaganda which supposedly revised historical information about their family that is being taught on todays youth. The son of the late strongman also issued his plea after the Sandigandbayan junked five ill-gotten-wealth related cases involving his family and close associates last year. There are still pending cases in relation to around $10 billion (roughly 500 billion today) that Marcoses and their cronies allegedly plundered from the governments coffers when Marcos was still president. READ: Sandiganbayan junks 200-B ill-gotten wealth case against Marcos family Lawmaker to Education dept: Conduct anti-historical revisionism review Meanwhile, ACT Teachers Representative France Castro called on the Department of Education to conduct an anti-historical revisionism review due to reports that there are updated versions of history textbooks that do not cast the Marcos family in a bad light. We urge the Department of Education to conduct an anti-historical revisionism review as there are already reports of textbooks containing what Bongbong Marcos wants in textbooks, Castro said in a statement on Saturday. The House representative also thumbed down the proposal of Marcos to update the education materials in favor of his influential family, saying agreeing to him is tantamount to nullifying the sacrifices of those who lived and died fighting tyranny and plunder. It denies justice to the countless who were tortured, murdered, and disappeared in the name of Marcos and his dictatorship, and the entire Filipino nation whose democracy and economy it trampled. Around 70,000 people were imprisoned, 30,000 tortured, more than 3,000 killed, and hundreds disappeared during the Martial Law era, Tanada said, citing data from international human rights group Amnesty International. Castro, a former educator, also said that teachers would not allow any historical revisionism as they have a responsibility to teach unrevised history to youth, adding they are in the frontline, bearing the brunt of the purported sins of the Marcoses. Most of the problems faced by schools such as low budgets, lack of facilities, large class sizes, and other perennial problems were brought by Marcos or worsened during his reign, so we cannot condone the rehabilitation of his image nor that of his family. Until now, we are still paying the foreign debts, she said. CNN Philippines' Glee Jalea, Xave Gregorio and Vince Ferreras contributed to this report Theres a rich irony in Harvey Weinsteins New York trial starting on the morning after the Golden Globes, the night when the movie industry kicks off the awards season. It was at those awards two years ago soon after Weinsteins abusive behaviour became publicly known that a group of actresses including Meryl Streep and Reese Witherspoon decreed a black dress code for the night, as a striking visual statement about gender inequality in the film industry. Fast-forward and the red carpet last Sunday night was as frivolous, overtly sexual and extravagant as ever with Gwyneth Paltrow appearing in sheer tobacco-coloured tulle showing off her impressive abs and underwear, Scarlett Johansson in plunging scarlet Vera Wang. Theres a rich irony in Harvey Weinsteins New York trial starting on the morning after the Golden Globes, the night when the movie industry kicks off the awards season, writes ALEXANDRA SHULMAN. Pictured: Weinstein leaving New York Supreme Court after his hearing on January 10 Designer frocks and eye-wateringly expensive jewellery were back on show while, despite the launch and work of the Times Up and #MeToo movements, there was no sign of a single female nominee for best director. This months Italian Vogue has similarly employed visual messaging, this time to draw attention to the issue of sustainability. By including only fashion illustration rather than photography in its pages including the cover the aim is to focus attention on the huge environmental toll levied in the production of fashion shoots: the international travel, electricity generators, packaging, hire cars, plastics etc. The use of drawings was a reminder of how wonderful the original illustrated Vogue covers once were. But if the photo-free issue is to make any real difference, like those black dresses, it needs to be more than gesture politics. Might Italian Vogue look at reducing the number of fashion shoots in all its future issues and making illustration more central? Having been in the editors hotseat myself, I know how hard and complicated that would be. But if such initiatives are to be more than tokenistic, they need to actually achieve change rather than just being seen to be thinking about it. Meghans proof Ill lose my son Ive long been gripped by Harry and Meghans future plans, not because of all the guff about progressive new roles but because, as the mother of a son, I knew that ultimately it would be Meghan, the wife, who would be the determiner of how they would live. And Meghan, it was clear from the very start, was always going to want to be near her mother. Not 5,500 miles away. Their decision to base themselves half the time in North America has only fuelled my own trepidation about the likelihood, when the time eventually comes, of my twentysomething sons wifes family being the dominant factor in their lives no matter how close he and I are. Meghan, it was clear from the very start, was always going to want to be near her mother. Not 5,500 miles away. Pictured: Harry and Meghan in South Africa in September, writes ALEXANDRA SHULMAN After all, if the Royal Family, with all its extraordinary privilege and opportunity, isnt strong enough to keep Harry in the fold, what hope have most ordinary mums? Of course, Harrys mother is no longer alive, and that has undoubtedly played a large part in how this story has played out. But far more important is the fact that Doria Ragland, Meghans impressive LA-based mother, is the leading maternal character in their orbit, whose support and guidance they no doubt find invaluable, especially now they have become parents themselves. I very much doubt that she was kept in the dark as to their plan, unlike his father and grandmother. The strong bond between Meghan and her mother mirrors that between so many mothers and daughters. The teenage years can test this to the limit as daughters more usually project their frustrations and general vileness at that age towards their mothers rather than fathers. But after that turbulence, the relationship becomes one of deep love, companionship and care. Sons might adore their mothers but, without wishing to go all Oedipal, this emotion can often provoke a desire for distance as much as for connection. When another woman comes along, no matter how much he loves his mother, a man will seek separation from that first, all- consuming passion. Even a large geographical one. Im absolutely dreading it. Only woolly tights can save John Lewis Paula Nickolds, chief executive of John Lewis, is leaving her role. On the few occasions we met, I very much liked her. Sadly, although not altogether surprisingly, her ideas for improving customer experience, such as sending the staff to have training from actors, failed to stop the companys continued drop in sales. Last week, searching its Oxford Street flagship for a pair of grey wool tights, I was directed to the back wall, where a single XL pair in a startling aubergine remained. Paula Nickolds, chief executive of John Lewis, is leaving her role. On the few occasions we met, I very much liked her, writes ALEXANDRA SHULMAN Theyre discounted for clearance, was the explanation for the fact that these were neither the colour nor size required. As we head towards the coldest months of the year, I wouldnt have thought now is the time to stop stocking wool tights. John Lewis is not alone, despite conclusive evidence to the contrary, in thinking that July is too late to display summer dresses and January too late for thick knits, but that doesnt make it any less insane. Department-store customers shop in real time. Theyre not putting their names on waiting lists for the next seasons catwalk collection. Whether they shop in store or online, they want relevant and appealing things they can wear right now. No amount of in-house experiences can trump that. Heartbreaking face of an international crisis As the US/Iran conflict continues, the sight of five-year-old Gabriella Ratcliffe setting off for her first day of school while her mother Nazanin remains incarcerated in an Iranian jail was a poignant reminder of the very human impact of this international tension. Its not just grandstanding power games. This little girl with her pink-framed specs, backpack and lace-up shoes didnt have her mum there to tell about this monumental day when she got home. She wouldnt have had her there even before the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, but her familys hopes for her release must be in terrifyingly greater jeopardy each day the situation continues. Former Correctional Officer Pleads Guilty to Providing the FBI with False Information About the In-Custody Death of a Woman New Orleans, Louisiana - Debra Becnel, a former correctional officer, pleaded guilty to making false statements in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1001, in connection with the federal investigation into the death of Nimali Henry, an inmate at the St. Bernard Parish Prison. Ms. Henry died in custody on April 1, 2014, after she failed to receive medical treatment for her serious medical needs during her ten-day incarceration. In pleading guilty, defendant Becnel admitted that Ms. Henry and other inmates told her, as well as other correctional officers, that Ms. Henry was ill, needed medical treatment, and might die if she did not get her medical treatment. Becnel further admitted that, when FBI agents questioned her about Ms. Henrys death, she falsely stated that neither Henry nor the inmates talked to her about Ms. Henrys medical needs. When officers make false statements to federal authorities, they hamper the ability of the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute civil rights violations, said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. The Department of Justice will continue to defend the civil rights of all citizens. Debra Becnel lied to the FBI about what she knew about Nimali Henrys death, stated U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The public must be able to trust that correctional officers are fulfilling their duties honestly. Public officials who are not truthful during the course of federal investigations must face the consequences of their actions. Debra Becnel deliberately deceived FBI agents during a civil rights investigation, said Bryan A. Vorndran FBI New Orleans Field Office Special Agent in Charge. Placed in a position of trust, law enforcement and correctional officers are held to a higher standard. The FBI New Orleans Field Office will continue to prioritize the investigation of federal Civil Rights violations and any other violations of federal law within our correctional facilities. Sentencing is scheduled for April 22, 2020, before the Honorable Ivan L.R. Lemelle. Becnel faces a maximum sentence of five years of imprisonment. In a related case, former Corporal Timothy Williams pleaded guilty on September 18, 2018, to one count of Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law, 18 U.S.C. 242. In pleading guilty, Williams admitted that he willfully disregarded a substantial risk of serious harm to Ms. Henrys health and safety by failing to take reasonable measures to address her medical conditions. When Williams is sentenced, he faces a maximum penalty up to life imprisonment. This case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted jointly by Trial Attorney Christine M. Siscaretti of the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division and Assistant United States Attorneys Chandra Menon and Tracey N. Knight of the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana. New Delhi [India], Jan 12 (ANI): Amid the ongoing debate on the issue of quality of water in Delhi, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA and Delhi Jal Board vice-chairperson Dinesh Mohaniya on Sunday alleged "conspiracy behind the increasing levels of ammonia in the water." In a press conference, Mohaniya stated that the water crisis in Delhi occurred due to the presence of increasing levels of ammonia in the water coming from Haryana. "There seems to be a conspiracy behind the increasing levels of ammonia in the water. While the neighbouring states have clean water, the water coming to Delhi contains ammonia. The question is why is this happening before the elections in Delhi," said Mohaniya. He further referred to Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan, stating that the conspiracy appears to be because Paswan had previously accused the AAP over the quality of water in the area. "People in Delhi should use water very carefully. Most of the problems might take place in Central and North Delhi. I have talked with the Haryana government, and will soon approach the National Green Tribunal (NGT)," said Mohaniya. A tussle over the quality of water in the capital had started on November 16 after Paswan shared the findings of a study conducted by BIS, which suggested that Delhi's tap water was the worst among major cities of the country and is no more fit for drinking without purification. Just a day after, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal rejected the findings of the report and challenged the Union Minister in a press meeting to share the addresses of the places from which BIS collected the samples. (ANI) 'We demand a full exemption for our state (from CAA) and similar measures for Assam as well', said Meghalaya chief minister Conrad K Sangma Shillong: Meghalaya chief minister Conrad K Sangma on Saturday demanded that the entire state, including the non-scheduled areas, be exempted from the purview of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). He urged the Centre to take measures for protecting the indigenous communities of the Northeast. "We are thankful that the Centre has exempted Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh (from CAA) and to a large extent Meghalaya, but we demand a full exemption for our state and similar measures for Assam as well," he said at an event in West Garo Hills district. Most of the non-scheduled areas of Meghalaya are in Shillong and comprise around three percent of the state's total area. Observing that the Meghalaya Assembly had passed a resolution seeking implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in the state, Sangma said, "We are firm in our demand and will continue engaging with the Centre till complete exemption (from CAA) and protection is provided to our people." While interacting with hundreds of Nokmas (village chiefs), Sangma urged them to play their roles in safeguarding the interests of the indigenous people. "The government will make policies to protect the land and its people. But our local institutions should continue playing a vital role in ensuring protection at the grassroots level," he said. Sangma urged the village chiefs not to sell their lands to outsiders, who he said adopt unfair means to obtain land in Meghalaya while referring to cases of 'benami' land transfers. He also suggested documentation of 'Nokmaship' and the lifestyle of the Garos so that the future generation understands the importance of the Nokmas in society. Sangma said budget provision will be made in the current financial year for the construction of traditional village courts in the Garo Hills. "For progress in the state, there have to be leaders at the grassroots level who can coordinate the exercise of rural development and create political awareness among people. Nokmas also work as mediators between the government and the people," he said. Sangma said work is being done to bridge the communication barriers between village councils and the state government so that the issues faced in the villages could be addressed there itself. "We are working towards establishing a tribal research institute, a vision of my late father PA Sangma, which will act as a conduit for facilitating the preservation of our indigenous communities. Research on the tribal communities will be used in policy-making," he added. The upcoming Delhi Assembly election is no different as the ruling Aam Aadmi Party is trying to stay abreast to woo young voters through the use of pop culture references and social media. AAP is using satire, memes and morphed versions of advertisements to give a twist to the campaign and make it more appealing to the tech-savvy voters. As is the tradition, the party so far used social media to promote the works done by its government in the past five years, but over the last few days, it has turned to more popular means of attracting people's attention. After the Election Commission sounded the bugle for the upcoming elections by announcing the poll date, AAP tweeted: "Delhi Assembly Elections are declared. AAPvengers! Assemble," taking a cue from 'The Avengers', a superhero film based on a team of Marvel Comics superheroes. It has also posted a meme, where they said when asked "how much do you pay for your electricity and water?", Delhiites say "We Don't Do That Here" -- a quote by the character 'Black Panther' from the 2018 Marvel superhero film 'Avengers'. AAP had posted a photo where several people were raising their hands during a town hall meeting with Arvind Kejriwal, and the caption was "who all got zero electricity bill". The party has been posting satirical and political cartoons as well. However, as the elections are approaching, it has become more creative. AAP has been posting quirky replies to the remarks made by BJP leaders and has been taking a jibe at them. It asked BJP's Delhi unit president Manoj Tiwari to stop "copying" AAP when he said BJP will give five times more electricity and water to the city if elected. AAP government is offering 200 units of free electricity and 20,000 litres of free water to the people of the city. When BJP's Hardeep Singh Puri had said that the AAP believed in freebie model as they have nothing to offer, AAP used Tiwari's statement in counter and asked the two BJP leaders to "talk to each other and decide what exactly you want to do". Among the most liked and circulated tweet from AAP was the morphed version of an advertisement of a cement company. In the original video advertisement, twin brothers are shown to have put up a brick wall between their houses. However, after realising that they had committed a mistake, they try to take the wall down through different means, but fail to do so given the strength of the advertised cement. In the morphed version by the AAP, the twins are shown to represent Congress and BJP, and the video ends equating AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal with the cement brand and named it "Kejri-Wall". The video has received over 3,17,200 views in just about 50 hours. On being asked, Social Media and IT Strategist of AAP, Ankit Lal said the party has limited resources and so they need to be creative. "We have around 200 full-time volunteers for the social media team, who have taken a break from their work for the elections. We have about 5,000 volunteers across the country who are associated with us online on a part-time basis. In Delhi, a team of 3,000 volunteers are on the ground and help us in our social media campaign. Kejriwal had met 800 of them," Lal told IANS. While the 5,000 are working online, the 3,000 are in direct touch with the party and regular meetings are being conducted, explained Lal, adding this is a rough estimate as of now and the number may go up as the election approaches. He said this is not new for the party. "We have used a similar technique in the Lok Sabha elections, however, the scale was not such at that time." The party chose this method, according to Lal, because the "BJP does not know how to respond to satire. Whenever we say something satirical, they don't know how to react, across the board." Also, the reason for using pop culture is because it has mass appeal as well. "We have a lot of data and it was important to give this data in the form of relatable communication. We are trying to use our available resources to reach out to people." He said the party works on a volunteer basis. "Our attempt is to use the already available resources for the best outcome. On social media, it is very easy to invest money and get attention. Even a common man can do that. The BJP has a lot of money and they can use it. But we as an organisation have to limit our expenses. We have to fight creatively with those having huge monetary resources. "Here, these 5,000 people come to use. Any of our volunteers can come up with an idea and that reaches me by two to three hours. We are crowdsourcing ideas. After an idea reaches me, we also see if it is doable or not. Also, will it be okay to go ahead with such a thing," he explained. On Twitter, AAP has five million followers and on Facebook, the party's page is followed by over four million people. Apart from the two, the party also has the 'Arvind Kejriwal' mobile application that gives out information about the government's schemes, campaigns and speeches, downloaded over 50,000 times. The city is going for elections on February 8. (Nivedita Singh can be contacted at nivedita.singh@ians.in) DEAR ABBY: Parents frequently write to you asking for advice about their children, seemingly asking permission to butt in where they should not. When I was in my 20s, I dated a guy who had just returned from the Navy. I saw him -- and others -- while working and going to college. Sometimes I'd drive 40 miles to visit him and stay with my mother. At some point, he told me we wouldn't be seeing each other anymore. He doesn't remember the details of the conversation, and neither do I. I liked him very much and may have been in love. I found out years later that my mother had called him to her house and told him to marry me or let me go. We were both young and not ready for marriage. I have no idea what possessed her to do that. Sometimes I wish I had talked with her about it, but it wouldn't have changed anything. He and I have visited a few times during the past few years. We both married wonderful people, had kids, and have had good lives. Yet there has always been the question: What if Mom had not interfered? Abby, please advise parents to mind their own business, especially where adult children are involved. -- FIFTY YEARS WONDERING DEAR F.Y.W.: Whether that romance would have led to marriage had your mother stayed out of it, I can't guess and neither can you. Fortunately, you and the young man went on to have happy lives and successful marriages. Some mothers can't resist the temptation to interfere in their adult children's lives. Today, when it is constant, it's called "helicopter parenting," and the unfortunate result can be disabling rather than helping because it prevents children from resolving their own issues. ** ** ** DEAR ABBY: My 30-plus-year-old brother struggles with substance abuse. It has been going on for years. After countless trips to rehab, inpatient, outpatient and all the step programs, he still uses. Periodically he'll be sober for a short time, but it never lasts. For a long time, I have been torn between total disassociation or the sporadic run-in at family events. Seven months ago, his baby boy was born with narcotics in his system. Birds of a feather flock together, I guess. Since then he hasn't been invited to my home or any event I have hosted. My mother and the rest of my siblings still invite him into their homes and act as if his lifestyle choices are OK. Am I supposed to boycott family functions (holiday gatherings, summer BBQs, birthday parties for my kids, nieces and nephews) because they all continue allowing him to attend? I honestly don't know what is right here. Please help. -- HAD ENOUGH IN NEW YORK DEAR HAD ENOUGH: Your brother has an addiction he cannot seem to shake. It is a disease that, in spite of treatment, persists. If you prefer not to include him at events you host or invite him into your home, that is your right. But for you to forgo family events in an attempt to punish him is isolating only yourself, and I see nothing positive to be gained by it. Because your feelings about this situation are so strong, the ultimate decision is yours. ** ** ** 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. ** ** ** To receive a collection of Abby's most memorable -- and most frequently requested -- poems and essays, send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $8 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby -- Keepers Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. Shipping and handling are included in the price. COPYRIGHT 2020 ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION 1130 Walnut, Kansas City, MO 64106; 816-581-7500 Read more advice: Dear Abby: Roommates presence complicates friends with benefits setup Dear Abby: Widowed mother begins an affair with her married brother-in-law Dear Abby: Husband checks out of marriage after wifes cancer diagnosis Washington: The best thing the US can do for the world is to continue its maximum pressure campaign on Irans regime to prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon, a top US official said on Sunday. The best thing we can do for the Iranian people and for the world is to continue our maximum pressure campaign to ensure that the Iranian regime never obtains a nuclear weapon, stops their terrorist activities in the region and cuts back on their ballistic missile program, National Security Advisor Robert OBrien said. The US has imposed new sanctions on Iran following missile strikes by it on bases housing US troops in Iraq. Iran said the attacks were in revenge for the killing of the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, General Qasem Soleimani, in a US drone strike last week, which was ordered by President Donald Trump. OBrien said it has never been the policy of the US to change the regime in Iran, but the people of Iran are going to hopefully have the ability at some point to elect their own government. Its never been our policy to change the regime in Iran, but the people of Iran are going to hopefully have the ability at some point to elect their own government and to be governed by the leaders they choose. I mean we hope that around the world. But thats not our policy. And were going to support human rights, he said during an interview to a private American channel. Also Read: Inspired By Your Courage, Says Donald Trump On Iran Protests OBrien said the US will work with its allies against Iran and soon the European powers would also join. Were going to keep doing that. Were going to work with our allies. I think were going to see some additional assistance on that front coming out of Europe that has not been forthcoming in the past. But I think youre going to see the Europeans getting onboard in the coming weeks as well, he said. Stating that the past one week has been a very bad for the Iranian regime, OBrien said : They shot down Ukrainian International Airline 752. And the presidents condolences and sympathy goes out to the passengers, their families, and their friends and loved ones. The Iranians then denied shooting the aircraft down, then give a different story about the aircraft coming close to sensitive military installations, changed it again and said it was because of the United States, he said. Also Read: Shooting Down Ukrainian Plane 'Unforgivable Mistake,' Says Iran's Hassan Rouhani Irans Revolutionary Guard on Saturday acknowledged that it accidentally shot down the Ukrainian jetliner that crashed earlier this week, killing all 176 aboard, after the government had repeatedly denied Western accusations that it was responsible. This was a regime thats reeling from maximum pressure. Theyre reeling from their incompetence in this situation. And the people of Iran are just fed up with it, he added. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Here is a recap of events since the killing of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad by the US on January 3, which escalated tensions between Tehran and Washington: US assassinates Soleimani On January 3 a US drone strike on Baghdads international airport kills Soleimani, head of the Revolutionary Guard Corps foreign operations arm, the Quds Force. Also among the dead is Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy chief of the Tehran-backed Iraqi paramilitary network Hashed al-Shaabi. The Pentagon confirms Trump ordered Soleimanis assassination while the US embassy in Baghdad urges all Americans to leave Iraq immediately. The killing comes days after thousands of pro-Iranian supporters stormed the US embassy in Baghdad, chanting Death to America!, angered by US strikes against Hashed bases in Iraq. Those US strikes, on December 29, had been in retaliation for rocket attacks against US interests in Iraq in which a US civilian contractor was killed. Iran calls for revenge Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei promises severe revenge for Soleimanis death. In Iraq caretaker prime minister Adel Abdel Mahdi warns the US strike will spark a devastating war in Iraq, while President Barham Saleh pleads for voices of reason to prevail. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tells CNN Soleimani had been planning imminent action that would have put dozens if not hundreds of American lives at risk. A Pentagon official says the US is deploying up to 3,500 more troops to the Middle East. Trump threatens 52 Iran sites On January 4 Trump warns the US is targeting 52 sites in Iran and will hit them very fast and very hard if the Islamic republic attacks American personnel or assets. He says sites important to Iranian culture are on the list. The next day Pompeo insists any US military action against Iran will conform to international law after Trump is accused of threatening a war crime by declaring cultural sites as potential targets. Nuclear deal unravels further On January 5, Iran announces its fifth step back from the nuclear deal with world powers agreed in 2015, saying it will forgo a limit on the number of centrifuges. Since May 2019 Iran has gradually freed itself from commitments to which it had subscribed, in response to the unilateral withdrawal a year earlier of the US which reinstated economic sanctions against Tehran. Funeral turns deadly After days of mourning for Soleimani in Iraq and Iran, a stampede during a massive funeral procession in Iran kills more than 50 people. In Baghdad, Mahdi confirms he has received what the US called a draft letter describing steps its military would take to move out of Iraq. In Washington, US officials scramble to deny the idea, calling the letter a mistakenly released draft. US Defense Secretary Mark Esper says the Pentagons policy has not changed. We are not leaving Iraq. Iran strikes back Iran launches a volley of missiles early Wednesday at Iraqi bases housing US and other coalition troops. Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says the strikes are a slap in the face for the United States and revenge for Soleimanis death is yet to come. Iraqs military said it sustained no casualties, and US President Donald Trump said initial casualty assessments indicated all is well. Iranian tea buyers are still placing orders and negotiating contracts for high-quality orthodox tea. The good news is that the US-Iran conflict is yet to affect payment and orders from Iran, which has recently emerged as the top export destination for Indian tea, unseating Russia. Kolkata: The good news is that the US-Iran conflict is yet to affect payment and orders from Iran, which has recently emerged as the top export destination for Indian tea, unseating Russia. Iranian tea buyers are still placing orders and negotiating contracts for high-quality orthodox tea. But that does not take away concerns and worries of Indian tea planters. Any escalation of tension between the two countries would clip the boom in tea shipment, tea industry officials felt. Indian tea export to Iran has crossed 50 million kg (mkg) for the first time during January-November 2019, up 84 per cent year-on-year. Iran normally buys orthodox teas from India. The country exported 50.43 mkg at a high unit price of $3.91 (Rs 280) a kg, up 12 per cent from the same period in 2018. Indias overall exports during the 11 months stood at 227.71 mkg against 231.36 mkg in the same period of 2018. The unit price realisation has improved by 9.55 per cent to Rs 226.55 per kg YoY. India, meanwhile, is headed for record tea production in 2019. The Tea Board of India statistics for November shows that India produced 139.39 mkg against 121.10 mkg in November 2018, a gain of 15.10 per cent. While north India produced 16.13 mkg more to reach 117.64 mkg, south India produced 2.16 mkg more to reach 21.75 mkg. If this trend continues, Indias production in 2019 may reach nearly 1,380 mkg, the highest ever, analysts felt. Consider few facts on the domestic front. Average Darjeeling tea prices were down by Rs 70-80 per kg in 2019. Prices fell despite production stagnating at around 8 mkg. Nearly 3-4 mkg import from Nepal has been a dampener for Darjeeling tea. The prices of this variety had fallen 20-25 per cent last year. Mind you. orthodox tea, imported from Nepal and commonly known as Himalayan tea, is similar to the Darjeeling variety in taste, aroma and flavour, but cheaper by more than 50 per cent. While Darjeeling tea, in bulk sales, is priced Rs 320- Rs 360 a kg, Nepal ea is not even half that price. Im honored to be at Parker University during this exciting time in our history. Im grateful to be able to play a part in continuing Dr. Parkers legacy and enhancing the educational experience for our students under the visionary leadership of President Morgan and the Board. Parker University, the health and wellness college that is the 4th-fastest growing school in the state announced the hiring of Clint Gilchrist as its new CFO. Gilchrist, a CPA, was previously controller for Southern Methodist University. He will begin January 7. Im honored to be at Parker University during this exciting time in our history. Im grateful to be able to play a part in continuing Dr. Parkers legacy and enhancing the educational experience for our students under the visionary leadership of President Morgan and the Board. he said. The timing of the appointment couldnt be at a more crucial juncture. Parker University enrollment is at an all-time high. This past November, half its campus was destroyed in a freak tornado that blew through the area. This unfortunate event is now being used as a catalyst to raise funds to build a new outpatient chiropractic clinic, modernize research facilities, and enhance the student experience. Its more important than ever that we have someone like Clint help us navigate these expansion years, said Parker President William E. Morgan. His experience in strategic financial operations for higher universities will serve us well. The year 2020 marks both the 100th birthday of Dr. Parker and the 125th anniversary of the discovery of chiropractic. The school hopes to celebrate by showcasing a modern, rebuilt facility. With CFO Gilchrist at the helm, it seems highly likely they will be successful. About Parker University Parker University was founded in 1982 by Dr. James William Parker, originally as Parker College of Chiropractic; in 2011, it changed the name as its curriculum expanded. Today it is the 4th fastest growing college in Texas, according to the Dallas Business Journal. Parker University has 1,500 students and 27 academic programs including its famed chiropractic program along with masters degrees in neuroscience, clinical neuroscience, and functional nutrition. Currently, Parker Universitys chiropractic cohort is the second largest of any campus in the world. Indian Army Havildar Rajendra Singh Negi's family was left in tears after he allegedly slipped in the snow at Gulmarg, Jammu and Kashmir, during duty and reached Pakistan. On January 8, Negi's wife Rajeshwari received a phone call from his unit, which said that Negi was missing. It was later found that he had slipped in the snow and accidentally crossed the India-Pakistan border in Kashmir. The aggrieved family has demanded the government for his safe and early return from Pakistan to his homeland. According to Army sources, the search and rescue operation of Negi was underway and all attempts were being made to bring him back safely from Pakistan. Negi, a resident of Ambiwala Sainik Colony in Dehradun, had joined the 11 Garhwal Rifles regiment in 2002. He had arrived in Dehradun in October for a month's vacation and was posted to the snowy area of Gulmarg in November. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Donald Trump has claimed he is a not a warmonger but a dealmaker - days after ordering the killing of Irans top general Qassem Soleimani and escalating tensions between the Middle Eastern country and his own. Sharing quotes from a sympathetic article by New York Post columnist and Fox News pundit Michael Goodwin, who described Mr Trump as someone who takes the military action only as a last resort, the American leader wrote: Could not have said it better myself. In an op-ed titled Trumps peace through strength philosophy is what America needs, Mr Goodwin wrote of the Iran deal fostered by Barack Obama and then-secretary of state John Kerry: The Agreement didnt create opportunities for America and other signatories to confront Irans malign activities. It overlooked and then helped to fund them. And zero progress was made on curbing those activities, until Trump droned Soleimani Plainly, Trump is not a warmonger. Hes a deal maker & his record is that of someone who uses our military might as a deterrent, unleashes it with discretion, and only as a last resort. 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 Mr Trump added: Thank you to the great Michael Goodwin. Could not have said it better myself! Since ordering Soleimani's assassination, the US president has threatened to bomb Iranian cultural sites and forcibly steal oil from the country both of which would amount to war crimes. There have also been questions raised about his claim that the US killed the Iranian general because he had been plotting to attack for US embassies. Mark Esper, the US defence secretary, admitted on CNN on Sunday he had not seen evidence to support Mr Trumps claim that Soleimani had been actively plotting imminent attacks at the time of his death. In an interview on Fox Newss Laura Ingraham on Friday, the president said he stood by his decision to strike the general because of an imminent threat to the US embassy in Baghdad. He added: I can reveal that I believe it probably wouldve been four embassies. However, no details details of the purported plots have been made available to members of congress during intelligence briefings, while a senior administration official told The Washington Post they were only aware of a vague plan against one embassy in Baghdad. Speaking on CNN's Face the Nation, Mr Esper suggested presidents statement sounded more like an assessment than a specific tangible threat with a decisive piece of intelligence Asked if he had seen any proof of the plots the president had put forward to justify the attack, the defence secretary added: I didnt see one with regard to four embassies. What Im saying is I shared the presidents view that probably, my expectation is, they were going to go after our embassies. It comes as a new poll suggests a majority of Americans feel their country is less safe following the presidents decision to kill Soleimani. Attitudes sharply differed along party lines in the ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted over the weekend. While 52 per cent of respondents said the attack on Irans top general had made the US less safe, a majority of Republicans - 54 per cent - said they felt safer after the drone strike. Rhonda Burchmore is known for her glitzy and glamorous persona. And the 59-year-old seems to be keeping up appearances on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! Australia. On Sunday's episode of the show, the iconic actress looked to be wearing a full face of makeup during a challenge. Banned? On Sunday night, fans questioned why Rhonda Burchmore (pictured) appeared to be wearing a full face of makeup on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! Australia, as luxury items are normally contraband in camp While running on a treadmill attached to a harness high above a drop into a gorge, the star's face seemed caked with foundation and powder. She also appeared to be wearing a coat of mascara, her cheeks rosy perhaps coated in blush, while she also seemed to have peachy eye shadow and pink lipstick. It's not the first time, with the stage and screen star also seeming to wear makeup on episodes earlier in the week. Pretty in paint: On Sunday's episode of the show, the iconic actress looked to be wearing makeup during a challenge Natural beauty? While running on a treadmill attached to a harness high above a drop into a gorge, the star's face seemed caked with foundation and powder On thick? She also appeared to be wearing a coat of mascara, her cheeks rosy perhaps coated in blush, while she also seemed to have peachy eye shadow and pink lipstick Fans were quick to notice, with some taking to Twitter to question why Rhonda is allowed to wear makeup, which is usually considered a luxury contraband item, banned from camp. One person Tweeted: 'Why is Rhonda covered in makeup? Thought there was no make up allowed? Isn't that contraband?' Another viewer at home wrote: 'I didn't think they were allowed makeup? Rhonda has makeup on'. Questions! Fans were quick to notice, with some taking to Twitter to question why Rhonda is allowed to wear makeup Likes some warpaint! The 59-year-old is known for her glitzy and glamorous persona One person suggested: 'I've been thinking that too, maybe it's her one luxury item she took in to camp, containing sunscreen?' Someone else chimed in: 'Has Rhonda got makeup on?' While one person suggested: 'I've been thinking that too, maybe it's her one luxury item she took in to camp, containing sunscreen?' Last week, during Wednesday's episode, the cast were all forced to hand over the contraband items they had snuck into camp, which included an eyelash brush, sleep mask, salt, spices, knives and photos. The likes of Charlotte Crosby and Miguel Maestre surrendered their secret stashes in exchange for the entire group receiving their single approved luxury item each. Warring Sides in Syrian Province of Idlib Cease Military Activities Starting Sunday Sputnik News 03:26 12.01.2020 DAMASCUS (Sputnik) - All conflicting parties in the Syrian province of Idlib ceased military activities starting Sunday midnight. The Turkish Defence Ministry said on Friday that Russia and Turkey agreed to introduce a ceasefire in the province, starting at 0:00 local time (22:00 GMT) on 12 January. Meanwhile, the Syrian army has prepared three humanitarian corridors for civilians to leave Idlib, a local military source said. "Three corridors are located in the area of the cities of Al-Hobeit in the south of Idlib, Abu Adh Dhuhur in the east, and Al-Hadher in the south of Aleppo province", the source said. On 19 December, the Syrian army started a new military operation in southeastern Idlib to clear the area of terrorists, including the Daesh* and Tahrir al-Sham*, formerly known as the Nusra Front. By 24 December, more than 40 villages in Idlib had been retaken by the government troops. Idlib is the last stronghold of militants in the Arab republic. According to Syrian President Bashar Assad, liberating Idlib is essential to putting an end to the nation's civil conflict. * Daesh and Tahrir al-Sham are terrorist organizations banned in Russia. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pranab Mondal By NEW DELHI: Drawing inspiration from Delhis Shaheen Bagh, hundreds of women have been staging demonstration round-the-clock at Park Circus Maidan here since Tuesday to oppose the CAA, NRC, NPR. They have decided to continue the sit-in until the Centre scraps the law and the decision to conduct NRC and NPR. Their numbers are growing day-by-day as students from universities and colleges are joining them and chanting slogans of azadi. The pillars of the campaign tagged Kolkatas Shaheen Bagh, are mothers and grandmothers from the minority community, mostly homemakers. If our children will ask us how could we let our country be destroyed in the name of religion, what will we answer? I have a daughter and if I dont protest, she could be the next target, said Asmat Jamil. Kolkata's own Shaheen bagh at Park Circus Maidan where hundreds of women have been staging protest against the Citizenship Act for five days. @_YogendraYadav to join them soon. @NewIndianXpress pic.twitter.com/kuJJgtOWoP Alisha Rahaman Sarkar (@zohrabai) January 11, 2020 The husbands of Asmat and other women have stood by their mothers, daughters and wives and have been taking care of household works. Among the agitating women are Quaiser Hasan, 72, and Noorjahan Shakil, 80. We have a glorious history of living together with harmony. We will not allow a political party to divide us due to vote-bank politics, said Shakil. The recent incident at Jawaharlal Nehru University can be understood only in the backdrop of the incidents of violence and chaos that have been going on for the last 50 years. The Left considers this university its stronghold and since its establishment (April 22, 1969), it has dominated JNUs politics. Frequent violent episodes have occurred in this period. The young today might incorrectly assume that JNU has been in the headlines only after the coming of a non-Left government in 2014. The Economic and Political weekly, a journal held in high regard by communists, carried an article on July 9, 1983, which stated: JNU is again in news. News of the smallest incidents JNU finds prominent place in the media. This time even the BBC was fascinated by JNU. In 1983, leftist politics on campus became so violent and uncontrollable that the university had to be closed for a year. Even the leftist masters of propaganda will not be able to accuse someone else for the large-scale violence of that period no other ideologies, especially the nationalist one, had been allowed to enter JNU at the time. The then vice-chancellor, P N Srivastava, told the media that rowdy students had forcefully entered his house, destroyed his property and looted his 35-year deposits. Harjit Singh, who was the warden of Jhelum Hostel, witnessed the horrors of a rampaging mob of communists breaking into his house. These teachers were accused by leftist students of being nationalists. In this violence, teachers who subscribed to the Left ideology were engaged in instigating the students and making plans for them. After this incident, a contingent of paramilitary forces had to be deployed in the campus for a fairly long time. It is worth noting that during the Emergency, when there was opposition to the authoritarian government all over the country, a section of the communists of JNU were silent. This was because a major left party had declared its support for the Emergency. Many major incidents of violence also occurred in the 1990s. In 2000, a sensational case of violence in JNU was alleged in Parliament by BJP MP B C Khanduri. In the open auditorium of JNU, a mushaira was organised by leftist organisations. They had called in poets from Pakistan. There some couplets were sung describing India as bad and Pakistan as good, and from the stage, lines were read condemning Indias action in the recent Kargil war. Two Indian soldiers who were on leave were sitting in audience and had themselves taken part in Kargil. They stood up to oppose what was happening. The leftists beat them up and threw them outside the main gate. In 2005, there was a controversy on the arrival of the then Prime Minister of India to JNU, which resulted in violence. In 2010, when 76 CRPF jawans were killed in a Maoist attack in Dantewada, there was mourning across the country. But at the Godavari Dhaba in JNU, it was alleged that Left groups celebrated the event. In 2013, there was a celebration of Mahisasura Day and a pamphlet was distributed which disparaged Durga. Naturally the sentiments of Hindus and Sikhs were hurt by this programme. In 2016, in JNU, the incident of the alleged slogan of Bharat tere tukde honge on the death anniversary of the terrorist Afzal Guru is deeply engraved in the memory of our society. Among those anti-India slogans, there was also Aaein Hindustan ka, manzoor nahi, manzoor nahi. Aaein means constitution in Persian. The destructive politics played by the anti-India forces, using JNU as a platform, has three targets the unity and integrity of its faith and culture and the Constitution. A university is meant to be a centre for study and research. But for the last two-and-a-half months, almost all educational activities in JNU have ceased due to aggression by some people who claim to belong to the Left. These include teachers, students and external elements as well. The main building of the JNU administration has been occupied for the last 60 days. They also interrupted the semester examination to be held in November-December. Apart from preventing the students from going to their classrooms, these people used pressure from teachers and administrators who subscribe to Left ideology. In order to justify their actions, they sometimes mention the hostel fee as their issue, at others the withdrawal of Article 370 and more recently, the CAA. Students affiliated to Left groups in JNU issued a decree that no student will register herself for the new semester starting January 1. If the students dont register, then neither the class nor any examination will be conducted in the university. The country has begun to realise that any idea that challenges the unity and integrity of India seems to have a connection with the leftists who use JNU as their base. It cannot be a mere coincidence that Naxalite, Maoist, jihadi and separatist forces always appear to find some kind of support from the leftists of JNU. Source : Indian Express Hanan Buhari, the youngest daughter of President Muhammadu Buhari, has incurred the wrath of some Nigerians after she was flown on the presidential jet to attend a special durbar ceremony organized in her honour in Bauchi State. Presidents daughter, a certified creative photographer who recently graduated with a first-class in Photography from a London university, was said to have been invited by the Emir of Bauchi, Rilwanu Adamu, as a special guest of honour. Miss Buhari arrived at Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa International Airport, Bauchi on Thursday, and was received by the First Lady of Bauchi State and other government officials. It was gathered that the durbar was specially organized to avail the presidents daughter of the opportunity to take photographs of the traditional durbar, Bauchi architecture and other cultural sites in the state. As a professional photographer, Hannan Buhari is expected to document her experiences in pictorial form in her gallery. Her visit on presidential jet has caused social media storm, with most people condemning the use of the Nigerian Airforce aircraft for personal use. Hanan Buharis use of a Presidential aircraft for a private engagement is a public example of how Buhari has pocketed all Govt institutions for the exclusive use of he and his families. Never again should Nigeria vote anyone into Aso Rock merely on the basis of Poverty. Demola Olarewaju (@DemolaRewaju) January 11, 2020 So Hanan Buhari is now cruising with our Presidential flight. Though we were told in 2016 that there was a plan to sell them inorder to reduce cost, but now his daughter, despite the fact that hes regarded as the Man of Integrity is using one of them. pic.twitter.com/lHAIqrMOAy #FreeDadiyataNow? (@Kabir_Kb1) January 10, 2020 Breaking News: Hanan Muhammadu Buhari, arrived Bauchi State on Private Official Nigerian Airforce Flight. This is really transparency and Accontability. You know what l am talking about. I wish her a successful visit to the Home of Peace. Next Level Integrity of Baba! pic.twitter.com/op08LJs5Oq Sameer Lukman?? (@disosameer) January 10, 2020 Lest we forget: The daughter of the president who promised not to allow unwarranted spending in governance, Hanan Buhari is busy flying Airforce 1 to go greet dignitaries & their wives With DSS securities, all on tax payers funds. Lest we forget. pic.twitter.com/UKp4ySR4Mc Young Otutu (@YoungOtutu) January 10, 2020 This Is Hanan Muhammadu Buhari In Bauchi State Doing Her Photography Business. When Baba Buhari Advises Young Nigerian Youths To Be Creative Punch Newspaper, Pure Water Activists And Wailers Will Tag This Way ?PMB Calls Nigerian Youths Lazy . Get Up And Do Something pic.twitter.com/B3DpYcG5zT Willy Ibimina Jim George #Journalist_Mindset?? (@Journalist_Mind) January 10, 2020 President Buharis daughter, Hanan Buhari who graduated with First class has kick-started her career as a photographer. Do not wait for a white collar job. come out to the street and hustle. Stop being lazy and be tweeting there is No job in Nigeria..?? pic.twitter.com/JgtbeMqzri Saleem Hadejia ?? (@Saleemsky67) January 11, 2020 Hanan Buhari is going around the country on a Private official Nigerian Airforce flight at a very tender age, meanwhile my ass dont even know the road to airport LOL ? Sarki. (@Waspapping_) January 10, 2020 I pledge to Nigeria ?? my country to be faithful loyal and Honest ??? the youngest Daughter of Muhammadu Buhari in person of Hanan Buhari visited Bauchi on a Presidential Jet to attend Durban organized in her honor by the Emir himself ?? GASKIA AN RAINA MU !! pic.twitter.com/OVhbFqCERl SALMAN (@Salmanlaure) January 11, 2020 Office of the Last Daughter of President of Nigeria, Hanan Buhari. The family of our HUMBLE and POOR President now flying Presidential Jet up and down. And the Almighty President Daughter is being received by https://t.co/cA1NyRJXib Lere Olayinka Aresa 1 (@OlayinkaLere) January 11, 2020 So Hanan Buhari is now cruising with our Presidential flight. Though we were told in 2016 that there was a plan to sell them inorder to reduce cost, but now his daughter, despite the fact that hes regarded as the Man of Integrity is using one of them. pic.twitter.com/yuleaX7k4E Usman Okai Austin (@Oma_igala1) January 10, 2020 Hanan @MBuhari, the youngest daughter of President Muhammadu Buhari, on Thursday visited Bauchi on a presidential jet to attend a special durbar ceremony organized in her honour by the Emir of Bauchi, Rilwanu Adamu, at his palace. pic.twitter.com/ZL4sggt5iG MAWA Foundation (@Afrikareport) January 10, 2020 Buharis last daughter Hanan Muhammadu Buhari, arrived Bauchi for a state visit. Nigeria, oh how my heart bleeds! WHERE IS ZA INTEGRITY? @MBuhari, Mr. President, will history be fair to you? pic.twitter.com/K0YSVxAfwd Dickson Iroegbu (@dicksoniroegbu) January 10, 2020 Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn, who fled to Lebanon while awaiting trial in Japan, was questioned an average of seven hours a day without legal representation, a lawyer has claimed. Takashi Takano said in a blog post that the questioning continued throughout weekends, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Mr Takano has said he told Mr Ghosn he could not expect a fair trial in Japan, but his chances of winning were good because the evidence against him was so weak. Japans judicial system has come under fire over Mr Ghosns case. For years, critics have said the prolonged detentions tend to coerce false confessions. Suspects can be detained even without any charges. Japanese prosecutors and Justice Minister Masako Mori have repeatedly defended the nations system as upholding human rights, noting Japan boasts a low crime rate. Mr Mori said the system follows appropriate procedures under Japanese law, stressing that every culture is different. Mr Takano said he recently looked at prosecutors data and Mr Ghosns notes to tally the hours of questioning for 70 of the days Ghosn was detained. On three days, Mr Ghosn had been questioned for some 11 hours, according to Mr Takanos tally. Mr Ghosn was detained under two separate arrests for 130 days. He has been charged with under-reporting his future compensation and of breach of trust in diverting Nissan money for alleged personal gain. In a news conference in Beirut lasting more than two hours, Mr Ghosn reasserted his innocence and accused Nissan and Japanese government officials of plotting his removal. Mr Ghosn, who led Nissan for two decades, has said the compensation was never decided and the payments were for legitimate business. Much of his news conference was devoted to criticising Japanese justice as rigged and harsh. He said he had been grilled without a lawyer present while held in solitary confinement. He advised all foreigners to leave. Major storm moves off East Coast as temperatures drop originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Yesterday, there were 387 reports of severe weather including 4 reported tornadoes in Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama. Record warmth hit the northeast on Saturday with Boston Logan Airport recording a temperature of 70 degrees. Up to two inches of snow fell in Denton, Texas, yesterday. It is very rare to see snow in this part of the country -- especially right after spring-like severe weather has already impacted the region. PHOTO: This morning, a major storm has moved into the East Coast with weather alerts in place for Sunday morning across 19 states from Wisconsin to Maine. (ABC News) This morning, a major storm has moved into the East Coast with weather alerts in place for Sunday morning across 19 states from Wisconsin to Maine. Gusty winds up to 50 mph are expected early Sunday from North Carolina to interior New England. The center of the storm is located over New York this morning with a cold front extending as far south as the Gulf of Mexico. The main concern this morning will shift to interior New England where ice and snow are still impacting the area along with heavy rain which may lead to some flooding issues. PHOTO: As the storm pushes offshore, cold air will rush in behind the system -- we are expecting a 30 degree temperature drop from 7 a.m. Sunday to 7 a.m. Monday for some areas, including New York City. (ABC News) As the storm pushes offshore, cold air will rush in behind the system -- we are expecting a 30 degree temperature drop from 7 a.m. Sunday to 7 a.m. Monday for some areas, including New York City. By Sunday afternoon, the storm moves off the coast with some lingering winter precipitation in extreme northern New England and some scattered storms and rain along the cold front which will linger in an area from the Carolinas to the Gulf Coast. As the storm continues to push offshore, it will leave behind up to 8 inches of snow in extreme northern New England and up to one inch of ice from northern New York and Maine. Alerts remain in place this morning for nine states across the Pacific Northwest. PHOTO: A series of storms are expected to hit the Pacific Northwest through the week bringing heavy mountain snow, coastal rain and extremely dangerous marine conditions with coastal waves up to 25 feet high. (ABC News) A series of storms are expected to hit the Pacific Northwest through the week bringing heavy mountain snow, coastal rain and extremely dangerous marine conditions with coastal waves up to 25 feet high. Story continues By Tuesday night, up to four feet of snow will fall in high elevations, with foothill and valley snow totals ranging from 8 to 24 inches depending on elevation. Coastal rain may reach up to 2 inches by Tuesday night and more snow and rain is expected to follow later in the week. PHOTO: Over the next 24 hours we should see a drastic temperature drop in parts of the country. While temperatures are in the mid 60s this morning in New York City, they will drop to the mid 30s by this time tomorrow. (ABC News) Over the next 24 hours we should see a drastic temperature drop in parts of the country. While temperatures are in the mid 60s this morning in New York City, they will drop to the mid 30s by this time tomorrow. Mogadishu, Saturday , January 11, 2020: Federation of Somali Journalists has today strongly condemned conviction of the editor of the privately-owned independent Horn Cable TV Mr Abdikadir Saleban Asayr (known as Oday) , saying it is clear intimidation to journalists. On Saturday, Mr Abdulakadir Saleban Aseyr has been sentenced to 1 year in prison by the Marodi Jeeh Regional Court in Somalilands capital Hargeisa, Somaliland and fined 3 million Somaliland shillings (270 euros). The editor was accused of spreading what the judge called a false news report he did on 2 November about an air safety-related incident involving 1 November flight by Flydubai, a UAE-owned airline which reportedly complained against the services at Hargeisas Egal International Airport and subsequently forced the flight to be diverted to Djibouti and an interview with Suldan Abubakar Elmi Wabar who leads an armed separatist militia in Awdal region released from the TV. According to the presiding judge, Abdisalaan, found Oldon guilty of breaching articles 328 and 312 of penal code while clearing him of the governments allegations under article 220 of the penal code FESOJ strongly condemns the unlawful prosecution of editor Abdulkadir, and is a decision to undermine media work.We support the efforts of the lawyers defending of the journalist and the Somaliland Journalist Association who have been advocating the release of the journalist since he was detained Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu Secretary-General of FESOJ said We share our concerns over Somalilands freedom of expression with SOLJA and we see that the harsh treatment of the independent media government will weaken the progress and work of the press Moalimuu added. While in prison, this reporter has been experiencing health problems, according to some of the relatives of the journalist. On 27 October 2019: Federation of Somali Journalists (FESOJ) hosted to Mogadishu three journalists working for the privately-owned Hadhwanaag online media who had fled their station in Hargeysa after repeated harassments and threats of imprisonment, as a result of their work, which has angered the current political leaders in Somaliland. The trio Abdirizak Good Nur, Director of Hadhwanaag Media, the editor Abdikani Abdullahi Ahmed and Abdirahman Shiekh Hassan are currently in Uganda where they sought asylum after receiving phone threats while in Mogadishu Hyderabad: MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday said the January 22 municipal elections would be a referendum for the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) that was passed by the Narendra Modi government, the proposed National Register for Citizens (NRC) and the National Popul-ation Register (NPR). Addressing a massive public meeting at Nalgo-nda, he said, We are ready to sacrifice our lives in the fight against the CAA, NRC and the NPR. This fight is for the future of this great nation and not only for the cause of Muslims. Mr Owaisi alleged that Mr Modi and his Cabinet had been misleading the nation by telling lies one after the other with regard to the CAA, NPR and the NRC. He appealed to Musl-ims, Dalits, Adivasis and OBCs to vote against the BJP in the civic polls. The fight is to save these sections from the suppression of the BJPs Hindutva ideology. Stating that every day as many as 10 youngsters were losing their lives due to unemployment and poverty in the country, the MIM president alleged that Mr Modi and his government were not bothered by it. Referring to the death of about 20 people in police firing during the protests against the CAA-NRC-NPR in Uttar Pradesh, and the police high-handedness against the students of Jamia Millia, he said, We hoped that home minister Amit Shah will not keep quiet till action is taken against the police officers responsible for these acts, but it is unfortunate that till date he has not even condemned the police brutality. Stating that under Section 6 of the CAA, the BJP government was taking steps to give citizenship to around 4 lakh Bengali-speaking Hindus in Assam and leaving out Bengali-speaking Muslims, Mr Owa-isi asked the BJP government if it was not an injustice. He said the Centre could give citizenship to refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan but not on the basis of religion. Owaisi made it clear that the fight against the CAA, NRC and NPR will not be ended until the Centre rolls back the decision. Owaisi demanded that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao stay the implementation of the NPR as was done by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vinayan. Owaisi said that the movement was to protect the nation from the divisive rule of the BJP and against its move to make the nation a Hindu rashtra and protect the secular credentials of the country. The Constitution clearly says that India has no religion, Owaisi said. Owaisi said that the movement was to protect the nation from the divisive rule of the BJP and against its move to make the nation a Hindu rashtra and protect the secular credentials of the country. The Constitution clearly says that India has no religion, Owaisi said. The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) has a plan to develop the places visited by Guru Tegh Bahadur in Delhi-NCR as tourist spots on the occasion of his 400th birth anniversary next year. All the places visited by Guru Tegh Bahadur in Delhi-NCR will be meticulously authenticated by a committee of historians and developed as religious places for Sikh devotees as well as tourists to mark the ninth Sikh guru's 400th Prakash Purb (birth anniversary), DSGMC president Manjinder Singh Sirsa said here on Sunday. "The DSGMC will hold events starting April to commemorate the 400th Prakash Purb of the ninth Sikh guru in a grand and befitting manner," he added. A grand event will be held on Guru Tegh Bahadur's 399th Prakash Purb at the historic Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib, where he attained martyrdom on November 11,1675, Sirsa said, adding that the concluding function of his 400th birth anniversary will be organised at Gurdwara Rakab Ganj, where his mortal remains were consigned to flames. An executive committee comprising eminent Sikh historians, celebrities and academicians, among others, will be formed to finalise the broad contours of the programmes being planned for the momentous occasion, he said. The Sikh relics associated with Guru Tegh Bahadur, including a sword and a purse kept at Gurdwara Rakab Ganj, will be preserved in a scientific manner, Sirsa said, adding that a holy well situated inside the gurdwara complex, which was associated with the ninth Sikh guru, would also be revived. The committee has plans to hold seminars and symposia to create awareness about Guru Tegh Bahadur's teachings as also organise various social events on his 400th birth anniversary, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An aide to a detained senator, Shehu Sani, has alleged that his principals bank account has been frozen by the anti-graft agency, EFCC. Suleiman Ahmed, in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES, also accused the anti-corruption agency, EFCC, of forcing Mr Sani to declare his assets to them. Mr Sani, who represented Kaduna Central in the last Senate, was arrested last month for allegedly collecting $25,000 in the name of the EFCC acting chairman, Ibrahim Magu. The former senator has denied the allegation and described his detention as unfair, unjust, prearranged and politically motivated. The EFCC on January 2 obtained a court order to detain the former senator for 14 days without trial. PREMIUM TIMES also reported how operatives of the EFCC, last Wednesday, searched the Abuja residence of the former senator and activist. The EFCC responded to Mr Sanis rebuttal on Saturday, saying the ex-lawmaker has a case to answer. The anti-graft agency also dismissed claims that the former senator is being prosecuted because he is a known critic of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. In his statement on Sunday, Mr Ahmed expressed doubts about the EFCCs motive for arresting Mr Sani. Mr Orilade, what is the connection between allegations of extortion of $25,000 and then searching his residence, blocking his accounts and forcing him to declare his assets? Mr Ahmed said in response to EFCC spokesperson, Tony Orilade. When PREMIUM TIMES contacted Mr Ahmed, he said it was Mr Sanis GTB account that was frozen. When asked how he confirmed that the account had been frozen, he said Mr Sanis family members who tried to access the account, as is the norm, were prevented from doing so since last week. However, when PREMIUM TIMES contacted the acting spokesperson to the EFCC, Tony Orilade, he said he was not aware of the commission freezing Mr Sanis bank account. He said the commission was still investigating the embattled ex-lawmaker. Read the full statement by Mr Sani below. *QUESTIONS FOR EFCC SPOKESMAN TONY ORILADE WHO SAID SENATOR SHEHU SANI HAS A CASE TO ANSWER* 1. Why has the EFCC not detained Shehu Sanis accuser who admitted to giving bribe? 2. Why has the EFCC not invited Alhaji Samaila Isa Funtua who was mentioned in the frame up against Shehu Sani? 3. What can you say on the allegation that the accuser of Shehu Sani can neither read nor write that it was the EFCC that guided him on what to say? 4. We have in on record that Shehu Sanis accuser has no pending case with the Supreme Court, how comes did he give Shehu Sani bribe to give the CJN? 5. We have it on record that Shehu Sanis accuser has no pending or ongoing case with the EFCC, how comes did he give Shehu Sani bribe to give the EFCC or its chairman? 6. The CJN denied the bribe allegations and Shehu Sani denied the bribe allegations, where did Tony Orilade get his fact? 7. It is not enough posting statement about Shehu Sani if you have any evidence or fact why not post it now 8. Mr. Orilade, what is the connection between allegations of extortion of $25,000 and then searching his residence, blocking his accounts and forcing him to declare his assets? 9. You said people defending Shehu Sani are doing it for pecuniary gain, are you defending EFCC for free? 10. Shehu Sani petitioner said $24,000 and you said $25,000, are you the one that added $1,000 Advertisements 11. Mr. Toni Orilade should stop lying and threatening people. If you have any cheque or draft or anything to show please do so *Suleiman Ahmed* _Senior Special Adviser to Senator Shehu Sani Describing Belur Math as a pilgrimage site, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said visiting the global headquarters of the Ramakrishna Mission, in Howrah district, was nothing short of "homecoming" for him. The prime minister also contended that he was grateful to the authorities of the monastic order for granting him an opportunity to spend a night at the math. "This (place) is no less than a pilgrimage site. To me, this is like coming back home. I am fortunate that the president of Ramakrishna Math and Mission gave me the permission to spend a night here. "As per the security protocol, I am not allowed to go anywhere I feel like... I am grateful to the (state) government for allowing me to spend a night here," Modi, who was dressed in a white kurta and dhoti with an uttariya (scarf) round his neck, said while addressing people on the occasion of National Youth Day -- hosted by Math authorities to celebrate the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. The PM insisted that the ambience at Belur Math reminded him of his duty towards people. "This land, its breeze, the water will make you feel the presence of Swami Ramakrishna Paramhangsha, Ma Sarada devi, Swami Brahamananda, Swami Vivekananda and several other saints. Whenever I visit Belur, the place reminds me that my job is to serve the 130 crore people (of this country)," he told a gathering of schoolchildren on the math premises. Referring to his association with a former president of the mission and his spiritual guru, Swami Atmasthananda, Modi said his teachings broadened minds and showed paths. He reminisced his time with Swami Atwasthananda and said the saint's words changed the course of his life. "Last time, I had gone back (from Belur Math) with the blessings of Swami Atmasthananda. He was the one who taught me that jana seva (serving the people) is the way to serve Prabhu (the Almighty). Today, he might not be physically present among us, but his works, teachings will always broaden our minds and paths," the PM said. In 2013, during his Kolkata visit, Modi had visited Swami Atmasthananda and sought his blessings. Two years later, he had called on the ailing saint at Ramakrishna Mission Seva Pratisthan, a hospital run by the monastic order in south Kolkata and enquired about his health. After Swami Atmasthananda's death in 2017, the prime minister had termed it as a "personal loss". Swami Suvirananda, the Ramakrishna Math and Mission general secretary, said Modi was the first prime minister to spend a night at the math. "Truly, for us, too, it was like welcoming our son to his home. He is the prime minister and our guest. It's a matter of pride that he expressed his willingness to spend a night here. He is the first PM to have spent a night here. No PM or President had stayed here ever," he said. On Saturday night, Modi, who was in the city on a two-day visit, was served bhog, which had kheer made of suji, and sabji, he said. The PM, who generally goes on a walk every morning, made an exception on Sunday as he started his day with a cup of sugar-free tea, followed by upma and dosa for breakfast, the monk said. "Modi ji took a stroll on the math premises before visiting Swamiji's (Swami Vivekananda) room, where he sat down to meditate. He also offered prayers at the temple," he said. The mission authorities gifted the prime minister books on Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Swami Vivekananda, among other items. "He interacted with our seers and they took photographs with him," Swami Suvirananda said. Asked whether the morning-prayer session was specially arranged for the PM, the monk said, "It's a regular affair, the programme is held annually (on the occasion of National Youth Day). We have not arranged anything separately." Despite the heightened security at Belur Math owing to the prime minister's visit, the mission authorities had on Sunday allowed common people to enter its premises. "Since, today is the birth anniversary of Swamiji, there was a huge rush. We had allowed the bhakts to enter the math till 8 am, following which it was temporarily closed for visitors. Once the PM left, the math started functioning like any other day," a senior official of the monastic order said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A resolution to the Megxit drama appears to be on the horizon. Four days after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their plans to step back from royal life, Queen Elizabeth called a face-to-face summit between the Duke of Sussex, his father, Prince Charles, and and brother, Prince William to "talk things through," according to multiple reports. The emergency family meeting will reportedly take place at the Queen's estate in Sandringham on Monday, and Meghan is expected to phone in, as she is currently in Canada with baby Archie. WPA Pool/Getty Images The meeting's agenda will focus on several realistic solutions to Meghan and Harry's desire to exit the British monarchy. Following a series of meetings and consultations across the last few days, there is a range of possibilities for the family to review which take into account the thinking the Sussexes outlined earlier in the week, a palace source told People. As we have said previously, making a change to the working life and role of the monarchy for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex requires complex and thoughtful discussions." "Next steps will be agreed at the meeting, the insider continued, adding that the Queen wants to reach a resolution as quickly as possible. The request for this to be resolved at pace is still Her Majestys wish. The aim remains days not weeks." RELATED: Meghan Markle's Return to Hollywood Might Be Sooner Than You Think However, even once a plan for Meghan and Harry's future is in place, any sort of transition won't happen overnight. "There is genuine agreement and understanding that any decision will take time to be implemented, the source said. Until then, Harry and Meghan will uphold their royal duties. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 03:12:10|Editor: Mu Xuequan Video Player Close TEHRAN, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday that the country welcomes any international cooperation concerning Ukrainian plane crash, official IRNA news agency reported. "Iran welcomes any international cooperation within the framework of international regulations which is aimed at clarifying dimensions of the incident," Rouhani made the remarks in a telephone conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He said that further investigation into the Ukrainian plane crash will be carried out to reach the final result. In another phone talk with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, Rouhani said that "all those involved in the air disaster (of plane crash) will be brought to justice." He said that the joint investigations between the Iranian and Ukrainian experts over the incident will continue and the judicial measures will "soon" start. On Wednesday, a Ukrainian Boeing 737 passenger plane crashed near Tehran, killing all 176 people onboard. Iran's armed forces on Saturday admitted that the Ukrainian plane was "unintentionally" hit by Iran and "human error" was to blame. The London Times has an interview with Ben Wallace, Great Britains Defense Secretary, that offers a good perspective on American foreign policy under the Trump administration. It is interesting, in particular, to contrast the reporters editorializing with what Wallace actually says: Britain must prepare to fight wars without America, the defence secretary has warned, amid concerns that President Donald Trump will pursue an ever more isolationist foreign policy. Isolationist? Im so old I can remember last week, when Trump supposedly was starting World War III. Of course, when it comes to Trump, consistency is strictly optional. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Ben Wallace admitted that the prospect of America withdrawing from the world keeps me awake at night. He said the government needed to rethink military assumptions, in place since 2010, that the UK would always be fighting alongside the Americans and should use the upcoming defence review to buy new kit to ensure that the armed forces do not have to rely on US air cover and spy planes in future conflicts. But what is meant, within the British defense establishment, by Americas withdrawing from the world? The answer, I think, is telling: In the most pointed comments by a minister about the Trump administration, Wallace said: Over the last year weve had the US pullout from Syria, the statement by Donald Trump on Iraq where he said Nato should take over and do more in the Middle East. The assumptions of 2010 that we were always going to be part of a US coalition is really just not where we are going to be. We are very dependent on American air cover and American intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets. We need to diversify our assets. Here, as we have seen so often, President Trumps policies align closely with candidate Trumps promises. He wanted our allies to assume more of the responsibility for, and cost of, their own defense. When you cut through the hand-wringing, that is what Britain is now planning to do: Wallace says the defence review must give British forces the ability to defend themselves and detect threats that are currently more often the preserve of US spy planes. Regardless of what the US does, he says, Britain, like France and Germany, will remain a target for Islamist terrorists from Isis and al-Qaeda. It means we are going to have to make decisions that allow us to stand with a range of allies, the Five Eyes [intelligence partnership with America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand] and our European allies where our interests converge. *** He hopes the review will mean post-Brexit Britain is more proactive in advancing its interests using aid and diplomacy as well as the military: President Putin [of Russia], with an economy half the size of ours, is proactive. The French are proactive in a way we want to be again. I know Boris does. The Times interview contains two more interesting nuggets. Secretary Wallace says that the U.S. is serious about not putting the Chinese telecom giant Huawei in a position to intercept U.S. intelligence: The defence secretary is surprisingly outspoken about how aggressive the Trump administration has been about Huawei, the controversial Chinese telecoms company angling for a role in Britains 5G phone network. Wallace says Trump, his national security adviser and his defence secretary have all threatened to cut off some intelligence to the UK if the National Security Council gives Huawei a green light. They have repeatedly said that. They have been clear about that: President Trump, the national security adviser. The defence secretary said it personally to me directly when we met at Nato. Its not a secret. They have been consistent. Those things will be taken into account when the government collectively decides to make a decision on it. He adds: Friends and enemies that are independent make you choose. Finally, the British have no problem with Trumps decision to terminate Soleimani: [Wallace] backs America on the assassination of the Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and says he did not jump up and down because the UK was not told about it in advance. The intelligence information I have seen, under the right to defend yourself against an imminent threat, that would have been met. What we see here is a British perspective on the basic tenets of U.S. foreign policy under President Trump. Trump wants to put Americas interests first, and he wants our allies to bear a reasonable proportion of their own defense costs. In the short term, those priorities cause discomfort with allies like Great Britain. But in the long run, they are perfectly compatible with our historic alliances. And the suggestion that Donald Trump is an isolationist, like the claim that he is itching to start World War III, is ridiculous. UPDATE: Not long after Ben Wallace gave that interview to the London Times, Britains Ambassador to Iran was arrested by the regime and charged with inciting protests at an Iranian university. Demonstrations have broken out across Iran following the governments admission that Iranian troops shot down a Ukrainian commercial airplane. Which is simply a reminder that Britain has its own foreign policy interests, which it should be prepared to vindicate. An elderly German tourist has died while holding his son's hand on top of a mountain in New Zealand. Gerd Wilde died of a suspected heart attack on Friday about 100 metres from the top of Mount Tongariro, on the county's North Island, while on a holiday with his son Simon. The pair embarked on a trip around the world, visiting countries including Costa Rica and Australia, after the 75-year-old was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer. The deadly disease began spreading through Mr Wilde's body, giving him motivation to travel to places he had never been before and spend quality time with his family. Gerd Wilde passed away on Friday from a suspected heart attack while hiking in New Zealand Mr Wilde and his son took on the challenging Tongariro Alpine Crossing, with the dentist from Berlin stopping to take a break at the picturesque location. His condition quickly deteriorated, with Mr Wilde starting to shake before collapsing in front of his son. 'I had his hand in my hand and I talked to him but I could see in his face he was away,' Simon told the NZ Herald. 'It was an amazing place to die.' French firefighter Alain Cayeux and a Swiss doctor named Christian tried to resuscitate him for forty minutes before the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter arrived, with Mr Wilde being pronounced dead on the mountain. 'A man died in my hands today,' Mr Cayeux said in a translated post on Facebook. 'As I came to the highest [point], I hear a cry... I rush to a man already on the ground completely unconscious. 'Fixed eyes and body already stiffened, he does not respond to any of my orders but he is still breathing very slightly the first minute. Alain Cayeux and the rescue helicopter leaving Mount Tongariro after Mr Wilde's collapse Simon Wilde (centre) and Alain Cayeux (right) met after Gerd Wilde's death, with both men agreeing they had done everything they could to save his life 'His ventilation then stopped.' Mr Wilde and his son had spent time in Wellington before his death, including going canoeing, with Mr Wilde enjoying the quiet countryside and beautiful landscapes New Zealand has to offer. A traditional rahui ceremony was conducted on the mountain, blocking access to the site out of respect for Mr Wilde, with Simon saying he was thankful of the Maori customs laid out for his father. 'I am really thankful,' he said. 'I couldn't imagine that people could be so nice.' Visit comes amid heightened tensions in the Gulf following the US killing of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani. Qatars Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said the only solution to rising tensions in the Middle East between Iran and the United States was de-escalation and dialogue. Sheikh Tamims visit on Sunday to Iran to meet President Hassan Rouhani, its supreme leader, and other senior leaders came amid heightened tensions in the Gulf following the US assassination of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad and Irans retaliatory missile strikes on US targets in Iraq. Qatar and Iran agreed that de-escalation was the only solution to regional tensions, Sheikh Tamim said after meeting Rouhani. This visit comes at a critical time in the region, and we agreed with the brothers and with His Excellency the president that the only solution to these crises is de-escalation from everyone and dialogue, he told a news conference. Dialogue is the only solution to resolve the crisis, he added. Sheikh Tamim was the first national leader to come to Iran since Soleimanis killing on January 3 in an American drone strike. Qatar is one of a few countries in the region that maintains a close relationship with Washington and Tehran. At the joint news conference, Rouhani stressed the importance of stability in the region. Considering the importance of regional security especially in the waterways in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman we decided to have more talks and cooperation for the security of the whole region, said the Iranian president. Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Sunday for increased cooperation among countries in the region to deal with problems he blamed on the United States, his official website said. The current situation in the region demands more than ever before strengthening of relations between countries in the region as well as avoiding influence of foreigners' meddling, Khamenei was quoted as saying on his official Twitter account as he hosted Qatars emir. The reason for the current turbulent situation in our region is the corruptive presence of the US and its cohorts. The only way to confront this is to depend on cooperation within the region, he said. Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeeras senior political analyst, said Sheikh Tamims efforts to calm tensions were unique. Hardly any country or leader in the region is able to make this kind of visit, while at the same time maintaining relations with the American, European, and Iraqi leadership trying to bridge ideas and facilitate dialogue, he said. Qatars emir departed Iran on Sunday evening, state-run Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported. Mutual concern QNA earlier said the talks in Iran will focus on bilateral relations between the two countries and ways of promoting and enhancing them, as well as the latest developments in the region and international issues of mutual concern. Qatar, which is close to the US but also has strong ties with Iran, with which it shares the worlds largest gas field, has called for a peaceful solution to regional tensions. Sheikh Tamim was accompanied by an official delegation on his first trip to Iran since becoming emir in 2013. Earlier on Sunday, the Qatari emir headed to Omans capital, Muscat, where he offered his condolences to the Gulf states new sultan, Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, for the death of his predecessor, Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said. Emir of Qatar will be in Tehran shortly for the first time and meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani #SoleimaniAassination #emirofqatar #AlJazeeraEnglish Dorsa Jabbari (@DorsaJabbari) January 12, 2020 Reduce escalation A day after the January 3 killing of Soleimani, the head of the overseas wing of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani met his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, in Tehran. The two officials discussed the latest developments in the region, especially the events in Iraq as well as ways of calm to maintain collective security of the region, QNA reported at the time. On Wednesday, Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar was closely following developments in Iraq and seeking to coordinate with friendly countries to reduce tensions. We seek through a series of communications to consult and coordinate with friendly and brotherly countries to calm and reduce escalation, he wrote on Twitter. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sun, January 12, 2020 17:45 730 48be62e941b44f04afae568c321d75b3 1 National expulsion,school,Education,KPAI,solo,Central-Java Free Islamic junior high school SMP IT Nur Hidayah in Surakarta, Central Java, has drawn criticism over its decision to expel a female eighth grader because of her recent interactions with a male peer through a messaging app. The student, identified only by her initials AN, was expelled from SMP IT Nur Hidayah for allegedly committing a series of violations that included texting birthday wishes to her male friend. The school said it considered this particular action a grave violation, which warranted immediate expulsion. School principal Zuhdi Yusroni confirmed ANs expulsion. However, he was tight-lipped on the details of the events leading up to it. I apologize, Im unable to explain the chronology of the events to protect the student, he told tribunnews.com on Saturday. Responding to the news, a member of the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI), Retno Listyarti, said ANs expulsion was an over-reaction on the schools part. We believe that the school was over-reacting by imposing the sanction [on the student], she said in a statement issued on Sunday. She lamented the schools decision, saying that the school had denied AN her right to education by kicking her out on vague grounds. Furthermore, she was concerned that the expulsion could create a stigma around AN once she moved to another school. We might as well consider it psychological abuse against AN, Retno added. She said that, instead of expelling AN, the school could have provided assistance and education on appropriate interaction with fellow students of the opposite sex, since it was normal for middle school students aged between 13 and 15 years to begin expressing their attraction toward one another. Befriending students of the opposite sex, as well as sending them birthday wishes, are integral parts of the transition to being a teenager, Retno said. (rfa) Terming the Citizenship Amendment Act as 'discriminatory', Shashi Tharoor asserted that it is against the ideals of unity espoused by Mahatma Gandhi New Delhi: Expressing solidarity with Jamia Millia Islamia students, protesting against recent changes in the citizenship law, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said the 15 December police action against them is a "blot on the nation". Terming the Citizenship Amendment Act as "discriminatory", Tharoor asserted that it is against the ideals of unity espoused by Mahatma Gandhi. "Whatever happened on 15 December, is a blot on nation. Without any provocation, without any intimation to the vice chancellor, they (police) entered hostels and attacked women students. Students studying in library were attacked, which is a 'shame, shame, shame' and not acceptable at all," he told the cheering crowd. Attacking the CAA, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said the Centre's step is discriminatory and an effort to marginalise "one community". "What has been done by the government is discriminatory and is an effort to marginalise one community in India. That is why we had opposed the introduction of the bill in the Parliament, as it brought for the first time religion in the Citizenship Act," he said. Tharoor, who addressed the crowd in Hindi and English said, "Religion was no where mentioned in the Citizenship Act until the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government incorporated it in the CAA. This is not something we can accept." "The CAA is betrayal to ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, who sacrificed his life for the unity of the nation; to the unity of Hindu and Muslim. India, which Mahatma Gandhi wanted to see, will not be the India after the introduction of religion in the CAA," he said. Addressing hundreds of protestors, Tharoor said though he was in Kerala on 15 December, when police had barged into the varsity, he had expressed solidarity with protesting students and wanted to meet them on reaching Delhi. "Although I was in Kerala, I showed my solidarity with you but after coming to Delhi, I wanted to meet you all and tell you that we are all with you and on this issue, we will always be with you," he said. Tharoor also recited a couplet in Hindi saying, "Na mera hai, na tera hai... Yeh Hindustan sabka hai... na samjhenge yeh baat toh nuksan sab ka hai.. (It doesn't belong to either me or you.. India belongs to everyone and if you don't understand it, the loss will be of everyone). Tharoor, who visited Jamia students was along with Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Subhash Chopra claimed after the introduction of religion in CAA, it will be followed in all-India National Register of Citizens, which unfortunately puts the onus on one community to prove its citizenship. "That is not the India that our founding fathers wanted to see, that is not the India that people in Congress party, including myself, would ever like to accept. We want India, where every one is equal. It should not matter whether you are a Muslim or Hindu, a Christian or Sikh. If you are Indian, you have same rights and same privileges," he said. Tharoor said every one in this country has given blood and sacrificed their lives for the unity of India. "Don't let anyone tell you that you have lesser rights than anyone else has in this country. You have the same rights as a Muslim or a Hindu or Christian. That is India, the republic of India, the India of the Constitution," he asserted. Remembering poet Muhammad Iqbal, with his statute standing tall nearby on the varsity campus, Tharoor recited his famous poem, "Mazhab nahin sikhata apas men bair rakhna... Hindi hain hum, watan hai Hindustaan hamara.. (Religion does not teach us animosity... We all are of Hind, Hindustan is our homeland)." Encouraging the protesting students, Tharoor said, "I only want to say this, I can see this, you are the hope of the nation. These students, who are standing outside spontaneously..for the country these students, teachers and ordinary citizens have stood up and said, we will now stand together". He said students studying in the University should always remember that Jamia Millia Islamia was a seat to the proud resistance to the British and Mahatama Gandhi came here and started Khilafat Movement, which was a spirit of Hindu-Muslim unity. "You all should know that when Gandhi came here, he had said Jamia should continue fighting and if it needs money, I will go with a begging bowl and I will save Jamia. Today Jamia is one of the great universities of our country," he said. Tharoor said he visited the university but the "the greatest thing of this institution is your spirit. Jamia's spirit of resistance and the spirit you have shown is an inspiration to each and every democrat in this country. We stand with you. We stand with the courage you have shown and the faith you have shown in the Constitution of India". On 15 December, the police had barged into the varsity library and allegedly used force against students protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Hundreds of students, teachers and local people have been protesting outside the gate number 7 of the varsity, which has become a site of protest against the police action since then. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 12) An autopsy conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has discovered that Filipina domestic worker Jeanelyn Villavende, who was killed in Kuwait recently, could have been sexually abused as well. Department of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said that the body of Villavende has clear indications of sexual abuse based on the autopsy done last Jan. 10. Authorities have said Villavende had been beaten black and blue before being taken to the hospital. An embalming certificate released by the Kuwait's Ministry of Health confirmed that the 26-year-old overseas Filipino worker was killed on December 28, 2019. Her family only learned about her death two days after. Further, Guevarra said that NBIs autopsy also found out that Villavende could have been beaten weeks before her death. There were also old healed wounds indicating that Villavende had been battered weeks prior to the fateful incident. The formal report by the NBI will be submitted to him on Monday, January 13. The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration has already filed an administrative case against the agency that recruited Villavende. Meanwhile, Department of Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello III recently said that there might be a total ban on the deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait if Villavendes autopsy report would show that she was badly beaten. CNN Philippines' Anjo Calimario and Vince Ferreras contributed to this report Thousands of citizens on Sunday congregated in Mumbai's suburban Jogeshwari to oppose the new citizenship law, the proposed NRC and NPR. They also condemned last Sunday's violence on the JNU campus in Delhi, where masked men ran riot and attacked students. Leftist organisations had claimed RSS-affiliated ABVP's role in the attack, a charge denied by the students' body. Former Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS) general secretary Fahad Ahmed told PTI that they assembled under the aegis of 'Hum Bharat Ke Log' in Millat Nagar area. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi should call 56 students from across the country to debate on the CAA, NRC and NPR," Ahmed said in an apparent jibe at Modi's "56 inch chest" remark, which the latter had made ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. "Why the PM is not talking to us? Why is he not communicating? Even the Britishers used to talk to Indians whom they ruled, but our PM is not talking to poor people," he alleged. Bollywood actot Sushasht Singh also spoke on the occasion. "We are people of this country and such acts (CAA) are tarnishing the image of our country," he said. At the gathering, people waved banners with slogans like "I Am From Gujarat, My Documents Burned in 2002", "No CAA, Boycott NRC, Stop Dividing India, Don't Divide us", "Save Constitution", written on them. A large number of police personnel were present at the venue. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which was notified on January 10, grants Indian citizenship to non-Muslim minorities migrated to India from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh till December 31, 2014, following persecution over their faith. Massive protests were witnessed against the CAA, mainly by the student community, since its passage by Parliament in December last year. Opposition parties have been dubbing the CAA an "anti-Muslim" legislation, a charge being debunked by the government. The Congress and other parties like the TMC have also opposed the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR). Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that the government won't rest until persecuted refugees are granted Indian citizenship. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kris Fade, an Australian-Lebanese radio presenter, host and musician will be the chief guest at Mushrif Malls 4th edition of the annual Talentology 2020, a major talent show in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Registration for entries is open from January 1 to 15 online at mushrifmalltalentology.com. From February 12, the profiles will be posted on a website and online voting closes on February 28. Kris Fade said: I look forward to be part of this initiative that encourages young talent to explore and develop their artistic talents and applaud Mushrif Mall for offering support to winning entrants. I urge everyone who is creative, who can dance well or has a good voice to register and be part of the show. Aravind Ravi Palode, mall manager of Mushrif Mall, said: Talentology was initiated to offer the younger generation a platform to showcase their talent in the areas of performing arts, artistic design, robotics, virtual reality and other creative mediums. We hope to attract participants from all over the UAE this year. There are two age categories for the competition - 9 to 14 years (for kids) and age 15 and above (adults) and participants can upload their talent details which mall management along with Event Company will scrutinise to select 700 entries. Twelve finalists will then be further selected and informed following which an AV company will make a portfolio for finalists. There will be kids live performances on the 27th February and adults live performances on the 28th of February where finalists will be performing on stage in the evenings from 6pm to 9pm. Selected winners will again perform at the grand finale on the 29th of February showcasing various artistic performances and judged for appropriate artistic attire, stage presence and presentation when the winners will be announced. Talentology attracts over 10,000 registrations from mixed nationalities but only12 finalists are selected with two winners. The grand finale winners receive DH5,000 ($1,361) worth of mall vouchers and all finalists will get DH1,000 mall vouchers. Talentology is an energy packed competition organised by Mushrif Mall for talented youth with a passion for success. The Mall recognizes the role the young play in society and Talentology helps promote unity in the community, assists in gaining self-confidence and provides an unforgettable experience of being part of a memorable event. TradeArabia News Service Beijing wared Taipei against any ideas about independence while the Kuomintang (KMT) licked its wounds after the DPP won more votes than ever before in Taiwan's presidential elections. Hong Kong may have been crucial for Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen's victory, but KMT candidate Han Kuo-yu may well have dug his own grave before the protests even started We have one consistent line when it comes to Taiwan policy. We support 'peaceful reunification' and 'one country, two systems.' We are strictly opposed to any separatist plot aiming at 'Taiwanese independence.' The harsh words were plastered across the front page of Sunday's People's Daily, the official newspaper of China's Communist Party (CCP), without mentioning the impressive, 57,1 percent victory of Tsai Ing-wen over the pro-Beijig Han Kuo-yu, who won just over 38 percent. The lines also directly attacked Tsai's victory speech on Saturday evening where she again flatly rejected Beijing's one country, two systems policy, instead warning Beijing against putting pressure and threatening Taiwan's sovereignty while calling for dialogue between equal partners. Monster victory With 8,17 million votes against Han Kuo-yu's 5,52 million Tsai Ing-wen won more votes than any Taiwanese presidential candidate before. However, she did not beat the 58,45 percent score gained by her predecessor Ma Ying-chiu (also DPP), who won the elections in 2006 with 7,65 million votes. The turnout of Saturday's vote was a solid 75 percent of Taiwan's more than 19 million voters. Parliamentary elections which were held in tandem with the presidentials also turned out well for the DPP as they won 61 seats, still an absolute majority in the 113 seat Legislative Yuan, but here they lost 7 seats compared to 2016. The KMT, which had 35 seats, gained three seats, climbing to 38. Overall, Saturday's elections annulled the significance of the 2018 local election results when Han Kuo-yu, which managed to wipe away most of DPP control on the island, winning 16 out of 22 municipalities and counties, leaving the DPP with only six, where they controlled 13 before. Han wave broken This Han wave that offered solid prospects of a presidential victory for Han Kuo-yu, was driven by a barrage of fantastic economic promises, where he said that he would bring a Disneyland theme park to Taiwan and integrate second city (of which he is mayor) Kaohsiong in the world's F1 racing circuit to help boost the economy. He rapidly captivated a growing public that was not deterred by his populist style and sometimes racist and misogenic remarks. But according to most opinion polls, Han's popularity entered a steep decline in April last year, while Tsai's popularity rose. Most analysts agree that the situation in Hong Kong, and its government's clumsy handling of a controversial extradition bill that lead to increasingly violent protests, was the main reason that Tsai's popularity grew, as she took the Hong Kong example as a warning against what all-too-close ties with Beijing could mean for Taiwan. Private visit But before protests in Hong Kong had erupted on a city wide scale, Han Kuo-yu had already undermined all chances of ever becoming Taiwan's president. On March 23, in an unprecedented move, he decided to deviate from an official trip to Hong Kong and Macao and, without informing his delegation, paid a private visit to the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LOCPG), Beijing's de-facto embassy in Hong Kong. Han met with then LOCPG director Wang Zhimin (who was replaced by Beijing in early January.) The content of this conversation, which took place around the time that Taiwan was gearing up for the Primaries, was never disclosed, but led to increasingly harsh criticism of Han, accusing him of selling out to China, and raising fears that Beijing may exploit the visit to propagate its one country, two systems policy. His popularity started to decline immediately after the incident. Anti-Beijing sentiments Weeks later, unrelated, protests in Hong Kong against the governments' introduction of an extradition bill exploded and reached a boiling point in June. Tsai Ing-wen deftly used Hong Kong's anti-Beijing sentiments for her own political campaign with the slogan today Hong Kong, tomorrow Taiwan, answering to concerns of Taiwanese people, 90 percent of whom, according to a poll held by Taipei's Mainland Affairs Council, increasingly disapprove of Beijing's one country, two systems initiative. But thanks to her rival Han Kuo-yu's impromptu overtures to mainland authorities in March, she may have won her victory without even using the Hong Kong protests as a political tool to gain support. China News on Women Sorry, the page you requested was not found. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Womenofchina.cn, try visiting the Womenofchina Home page Onitsha Eastern Nigeria, 12thJan 2020 -Accepting responsibility for downing a Ukrainian Boeing 737-800 (Flight PS752) and killing all the 176 passengers on board moments after it took off on Iranian soil is not enough to appease departed souls of the innocent 176 passengers drawn from seven countries. If this dastardly act is allowed to go by, then the souls of the those murdered in the air shall never rest, Intersociety said today in a statement signed by Emeka Umeagbalasi, Chair of the Board and Ndidiamaka Bernard, Esq., Head of Intl Justice & Human Rights. As a matter of fact, the souls of the murdered, if nothing is done, shall permanently run riot from their cosmic world to that of the living; with the spiritual riot and warfare waged for over 100 years by the victims of the Igbo Landing or Suicide in the US State of Georgia being a childs play. In the instant case, therefore, there must be three-way-traffic-justice: for the murdered in the air, for the perpetrators (punishment) and for the society (deterrence). That is to say that the Government and leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran must face intl criminal investigation, punishment and de-radicalization, Intersociety added. It is recalled that Iran has accepted responsibility for downing the Ukrainian owned Passenger Plane, loaded in Iran and heading to Canada. The civilian aircraft with 176 passengers including crew members crashed moments after takeoff, killing all the passengers. Initially thought, without proper or forensic investigation, to be aviation accident, Iran, emerging from its row with USA, grudgingly claimed a mistaken responsibility; hinging on imaginary cruise missile attack . The slain nationals included 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedish, four Afghans, three Britons and three Germans. The Canadian authorities also confirmed that the majority of the passengers on the flight were headed for Canada and that out of the 176 victims, 138 had listed Canada as their final destination. Of them, 63 carried a Canadian passport, but many others were foreign students, permanent residents or visitors. The Iranian military and Government authorities, on their part, said the passenger jet had been misidentified as a cruise missile flying over Tehran. Accepting responsibility is commendable but it is not enough. In the context of international customary, humanitarian and human rights laws including the Geneva Conventions (Laws of War or Armed Conflict) of 1949, the Government of Iran acted beyond excuses and defenses. The downing and mass killings on Iranian soil further exposed the countrys gross incompetence and incapability despite its boast of attaining a greater height or feat in modern military and scientific sophistication; to the extent that its air defense system could not differentiate between a cruise missile and passenger aircraft in the air. In all, the country has not grown militarily and tactically, except putting the Middle East and the rest of the world on the path of constant threats of fears, tears and bloodletting. The worst of it all is that Iran acted and blundered under no war situation as its war of words with the United States and its allies is nowhere near a war situation. Iran is also not in a state of internal warfare. And to the best of the world knowledge, USA and its allies has not declared war against Tehran which would have warranted activation of its territorial defensive system including countering or neutralizing the so called cruise missiles. Assuming Iran is involved in inter-state or intra state warfare, the country would have still violated the existing Laws of War of 1949 premised on Jus In Bellum, Jus Ad Bellum and Jus Post Bellum. This is because the Laws of War do not permit the shooting or destructive targeting of non military necessity such as the referenced Passenger Plane or the Ukrainian Boeing 737-800 (Flight PS752). In such callous attacks and dastardly acts, no derogations or defenses or excuses are allowed. In other words, the perpetrators must be fished out and severely punished. The Iranian acceptance of domestic and international responsibility also amount to shedding of crocodile tears as till date, perpetrators responsible are still on the prowl and under the cover and protection of the Iranian Government. These, further, are clear violations of the intl law principle of complementarity and no impunity or brazen and deliberate display of inability and unwillingness to act. The United Nations particularly the UNSC and UNSG are hereby called upon to act in coherent with powers and responsibilities vested or entrusted. The same way UN had intervened in the past by way of independent civil or criminal inquiries or commissions or investigations including looking into the assassination of former Prime Minister (Ms) Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan (2008), the 14 February 2005 assassination of Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri and the UN intl commission of Inquiry on Darfur Sudan (2006); shall be replicated in the instant case. On the other hand, the Islamic Republic of Iran must have its present disastrous military and violent influence particularly in the Middle East and rest of the world curtailed or checkmated. The country has become a serious threat to international peace, security and safety. Our recent condemnation of the assassination of its conventional army general in Iraq does not absolve the country of regional and intl responsibility in the context of threats to world peace and security. Our strong condemnation of the US action followed its callous resort to illegalities and shortcuts. If radical Islamism was adopted by the Iranian revolutionaries as an ideology in their 1979 Iranian Islamic revolution, such ideology should not have been retained as major policy trust or direction, or given state color and protection. This is more so when to make the Universal Declaration of Human Rights possible in 1947/48, major world religions and their leaders including Catholics, Pentecostals, Anglicans, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Judaists, etc, were congregated, aggregated and prevailed upon by the UN and the Elizabeth Roosevelt Committee to lower their respective radical ideologies for world to live in peace and human rights and co-exist. Signed: Contacts: WhatsApp/Phone: +2348174090052 Email: [email protected] URL/Website: www.intersociety-ng.org In a letter to her grandchildren, our latest contributor imagines the world of 2050, and what our actions might have shaped that reality. "In contemplating the world in 2050, I cannot imagine the choices ahead of you. Now in 2020 we have strong predictions about how the climate will change over the next 30 years, but no way of knowing how effective we will be at reducing global warming." "Congress, factious, domineering, tyrannical Congress has undertaken to poison the minds of the American people," the embattled president declared in fiery speeches. His political foes have been aided, he charged, by their "hirelings" in a "mercenary and subsidized press." The president was Andrew Johnson, who in 1866 was already facing impeachment threats just a year after succeeding assassinated Republican President Abraham Lincoln. So Johnson sought to rally his supporters in speeches outside of Washington in much the way President Donald Trump has done for months. Johnson, a Tennessee Democrat, was under attack from Radical Republicans in Congress for his post-Civil War unity policy of bringing Southern white supremacists back into government. Although he was anti-slavery, he vetoed bills giving black Americans new rights, but Congress overrode his vetoes. In the late summer of 1866, the 57-year-old president began an 18-day speaking tour to promote what he called "My Plan." The trip's purpose ostensibly was to travel to Chicago to lay a cornerstone for a monument honoring late U.S. senator Stephen Douglas. But "the unmistakable object," the Philadelphia Press said, "is of course to influence the fall elections." Johnson hoped to help elect more Democrats and moderate Republicans to Congress. The route would take the president by train from Washington through upstate New York, then as far west as St. Louis and back through Maryland. The press called it "Andy's Swing Around the Circle." The presidential party left Washington on a special Baltimore & Ohio train at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 28. The tour started off smoothly, with Johnson drawing big crowds in Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York City. In New York, headlines in the pro-Johnson New York Times blared: "Great Popular Demonstration of Regard And Esteem. Half A Million Of People Enthusiastic." To help boost crowds, Johnson brought along Civil War heroes Adm. James Farragut and Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. As the tour continued into upstate New York, Johnson kept to his script. He boasted about his rise from a simple tailor in Tennessee. As the anti-Johnson Chicago Tribune put it, the theme was "Andrew Johnson, the humble individual who has filled every office from village alderman to President of the United States." But Johnson started to go off message in Cleveland, where the thin-skinned president angrily responded to hecklers. The president attacked the Radical Republicans in Congress led by Rep. Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania, declaring, "He who is opposed to the restoration of the government and the Union of the states is a greater traitor" than former Confederate president Jefferson Davis. When a voice shouted, "Hang Jeff Davis," Johnson yelled back: "Why don't you hang Thad Stevens?" Republican Sen. James Doolittle of Wisconsin, who was traveling with Johnson, later asked, "Mr. President, did you not lower your dignity in responding to the crowd?" Johnson responded: "- my dignity," one Cleveland newspaper delicately reported. "I was bound to give 'em back what they gave me." The backlash was fierce. One paper called Johnson's Cleveland remarks "the most disgraceful speech ever delivered by any President of the United States." Even the supportive New York Times admonished: "The president of the United States cannot enter upon an exchange of epithets with the brawling of a mob without seriously compromising his official character." In Chicago, Johnson drew a big crowd but a cool response. The Illinois governor and members of the Chicago City Council boycotted his speech. Grant wrote to his wife, "I have never been so tired of anything before as I have been with the political stump speeches of Mr. Johnson. I look upon them as a national disgrace." In St. Louis, Johnson's racist views surfaced. He said he had been "slandered" for vetoing civil rights laws for black citizens and called for favoring "the emancipation of the white man as well as the colored ones." Because he dared to use his veto power, he said, some in Congress "clamor and talk about impeachment." He falsely accused "this radical Congress" of fomenting violence in New Orleans in July by encouraging black people there to arm themselves. Actually, white men with guns and clubs had attacked unarmed blacks marching in a parade and killed more than 40 of them. Johnson bragged about pardoning 47,000 rebels: "I reckon I have pardoned more men, turned more loose and set them at liberty that were imprisoned than any other living man on God's habitable globe." When some called him a "Judas," he compared himself instead to "the savior" who forgave repentant sinners rather than executing them. Johnson became so incoherent that some observers speculated he was drunk. The Chicago Tribune headline on the speech read: "The Ravings of a Besotted and Debauched Demagogue." The president's train tour was clearly going off the rails. "Mr. Johnson is badly afflicted with himself; added to which are a sensitive, irascible temper, a want of self-control and self-respect and a vehement, passionate haranguing style of speaking," wrote the Springfield Republican, a Massachusetts newspaper. "Altogether these qualities are making a sad muddle of his speeches. He has no patience with the people who differ from him." Johnson's speeches, which were sent by telegraph to newspapers around the country, stirred anger in the North. On Sept. 10, when the president tried to speak to a crowd in Indianapolis from his hotel balcony, he was shouted down by cries of "We want nothing to do with traitors." Pro- and anti-Johnson forces clashed in the streets. Gunshots rang out, and one man was killed. A bullet later was found in the wall of Johnson's empty hotel room. By the time the train tour limped back to Washington in mid-September, the reviews were in. "For the first time in the history of our country," wrote the New York Independent, "the people have been witness to the mortifying spectacle of the president going from town to town ... on an electioneering raid, denouncing his opponents, bandying epithets with men in the crowd, and praising himself and his policies. Such a humiliating exhibition has never before been seen, nor anything even approaching to it." Some supporters of Johnson's policies stuck with him. New York Democratic leader Samuel Tilden said: "Let no man say to me that Andrew Johnson sometimes makes passionate and often angry remarks; let no man say to me that he sometimes omits what the fastidious critic might call indiscretions. I see them not. I see him only rising in the distance." Voters delivered the final verdict in the 1866 election by overwhelmingly electing Radical Republicans to Congress. Doolittle estimated that Johnson's speeches cost him 1 million voters. On Feb. 24, 1868, Johnson became the first president ever to be impeached. The House vote was 128 to 47 along party lines. Ironically, one of the initial articles of impeachment was based on the very speeches Johnson had made to try to win support. The article charged that the president did "make and declare, with a loud voice certain intemperate, inflammatory, and scandalous harangues, and therein utter loud threats and bitter menaces as well against Congress." Though the article was dropped, Johnson's swing around the country had come full circle. His Senate trial began March 5, 1868. - - - Shafer is a former Washington political features editor at the Wall Street Journal and author of " The Carnival Campaign: How The Rollicking 1840 Campaign Of 'Tippecanoe and Tyler Too' Changed Presidential Elections Forever ." 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. Three "most wanted" Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists were killed on Sunday in an encounter with security forces in the Tral area of Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, police said. The terrorists -- Umer Fayaz Lone alias "Hamad Khan" of Seer village, Faizan Hamid of Mandoora and Adil Bashir Mir alias "Abu Dujana" of Monghama -- were wanted for their complicity in terror crimes, including attacks on security establishments and civilian atrocities, a police spokesman said. He said the trio were affiliated with the proscribed Hizbul Mujahideen terror outfit and were trapped during a cordon-and-search operation jointly launched by police and security forces on a specific intelligence input in the Gujar Basti Gulshanpora area of Tral. As the forces were conducting searches, the militants fired at them, triggering an encounter, resulting in their killing, the spokesman said. According to police records, the spokesman said, Lone had a long history of terror crimes since 2016 and was involved in planning and executing several terror attacks in the area. "He was part of groups responsible for carrying out a series of terror attacks and many other civilian atrocities besides killing of policeman Haleem Kohli of Gutroo Bangdar Tral and killing of civilian Mehraj Din Zarger of Tral," he said, adding he was wanted in 16 cases registered at Tral police station and two cases at Awantipora police station. Similarly, the spokesman said, Adil Bashir Mir and Faizan Hamid had a history of terror crimes and were also involved in carrying out several terror attacks in the area. "They were also part of the group involved in the killing of civilian Mehraj Din Zarger near Tral Bus Stand and were responsible for several other terror crimes. Terror crime cases were registered against both of them including three cases at Tral Police Station. "Incriminating material, arms and ammunition were recovered from the site of the encounter," the spokesman said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a new daring letter to the Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a top Iranian dissident politician Mehdi Karroubi has dismissed him as "unqualified" for running the country. Referring to the downing of Ukraine Airlines Boeing 737 that killed all 176 passengers and crew January 8, Karroubi has insisted in the letter that Khamenei has none of the qualifications stipulated in the Islamic Republic Constitution for the leadership of the country. The plane was heading to Kyiv from Tehran when an anti-air missile shot it down outside the Iranian capital city. After three consecutive days of denials and under internal and international pressure, the Islamic Republic admitted on Saturday that it had "erroneously" shot down the doomed plane. For long, I had been contemplating to write a comprehensive and detailed letter on Iran's affairs and management, Karroubi says in his letter, adding, the tragedy of downing the Ukraine Airlines Boeing made it even more urgent. As the Chief Commander of Iran's Armed forces, "you are directly responsible" for shooting down the plane and killing all its crew and passengers, Karroubi reiterates, noting that the present situation in Iran is the outcome of Khamenei's inappropriate meddling in all affairs. While several media outlets close to Khamenei have claimed that the tragedy was reported to him two days after it occurred, Karroubi has asserted that he was informed about the plane immediately. "It is a shame that you were aware of the incident on Wednesday, and still allowed the military and civil authorities, and the country's propaganda machine to deceive the people for three days. It is also a shame if you were not aware of the disaster for two days. Karroubi has concluded, "Undoubtedly, you are not qualified for the leadership as is required by the Constitution." Furthermore, the twice speaker of the country's parliament (1989-1992 / 2000-2004) has accused Khamenei of having no "insight," "courage," "managerial requirements," and "sufficient power." Meanwhile, the 82-year-old mid-ranking cleric has asserted that Khamenei's mismanagement is not limited to the downing of a passenger plane. "You are responsible for the political chain murders (1988-98) since you never allowed a thorough investigation. The responsibility of vote-rigging and brutal suppression of the protesters during the 2009 presidential election and finally suppressing and killing people protesting a three-fold increase in gasoline prices last November" Karroubi says in the letter. In a similar letter in 2017, Karroubi had called upon Khamenei to pave the way for amending the Islamic Republic's Constitution. Karroubi, along with former Prime Minister, Mir Hossein Mousavi, was the primary challenger of the incumbent hardliner president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the 2009 presidential election. Ahmadinejad was officially declared the winner. Mousavi and Karroubi's followers poured into the streets to protest, accusing Khamenei and the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps of "engineering" the election. Later in February 2011, Karroubi and Mousavi, along with Mousavis wife, Zahra Rahnavard, were detained and placed under house arrest after inviting people to demonstrate in favor of what was described as the "Arab Spring." They are still under house arrest. Dubai: Protests erupted across Iran for a second day on Sunday, piling pressure on the leadership after its military admitted shooting down a Ukrainian airliner. "They are lying that our enemy is America, our enemy is right here," a group of protesters outside a university in Tehran chanted, according to video clips posted on Twitter. Posts showed other demonstrators outside a second university and a group of protesters marching to Tehran's Azadi (Freedom) Square. The videos also showed protests in other cities. Britain said its ambassador in Iran Rob Macaire was briefly detained on Saturday, which Iranian media said was because he was inciting protests. The envoy said he attended a vigil for plane victims. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-13 06:23:19|Editor: yan Video Player Close ROME, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Italian city of Parma in northern Emilia Romagna region celebrated its status of Italian capital of culture 2020 with an official ceremony on Sunday. Throughout the year, a dense program made up of some 500 events -- including exhibitions, shows, concerts, and gastronomic happenings -- will develop in different premises across the city. In the official presentation, Mayor Federico Pizzarotti pledged to make use of this initiative to "create time and space for meeting and dialogue, recognizing the multicultural richness of our history." "We will do this without forgetting that we are addressing the entire country, and that we must always look outside our own borders, because Italy means Europe," Pizzarotti said. Held at Parma's opera house Teatro Regio (Royal Theater), the official ceremony was part of a three-day celebration that included a civic parade on Saturday and a traditional feast on Monday. This would kick off the yearlong campaign, which local authorities have put under the theme "Culture defeats time". "Indeed, culture is a sort of metronome of history, a key that allows us to understand the past, interpret the present, and plan the future," Italian President Sergio Mattarella pointed out in his keynote speech at the Teatro Regio, alongside local authorities. "Culture pushes us toward innovation...and gives us the strength to go forward, together. Defeating time means also this: to face modernity," Mattarella added. Three major exhibitions would kick off in these three days across the city. Opening at the Governor's Palace (until May 3) will be the exhibition "Time Machine", focused on the perception of time and space through the works of several artists and filmmakers. A second exhibition themed "We, the Food, and the Planet: feeding a sustainable future" set up at the Saint Ludovico art gallery (until April 3) and in other premises will offer photos, multimedia experiences, and debates on the importance of a sustainable management of the food system. Finally, a third exhibition (until March 15) would celebrate the history of Gazzetta di Parma daily, which started publishing in 1735. The food theme was strong in Parma's annual program as capital of culture, considering the deep gastronomic traditions and high relevance of the food and wine industry in the current economy of the city and of the entire region. While Parma itself is renowned for its ham and Parmesan cheese, the Emilia Romagna region can also boast a high number of origin-protected food products. This added to a rich cultural heritage spanning from arts to music and architecture. Selected by the Ministry of Culture in February 2019, Parma was described as "a virtuous and extremely high-quality example of local culturally-based planning." The city was praised by the jury for its ability to actively involve and coordinate in the planning policy "an extremely complex system of various social actors" ranging from private companies to local universities and research centers. It also highlighted Parma's strong attitude "in the reception and management of creativity in the perspective of global sustainability." A Houston jury deliberated about four hours before sentencing Mark Castellano on Friday to 27 years in prison and a $10,000 fine for the 2012 death of his girlfriend, Michelle Warner. A day earlier, jurors convicted Castellano, 39, of murder rejecting claims by his attorneys that he acted in self-defense when he choked the 31-year-old mother of two to death in the bedroom of their Houston home. Castellano did not react, and Warner's family members wiped their eyes as the verdict was read by state District Judge Jan Crocker. During more than a week of testimony, prosecutors proved that Castellano strangled Warner after telling a friend he wanted to kill her and take their son to live with his parents in West Texas. After killing Warner and putting her body in a closet, Castellano took their son to stay with his parents in Odessa. A day later, he returned to Houston and put the body in a plastic container and drove back to West Texas to bury her in a shallow grave in a Midland oilfield. For days, Castellano told family members and authorities that Warner, who had a previous conviction for drug use, had abandoned her children. At the urging of police, Castellano agreed to an interview with Dr. Phil in which he told the talk show host that Warner walked out of their Houston apartment after a fight and disappeared. He later confessed to the crime, and said she took a swing at him and the two fell while he had his hands around her neck. He also told investigators where to find her body. Because jurors could have found that Castelleno acted in sudden passion, he could have been sentenced to as little as two years in prison. He will be eligible for parole in 13 years and six months. TEHRAN, Iran, Jan.12 Trend: Irans Imam Khomeini Airport announced the cancellation of foreign flights of the Islamic Republic of Iran Airlines to Europe. Following the cancellation of foreign flights of the Islamic Republic of Iran Airlines to Europe, the Imam Khomeini Airport requested passengers to be informed of the latest status of their flights before departing for the airport, Trend reports citing IRNA. Some foreign airlines have cancelled their flights to Iran after the Ukrainian plane crash. Ukrainian International Airlines (UIA) flight crashed just minutes after takeoff from Tehran on Wednesday, 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. Ukrainians, Swedes, Afghans, Germans and British nationals were also aboard. Germanys Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines suspended flights to Tehran until Jan. 20. French airline KLM Air France suspended flights over Iraqi and Iranian airspace. Norwegian Air Shuttle said it is rerouting Dubai flights, Reuters reported. Vietnam Airlines has rerouted flights. Taiwans largest carrier China Airlines will not fly over Iran or Iraq.Malaysia Airlines said it would avoid Iranian airspace.Singapore Airlines Ltd said flights would be diverted to avoid Iranian airspace.Australias Qantas Airways Ltd adjusted routes to avoid both countries airspace, Air Canada was altering its routes. Meanwhile Turkish Airlines, the Emirates, Qatar Airways continues to operate flights to Tehran and in Iranian airspace. Aeroflot, Kuwait Airways, China Southern Airlines, Oman Air and Omans SalamAir are scheduled to operate flights to Tehran over the weekend. Vodafone Hutchison Australia has announced that it would team up with Finnish telecommunications giant Nokia to build its 5G network in the country, with the announcement coming well ahead of a court decision on a challenge against a bid to block its merger with TPG Telecom. The rollout will commence in the first half of 2020. A court decision on whether to allow Vodafone and TPG Telecom to merge is expected in February next year, after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission knocked back the merger which was announced in August last year. In a statement issued by Nokia on Monday, Vodafone chief executive Inaki Berroeta said: "This is an exciting milestone in Vodafones 5G network rollout. We have worked with Nokia for several years across different elements of our network. They presented a compelling roadmap that aligned with our 5G objectives and will help us to continue improving our 4G network for our customers. Their knowledge of our network is extensive, and they are in the best position to ensure a seamless transition and that we reach our 5G goals as soon as possible while maintaining the best experience for our 4G customers. Vodafone had only one other choice, the Swedish firm Ericsson, after the Federal Government banned Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE from playing any role in 5G in the country. The statement said the Vodafone-Nokia agreement would be for a minimum of five years and would give the telco the flexibility to increase or decrease the pace of its 5G rollout as it wished. Vodafone's first lot of 5G sites are expected to be switched on in and around Paramatta, with these site having been originally used for a test network. Federico Guillen, president, Customer Operations EMEA & APAC at Nokia, said the company was pleased to be further strengthening its relationship with Vodafone Hutchison Australia. We are delighted to be working closer with Vodafone Hutchison Australia on transforming its network to deliver superior 5G services to its customers, he said. We started our 5G journey with Vodafone in 2016 and are now moving from trials to reality. Nokias end-to-end portfolio has a key role to play here, with this deal including 5G radio access network (RAN), IP/Optical, Microwave, deployment and managed services, as well as software. TPG suspended work on its 5G mobile network in January, after the Huawei ban made it impossible to continue. The company had spent about $100 million on gear before deciding to give up. Had the network been set up, it would have been the fourth in Australia and is likely to have led to a price war, with customers set to benefit. There has been no word from TPG on the Vodafone announcement. Nikolas Gvosdev is a Russian-American international relations scholar who is concerned that President Trump is repudiating the Carter doctrine on the Middle East. What is this doctrine that Gvosdev is referring to? No, it's not what you might first suspect, appeasement. Rather, it's that the U.S. considers instability in the Persian Gulf region an assault on vital American interests which will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force. This doctrine was not a Senate-ratified treaty or anything so formal. Rather, it was defined in a State of the Union address that Carter gave in 1980 in the midst of the second oil shock. The Carter doctrine was essentially a promise to the world that the U.S. would ensure the free flow of oil through the Persian Gulf. According to Gvosdev, to the Carter Doctrine a ' corollary ' was added in 1981 by President Reagan. It held that the internal stability of the governments in the region, as well as their safety from external attack, was a prime national interest of the United States. I n today's world, it is foolhardy to try and maintain such a commitment. But back when these policies were made, the Carter doctrine and the Reagan corollary made sense. The U.S.S.R. had not yet fallen. America was highly dependent on Middle Eastern energy. China was still a backward peasant country. But things are different now. Gvosdev is worried that President Trump is in the process of questioning the strategic logic of these commitments given that the U.S. has become energy independent and that the U.S. has already spent (squandered) much blood and treasure in the Middle East in recent years. And the horror of it, President Trump is suggesting that U.S. allies who continue to depend on oil from the Middle East take up more of the burden and cost of developing and sustaining the Middle Eastern security architecture. This, in-and-of itself, does not actually repudiate the Carter doctrine. In Carter's State of the Union address, he said security of the Persian Gulf "demands the participation of all those who rely on oil from the Middle East and who are concerned with global peace and stability." That part seemed to have been forgotten by one and all as the full burden of guaranteeing free oil flow out of that troubled region has fallen fully on the United States since then. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 21:11:34|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close DAMASCUS, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Syrian choppers dropped leaflets on rebel-held areas in the northern province of Aleppo, urging civilians to leave rebel-held areas through humanitarian corridors which opened on Sunday, a war monitor reported. The military helicopters dropped the leaflets on areas in the western countryside of Aleppo and urged the civilians in both Aleppo and Idlib to leave rebel-held areas through three humanitarian corridors opened by the Russian forces, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. "Our families in Idlib and the western countryside of Aleppo, the Syrian army is keen for your safety. Protect you and preserve your lives through leaving the armed men areas and heading toward the crossings opened by the Russians," one of the leaflets read. The corridors are prepared for the civilians who are willing to leave rebel-held areas to government-controlled ones in Idlib, which is part of implementing a truce in the part of the country, a military source told Xinhua on Saturday. The corridors are opened in the city of Habit in the south of Idlib, Abu al-Duhur in the east of Idlib and al-Hadir in the southern countryside of Aleppo. The move comes as Russia and Turkey mediated a new cease-fire in Idlib last week, following several failed attempts to establish a cessation of hostilities. The cease-fire went into force on Saturday, according to the Observatory, which noted that cautious calm has prevailed the cease-fire area in Idlib over the past 12 hours save for some shelling by the government forces. The Syrian army has made notable progress in recent weeks in the battles against the rebels in Idlib, capturing several areas in the quest to liberate the road linking Hama Province with Aleppo in the north. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said recently that the battle against terrorism in Idlib is a priority for the Syrian government. Idlib has emerged as the main destination of the rebel groups, which have evacuated several positions across Syria after surrendering to the Syrian army. Certain parts of Idlib are covered by a de-escalation zone deal brokered by Russia and Turkey which backs the rebels. However, such deals exclude the ultra-radical rebels who are affiliated with the al-Qaida and designated as terrorists by the United Nations. The Government will not have enough votes to win a confidence motion in health minister, Simon Harris, Independent.ie can reveal. The Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, is now almost certain to bow to growing pressure in Fine Gael to call a general election either this week or before the end of the month. Fianna Fail TD John McGuinness has confirmed he will defy his party and vote no confidence in Mr Harris rather than abstain early next month. The Sunday Independent also understands that Independent TD Noel Grealish, on whom the Government relies for support, will abstain, meaning the Fine Gael minority government faces defeat in the Dail, a development which will almost certainly trigger the collapse of the administration and a general election. Senior Fine Gael and Government sources want and now expect Mr Varadkar to call an election in the coming days, but the Taoiseach was still considering his options yesterday and seeking the views of those in contact with him. He is understood to have said he will do it "my way" rather than repeat the actions of his predecessors, including former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, who famously made a Sunday morning trip to Aras an Uachtarain in 2007 to ask for the Dail to be dissolved. Ministers are in the dark as to Mr Varadkar's intentions, although one Cabinet member said they did not expect anything to happen until the Taoiseach meets Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin on Tuesday. In a significant intervention which could now force Mr Varadkar's hand, Mr McGuinness said he would vote against the embattled Mr Harris and called on his own party colleagues to defy Mr Martin and do likewise. "I am urging members of my own party and beyond to consider what is happening here, the fact that there is no leadership, we're in limbo and the country is not being properly administered," he said. "I will vote in favour of a motion of no confidence in Simon Harris. "It is a charade and poor leadership, it is damaging the country and the people we represent. Every member of the parliament has to reflect on that, the Government, Opposition and particularly Fianna Fail. Call the election, name the date for the election and stop all this nonsense." Read More Mr McGuinness said he was not concerned that he could be expelled from the Fianna Fail parliamentary party. "What's at stake here is something far bigger than the parliamentary party and I believe this is the right thing to do at this time of clear uncertainty," he said. Meanwhile, Mr Grealish has told friends that his agreement to support the Government in crucial Dail votes concluded after the Brexit deal was struck, and it is understood he will abstain in any Dail vote on Mr Harris. The decisions by Mr McGuinness and Mr Grealish mean that if all TDs are present and vote along party lines and in accordance with previous confidence votes, the Government will lose a Dail vote by 56 to 55. The Government can also not be assured of the support of other Independent TDs Denis Naughten and Michael Lowry this weekend. Mr Lowry refused to be drawn on whether he would back Mr Harris, saying he did not think the Dail will last that long. "My assessment of the present political circumstances lead me to the firm conclusion that the current Dail will not be given the opportunity to debate a confidence motion in health minister Simon Harris," he said. "Dail procedures dictate that this confidence motion will not be heard until February 5. I expect the Taoiseach to exercise his prerogative to call an election which will be well under way by February 5. Therefore speculation on my voting intentions is immaterial and irrelevant." Mr Naughten did not return calls about his intentions. The motion of no confidence in Mr Harris is set to be debated in the Dail on February 5, with the issue being pressed by rural Independent TDs, including Michael Collins, Mattie McGrath and Michael and Danny Healy-Rae. However, Government sources at all levels yesterday expressed the belief that the 32nd Dail will not last that long. "It can't go to April. There are 10 days left at most," a Cabinet minister said. A second Cabinet minister added: "I'd be firmly of the view that we're going now." Read More Transport minister Shane Ross said last night: "I've got a lot of work to do on the reforms to the FAI and I would prefer to see those implemented before a general election. So I would have a preference for an April/May date, but obviously that's not in my hands." However, a Government source said the election will be called this week, adding: "It's happening." The following editorial appeared in Sunday's Japan News-Yomiuri: - - - Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party was re-elected in the presidential election. She won by a landslide over Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu of the largest opposition Kuomintang party, among other candidates. Voters in Taiwan can be said to have chosen the continuation of an administration that values its singularity, saying no to China, which has been demanding unification. The most contentious issue was the relationship with China. "Democracy and tyranny cannot coexist in the same country," said Tsai, who has been clearly expressing her stance of rejecting China's demand for unification under the "one country, two systems" policy. Protests against China have intensified since June last year in Hong Kong, where the one country, two systems framework is applied. In Taiwan, too, there is a high perception of "Taiwan people's consciousness," mainly among the younger generations, where China and Taiwan are separate entities. "Taiwan cannot be the next Hong Kong," Tsai said, strengthening criticism of China. There is no doubt that Tsai's vigilance toward Beijing has been a tailwind for her. In contrast, Han called for stimulating the economy through reconciliation with China, but this did not win the heart of many voters. His economic policy relying on China lacked persuasiveness, partly because many Taiwan companies accelerated moves to return their production bases to Taiwan from China due to trade friction between Washington and Beijing. However, improving relations with China, which is a huge market, is indispensable for the long-term development of Taiwan's economy. How will Taipei realize the stability of China-Taiwan relations and expansion of bilateral economic exchanges while resisting Beijing's pressure toward unification? This will be the biggest challenge for Tsai's administration in its second term. In reality, China has refused to engage in political dialogue with the Tsai administration. Beijing has shrunk trade and personnel exchanges by putting pressure on Taiwan in the military and diplomatic spheres. This is because the Tsai administration does not accept the "one China" principle that regards Taiwan as a part of China. China continues to chip away at the number of countries that have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which has decreased to 15. Its isolation in the international community has been deepening. Late last year, the Tsai administration enacted a so-called anti-infiltration law to prevent China from exerting its influence in Taiwan. The move seemingly reflects a sense of alarm that China is trying to shape public opinion favorable to unification by disseminating fake news, among other methods. A hard-line stance toward China alone will not be enough to break out of the current situation in which Taipei cannot even hold dialogue with Beijing. Tsai also needs to listen to criticism that the law could be used by her administration to suppress opposition forces. Since 1996, seven presidential elections have been held in Taiwan, which led to a change of administration three times. China should respect Taiwan's democratic system and the will of the people. The coercive approach of using force as a backdrop only strengthens the antipathy of the Taiwan people. China must resume political dialogue with Taiwan to ease tensions. The stability and development of Taiwan are extremely important for Japan and its neighboring countries. Japan is urged to encourage dialogue between China and Taiwan. Television The Outsider: Jason Bateman is an executive producer and also plays a pillar of a small town community who is accused of a shocking crime, in this drama inspired by a Stephen King work. Ben Mendelsohn, Cynthia Erivo and Mare Winningham also star. (9 p.m. Sunday, HBO) Sanditon: Andrew Davies, the screenwriter who showed his talent for adapting great authors with such earlier works as Pride and Prejudice and Bleak House, wrote this series inspired by Jane Austens unfinished work. Rose Williams stars as Charlotte Heywood, a young lady from the country who finds herself visiting Sanditon, an English coastal town that would-be entrepreneurs are trying to turn into a seaside destination. Theo James (Downton Abbey) costars as Sidney Parker, a rather Mr. Darcy-like character, and Crystal Clarke plays an heiress from the West Indies, who encounters racism despite her fortune. (9 p.m. Sunday, PBS) Related: Sanditon': Jane Austens unfinished novel gets lively treatment in Masterpiece series The New Pope: When Jude Law starred in The Young Pope, he headed up one of the strangest series to appear on HBO. Now the drama that blended religion with dark satire returns for a continued story. Law is back as Pop Pius XIII, and John Malkovich joins the cast as Pope John Paul III. (9 p.m. Monday, HBO) Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time: The primetime event series that puts Jeopardy! champs Ken Jennings, James Holzhauer and Brad Rutter in a tournament format to determine which winner is The Greatest of All Time, returns. The tournament has been getting great ratings, which is terrific news, considering the first three installments have also been dynamite viewing. The first player to win three matches will emerge as the Greatest of All Time, and $1 million. The other two will each receive $250,000. Going into this fourth match, Jennings has won two, Holzhauer has won one, and Rutter hasnt won any. (8 p.m. ABC; stream via Hulu + Live TV) 68 Whiskey: In what sounds like a M+A+S+H-like idea, this new comedy drama focuses on an Army medic team in Afghanistan. Ron Howard and Brian Grazer are executive producers. (10 p.m. Wednesday, Paramount Network; stream on fuboTV) The Magicians: The fantasy series returns for Season 5. (10 p.m. Wednesday, Syfy; sgtream on , fuboTV, and YouTube TV) Grown-ish: The Black-ish spinoff comes back for Season 3. (8 p.m. Thursday, Freeform; stream via Hulu + Live TV, fuboTV, Sling TV, YouTube TV) Everythings Gonna Be Okay: Josh Thomas (Please Like Me) created and stars in this comedy-with-drama about Nicholas, a young man raised in Australia who comes to visit his father in Los Angeles. When the father dies, Nicholas winds up taking care of his teenage half-sisters in L.A. (8:30 p.m. Thursday, Freeform) Streaming Leslie Jones: Time Machine: The Saturday Night Live veteran stars in her own stand-up comedy special. Oddly enough, its directed by Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. (Streaming beginning Tuesday, Netflix) Grace and Frankie: Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin are back for the sixth season of their comedy. (Streaming beginning Wednesday, Netflix) -- Kristi Turnquist kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. January 8, 2020 Will Wilson , 706-866-9241 x137 Fort Oglethorpe, GA: Join in as volunteers from across the country take part in the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service on Monday, January 20, from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm. Volunteers are asked to meet at the Sherman Reservation on Missionary Ridge (2300 Lightfoot Mill Road, Chattanooga, TN) to sign in for the project. Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park proudly joins the nation as we honor the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his legacy of service by conducting a cleanup and invasive plant removal at the 73rd Pennsylvania Reservation. The MLK Day of Service encourages all Americans to improve their communities through volunteer service. 2020 marks the 25th anniversary of the annual service event since Congress designated the MLK holiday the first ever National Day of Service. Volunteers are asked to wear clothing appropriate for the weather and outdoor work that they do not mind getting dirty. Also, volunteers should wear sturdy, close-toed shoes or boots, NO flip-flops. All tools and supplies will be provided. Volunteers may want to bring a water bottle and snacks. For more information regarding this project, you may contact volunteer coordinator Will Wilson at 706-866-9241 x137 or will_wilson@nps.gov. For more information about programs at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, contact the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center at (706) 866-9241, the Lookout Mountain Battlefield Visitor Center at (423) 821-7786, or visit the parks website at www.nps.gov/chch The eternal words of English dramatist William Shakespeare rings true for all generations. Some are born great, some achieve greatness and others have it thrust upon them. Aare Okoyas greatness encapsulates the first two types of greatness. His parents were financially comfortable and so had a pivot to take off from. His dad was a tailor who had five houses in Lagos while his mum was a businesswoman who gave him part of the seed capital he used in plunging into the shark infested waters of Nigerian business. His formal education stopped at the primary school level as he attended the Ansar-U-Deen Primary school in Lagos state. He must have been a strong willed lad to have convinced his parents that he didnt need to further his education as it wasnt poverty that made him quit school so early in life. He said he was discouraged when he observed that his teachers were shabbily dressed compared to the businessmen he met at Dosunmu street the heart of business in Lagos at the time which was the major raison d etre for his not been too keen on a western education. He started out as an apprentice in his fathers shop and learnt the ropes of business from him as he was his first business mentor. He started out by selling buttons and zips and later by going to Japan to bring them into the country. He later delved into manufacturing when he established the Eleganza Group of Companies. His company manufactured biros, flasks, shoes, buttons, jewelry amongst many others. He invested heavily in the acquisition of state of the art machines as well as in human capital by ensuring that his members of staff were regularly abreast with the latest trends in the industry. He has a hard nose for business and can spot economic opportunities miles away. He went into real estate very early in life when he was barely nineteen as he set up RAO Properties. In his words which were gleaned from the Thisday Newspaper he said: My breakthrough in business came at the age of 19. I had built a house at Surulere, Chief Okoya reveals with a sense of rich humility. Thats a sentence in the story of his life. By the age of 21, he boasted of four houses at Surulere. At about 34, he had acquired a property on Ikoyi Crescent; four hectares of land in the heart of Ikoyi. By the time he clocked 40, two high-rise buildings had been added to his name. He has some words of advice for young Nigerian businessmen where he was quoted to have said: As a businessman, you have to be dynamic. As an entrepreneur, you have to be dynamic and embrace innovation. That is the only vehicle that will keep you going, he advises. For instance, I started with one item and over the last six decades, we have metamorphosed. From selling tailoring accessories such as buttons and zips to the manufacturing of coolers and later dabbled into real estate. Today, we are producing weave-on for ladies. We produce soaps, chairs, etc. He is an apostle of the diversification or multiple streams of income as well as a robust passive income plan which his life has shown. Eleganza has weathered the storms all through the decades and waxes stronger day by day despite the daunting challenges that made many of his competitors close shop or relocate their operations to neighbouring African nations as they found it impossible to scale their businesses. Living up to eighty years of age in the so called Giant of Africa where the life expectancy is a mere fourty-seven years is a great feat to be very grateful to the Almighty for. His health is also very sound and he can give men half his age a good run at the tracks. It is imperative that he writes or a biography is written about him so that the next generation especially of business leaders can learn one or two lessons about business and life from him. With the proliferation of universities across the country, the business model of his manufacturing interests should be studied in all the Faculties of Business Administration as it is only the real sector that can massively create jobs to reduce the mind boggling unemployment burden that the nation has unfortunately been plunged into. The business mogul indicated his interest to see his massive empire outlive him many businesses in Nigeria and Africa tend to die with their founders and so this is a novel step in the right direction as he will stand out from the pack. We pray the Almighty Allah grants him many more years on earth so that he can continue to serve his countrymen and African brothers better. We also urge the Lagos state government where his business is headquartered to name a monument after him while he is still alive so that it can serve as an inspiration to the youths that hard work indeed still pays. Tony Ademiluyi writes from Lagos and edits www.africanbard.com Weather Alert SUB-ZERO WIND CHILLS LATE TONIGHT INTO TUESDAY MORNING NW winds 10 to 20 mph will combine with temperatures in the upper single digits to the low teens late tonight into Tuesday morning. This will produce wind chills of -5 to -10 across the interior and 0 to -5 for coastal areas. 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. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has had plenty of conversations with ministers, TDs and government advisers about when he should call a general election. One minister recalls a private conversation with Mr Varadkar before Christmas. "I said to him 'Will you go in May?' And he said 'I won't go in May, that's a definite. The reason why I won't announce a date in May is because everybody will be in on top of me with pay demands - unions and so on.' And I said to myself that definitely brings it back to February." This is a useful insight into the Taoiseach's thinking on the issue but provides no real clarity. Senior Cabinet ministers have frequently speculated about the election date after conversations with Mr Varadkar but their access to the man and their portfolios afford them no greater insight than the man or woman on the street. Last week the political bubble was consumed by 'electionology', the endless discussion and debate about when the election will be held by people who have no idea when it will be held. These circular conversations cannot last much longer. Within the next five days, we are likely to get either an agreement between Mr Varadkar and Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin to have the general election in April or May - a deal which is unlikely to hold anyway because of the Dail numbers - or, as senior figures in all parties now believe, the announcement of a general election next month. A Fine Gael cabinet minister declared yesterday: "I have yet to meet a colleague who doesn't expect an election to be called next week." They obviously didn't speak to the one who admitted to me: "I just don't know." Read More Those in Cabinet who want to hold off until the summer are said to be motivated by their own legislative agenda but also a fear they may not be reappointed to office if Fine Gael is re-elected. The likes of Charlie Flanagan in justice and Heather Humphreys inbusiness have busy portfolios, plenty of legislation to be getting on with and are said to be keen to hold out for as long as possible. For Mr Flanagan it would be a personal blow if, after spending 120-plus hours in the Seanad debating the Judicial Appointments Bill, the legislation fell by the wayside. Transport Minister Shane Ross, a champion of that bill, is equally keen to cling on for as long as possible, as is Disabilities Minister Finian McGrath. Independent TDs have never had it as good as they have over the last four years - and may find themselves out in the cold when it comes to coalition-making after the election. Those ministers desperate to go to the country now want to get out of jobs in which they are under pressure. Predictably enough, ministers privately say this cohort includes Simon Harris in health and Eoghan Murphy in housing. "He is under massive pressure from Harris and Murphy," one minister said. But both men have insisted they want to remain in their respective portfolios if Fine Gael is returned and are annoyed at suggestions to the contrary. Read More Mr Varadkar has expressed a desire to campaign in the summer - a la Bertie Ahern in 2002 and 2007 - when warmer days and longer evenings tend to make the public more open to being hounded by politicians. But conscious that he does not enjoy the sort of security Mr Ahern had in government, he has lately taken to saying it should be held when it is in the best interests of the country. In recent days, Mr Varadkar has also privately let it be known he won't follow Mr Ahern's move in 2007 to make a dash to Aras an Uachtarain on a quiet Sunday in April to seek the dissolution of the Dail. "I'll do it my way," he has told people. He probably wants a summer election because it affords him precious extra weeks in office in which he cannot only pursue his legislative agenda but enjoy the trappings of power that bit longer. These include trips to the World Economic Forum in Davos at the end of January and another trip to the White House in March. Being Taoiseach does strange things to people, note those who have worked closely with former holders of the office. A Taoiseach is always reluctant to call an election for fear they may not win and be forced out with the loss of real power as well as cushy bonuses like a State car, State security and the use of the government jet. But while the date of an election remains his call, Mr Varadkar's control over the situation is diminishing by the day. The Opposition is demanding that a general election should be held now having determined over Christmas that is what the public wants. A senior Fianna Fail TD said: "I think this idea the public don't want an election has changed now. That was right up to this week, but the hospitals, the RIC commemoration and everything... this has knocked people over the edge." Unless he acts in the coming days, Mr Varadkar could lose control of the situation. Fianna Fail TD John McGuinness has now firmly declared he will vote in favour of the motion of no confidence in Mr Harris which rural Independent TDs plan to table next month. It is also understood Independent TD Noel Grealish will abstain on such a motion. This means the motion will likely pass with Mr Harris either sacked or, more likely, the government collapsing entirely. Surely the Taoiseach is not going to allow the most important decision of his political career to be ripped from his hands by Independents such as Michael Collins, Mattie McGrath and the Healy-Rae brothers. Even if he does somehow manage to secure sufficient support for Mr Harris and the rickety minority government to survive, what purpose does it serve? Another few weeks for him to enjoy the office of Taoiseach while almost everyone in his own party wants an election and the opposition decry a stitch-up? Mr Varadkar may have many faults as a leader but he is a shrewd political operator as was evident when he skilfully won the Fine Gael leadership battle nearly three years ago. So it should be his decision and his alone to determine his own political fate and that of his party. A busy and eventful few days lie ahead. President Donald Trump systematically fabricated his record before boisterous supporters and the eyes of the world this past week. To a core question did the US killing of an Iranian general avoid an imminent attack on US interests? there is no definitive answer days after missiles flew. Trump and his officials said the US attack achieved that result but have yet to prove it. In other matters, Trump offered distortion across the breadth of public policy. He declared clean-air achievements when the air has become dirtier. He claimed to have come up with the great idea of letting veterans seek private care at public expense, when that was already law, accomplished by President Barack Obama. He complained that he didnt get the Nobel Peace Prize for peace in Ethiopia, when he had little to nothing to do with it. He invented a dialogue with a Democrat in Congress and claimed he succeeded on two fronts where other presidents failed, each time for at least 44 years, a made-up number. And as he done repeatedly, but this time in the midst of dangerous brinkmanship with Iran, he falsely accused Obama of opening the US treasury to Tehran and handing over a fortune. A sampling from the week: PEACE PRIZE TRUMP: Im going to tell you about the Nobel Peace Prize, I will tell you about that. I made a deal, I saved the 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, that is the way it is. Toledo, Ohio, rally Thursday. THE FACTS: Trump did not save Ethiopia. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won the prize in October after he fully accepted a peace deal ending a 20-year border war with neighboring Eritrea that saw some 80,000 people killed. Trump had no known involvement in the peace deal. The prize also recognized Abiy, Africas youngest leader, for sweeping changes in Ethiopian society as he released tens of thousands of prisoners, welcomed home once-banned opposition groups, expanded freedom of expression and acknowledged his countrys past abuses. Trump did agree to a request from Egypts president to mediate a dispute among Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan over a proposed dam on the Nile River. That mediation continues. Trump is known to express pique when he is not recognized in the manner he thinks is deserved. He mocked teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg when Time magazine named her person of the year last month. ___ JOBS TRUMP: America lost 60,000 factories under the previous administration, 60,000. You wouldnt believe thats possible but I know its true. ... No, its true. No, its true. ... Its 60,000 closed, gone. They are all coming back. They are all coming back. Toledo rally. THE FACTS: Its not true. The U.S. has indeed lost roughly 60,000 factories but thats since 2001, the start of President George W. Bushs administration. It didnt happen under the previous administration. And theyre not all coming back. Construction spending on factories has declined since a recent peak in 2015 during Obamas presidency. Factories cut 12,000 jobs in December, according to the jobs report Friday. Growth in manufacturing jobs decelerated sharply in 2019, to 46,000, down from 264,000 added jobs in 2018. ___ VETERANS TRUMP on the Veterans Administration: For 44 years they try to get accountability. ... I said, you know ... I have an idea, such a great idea. You are going to go out private, youre going to pick up a doctor, you are going to get yourself fixed up, were going to pay the bill, right? And you know what happened? And I said how how brilliant is that? They say sir, weve been working on that for 48 years but weve never been able to get it approved. So I was very, very disillusioned but you know what Im good at, getting things approved and we got it approved. to cheers at Toledo rally. THE FACTS: He did not think up the idea and get it approved. Obama got it approved. Obama signed into law the Choice program that lets veterans go to a private doctor at public expense under some circumstances. Trump routinely ignores that and says presidents have tried to get it done for 44 years. He only expanded the program. As for accountability, Trump claims that his law means bad VA employees are swiftly fired. But a report released in October by the VA inspector general found significant deficiencies in the accountability office established by the law, such as poor leadership, shoddy training of investigators and a failure to push out underperforming senior leaders. Also at the rally, Trump claimed that 44 years of failure preceded his success in getting the right to try initiative into law. That initiative, aimed at giving terminally ill patients more access to unapproved drugs, only goes back five or so years. ___ CANCER TRUMP: US Cancer Death Rate Lowest In Recorded History! A lot of good news coming out of this Administration. tweet Thursday. THE FACTS: The news came from the American Cancer Society, not the administration, and it does not reflect Trumps record. The group said the death rate from cancer has declined nearly 30% since 1991 and took its sharpest one-year drop in 2017. But the data did not reflect cancer-research spending under the Trump administration. Trump proposed cutting spending at the National Institutes of Health but Congress ignored the effort and raised spending in a bill the president signed. That is not reflected in the cancer society report. ___ IRAN TRUMP: Irans hostility substantially increased after the foolish Iran nuclear deal was signed in 2013. And they were given $150 billion, not to mention $1.8 billion in cash. address Wednesday. TRUMP: Iran now is not wealthy like it was when President Obama handed him $150 billion.. remarks Thursday. TRUMP: They gave around $150 billion including $1.7 billion in the hard cold cash, can you imagine? No, no, can you imagine? $1.7 billion, $1.8 billion in cash. Toledo rally. THE FACTS: There was no $150 billion payout from the U.S. treasury or other countries. The U.S. made a separate payment of roughly $1.8 billion to cover a decades-old IOU. When Iran signed the multinational deal to restrain its nuclear development in return for being freed from sanctions, it regained access to its own assets, which had been frozen abroad. Iran was allowed to get its money back. The deal actually was signed in 2015, after a 2013 preliminary agreement. Trump has taken the U.S. out of it. As for the $1.8 billion: In the 1970s, Iran paid the US $400 million for military equipment that was never delivered because the Iranian government was overthrown and diplomatic relations ruptured. After the nuclear deal, the US and Iran announced they had settled the matter, with the US agreeing to pay the $400 million principal along with about $1.3 billion in interest. The $400 million was paid in cash and flown to Tehran on a cargo plane, which gave rise to Trumps previous dramatic accounts of money stuffed in barrels or boxes and delivered in the dead of night. The arrangement provided for the interest to be paid later, not crammed into containers. ___ TRUMP: The foolish Iran nuclear deal financed Iranian aggression while allowing a quick path to nuclear breakout. That is what it did. And by the way it expires so soon. They can have nuclear weapons. Toledo rally. TRUMP: Its close to expiring. In other words, if I didnt terminate it, it expires in a very short period of time. remarks at White House on Thursday. THE FACTS: The 2015 agreement is not about to expire. It imposes limits on Irans nuclear development for 15 years. ___ TRUMP: The missiles fired last night at us and our allies were paid for with the funds made available by the last administration. address Wednesday. THE FACTS: That accusation comes without corroboration. The administration has offered no information supporting the contention that in regaining access to $150 billion of its assets that had been frozen abroad, Iran steered a chunk of that money to the missiles that hit the U.S. bases in Iraq. I doubt anyone has the insight into Irans budgetary mechanisms to say that this money was used for this purpose, said Gerald Feierstein, a career US diplomat who retired in 2016 as the principal deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs. Its a funds-are-fungible kind of argument, he said. I mean, if they have money, can you say that dollar went directly to buy a missile, as opposed to freeing up another dollar that went to buy a missile? Joseph Votel, who retired from the U.S. Army in March as the top military commander for the Middle East, said he was not aware of any specific intelligence on this question. I dont have anything that would particularly support that, he said. Im not saying it did or it didnt, but I dont have details to demonstrate it one way or the other. ___ ENVIRONMENT TRUMP: 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. remarks Thursday. THE FACTS: No, air quality has worsened under the Trump administration. And its a stretch to say the U.S. is among the countries with the cleanest air. Dozens of nations have less smoggy air. Trump made the remarks as he proposed the latest enforcement rollbacks for the bedrock environmental acts credited with beginning the clean-up of U.S. air and water a half-century ago. As to water quality, one measure, Yale Universitys global Environmental Performance Index, finds the U.S. tied with nine other countries as having the cleanest drinking water. But after decades of improvement, progress in air quality has stalled. There were 15% more days with unhealthy air in America in 2017 and 2018 than there were on average from 2013 through 2016, the four years when the US had its fewest number of those days since at least 1980, according to an AP analysis of EPA data. A recent study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University found that deadly air particle pollution increased 5.5% in the United States between 2016 and 2018 after declining by 24.2% from 2009 to 2016. The increase was associated with 9,700 premature deaths in 2018, the study by Karen Clay and Nicholas Muller said. At conventional valuations, these deaths represent damages of $89 billion. The Obama administration set records for the fewest air-polluted days. Trumps proposal would greatly cut back on the National Environmental Policy Acts requirement that federal agencies consider whether a big construction project would hurt the environment before they approve the project. Other Trump proposals would roll back restrictions on major sources of air and water pollution, including coal-fired power plants and autos. ___ ISLAMIC STATE GROUP TRUMP: Three months ago, after destroying 100% of ISIS and its territorial caliphate ... address Wednesday on Irans missile strike on two Iraqi bases. THE FACTS: His claim of a 100% defeat is misleading as the Islamic State group still poses a threat. IS was defeated in Iraq in 2017, then lost the last of its land holdings in Syria in March, marking the end of the extremists self-declared caliphate. Still, extremist sleeper cells have continued to launch attacks in Iraq and Syria and are believed to be responsible for targeted killings against local officials and members of the Syrian Democratic Forces. U.N. experts have warned that IS leaders are seeking a resurgence. This past week, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the fight against the group was continuing in Syria. ___ IMPEACHMENT TRUMP: On the House Intelligence Committee chairman: Hes a corrupt politician, Adam Schiff. Hes corrupt. ... He gave a sentence that he made up. He made it up, and it was not it was not what was said in the conversation. Thats why I released the transcript, got approval from Ukraine. remarks Thursday. THE FACTS: Trumps timeline is wrong and hes exaggerating the episode and botching the timeline. Schiff, D-Calif., delivered what he called a parody of Trumps remarks in the presidents July 25 phone call with Ukraines leader. Schiff did so after the White House released a rough transcript of the call, not before, as Trump states. So people who read the official account knew Schiff was riffing from it, not quoting from it. Though Trump took umbrage at having words put in his mouth by Schiff, the president routinely invents dialogue. Its a staple of his rhetoric when he mocks political rivals. He did it Thursday night at a rally, making up a conversation he pretended he had with Schiff. ___ TRUMP: We released the exact transcript. remarks Thursday. THE FACTS: No, the White House memo describing Trumps phone conversation with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy isnt exact. It was presented by the White House as a rough transcript. The public does not know precisely what each leader said. Officials who were tasked to listen in to the call say the rough transcript is largely accurate in representing the material aspects of the conversation as they heard it. One such witness testified that some quotations in the account were not exact, though he did not consider the variance to be consequential. ___ TRUMP, explaining why he initially held up military aid to Ukraine: Why is it that the United States pays? And it affects Europe far more than it affects the United States. So why isnt it that France, Germany, and all of those countries in Europe that are so strongly affected, why arent they paying? remarks Tuesday with Greeces prime minister. THE FACTS: Hes incorrect that European countries werent putting up aid for Ukraine. European Union institutions have provided far more development assistance than the $204 million from Washington. Specific EU members, Japan and Canada also contribute significantly. Since 2014, the EU and European financial institutions have mobilized more than $16 billion to help Ukraines economy, counter corruption, build institutions and strengthen its sovereignty against further incursions by Russia after its annexation of Crimea. The U.S. is a heavy source of military assistance. But NATO also contributes a variety of military-assistance programs and trust funds for Ukraine. In most such cases, the programs are modest and NATO countries other than the U.S. take the lead ___ ENERGY TRUMP: We are independent, and we do not need Middle East oil. address Wednesday. THE FACTS: Trumps declaration of energy independence is premature. The US still needs plenty of oil from the Mideast. The volume of US oil imports from the Persian Gulf alone 23 million barrels in October would not be easy to make up elsewhere, at least not without major changes in US demand or production. Technological advances like fracking and horizontal drilling have allowed the US to greatly increase production, but demand remains brisk and the country still imports millions of barrels of oil from Saudi Arabia, Canada, Iraq and other countries. Moreover, much of what the US produces is hard for domestic refiners to convert to practical use. So the US exports that production and imports oil that is more suitable for American refineries to handle. On energy more broadly, the US is indeed close to parity on how much energy it produces and how much it consumes. In some months, it produces more than it consumes. But it has not achieved self-sufficiency. In the first nine months of last year, it imported about as much energy as it exported. ___ MILITARY TRUMP: The American military has been completely rebuilt under my administration, at a cost of $2.5 trillion. address Wednesday. THE FACTS: Thats an exaggeration. Its true that his administration has accelerated a sharp buildup in defense spending, including a respite from what the US military considered to be crippling spending limits under budget sequestration. But a number of new Pentagon weapons programs, such as the F-35 fighter jet, were started years before the Trump administration. And it will take years for freshly ordered tanks, planes and other weapons to be built, delivered and put to use. The Air Forces Minuteman 3 missiles, a key part of the US nuclear force, for instance, have been operating since the early 1970s and the modernization was begun under the Obama administration. They are due to be replaced with a new version, but not until later this decade. Impeachment is not a judicial process, as my colleague Andrew C. McCarthy likes to remind us, but a political process with judicial trappings. That makes it very likely practically certain that Democrats will lose in the Senate, where Republicans have a majority led by Mitch McConnell, who practically has the adjective wily bolted onto his name right in front of senator. It is easy to underestimate speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, because she speaks an obscure dialect of High Gibberish and frequently seems to be confused in public not that any of that is stopping Joe Biden from leading the Democratic primary field. Pelosi is clever enough, but lacks the courage that in politics comes from genuine conviction, which she also lacks, and that makes her easy to bully. The zany-left caucus in the House the left-of-San Francisco caucus pushed Pelosi to ignore her own better judgment in order to give the Democrats one of those moral victories they keep proclaiming as Republicans claim electoral ones. Which is to say, impeachment will be this years Beto ORourke vs. Ted Cruz. President McConnell seems to be enjoying this. (Yes, yes, I know that Trump is technically president, but Cocaine Mitch is running the show: Ask Merrick Garland.) McConnell knows that Pelosi has dealt herself a losing hand, and watching her and her House colleagues flounder must be amusing to the gimlet-eyed gentleman from Kentucky. Pelosi knew that opening an impeachment action against President Donald Trump was a dumb idea, because simply talking about impeachment would offer about 90 percent of the political benefit with none of the risk, whereas actually impeaching the president offered only a near guarantee of final failure. The point of this impeachment is not to remove Trump from office everybody knows that is not very likely to happen but to denounce him. Democrats victimized by wishful thinking may have believed that the testimony in the House and the howling 1,000-coyote chorus in the media would turn some Trump voters against him, but, if anything, both will have the opposite effect, giving the president the two things his style of politics most needs: a narrative of unfair victimization and an opportunity to proclaim victory. Trump is not a statesman but a culture-war WMD, and his admirers are not much interested in any kind of disarmament, and in unilateral disarmament least of all. Story continues Pelosi apparently hoped to draw things out by refusing to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate for consideration, thereby keeping the part of the process she thinks is politically valuable the Ad Catilinam denunciations and the media coverage of them while avoiding the resounding defeat in which this gambit is all but guaranteed to end. But Pelosi did not account for the fact that McConnell is better at this than she is. Parliamentary shenanigans are kind of his thing. (Again: Ask Merrick Garland.) When Senate Republicans began maneuvering to dismiss the articles without Pelosis sending them over, Pelosi flinched and announced that shed submit the articles in the week to come. So, what was it for? Trumps wrongdoing is real and significant, but Pelosi et al. never had the moral credibility to make a persuasive impeachment case against him or the political juice to get it done. Democrats were talking about impeachment before the man was ever sworn in as president, and they remain emotionally dependent upon their preposterous tale about Russians on Facebook throwing the election to Trump. (The Russians, for their part, wanted paralyzing chaos and to destabilize the United States politically Mission Accomplished, Ivan.) The Democrats would have been far better off simply telling the truth about Trumps failings and challenging him at the polls rather than presenting this as an apocalyptic drama that cannot wait for an election and resolution on ordinary democratic terms. Apocalyptic dramas are pretty hard to sell when unemployment is low, and it is possible to exaggerate the sins of even Donald Trump. Instead, all Democrats have accomplished is to harden preexisting partisan divisions and to normalize (or further normalize, if you like; Newt Gingrich and the GOP Class of 94 bear some responsibility here, too) the use of presidential impeachments as an ordinary part of the political arsenal. Donald Trump is not going to be any better or any worse than he would have been without the impeachment fight. Trump was made for this kind of mud-wrestling everybody gets dirty but, like the proverbial pig, he enjoys it. Pelosi may have given the Democrats another moral victory, but McConnell is going to give Republicans an unqualified victory. And what is the cost of this impeachment misadventure? An even more dysfunctional government, an even more insipid politics, and an even more bitter and fearful electorate. For all the genuine misdeeds of Donald J. Trump, that one is on Democrats. More from National Review 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! Soldiers with deep wounds sometimes feel no pain at all for hours, while people without any detectable injury live in chronic physical anguish. How to explain that? Over drinks in a Boston-area bar, Ronald Melzack, a psychologist, and Dr. Patrick Wall, a physiologist, sketched out a diagram on a cocktail napkin that might help explain this and other puzzles of pain perception. The result, once their idea was fully formed, was an electrifying theory that would become the founding document for the field of modern pain studies and establish the career of Dr. Melzack, whose subsequent work deepened medicines understanding of pain and how it is best measured and treated. Dr. Melzack died on Dec. 22 in a hospital near his home in Montreal, where he lived, his daughter, Lauren Melzack, said. He was 90, and had spent most of his professional life as a professor of psychology at McGill University. When Dr. Melzack and Dr. Wall, then at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, met that day in 1959 or 1960 (accounts of their encounter vary), pain perception was thought to work something like a voltmeter, in which nerves send signals up to the brain that reflect the severity of the injury. But that model failed to explain not only battlefield experience but also a host of clinical findings and everyday salves. Most notably, rubbing a wound lessens its sting and accounting for just that common sensation proved central to the new theory. New Delhi, Jan 12 : In the last several elections starting from the 2014 general elections, social media has made its presence felt as it has become a tool to garner support for political parties. The upcoming Delhi Assembly election is no different as the ruling Aam Aadmi Party is trying to stay abreast to woo young voters through the use of pop culture references and social media. AAP is using satire, memes and morphed versions of advertisements to give a twist to the campaign and make it more appealing to the tech-savvy voters. As is the tradition, the party so far used social media to promote the works done by its government in the past five years, but over the last few days, it has turned to more popular means of attracting people's attention. After the Election Commission sounded the bugle for the upcoming elections by announcing the poll date, AAP tweeted: "Delhi Assembly Elections are declared. AAPvengers! Assemble," taking a cue from 'The Avengers', a superhero film based on a team of Marvel Comics superheroes. It has also posted a meme, where they said when asked "how much do you pay for your electricity and water?", Delhiites say "We Don't Do That Here" -- a quote by the character 'Black Panther' from the 2018 Marvel superhero film 'Avengers'. AAP had posted a photo where several people were raising their hands during a town hall meeting with Arvind Kejriwal, and the caption was "who all got zero electricity bill". The party has been posting satirical and political cartoons as well. However, as the elections are approaching, it has become more creative. AAP has been posting quirky replies to the remarks made by BJP leaders and has been taking a jibe at them. It asked BJP's Delhi unit president Manoj Tiwari to stop "copying" AAP when he said BJP will give five times more electricity and water to the city if elected. AAP government is offering 200 units of free electricity and 20,000 litres of free water to the people of the city. When BJP's Hardeep Singh Puri had said that the AAP believed in freebie model as they have nothing to offer, AAP used Tiwari's statement in counter and asked the two BJP leaders to "talk to each other and decide what exactly you want to do". Among the most liked and circulated tweet from AAP was the morphed version of an advertisement of a cement company. In the original video advertisement, twin brothers are shown to have put up a brick wall between their houses. However, after realising that they had committed a mistake, they try to take the wall down through different means, but fail to do so given the strength of the advertised cement. In the morphed version by the AAP, the twins are shown to represent Congress and BJP, and the video ends equating AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal with the cement brand and named it "Kejri-Wall". The video has received over 3,17,200 views in just about 50 hours. On being asked, Social Media and IT Strategist of AAP, Ankit Lal said the party has limited resources and so they need to be creative. "We have around 200 full-time volunteers for the social media team, who have taken a break from their work for the elections. We have about 5,000 volunteers across the country who are associated with us online on a part-time basis. In Delhi, a team of 3,000 volunteers are on the ground and help us in our social media campaign. Kejriwal had met 800 of them," Lal told IANS. While the 5,000 are working online, the 3,000 are in direct touch with the party and regular meetings are being conducted, explained Lal, adding this is a rough estimate as of now and the number may go up as the election approaches. He said this is not new for the party. "We have used a similar technique in the Lok Sabha elections, however, the scale was not such at that time." The party chose this method, according to Lal, because the "BJP does not know how to respond to satire. Whenever we say something satirical, they don't know how to react, across the board." Also, the reason for using pop culture is because it has mass appeal as well. "We have a lot of data and it was important to give this data in the form of relatable communication. We are trying to use our available resources to reach out to people." He said the party works on a volunteer basis. "Our attempt is to use the already available resources for the best outcome. On social media, it is very easy to invest money and get attention. Even a common man can do that. The BJP has a lot of money and they can use it. But we as an organisation have to limit our expenses. We have to fight creatively with those having huge monetary resources. "Here, these 5,000 people come to use. Any of our volunteers can come up with an idea and that reaches me by two to three hours. We are crowdsourcing ideas. After an idea reaches me, we also see if it is doable or not. Also, will it be okay to go ahead with such a thing," he explained. On Twitter, AAP has five million followers and on Facebook, the party's page is followed by over four million people. Apart from the two, the party also has the 'Arvind Kejriwal' mobile application that gives out information about the government's schemes, campaigns and speeches, downloaded over 50,000 times. The city is going for elections on February 8. (Nivedita Singh can be contacted at nivedita.singh@ians.in) BEIRUT The case of Carlos Ghosn has come to dominate world public opinion in recent days. The former CEO of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi auto empire escaped house arrest in Tokyo in a Hollywood-style plot Dec. 29. He made his way to his homeland Lebanon. Ghosn, 65, holds Lebanese, French and Brazilian citizenship, and has a net worth of approximately $120 million, according to Bloomberg. Ghosn was imprisoned in Japan in November 2018 on charges of financial misconduct, tax evasion and using Nissan money for private investments. Japanese authorities released him in April 2019 on a bail of 500 million yen ($4.5 million), but he remained under house arrest. Ghosn said the decision to escape was the most difficult decision of his life. At a press conference in Beirut Jan. 8, he said he was held "hostage" and had only two options: die in Japan or flee. Ghosn lashed out at Japanese prosecutors for preventing him from communicating with his wife, Carol. According to Japanese media, Ghosn escaped with the help of two collaborators. They rode a bullet train from Tokyo's Shinagawa station to Osaka. They checked into a hotel near Kansai International Airport and the two collaborators were spotted leaving the hotel with two boxes. It is believed that Ghosn was hiding in a box, with holes drilled in the bottom to help him breathe. Ghosn landed in Istanbul Dec. 30, and headed to Lebanon. An official at the Japanese Ministry of Transportation told France Press that luggage inspection is not mandatory for operators of private jets, and that the boxes were too big for the airport X-ray machines. Lebanon received an international arrest warrant, or Red Notice, from Interpol to extradite Ghosn Jan. 2. Brig. Gen. Maurice Abu Zaidan, the director of Lebanon's Central Criminal Investigations Department, questioned Ghosn Jan. 9. Edgar Qabout, a lawyer and professor at Lebanon's Sagesse University, told Al-Monitor that Lebanon and Japan do not have an extradition agreement and that Lebanese criminal law does not allow the extradition of citizens to foreign countries for trial. The same applies to France and Brazil. As of October 2018, Qabout said, Japan has extradition treaties only with the United States and South Korea. The Red Notice is not binding for Lebanon and does not permit arresting Ghosn without a decision by the Lebanese judiciary," he said. "But it enables the public prosecutor with the Court of Cassation to initiate investigations on whether Ghosn has committed violations and crimes punishable by Lebanese law. While Ghosn said at the press conference that he was not above the law, Qabout said that Lebanon and Japan are among the 140 countries that signed the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2003 and entered into force in 2005. Japan, he said, may invoke the convention to demand the return of Ghosn. Meanwhile, the Lebanese courts may invoke Article 19 of the criminal code in Ghosns case, which states that Lebanese laws apply to every Lebanese citizen who commits crimes outside the Lebanese territory, he said. Lebanese activists have shared photos of Ghosn on social media depicting his visit to Israel in January 2008 in his capacity as director the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance. Ghosn met Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. He also concluded an agreement with an Israeli company that manufactures electric cars. Ghosn responded to criticism of his Israel visit at the press conference, saying he had entered Israel as a French official in the Renault Company, not as a Lebanese citizen. I apologize to the Lebanese people because of my visit to Israel, Ghosn said. Lebanese law prohibits contact with the Israelis, Qabout said. Yet Ghosn, because his visit was in his capacity as CEO of a company subject to French and Japanese laws, argued that such a visit was not in his personal capacity or with the intent of normalization. Lebanese attorneys Hassan Bazzi, Jad Tohme and Ali Abbas filed a claim against Ghosn due to his economic dealings with Israel. Public prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat questioned Ghosn Jan. 9 with regard to this claim. Bazzi told Al-Monitor that Article 1 of Lebanon's 1955 anti-Israel boycott law prohibits every natural or legal person from concluding, in person or through a medium, an agreement with bodies or persons residing in Israel or holding its nationality or working for or on its behalf, whenever the subject of the agreement is a commercial deal or financial transactions or any other dealing of any nature whatsoever. He noted that under the Lebanese criminal code, dealing with Israel is a felony punishable by hard labor. Entering the enemy country is a misdemeanor sanctioned by one-year imprisonment, pursuant to Article 285 of the criminal code, Bazzi added. Commenting on the Red Notice, Bazzi pointed out that the judge released Ghosn against proof of residence and imposed a travel ban. The Lebanese judiciary asked the Japanese judiciary to hand over Ghosns file for translation and examination. While a number of Lebanese oppose Ghosns visit to Israel, others expressed sympathy for him on social media, condemning the harassment he endured and the threats to his family. Walid Jumblatt, the leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, tweeted Jan. 9 that Ghosn should be named Lebanon's energy minister to help overcome the country's public debt crisis. Ghosn responded positively, stating that he has no political aspirations but is willing to use his expertise in Lebanon's best interest. Turkey on Saturday requested Russia to convince Libyan National Army general Khalifa Haftar to accept truce proposed by Ankara and Moscow that he has rejected. In a press conference, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told international media that Ankara is waiting for its Russian friends to succeed in convincing Haftar. The request came days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met his Russian counterpart in Istanbul on January 8 to discuss the ongoing conflict in Libya. Read: Angela Merkel Discusses Diplomatic Solution For Libyan-conflict With Erdogan, Putin Ankara's request for Moscow Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu accused "regional nations", a reference to Arab countries backing Haftar and also to France of opposing a ceasefire. Egypt and the United Arab Emirates are known for their support to general Haftar-backed Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HoR) government elected in 2014, while Turkey, Sudan, and Qatar have supported GNA in the ongoing conflict. Tayyip Erdogan on January 5 announced that the Turkish military unit had started to move into Libya. Erdogan said that Turkish troops were moving in with the intention of supporting Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj's internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA). Read: Turkey Doesn't Want Middle East Region To Turn Into Area Of Military Operations: Erdogan United Nations-backed Libyan government in Tripoli had earlier welcomed the ceasefire initiative proposed by Turkey and Russia. The Tripoli-based General National Accord (GNA) government released a statement late Wednesday expressing its full support of any serious calls for the resumption of the political process and the elimination of the specter of war." But later on the eve of the start date for the truce, UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez Serraj conditioned his government's participation in the proposed ceasefire to rival forces withdrawing from the outskirts of Tripoli, suggesting no immediate end to the country's civil war. Read: Jamal Khashoggi Murder: US Welcomes Saudi Arabia's Verdict; Turkey Calls It 'mockery' Cavusoglu on Saturday also said Turkey and Russia brokered a new ceasefire deal in Syria that has come into force from today in Idlib, the last rebel-held area in the northwest region of the war-torn country. Russia is an important ally of the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian conflict started in 2011 and has claimed more than 3,80,000 lives so far. Read: Travel To Turkey And Experience The Grandeur Istanbul And Popular Turkish Cuisine A firefighter was killed by a falling tree while battling the Australian wildfire crisis overnight and the prime minister on Sunday said his government was adapting and building resilience to the fire danger posed by climate change. Bill Slade - one of the few professionals among mainly volunteer brigades battling blazes across southeast Australia - died on Saturday near Omeo in eastern Victoria state, Forest Fire Management Victoria Executive Director Chris Hardman said. The 60-year-old married father of two was in November commended for 40 years service with the forestry agency. "Although we do have enormous experience in identifying hazardous trees, sometimes these tree failures can't be predicted," Hardman said. "Working on the fire ground in a forest environment is a dynamic, high-risk environment and it carries with it significant risk." The tragedy brings the death toll to at least 27 people in a crisis that has destroyed more than 2,000 homes and scorched an area larger than the US state of Indiana since September. Four of the casualties were firefighters. Authorities are using relatively benign conditions forecast in southeast Australia for a week or more to consolidate containment lines around scores of fires that are likely to burn for weeks without heavy rainfall. The reprieve from severe fire conditions promises to be the longest of the current fire season. The crisis has brought accusations that Prime Minister Scott Morrison's conservative government needs to take more action to counter climate change, which experts say has worsened the blazes. Thousands of protesters rallied late Friday in Sydney and Melbourne, calling for Morrison to be fired and for Australia to take tougher action on global warming. The chief executive of Siemens said on Friday that the German engineering company will review its involvement in a coal mine in Australia after climate activists called for it to pull out of the project. The group Fridays for Future, which has held weekly protests demanding action against climate change for over a year, wants Siemens to quit the mine project because emissions from coal-fired power plants contribute to global warming. Morrison said his government was developing a national disaster risk reduction framework within the Department of Home Affairs that will deal with wildfires, cyclones, floods and drought. The government was currently working through the details of the framework with local governments. "This is a longer-term risk framework model which deals with one of the big issues in response to climate changing and that is the resilience and the adaptation that we need in our community right across the country to deal with longer, hotter, drier seasons that increase the risk of bushfire," Morrison said. Morrison said his government accepted that climate change was leading to longer, hotter and drier summers, despite junior government lawmaker George Christensen posting on social media over the weekend that the cause of the latest fires was arson rather than man-made climate change. Another junior lawmaker Craig Kelly has also publicly denied any link between climate change and fire crisis. State authorities have said a minority of fires are deliberately lit. "The government's policy is set by the Cabinet. Our party room has a broad range of views," Morrison said of those within government ranks who reject mainstream climate science. Morrison later announced that 76 million Australian dollars (USD 52 million) would be spent on providing psychological counselling for firefighters and fire-effected communities as part of a previously announced AUD 2 billion (USD 1.4 billion) recovery fund. "There has been a deep scar in the landscape that has been left right across our country," Morrison said. "But I am also very mindful, as is the government, of the very real scars that will be there for quite a period of time to come for those who've been exposed to the trauma of these bushfires." While the fire threat is most acute in rural communities, wildfire smoke that has choked some of Australia's largest cities is a reminder to many urban Australians of the unfolding disaster. The sails of the iconic Sydney Opera House were illuminated on Saturday night to show support for firefighters and wildfires-affected communities. The display included messages and photographs of firefighters who were fighting wildfires over the past few months. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The film Just Mercy opened this week. It is the story of a man, Walter McMillan, who was convicted of murder in Alabama,1987. The trial was a sham, all exculpatory evidence hidden, the one witness a felon who traded his false testimony for a shorter sentence. This gross miscarriage of justice happened because the power in the town -- the sheriff, the police and the DA -- all conspired to convict McMillan in order to bring closure to the community for the murder of a young girl. Enter Bryan Stevenson, a young Harvard-trained lawyer who founds the Equal Justice Initiative to help those on death row, most of them having had little or no legitimate representation. Without totally revealing the most important details of the story, suffice it to say that those most guilty of illegality, those who were complicit in the railroading of an innocent man, suffer no consequences for their participation in their crimes that sent that man to prison; he was sent to death row a year before his trial! Watching the story unfold, it is hard not to see the parallels between the McMillan case and the Russia collusion hoax to destroy Donald Trump. None of the many persons involved in the coup attempt have yet to suffer any consequences for their treasonous actions. Yes, Bill Barr and John Durham are allegedly hard at work on the deep investigation of the origins of the hoax, the many constitutional transgressions committed by too many people in positions of power. But, as time goes by it becomes increasingly easier to believe that none of them will be ever charged with the any of their bad acts against the country. The IG Report on FISA abuse has yielded nothing but a too-late-to-be-meaningful scathing letter from FISA judge Rosemary Collyer and an email this week from current FBI director Wray about some "policy changes," along with better training and new protocols. The DOJ just hired David Kris, an Obama/Holder-era member of the hoax team whose job it was to smear Devin Nunes. Why on earth would Barr stand for this if his job is to root out corruption and get to the bottom of the coup attempt? Why is Bruce Ohr still employed? He was one of the top tier orchestrators of the collusion hoax. Why has Rod Rosenstein not been indicted? We now know that he led the illegal intrusion into then-CBS correspondent Sharyl Attkisson's computers. Yes, the gears of justice grind slowly, but this is ridiculous. More and more Americans, especially those of us who support President Trump, are losing hope that anyone will be held responsible for the most horrific political scandal in U.S. history. It seems to have become the rule that those who attain bureaucratic power get to keep it no matter how appalling the nature of their crimes. The virulent racists, from the cops to the DAs, who sentenced numerous innocent men to death row in the South all kept their jobs and most likely continued their evil ways just as our high-profile traitors at the CIA, FBI and DOJ have kept theirs. The sheriff who knowingly charged McMillan with murder in 1987 was re-elected six times after his wrongdoing was revealed; rather like Biden's re-election after numerous ethical lapses, plagiarism the least of them. Peter Schweizer's new book is likely to expose much more serious crimes of the Biden family. Those of us who grew up in America, were educated in public schools, were taught the Constitution, the glory and wisdom of the Founders as well as the scourge of slavery, the Civil War fought to end it at the expense of 600k lives, and the success of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, are not surprised to learn of the many betrayals of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights; those breeches are part and parcel of our history. What is distressing is to be reminded how long those betrayals continued and continue to this day. To learn that what happened to men like McMillan and other men like him was still happening in the late 1980s and early 1990s is shocking though probably not to the people who live there. That people like James Brennan, James Comey, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, Bruce Ohr and Nellie, et. al. are all still free as birds and tweeting their days away, maligning President Trump day after day after day is monstrous, an insult to our rule of law. The film Just Mercy is difficult to endure but is a thirty-two year-old reminder that far too many of the people who rise to power over others egregiously abuse it. If Barr and Durham do not indict those who nearly succeeded in overturning an election, who are still trying to destroy Trump's presidency, the grand experiment that is America will be over for it will demonstrate that we are no longer a nation of laws but a third world country run by crooks and thugs. State Bank of Pakistan SBP Job For Medical Consultant Latest State Bank of Pakistan SBP Medical Posts Lahore 2022 Medical, health, mbbs, doctor and experienced individual for the position of Medical Consultant required urgently for State Bank of Pakistan SBP in Lahore Punjab Pakistan 2020. How to Apply on State Bank of Pakistan SBP Job Advertisement Apply as per details in job advertisement. In some cases, you may apply online at vacancies after registering at https://www.jobz.pk online. Note: Beware of Fraudulent Recruiting Activities. If an employer asks to pay money for any purpose, do not pay at all and report us at contact us form. Apply as per instuctions & dates mentioned in official job ad. Govt jobs may not be applied online here. Human typing error is possible. Error & omissions excepted. The news was shocking: our recently discovered cousins' announcement that we had relatives in the RIC. It was like ice in the veins, not for ourselves, but for our dead grandmother. For her, RIC relatives would be as welcome as flaming coals in the gullet. Her marriage was steeped in Republicanism, my grandfather holding codes, doing secret court reports for the IRA, granduncles losing their health from all the sleeping in outhouses, their nerves shattered from all the tottering on high window-ledges. Much like the half-a-million rebels in the GPO, there isn't a high window-ledge in Ireland without the sweat and footprint of a man on active service or the run. Not surprisingly in our house Tomas Mac Curtain and Terence MacSwiney were venerated not like saints, but gods. As children, every time we passed the Mac Curtains' shop in Blackpool, we blessed ourselves. My father's crowd were as ardent. Fianna Fail founding members, his own father "never the same" after hearing the sounds from the lorry bearing away the glistening offal of the Ballycannon Boys. In his wider family, there were whispers of cool heads, steady hands, heading for England and America, sorting out a few matters. RIC? They were both unspeakable and untouchable. Up to her death at 87, my grandmother's greatest insult was: "Well, wasn't their father an RIC man." Last week, I could hear again her low voice with the resisting vocabulary of my childhood, the fire slacked and hissing between us: informer, traitor, papers, interrogation, torture, reprisal, searches, wagons to the Bridewell, boats to Brixton Prison, the terror of missing the curfew, mothers attacked doing the messages, fathers murdered on their way home from work. The Black and Tans? They were "British filth". For years as a child, I took the RIC supplementary militia to be the Blackened Hands, until the monochrome of a school-book text revealed their colours. Our RIC men were Protestants, Anglo descent, loyal to the Crown. In the Civil War, they left for the Antipodes, one on a borrowed identity. They became decorated police officers, one honoured by the Queen, noted for hauling young men out of trouble. Clearly, he knew what it meant to get out, start again, carry a secret. In the photos, they are beautiful men, uncannily like my grandmother. Given the resemblance, the new cousins were all the more mystified by our reaction. Good men? Decorated officers? Eminent public servants? Is there any pleasing ye? No, we assured them, we're thrilled to have found them. It's just, you know. We explained about Tomas Mac Curtain and the shock was on them. Last week, an obviously peeved Minister for Justice described the broad-church rejection of his RIC/DMP commemoration, as an attempt to "airbrush" them from our history. This is nonsense. The forces are acknowledged nationally. They can and will never be forgotten. Moreover, the public is mature enough to recognise the good men within their ranks, Ned Broy being the exemplar. Family accounts show RIC brothers passing information to other brothers who were volunteers. The Listowel Mutiny, led by RIC Constable Jeremiah Mee, was an act of audacious patriotism. It should be marked with full state honours. Should the crown forces themselves, with their violent repression, be commemorated? No. For too many, the idea was a step too far. I was surprised by the depth of my reaction to the RIC commemoration, one clearly replicated in a broad swathe of political moderates, even milksops, way beyond the usual suspects or Flanagan's "sinister fringe". It made me see how, in my adulthood, the "airbrushing" has been of the Republicanism of my ancestry, the need to confront the terror of the new IRA, excising the nobility and legitimacy of the Old from consideration, conversation. In one sense, it all died with my grandmother. Outside the family, it wasn't really something you spoke about. The 1970s and 1980s were too violent, volatile for even a peep; I'd moved to London, with a Cork accent, at the time of the Brighton bombings. In the 1990s, my father came up to Dublin the day the city exploded with the news, 'ceasefire at midnight'. A proud Republican, who abhorred violence, he wept with joy. That night we had our tea out, raised a glass to his insurgent relatives and to the people of Northern Ireland - whose children would grow up in peace. Yes, most people are eminently capable of "maturity", "nuance" and "understanding" and at the level of the requisite objectivity, not the Anno Domini proprietorial and 'proper' sensibility of FG, creators of the State and of the Heavens and the Earth. Until on the seventh day, they rested. When it came to the RIC, if only they had. Ironically, the sniffiness at the public rejection of their clearly party-political ceremony, has a distinct whiff of the Superior, Know Better Guardians of Respectability of the broad era we are commemorating. In the case of my grandmother, that Superior, Know Better Respectability saw her family sentenced to industrial schools for their social 'crime' of poverty. If the genealogists are right, to illustrate our infinite complexity as a nation, and our being able to accommodate that beautifully, without the political instruction to 'grow up', these destitute children were descendants of the Big House, generational dysfunction, disinheritance and disease combining to exclude, victimise and beggar them. They survived their history, incarceration. But they were scarred. It's the same with countries, nations. When we examine our life, we try to fill the gap, exorcise the ghosts, heal the wound. Yes, we can stitch up the wound, patch it, dab it with alcohol, treat it with powerful antiseptics, analgesics even the first-class narcotics of GDP, GNP, of 'No thanks Apple, keep your hand in your pocket', of glam-rocking with Bono, whoo-hoo look at us, for a seat on the UN Security Council. Dazzled by our modernity, sometimes we imagine we have achieved an invisible mend. Until, that is, we are reminded. Then we explore the site and find, yes, it's there. The old white scar that's getting hot, raised, red, livid. But we see, too, that we are okay with that. We can run our finger along it, test it, trace its ancestral length, because it will not reopen. We bear the scars of the wound that was. In the case of the RIC wound, we are happy to recognise, acknowledge, less happy to commemorate. Because we are citizens of the Republic of Ireland and not the Republic of Elsewhere, we forgive, freely. But not, as FG desire and demand, forget. The commemoration controversy has three powerful political effects. Firstly, it's making us think about our history as lived locally; how we want to know more, say more, share more, be consulted more, on state actions concerning it. Secondly, it's extracting us from the torpor of political marketing and PR, the polled slogans, the headlines without continuity, context, consequence. The kind of headlines where Minister Harris can declare himself "proud" of his record in health, while our A&E consultants call conditions third world, GPs and consultants are in crisis, 760 sick people are marooned on trolleys. The kind of headlines where the Taoiseach can declare himself "not ashamed" of his record in housing, while 3,700 children are growing up without a home, vulnerable families are siloed out of public sight and government mind in hubs/hotels, unable to make their dinner or sit down together to eat it. In FG ideology old and new, the poor must take what they get. Since they are not core voters, they do not deserve the basics or norms of family living. Thirdly, it has made us question the Know Better, Nuance and Understanding brigade, the Safe Pairs of Hands. Because with this weird judgment, what do they know? What Nuance and Understanding do they mean? That patriotism, respect for our nationalist past is bad? That privatisation, neoliberalism is good? As to the safe pairs of hands, when people look at the crisis in housing, health, homelessness, they wonder safe for whom, exactly? And whether the government's aversion is to res publica - public matters - well beyond Republicanism's Irish iteration? Aged nine, my grandmother's youngest brother was transferred from Passage West industrial school to join his big brother at Greenmount. His transfer report was a single line. "A good obedient boy." What did he endure in four years to become so? The RIC controversy has woken people up to being patronised, dismissed, ignored by the entitled and out of touch. How long more will we be our good, obedient selves? Troy: Myth And Reality British Museum, London Until March 8 Rating: The Hollywood executive Harry Cohn once rejected a film script about the Trojan War on the grounds it had an awful lot of Greeks in it. Over millennia, thousands of works have been inspired by that conflict, though from sculptures and novels to Berliozs opera Les Troyens. Likewise, a new blockbuster at the British Museum. The first thing to say about Troy: Myth And Reality is that its big. Thats because, essentially, its three exhibitions rolled into one. First, it tells the story of the Trojan War through ancient pieces of art. The first thing to say about Troy: Myth And Reality is that its big. Thats because, essentially, its three exhibitions rolled into one. (Above, The Wounded Achilles, 1825 by Filippo Albacini) Second, it considers archaeological finds from Hisarlik in Turkey, where many think the conflict took place. And third, it looks at the impact of the story on Western civilisation. The opening section is excellent. Among its highlights is a huge wine-mixing bowl from 5th-century BC Athens. Painted on it is the key moment in the duel between Greek hero Achilles and his Trojan rival Hector: the former delivering a fatal blow, as the latters divine protector Apollo leaves his side. On display nearby is a marble sarcophagus, carved on to the exterior of which Achilles can be seen riding his chariot in triumph, dragging Hectors corpse behind him. Sadly, the shows final section, on cultural responses to the war, is underwhelming. (Above, Judgement Of Paris (After Rubens), 2007 by Eleanor Antin) The section on whether the Trojan War ever actually happened is also good. Some conflict certainly seems to have been fought around Hisarlik in the 1180s BC. The exhibition features a number of finds from that site by the 19th-century archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann. Despite his efforts to convince the world otherwise, however, that doesnt mean a Trojan war as we know it from poems such as Homers Iliad was a historic fact. In other words, there was very probably no Achilles, no Hector, no Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships, and no Trojan horse. Sadly, the shows final section, on cultural responses to the war, is underwhelming. The opening section is excellent. Among its highlights is a huge wine-mixing bowl from 5th-century BC Athens. (Above, Athenian jar, c 530 BC, showing Achilles killing Penthesilia) It has too many Pre-Raphaelite paintings, for a start. Theres also the fact that a massive swathe of Western culture up to and beyond 2004s Brad Pitt movie Troy has been inspired by the Trojan War. Whats presented at the British Museum barely scratches the surface. This exhibition somewhat peters out, then but overall its still a triumph. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. It didnt take long for New Yorkers to see how dangerous this new bail law was, with violent criminals simply released back onto the streets, where theyre free to offend again. But lefty criminal-justice reformers havent gotten the message yet. The biggest flaw in the bail reform law was obvious from the start: Judges were stripped of any discretion when it came to keeping offenders locked up. If a particular offense wasnt bail-eligible under the new rules, judges had no choice by to let offenders walk. It's crazy. This is part of why we have judges in the first place. We trust them to know when somebody has to be kept off the street in order to ensure public safety. But public safety has never been a top priority for dewy-eyed reformers. They want to bend over backward in favor of offenders. The necessity to post bail unfairly kept the poor and people of color in jail, they said. Bail had to be done away with in the interest of social justice. Crime is crime, no matter the skin color of the perpetrator. And what about the victims of those crimes, many of whom are also people of color? Who advocates for them? The dangerous downside to bail reform quickly reared its head. A woman who allegedly slapped three Jewish women in a hate crime was released, and reportedly assaulted another woman the next day. A motorist who killed a pedestrian while allegedly DWI was sprung without bail. Upstate, a man accused of choking and stabbing a woman to death was set free without bail. Mayor Bill de Blasio was quick to hit the alarm button, even though he supported the reforms, including changes to bail. Now Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers are looking to make fixes. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins is also said to be open to re-examining the law. Chief among the potential reforms to the reform: Giving judges back the discretion to hold offenders. Even liberal Dems want another crack at this. That should be enough to get changes done, right? Wrong. A coalition of 60 reform groups, including the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Working Families Party, has written to Cuomo, demanding that there be no back-tracking when it comes to bail reform. As reported by City & State, the letter reads, in part, Make no mistake, retreating from bail reform less than a week after it goes into effect because of predictable fearmongering will be a retreat from New Yorks position as a leader in criminal justice reform and will embolden opponents who prefer the status quo. Fearmongering? What movie are they watching? The issue has also predictably seeped into presidential campaign politics. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) tweeted, Cash bail is an unreasonably punitive and financially burdensome system that disproportionately victimizes Black and Brown communities. Rolling back these reforms would blatantly disregard the voices of New Yorkers who voted to end it. Actually, it was lawmakers who approved the reforms. If citizens got to vote, we might have seen a different result. Warren should worry about her own fading campaign poll rankings and lackluster fundraising, and leave the New York lawmaking to New York lawmakers. So now the ball is with Democratic lawmakers. It will be up to Cuomo and the rest to stare down the lefties, who will surely make plenty of noise, on social media and in TV and radio ad blitzes, once the question is taken up. We all know how easily some New York Dems can succumb to that lefty pressure. But those voices must be tuned out. Bail reform must be reformed. Before somebody really gets hurt. South Korea's chief negotiator for defense cost-sharing Jeong Eun-bo, third from right, and his U.S. counterpart James DeHart, third from left, hold a meeting for the fifth round of the 11th Special Measures Agreement (SMA) negotiations between the countries, at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses headquarters in Seoul, Dec. 17. Courtesy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs By Jung Da-min U.S. President Donald Trump has publicly increased pressure on South Korea to pay more for the upkeep of 28,500 United States Forces Korea (USFK), ahead of the next round of negotiations for the ongoing defense cost-sharing talks scheduled to be held in Washington, D.C., Tuesday and Wednesday. The 11th Special Measures Agreement (SMA) as the talks are called between Washington and Seoul began in September last year for this year's defense cost-sharing, but its year-end deadline has passed with the countries failing to narrow their differences. "These rich countries have to pay for it. South Korea gave us $500 million," Trump said during an interview with Fox News, Friday (local time). "They're a wealthy country. They build all your television sets, they took that away from us, they build ships, they build a lot of things. I said we're protecting and you've got to pay. They paid us $500 million; they're going to pay us a lot more." Trump repeated the figure $500 million, which is not what Korea pays now. In February last year, the governments agreed on the 10th SMA for the defense cost-sharing for 2019, with South Korea increasing its contribution to about 1.04 trillion won ($896 million), up 8.2 percent from about 960 billion won the year before. Right after the 2019 deal, Trump said South Korea agreed to pay $500 million more following a couple of phone calls an inaccurate figure. Even after the 8.2 percent increase for 2019, U.S. pressure on South Korea to pay more has continued, with some media reports saying the U.S. wants South Korea to pay about $5 billion for this year, an increase of about five times from last year. Last month, there were other reports saying the U.S. has withdrawn its $5 billion demand but instead presented a 20 percent raise. The U.S. Department of State has denied the reports, saying such figures were "ungrounded speculation." Kim Jun-seok, a politics professor at Dongguk University, said the remarks clearly showed how Trump makes a deal. "The figures Trump said (in the interview) may not be accurate," Kim said. "But he has a clear notion that his country should receive (in return for what it gives)." Besides South Korea, Trump is also increasing its pressure on other countries, including NATO countries and Saudi Arabia, to pay more for the security alliance with the U.S. There are also concerns that the U.S. might withdraw the USFK troops as it withdrew its troops from Syria. "I moved our troops out on the border between Turkey and Syria. That turned out to be such a successful move," Trump said during the interview. "Look what happened. Now they protect, they've been fighting over for that border for a thousand years. Why should we do it?" Monday sailings could be disrupted Tomorrow's sailings between Heysham and Douglas are in question due to adverse weather conditions. The Steam Packet Company announced that the 8:45am Ben-my-Chree crossing from Douglas to Heysham, and the 2:15pm return are subject to possible disruption or cancellation. A final decision on both journeys will be announced at 7am tomorrow. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 21:14:34|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close CAIRO, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Arab League (AL) welcomed on Sunday a cease-fire between the UN-backed Libyan government and the east-based Libyan National Army. The Cairo-based pan-Arab organization urged all Libyan parties to remain committed to stopping all combat operations and prevent any escalations, according Egypt's official MENA news agency. The AL noted that all parties should act to resume the political course in Libya. The east-based army of Libya on Saturday announced the cease-fire and the end of all military operations against the UN-backed government in western Libya. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called on the Libyan rival parties to establish an immediate cease-fire and to stop all hostilities. The Tripoli-based UN-backed government welcomed the Turkish-Russian call, highlighting the keenness to end the war and resume political process. The east-based army has been leading a military campaign in and around Tripoli since early April 2019, trying to take over the capital city and topple the UN-backed government. Libya has been torn by a raging civil war between the government based in Tripoli and the Libyan National Army and its allies based in the eastern parts of the oil-rich North African country. Thousands have been killed and injured in the fighting, and more than 120,000 people fled their homes from the violence. Energy experts are warning South Africans they should prepare themselves for the worst, with regular stage 6 load-shedding and 10-hour daily blackouts. In December, Eskom implemented stage 6 load-shedding for the first time which means the power utility needed to shed approximately 6,000MW. In practical terms its means that South African citizens and businesses experience longer and more frequent power cuts. Despite President Cyril Ramaphosas promises to rebuild and strengthen Eskom, experts remain sceptical as these promises are nothing new. Eskom chairman Jabu Mabuzas resignation on Friday is another sign that the government has failed to resolve the problems at the embattled power utility. Energy availability factor decline EE Business Intelligence MD Chris Yelland said Eskoms declining energy availability factor (EAF) is a cause for serious concern. The energy availability factor shows the percentage of Eskoms generation capacity which is available, taking into account planned maintenance and unplanned breakdowns. Yelland said the EAF data for 2019 paints a grim picture of ageing, under-maintained, and stressed power plants. The EAF for the full 2019 calendar year has hit a new record low of 67%, compared to the EAF of 72% for the 2018 calendar year, said Yelland. He added that the EAF for Week 50 and Week 51 of 2019 also hit record all-time lows of 59.7% and 58.0% respectively. Energy expert Lungile Mashele highlighted that this week we hit an excess of 15,000MW, which was out for unplanned maintenance. This has never happened in Eskoms 96-year history. More blackouts to follow Energy advisor Ted Blom has said Eskom suffers many breakdowns caused by poor coal quality and a lack of maintenance, which is set to continue. He added that the situation is made worse by the fact Eskom does not have enough money to conduct proper maintenance on its power plants. Nu-Energy Developments MD Des Muller told The Star that stage 6 may well be a common occurrence for the foreseeable future. This, Muller said, was a result of a lack of effective planning and Eskoms poor execution on its capacity expansion. Professor Hartmut Winkler from the department of physics at the University of Johannesburg told The Star that the power situation will get far worse before it gets better. Permanent stage 2 load-shedding, occasionally rising to stage 4 or even stage 6, is not unthinkable in the current state of affairs, he said. Power purchasing While Eskom continues to implement load-shedding, businesses are demanding to know why heavy regulations around independent power producers have not been lifted. A report in the City Press stated that a recent emergency proposal by the government to buy 3,000MW of power will amount to nothing more than an exchange of ideas to prepare a report for the department of energy. It stated that the department held an information session this week on purchasing additional capacity, to which 200 businesspeople attended with the hope of addressing the power crisis. However, no immediate plans to address power supply issues were actioned. Frustrated industry insiders also wanted to why the government has not lifted limitations on independent power producers. According to the report, this could unlock around 2,500MW of power for South Africa almost immediately. Now read: Get ready for regular stage 6 blackouts in South Africa Blasting is set to resume next week on the west leg of Calgary's ring road, after work was stopped over the holidays to address residents' concerns. On Saturday, dozens of residents attended an open house to chat with experts about the project. The blasting, which is being done on Paskapoo Slope, west of Canada Olympic Park and Cougar Ridge, is intended to lower the grade of the road by removing about 20 metres of bedrock. Kelley Curtin, who lives near the construction site, said a pre-existing hairline crack in the wall of her home was made worse by the blasting. More pressing are the voles that have been driven out of the blast zone and into her yard. "Rodents have moved into our property and the voles have destroyed our lawn, they've moved into our shed, we have mounds of feces," she said. Landon Repport with Alberta Transportation said the province has organized visits to homes to address residents concerns and is reviewing data from blasting done so far. "We don't believe the damage that they have was specifically from a result of the blasting that had been completed," he said. "All of the blasts that have been conducted and completed fall within generally accepted blasting practice within Canada." As for the voles, the province has set out traps. But Curtin said she still isn't satisfied with the province's communication around the project. "[The open house is] not well organized. So it's really hard for residents to get a full picture of all of the information," she said. The blasting is scheduled to continue until Fall 2020, and the entire 101-kilometre ring road is set to open in 2022. Hundreds of people have been killed or raped in attacks on the Hema ethnic group in eastern DR Congos Ituri province, in what may amount to crimes against humanity or even genocide, the UN said on Friday. At least 701 people have been killed and 168 injured during inter-ethnic tensions between the Hema and Lendu communities, in the territories of Djugu and Mahagi, from December 2017 to September 2019, the UN Joint Human Rights Office (UNJRHO) said. In addition, at least 142 people have been subjected to acts of sexual violence. Most of the victims are members of the Hema community. Since February last year, nearly 57,000 people have taken refuge in Uganda and more than 556,000 have fled to neighbouring regions, according to UN figures. The investigation said armed Lendu groups became more organised from September 2018 and escalated their attacks. Among their objectives is to take control of the land of the Hema communities and their associated resources, UNJRHO said in a press release. Tensions between the Lendu, who are sedentary farmers, and the Hema, who are predominantly cattle herders and traders, have a long history. Conflict between the two groups between 1999 and 2003 caused tens of thousands of deaths, ending only with the dispatch of a European force called Artemis the first rapid-reaction military mission by the European Union outside Europe. The UN report documented a range of atrocities, including the raping of women, the killing of school children and looting and burning of villages. It added: 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. Documented cases of violence in Djugu and Mahagi may present at least some of the constitutive elements of the crime of genocide, the report said. There were also acts of reprisal by some members of the Hema community between 2017 and 2018, including the burning of villages and isolated attacks targeting the Lendu, it added. The report also pointed the finger at the Democratic Republic of Congos security forces. Army and police deployed to the region since February have failed to stem the violence and security forces themselves had carried out abuses, including extrajudicial killings, sexual violence and arbitrary arrest. Two policemen and two soldiers have been convicted by DRC courts. The US State Department on Saturday said that it is concerned about the detentions in Jammu and Kashmir as well as the Internet shutdown in the region. It also said that it considers the trip of foreign envoys to Jammu and Kashmir an important step but still remains concerned and that it is closely following the envoys' trip. "Closely following USAmbIndia & other foreign diplomats' recent trip to Jammu & Kashmir. Important step. We remain concerned by detention of political leaders and residents, and Internet restrictions. We look forward to a return to normalcy," said US State Department's Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs on Saturday. Closely following @USAmbIndia & other foreign diplomats' recent trip to Jammu & Kashmir. Important step. We remain concerned by detention of political leaders and residents, and Internet restrictions. We look forward to a return to normalcy. AGW - State_SCA (@State_SCA) January 11, 2020 On Thursday, envoys from 17 countries visited Jammu and Kashmir in an official trip. The trip was organised by the government to show the envoys that the situation in the region is under control. Foreign envoys from 17 countries including USA, Vietnam, South Korea, Brazil, Niger, Uzbekistan, Nigeria, Morocco, Guyana, Argentina, Philippines, Norway, Maldives, Fiji, Togo, Bangladesh and Peru are part of the delegation. Diplomats from EU, Australia and Gulf were also expected to be part of the delegation but eventually dropped out. EU envoys refused to be part of the delegation, while some diplomats cited scheduling constraints. On Friday, the Supreme Court rebuked the Modi government for Internet shutdown in the region. "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 cannot be used to suppress legitimate expression of opinion or grievance or exercise of any democratic rights," said the court. This is the second such trip of envoys to the region. However, the government had distanced itself from the first such visit and called it a private visitation. Also read: Envoys from US, Bangladesh, South Korea, 14 more countries to visit Jammu and Kashmir today Also read: Internet shutdown in Kashmir unconstitutional: Supreme Court Virgin Hyperloop One (VHO), the worlds leading hyperloop company, has announced that its system can be powered completely off-grid in the Middle East. At speeds of over 1,000 km/h, hyperloop can connect all Gulf cities within an hour from each other. The system has zero direct emissions and could move close to 45 million passengers per year in the region leveraging solar panels which cover the tube, the company says. This was revealed as the company participated at this years Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), a global platform that seeks to accelerate sustainable development. The annual event is taking place in the UAEs capital, Abu Dhabi, from January 11 to 18. VHO is presenting at ADSWs headliner event, the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) to discuss what it will be like to travel in the 21st century. Jay Walder, chief executive officer at VHO, said: As cities around the world feel the impacts of climate change, we need viable solutions. Transportation is one of the biggest areas that needs to be addressed. Yet we have seen little progress since the introduction of the railway and commercial air travel. At VHO, we are committed to a massive leap forward to offset the impacts of vehicle, train and air travel in a way that no current technology can. We estimate that per passenger, hyperloop is 50 per cent more energy-efficient than high-speed rail and up to 10 times more than flying. As a result, all Gulf cities could be less than an hour away from each other, powered by a zero-emission network that is energy neutral and could be completely unplugged from the grid in the Middle East. In line with the UAEs federal Energy Strategy 2050, VHOs clean energy solution supports the strategys goals to increase the contribution of clean energy in the total energy mix from 25 per cent to 50 per cent by 2050 and reduce carbon footprint of power generation by 70 percent, thus saving AED 700 billion by 2050, the company says. Having already attracted major investors from the UAE, such as VHOs lead investor DP World, a hyperloop connection would see passengers travel the region at incredible speeds, cutting the travel time from Abu Dhabi to Jeddah to 48 minutes, for example. Speaking about the participation at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and a connected Gulf, Harj Dhawali, Managing Director of the Middle East and India at Virgin Hyperloop One, said: We are very excited to participate at this years Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. The event provides us with a unique opportunity to promote hyperloop technology as the worlds most sustainable mode of mass transportation and engage in meaningful dialogue and for a more connected region. In October, VHO announced the results of a strategic study commissioned to build the worlds first extended test and certification hyperloop track in Saudi Arabia. The Virgin Hyperloop One Center of Excellence (CoE), if approved, could create more than 124,000 high-tech local jobs and drive a $4 billion increase in Saudi Arabias GDP by 2030, according the study. TradeArabia News Service Both sides in Libya's conflict agreed to a ceasefire from Sunday to end nine months of fighting, following weeks of international diplomacy and calls for a truce by power-brokers Russia and Turkey. The oil-rich North African country has been wracked by bloody turmoil since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising killed long-time dictator Moamer Kadhafi, with multiple foreign powers now involved. The UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli had been under attack since last April from forces loyal to eastern-based strongman Khalifa Haftar, which on January 6 captured the strategic coastal city of Sirte. Late on Saturday, Haftar's forces announced a ceasefire starting at midnight (Sunday 00:00 local time, Saturday 2200 GMT) in line with a joint call by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. GNA head Fayez al-Sarraj followed suit early Sunday, confirming the ceasefire had taken effect. The UN mission in Libya welcomed the announcements and called on all parties "to respect the ceasefire" and support efforts to launch an inter-Libyan dialogue. Likewise, the Arab League urged Libya's factions to "commit to stop the fighting, work on alleviating all forms of escalations and engage in good faith aimed at reaching permanent arrangements for a ceasefire". Since the start of the offensive against Tripoli, more than 280 civilians and about 2,000 fighters have been killed and 146,000 Libyans displaced, according to the United Nations. Diplomatic offensive Fighters of a battalion loyal to Libyan General Khalifa Haftar pictured in the eastern city of Benghazi in December 2019. Both sides in Libya's conflict agreed to a ceasefire that started early Sunday. By Abdullah DOMA (AFP/File) Sarraj stressed the GNA's "legitimate right ... to respond to any attack or aggression" that may come from the other side, while Haftar's forces warned of a "severe" response to any violation by the "opposing camp". Artillery fire could be heard shortly after midnight in the capital, before quiet settled over the southern Tripoli suburb where pro-GNA forces have been resisting Haftar's offensive. Contacted by AFP at noon, a spokesman for the pro-GNA forces, Mustafa al-Mejii, reported "a calm situation so far on the frontlines". The GNA later reported "violations" by "pro-Haftar militias" in the Salaheddine and Wadi al-Rabii areas south of the capital, "minutes after the ceasefire came into effect". It also reiterated its "immutable position" that "any ceasefire initiative cannot succeed without the withdrawal of the aggressor from where they came", from the country's east and south. Turkey's defence ministry said: "The belligerents have been trying to respect these truces since they came into force... and the situation has been calm apart from one or two isolated incidents." The truce comes after a diplomatic offensive, led by Ankara and Moscow, which have established themselves as key players in Libya. Ankara despatched military support to the GNA in January. And Russia has been accused of backing pro-Haftar forces, which are also supported by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, all regional rivals of Turkey. Erdogan and Putin called for a truce at a meeting last Wednesday in Istanbul, and Turkey later asked Russia to convince Haftar, who had initially vowed to fight on, to respect it. Fears of a 'second Syria' Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met last week in Istanbul. By Alexey DRUZHININ (SPUTNIK/AFP/File) Europe and North Africa have also launched a diplomatic offensive to try to prevent Libya, with the increased involvement of international players in its conflict, from turning into a "second Syria". European governments, also including former colonial power Italy, fear that Islamist militants and migrant smugglers, already highly active in Libya, will take further advantage of the chaos. The US embassy in Libya, in a statement Saturday, voiced its "serious concern about toxic foreign interference in the conflict". It said "Russian mercenaries" had backed Haftar's Libyan Arab Armed Forces, while "Turkish-supported Syrian fighters" had backed the GNA, a development that had "significantly degraded security, to the detriment of all Libyans". "All responsible Libyan parties should end this dangerous escalation and reject the destructive involvement by foreign forces," the embassy said. On Saturday, Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at talks in Moscow threw their weight behind a Libya peace conference in Berlin being organised by UN special envoy Ghassan Salame that could be held in the coming weeks. Putin on Saturday again denied Russia had deployed mercenaries to Libya, saying: "If there are Russians there, they do not represent the interests of the Russian state and do not receive money from it." Eugene-based Pape Machinery Agriculture & Turf bought Longviews Chinook Sales & Rentals John Deere Dealership, it announced Thursday. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, according to a press release. This is the fifth location Pape Machinery Agriculture & Turf has bought in Washington and the 23rd overall in the past eight years, according to a press release. Pape Machinery Agriculture & Turf is pleased to welcome Chinook Sales & Rentals to the Pape team, where for 80 years we have built a reputation for always keeping our customers moving forward, President Ryan Pape said in the press release. Former Chinook Sales & Rentals owner Jeff Trass said in the release that joining Pape is an excellent opportunity for employees and customers, alike. We have been proud to serve our customers in the region since 1979, Trass said. Like Chinook Sales & Rentals, Pape Machinery Agriculture & Turf is a family-owned and operated business, with a sharp focus on delivering unparalleled customer service and solutions. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. North Korea scoffs at Trump's conciliatory gesture The United States and North Korea are expected to enter a prolonged stalemate in their nuclear talks as Pyongyang has hardened its stance over how it will denuclearize. On Saturday, former North Korean chief nuclear envoy Kim Kye-gwan made it clear that his country would not resume dialogue unless the U.S. fully accepted its demands. Kim, now a foreign ministry adviser, said the North would never engage in negotiations to shutter key nuclear facilities only for partial sanctions relief. He implied that his country would not repeat the mistake of the Hanoi summit between its leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump in February 2019 which ended in failure. His remarks are seen as the North moving to put greater pressure on the U.S. to meet its demands: sanctions relief and security guarantees. Pyongyang has repeatedly called on Washington to come up with a new method, while also threatening to take a "new path." The North received Trump's message of congratulations for Kim Jong-un's Jan. 8 birthday. The regime, however, scoffed at Trump's conciliatory gesture, which was apparently aimed at restarting the nuclear talks. Adviser Kim said relations between the two leaders of the North and the U.S. were "not bad." But he noted that the leaders' friendly ties were not sufficient to revive the deadlocked talks. "There is no need for us to be present at such talks, in which there is only unilateral pressure, and we have no desire to barter something for other things at the talks like traders," he said. The North's demands for more concessions from the U.S. are not new. However, they cast a darker cloud over prospects for nuclear disarmament. In his speech to the 5th Plenary Meeting of the ruling Workers' Party 7th Central Committee, Kim mentioned "new strategic weapons," hinting at rescinding his moratorium on nuclear and ICBM tests. As things stand now, it is difficult for Trump to keep the dialogue momentum as part of efforts to boost his re-election bid. He does not seem to have much room to maneuver, given that he faces more pressing issues, such as his impeachment and rising tensions with Iran. It remains to be seen how he will respond to the North's demands. South Korean President Moon Jae-in is also feared to have suffered a setback in his efforts to be a mediator in the U.S.-North Korea denuclearization talks. In his New Year speech, Moon invited Kim to visit the South and called for dialogue to discuss joint economic projects and exchanges between the two Koreas. But for now, the Kim regime has no intention of accommodating Moon's peace overtures. Despite the impasse, Pyongyang needs to keep the door open to dialogue not only with Washington but also Seoul. It should not try to turn the clock back to complete its nuclear program. Kim must realize that nuclear weapons cannot guarantee the North's survival. They will only deepen the North's isolation and may lead to its self-destruction. It is up to Kim whether his country moves toward peace and prosperity or not. Washington and Beijing may be ready to sign a preliminary trade agreement, but companies in China are not taking any chances, forging ahead with contingency plans in case the tariff war resumes. As Chinese Vice Premier Liu He travels to Washington from Monday to Wednesday to seal the deal, manufacturers and suppliers told AFP that they fear the agreement could be upended even after it is signed. Rather than focusing on the agreement, they are planning for the worst -- seeking new markets abroad, increasing their presence at home or moving production overseas. The "Phase One" deal signalled a de-escalation in a trade conflict pitting the world's two most powerful economies against each other for nearly two years. But even as the US held off last month from a further escalation in tariffs, firms continue bearing the brunt of existing levies as well as suffering a lower volume of orders amid simmering trade tensions. Washington maintains 25 percent tariffs on about $250 billion worth of Chinese imports. "Even if they signed the Phase One deal, we don't know if things will change at a later stage," said Alfred Wong, CEO of D&S Products Manufactory, which is headquartered in Hong Kong and has a factory in the southern trade hub of Shenzhen. - 'China plus one' - Wong's company, which makes child safety products and greeting cards, has moved almost a third of its production to Sri Lanka since last September, even though it has not been hit hard by existing tariffs. Wong said that clients were unlikely to give it new deals if it did not adopt a "China plus one" strategy of diversifying operations outside the country. He added that orders for products had fallen last year, much of it due to uncertainty over potential escalations in tariffs. "Even if President Donald Trump were not in office, the US could still take action against China," said Wong. "Things are unlikely to return to the way they were before the trade war." Jason Lee, CEO of metal parts manufacturer Shanghai EverSkill M&E, said the US market made up about 60 percent of his company's sales before the trade war, but this has dropped to around 40 percent. He is now looking for more clients outside the US to make up for some of the shortfall. "In the long run, as a Chinese supplier, we can only improve on our products and ensure they are better compared with those from elsewhere. That is the most fundamental solution," Lee said. Instead of looking abroad, Silver Star, a robot vacuum-cleaner maker headquartered in Shenzhen, is now seeking to increase its market share within China, particularly via e-commerce. "Macroeconomic policies are not within the control of small business owners like us," said company chief executive Ludwig Ye. Some companies are also doing less research and development for new products. Kim Ng, managing director of kitchen gadgets producer Ko Fung, said this has had a knock-on effect on business for the rest of the year as the production of new goods typically comes after research and development. Ng added that the potential cut in tariffs in the Phase One deal is only from 15 percent to 7.5 percent on around $120 billion of Chinese imports. "President Trump is attacking China to boost his popularity, and it is (a US presidential) election year. I expect the further stages of negotiations will be more difficult," he said. - Limited benefits - Iris Pang, Greater China economist at ING, said the rollback on tariffs is likely to benefit only "a very small group of exporters". UOB bank's head of research Suan Teck Kin said that while the deal suggests that trade tensions have stopped escalating, it does not address other sources of strain such as China's subsidies to state-owned enterprises. Analysts also remain divided on whether China is likely to raise its purchase of US agricultural goods to at least $40 billion annually over two years, a figure invoked by US officials. China has not confirmed the numbers, but Suan said it was not impossible to achieve. If US farm-product purchases hit around $40 billion by 2021, it would likely represent about 23 percent of China's agricultural imports. At its 2015 peak, US farm products made up nearly 25 percent of China's imports, he said. Tensions also remain on other fronts, especially in technology, with the US having imposed sanctions on Chinese telecom champion Huawei. "There seems to be an escalation of the tech war between China and the US, and between China and the rest of the world," said Pang. "It seems that it's not only a trade war now, it's an overall resistance towards China's development of advanced technologies." Many companies are preparing for the worst even as the United States and China are about to sign a 'phase one' deal to ease trade tensions The Mizoram government has sought assistance from the United Nations to boost horticulture in the state, official sources said on Sunday. Mizo National Front (MNF) MLA F Lalnunmawia, who is the vice chairman of the state horticulture development board, paid a visit to UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) regional office in Bangkok last week and met its officials, official sources said. During his meeting with the FAO regional coordinator for Asia and Pacific Xiangjun Yao and other officials, Lalnunmawia urged the UN agency to extend technical support to Mizoram in order to augment fruits and vegetables production and set up processing units and markets, they said. Lalnunmawia also informed the UN officials about the state's efforts to successfully implement the flagship programme -- Socio-Economic Development Policy (SEDP) -- and sought better cooperation from the UN agency. The FAO officials suggested Lalnunmawia to submit concept paper through Union ministry of agriculture and the FAO office in India, official sources said They also told the legislator their willingness to hold talks for future cooperation, the sources added. Lalnunmawia was accompanied by Mizoram Youth Commission chairman Vanlaltanpuia and state planning secretary C Lalsangzuala, among others. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A jawan of the Sashastra Seema Bal posted at an outpost here along the Indo- Nepal border went berserk on Saturday and fired more than 200 gunshots in the air, triggering panic in the area, a police official said. The incident took place inside the SSB camp at Piltola border outpost, under the jurisdiction of Dighalbank police station of the district, where the sounds of gunshots were heard at around 3 pm and the fusillade rent the air for about 45 minutes. According to Deputy Superintendent of Police of Kishanganj, Ajay Kumar Jha, the jawan Abhay Kumar - who hails from Rajasthan - took out INSAS rifles from the warehouse inside the camp and began shooting in the air. SSB officials led by commandant Subhash Chand Negi rushed to the spot and overpowered the jawan - said to be mentally unstable - upon being informed by Abhay Kumar's colleagues, Jha said. About 240 fired cartridges were later collected from the spot, he said, adding that a large number of curious and frightened villagers had gathered outside the camp upon hearing the gunshots, who were persuaded to go back to their homes. The police and the SSB were jointly investigating the matter and officials of the paramilitary force have said on condition of anonymity that the erring jawan would face departmental action and may end up facing dismissal from service. PALO ALTO(BCN) The Stanford Blood Center is asking Bay Area residents to donate blood to any nearby center, as supplies are at critically low levels. All blood types are needed and the center reported Friday that type O positive and type O negative inventories are down to only a one-day supply. There may not be enough to fill all hospital requests, center officials said. "All it takes is about an hour of your time, and you can help save the lives of up to three patients with a single donation," said SBC spokesperson Ross Coyle. Residents who would like to donate should be in good health with no cold or flu symptoms. They are also advised to eat well, drink fluids and present a photo ID when they go to donate. Donors are encouraged to make an appointment at one of three donation center locations in Campbell, Menlo Park, or Mountain View. They can also look into blood drives that take place in Los Gatos, Palo Alto, San Jose and Stanford. Any appointments can be made online at stanfordbloodcenter.org or can call (888) 723-7831. 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. TWO gardai are being questioned about an ATM scam in which they are suspected of having obtained cash, using their cards, without the withdrawals being debited to their accounts. The two were in custody last night after joint inquiries by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and an internal fraud unit from Allied Irish Banks. Investigating gardai said last night that the scam had been carried out over the past couple of months at a number of ATM machines across Dublin and netted around 1,500. The two uniformed gardai are in their 30s and are both attached to a Dublin station. They have both been suspended from the force by garda management, pending the outcome of the criminal investigation. They were arrested at their homes at around breakfast time yesterday and taken to Leixlip garda station for questioning about suspected fraudulent activity. Neither of them is attached to Leixlip station. They can be held without charge for up to 24 hours, excluding rest periods, under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. A fraudster could operate the scam by using a bank card to withdraw a sum of money from a personal account through an ATM machine. The fraudster could then 'trick' the machine so that the cash would not be debited from the account from which it was withdrawn. It is alleged that this activity was carried out at several ATMs in the capital over two months, using the same bank cards and accounts. The discrepancies were spotted by an internal monitoring unit at Allied Irish Banks and after completing their own inquiries they alerted the gardai. CAMERAS As part of their investigation, detectives are understood to have examined CCTV footage taken from cameras located near the ATMs at the centre of the scam. This is the latest investigation launched by gardai into missing monies involving the force. Inquiries are being carried out at Coolock and Malahide stations into the disappearance of an evidence bag containing almost 27,500. Officers are not yet certain whether the cash has been mislaid or has been stolen. Gardai are also investigating two other incidents at Balbriggan garda station when 9,000 went missing from an evidence bag there and another 4,000 disappeared from a locker in a separate incident. The Congress' youth wing carried out a 'peace march' in Delhi on Sunday to express solidarity with those who have raised their voices against various issues despite facing police "brutality". The Youth Congress organised the march at Lutyens' Delhi to commemorate Swami Vivekananda's 157th birth anniversary, which is also observed as National Youth Day. The march started from Mandi House till the Youth Congress office on Raisina Road with some of the volunteers dressed as Swami Vivekananda. According to the Youth Congress, the march was in solidarity with the "brave citizens" who have been raising their voices against various contentious issues even in the face of police "brutality" across the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New health minister Robin Swann has requested a meeting with trade unions in a bid to resolve the ongoing industrial action. The former Ulster Unionist leader was yesterday nominated as health minister as powersharing was restored following thee years of political paralysis. Health unions have been taking strike action over pay parity and staffing levels, which nurses say are unsafe. Mr Swann said: "I am happy to confirm that contact has been made with trade unions and I will be meeting with them as soon as possible this week. I'm looking forward to getting this dispute sorted right away. "Obviously, the financial package for the new Executive and support from other Ministerial colleagues will be central to making that happen. "We need our nurses and other health workers back at work. There's a massive challenge for all of us in making our health service better and our great staff have a vital role to play in that." Health Minister Robin Swann: "Delighted to be appointed Minister for Health. Looking forward to getting to know my portfolio and facing the challenges ahead. A priority is meeting with health unions at an early opportunity next week." pic.twitter.com/ATEvjg18qw Department of Health (@healthdpt) January 11, 2020 Pat Cullen, director of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in Northern Ireland welcomed Robin Swann as the new health minister and called for an immediate meeting to begin the process of resolving the dispute over pay parity and staffing levels. "Nurses could not have made it clearer that they do not want to be standing on picket lines losing yet more pay," she said. "They want to get back on the wards and in the community, treating and caring for patients like they should be. We require strong political leadership and if we are able to get a formal assurance from our new Health Minister that our requirements will be met, we may be in a position to suspend further industrial action. The New Decade, New Approach deal provides an opportunity to take forward many of issues that need urgently addressed and is a basis upon which to take further steps to ensure that our health service becomes truly fit for purpose. This will not happen overnight but must begin urgently. We ended the last decade in despair but I hope we can now take forward this decade with optimism and put a plan in place to make our health service something we can be proud of. Anne Speed, from Unison, said: "We congratulate the minister on his election. This prompt move by minister Swan is recognition that the determination and courage of thousands of health workers has made the health service the key priority for our new government. There is little doubt that it also created positive political movement. "Everyone in the health workforce has played their part and sustained a historic campaign of action since 25 November 2019. "From nurses to cleaners and cooks, from porters to occupational therapists, from paramedics to clericial workers, from home care workers to transport drivers and all grades in between, they have stood up for their rights and the rights of their patients." Ms Speed has written to Mr Swann, Permanent Health Secretary Richard Pengelly and the chief executives of all trusts. She added: "The bona fides of the commitments given to health workers by the Secretary of State and the parties forming the new Executive will be directly tested in the coming days. We anticipate a positive outcome." The question for Democrats, generally, and Ohio Democrats, specifically, is how to recapture the Buckeye State this November from a Republican president who carried Ohio by almost 450,000 votes. That 2016 tally was no fluke. But it wasnt about philosophy, or the economy or values. True, thats what some voters told people who asked. But Donald Trumps victory, in Ohio and elsewhere, was because lots of people couldnt stand 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hilary Clinton. And Trump, 2016s Republican nominee, was their only alternative. From now until Nov. 3, therell be endless yammering about polls, and about Iran, and about Trumps seemingly limitless inventory of offensive statements. But only this can win Ohio for a Democratic nominee: In each of Ohios 8,939 precincts, he or she must convince an average of 25 Ohio voters half of Trumps 2016 Ohio margin, plus a few 2016 no-show or third-party voters to vote Democratic in 2020. Or stay home. Thats a pretty steep hill to climb, although a shooting war or shaky economy on Trumps watch could persuade some Ohioans who backed Trump to vote instead for a Democrat this November. Still, the United States has been at war in Asia one way or another for 78 consecutive years, since the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. As for the economy, heres what Ohios Development Services Agency reports: In 2018 Ohios per capita personal income was 89.8 percent of the nations per capita income. In 1977 Ohio was at nearly 100 percent of the U.S. per capita income. That is, whether Ohioans voted for Messrs. Carter, or Reagan, or Bush I, or Clinton, or Bush II, or, Obama, or Trump, the only thing that happened to the average Ohioans wallet was that it got thinner. But the rich got richer. The Congressional Budget Office reported last month that, Over the 19792016 period as a whole, the average income of households (in 2016 dollars) at the top of the income distribution [the top 20 percent] grew faster than the average income of households in lower income quintiles [the remaining 80 percent]. That trend is projected to continue through 2021. Thats why, from a fat cats point of view, nothing could be finer than rank-and-file voters griping about free phones or food stamps because that keeps them from realizing who really is coming out ahead in America today. Where can Democrats find, or hope to find, roughly 225,000 of Trumps 2016 Ohio voters (or among 2016s stay-at-home or third-party voters), and persuade them to replace Trump with a Democrat? One place Democrats wont find many Ohioans is glued to TVs, gripped by rival Democrats purported debates. Another place Democrats probably cant find many potential presidential crossovers is south of U.S. 224 and west of Interstate 71 that is, in western and southern Ohios counties, leaving aside Franklin (Columbus) and Hamilton (Cincinnati) counties. That assumes western Ohios farmers and factory-farmers are okay with the president, which they may be: So far, Trumps direct payments to farmers hurt by his trade dispute with China have totaled some $28 billion more than twice what the auto bailout cost, according to calculations from Bloomberg Businessweek, the Detroit Free Press reported in September. True, statewide in Ohio, the presidents crudity revolts many women. But regionally, Democrats best chance to convert some of Ohios 2016 Trump voters may be in what was once Democrats Ohio heartland: Greater Cleveland, including the Akron-Canton and Youngstown-Warren regions. In 2016, Trumbull County (Warren) drew national attention because Trump became only the third GOP presidential nominee since 1932 to carry Trumbull. (The others: Richard Nixon, 1972, and Dwight Eisenhower in 1956. Folklore, courtesy of veteran Youngstown Vindicator political reporter Clingan Jackson, was that Trumbull and Mahoning counties Irish-Americans backed Ike because hed punched the British lion in the snout over 1956s Suez War.) But Trumbull aside, Hillary Clinton carried Northeast Ohio by about 140,000 votes in 2016. If Democrats can widen that edge this year, itd be a good start on shaving Trumps potential 2020 Ohio vote, retiring him as president if, that is, potential Democratic candidates would stop sniping at each other in TV studios and start talking to Ohioans on their doorsteps, and in their town squares. Thomas Suddes, a member of the editorial board, writes from Athens. Editors note: This column was updated at 5:40 p.m. to clarify how many 2016 Trump voters in Ohio would have to cross over to the Democratic side this year to erase the nearly 450,000-vote advantage Trump amassed four years ago. To reach Thomas Suddes: tsuddes@cleveland.com, 216-408-9474 Have something to say about this topic? Use the comments to share your thoughts. Then, stay informed when readers reply to your comments by using the Follow option at the top of the comments, and look for updates via the small blue bell in the lower right as you look at more stories on cleveland.com. Residents in the 6300 block of Calhoun Street, Dearborn, summoned police officers the night of Jan. 2 after two family members noticed a stranger in close proximity to the Jeep parked in their driveway. The owner of the car said his mother initially noticed a man standing on the Jeeps drivers side earlier that evening. Later, he said his brother saw the stranger on the Jeeps passenger side, and confronted the man, who said he was waiting for a ride, then ran to a nearby black Dodge Ram, which left the area, heading north on Calhoun. The man was described as having a dark complexion, possibly Yemeni, and an Arabic language speaker. Police were unable to locate the man nor the Ram in the area. The police officer said he would watch for the black Dodge Ram for the balance of his shift. The best thing the US can do for the world is to continue its maximum pressure campaign on Irans regime to prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon, a top US official said on Sunday. The best thing we can do for the Iranian people and for the world is to continue our maximum pressure campaign to ensure that the Iranian regime never obtains a nuclear weapon, stops their terrorist activities in the region and cuts back on their ballistic missile program, National Security Advisor Robert OBrien said. The US has imposed new sanctions on Iran following missile strikes by it on bases housing US troops in Iraq. Iran said the attacks were in revenge for the killing of the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, General Qasem Soleimani, in a US drone strike last week, which was ordered by President Donald Trump. OBrien said it has never been the policy of the US to change the regime in Iran, but the people of Iran are going to hopefully have the ability at some point to elect their own government. Its never been our policy to change the regime in Iran, but the people of Iran are going to hopefully have the ability at some point to elect their own government and to be governed by the leaders they choose. I mean we hope that around the world. But thats not our policy. And were going to support human rights, he said during an interview to a private American channel. OBrien said the US will work with its allies against Iran and soon the European powers would also join. Were going to keep doing that. Were going to work with our allies. I think were going to see some additional assistance on that front coming out of Europe that has not been forthcoming in the past. But I think youre going to see the Europeans getting onboard in the coming weeks as well, he said. Stating that the past one week has been a very bad for the Iranian regime, OBrien said : They shot down Ukrainian International Airline 752. And the presidents condolences and sympathy goes out to the passengers, their families, and their friends and loved ones. The Iranians then denied shooting the aircraft down, then give a different story about the aircraft coming close to sensitive military installations, changed it again and said it was because of the United States, he said. Irans Revolutionary Guard on Saturday acknowledged that it accidentally shot down the Ukrainian jetliner that crashed earlier this week, killing all 176 aboard, after the government had repeatedly denied Western accusations that it was responsible. This was a regime thats reeling from maximum pressure. Theyre reeling from their incompetence in this situation. And the people of Iran are just fed up with it, he added. At the just concluded Sound City MVP Awards, world heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua was awarded for Excellence In Sports. The British-Nigerian boxer recovered from his first career defeat to recover his belts from Andy Ruiz Jr. At the event, popular entertainer, DJ Cuppy became a recipient of the Special Recognition for Excellence in Philanthropy. The entertainer recently launched a charity organisation for children in the North Eastern part of Nigeria that reportedly got the highest philanthropic support in the history of Nigeria. Also Read: Anthony Joshua Reveals Next Boxer He Wants To Fight In 2020 Putting out a Special Recognition for the Community and socio-cultural development, Debola Williams and Chude Jideonwo were also recognized. At the same occasion, veteran singer, 2Baba was given the Special Recognition in music. Spas for Days Soak Up the Sea Cunard has had a long partnership with wellness trailblazer Canyon Ranch; their latest joint offering, the Mareel Wellness & Beauty spa, takes its cue from the ocean by way of seaweed baths and facials. For an itinerary that complements that aqueous philosophy, consider the Queen Elizabeths 10-day Alaska sailings in summer 2020, an adventure along the coastline that includes the fjords of the Inside Passage and the mighty Hubbard Glacier. (From $1,299, cunard.com) Pick Up Steam For next-level R & R, book a cruise on Princess newest vessel, Sky Princess, which is home to The Enclave, its largest thermal suite on a Princess ship yet, and includes a hydrotherapy pool, a Turkish hammam, a steam chamber, and a hot, dry chamber. Soak it all up on the 10-day Southern Caribbean Voyager in November 2020. There are three at-sea (spa!) days and activities like hiking, kayaking, and snorkeling in six ports, including Antigua. (From $1,229, princess.com) Scandi Spa Its no secret the Scandinavians know how to spa, which is why Viking rolled out LivNordic Spa & Wellness on its ocean vessels in 2015, featuring saunas and cold baths in the Nordic tradition. Take advantage of it during the 15-day Viking Homelands itinerary in April 2020 aboard their newest ship, Viking Jupiter. Sail from Stockholm to Bergen, Norway, and experience hygge in a legit home in Denmark or kayak through a Norwegian fjord. (From $5,799, vikingcruises.com) Menus with Balance Virtuous food options, like grilled Alaskan king salmon with tomato, grape, and basil, are par for the course on Holland America's cruises. | Julie Ellis/Holland America Line Plants at Sea Oceanias executive culinary director is Jacques Pepin, so its no surprise that they launched one of the most extensive plant-based and healthy menus at sea last year. The cruise line also operates wellness tourson their nine-day Adriatic Awakening sailing in October 2020 on the Marina, guests can take a tour in Corfu, Greece, that includes yoga, meditation, and lunch in the 400-year-old Ambelonas vineyard. The estates owner is a chef and cookbook author who champions the inherent healthfulness of Corfiot cuisine. (From $1,599, oceaniacruises.com) Story continues Clean Cuisine For a more wellness-focused cruise experience with Celebrity Cruises, spring for an AquaClass ticket. AquaClass guests receive all manner of spa-themed perks plus access to breakfast and dinner at Blu, an upscale restaurant that focuses on mindful, health-conscious food. The Celebrity Solstice sails along the Australian, Tasmanian, and New Zealand coasts over 14 nights in November 2020 with optional excursions, including sea kayaking, white water rafting, and relaxing in mud baths or hot springs. (AquaClass from $2,449, celebritycruises.com) All the Choices The number and diversity of Holland America Lines dining options means that it isnt hard to spring for a healthy meal. Its Nami Sushi restaurant is inspired by the lines Culinary Council member chef Andy Matsuda, who emerged from a battle with cancer with a new appreciation for how food impacts health. The line also runs food tours in conjunction with Food & Wine; the Big Island Farm-to-Fork Experience on its 17-Day Circle Hawaii itinerary in October 2020 includes visits to organic farms, cooking classes, and more. (From $1,849, hollandamerica.com) Remote Resets Active types have the option to climb a glacier as part of Cunard's Alaska-bound cruise. | Rhiannon Taylor Mind-Blowing Adventure The awe of nature can be simultaneously uplifting, energizing, and calming, and cruising can transport you to places in nature that no car or train can. Case in point: Ponants newest explorer ship, Le Jacques Cartier, will be sailing the west coast of Iceland in August 2020 on the eight-day Icelandic Mosaic itinerary. The nature-as-meditation philosophy is especially resonant on this ship, one of the new class to come equipped with an underwater lounge that captures sounds from the sea while you relax on a special vibrating sofa. (From $5,770, us.ponant.com) Into the Wild Crystals new polar-class expedition ship Crystal Endeavor, launching in August 2020, takes guests up close to some of the most remote and beautiful spots on earth. It comes equipped with a seven-person submersible for underwater adventures and two helicopters for sightseeing over inaccessible terrain. The 11-day Ushuaia Roundtrip spends eight days on the Antarctic Peninsula exploring seal and penguin colonies, glaciers, and icebergs. But rugged does not mean roughing itthe ship is a luxury vessel with some of the largest rooms at sea, butler service, and dining by Nobu. (From $15,449, crystalcruises.com) Glacial Getaway Silverseas Arctic and Greenland cruise visits some of the most far-flung settlements on earth, delivering a quiet remoteness that is good for the soul. Sailing from Churchill in Canada to Kangerlussuaq in Greenland through small Inuit hamlets, whale and walrus habitats, nesting grounds for all manner of Arctic birds, and past ancient glaciers, the 16-day cruise offered in August 2020 on the Silver Cloud is an opportunity to disconnect from modern life. Theres nothing quite like sailing in the Ilulissat Icefjord (said to be the birthplace of icebergs) to help you forget work emails and deadlines. (From $17,910, silversea.com) Mindful Excursions The infinity pool on board the Viking Jupiter, where the Nordic spa is included in your fare. | Amanda Hollinger/Viking A Themed Voyage Integrative medicine guru, renowned health practitioner, and author Andrew Weil, MD, hosts an annual wellness trip with Seabourn, assembling an array of experts in the fields of integrative medicine, nutrition, stress, and anxiety. In addition to formal seminars, theres a daily morning guided meditation, plus yoga and pilates. On the 16-day Wellness in Australia and New Zealand cruise in February 2020, cruisers will visit Hells Gate in New Zealands Rotorua, where thermal springs are revered by the native Maori for their soothing effect. (From $4,999, seabourn.com) Change Agent Uniworlds 12-day ME to WE and the Sacred Ganges river cruise from New Delhi to Kolkata is as much about social enterprise and community building as it is about improving your yoga practice. You can join a four-day pre-cruise program in Udaipur, working with special facilitators and a local community on a development project (building a much-needed facility such as a school). Once you join the cruise portion of the trip back in New Delhi, youll have the option to participate in the onboard complimentary wellness program led by a yogi. (From $6,999, uniworld.com) A World of Wellness Regent Seven Seas is in the process of rolling out a new spa brand, Serene Spa & Wellness, on board its ships, completing in February 2020. In addition to spa therapies using ingredients inspired by global destinations (say, seaweed from the Baltic coast or sea buckthorn from the Mediterranean), the concept includes specialized Wellness Tours. On the 10-day Viva Espana sailing, a round trip departing Barcelona for the Canary Islands, take a tour to the curative mud baths of Mar Menor, the largest open-air mud therapy retreat in Europe. (From $8,499, rssc.com) The book of Revelation is an imagistic feast; a fantasy writer's treasure trove, full of beauty and horror. Some people would say that this beast in Johns vision has already come and gone Hitler caused hundreds of thousands of Jews and countless others to be marked and murdered. But the prophecy found in Revelation has not been fulfilled. What is this mark and who is the Beast? Who Is the Beast in Revelation? There are actually three beasts who make up what Thomas R. Schreiner calls The Unholy Trinity of monsters. One is a dragon, Satan, who stands on the seashore summoning another beast rising out of the sea. The one Satan summons behaves as a demonic ruler but takes his orders from the evil one. The third member of this group claims to speak for God but is a false prophet. He represents religious authority contrary to Gods Word and ways. He returns to life after a death blow, mimicking Christs resurrection and lending credibility to his lies. Much of the world will worship this miraculous beast who enforces the power of the first [beast] through economic discrimination. A fourth beast is mentioned. Perhaps John pictured this beast as Rome, still a powerful empire in the late first century. None of these beasts has ultimate control, however, God ordains what the beast does and His judgment is his strange work referenced in Isaiah 28:21. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way (2 Thessalonians 2:7). What Is the Mark of the Beast? Satans mark is supposedly 666, the number of man, while 777 represents perfection. Man and woman were created on the sixth day. Man labors six days only. The sixth commandment is "Thou shalt not murder." Six words are used for man: Adam, ish, Enosh, gehver, anthropos, anar. Also, 6 x 6 = 36; 36 + 35 + 34 + 33 + 32; 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 666. 666 is the number of the antichrist. This means that the name of the antichrist in Greek adds up to 666. This is a mockery of the Trinity. We can come close, mimic perfection, but only for a short time. In the final scene of the original Omen where Gregory Peck reveals 666 marked on his own child, this mark confirms that his son is the Beast foretold in Revelation 18. We dont know for sure if this is the number or if there will be a visible mark on followers of the Beast. Commentators understand why we expect to see a brand or tattoo on these individuals. According to Sam Storms, marking has been common throughout society as a means of tribal identification, punishment, as a sign of ownership, of disgrace, and of loyalty to a pagan deity. As mentioned above, Jews were marked by the Nazis during the 1930s and 40s. Satan tries to copy everything God does, as seen in the creation of his trinity, the resurrection of his beast, and with the false prophet. Why not also copy His example for marking? And the Lord set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him (Genesis 4:15). But Cains mark might have been some type of token or pledge. Theologians suggest that the phrase set a mark upon Cain [...] more likely means a sign for him. Timing for The Mark of the Beast in Revelation Christians believe Christs return is imminent, certainly, but they have thought this since apostolic times. Schreiner says the second beast is a kingdom rising out of the sea which is not humane, civil, or supportive of its citizens. The sea was a place of chaos, danger, and evil for the Hebrews. We are watching for a time of chaos to sweep the globe, bringing widespread political upheaval, censorship, despotic legalism, and terrorism. We see strife in the Middle East, the Near East, in many parts of the African continent, and across South America. It feels like the end is upon us, but chaos has not taken over nations across the globe. The example of a despotic evil empire contemporary to the Apostle John as he wrote Revelation was the Roman Empire. Scholars argue about dating Revelation, but Schreiner and many others agree that John was probably writing in the 90s. Emperor Domitian was certainly inhumane, greedy, and violent, but there was no sign that Domitians rule was popular or that the public would follow their cruel and unpredictable leader. The Senate was overjoyed at Domitians death, and his memory was officially condemned following the emperors murder. Schreiner argues that the beast was not Nero, who had been dead for many years by this time, and even a legend about his resurrection could not be evoked convincingly three decades after his death. The beast of Johns vision had not yet risen out of the sea. Christians today would say that he might be alive right now, a boy just growing into manhood, or he might even be ruling a city, state, or country; but the prophecy has not been fulfilled. Save this free PDF A Biblical Guide to Revelations and Faith in the End Times to your phone or share with loved ones! Mark of the Beast Chip One writer has commented that technology exists to mark every person on the earth using a microchip, so marking everyone who does not pledge allegiance to Satan (or reject Christ) is technically possible. However, Sam Storms writes that God does not physically mark believers; they are sealed with the Spirit which is invisible and internal. Since Satan copies God, he might look for the lack of Christs seal and create a similar spiritual mark. Revelation 18 speaks more of a mark of belonging. The mark is a symbolic way of describing the loyalty of [the Beasts] followers and his ownership of them. 4 Reasons COVID-19 Vaccination Is Not the Mark of the Beast Here are some things to consider: 1. Deliberate identifying: The Mark in Revelation chapter 13 symbolizes deliberate identification with the Beast. And as such, identifying with Satans kingdom is what will keep you out of heavennot getting vaccinated as intimated by West. 2. Intentional rejection: Taking on the Mark of the Beast is an intentional rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior during the seven-year period of Tribulation. 3. Loyalty and devotion: Contrary to some of the more fear-inducing theories that have in the past gained steam in some evangelical circles, the Mark cannot be accidentally taken. It is closely tied to the worship of the Beast (Revelation 13:12, Revelation 19:20, Revelation 20:4), and the Mark represents loyalty and devotion to the Beast. 4. Vaccination isnt worship: COVID-19 infection is out of our control. We do not choose whether or not we get the virus. We can choose how much we expose others to it through our behavior. So choosing the vaccine is NOT choosing to identify with and worship anything at all. One more time, choosing the COVID-19 vaccine is NOT choosing to take the Mark of the Beast. Period. Keep reading: Is the COVID-19 Vaccine the Mark of the Beast? Alternative Mark Mentioned in Scripture Storms evokes Old Testament imagery suggestive of a seal such as the kind one would press into wax to close an official document, or of the Roman rulers head on coins. The third beast will initiate economic separation which will force people to pledge allegiance and receive an economic stamp of approval or be cut-off from all services: food, gas stations, medical help, etc. Consider the chaos and pain experienced by those who live without the medicines they need or without immediate medical attention in an emergency. Christians will suffer and must be willing to do so because God will allow the beast to exercise his authority. During this time, however, many will come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ even at the cost of [...] their life. The reward will be in the mark that matters most; that is, the writing of their names in the Book of Life. Those who die by the Beasts sword will live eternally in heaven for they are the ones who were inscribed in the book of life before the world began. This is the relevant mark for Christians, blotting out any tattoo Satan might cause us to wear before our temporal lives come to an end. Will Only Christians Suffer? When it comes to the final tribulation in which rebels are beheaded, will it matter to Satan if those rebels choose Christ over him? Jesus said, He who is not with me is against me (Matthew 12:30). In other words, worshiping another god is the same thing as saying yes to Satan. Helping a Christian, on the other hand, might change things for whoever is not against us is for us (Mark 9:40). Does that mean a person can be for Christ without knowing it? Imagine what it would take to stand up to Satan and help a Christian during this time can one do so without the power of Christ? I dont know the answer to this. Meanwhile, many so-called believers will show their true allegiance during this time. Craig Keener explains that Satans challenge to Christians could be a subtle prod to their stubbornness do this simple thing and you wont die. That is frightening enough, but Keener further asserts that the same spirit of the self-deifying empire remains in every human heart that seeks to make itself the center of life while burying thoughts of its own mortality. Satan wont have to work hard to trap his victims given our propensity for self-deification. We wont have to be tempted to sacrifice to another god; only to ourselves. In essence, what defines our lives is all around us; its what we fear losing the most, cling to, and worship: that is what marks us. Photo Credit: iStock/Getty Images Plus/ Talaj Candice Lucey is a freelance writer from British Columbia, Canada, where she lives with her family. Find out more about her here. By Express News Service BHOPAL: Harping on the saffron partys prime poll planks of Hindutva and Nationalism ahead of Delhi Assembly elections, Union Home Minister and BJP national president Amit Shah reiterated on Sunday to build grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya within four months and made it clear those raising anti-national slogans will be placed behind bars. Addressing a public rally as part of the BJPs public outreach program on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) at the Garrison Ground in Jabalpur town of Madhya Pradesh, Shah reiterated that a grand temple will be built in Ayodhya in four months. While you all want a grand Ram Temple to be built at Ram Janmbhoomi (birthplace of Lord Ram) in Ayodhya, the Congresss advocate-turned-politician Kapil Sibal said Ram Temple shouldnt be built. Listen clearly Sibal Bhai, put as much strength and power as you can to stop the construction of the temple, but the grand sky-high Ram Temple will be built within four months in Ayodhya, said Shah. The rally in support of CAA at Jabalpur assumed significance as the town was the epicenter of the recent anti-CAA/NRC violence in Madhya Pradesh. Curfew was clamped in four police station areas of the town following large scale violence which resulted in injuries to over 10 cops on December 20, 2019. Raking up the issue of anti-national slogans at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Shah said, Some youth raised anti-national slogans, Bharat tere tukde honge ek hazar, insha allah insha allah. Shouldn't they be put behind bars? But Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal want to save them. But why do they want to save those youth who raised anti-nationals, are they their (Rahul Gandhi and Kejriwals) cousins?, questioned Shah. He added in the same vein, Listen Kejriwal (Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal), whoever raises anti-national slogans will only find place behind bars and nowhere else. Taking on the opposition parties for opposing the CAA, Shah accused leaders like former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee for misleading minority community over the amended law. Ill make it clear once again, this law will grant Indian citizenship to religious minorities of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis, Jains and Christians who have been living in our country as refugees due to religious persecution in those three nations. But that in no way means taking away the existing citizenship of any Indian national. I dare the opposition leaders to show me one provision of the amended law which will take away the citizenship of any Indian. Accusing the opposition parties for inciting violence in the country by misleading people over the CAA, Shah said by opposing the CAA and misleading people over it, ex-Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his party have not only belied the wishes and promises of Mahatma Gandhi and Congresss past leaders, including countrys first PM Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel and Acharya Kriplani, but have also gone against its poll promise of rendering citizenship rights to Hindu and Sikh refugees from Pakistan who are settled in Rajasthan. In its poll manifesto in Rajasthan, the Congress had promised citizenship rights to Hindu and Sikh refugees from Pakistan, but the same party is now opposing the CAA. He also questioned why the Human Rights lobbies across the world have been silent over atrocities on religious minorities in Pakistan, where the Gurdwara Nankana Sahib was attacked recently by a mob led by the boy who abducted and converted Sikh girl Jagjit Kaur (the daughter of the Gurdwara granthi). Blaming the Congress for countrys partition in 1947 on religious lines, Shahs questioned the Congresss silence on how and why the Hindu population in East Pakistan (modern Bangladesh) fell from 30% to 7% and from 25% to just 3% in West Pakistan (modern Pakistan). The union home minister also questioned West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjees opposition to CAA, particularly when 75% of refugees from Bangladesh and Pakistan settled there, including the Matua community are Dalits. The BJP president also slammed the Kamal Nath-led Congress government in Madhya Pradesh for its latest decision to allow existing licensed liquor contractors to open sub shops on paying more. Expansion and extension of factories is understandable, but extension/expansion of liquor vends is hard to comprehend. 80 Youth Congress and NSUI activists trying to black flag Shah detained As many as 80 Youth Congress and National Students Union of India (NSUI) activists trying to proceed to Garrison Ground to show black flags to the home minister during hour and half visit to Jabalpur were taken in preventive custody under Section 151 of CrPc and released later on filling personal bonds, confirmed SP of Jabalpur district Amit Singh. Badger Daylighting Ltd. (TSE:BAD), which is in the construction business, and is based in Canada, received a lot of attention from a substantial price movement on the TSX over the last few months, increasing to CA$40.00 at one point, and dropping to the lows of CA$31.30. 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 Badger Daylighting's current trading price of CA$33.97 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 Badger Daylightings 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 Badger Daylighting Is Badger Daylighting still cheap? The stock seems fairly valued at the moment according to my relative valuation model. 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 Badger Daylightings ratio of 18.46x is trading in-line with its industry peers ratio, which means if you buy Badger Daylighting today, youd be paying a relatively reasonable price for it. Is there another opportunity to buy low in the future? Since Badger Daylightings share price is quite volatile, we could potentially see it sink lower (or rise higher) in the future, giving us another chance to buy. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for how much the stock moves relative to the rest of the market. What does the future of Badger Daylighting look like? TSX:BAD Past and Future Earnings, January 12th 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. With profit expected to grow by 28% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for Badger Daylighting. 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? BADs optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading around its fair value. However, there are also other important factors which we havent considered today, such as the track record of its management team. Have these factors changed since the last time you looked at BAD? Will you have enough conviction to buy should the price fluctuate below the true value? Are you a potential investor? If youve been keeping tabs on BAD, now may not be the most advantageous time to buy, given it is trading around its fair value. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for BAD, which means its worth diving deeper into other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, 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 Badger Daylighting. You can find everything you need to know about Badger Daylighting in the latest infographic research report. If you are no longer interested in Badger Daylighting, 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. Oil prices have had a tumultuous week since the US launched a drone attack in Baghdad, killing Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. With tensions peaking after the US and Iran traded missile attacks, oil markets priced in a risk premium. However, as long as the flow of oil barrels to the market is not affected, Rystad Energy continues to see a downward risk to prices, with further pressure on OPEC to implement even deeper production cuts in order to keep Brent oil prices around $60 per barrel through 2020. It is important to look beyond the rhetoric of the headlines and focus on market fundamentals including the continued rise of non-OPEC oil supply led by US shale, and flat demand growth which all points to a surplus, not a deficit, in oil balances in 2020, says Bjrnar Tonhaugen, Head of Oil Market Research at Rystad Energy. Prospects of Brent prices slipping below $60 per barrel even in the midst of an intense geopolitical flare up in the Middle East are entirely plausible. Oil prices still react dramatically to news of tensions in the Persian Gulf, although less dramatically now than they would have before the US shale revolution. The importance of the region for oil markets is obvious, given that seven Gulf countries alone Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Iran, Oman and Qatar produced around 24 million bpd of crude oil in December 2019. With the regime in Tehran under heavy sanctions, Iran is no longer an official major global oil producer. This means the real risk of a conflict between the US and Iran gets pushed to neighboring Iraq, where 5,000 American troops are stationed and where Iran is wrestling for political power. Any proxy war played out in Iraq would put the countrys nearly 4.7 million bpd of crude oil and condensate production as risk, states Tonhaugen. Related: IEA: The Oil Glut Is Going Nowhere However, one key reason that geopolitically-driven oil price swings are now more subdued relates to the stabilizing effect of US shale oil production on global oil supplies. The stellar growth of shale has introduced a significant counterweight to the market, as it helps to absorb disruptive events such as the September drone attack on Saudi Arabian oil infrastructure and the geopolitical tensions that followed the assassination of General Soleimani. Rystad Energy forecasts that the call on OPEC (in other words, the market demand for OPEC oil) will average about 28.3 million bpd during the final nine months of 2020. By comparison, OPECs actual production in December 2019 was 29.6 million bpd, and the cartels new implied production target for the first quarter of 2020 is 29.2 million bpd. By Rystad Energy More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Statement Issued by Advisor of DPRK Foreign Ministry Korean Central News Agency of DPRK Date: 11/01/2020 Pyongyang, January 11 (KCNA) -- Kim Kye Gwan, advisor of the DPRK Foreign Ministry, issued the following statement on Saturday: From the outset of this year, the south Korean authorities have become too busy, talking about urgent conveying of the U.S. president's birthday greetings to the Chairman of our State Affairs Commission. This is what the U.S. president asked for to be surely conveyed to the Chairman when he met the person concerned of Chongwadae in Washington, the south Korean authorities said in an extremely urgent notice they sent. But they seem not to know that there is a special liaison channel between the top leaders of the DPRK and the U.S. The birthday greetings from the U.S. president that reached us by care of the excited south Korean authorities through the notice is what we already got through the personal letter of the U.S. president. South Korea, not a member of the U.S. clan, went so frivolous as to convey the greetings from the U.S. president. It seems it still has lingering hope for playing the role of "mediator" in the DPRK-U.S. relations. To forge personal relations between heads of state is a diplomatically natural thing between states. However, it is somehow presumptuous for south Korea to meddle in the personal relations between Chairman of the State Affairs Commission Kim Jong Un and President Trump. As acknowledged by the world, it is true that the personal relations between the Chairman of our State Affairs Commission and President Trump are not bad. But, it is absentminded to think of either making us return to the dialogue with the U.S. by taking the advantage of such relations or creating an atmosphere for it. We have been deceived by the U.S., being caught in the dialogue with it for over one year and a half, and that was the lost time for us. Although Chairman Kim Jong Un has a good personal feelings about President Trump, they are, in the true sense of the word, "personal". The Chairman of the State Affairs Commission would not discuss the state affairs on the basis of such personal feelings, as he represents our state and its interests. What is clear is that we will never lose our time again, being taken in by the U.S. trick as in the past. There will never be such negotiations as that in Vietnam, in which we proposed exchanging a core nuclear facility of the country for the lift of some UN sanctions in a bid to lessen the sufferings of the peaceable people even a bit. There is no need for us to be present in such talks, in which there is only unilateral pressure, and we have no desire to barter something for other thing at the talks like traders. It can be said that the reopening of dialogue between the DPRK and the U.S. may be possible only under the condition of the latter's absolute agreement on the issues raised by the former, but we know well that the U.S. is neither ready nor able to do so. We know well about the way we should go and will go on our way. Under these circumstances, the south Korean authorities had better not dream a fabulous dream that we would return to the dialogue with thankful feelings for the birthday greetings like someone. They are well advised to behave prudently not to be reduced to a fool heading nowhere. -0- NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address TORONTO - Five things to watch for in the Canadian business world in the coming week: Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 12/1/2020 (729 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Shaw logos on display at the company's annual meeting in Calgary, Jan. 17, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh TORONTO - Five things to watch for in the Canadian business world in the coming week: Business outlook survey The Bank of Canada will release its latest business outlook survey and its new survey of consumer expectations on Monday. The central bank's previous business outlook survey released in October found business sentiment had edged higher, but there were more pronounced differences between the Prairies, hard hit by the turmoil in the energy sector, and Central Canada. Shaw results Shaw Communications will release its first-quarter results on Monday. The company reported a fourth-quarter profit of $167 million in October, much of it due to the addition of 90,700 Freedom Mobile subscribers, making it the largest of Canada's four main regional wireless carriers. Air Canada's new Airbus 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. Air Canada unveils its first Airbus A220 on Wednesday, which Airbus is pitching as the jet to fill the gap left by the grounded Boeing 737 Max. Air Canada recently said it has pulled the 737 Max from its schedules through March 31 in a move that impacts passengers already slated for spring getaways and cuts down on flight options for travellers looking to book. Home sales The Canadian Real Estate Association is expected to release home sales figures for December on Wednesday. The association reported last month that home sales in November were up 11.3 per cent compared with November 2018. Manufacturing study Statistics Canada will release Wednesday a study on the impact of the manufacturing decline on local labour markets in Canada. Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz said recently that the central bank will be watching for signs that fallout from trade disputes currently affecting Canada's manufacturing sector has spilled over into additional industries. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 12, 2020. THERE can be few islands in this country that have had their form as radically changed as Rocky Island, Co Cork. One of around 13 islands, or former islands in Cork harbour, its minute size meant its shape could be easily changed by its owner for other purposes. All the other islands in the harbour bar Spike Island are now connected to the shore by causeway, bridge or sand bar: Great, Little, Fota, Haulbowline, Corkbeg, Hare, Harpers, Weir, Brick, and Brown. There are others, too, such as Ring Island at Ringaskiddy, but these have effectively merged with the coastline by now. Also, Rat or Coney Island, which was subsumed by an expanded Haulbowline Island. During the Napoleonic Wars in the early years of the 19th century, Cork supplied a huge amount of military ordnance to the English navy. The Gunpowder Mills in Ballincollig manufactured thousands of barrels of gunpowder. Cork Harbour came into use as a major military base with a dockyard built on Haulbowline Island opposite Cobh. Rocky Island is a tiny islet between Haulbowline and the mainland at Ringaskiddy. Today, the island has one of five crematoriums in the country and occupies the former limestone naval storage facility which was built in 1808. The building had a capacity for storing 25,000 barrels of gunpowder. When the island was designated as a storage depot by the British, the Board of Ordnance instructed its engineers to flatten the island and to construct two magazine buildings only one of which remains. In 1839, a John Windele wrote: Rocky Island contains two extensive tunnels, or powder magazines, excavated in the solid rock, and communicating with each other by apertures in the sides. The Islet, a mere barren rock, may be distinguished by its small turret, perforated with loopholes, which forms lookout for a sentinel. Its islandness was lost in 1966 when the Haulbowline Steel Syndicate constructed a bridge to link Rocky Island to Haulbowline and the mainland at Ring Point. Because of the military ordnance stored there, Rocky Island became subject to several attacks and a continuous guard had to be placed there. Nevertheless, there were several incidents over the years involving gunfire. In 1891, the Cork Examiner reported that a private in the 1st Battalion Manchester Regiment, Thomas Swayne, was shot in the face by fellow private, John Porter. He was taken to hospital, where he lies in a precarious condition. In 1902, the Kerry Sentinel reported that, following a shooting, consternation reigned for some time on Rocky Island yesterday. On this occasion, guards rushed to the source of shots were they observed to see a Mrs Fitzgerald in possession of a Lee Enfield rifle. The paper reported: She was the wife of Sgt Fitzgerald of the Munster Fusiliers who was absent but she got possession of his rifle. The guard disarmed the woman. Motives unclear. His wife is a fine type hailing from Co Kerry. The facts of the occurrence were very difficult to obtain owing to the reluctance of the military men on duty. The risks of a massive explosion were highlighted by the paper and how essential it was to maintain security. There is as much explosive matter stored in it as would, if exploded, leave ugly traces over a wide area and the Government Dockyard and Government ships in the vicinity stand a poor chance if ever such a calamity occurred, said the Kerry Sentinal. These are some of the reasons it can be presumed why the military authorities exercise extraordinary vigilance in connection with the place. In 1905, the Cork Examiner again reported that Rocky Island is beginning to get rather an unenviable reputation for wild shooting associate with it. In this instance a bullet was fired from Rocky Island towards painters engaged in refurbishment at Haulbowline and that a bullet that whizzed dangerously close, so near that they had a remarkable escape. Rocky Island, the military area on Haulbowline, Spike Island, and the forts at the mouth of the harbour remained under British control until 1938. The crematorium was set up in 2005. How to get there: Drive 1km east from Ringaskiddy, Co Cork. Other: islandcrematorium.ie Space X CEO Elon Musk Photo by Kevork Djansezian For a long time, American space exploration was a closed circle: There was just one customer, the U.S. government (NASA) and a handful of giant defense contractors. Then in 2008 Elon Musk's SpaceX put the first privately financed rocket into orbit, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin promised private flights, and space was suddenly a lively market with companies vying to put satellites and humans into orbit. A decade later hundreds of start-ups have flocked to the space sector, bringing sophisticated technologies that include artificial intelligence, quantum computing, phased array radar, space-based solar power, "tiny" satellites and services that could not be imagined just a few years ago. Space Angels, an early-stage investor that also tracks investments in the sector, reported that venture capitalists invested $5 billion into space technologies in the first three quarters of 2019, putting the year on track to be the biggest year yet, with Blue Origin pulling in $1.4 billion from Bezos. Since 2009, said Chad Anderson, CEO of Space Angels, investors have poured nearly $24 billion into 509 companies. Anderson said that SpaceX triggered the transformation not just by offering competition to NASA but publishing its prices for a launch. Before that revelation, space was really an opaque market, making it difficult for potential competitors to price their products. "It's been a really big decade for commercial space," said Anderson. The largest amount of venture capital still goes into the most fundamental task: putting satellites into orbit. Anderson says 89 companies have received funding for so-called small-lift launch vehicles. These are companies promising to put payloads of up to 2,000 kilos (4,400 lbs) into low Earth orbit. Their focus is a new generation of small satellites such as those used by OneWeb and SpaceX's StarLink, which promise broadband internet access in even the most remote parts of the world by deploying "constellations" of hundreds or even thousands of tiny satellites. Satellites have become so mainstream you can now buy a standard 4-in. by 4-in. "cubesat" kit online. All this activity could mean 20,000 to 40,000 satellites joining the 1,000 now in orbit over the next few years. "It's quickly becoming congested," Anderson said of the market for small-lift launch. Of the venture-backed rocket companies, SpaceX and Rocket Lab, with launch sites in New Zealand and Virginia, are making regular launches, although Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic is scheduled to begin flying its manned shuttle this year. The sky is also getting crowded. Aside from the thousands of new satellites scheduled for launch, there is already a lot of clutter in space as many as 250,000 pieces of junk and debris circle the Earth. Up to now the U.S. Air Force has taken the lead role in tracking debris and warning satellite operators about possible collisions. But the military's tracking radar, with some components dating back to the cold war, can only detect pieces 10 cm (4 in.) across or larger. LeoLabs, a start-up based in Menlo Park, California, has developed an advanced radar system that can detect objects in orbit as small as 2 cm (less than an inch) long. LeoLabs' Kiwi Space Radar was set up in Central Otago, New Zealand, in 2019. It is the first in the world to track space debris smaller than 10 cm. LeoLabs A tiny object traveling at several thousand miles an hour can cause severe damage to a satellite. LeoLabs enables customers to track their small satellites more easily and to safely move them to a new position. "That will take a lot of the collision risks off the table," says founder and CEO Dan Ceperley. His company has built phased array radars that steer the radar beam electronically faster than a traditional dish antenna in three locations: Alaska, Texas and New Zealand. To date, LeoLabs has raised $17 million from venture funds, including Marc Bell Capital Partners, Seraphim Capital, Airbus Ventures, WERU Investment and Space Angels. Many of the 1,000 satellites now in orbit are engaged in observing Earth. They monitor the weather, humidity and temperature, among dozens of other phenomena, and capture millions of images. SkyWatch, based in Waterloo, Ontario, recently closed a $10 million round of funding led by San Francisco's Bullpen Capital to develop its service to make satellite data easily available to companies. SkyWatch would handle licensing and payment for data through subscription fees, and companies could use its software to build their own apps for tasks such as tracking crops or assessing damage from natural disasters. SkyWatch CEO James Slifierz compares his timing to the aftermath of the creation of the global positioning system infrastructure. Once GPS was in place, civilian applications followed. The growing flow of data from satellites has raised concerns about data security. SpeQtral, based in Singapore, plans to build encryption keys based on the laws of quantum physics to protect space-to-Earth communications. "The security of any communications is essential," says Chune Yang Lum, CEO of SpeQtral, which has raised a $1.9 million seed round led by Space Capital, the venture arm of Space Angels. Quantum encryption has been touted as practically unbreakable. An illustration of the SPS-ALPHA (Solar Power Satellite by means of Arbitrarily Large Phased Array) transmitting energy to Australia. This approach, in concept phase, includes a series of enormous platforms positioned in space in high Earth orbit to continuously collect and convert solar energy into electricity. SPS-ALPHA concept and illustration, courtesy John C. Mankins 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. What would it be like to date a Buddhist? No passionate rows, intense emotional longing or barrage of texts craving attention? It would just be Zen. Or hell, depending on where you stand - and if you like that bit of madness. Adam Starr is a Buddhist teacher with over 20 years' meditative training. He decided not to take the stereotypical route of a Zen master by enjoying his enlightenment on a remote mountain top in Tibet. Instead, the Dubliner lives in Ireland - and even manages the ultimate spiritual test: a woman. Before the complaints, that was a jest. But, let's face it, even for the most emotionally healthy person, such 'non-attachment' - which is at the heart of Buddhist teaching - must be hard in a relationship. "Does your girlfriend ever go mad and shake you by the shoulders saying 'NEEEEED ME!!!!'," I ask when we meet in Balfes cafe. He looks tickled and explains: "Buddhism never creates problems in our relationships. It is only our mind that creates problems when it isn't in a good space." For Buddhists, life is about releasing ourselves from limiting beliefs and desires and accepting life on life's terms. Born in Baldoyle, he grew up near the ocean close to the Christian Brothers. Each day, as he wandered home from school, he would hang out with the brothers asking the big questions. One of them, Brother Kevin Carr, was the trigger for his later search for enlightenment. "He embodied kindness, compassion and wisdom and there was a sense of joy all the time," Adam recalls. Drawing on Maya Angelou's truism that "people will forget what you said and what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel", he can't recall anything noteworthy Brother Kevin told him, but says the energy the brother emanated spoke volumes. Still, it would be years before Adam sought out that same inner peace. At 19, he moved to London and took up a corporate high-flying job travelling the world. He eventually crossed paths with the respected meditation master, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, who became his mentor. A story about Geshe recalls how a student asked him how he was feeling, to which he chirpily responded: "Great, I am so happy because I have so many problems." In his eyes, his troubles were merely opportunities to deepen his acceptance, patience, compassion and wisdom. Adam began meditating in his hotel rooms and discovered instant benefits. Noticing a person's natural inner state is always one of pure serenity - and from this inner space he could cultivate his better nature - he says "I was finding I had all the inner resources I needed and I could use [that as resilience] in the corporate world." All well and good in theory, but some of the most successful people we know are mad. The edge gives them the drive. But - Adam says - many of the world's most successful names have taken on the practice to increase their potential even more. Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Oprah, Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, LinkedIn Ceo Jeff Weiner and Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood all meditate daily. After leaving his job and declining the lure of a bigger salary to convince him to stay, he gave up all possessions and is now teaching meditation at the Tara Kadampa Meditation Centre in Dublin. He also visits schools, colleges and workplaces throughout Ireland to show people how it can enhance their lives. "Most people struggle with the feeling that they are 'not good enough'," he says. "They believe they need something outside to complete them. It is an underlying dis-ease. We are just not comfortable being with our self - we think we need a job, partner, money or piece of clothing to make us happy. "It can manifest in many different ways so, for example, if you are holding in your heart a feeling that you are never good enough, it might manifest as you being incredibly ambitious and driven because you want to get to that next level where you finally accomplish some big goal, and then you think 'finally, when I get there, I am gonna feel good enough'. The only problem is, you never do feel good enough." While teaching in Oslo several years ago, he describes how a wealthy and successful woman told him that she had only gotten to where she is because of that limiting belief. He asked her: "But do you honestly ever feel that you have gotten there?" She said no and started crying." Another trap of not feeling 'good enough' lies in relationships, says Adam. He believes people commonly misinterpret the meaning of love. He says simply: "Love is a wish for others to be happy and free from suffering. But where our pain comes from is the mistaken belief that the other person can make us happy all of the time when no one has the power to do that. Instead that is called 'attachment'. "When someone says 'I love you' and 'you make me so happy', one part of us is deeply flattered and another is saying, 'Oh my goodness this isn't going to go well'. So we put that burden unconsciously on others. We are not doing it purposefully but we are left wondering why they are not performing their function which, in our mind, is to make us happy." He points out that people say 'if you loved me, you would do X, Y and Z ' but he says "those unrealistic expectations is where pain comes from. "We all do it to some extent, and it's no big deal, but with some self-compassion you can understand that these mistaken beliefs are causing pain and you can learn various meditation practices to release it and liberate that natural love within you, which is not contingent on anything. "Otherwise that neediness in that relationship makes the other person neurotic because they can never live up to your crazy expectations and at the same time it makes you neurotic because they can never give you what you want." He never fights with his girlfriend of more than a decade, but I wonder how far he can take his non-attachment training. In Buddhism you want your partner to be happy. So what if his girlfriend said what would make her happy is to go on a date with Brad Pitt? He laughs - "Well, if it's Brad Pitt I won't argue but if it's anybody else" He adds: "We don't cling on to anything because that is where pain comes from. So if she decides to run off with Brad Pitt then yes it would be difficult because I am working through the attachment in my mind. But, if I really take refuge in my love for her, there is a lot more capacity to accept that reality... I am not saying that's what I would be able to do but I would try my best." And with that he demonstrates the first rule of enlightenment: the journey never ends. Adam will be providing BREATHE Meditations at Thrive Festival, Ireland's most dynamic fitness and wellness event, in the Convention Centre Dublin on February 29 and March 1. https://thrivefestival.ie. For information on meditation classes visit here. We have billions, Mr. Reagan told Mr. Powell, his national security adviser. But Mr. Powell was adamantly opposed to the idea and made sure it didnt happen. (In the early 2000s, he was less strongly opposed to the idea of going to war in Iraq, the venture strongly supported by Mr. Cheney.) It is tempting for liberals to assume that all their opponents on the political right are alike, or stem from the same source and that therefore, Dick Cheney somehow led to Donald Trump. But thats not correct; Mr. Trumps origins, outlook and style are quite different from those of Mr. Cheney. Mr. Cheneys rise to power indeed, his very persona was based on a preoccupation with government processes and a familiarity with the national-security bureaucracies (call them the deep state) that Mr. Trump so often disdains. Mr. Cheney has at times voiced disapproval of some of the linchpins of Mr. Trumps foreign policy, such as his dealings with Russia and North Korea. John Bolton, Mr. Trumps former national security adviser, represented the last link in the top ranks of the Trump administration to the determinedly hawkish policies advocated by Mr. Cheney. As for Mr. Powell, it is at this point hard even to recall how or why he identified himself as a Republican. Yet at the time the Cold War was ending, the Democrats were calling for a peace dividend that included substantial cuts in the defense budget, and Mr. Powell, working closely with Mr. Cheney, labored hard, and for the most part successfully, to resist those efforts. Mr. Powells eventual alienation from the Republican Party was a result of the same forces and dynamics that would eventually propel the rise of Mr. Trump: nativism and hostility toward immigrants and racial minorities. When Mr. Powell appeared before the Republican National Convention in 1996, he made a plea for diversity and tolerance. The Hispanic immigrant who became a citizen yesterday must be as precious as a Mayflower descendant, he told the delegates then. That speech was greeted by a smattering of boos. In 2008, when Mr. Powell announced he could not support the Republican presidential nominee (even though it was his old friend John McCain), Mr. Powell specifically cited the mood of Republicans who had claimed that Senator McCains opponent, Barack Obama, was a Muslim. The Trump Republicans long ago abandoned Mr. Powell and virtually everything he stood for and while it may seem less obvious right now, they have cut loose from Cheneyism, too. We can see the partys absence of ideas or strategy in the current policies on the Middle East and North Korea. The drone strike came alongside Mr. Trumps purported effort to lessen Americas involvement in the Middle East. His personal diplomacy with Kim Jong-un of North Korea and President Vladimir Putin of Russia might appear to be in line with Mr. Powells emphasis on diplomacy but under Mr. Trump, what has counted so far is only the word personal, not the diplomacy. As a result, the Republicans are left with no past and no ideas, merely a single man and his vagaries. James Mann is the author of the forthcoming book The Great Rift: Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, and the Broken Friendship That Defined an Era. 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. Ottawa (AFP) - A "furious" Prime Minister Justin Trudeau demanded Saturday that Iran provide Canada with "full clarity" on the shootdown near Tehran of a Ukrainian airliner that killed all 176 aboard, including dozens of Canadian citizens. Trudeau said he made the demand in a call with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, who admitted earlier Saturday that the airliner was mistakenly shot down by Iranian missiles. At a televised press conference, Trudeau said he told Rouhani the admission was "an important step" but "many more steps must be taken." "A full and complete investigation must be conducted," he said. "We need full clarity on how such a horrific tragedy could have occurred." "Iran must take full responsibility," Trudeau said. The prime minister said he insisted to Rouhani that Canada be allowed to participate in the investigation. - Two teams to Iran - Three members of a Canadian rapid deployment team were on their way to Iran and should be on the ground within hours to support families of the Canadian victims, Trudeau said. Additional team members -- two transportation investigators and 10 consular representatives who will help with the victims' identification and repatriation -- will follow, he said, adding that the Iranians were working on granting visas. The two countries have not had diplomatic relations since 2012, complicating their current contacts. By Ottawa's count, 57 Canadian citizens, many of them dual Iranian nationals, were aboard the Ukraine International Airlines flight when it crashed January 8 shortly after takeoff from Tehran's airport. In addition to Iranians and Canadians, there were victims from Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan and Britain. After days of delay and amid mounting international pressure, Iran's Revolutionary Guards admitted the plane was mistaken for a cruise missile and was shot down with a short-range missile. Story continues Rouhani said it was an "unforgivable mistake" that resulted from "human error." The incident came just hours after Iran launched a wave of missiles at bases hosting American forces in Iraq in response to the killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike. No one died in the missile attacks. - 'Shocked and appalled' - "I am, of course, outraged and furious that families across this country are grieving the loss of their loved ones, that the Iranian Canadian community is suffering so greatly, that all Canadians are shocked and appalled at the senseless loss of life," Trudeau said. "Yes, I'm furious that there are Canadian families that have lost their parents, their children, their spouses," he said. "It's a huge tragedy for the entire country and not just for the Iranian community." Asked whether Ottawa would demand that Tehran pay financial compensation to the families of Canadian victims, Trudeau indicated that it would. He praised the Iranian Canadian community as one that has "contributed greatly to Canada's prosperity." "They work very hard. They're very involved and they've believed in this country and the future that they've built here. For many of those families, that has all been struck down out of the blue by a regime that they had fled in the past, that they believed they had gotten away from." The prime minister met on Friday behind closed doors with victims' families in Toronto, which has the country's largest Iranian community (just under half the national total of 210,000). The downing of the Ukrainian plane provoked an emotional outpouring across Canada. Candlelight vigils were held in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Edmonton, the hometowns of most of the victims -- many of them students or academics. The incident was the deadliest involving Canadians since the 1985 bombing attack by a Sikh separatist group on an Air India Boeing 747 in which 268 Canadians died. UK agency reopens investigation into Christian doctor who prays with patients Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A U.K. regulatory agency is reviewing its decision to close a complaint against a Christian doctor accused of violating professional conduct by praying with his patients. As previously reported, Dr. Richard Scott of the Bethesda Medical Centre in Margate, Kent, faced the possibility of losing his medical license after a complaint was filed against him last year. Scott, a general practitioner, was subject to a fitness-to-practice inquiry from the General Medical Council after a complaint was filed by the National Secular Society, a British advocacy group promoting the strict interpretation of separation of church and state. The organization claimed that Scott made a vulnerable patient feel uncomfortable by praying. The allegation was made to NSS by a friend of the patient, not the patient. The GMC determined last month after a three-month investigation that the complaint did not merit any action because there was no evidence that [Dr. Scott] discusses faith in situations where the patient has stated that they do not wish to discuss these matters or that he has continued to discuss faith after a patient has indicated that they do not welcome such a discussion. At the time, Scotts legal representatives from the Christian Legal Centre called the GMC decision to close his case reassurance to Christian doctors and professionals across the U.K. that they can share their faith in the workplace ... without fear of losing their jobs. However, the GMC changed its decision to close Scotts case after the NSS challenged the closure of its complaint and submitted new evidence that Scott was openly flouting the council's code of conduct. The GMC confirmed to NSS that it is reviewing its decision in Scotts case under Rule 12 of its fitness-to-practice rules. The rule allows for reconsideration if new information comes to light. NSS challenge alleged that Scotts patients have complained about religion being pushed on them. Additionally, NSS pointed to an interview Scott did with The Daily Mail last month in which he said that he has discussed his faith with about 40 patients in the past with only about 10 of them issuing a complaint. One of those complaints, from 2012, went to the GMC. Also, in an interview with BBC Radio Kent in December, Scott declared that as a Christian doctor, one must consider who is your ultimate boss. And its not the general medical council, its Jesus Christ, Scott said. And Im prepared to take risks on behalf of Jesus because Ive seen how much patients can benefit. The GMC conduct code stipulates that medical professionals can only talk about their personal beliefs if a patient asks them directly or indicates that they are open to a religious discussion. The code prevents medical professionals from imposing their beliefs and values on patients because it can cause distress. "Dr. Scott's recent comments appear to make clear that he holds the GMC in contempt and considers himself above the rules it puts in place to protect patients, NSS Chief Executive Stephen Evans said in a statement. Being an evangelical Christian should not exempt him from the standards expected of all doctors working in the U.K. Tim Dieppe, the head of public policy for the U.K.-based think tank Christian Concern, told Catholic News Service that the GMC should have never investigated NSS complaint to begin with. I think it would be a real shame if they have decided to review it, Dieppe was quoted as saying. We are confident that Richard has done nothing wrong. Dieppe called NSS complaint a targeted campaign against Scott. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Local leaders urged the state Legislature Saturday to pass legislation Gov. Andrew Cuomo plans to introduce that would ban deadly fentanyl analogs. During his State of the State address last week, Cuomo announced plans to introduce legislation that would ban chemical versions of fentanyl -- known as fentanyl analogs -- by adding them to the states controlled substances list. Because a number of versions of fentanyl analogs are not on the states controlled substance list, drug dealers who peddle the deadly drugs cannot be prosecuted or arrested. As a result, those versions of fentanyl remain virtually legal. We are calling on the state Legislature to immediately pass the fentanyl analogs additions to the controlled substances list so that we can prosecute those cases, Richmond County District Attorney Michael E. McMahon said at a press conference at his district office Saturday alongside Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan and Rep. Max Rose (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn). The governors legislation would make fentanyl analogs subject to the same criminal sale or possession penalties as other controlled substances. It would also give the states health commissioner the ability to add more analogs to the list of controlled substances allowing the state to get ahead of the deadly substances as they enter the market. McMahon said fentanyl analogs were responsible for a number of overdose deaths around the borough. We have had cases where weve seized products that acted and looked like, smelled like and killed people -- like fentanyl -- but we couldnt prosecute it because we did not have that structure and we tried to refer those cases to the federal government, but were not always successful in doing that, McMahon said. In 2017 Cuomo asked lawmakers to add 11 fentanyl analogs to the states schedule, closing what he called a glaring loophole in the state law. State Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island) and Assemblyman Michael Cusick (D-Mid-Island) introduced the legislation that would have added the 11 analogs. But after budget negotiations, state lawmakers approved the scheduling of only two of the 11 analogs. A year later, the DEA issued an emergency federal scheduling of all fentanyl analogs for two years. Sources said state lawmakers refused to add the additional analogs to the list unless they were permanently added to the federal list. In Washington, Attorney General William Barr recently penned an Op-ed in The Washington Post calling on Congress to pass legislation known as the Stopping Overdoses of Fentanyl Analogues that would add a number of fentanyl analogs as schedule I controlled substances. Barr warned that if lawmakers fail to act, fentanyl analogs could flood the country. Unfortunately, the legal prohibitions on the various forms of fentanyl expire next month unless Congress reauthorizes them, Barr wrote. If Congress fails to act, illegal labs in Mexico and China stand ready to flood the United States with what would be a legalized poison. There is broad bipartisan support for reauthorizing the fentanyl ban, but House leadership, despite the looming deadline, is blocking the measure, Barr continued. Roses office said the congressman is still looking into the specific piece of legislation. Congressman Rose believes authorities should have all necessary tools and resources to prevent fentanyl from coming into our country and holding those responsible accountable, Roses spokesman Jonas Edwards-Jenks said. Were looking into this specific piece of legislation and all proposals to end this epidemic. Roses Fentanyl Sanctions Act was recently signed into law by President Donald Trump as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, legislation that puts sanctions on opioid traffickers with a focus on those from China and Mexico. FOLLOW SYDNEY KASHIWAGI ON TWITTER. Philippine authorities warned Sunday a volcano near the capital Manila could erupt imminently, hours after it sent a massive column of ash skyward that grounded flights and coated towns across the region in fine dust. Thousands of people living near Taal volcano, a popular tourist attraction set in the centre of a picturesque lake, were evacuated from their homes as it spewed ash, rumbled with earthquakes and lightning exploded above its crest. A "hazardous explosive eruption is possible within hours to days", the nation's seismological agency warned, adding that the ash could pose a risk to aircraft. Aviation officials ordered a suspension of flights in to and out of the capital's Ninoy Aquino International Airport, after the ash cloud was reported to have reached 50,000 feet (15,000 metres). Government seismologists recorded magma moving towards the crater of Taal, one of the country's most active volcanoes located 65 kilometres (40 miles) south of Manila. Taal's last eruption was in 1977, he added. A kilometre-high column of ash was visible and several volcanic tremors were felt within the vicinity of the volcano, which is popular among tourists for its scenic view. The local disaster office said it had evacuated over 2,000 residents living on the volcanic island, which lies inside a bigger lake formed by previous volcanic activity. Solidum said officials will also order the evacuation of people living on another island nearby if the situation worsens. "Ash has already reached Manila... it is dangerous to people if they inhale it," he told AFP. Earthquakes and volcanic activity are not uncommon in the Philippines due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide deep below the Earth's surface. In January 2018, Mount Mayon displaced tens of thousands of people after spewing millions of tonnes of ash, rocks, and lava in the central Bicol region. Iran Was Prepared for Full-Fledged War with US When Missile Downed Ukrainian Jet - IRGC Commander Sputnik News 13:41 11.01.2020(updated 14:06 11.01.2020) Earlier in the day, Iranian authorities admitted the Ukrainian jet that crashed in Tehran this week was downed with a missile by the Iranian armed forces. Iran was poised for a full-blown military conflict at the moment its armed forces brought down the Ukrainian passenger jet with a missile, the commander of the Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, said on Saturday. The commander said that the US was partly to blame for the tragic incident as Washington had spiked tensions with Tehran prior to the plane being downed. According to Hajizadeh, Iranian air defence systems mistook the Boeing 737 for a cruise missile. The plane was shot down with a short-range projectile, he added. The commander said that the IRGC is taking full responsibility for the catastrophe and are ready to face any decision taken by the authorities. Hajizadeh said he informed the authorities about the unintentional attack on the same day, adding that "he wished he could die" when he heard about the incident. 176 people died on Wednesday when the Ukrainian Airlines Boeing 737-800 travelling from Tehran to Kiev crashed soon after takeoff from Tehran Airport. Tehran previously stressed that the tragedy had occurred due to a technical error. Several Western nations, however, refused to rule out the possibility that the plane was downed by a missile. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address This is the shocking moment two revellers were injured after being flung from a fairground ride when the mechanical arm snapped in the Philippines. The pair were among hundreds of locals celebrating at the carnival in Antipolo City, the Philippines, on December 29. They were riding on the Spiral Jet ride - a type of mechanical swing carousel - when the arm holding their gondola suddenly broke off. A boy and girl were hurled towards the ground (pictured) when the arm holding their gondola suddenly broke off. They were attending the carnival in Antipolo City, the Philippines Footage shows groups of people strapped into their chairs, which are hanging from a main structure, swinging and screaming. Their chairs are knocked side-to-side during the spider cyclone ride at the amusement park in Antipolo Rizal, Philippines. Seconds later, a large piece of plastic hanging from one of the ride's legs crashes down. A girl was dragged along the course of the Spiral Jet ride as the seat had been dislodged on December 29. An eyewitness said there was 'no indication of a problem with the ride' which 'suddenly snapped' It narrowly misses landing on any of the thrill-seekers, in the clip from December 29. One of the cyclone's seats then jolts out of its hinges and hurls a boy and girl to the ground while still being locked in their chairs. A girl, who was perhaps on the fallen coaster seat, is seen crawling towards the piece of the ride. She clings on to the railings diving the spider cyclone from the rest of the park as though she is looking for safety. The pole connecting the carriage with the ride 'seemed to have leaks' and there was gas coming out of it, according to an eyewitness who was waiting in line for the ride A shocked bystander, who asked to remain anonymous, said he was waiting in line for his turn on the ride when the accident happened. He said: 'There was no indication of a problem with the ride. The carriage just suddenly snapped. The two people were hurt and the ride was closed. 'The ride was working fine before them, but the pole connecting the carriage with the ride seemed to have leaks. There seemed to be gas coming out of it.' The fair ground's operators said they are ready to help the victims with the hospital and medical expenses The ride called 'Spiral Jet' is one of the main attractions of a fairground in Antipolo City. The two injured victims were rushed to the hospital immediately to receive treatment. The fair ground's operators said they are ready to help the victims with their hospital and medical expenses. Those affected by the incident should contact the carnival management. Investigations are ongoing. A Comedy Education From Late Legend Buck Henry What working on The Graduate, Get Smart, SNL, and more taught him about making timeless humor. New York Magazine A scandal in Oxford: the curious case of the stolen gospel Guardian Germany: Evacuations as Dortmund scans for suspected WWII bombs Deutsche Welle Viking Runes Warned of a Climate Catastrophe, New Research Suggests Gizmodo At least 11 dead as severe weather slices across the South, while snow and ice wallop parts of the northern U.S. WaPo 18 Years After Its Opening, Justice Remains Elusive for Prisoners of Guantanamo TruthOut Uber wont share sex assault details with California regulators, citing privacy San Fran Chronicle Syraqistan How a Journalist in Kyiv Responded to the Downing of a Ukrainian Passenger Plane New Yorker Protests in Tehran after Iran admitted shooting down plane Al Jazeera The west is still buying into nonsense claims about Irans regional influence Independent. Patrick Cockburn. Babson college professor dimissed over what was clearly a joke, made on Facebook. Outrageous: https://t.co/ui38Ig1F0D Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) 10 January 2020 Was Qassem Soleimani a monstrous kingmaker or simply an enabler? The truth is as murky as Tudor history Independent. Robert Fisk. What legacy does Sultan Qaboos leave for Oman? Al Jazeera The War in Afghanistan Is a Fraud (and Now We Have Proof) Consortium News. Lee Camp. Libya strongman Haftar agrees ceasefire after calls from Kremlin, Ankara Agence France-Presse The Delhi Police's crime branch probing the JNU violence said on Sunday that it has sent notices to 49 people, including Akshat Awasthi and Rohit Shah who featured in a sting operation conducted by a TV channel, to join the investigation. Awasthi and Shah are first year students of Jawaharlal Nehru University. They have been sent notices to join the probe, officials said. When police contacted Awasthi and Shah, they said they will join the probe. Though their phones were later found to be switched off, their locations have been traced and the two will be questioned in connection with their alleged involved in the violence on campus on January 5, the police said. While Awasthi belongs to Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, Shah is a resident of Munirka area in Delhi, they added. Besides them, police have identified as Komal Sharma the masked woman, wearing a check shirt, light blue scarf and carrying a stick, who was seen in the purported videos of the violence shared on social media. Sharma, who is a student of Daulat Ram College, has also been sent a notice to join the probe, the police said, adding her phone was found to be switched off since Saturday night. According to police, the server room was vandalised on January 4 following which the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team, which visited to collect evidence on Saturday, could not retrieve the data. The FSL team will visit the campus on Monday to retrieve data from the server since they are operational now, a senior police official said. There have been reports that students have received emails from the server room on January 4 and 5, the source of those emails will also be looked into, he said. Addressing a press conference, the police had 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 on the varsity campus. The others included Dolan Samanta, Priya Ranjan, Sucheta Talukdar, Bhaskar Vijay Mech, Chunchun Kumar (an alumnus of JNU) and Pankaj Mishra. The remaining two suspects named by police are Vikas Patel and Yogendra Bharadwaj. Police sources said the two are from the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). Among the nine, the police will question three of them on Monday. The three women who have been served notices will be questioned by a lady official at a place comfortable for them, an official said. All the nine people have been sent notices to join the probe via email and whatsapp, police said. While Panjak Mishra has been asked to join the probe at 11.30 pm tomorrow at the Admin Block, Dolan Samanta and Sucheta Talukdar will be joining the probe on Tuesday, the official said. Chunchun Kumar has been called to join the probe on January 15, he said. JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh has also been sent notice to join the probe but police have not received a response from her yet, he added. A total of 60 people were part of the Whatsapp group, 'Unity Against Left', believed to have been created while the violence escalated on the JNU campus. Among them addresses of 37 people have been traced and notices have been sent to them to join the probe, police said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Justice I. E. Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja has summoned the Central Bank Governor, Mr. Godwin I. Emefiele to appear before him... Justice I. E. Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja has summoned the Central Bank Governor, Mr. Godwin I. Emefiele to appear before him. Emefiele is summoned to answer questions on why he should not be committed to prison for defaulting in the payment of $53,000,000.00 (Fifty Three Million US Dollars) creditor balance. Justice Ekwo issued the judgment summons to Emefiele in a case with Suit No FHC/ABJ/CS/1193/2017 instituted against Central Bank of Nigeria as Garnishee/Respondent, Linas International Limited and the Minister of Finance as Judgment Debtors Garnishees by Mr. Joe Agi Judgement as Creditor/Applicant on behalf of a team of benefiting lawyers. The judgement summons issued by Justice Ekwo and made available to newsmen in Calabar said the plaintiff/judgment creditor obtained Garnishee Order Absolute against the Central Bank of Nigeria in the matter for the sum of $70,000,000.00 (Seventy Million US Dollars) and the same sum remains partially unsatisfied till date to the tune of $53 million. The Judgment Creditor has filed an affidavit in this Court, a copy whereof in hereunto annexed, wherein it is alleged that you the above-named Godwin Emefiele are liable [as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Garnishee] to pay the sum payable under the said Garnishee Order Absolute. The Judge further said, You are therefore hereby summoned to appear personally in this Court, at the Federal High Court No. 5, Maitama, Abuja, FCT; on the 23rd day of January 2020 or a subsequent date of which you would be given notice at the hour of 9 O clock in the forenoon, to be examined on oath touching the means you have or have had since the date of the said Garnishee Order Absolute to pay the balance of $53,000,000.00 (Fifty Three Million US Dollars) now due and payable under the said Garnishee Order Absolute and also to show cause why you should not be committed to prison for default of the said sum. Take notice that if you deny that you are liable [as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria] to pay or direct payment of the sum payable under the said Garnishee Order Absolute you must appear at this Court on the day and at the hour above-mentioned. And that in default of your so appearing, you will be deemed to admit you are liable to pay the amount due and payable under the said Garnishee Order Absolute. This order was based on the Motion Ex Parte dated and filed the 8th day of November, 2019 by Mr. J. C. Njikonye, SAN, with Messrs Ejike Orji and I. A. Nnana, Counsels for the Judgment Creditor/Applicant seeking an order for substituted service of the Judgment Summons on Mr. Godwin I. Emefiele (Governor Central Bank of Nigeria) by publishing the summons in some national dailies and for any further order(s) as the court may deem fit to make in the circumstances. Upon reading the affidavit in support of the motion Ex Parte proposed to by Joe Agi, SAN, and Justice Ekwo also made an order for substituted service of the judgment summons on Mr. Godwin I. Emefiele (Governor Central Bank of Nigeria) by publishing the summons in some national dailies within 21days of the order as the case was adjourned to January 23, 2020 for mention. Fans wondered why producers didnt intervene when Ashton Pienaar from Below Deck became angry and violent in the van ride back to the boat. Kate Chastain, Adrian Martin, Ashton Pienaar |Greg Endries/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images Pienaar became furious when chief stew Kate Chastain asked about his mother. The crew had been drinking heavily that night and it was clear everyone in the van was highly inebriated. However, Pienaar, who rode in a van with Chastain, chef Kevin Dobson and Tanner Sterback lashed out and ended up punching the side of the vans interior. Dobson and Sterback ultimately had to talk Pienaar down, nearly restraining the bosun from physically attacking Chastain. Chastain recently recounted the incident when she appeared on Colin Macy-OTooles podcast Radio Check. She addressed the question about what was happening behind the scenes. Plus shared where she actually went once she walked off the boat. She could have been physically harmed if Dobson wasnt in the van Although Chastain remained physically safe, she wishes the entire encounter would have been handled differently. She said the producer who rode with them in the van was not authorized to break the fourth wall and intervene. However, the producer quickly got on the radio to determine what was the right thing to do. Nothing like some violence in a moving van to get everyone in the holiday spirit! New #BelowDeck tonight at 9 pic.twitter.com/AYrtBqeqon Kate Chastain (@Kate_Chastain) December 23, 2019 Im just really thankful in a weird way that I was in the van with Kevin, she recounts. Because if it had been Simone in the front seat, I think Ashton would have made it over to the backseat. And I dont know what would have then happened. Chastain says while its hard to say if Pienaar would have physically attacked her she said he getting pretty close. It took quite a bit of Kevin holding him back, she says. I dont know what his plan was once he got over that seat. But it didnt seem like it was to talk to me at a closer proximity. She wishes production would have handled the situation differently Chastain says the producer in her van was essentially making a 911 call to see what should be done during the altercation. Which theyve never done before, she adds But we were out of range, so she didnt want to do the wrong thing so we kept driving. Theres only so much bullsh*t a girl can take. One hour until the new #BelowDeck pic.twitter.com/gstKBdFKqq Kate Chastain (@Kate_Chastain) December 24, 2019 But I was surprised that when we got back to the marina, that we didnt just pause the shooting, everybody separate, no cast members talk to each other, Chastain continues. Maybe take Ashton aside. I was surprised and disappointed that that did not happen. Because it almost seemed to me like they knew what Ashton had done, and by not taking him aside, and being like, You cant do that or anything, they were kind of enforcing his behavior as okay. She thinks Pienaar was then further emboldened after no one from production addressed his behavior. When Chastain left, she assured fans that she was safe. She says she knew better than to wander the streets of Thailand. There were nice yachts in that marina and there was a hotel that I knew of at the of the dock, she says. And I had a feeling I was going to be able to just go to that hotel. She adds joking, It was glamorous in that Kate disappeared to a four-star hotel bed with white fluffy sheets. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Jon Afrizal and Sausan Atika (The Jakarta Post) Jambi/Jakarta Mon, January 13 2020 After a shock revelation that Reynhard Sinaga, an Indonesian student who was studying for a PhD in Manchester, was found guilty of sexually assaulting scores of men, and named the most prolific rapist in British criminal history, friends have come forward to reveal his difficult childhood in Jambi. Born in 1983 as the first son of Saibun Sinaga, a businessman in the plantation and property sectors, he went to a popular Catholic elementary school that was attended by affluent families in Jambi city, the capital of the province of the same name. He studied from 1989 to 1998 before the family moved to Depok, West Java. Lidya, a friend who went to the same private elementary school with him, remembered him as a smart student who loved reading books. 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 S Lalitha By Express News Service BENGALURU: A 50-year-old Bangladeshi man, who is suspected of regularly trafficking poor young women from his country to Malaysia via India, was caught by immigration officials at Kempegowda International Airport. The arrest was made as he was trying to traffic a Bangladeshi woman on Friday. The airport police booked Rakib HM under the Passport Act, Foreigners Act and Human Trafficking Act, while the rescued woman was sent to a womens home in Devanahalli. According to the airport police, Rakib was caught at 2.45am during a check. He tried to pass off the 26-year-old woman as his wife, by using some other womans passport and documents, a police officer said. Immigration officials handed the duo to the airport police. The woman did not know any language other than Bengali. So we could not make any headway in the case. Interpreters were arranged on Saturday and after a lot of coaxing, she revealed that he had brought her from her village near Dhaka, promising a good job in Malaysia. The accused paid her family members an advance for her future job. Rakib repeatedly tutored her to tell anyone questioning her that she was his wife, the police officer added. The accused took the road via West Bengal and then UP or Bihar before reaching Goa. From Goa, they took a flight to Bengaluru. They started from Bangladesh on January 1, he said. When Rakibs passport was checked, they found that he frequently went to Malaysia. His planning revealed that he is a habitual offender, a carrier of humans and is part of a larger trafficking racket. Investigations are on. The woman was sent to Ujjwala Womens Care Centre in Devanahalli temporarily. She has nothing on her to establish her real identity, and we are contacting the Bangladesh Embassy to help her out with a passport to send her back. We are treating her as a victim and she is innocent, he added. Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) As the Nigerian military reels out stories of its triumphs against the Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists, the insurgents are frequently attacking, testing the strength of the military, killing soldiers and civilians and dislocating the citizens, thus creating further humanitarian crisis When Apryl Jones and Lil Fizz first sparked dating rumors last summer, the internet couldnt wait until Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood premiered to see how it would affect the cast and B2K. The drama played out this past season on the show in multiple episodes, with the pair and Fizzs ex, Moniece Slaughter, addressing the chatter on social media. Denials, accusations, arguments, and all sorts of other things happened before the two finally confirmed their romantic relationship online and later on the LHHH reunion. Early this month, new rumors swirled that they broke up. This time, Apryl addressed whether theyre still togetherin her own way. Apryl Jones | Prince Williams/Getty Images How rumors about a split between Apryl and Fizz started First, Apryl was accused of cheating on Fizz in early December after a video surfaced of her with a rapper named FBG BabyGoat. Both of them vehemently denied anything foul was going on, but Love & Hip Hop fans were already hot on Apryls case about dating her kids fathers bandmate. Many already heldand still holdthe perception that her dating behavior is wrong. But days after the world rang in 2020, there was new speculation that the lovebirds broke up. Why? According to multiple outlets, Fizz and Apryl unfollowed each other on social media. Some believe its an indication theyre completely done, while others think its just a ploy to withdraw their love from the public eye and take the heat off their relationship. Apryl discusses her and Fizzs union During an interview with Claudia Jordan on Fox Talk, Apryl again reiterated that Fizz was there for her when she needed someone and shes grateful for that. She also said that their friendship didnt happen right away, as she was single for three years following her split with Omarion (also of B2K). Fizz/Dreux came at a time when she was trying to rebuild as a single mom. I just happened to have the supportthank God by the grace of Godby somebody who was a real good friend. And I think for any woman who has a human being in your life thats doing things for you that most wont, or thats offering you sound advice, or that youre spending time with because they want to see you win or be great. . . Its easy to fall for a person like that. Im grateful that I had somebody like that in my life during that hard timeand still. When Jordan asked if theyd broken up, she said, Dreux is a great man and his focus is on Kam and my focus is on my children, and we are where we are. And I kinda want to leave it there. She also talked about social media backlash Because of Apryl and Fizzs relationship, fans and castmates on Love & Hip Hop have had plenty to say about the couple. But online, Apryl said shes decided to fall back and not let the comments get to her, and instead focus on herself, her children, and her brand. With that also came the admission that shes in therapy to help her heal. She credits her therapist with aiding her in keeping calm when negativity pours in through the web or in her real life. For now, she wants the focus to be on her work and what shes doing in the community, and for womens empowerment. Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who is in the capital, will meet top leaders of the Congress party including its president Sonia Gandhi on Monday and discuss the issue of Cabinet expansion in the state. "Tomorrow there is a meeting of the like-minded parties for which I have come here. We will meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi. There is a need to expand the Cabinet in the state so that as a Chief Minister I can focus on other important matters as well," Chief Minister Soren told reporters here. According to sources, by January 15 or 16, the whole process for the expansion of Cabinet will be completed. "The final decision has to be taken by Sonia Gandhi. But the Congress should get six ministerial berths. In the last government, Congress had five ministers. This time the Congress has won more seats," said Congress MLA from Jharkhand Irfan Ansari. Ansari further said: "I am a doctor and a loyal soldier of the Congress. I also want to work in the health sector in Jharkhand. It will be good if I am made the Health Minister." Soren was recently sworn in as the 11th Chief Minister of Jharkhand after the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance won a comfortable majority by securing 47 seats in the 81-member House in the Assembly elections held in December last year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Express News Service By Three police officers from the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of Delhi Police DCP crime HQ Dr Joy Tirkey, ACP Surender Gulia and Inspector Manoj Kumar were honoured with the first-ever Humming Bird awards at Mavalankar Auditorium, Constitution Club on Friday. The awards have been instituted by the Kailash Satyarthi Childrens Foundation (KSCF) to recognise unsung changemakers who have gone out of their way to ensure protection of children. The function, inaugurated by Union Minister of Railways and Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, was a call for action for people to secure the rights of children and work collectively towards creation of a world where all children are safe and healthy, receive quality education and live with dignity. Others present on the occasion included Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi and Special Commissioner of Delhi Police Praveer Ranjan. To ignite and enhance compassion among people for children and encouraging them to fight various forms of exploitation of children, making the world a safer place for them, the KSCF announced that it will henceforth observe January 11 as Surakshit Bachoan Diwas every year. Dr Tirkey has been associated with Delhi AHTU since its inception in 2011, while ACP Gulia has been heading the AHTU since 2017. Under his supervision, 978 missing persons, of which 152 were minors, were traced by the unit in 2019 alone. Besides, the AHTU also traced 104 abducted persons, including 86 minors. Under Gulias leadership, the AHTU rescued and restored 626 children under Operation Milap, a Delhi Police initiative to rescue street children. Last year, 36 sensitive cases were transferred by the Delhi High Court to the AHTU, which successfully traced most of the abducted persons. Inspector Kumar, working with the AHTU since 2018, has traced 301 missing persons, including 138 men and 163 women and several minors, across Delhi in 2019 with the support of his team. After the award ceremony, Indie-fusion band Indian Ocean gave a sterling performance. Patients are facing devastating waits for cancer treatment and hip surgery because doctors are slashing their hours to avoid hefty pension bills. A Mail investigation has revealed that one in five hospitals has admitted that waiting times are getting longer as a result of the dispute. Three NHS trusts used recent board meetings to highlight how the crisis is delaying potentially life-saving surgery for cancer. Pauline De Lane, 75, of Liverpool, had her hip surgery cancelled five times. She was left in an awful state by the 11-month delay, said her husband Peter, 79. She eventually had a hip replacement last June The British Medical Association confirmed that doctors were scaling back their hours and warned that patients face long and distressing waits as a result. The crisis was triggered by changes to pension rules introduced by former chancellor George Osborne in 2016 which affect any earners on more than 110,000 a year. 'I feared she'd die' A husband feared his wife would die when her hip surgery was cancelled five times. Pauline De Lane, 75, of Liverpool, was left in an awful state by the 11-month delay, said her husband Peter, 79. He once begged doctors not to send them home as I feared she would die. She eventually had a hip replacement last June. Liverpool University Hospitals Trust denied the case was linked to the pensions row. Advertisement Consultants, who earn on average 127,000 annually, have been among the hardest-hit, with some specialist doctors and surgeons being stung by bills running into tens of thousands of pounds. Many have reduced their working hours by refusing to do important clinics or theatre sessions at evenings and weekends, which are intended to clear waiting lists. To identify the impact on patients, the Daily Mail audited board meeting papers for 147 hospital trusts. We found that documents for 29 trusts stated that the pensions stand-off was leading to longer waits for routine operations, including hip and knee surgery. Guys and St Thomas Trust in central London described the crisis as a serious risk and said more patients were waiting a year or longer for some procedures. Cambridge University Hospitals highlighted how a lack of consultants willing to undertake overtime sessions meant they were struggling to clear the backlog of patients. Angela Higgins, 60, is living with the agonising fear that she has cancer. Hospital bosses are trying to set a new date Airedale Trust in West Yorkshire, East Lancashire Hospitals Trust and North Middlesex University Hospital in north London specified the dispute was causing longer delays for cancer treatment, University Hospitals Plymouth and University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay noted a particular impact on orthopaedic procedures, which include hip and knee surgery. Estimates from University Hospital Southampton show that up to 40 consultants had cut back on overtime sessions meant to help clear the backlog. Dr Vishal Sharma, of the doctors trade union the British Medical Association, said: Doctors are scaling back their hours and will continue to do so if the pension crisis remains unaddressed. This stark analysis lays bare the devastating effect this is having. Living in terror Patient Angela Higgins, 60, is living with the agonising fear that she has cancer after an operation to remove a stomach cyst was cancelled four times. Mrs Higgins, of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, said her mother died from stomach cancer two years ago and the delay has left her terrified. Hospital bosses apologised and said there were not enough beds available but are trying to set a new date. Advertisement When the NHS is already under significant pressure, it is absurd that doctors are in a position where they are being forced to reduce the work they do for patients or decline extra hours to bring down waiting lists in order to prevent incurring severe financial penalties. In October, a Royal College of Surgeons survey showed that 69 per cent of consultant surgeons had reduced the amount of time they worked in the NHS as a result of the pensions taper. Last week official figures revealed that the percentage of NHS patients undergoing routine procedures within the 18-week target is at its lowest since 2008. Waits for cancer treatment are at their worst since records began in 2004 with one in four patients waiting longer than two months. In November, NHS England tried to resolve the stand-off by promising to pay back the pension bills accrued by doctors doing overtime this financial year. But individuals will not receive the money until they retire and the measure is only a short- term solution. Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised to fix the pensions dispute last July and the Department of Health is currently consulting on proposed new rules. A Government spokesman said: We are urgently reviewing the pensions annual allowance taper and NHS England has already taken action by introducing a special arrangement for 2019/20. Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi announced Saturday three days of mourning in the country after the death of Sultan Qaboos at 79 Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly left to Oman Sunday to offer condolences after the death of Sultan Qaboos Bin Said in Muscat. Madbouly will be heading a senior delegation that will include the ministers of religious endowments, tourism and antiquities, justice and planning. The visit comes one day after Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi announced Saturday three days of mourning in the country after the death. Sultan Qaboos Bin Said passed away late Friday at age of 79 after nearly 50 years in power. Oman named Saturday Minister of Culture Haitham Bin Tariq Al Said as the new ruler of the Arab Gulf country, ending speculation over who would succeed longtime ruler Sultan Qaboos. Search Keywords: Short link: A man from Rajasthan was apprehended by CISF personnel with "suspicious" cash worth over Rs 14 lakh at a Delhi Metro station, a senior official said on Sunday. The incident took place at the Rohini West metro station on Saturday evening, he said. According to the official, V Ram, a resident of Rajasthan's Sirohi district, was nabbed by CISF personnel after the cash was recovered from his bag and the clothes he was wearing. Ram told the security personnel that he worked for a courier agency in Delhi and was carrying Rs 14.42 lakh cash to deliver to his employer, the official said. The cash looked "suspicious", he added. The case has been handed over to the Income-Tax Department for further investigation and to ascertain whether the money was genuine business collection, the official said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) AN 11-year-old girl is in a critical condition in hospital after a car crashed into a pillar in the capital. The young child was travelling in a vehicle with her father and younger sister when the collision happened in Lucan, west Dublin yesterday morning. Emergency services were alerted to the scene on the Lower Lucan Road and the three family members were rushed to hospital. The eldest child (11) is said to be in a serious condition, while her father and younger sister (7) are being treated for non-life threatening injuries. At this stage gardai believe their car struck a pillar and the eldest daughter, who was sitting on a booster seat in the car, suffered serious injuries as a result of the collision. It is being treated as a single-vehicle crash. A Garda spokesman said: One occupant of the car was seriously injured and Gardai are appealing to any persons who may have witnessed the collision or any road users who may have been in the area at the time and who may have camera footage, to contact them at Lucan Garda Station on 01 - 6667300, The Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station. In 2019, Florida was the number one destination statethat is for those who move in by U-Haul vehicle. The Sunshine state outperformed Texas, which was pushed into second place. Each year, truck sharing company U-Haul publishes its interstate migration statistics based on the number of one-way DIY rides entering and leaving each state and eight Canadian provinces between its 22,000-plus locations (Hawaii excluded for obvious reasons). Florida has been showing signs of growth for a decade, said Miguel Caminos, U-Haul Company of Orlando president, according to the report. Central Florida is really booming. I cant think of any major suburb where there arent home developments or new shopping centers being built. Theres an expectation of comfort for people moving here. They know there are jobs. Plus, there are tons of attractions, and our state is family-friendly. The weather is perfect, and no matter where you live, youre less than an hour from the beach. The top-five growth states according to U-Haul are: Florida (2 in 2018) Texas (1 in 2018) North Carolina (24 in 2018) South Carolina (3 in 2018) Washington (29 in 2018) Im not surprised Florida is the No. 1 growth state, even after the hurricanes (in 2019), said Cal Conner, U-Haul Company of Eastern Florida president in a statement. Were Floridianswe dont leave. Our communities stick together, he said of the recovery efforts after Hurricane Dorian. We banded together and U-Haul gave free self-storage to affected residents. Our neighbors are our family. The top-five most popular destination states according to Census data released in December showed a similar trend. According to the data, the state Florida is growing by 640 people a day on average over the past year. The states population now stands at 21.48 million as of July 1, a nearly 1.1 percent increase from a year earlier. The five least popular states according to Census data were Maryland, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Michigan, California, and Illinois. Forbes commenter Chuck DeVore noted that the top-five and the bottom five states narrowly represent the states with the lowest and highest tax rates respectively. U-Hauls pricing, none-the-less, encourages interstate traffic to non-growth states, as the company heavily subsidizes one-way travel towards those states and adds heavy taxes to more popular states in order to avoid its fleet of truck all moving to states like Florida. For instance, renting a tiny 10-foot truck from Fresno, California, to Austin, Texas, would cost about $2,000, while traveling in the opposite direction would only cost one-third as much. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, January 13 2020 In response to reports that the family of Reynhard Sinaga, an Indonesian convicted as a serial rapist in the United Kingdom, lives in Depok, West Java, the citys mayor has instructed his administration to conduct raids against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Reynhard, a 36-year-old PhD student, was sentenced on Jan. 6 by a court in Manchester to life on 136 counts of rape, eight counts of attempted rape, 13 counts of sexual assault and two counts of sexual assault with penetration, with the UKs Crown Prosecution Service calling him the worst-known sex-offender in the countrys history, AFP reports. All of his victims were men. Depok Mayor Mohammad Idris said he had requested that the citys Health Agency, Social Affairs Agency and Child Protection and Family Empowerment Agency heighten efforts to prevent the spread of LGBT in order to strengthen families resilience and especially protect the children. 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 I am thrilled to report that Prince Williams best pal Thomas van Straubenzee has bought a five-bedroom home with fiancee Lucy Lanigan OKeeffe and the pair, below, plan to start a family after marrying in the spring. The property is close to the school attended by Prince George and Princess Charlotte, Toms goddaughter. Lucy, 31, who is an assistant head teacher at the school, is said to have been feeling broody lately, especially when the young Royals drop in for a visit. Friends expect William to be Toms best man and Charlotte, four, to be a flower girl, according to my spies. I am thrilled to report that Prince Williams best pal Thomas van Straubenzee has bought a five-bedroom home with fiancee Lucy Lanigan OKeeffe and the pair plan to start a family after marrying in the spring The billionaires playground of Mustique is famously impenetrable it has only two hotels with a total of 24 bedrooms. And now the chances of setting foot on the Royals favourite Caribbean haunt may have become even more remote because one of the two hotels, Firefly, has gone up for sale for 7.5 million and could be turned into a private residence. Properties rarely come up for sale on Mustique, and Fireflys owner Liz Clayton says: This will be a great opportunity for someone. 'We will miss it hugely, especially the sunsets when suddenly you find youve got Mick Jagger on one side of you and Cara Delevingne on the other. CELEBRITIES SPOUTING NONSENSE Socialite model Frankie Herbert, niece of the Earl of Carnarvon, managed both modesty and virtue-signalling failures when she graced Tom Fords Fragrance launch at Marks Club in Mayfair. First she got a ticking-off for flashing her pink pants shown in my snap, below. Then she told me she was doing Veganuary apart from when she scoffs greasy hamburgers. Ive gone completely vegan, the 23-year-old model told me proudly. Well, not completely Ive had a few McDonalds. But Im really trying! Im sorry, Frankie, but much like Megxit, there are no half-measures youre either in or youre out! Love Island viewers are making it their mission to vote Paige and Ollie out of the ITV2 show first after Sunday night's launch show. Fans of the series were left astounded when it emerged that the 23-year-old millionaire heir Ollie was 'a big game hunter', with some threatening to boycott the show due to his participation. And viewers have now turned on his new partner Paige, who was branded a 'gold digger' when she made a U-turn about her feelings for Ollie after finding out he was a landowner. Reaction: Love Island viewers are making it their mission to vote Paige (pictured) and Ollie out of the ITV2 show first after Sunday night's launch show Paige had initially shut down any prospect of a romantic connection, telling the girls, 'Ollie's such a nice boy but he's not my type'. However, when she probed him about what he did for a living, she discovered he wasn't a farmer but a wealthy landowner. Speaking in the Beach Hut, Paige had changed her tune, claiming she found it easy to flirt with him and there might be a shot at something more. Twitter was awash with amused reaction from viewers, with hundreds sharing gold digger memes. First impressions: Paige had initially shut down any prospect of a romantic connection, telling the girls, 'Ollie's such a nice boy but he's not my type' Kerching! However, when she probed him about what he did for a living, she discovered he wasn't a farmer but a wealthy landowner One joked: 'When Ollie is suddenly paige's type on paper.." I'm a landowner" $$ #LoveIsland #LoveIslandUK'. Another declared: 'Really hope Paige and Ollie stay together so we can kill two birds with one stone when we can vote them out #LoveIsland #LoveIslandUK #loveisland2020'. A third posted: 'Paige was quick to do a 180 and decide she likes him when Ollie said he was a landowner #LoveIsland'. Others were quick to call Paige out for being a hypocrite after she expressed her disappointment that Ollie had confessed to cheating on his ex-girlfriend. 'I an't saying she a gold digger': Twitter was awash with amused reaction from viewers Paige was famously dating singer Lewis Capaldi and is reported to have cheated on him with his best friend. Referring to the recent headlines, one viewer wrote: 'Paige saying it's a red flag that Ollie cheated on his previous girlfriend but she cheated on Lewis Capaldi with his best mate??? #LoveIsland'. Meanwhile, when nobody stepped forward for Ollie, viewers went on to state they would be wasting no time voting him off first. Challenge: When nobody stepped forward for Ollie, viewers went on to state they would be wasting no time voting him off first Ollie eventually coupled up with Paige by default, after none of the ladies wanted to couple up with him. Taking to Twitter, viewers penned: 'Ollie and Paige are coupled up you say? We can get rid of both of them in one vote you say? #LoveIsland 'Laura Whitmore: "Girls if you fancy Ollie step forward!!" *No one steps forward for Ollie* The UK: #LoveIsland #LoveIslandUK 'ollie isnt just my least favourite person in love island, hes probably my least favourite person in the world #loveisland'; ''All of the uk when no one stepped forward for Ollie #LoveIsland 'Actually feel sorry for Paige being coupled up with Ollie not having a clue what hes like on the outside #loveisland'; 'Nobody vote Ollie on love island. He kills animals. Youre welcome. #LoveIsland'; 'As a nation, it is our responsibility to get Paige and Ollie OUT. #LoveIsland'. Not their type on paper: Ollie eventually coupled up with Paige by default, after none of the ladies wanted to couple up with him It was previously revealed that Love Island bosses have 'no intention' of axing Williams after he was exposed as a 'big game hunter who posed with an array of dead animals he killed in Africa.' Producers of the ITV2 series refuse to 'bow down to the public on a moral issue' as they dont believe keeping Ollie on the show will affect viewing figures. An insider told MailOnline: 'It is highly unlikely Ollie will be booted off the series. He's part of the lineup and already filmed the first episode bosses see no reason to kick him off.' Easy decision: t following Sunday's launch show, when nobody stepped forward for Ollie, viewers went on to state they would be wasting no time voting him off first They continued: 'Love Island cast Ollie out of thousands of applicants and are sticking to their decision. 'They're hoping this will all blow over once the audience gets to know Ollie after seeing him on screen.' A source close to Ollie previously denied that the star, who will make his debut on winter Love Island tonight, has hunted for sport after he posed next to a variety of dead animals. In a statement the insider added: 'It is categorically untrue to suggest Ollie is involved in hunting for sport. 'Ollie is a passionate conservationist and worked with an anti-poaching unit in Mozambique. 'Conservation is crucial to the survival of animals and as part of that work Ollie was involved in the culling of sick animals who were a threat to the health of the herd. 'There is a very big and important difference between trophy hunting and the conversation work Ollie has previously been involved in. 'At no point has Ollie organised or booked anybody to go to Africa to shoot game.' Love Island viewers have been in uproar after photos of the heir to the 2,000-acre Lanhydrock estate in Cornwall emerged of him proudly posing beside a warthog, water buffalo and giant eland to promote his hunting business Cornish Sporting Agency. It offered 'unforgettable sporting experiences' in Mozambique and South Africa, as well as bird shooting events in south west England. The agency's website was taken 'offline' in November 2018 but, according to Companies House records, Oliver Sebastian James Williams is still the company's active director. Student stuck in snow dies, 6 others rescued in Uttarkashi India oi-Mousumi Dash Uttarkashi, Jan 12: Due to heavy snowfall in Radighati in Uttarkashi district a student stranded in the snow died while six others were rescued by police and SDRF personnel, officials said on Sunday. Reportedly, an 18-year-old Anuj Semwal died on way to a hospital in Barkot on Saturday after being rescued, SHO, Badkot, DS Kohli said, adding the rest of the students are safe. In the heavy snowfall, a group of seven students of ITI Barkot had reportedly got stranded in Radighati when they were on their way home. 120 rescued as heavy snowfall blocks Mughal road in J&K The roads were blocked due to heavy snowfall and they decided to walk to their homes in Uttarkashi not realising that they were risking their lives, the official said to PTI. The students sought the help of police on the phone after they got stuck in heavy snow around one km ahead of Radi Top. The SDRF personnel immediately rushed to the spot and helped the students. While the team reached the spot at 12 in the night by the time one of the student Anuj had already fallen sick due to extreme cold. The students were rescued past midnight and were being brought to a hospital in Barkot when Anuj died in the early hours of Saturday, the official said to PTI. A 23-year-old New Bedford man has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with the Saturday killing of a 25-year-old man in Fall River, the Bristol District Attorneys office said. Nathan Silva was arrested at the Motel 6 in Seekonk Saturday night and will be held in jail until his arraignment in Fall River District Court Monday morning. Authorities also arrested 27-year-old Jessica Brophy, 27, of Fall River, and charged her with accessory to murder after the fact. She will also be arraigned in Fall River District Court. The district attorneys office did not release any details about the motive in the slaying. Fall River police were called to a housing complex parking lot at 2000 Bay Road for a report of a stabbing around 7:25 a.m. Saturday. Jorge Vieira, 25, of Fall River, was found in the parking lot. He had been stabbed. Vieira was rushed to a local hen transferred to Rhode Island Hospital where he died later Saturday. Women, Hispanics and residents from a handful of counties were given lengthy prison sentences for trafficking prescription painkillers at higher rates than other Floridians, according to an analysis by criminal justice researchers. The analysis examined an estimated 935 prison inmates who are serving mandatory sentences of 15 and 25 years that are no longer in state law because the Florida Legislature has since eased the penalties for their crimes. If these inmates committed the same crimes today, many would receive a fraction of their current sentences. The findings by the Project on Accountable Justice, a nonpartisan group housed at Florida State University, are expected to be published later this month. The group of prisoners examined in the report was the focus of a November Herald/Times investigation, which told the story of Jomari DeLeon, a mother of three serving 15 years for her first-time drug offense despite the fact that the same crime would now qualify for about three years. The inmates like DeLeon were twice as likely to be female compared to the average Florida prisoner, and more likely to be Hispanic, according to the Project on Accountable Justice, which also includes academics from St. Petersburg College and Tallahassee Community College. Jomari DeLeon, serving a 15-year term for selling 48 hydrocodone pills for $225, is not covered by Floridas sentencing reforms. National research has found that women in state prisons are more likely than men to be serving time for drug offenses. Since 1978, the number of women in state prisons nationwide has grown by more than 800% double the pace of men, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. Researchers have cited the war on drugs as a driver of that explosion. One in four women ... experienced sexual or domestic violence prior to incarceration. These are issues that lead to self-medicating, said Carla Laroche, a Florida State University professor who teaches courses on gender and the justice system. Focusing on the trauma piece is not an excuse but it is an explanation for the reasons why people might go to drugs in the first place. Story continues Laroche also noted that prescription opioid addiction was typically associated with white offenders, but this data showing Hispanic over-representation may indicate that people of color were more affected than previously thought. Why so many from Osceola County? In addition to the demographic breakdown, the research also showed that some counties, all with fewer than 350,000 residents, handed down these lengthy minimum sentences at much higher rates than other, more populous counties. Osceola County had far and away both the highest rate and raw number, with an estimated 97 people currently serving these outdated sentences who had been convicted there. Thats about 10% of the total group of inmates. Deborrah Brodsky, director of the Project on Accountable Justice, said this unequal distribution shows why Florida needs better oversight of its criminal justice system to determine whether the regional discrepancies are due to differences in enforcement or other factors, like shortages of addiction services. We know were sending more folks to prison from certain places. So these are the places we should look to reinvest in things that help keep people better, Brodsky said. Scott Richardson, one of DeLeons lawyers who has worked as a defense attorney in Central Florida since 1989, said he wasnt surprised to learn that Osceola, where DeLeon was convicted, ranked so high. He had a different suspicion about Osceolas high number of drug sentences, which he said stems from local law enforcements willingness to bring cases that have iffy evidence. If I send enough cases through the system ... good and bad, eventually youre going to have a higher percentage of those that stick, he said. Richardson pointed to DeLeons case as an example. Her drug deal was repeatedly suggested by a man who was a confidential police informant. Richardson argued at trial that DeLeon, who had no criminal history beyond traffic violations, would not have committed the crime had it not been for the insistence of the informant. But the jury found her guilty, anyway. December 7, 2011, surveillance video screen grab of Jomari DeLeon leaving the car of an undercover officer after selling her prescription pills. There are options other than prison State Attorney Aramis Ayala is very mindful of the incarceration rates for drug crimes, said Trei Johnson, spokeswoman for the State Attorneys office for the Ninth Circuit, which covers Osceola and Orange counties. Johnson pointed to a program created last year that allows people facing certain low-level drug charges to avoid doing time if they complete a course on substance abuse, do community service and avoid future arrests. Johnson added that prosecutors have no control over who is arrested, why they were arrested, or how aggressive law enforcement is in making those arrests. The Osceola County Sheriffs Office did not respond to calls and emails, made repeatedly over several weeks, seeking comment. Other counties with high rates of these types of convictions were Baker, Putnam, Okeechobee and Escambia. Of counties with more than 1 million people, Hillsborough ranked highest, while Miami-Dade was near the very bottom. Although its Floridas most populous county, just 36 inmates from Miami-Dade are currently serving outdated drug sentences. State Sen. Jason Pizzo, a Democrat from North Miami Beach and a former prosecutor, said Miami approaches low-level drug crimes differently, opting to pursue less aggressive sentences because of the sheer volume of major drug crimes they have in that area. Miami-Dade was like, Next, move along, he said. When guys get arrested they dont want to go to Broward. Theyre like, Take me to Dade. Unequal justice But these particular drug sentences are hardly the only example of justice administered differently across Florida. Over the years, researchers have found stark county-by-county differences in juvenile arrest rates, the severity of crimes that result in prison time and whether drug crimes will lead to treatment or incarceration, for example. We see these types of trends, especially rural and non-urban centers imposing longer sentences, for drug crimes and low-level crimes, said Leonard Engel, director of policy and campaigns for the Crime and Justice Institute, a national nonpartisan group. You have state laws and you expect equal application, he added, saying the regional differences in the way the law is applied is especially profound in Florida because of its size and diversity. Thats caused by the fact that there are fewer addiction treatment options in rural areas, but also differences in mindset. Officials from North Florida, they have a very different perspective on crime and punishment than ... their colleagues in Orange County or Miami-Dade or Hillsborough. Florida voters approved a ballot measure in 2018, Amendment 11, which granted the Legislature new authority to apply current sentencing laws to old cases. But so far, legislators have taken no action to do so. For the 2020 session, which starts Tuesday, two bipartisan bills one each in the House and Senate have been filed that would allow judges to re-sentence those inmates. But a leading House Republican recently said he doesnt support the idea. Pizzo said he supports applying Amendment 11 to previous drug cases, because some old sentencing laws are so far removed from what we would all legislate to be reasonable today. If you did some really evil s--t thats terrorized vulnerable people, you should be punished, he said. But there are [laws] that ... exacerbated disparities based on race and economics that still exist today. Contact Emily L. Mahoney at emahoney@tampabay.com. Follow @mahoneysthename 1,000 people gathered at the Portuguese embassy on Saturday afternoon, with candles and white flowers. The demonstration was in support of a 21 year old Cape Verde native who was attacked by a group of young men on 21 December in Portugal. He died of his injuries ten days later. The Portuguese media barely reported the incident and the police had not done enough to find the perpetrators, according to Saturday's protestors. Antonia Ganeto, spokesperson for Finkape, the Afro-descendant network in Luxembourg, said the protest aimed to raise awareness and encourage a full investigation into the incident. The photos published on this site are subject to copyright and may not be copied, modified, or sold without the prior permission of the owner of the site in question. Other demonstrations took place in London, Paris and a number of Portuguese cities in memory of the victim, who was buried in Cape Verde on Saturday. The Lower House of Nepal's Parliament has been postponed for the third time in the latest winter session over the post of speaker. Parliament Secretariat on Sunday announced adjournment of Parliamentary meeting till 1 PM of January 20 citing a special reason. Post of House Speaker of Nepal's Lower House has remained vacant after Krishna Bahadur Mahara stepped down on October 2, 2019, following an allegation of sexual harassment. Deputy Speaker of Nepal's Lower House Shivamaya Tumbahamphe was scheduled to chair the meeting of Sunday afternoon but was cancelled. The Nepal Communist Party (NCP) leadership on Saturday has asked Tumbahamphe to tender her resignation but was turned down. Two previous Lower House Sessions that were to be held on December 27, 2019, and January 1 under Fifth Federal Parliament session that commenced from December 20 last year were adjourned. The meeting of the House of Representatives has been greatly affected by the ongoing discussion in the ruling party--NCP, surrounding the appointment of the Speaker. This time the election for the Speaker is seen with much caution because of the constitutional provision which demands that speaker and deputy speaker to be representatives from different parties and of the opposite sex. "The election under clause (1) shall be so held that there is one woman as either Speaker or Deputy Speaker, and the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives shall be representatives from different parties," states the constitution. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 19:34:23|Editor: xuxin Video Player Close CANBERRA, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday that the government's emissions targets need to "evolve." In a 30-minute interview on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) TV, Morrison implied he was open to pursuing a more ambitious emissions reduction target but would not jeopardize jobs to do so. He said he remained confident that Australia will meet its current target of lowering emissions by 26-28 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 but his government would "continue to evolve our promises." "We want to reduce emissions and do the best job we possibly can and get better and better and better at it," he said. "I want to do that with a balanced policy which recognizes Australia's broader national economic interests and social interest." Morrison's predecessor, Malcolm Turnbull, on Sunday called for the premier to act on climate change in an opinion piece for The Guardian, saying that there are "simply no more excuses." "How much of our country has to burn, how many lives have to be lost, homes destroyed before we resolve as a nation to act on climate change?" Turnbull wrote. "The world must, and I believe will, stop burning coal if we are to avoid the worst consequences of global warming." More than 20 people have died and thousands of homes have been destroyed in Australia's bushfires since September. Morrison said he was in favor of establishing a royal commission to look into the bushfire crisis and whether the government was too slow to react. "I think that is what would be necessary, and I will be taking a proposal through Cabinet to that end," he said. "But it must be done in consultation with the states and territories." Morrison's leadership during the fires has come under harsh criticism and he admitted on Sunday that there were "things I could have handled on the ground much better." Additional reporting by Neil Michael The principle of a school where three Saudi-born children are to be deported has blasted the decision to remove them from the country as immoral. Zubair, Umair and Mutjuba Khan have been told they will not be allowed to apply for international protection in Ireland and face expulsion this week. The three teenagers have been attending a secondary school in Cork since their arrival in Ireland in 2017 and have lived in direct provision ever since. Zubair, a fifth-year student, Umair, a transition year student and Mutjuba, a second-year student are studying at Colaiste Eamann Ris in Cork city. Their older brother Hamza is a first-year Sanctuary Scholar studying computer science at University College Cork under a scheme for refugees and asylum seekers living in Direct Provision. Hamza also faces deportation, as do the family's parents. Colaiste Eamann Ris Principle Aaron Wolfe said of the brothers: The Khan brothers have been a huge addition to our school. They have spoken at national events on the struggles of teenage asylum seekers and have helped to spread awareness of the plight of refugees. We are proud of the progress they have made since becoming a part of our school community and we are devastated to learn that their future with us is now in danger. Hamzas progression to UCC is a testament to this familys love of learning they are ambitious, capable individuals who wish to make a life for themselves here in Ireland, where they will become independent and contributing members of Irish society. He added: They have become part of our school and the wider community, Mutjuba even has a Cork accent. To remove this family from our country is immoral and will have devastating effects on their education. The future of these four brothers is at risk Hamza will lose his third level placement and the boys will struggle fitting into a new education system. In a statement giving further background to the case on Saturday, Colaiste Eamann Ris said the familys father Mubeen, fled to Saudi Arabia from Pakistan to escape persecution in 1982. His wife Hina Mubeen is also from Pakistan but their sons and daughter were born in Saudi Arabia. The family continued to live in Saudi Arabia until crippling new taxes were introduced into Saudi Arabia after the death of King Abdullah in 2015. One of the new taxes King Salman and his son Prince Muhammad Bin Salman introduced new tax laws 2017 was the so-called Ex-Pat Tax. It saw each ex-pat and their dependents being charged the equivalent of 28-a-month for the first year and rising to 112-a-month by 2020. Fayaz Wani By SRINAGAR: Five months after the scrapping of Jammu and Kashmirs special status and bifurcation of the state into two Union territories by the Centre, mainstream political leaders in the Valley are talking of moving beyond Article 370 and basing their politics on the demand for restoration of statehood to J&K and protection of the rights of its residents. Former deputy chief minister and Democratic Nationalist Party (DNP) president Ghulam Hassan Mir said it was time to move beyond Article 370. We have to move beyond Article 370. It should not have been scrapped as it was sacred for us. However, unfortunately, it has gone. Should I keep crying for it or move forward, he said. ALSO READ | India offered to revoke my charges in exchange for support on Article 370 abrogation: Zakir Naik Advising politicians against indulging in negative politics, Mir said, If our land and job rights are protected, will it not be an achievement? Mir, who is one of the founding members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said their politics will now be based on the demand for the restoration of statehood, protection of land and job rights of J&K residents and revival of tourism and trade. Mir was detained after the scrapping of Article 370 and bifurcation of J&K state on August 5 and released sometime back. Former PDP leader and ex-Finance Minister Altaf Bukhari has also said that people now needed to move beyond Article 370. The pain of the loss of Article 370 will never go away but life goes on. One must try to fight for things that one can get, he said. Bukhari and Mir have joined hands, and along with a dozen former PDP leaders some of who were detained met Lt Governor and envoys of 16 countries who visited the Valley a few days back. PDP Patron and former deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig has also been toeing the same line. Gettyimagesbank By Jun Ji-hye Police will seek international cooperation from Interpol in its investigation into the recent assault of a popular YouTube broadcaster, as one of the key suspects has fled to Australia via Hong Kong, officials said Sunday. Two men attacked the broadcaster, who created content on cryptocurrency investment, in an elevator in an apartment block in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, at about 1:30 a.m. Thursday. The attackers put the victim in handcuffs and beat him with blunt weapons. It has been speculated that the attackers may have suffered losses after listening to the broadcaster's advice. According to the Seongdong Police Station, one suspect left for Australia via Hong Kong on the day of the attack, while the other is believed to still be in Korea. Police are searching for the suspect in Korea, and plan to ask for help from Interpol through the National Police Agency as soon as the police have arrest warrant. Interpol, or the International Criminal Police Organization, is a consultative body created to facilitate international police cooperation in dealing with global crimes, terrorism and disasters. The YouTube broadcaster was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. An assistant of the broadcaster wrote online, "A shocking incident" had occurred, saying the broadcaster suffered injuries to the back of his head and several other parts of his body. "A police investigation is currently underway," the assistant said. "It was found that the attackers spray-painted the CCTV cameras in the apartment building a few days before the incident. The case is believed to have been a premeditated assault." The assistant noted that the attackers tried to kidnap the broadcaster, who was handcuffed and lost consciousness after the assault, but failed to do so because the elevator doors opened in the middle of the attack and residents witnessed the scene. "The attackers then ran away," the assistant said, adding that the broadcaster was traumatized. The YouTube broadcaster has been airing his comments and advice on cryptocurrency investment since 2017. The channel has more than 58,000 subscribers. Have you ever found yourself confused by the different names for towns and villages depending on the language? Well you're in luck - the Ministry of National Education, Children and Youth is offering a free map of the Grand Duchy to all citizens. The map is intended to support learning the Luxembourgish language by associating Luxembourgish names with French, thus clarifying any confusion between such place names as Elwen and Troisvierges, or Larochette and Fiels. Preview the new bilingual map of Luxembourg The new edition is intended for both students and adults, and includes in addition to the names of municipalities and villages, as well as those of rivers and streams. Schools and lycees have already received their copies, while those interested can order their bilingual map from the Ministry on the site http://edulink.lu/unpa. 6,000 maps were ordered in the 24 hours since its release, according to a tweet by Minister of Education Claude Meisch. Another print run has been arranged to meet demands. WOW! 6000 Bestellungen a 24 Stonnen. Bestellt roueg weider. Mir drecke weider. https://t.co/rwLgLS5zCi Claude Meisch (@MeischClaude) January 11, 2020 Meisch wrote: "Wow! 6,000 copies in 24 hours. Feel free to keep on ordering, we will keep on printing." It is also worth noting that the information in the map can be found at the Luxembourg online dictionary lod.lu. More than 10,000 copies of the published dictionary have been ordered to date, showcasing a demonstrable boom of interest in the Luxembourgish language and spelling. Luxembourgish language: Online dictionary publishes list of top 20 most-searched words I am literally Keanu Reeves' good deed writer for this portal and I have written several instances where he's just been an ace human being. And to carry forth the tradition, here's one more altruistic and remarkable Keanu stories to look forward to. Twitter Known as the most generous, kind-hearted man alive (he once bought ice cream just so he could autograph the receipt for a fan), Keanu stuck to his numerous titles, by proving his kindness once again. The man left a 'big tip', after ordering for a double-scoop Baskin-Robbins ice cream. So, Keanu was in Alameda California, when he entered a Baskin-Robbins and made someone's day rather special, by leaving a 'big tip' after placing his order for the ice cream. While we're not sure what the big tip really entails, we're certain it has to be as big as Keanu's heart. Keanu is anyway known to make others around him happy, by doing extraordinary things in the most ordinary ways. Twitter Right after he bought his ice cream, as humbly as he could, he decided to go to a nearby park and enjoy eating it. Right then he was asked by a fan for a picture and he obviously obliged. The dressed down box-office dynamo happily took a picture with the woman, who later shared it on her social media profile. Well, with a black attire and messy hair, but the actor still manages to look quite amazing, as always! For people who're confused as to why is Keanu enjoying scoop in California, he's there to shoot for his forthcoming film, Matrix 4, which is scheduled to release somewhere in 2021. While Keanu will be playing his iconic role of Neo, Carrie-Ann Moss is returning in the film too. With that, Matrix 4 will also feature Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who is known for his role as Black Manta in Aquaman. Warner Bros. For now we're waiting for the day Keanu is spotted in a local ice-cream parlour here in India, and we get to meet the most humble human, in person! China has not concealed its ambition to emerge as economic , military and technological super power in the world , which mean that China has to out beat USA decisively, as USA presently has the dominant status in the world. by N.S.Venkataraman While US President Trump has taken several measures in the last few years such as prevention of illegal migrants entering US, special security measures to check Muslims entering US from Islamic countries, construction of Mexican wall , insistence for jobs for Americans to ensure persons from other countries do not occupy jobs in USA at the cost of Americans etc., the most important and significant measures have been to start trade war against China and to prevent Iran from emerging as nuclear power. Though he also spoke strongly against North Korean regime, he softened his stand later for whatever reasons. President Trumps steps against China and Iran have been strong and persistent making several people wonder as to what could be the strategy and purpose behind his anti China and anti Iran policies. Even some Americans are confused and opposition parties in USA have been highly critical about these approaches. However, a discerning and independent observer can clearly read President Trumps mindset and would tend to think that his strategies and objectives are clear and would stand the test of time. Obviously, President Trump thinks that emerging dominance of China and emerging nuclear capability of Iran would pose strong threats not only to US but also to the political stability of the entire world. It appears that President Trump thinks that if he would not act now to curb the ambitions of China and Iran, it could become too late later on. This is, perhaps, the reason and justification for his acting in a hurry. Emerging dominance of China : China has not concealed its ambition to emerge as economic , military and technological super power in the world , which mean that China has to out beat USA decisively, as USA presently has the dominant status in the world. China has also not concealed its expansionist policy, as it has already successfully occupied Tibet, a peaceful neighbouring country and China is encouraged that world conscience has remained silent about Chinas aggression and atrocities in Tibet. By extending grants and aids and collaboration, China has already brought Pakistan under its virtual control and many people think that politically, Pakistan is now an extended territory of China. Chinas strong presence in Pakistan would ensure that Pakistan has to be necessarily obliged to China for long time to come. Certainly, China would use Pakistan territory for strategic purpose like importing and transporting crude oil from middle east countries to China and exploiting Pakistans mineral resources. China has also now strong presence in Sri Lanka and several vital infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka like seaport and airport are now under Chinas management control. There are other countries like Bangladesh, Mauritius and Nepal, that owe huge debts to China with no repaying capability in the near future. Chinas OBOR project is a clear strategy to gradually enter other countries economically and technologically and expand its influence. With such calculated measures, China is expecting that before long, world will come under Chinas thumb, just as the world is now under the thumb of USA for all practical purposes.: Emerging nuclear capability of Iran : Government of Iran is committed to Islam religion and many people suspect that Iran is encouraging and supporting Islamic terrorism that is already causing havoc and disturbing peace in the world. Iran is striving its level best to develop its nuclear capability and to develop expertise in nuclear warfare. This could be a threat to world peace, as Iran may use its nuclear warfare capability to create climate to expand the base of Islam religion across the world. This would possibly be done by encouraging Islamic terrorism and threatening the world with its nuclear warfare capability. Many believe that Iran would not remain as a responsible nuclear power. President Trumps approach : Just as US President Trump is targeting China and Iran , the fact is that China and Iran are also targeting USA. President Trump is clearly expecting that economic and military dominance of China and nuclear capability of Iran would pose grave threat not only to USA but across the world. Many countries in the world , apart from USA, do realize that stronger China and Iran with nuclear capability could pose threat to the stability of the world, just as Hitler and Mussolini did that caused second world war. It seems that several other countries who do not have the strength and capability to challenge emerging dominance of China and emerging nuclear capability of Iran, expect USA to play its role in challenging China and Iran. Perhaps, this is the reason why most countries in the world are not criticizing and opposing President Trumps move to challenge China and Iran and the silent approval of other countries with regard to the approach of President Trump is obvious and conspicuous. Over the years, I have perfected the povhol the poverty holiday, or travel on a shoestring. While the rare opportunity arises to go five-star luxe, its always for work; the places I am sometimes sent to write about are the kind of places where, in real life, I could not afford a glass of water. In real life, such places while fun to visit as a travel-writing fly on the sumptuous wall would have little in common with my preferred kind of travel. Id rather a month away on a gloriously autonomous shoestring than three days of cloistered five-star anxiety (they want HOW MUCH for a sandwich?) But now we have the added thing of what the Economist puns train-boasts, plane-shame and electric automobiles. Not everyone can do a Greta, and borrow an eco-yacht to cross an ocean, especially when the mission is a povhol, rather than addressing the UN. I am spending February in India, in a simple place that costs ten euros a night (including meals), surrounded by the kind of natural beauty that you couldnt make up, never mind monetise; but how to get there? In this broiling Heisszeit (Heat Age, Germanys word of 2019), how to travel and still avoid flygskam (Swedens now ubiquitous word for flight-shame)? In the hippie era, you could go overland. Older friends reminisce about camper vanning peacefully through Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan; these days, thanks to imperialism and international belligerence, this route is less doable than booking a private rocket to the moon. Dreams of languid train journeys from Istanbul to Tehran, Kabul, Lahore remain just that dreams. Boats sound romantic, until you factor in the reality of staring at the sea for weeks on end. Technically you could travel to India by freight ship except it takes about a month and costs four to six times more than flying. Ive checked. Which is how I find myself adding to the growing lexicon of travel-related climate jargon. Flypocrite. I hereby out myself as an Extinction Rebellion supporting user of planes, like an Emma Thompson that nobody has heard of; I am not going to India via train, van or boat. No, my povhol will be made possible by a long haul flight. I am a flypocrite economy class all the way. Thankfully, to counteract flygskam and flypocrisy, we have tagskyrt. Swedish for train-boast, tagskyrt is when you make a song and dance about reaching your destination overland. So for my summer povhol the annual camp out in the South of France I will be piously on the ground, reaching my destination by Eurostar, even though flying to Marseille is still faster and cheaper than going by train. Youd need to be a special kind of deluded not to appreciate the utter first-world-problem of all of this. Individuals in rich countries will have caused more carbon emissions by mid January than individuals in developing countries will create all year. This is where we are at. Flypocrisy still winning over flygskam. What do to? Stop travelling? This blog was originally published in The Times of India. New Year resolutions and mobile phones have one thing in common, they both run out of battery very rapidly, but more than half the population is still convinced they can change their lives from January 1. This, in fact, is an unlucky date to begin anything. If you dont believe me, ask Pope Francis. Despite not drinking himself into oblivion on New Years Eve, the Pope still had to start the year with an apology to the world for slapping away the hands of a woman who had grabbed his arm. Lesser mortals stuck to the resolutions they make and break every year such as losing weight, exercising more, quitting smoking and spending more time with family. Realising the urgent need for alternative resolutions, I first tried reaching out to the Dalai Lama for advice. bccl After calling Dharamshala and being put on hold for so long that I wondered if they were waiting for His Holiness to be reincarnated before transferring the line, I decided to give it a go myself. With the aid of one Virgin Mary that soon led to two bloody ones, here is a list of some much-needed and fairly achievable resolutions for 2020. 1. Set the bar low Setting the bar as low as possible also makes it easy to reach for a drink when you need it next. Begin by first accepting that you arent going to lose 20 pounds this year just the way you didnt the year before that. So, plan to make small changes, like losing the four pounds you gained during Christmas, when taking it a step further from Jesus who turned water into wine, you did your own transmogrification by turning wine into cellulite. 2. Emulate Baba Twinkdev One way of impressing people is to simply flourish impressive credentials like adding a Dr before your name. This is not as difficult as it seems. Instead of putting in arduous hours obtaining a PhD, you could apply to self-styled institutions like the Trinity College based in Spain, and with a cheque for 295 get a doctorate in 28 days. If even that is too much effort, then do it the Indian way. Simply tag on an honorific like Yogi, Ma, Swami, Baba or Guru, and without having to display any real abilities, people will look at you with reverence. chad crowe 3. Turn into a bad parent This may horrify school moms across the country but the best parent is a bad one. In order to get ready for the real world, all children need a few hard knocks. Now for some, life does this automatically, but for the ones who are bubble-wrapped in privilege, it is up to the parent to provide the required kicks on a regular basis. And yes, fellow moms, it is bad enough that along with office work, we are also saddled with almost all the house work, lets not add 6th grade homework to that list. 4. Admit you are stupid Contemplation of your own stupidity may be the most intelligent thing you can do. It is only the truly dumb who are convinced of their smartness. The ones who agonise over the fact that they are perhaps secretly idiots, are the ones who know that there is so much to know that they clearly dont know enough. Also if you can understand that sentence, then you are clearly a moron like me, which in this case is also a prime example of an oxymoron. 5. Stick out like a sore thumb Dont try to blend in. As someone who obviously played a lot of Tetris once said, If you fit in, you disappear. 6. Walk the talk This is not an empowering woke message but a literal one. An easy way to safeguard your emotional and physical wellbeing is to start meeting friends for brisk walks instead of meals and drinks. This is an activity where you exercise your heart in more ways than one. bccl 7. An asana a day Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Isai, we all need to do some Yoga Bhai. Also resolve to abstain from such terrible limericks. 8. Use the right weapon at the right time You need to use a bullet against a tiger that is charging at you, not against a bee because you dont like its buzzing. 9. Cultivate a bad habit You are a lot more likely to succeed if you replace one bad habit with another bad one. For example, what if you replaced cigarettes with the healthier and now legal option in many countries, pot? Or to stop yourself binge-eating, what if you binge-played video games instead? 10. Stop talking to your family This is the most crucial resolution for the year ahead. Refrain from communicating with your family so that when the current situation blows over, you are still left with one. Once you have gone through your patient explanations of why left is right and right is wrong (hopefully not when someone is driving) and, in return, been inundated with memes calling you an Intellectual terrorist, it is time to mute all family WhatsApp groups, and your mouth as well. Else you may suffer the loss of property and propriety, as one friend discovered when her inebriated husband who has taken to wearing his allegiance not just on his sleeve, but on his legs, in the form of bright orange pants slammed down his glass so hard in the midst of a heated argument that their side table cracked. Another colleague who spoke up against the NRC found herself at odds with her Bengali parents. Considering her parents are such staunch communists that her menstrual cycle is probably referred to as Lal Salam by the household, this was rather surprising. But the problem really was that her parents were not against the NRC but having spent a lifetime opposing Mamata Banerjee, they were simply not ready to be on the same side as her. Their bitter arguments have resulted in their daughter waiting for her mother to resume her Bhetki Macher Paturi tiffins rather than the bitter gourd and dal dabbas that are now coming her way. While I try not to break these awesome resolutions, and the poor Pope tries sticking to his Thou shalt not smack pilgrims even if they deserve it commandment, if you are among those who believe youre perfect just the way you are, I have a cop-out for you. Just say youre following in the footsteps of Anais Nin who famously said, I made no resolutions for the New Year. The habit of making plans, of criticizing, sanctioning and molding my life, is too much of a daily event for me. Equipment for screening body temperatures of people arriving at Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City was installed to prevent MERS infections in 2015. Photo by VnExpress/Le Phuong. Vietnams Health Ministry has listed several steps for people to protect themselves from a new pneumonia virus that had killed one in China. In a statement released Saturday, the ministry advised residents to keep their distance from people with acute respiratory infections and wear a mask when talking to them. Keeping bodies warm, maintaining personal hygiene, especially cleaning hands regularly with soap and gargling with antiseptic rinse are other steps to take against the virus, it said. People should also cover their mouths and noses with a tissue when coughing or sneezing so as to avoid spreading their respiratory tract fluid, and avoid staying close to animal farms or wild animals, it added. Those returning from Chinas Wuhan City, where the outbreak has been raging since the beginning of the year, should have their health checked immediately if they catch a fever, cough or have difficulties in breathing, the ministry said. So far, 41 Chinese people in Wuhan have been infected with the virus, which has been identified as a new type of coronavirus by the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission. One 61-year-old man has died. The man, the first victim of the outbreak, was a regular customer at a seafood market in the city, had been previously diagnosed with abdominal tumors and chronic liver disease, local health authorities said. It also noted that the infected people were mainly vendors and buyers at the seafood market. To date, no medical staff had been infected, nor had clear evidence of human-to-human transmission been found. The World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday that a newly emerging member of the family of viruses that caused the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreaks, could be the cause of the present outbreak. While no infection has been recorded to date in Vietnam, Vietnamese health authorities have begun to check those coming in from China through the border gates. Any person found with noticeable symptoms should be quarantined, they have said. Ailing Prince Philip was left fuming after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's shock announcement that they intended to quit as senior Royals and asked: 'What the hell are they playing at?' The Duke of Edinburgh, 98, was left 'deeply hurt' by his grandson's decision and said the couple are 'lacking respect', a source said. A source told The Sun: 'To say that the Duke feels let down would be a considerable understatement.' They added: 'A lot of Philips anger comes from seeing Her Majesty upset.' Ailing Prince Philip was left fuming after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's shock announcement that they intended to quit as senior Royals and asked: 'What the hell are they playing at?' Pictured: The royal family on Christmas Day in 2017 The couple issued a bombshell statement saying they plan to 'step back' as senior royals and divide their time between the UK and North America. The Duke and Duchess did not consult the Queen or Prince Charles about the contents of the statement before issuing it on Instagram on Wednesday, sources suggest. It came after the Duke of Edinburgh - who is now staying in Wood Farm on the edge of the Sandringham Estate - spent four nights in King Edward VII's hospital in central London for treatment for a pre-existing medical condition in December. The Duke was admitted for a few days as a precautionary measure and for observation, after a period of poor health, which saw him battling a 'flu-like' illness for weeks and suffering a 'bad fall'. The Duke of Edinburgh, 98, was left 'deeply hurt' by his grandson's decision and said the couple are 'lacking respect', a source said. Pictured: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex show baby Archie to the Queen and Prince Philip Harry and Meghan did not join the rest of the royal family at Sandringham on Christmas Day, instead opting to spend the festive period in Canada. Following their statement on Wednesday, Prince Harry had been due to fly back to Canada with Meghan on Thursday to be united with their eight-month-old son Archie, but decided to stay on in Britain while a deal about their future role is thrashed out. Harry is set travel to Sandringham for a showdown with the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William in what sources described as a reality check moment. Royal aides and Government officials have drawn up a range of scenarios setting out the stark implications faced by Harry and Meghan if they abandon or dramatically scale back their royal duties. A friend has claimed that Prince William is desperately sad that the close relationship he once enjoyed with Prince Harry has soured. Pictured: Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Harry and Prince William in 2017 At tomorrows meeting, Prince Harry will be handed documents, compiled following discussions with HMRC and the Canadian tax authority, that will set out in detail the financial penalties for a range of scenarios. These include a so-called hard Megxit involving a permanent move to North America and a soft Megxit in which the couple split their time between Britain and overseas and retain full, active Royal roles. A friend has claimed that Prince William is desperately sad that the close relationship he once enjoyed with Prince Harry has soured. The Duke of Cambridge has said he is unable to even 'put an arm round' his younger brother nowadays, after a rift saw them grow apart over the past year. Harry and Meghan's intention to quit as senior Royals has widened the gulf between the two siblings, with William understood to be 'incandescent' over his brother's blindsiding of the Family. Nokia (NYSE:NOK) stock has been dead money for a decade. But recent developments on the chart of NOK stock appear to be setting up a bullish trade. I expect only short-term gains by NOK, so dont expect any rosy commentary on the ailing companys chances of reclaiming its former glory. Why 2020 Could Be a Happy New Year for Nokia Stock Investors Source: RistoH / Shutterstock.com I lack the necessary boldness or insight to predict that type of resurrection. But NOK doesnt have to rise to its prior peaks to generate profits for tactical traders. Just small advances will do. Lets take a closer look at the charts to see whats in store for NOK stock. The Big Picture Source: The thinkorswim platform from TD Ameritrade In 2013, NOK stock surged from $3 to $8 in short order. But ever since then, its been a steady, consistent return to the abyss. Multiple disappointing earnings reports have sped up the decline, with the last plunge occurring last October. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips With such an entrenched downtrend on the weekly chart (see above), its impossible to bet on a long-lasting rebound. NOK stock is simply facing too much resistance overhead for that to occur anytime soon. For now, the bulls need to be nimble and take profits when they can. If Nokia stock rises above $5.85, I would change my cautious tune. But until then, the weekly downtrend will dominate. Daily Time Frame Source: The thinkorswim platform from TD Ameritrade The daily view reveals the real reason for todays bullish trade idea. Octobers earnings fiasco left a huge gap in its wake. Gap areas provide interesting price zones to trade against. The easy-to-spot support and resistance levels provide clear entry and exit points. If NOK starts to fill the gap by rising above $4.10, it has ample room to run before any ceilings come into play. This suggests some quick gains could be in store if buyers press their bets at this point. Story continues NOKs volume patterns have turned bullish in recent weeks, with accumulation days multiplying. These high volume rallies suggest institutions are wading into the waters and could continue to support NOK stocks recovery bid. The 20-day moving average and even the 50-day moving average are rotating higher, confirming buyers newfound control of the short-term and intermediate-term trends. Finally, the RSI of Nokia stock just rallied to its highest level since last July, suggesting that were seeing more upside momentum than at any time over the past six months. The Trade We could consider trading options, but why bother? Nokia stock is cheap enough to make it similar to an option, so the complexity of using derivatives is unnecessary. Buy NOK stock if it pushes above its gap resistance at $4.10. A push towards the 200-day moving average near $4.77 is the ultimate target, but I would take partial profits along the way in case the stock lacks the mustard to fill the entire gap. As of this writing, Tyler Craig didnt hold positions in any of the aforementioned securities. Want more education on how to trade? Check out his trading blog, Tales of a Technician. More From InvestorPlace The post Nokia Stock Is a Dog, But It Looks Good for a Trade appeared first on InvestorPlace. Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12 21:35:37|Editor: Yurou Video Player Close HANGZHOU, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- East China's Zhejiang Province plans to unveil a regulation to further promote the vigorous development of the private economy. A draft was released Sunday at the provincial people's congress. As the private economy powerhouse, Zhejiang has implemented 31 policy measures to promote the high-quality development of private enterprises since December 2018, according to the government work report delivered Sunday at the annual session of the provincial people's congress. In 2019, the added value of the private economy in Zhejiang increased by 9 percent and the exports of the private economy grew by about 10 percent. In terms of financing, the loan balance of private enterprises and small and micro enterprises rose by 10.6 percent and 13.6 percent, respectively. The province also carried out a series of preferential tax policies, reducing tax and other fees for private enterprises by 228 billion yuan (nearly 33 billion U.S. dollars) in 2019. In 2020, Zhejiang plans to reduce tax and other costs for private enterprises by 270 billion yuan, according to the report. Lincoln police got a report about the SUV being stolen and an officer, on his way home, spotted it at about 7:10 a.m. and called it in. A nearby sheriff's deputy caught up to it and tried to stop it but didn't pursue when the SUV sped away. The Trailblazer was spotted again shortly after 8 a.m. downtown. A deputy followed, activating lights and sirens once the SUV got on Interstate 80. At the Northwest 48th Street exit, the SUV swerved, went in the ditch and rolled. All four teenagers were taken to a hospital, where Yost was pronounced dead. The crash was investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol at the request of Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner. A grand jury convened to investigate Yost's death because it occurred during a police pursuit. During the grand jury investigation, a State Patrol investigator testified the Trailblazer reached 98 mph about five seconds before the crash as it was exiting the interstate. Sgt. Ryan Schmuecker, the deputy who called in the stolen SUV and followed it in an unmarked vehicle, told the grand jury he estimated three 18-year-old males were in the SUV, according to a transcript of testimony. (CNN) The New York Police Department has arrested two more suspects in the fatal beating of a 60-year-old man on Christmas Eve from whom they allegedly robbed $1, according to Detective Sophia Mason. A 15-year-old male was arrested on Monday and a 14-year-old male was arrested on Friday, Mason said. Both were charged with murder and gang assault, Mason said. Both teenagers were arrested in the Bronx and it is unknown whether either of them has an attorney. Representatives for the Bronx District Attorney's Office and the Bronx Family Court did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment. The first arrest in the case was on December 31 when police detained 18-year-old Abu Conteh of the Bronx. Conteh was charged with murder and gang assault. Mason said Saturday she had no update on any additional suspects at this time. Mason said as many as five individuals may be responsible for the attack that left Juan Fresnada with bleeding in the brain. He died of his injuries on December 27. Fresnada and a 29-year-old acquaintance were approached by several unidentified males around 1:25 a.m. on December 24 in the Morrisania neighborhood of the Bronx. The unidentified males allegedly demanded their property and assaulted the two men when they resisted, a police statement said at the time. Edited surveillance video released by the NYPD showed portions of the attack. It shows one attacker swinging a victim to the ground. In another frame, a victim whose face is blurred is being punched. A third frame shows an assailant approaching with what appears to be a garbage can in his hand. The 29-year-old acquaintance refused medical treatment at the scene, according to the NYPD. This story was first published on CNN.com, "NYPD arrests two teen suspects in fatal beating of man robbed of $1" The 97 kms between China and mastery of the Mekong This aerial photo taken on September 20, 2019 shows a giant Buddha on the Thai side of the Golden Triangle in Chiang Rai province, with Myanmar in the background. Photos by AFP/Lillian Suwanrumpha. 97 kms of rocks in Thai waters stand between Beijing and dominance over the Mekong, a mighty river that feeds millions as it threads south from the Tibetan plateau through five countries. China has long wanted to dredge the riverbed in northern Thailand to open passage for massive cargo ships -- and potentially military vessels. Ultimately a link could be carved from Yunnan province thousands of kilometers south through the Mekong countries -- Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. There, the river emerges into the South China Sea, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and the centerpiece of Beijing's trade and security strategy for its Asian neighborhood. Under the tagline "Shared River, Shared Future" China insists it seeks only the sustainable development of the river and to split the spoils of a trade and energy boom with its Mekong neighbors and their market of 240 million people. 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 fisherman, and nutrient-rich land in the Vietnamese delta is sinking as the sediment flow shrinks. The river is rivalled only by the Amazon for its biodiversity, environmentalists say, but now endemic species like the giant Mekong catfish and river dolphins are facing extinction. Environment versus big business. Geopolitics throttling a lifeline to 60 million people -- big themes are playing out on a slow-moving river. The Golden Triangle Sop Ruak village, Kilometer 1: Zhang Jingjin's tour group run through a catalogue of selfie poses in front of the "Welcome to The Golden Triangle" gate. Below swirls a few hundred muddy meters of the Mekong. It is the 'Golden Triangle', the intersection of northern Thailand with Myanmar and Laos, notorious for conflict and drugs -- but now getting plump on Chinese investment. "If more boats can pass there will be more visitors, more trade and more business," Zhang, a jovial elevator salesman from Beijing, says. "Business is good for everyone." Chinese tourists taking pictures along the Mekong River from the Thai side of the Golden Triangle in Chiang Rai province, September 19, 2019. First the shoal at the Golden Triangle will have to go -- one of 15 sets of rocks, rapids and sandbars impeding ships' progress along the river. Once removed and dredged, deep-hulled boats carrying 500-plus tonnes of cargo could make the 600 kilometer (370 miles) journey from Yunnan to the Laotian colonial-era jewel of Luang Prabang. The vision is to festoon both banks of the waterway with Special Economic Zones (SEZs) replete with condos, ports, rail and road links. From Laos much of the river has already been opened south towards Cambodia, two key -- and poor -- allies readily softened up by Beijing's investment billions. But for now proposals by a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), the world's second largest dredging firm, have stalled after sustained resistance by activists in northern Thailand. But campaigners say Beijing's grand ambitions rarely run aground on local opposition. "It's resource politics... eventually they want to turn the Mekong into a 'superhighway' for cargo," Pianporn Deetes of International Rivers told AFP. The bend in the river Chiang Sean, Kilometer 10: A short drift downstream, Kome Wilai and his friends putter out midstream on long boats, returning to polish off beers and measure the river's changes in their nets. A fisherman along the Mekong River between Thailand and Laos, near the northern Thai province of Chiang Rai September 20, 2019. The catch has been pitiful for a fortnight, says the 38-year-old Kome, after a sudden drop in water level in the middle of the monsoon season. "I've laid my nets twice today and got nothing. It's the Chinese dam.... there is no water for the fish to swim or lay their eggs," he explains. The dam -- the Jinghong -- is one of 11 in China's portion of the river, established as part of a hydro-electric power drive to help wean the country off coal. Laos, through which a third of Mekong flows, plans many more across key tributaries. A thicket of agreements encourage upstream countries to announce when they plan to store or discharge large amounts of water from their dams. Still, in Chiang Saen the water often drops by 1.5-3 meters without warning. "When they close the gate at the dam it affects everyone along the river," says Prasong La-on, Chiang Sean district chief. "We have to accept it." The Chinese Embassy in Bangkok insists it does not hold back water for its farmers or turbines and "pays great attention" to the needs of its neighbours. Meanwhile other analysts say the finger is pointing in the wrong direction. "The reality is that China only accounts for 12 percent of the Mekongs surface water," says China Water Risk, a Hong Kong-based consultancy. The "Western press has a pre-determined view of China which has spilled into how it approaches transboundary water," it says, arguing downstream dams including in Laos, where the Thai-owned Xayaburi has just come online, cause the biggest impacts. Whoever is behind the fluctuations, river communities fear the worst as each year brings unwanted records... the lowest monsoon water levels, the highest unseasonal floods. "When the river is gone, it will be gone forever," warns Grandpa Nart, a toothless 72-year-old boat driver, who has mapped the waters over a lifetime. The Rapids Khon Pi Long, Kilometer 45: If anyone has reasons for optimisim about the river's future it should be Niwat Roikaew. The ponytailed conservationist leads 'Love Chiang Khong Group' which fought an unlikely 20-year rearguard defense against the blasting of the rapids. In March 2019, the Chinese government formally shelved its plans after his campaign led the argument that both the unique ecology of the river and Thailand's sovereignty will be hollowed out by Chinas dredgers. "This is the egg-laying area for fish and birds," Niwat says, gesturing to the boulders at Khon Pi Long, where water rushes as the river tightens up. "This key ecosytem used to be seasonal. But now the river levels depend on the opening of the dam gates and the ecosystem can't function," he says. "And they want to blast the rapids too? You'd kill the Mekong." Fish are confused by the shallow waters at spawning season, while nutrient packed algae - favored food of the critically endangered giant Mekong catfish - grows later and less prolifically. The risks sharpen as the river flows downstream. Cambodia's vast Mekong-fed Tonle Sap Lake produces half a million tonnes of fish each year, the main supply of protein for the country, says Bryan Eyler author of "Last Days of the Mekong." Further along the lifeline Vietnamese delta is on the retreat as sediment gets clogged behind upstream dams causing anaemic embankments to collapse into the water. "Without that sediment distribution, the Mekong Delta will slip into the ocean faster than predicted," he adds. China disputes the gloomy scenarios while denying it has ever crafted firm engineering plans to blast the contested Thai stretch of water. The final holdout Chiang Khong, Kilometer 67: It's festival time and elders with big smiles and elegant hand-woven skirts sit in front of the Golden Phaya Naga -- fire-breathing serpents of river lore -- presiding over the entrance to a Buddhist temple decorated with frescos of Mekong life. "Our culture and history is linked to the water," says Samai Rinnasak after kneeling for blessings from the assembly of monks. Novice Buddhist monks on a river bank along the Thai side of the Mekong River in the northern Thai province of Chiang Rai. Economic growth and environmental change have long been reshaping that relationship. Eventually China is "going to do what it wants," according to Thitinan Pongsudhirak, of the Institute of Security and International Studies, Chulalongkorn University, citing the build-up of dams, SEZs and cultivation of allies Laos and Cambodia. "This is China's way of power," he adds. An hour downstream in Huai Luek (kilometer 90-97) where pomelo plantations roll down to the river bank, the final kilometers of rocks block Beijing's decades-old aspiration. Only 10 fishermen remain in Thongsuk Inthavong's village, a trade withered by the decreasing bounty of the Mekong. The decay started in 2008, the former village chief says, when the Mekong turned brown overnight. "Older people said it was the Phaya Naga churning up the river bed to build a nest," he says. "But it was the same year the Chinese (Jinghong) dam opened." From his stilted wooden house he has also had a ringside seat to the transformation of the Laos bank from small-holdings into vast banana plantations - all Chinese-owned. The same investors have tried to entice Thai farmers to sell up - as small river communities fear checkmate is edging closer. "China plays with us like a toy," Thongsuk says. "It makes me angry but we'll defend our river." Phuket taxi drivers charged with attempted murder over Freedom Beach hit-and-run, alleged attempted shooting PHUKET: Father and son taxi drivers operating at the entrance to Freedom Beach, south of Patong, have been charged with attempted murder and released on bail after running down a competing taxi driver with car after they allegedly attempted to shoot the man dead. The gun apparently failed to fire. tourismtransportcrimeviolencepatongpolice By The Phuket News Sunday 12 January 2020, 07:20PM A screenshot from a video of the incident shows taxi driver Suwan Chaowadee, 47, being run down by the black Fortuner near the entracne to Freedom Beach last Sunday (Jan 5). Image: Supplied Lt Col Chompoonuch Anantayakul of the Patong Police confirmed that Natchaphon Tong Plodmanee and his father Jarat Dae Plodmanee were charged with attempted murder earlier this week. Jarat and Natchaphon reported themselves at Patong Police Station and were charged with attempted murder. Both denied the charges and they were released on bail on Jan 7 [last Tuesday], Lt Col Chompoonuch told The Phuket News. The charges follow a dispute between taxi drivers just before 3pm last Sunday (Jan 5) at two different taxi queues operating near the entrance to the private road that leads to the beach. One of the queues is beside the entrance, the other is down the road in front of a local bar. Prajop Nuan Chankaew who described himself as a witness at the scene and not as a taxi driver at one of the two queues told police that the drivers at the two taxi queues had agreed to allow only three taxis to wait at each queue. However, a black taxi a regular passenger car registered for private use being used illegally as a taxi had turned up and was parked at the front of the queue near the entrance to the beach. Mr Prajop said he walked up to the drivers at the beach entrance and asked them to not allow the black taxi to pick up passengers. He said the drivers agreed, but later he saw the black taxi delivering passengers to the entrance of the beach. Soon after, two taxi drivers Natchaphon and Jarat arrived in a black Toyota Fortuner. A fight broke out and taxi driver Suwan Chaowadee, 47, fled the scene of the fight, Mr Prajop said. Natchaphon and Jarat followed Suwan in the Fortuner and ran him down, leaving him in a heap in the middle of the dirt road before speeding off, Mr Prajop explained. Mr Suwan in his report to police said that Natchaphon was behind the wheel when he and his father Jarat arrived in the Fortuner. Jarat pulled Suwans shirt collar and shouted at his son to shoot him, Mr Suwan alleged. Mr Suwan said he pushed Jarat away to escape while Natchaphon tried to shoot him, but the gun failed to fire. Jarat took the gun from his son and tried to shoot Mr Suwan, but the gun still failed to work, Mr Suwan said. Mr Suwan said that he ran and made it about 300 metres before he was run down by the Fortuner, which he said was being driven by Jarat. Lt Col Chompoonuch was brief in her summation of the case. All the information is from taxi driver witness interview reports. They were fighting over the taxi queues is only presumption at this stage. I cannot make a conclusion until I find out the facts, she said. Lt Col Chompoonuch declined to reveal the monetary amount of the police bail posted. We are now looking for the gun that Jarat and Natchaphon allegedly uses to try to shoot Mr Suwan, Lt Col Chompoonuch volunteered. Asked what kind of gun police were looking for, she said, It is a handgun, but not homemade pistol (Thai Pradit). Lt Col Chompoonuch declined to confirm or deny whether Mr Suwan was the driver of the illegal black taxi. The black taxi is another issue to follow up on later. After the attempted murder case is finished, I will raise the black taxi issue with the Patong Police Chief for further advice. Lt Col Chompoonuch said that Mr Suwans medical condition had improved and that he had been discharged from hospital care, but declined to confirm whether police were providing any protection for him.\ I cannot reveal the details [of this case]. This case is not finished. I am working on this case, Lt Col Chompoonuch said.